CSMCDB - Chapter 58
Chapter 58
In truth, Lin Jinyu wasn't putting on an act. The expressionless face was real, and so was her effortlessness.
Ever since that small bead had erupted inside her, nearly killing her, every meridian and bone in her body had been shattered and reconstructed by its energy. The life force and destructive power contained within the bead constantly surged through her. If she hadn't endured, she would have died. But by withstanding the excruciating pain… her remolded meridians and bones had undergone a tremendous sublimation.
1947's guess was spot on. Lin Jinyu's internal Star Power was far greater than that of cultivators at the same level, and her recovery speed was also much faster.
Although challenging four people in a row was a bit tiring, it was only a little.
[Even though it's one against seven, they're not all coming at her at once. Lin Jinyu is a Star Master, first layer. As long as her Star Power doesn't run out, there won't be any surprises.]
Just as 1947 had said, Lin Jinyu easily defeated her subsequent opponents. In the seventh match, she directly manifested eight Star Power swords to form a sword array, leaving her opponent completely unable to resist.
Wen Yuncheng: So Lin Jinyu was this powerful?
[I told you, she's a Star Master, first layer, after all!] 1947 paused before adding, [Besides… different academies have different collections of combat techniques. There are bound to be disparities.]
Because Wen Yuncheng hadn't revealed her true strength, she had only tossed explosives, grenades, and stun grenades from the rear during the team battle. And since her skills only dealt 5% of their original damage to herself, her performance in the team battle wasn't great. At most, she could land a finishing blow when Lin Jinyu controlled an opponent from a distance with her sword array. If she were in close combat like Li Kongyi and the others… Wen Yuncheng couldn't just throw her skills around carelessly.
As for the individual matches, they weren't part of the inter-academy competition but were an additional point-scoring event. Each person had one chance. A loss would deduct five points, while a win would earn one point. Once a match was lost, there were no more chances to challenge. This competition was held after the three rounds of arena matches and the team competition, with all participating students matched by drawing lots.
In the second round of the competition, all academies were ranked in descending order of their points. Academies with the same score in the top ranks were matched by drawing lots. Academies with identical scores further down were paired off. If there was an odd one out, lots were drawn, and the leftover academy was moved down to the next point tier to be paired off.
However, the third round didn't require drawing lots; it was direct pairings. The first and second ranks were matched, the third and fourth were matched, and so on down the line. It was a straightforward way to determine the number one.
"For this arena match, among the second-years, Wen Yuncheng, you'll go first. Just do your best. If anything feels wrong, concede immediately. Breeze Academy is different from Qingwu Academy, so don't feel pressured." After encouraging Wen Yuncheng, Tan Qing looked at Lin Jinyu. "Lin Jinyu, you'll fight second. The third will tentatively be Li Kongyi, and the fourth will be Gu Yinan… If we still haven't won by then, we'll continue with the order from the first round."
"Yes!"
"As for the third-years, Yao Mu, you'll still be the first to fight. Last time, you defeated seven in a row, so Breeze Academy has likely studied your combat techniques. Vary your fighting style and don't be too reckless. Keep your White Jade Transformation skill in hand; don't use it unless it's a critical moment."
"Yes, Teacher!" Yao Mu replied loudly.
Although getting seven wins in a row this time would be difficult… Wen Yuncheng clenched her fists, turned to Lin Jinyu, and said, "I'll do my best to make sure you don't have to go on stage!"
"Okay." Lin Jinyu looked at her very seriously and replied, "Good luck."
Wen Yuncheng waved and walked onto the stage when the host announced for the contestants to enter.
Wen Yuncheng had expected her first opponent to be a Star Master, first layer, but instead, a male student who was a Star Warrior, third layer, came on stage.
Are they… trying to wear me down first, then send in their Star Master to sweep the board? Wen Yuncheng couldn't figure out their strategy, but since she herself was someone who didn't play by the rules, strategies were useless against her anyway. The boy seemed a little surprised to see her, too. Perhaps he thought his opponent would be Lin Jinyu?
"Begin!"
She started with a Pursuer and a Self-Destructor to guard against a rush attack. As the boy gripped his long staff and used a Star Power slash to detonate the Pursuer and Self-Destructor prematurely, Wen Yuncheng threw a grenade and a stun grenade one after the other. Then, she immediately used Floating Magnetic Disk to close the distance. The instant the boy knocked the grenade away and was dazed by the stun grenade, she raised her hand and stabbed her opponent's chest with the spike on her Mechanical Armguard.
The referee immediately called a halt to the match. The fight was over.
"This student of yours with the Star Power Mutation… is really something special," the instructor from Breeze Academy couldn't help but comment to Tan Qing. It was hard to discern any of her combat techniques or gauge her true strength from that match, yet it felt like everything was on display.
"She is indeed very special, and she works incredibly hard." Tan Qing replied with a smile, "All of our Star Academy students are outstanding."
"…?" The Breeze Academy teacher was speechless and shot Tan Qing a disdainful look. "Ours aren't bad either, you know… We'll see what the results of this competition are."
Tan Qing just smiled and nodded, watching as Breeze Academy's second opponent took the stage after the five-minute break. It was another Star Warrior, third layer. He looked at the instructor beside him. "What's your game plan? Trying to wear her down? We have two first-layer Star Masters, and you only have one."
