GAMMT - Chapter 94
Chapter 94: A Successful Ambush?
Compared to the others' panic, especially the emotional fluctuations of the A-Class students, or the gloominess of those like Zhan Xuandong who had conflicts with Xie Keli, the teachers and people like Zhao Ranxue appeared much more at ease. One group viewed it with the detachment of observing students, while the other was confident that Xie Keli posed no threat to them for the time being.
It was only 60,000 points. Xie Keli's total score was now just over 80,000.
On the screen, after gaining 60,000 points, Xie Keli's name stopped moving and was surpassed by others within a few seconds.
141.
Que Baicen's expression improved slightly. His gaze discreetly swept over Fu Ye's back, a flash of infatuation and unwillingness in his eyes. So he said to Fu Qiang, "Brother Fu, you're actually quite formidable. The clan needs business-minded people like you. It's just a pity… Ah, perhaps I'm overthinking things. I always thought Fu Ye needed a strong man who could protect her. Some people may seem to have decent potential, but they're besieged on all sides. You never know when disaster might strike. They're like bean sprouts. You think you can harvest them overnight, but they might just wither in the middle of the night, never fully growing. What's the use of that?"
Speaking of which, wasn't Li Wukun just like that?
He seemed perfect in every way, but in the end, he died easily because of his clan.
Fu Qiang's eyes darkened slightly, but his smile was warm and kind. "There's nothing to be done about it. Before being chosen, one has to be a 'sprout' first. As for whether it withers or not, that's a matter for later."
Que Baicen's face fell, but he quickly smiled. "That makes sense. In that case, I won't bother leaving. The food here is quite good. I hope you don't mind, Brother Fu."
Fu Qiang replied, "What are you saying? It's not like my Fu Clan owns this restaurant. I'm just afraid your two academies might start a fight over little old me. I'm not worthy of such a fuss."
The man was a bit shameless and seemed to overestimate himself, yet it also sounded like a joke.
But perceptive people could see that Fu Qiang was protecting Fu Ye's reputation, preventing outsiders from spreading rumors that she was a femme fatale causing conflict between the two academies.
Que Baicen was wary of the Provincial Business Association behind Fu Qiang. After all, it represented the sum of the entire province's capital, and its president was a ruthless old capitalist tycoon with formidable connections. If he were to slightly obstruct the Que family's business channels, they would suffer heavy losses.
You might ask, since the Que family is an Orange Blood family, couldn't they just kill him?
What a joke. Wouldn't other Orange Blood families protect him? Wouldn't the Economic Department intervene?
It wasn't uncommon for retired presidents of the association to be invited to serve as the Minister of the Economic Department. The previous minister had been a former president.
That was the terrifying part.
Que Baicen could only give Fu Qiang face, but since he knew Xie Keli was coming, he certainly wouldn't leave so easily.
Whether it was the matter of the former getting his younger brother, Que Baige, eliminated in the middle school re-selection, which brought shame to the Que Family, or Fu Ye, or the latter's repeated stirring of storms after arriving in Beluke City and gaining significant fame, he despised this person to the extreme.
It could be considered a sense of class superiority, or perhaps just disgust for an illegitimate son from a garbage planet.
In the past, although West Jin and East Guan academies were at odds, they always maintained a semblance of decorum. After all, if they fought, North Gai and South Chen would be the ones to benefit. But Que Baicen alone did not represent the entire West Jin Academy.
This was a personal grudge.
As soon as he sat down, the atmosphere in the room shifted slightly. The students from other high schools were on edge; after all, West Jin was the leader of the Four Great Academies and not to be trifled with. Only East Guan didn't take them seriously.
In the eyes of East Guan students: West Jin? A bunch of brutish frauds who rely on resources!
In the eyes of West Jin students: East Guan? A bunch of treacherous schemers who only know how to plot but don't dare to fight head-on!
"Why do I get the feeling that so many people can't stand this Xie Keli? There's constant trouble, and people are targeting him wherever he goes."
"Flies aren't drawn to an egg with no cracks. It takes two to tango. He's probably just too high-profile."
With the Four Great Academies present, students from other high schools didn't dare to speak up, but now, those in the restaurant couldn't help but discuss it privately.
Their words implied that Xie Keli had brought it upon himself.
There's a certain perversity in human nature: people find it normal for the wealthy to indulge in debauchery, but if an ordinary or good person does something even slightly wrong, they are met with contempt, ridicule, and rejection…
Even some from the middle class are willing to accept nobles above them, but they can't stand seeing someone from a lower background climb up.
The complexity of the human heart was plain to see.
But as they whispered, Lin Hangjing and her friends, who were from the same high school, saw the expressions on their classmates' faces. Pang Ci's face twisted, and he subconsciously glanced around, afraid of running into the Grand Paramour Xie.
Meanwhile, Lin Hangjing picked up a piece of pickled vegetable with her chopsticks, ate it, and then said calmly, "Recently, all the major information networks in the city's schools have been spreading stories about Xie Keli. The content often revolves around how someone from a garbage planet is more formidable than the children of great nobles… Under the influence of this information, any elite cultivated by the noble system will not have a favorable impression of him. Because even if they are stronger than him now, it's seen as expected. If he were to catch up, it would be a humiliation for them. Who would be willing to accept such a no-win situation? This is the reason he's being targeted from behind the scenes."
"The great nobles themselves wouldn't spread such news. So it's highly likely a third party is involved, hoping they'll fight until both sides are weakened, allowing them to reap the benefits."
"And it's not like the great nobles and Xie Keli can't see through this. Will they willingly be used as pawns? Given time, once they free up their hands to investigate, the truth will come to light."
"You seniors could also be classified as part of this third party, so please speak cautiously."
After saying this, Lin Hangjing picked up her bowl and chopsticks and moved to another table. Pang Ci rolled his eyes at the group and also moved away.
They were afraid of being implicated by them.
In other words, if it weren't for the disadvantages of their own backgrounds and lack of resources, they might have been able to get into one of the Four Great Academies themselves, and they wouldn't have to associate with these gossips.
They talked so much. If they stirred up trouble, they didn't want to face the wrath of the great nobles or Xie Keli.
They had to improve quickly and get away from this group of idiots, dammit!
After Pang Ci and the others left, the remaining people had varied expressions. Some were embarrassed, some nervous, and some were disdainful. One sneered, "They're from the same place, so of course they're close. Maybe they're even clinging to him for protection. How could they stand to hear what we have to say?"
"Protection? He can't even fend for himself. Look, he's dropped to 146. He's run out of steam."
The group's appetite returned, and they continued eating.
"This pickled fish is pretty good… Pfft!"
It was as if he had seen something. The pickled vegetable suddenly caught in his throat. The man's face turned red as he choked, and he spat out a mouthful, spraying bits of pickled vegetable onto the face of the person opposite him.
"Fuck, what are you doing!"
"Look up!"
Amid the exclamations, they looked at the East Guan ranking screen.
Just a moment ago, Fu Ye had prepared three small bowls of dipping sauce. Zhao Ranxue and the others were thoughtful, but Zhan Xuandong was very displeased. He was sitting opposite Fu Ye, and though he didn't say anything out of politeness, he was worried she would make a sudden leap forward. But after waiting a while, he saw Xie Keli's ranking drop.
Oh ho.
Zhan Xuandong finally spoke, his laughter tinged with mockery, "Fu Ye, you should get rid of one of those sauce bowls. Or maybe move it aside. It's a bit crowded here."
The teachers present remained silent.
It was a tradition among the Four Great Academies for teachers not to interfere in student conflicts. Didn't they see that even someone as displeased as Zhao Ranxue wouldn't dare to intervene? Otherwise, he'd be crushed by the Dean.
They might as well enjoy the show.
Fu Ye glanced at Zhan Xuandong, neither angry nor anxious, and couldn't be bothered to reply. Just then, she saw a student from another school not far away choke on pickled vegetables, accompanied by cries of surprise. Her gaze shifted slightly. She didn't look at the ranking list, but simply lowered her head and stirred her dipping sauce.
Fu Qiang, however, was frantic. "My god, Ah Ye, Ah Ye, Keli is rank 99! Holy shit! He just gained 80,000 points in an instant!!"
The others were also shaken and all looked up.
Zhao Ranxue looked at Fu Ye. "He passed the fourth floor of the Arcane Tower, and with a high comprehensive coefficient."
Points in the hundreds or thousands were definitely from killing monsters, based on quantity and type. But an increase of tens of thousands must mean breaking through a floor's main challenge.
Passing the fourth floor meant he's reached the fifth, placing him at the level of the strongest in Class A, firmly in the top five for Arcane studies.
At this, even Zhan Xuandong became nervous.