The Breeze Academy instructor: "Just shut up."
The second opponent was a girl dressed in a tight-fitting combat uniform, with a pair of daggers tucked at the back of her waist.
Wen Yuncheng: I'm guessing she's an assassin!
"Begin!"
Upon realizing her opponent was likely an assassin-type fighter, Wen Yuncheng immediately threw a fire explosive and started casting G-2 Rolling Thunder. Once one G-Series skill was formed, it could be converted into any other. The girl raised her hand and threw two small, cross-bladed darts, detonating the fire explosive. However, the fiery after-effect of the explosive remained, creating a slight obstacle for her as she tried to approach Wen Yuncheng.
Taking advantage of that brief moment, Wen Yuncheng nimbly dodged the two darts. The G-2 Rolling Thunder finally finished materializing, and three small, constantly rotating machines appeared in front of her, with faint, fleeting flashes of blue electrical light visible.
While deftly dodging the darts, Wen Yuncheng raised her Mechanical Armguard, revealing a hand cannon, and began firing—bang, bang, bang.
Her right hand controlled the hand cannon while her left clutched a stun grenade, waiting for an opportunity.
Both were able to dodge each other's attacks. The girl from Breeze Academy wanted to get in close but couldn't figure out the function of the three rotating machines in front of Wen Yuncheng, while Wen Yuncheng was biding her time.
But the stun grenade was too obvious; the girl was definitely on guard against it. Just as Wen Yuncheng had this thought, she saw her opponent suddenly kick off the ground and leap up, drawing the daggers from her back. Infused with Star Power, an X-shaped Star Power slash came crashing down.
Wen Yuncheng immediately used Floating Magnetic Disk as a movement skill to get close to the girl. After briefly judging her descent trajectory, she unleashed a grenade, a stun grenade, and a Pursuer all at once. Then, unsurprisingly, they were either dodged or knocked aside. However, it wasn't over yet.
Wen Yuncheng took the initiative and ran toward her opponent. The opponent's eyes lit up. Controlling her descent, she tightened her grip on her daggers, planning to unleash a combat technique on Wen Yuncheng at point-blank range. However—however, the three constantly rotating machines suddenly stopped. They shot a powerful blue laser forward, striking the opponent squarely just as she landed! Wen Yuncheng raised her hand, taking out another grenade, but before she could throw it, the referee called a halt.
A second victory.
[Very good! Exceptionally good!] 1947 was extremely excited, thinking that its own cub might actually be able to pull off seven consecutive wins!
Wen Yuncheng smiled. After all, the people from Breeze Academy didn't really understand her skills. Especially the skills she unlocked at level thirty. She hadn't even used her Apostles, hoping she could save them to set a trap for Yaoxing Academy and catch them off guard.
As for Floating Magnetic Disk, the skill had a 100% launch effect if it hit someone and could also be used for movement. Its cooldown was short. Although its power wasn't high, it was very practical in combat.
After a short five-minute break, Breeze Academy's only genius—a first-layer Star Master—finally walked onto the arena stage. Xun Rui looked at his opponent. This boy and the other first-layer Star Master from Star Academy had two completely different styles. The one named Lin Jinyu was expressionless the entire time, making one suspect she was a puppet, devoid of emotional fluctuations. But this opponent… had a brilliant smile and used bizarre methods, causing the first two students who had intended to drain his Star Power… to be defeated inexplicably.
I have to be vigilant, vigilant against the strange things he throws. I have to get close; I can only defeat him in close combat. Xun Rui took a deep breath, waiting for the referee to announce the start.
"Begin!"
The moment the match began, Xun Rui closed his eyes, and Star Power instantly filled his entire body. The instant Wen Yuncheng sensed her opponent gathering power, she immediately began to use G-1 Corona. Then she saw… Xun Rui's figure become transparent.
What kind of weird cultivation method is this? It even comes with invisibility? Wait, I have a skill that seems to be a perfect counter… The Corona appeared on her right shoulder. Wen Yuncheng then marked Xun Rui with an X-6 Monitor. Instantly, Xun Rui's body was outlined in red, and a semi-transparent minimap appeared in the upper right of Wen Yuncheng's vision, with a red dot representing Xun Rui on it.
Seeing the "invisible" Xun Rui approaching her, Wen Yuncheng immediately used her Pursuer and Self-Destructor skills, then pretended she couldn't see her opponent and casually tossed a fire explosive off the stage.
Xun Rui flicked out two small knives to detonate the Pursuer and Self-Destructor, then gripped his scimitar with both hands and charged directly at Wen Yuncheng.
Wen Yuncheng calculated the distance, instantly transformed the Corona into a Rolling Thunder, and then used Floating Magnetic Disk to close in. The Rolling Thunder spun and hit Xun Rui's body—thump, thump, thump. The light-attribute static attack left Xun Rui momentarily stunned. In the next instant, he was hit by Wen Yuncheng's topspin kick and piercing kick, which sent him stumbling back two steps. He suppressed the metallic taste in his throat, completely ignoring his injuries. His first reaction was to pour Star Power directly into his scimitar and slash out. At such a close distance, he thought, Wen Yuncheng definitely wouldn't be able to dodge.
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