His Arcane talent wasn't top-tier in Class S. He had only passed the fifth floor and was currently on the sixth. If Xie Keli managed to pass the fifth floor, then that would be…
And his opponent had only been enrolled for three months, while he had been here for four years.
The gap was too large. He would be utterly humiliated.
Just as Zhan Xuandong was getting nervous, an injured Fu Chuan finally fought her way out of the fourth floor and entered the fifth. However, before she could get a clear look at her surroundings, she was hit by a collective explosion from a group of arcane minions…
Holy shit!
Fu Chuan failed instantly, essentially getting one-shotted at the entrance to the fifth floor.
"So difficult. My Arcane skills are still a bit lacking. After all, I haven't had my enlightenment yet."
It had only been a little over two months, and she had been distracted with alchemy and other things. She wasn't a god. Fu Chuan had a good attitude and felt no resentment. She just took some potions to recover and then glanced at her score.
Over 160,000, ranked 99.
Looking at the top of the East Guan Academy rankings, the top fifteen were all from Class S. The lowest-ranked S-Class student currently had 280,000 points.
Her goal wasn't to rush to the very top.
"According to East Guan's reward tiers, first place is one tier, 2nd-5th is another, 6th-20th is another, followed by 21st-100th, 101st-300th…"
Each tier would have an exclusive treasure that the next tier down lacked. The difference between tiers was these unique treasures, while within the same tier, the difference was mostly in the quantity of rewarded items. For example, within the third tier, the rewards for 6th place and 20th place naturally wouldn't be the same, and the gap could even be significant.
Fu Chuan was a very serious person. If she was going to do something, she would do her best. She had already given her all in the Arcane Trial. The fifth floor wasn't something she could clear just by grinding, and she didn't want to waste points trying again.
So how to get more points?
The Alchemy Tower was out. That left the World Studies, Combat, and Control towers.
She went straight downstairs, walked out of the Trial Tower under the watchful eyes of the few remaining students in the lobby, and headed for the Control Tower.
This news also spread rapidly everywhere, including the central plaza. A group of female students, shopping hand-in-hand, were also scrolling through their phones and came across a candid photo of someone entering the Control Tower.
"So you're saying he cleared the second, third, and fourth floors in a single day, earning over 140,000 points."
"That's not right. Even if he cleared three floors in a row, the points couldn't be that high. Could it be that East Guan's Trial Tower has a different scoring standard than ours?"
"How could that be? The standards for all high school Trial Towers in the province are set by the Education Ministry. Otherwise, how would the Ministry allocate educational resources and subsidies? There's only one answer: Xie Keli's comprehensive coefficient for clearing the floors was very high, meaning he relied heavily on pure Arcane skills to pass."
"He's that amazing?"
A group of pretty young women, carrying designer shopping bags, eagerly discussed on their phones. Did you want this kind of vanity?
Other male students watched, green with envy, while cursing Xie Keli to achieve nothing in the Control discipline.
"He can't possibly break through floors consecutively like he did in the Arcane Trial, can he? What floor was he on before?"
"I don't know. This Trial Tower's privacy protection mechanism is so annoying…"
A bustling shopping mall, a prosperous city, and the silent second floor of the Control Trial Tower.
As soon as Fu Chuan entered, she selected the remote assessment for the Control discipline under the profession category.
Buzz. She was teleported in!
The moment she entered, she went all out. This floor had no restrictions on Arcane purity, so all her abilities could be used. However, the system would automatically evaluate the control flow score of her techniques.
The coherence of her moves, energy loss, damage taken versus damage dealt, the continuous coordination of various abilities, and even her capacity for sustained combat—all these were part of the scoring criteria.
This was where Fu Chuan excelled.
It took her only one minute to completely clear the second floor.
"Second floor cleared. Comprehensive coefficient: 10.0. Point reward: +20,000 points."
The Control Tower was worth more than the Arcane Tower.
The score for the second floor alone proved it.
But the difficulty was also higher. The moment Fu Chuan entered the third floor, her brow twitched.
Ahead were five level 50 blue-tier BOSSes from the control discipline, all powerful individuals simulated based on the level of past human elites.
"A five-pronged coordinated assault pattern?"
Fu Chuan cursed inwardly. No wonder the Control Trial Tower was hailed as the head of the five towers, the nightmare of East Guan students.
The difficulty was too high.
This was only the third floor!!
Fu Chuan gritted her teeth and summoned her trinity of light, wind, and space… then stripped away all elements.
Infinite, infinite, infinite control to the death!
Five minutes later, the last controller BOSS was forcibly trapped within Fu Chuan's dual, element-depleted fields and kited to death.
But Fu Chuan was also sniped by the opponent's remote space cannon…
Boom!
Her tortoise shell and vortex both shattered. When the attack landed on Fu Chuan, even with her restoration field, she still coughed up a lot of blood.
The system gave her five minutes of medical time. She frantically consumed potions to recover. After five minutes, she was fully restored, even her mental power replenished.
"Third floor cleared. Comprehensive coefficient: 6.0. Point reward: +60,000 points."
The comprehensive coefficient wasn't high, so the score wasn't high either. Fu Chuan knew this was because her infinite control flow was still a cheap imitation, incomplete. The vision of that old dean from the bureau was only 10% realized, as she had yet to upgrade her double-sided mirror and wind vortex into a composite field.
The true infinite flow involved four fields.
A world of light mirrors, a world of vortexes, a restoration field, and a gravity field.
So it was normal that her score wasn't high.
The fourth floor arrived.
The moment Fu Chuan entered, her eyelids twitched violently.
Opposite her were three four-meter-tall muscular brutes, all following the Vajra Warrior profession path. But when she activated her pupil technique, she vaguely saw a healer-type Arcanist hidden in a spatial fold.
But the opponent sensed her and concealed themselves again. Fu Chuan had intended to kill them first, but after they vanished, the three Vajra Warriors charged.
Boom!!
Space, ground, fire elements—everything exploded.
Fu Chuan's spatial field was directly countered. After it shattered, her restoration field was also corroded by the Arcanist's corrosive energy arcane art, compromising its integrity. Then, the Arcanist continuously healed the three warriors…
Fu Chuan was also constantly countering their moves. When her fields were destroyed, she would summon them again, continuously absorbing, digesting, and re-absorbing energy. The two sides were locked in a long-range stalemate, trading blows.
Time passed, second by second.
Fu Chuan tried several times to kill one of the warriors, but the Arcanist quickly restored their health.
Back to square one.
Fu Chuan was furious!
But the Arcanist on the other side was just as furious. Where did this infinite-flow leech come from? Her energy was like a perpetual motion machine, and she could even automatically heal and recover from injuries. Fuck!
Just as the time limit for the battle was approaching… Fu Chuan's eyes suddenly narrowed, and she swept the area with her pupil technique.
Forbidden Arcane!
What! The Arcanist was caught off guard, her arcane abilities locked, unable to heal one of the Vajra Warriors. Fu Chuan seized the opportunity and unleashed her power… Boom!
One of the brutes was directly blasted apart by Fu Chuan, breaking the nearly perfect attack formation of the three warriors. Just as she was about to press her advantage and eliminate the other two…
Suddenly, the Arcanist gave a strange smile.
"Corpse Explosion."
Fu Chuan: "!"
Not good!
BOOM!!!
The massive explosion instantly KO'd Fu Chuan, who was nearby.
Failure and exit.
"Fourth floor clear failed. One brute killed. Points: +30,000."
"Continue?"
Continue what?
It seemed the only correct way to pass this floor was to kill the Arcanist first. Otherwise, killing any of the warriors would trigger a corpse explosion. Unless one took a high-defense route, it was impossible to survive.
Fu Chuan had a headache. She hadn't expected the third floor of the Control Tower to be so difficult. No wonder the students of East Guan cursed it so much.
Still, the Control Tower had given her 110,000 points. Her total score was now over 270,000, launching her directly to 16th place.
Oh ho?
But in the next second, Fu Chuan saw the entire ranking refresh.
Starting from the 15th-ranked student, the worst in Class S, all the scores changed. The 20th-ranked student's score became 420,000, and Fu Chuan's rank dropped directly to 35th.
Because the top ten students in Class A, as if in a stress response, had all revealed their hidden scores.
"The hell!"
"Fuck! These old schemers from East Guan."
"I was wondering why their scores were so low after three months. I thought they had all been collectively demoted."
"Holy shit!"
This was beyond treacherous. You thought you had broken into the top fifty, or even the top thirty. You're out having a meal, you refresh the list, and everyone ahead of and behind you has added tens or hundreds of thousands of points. How could you stand it?
Never mind the students from other academies being speechless; even some of the more honest students from East Guan slammed their tables in anger.
East Guan, so treacherous!
Fu Chuan was speechless. She headed for the Combat Trial Tower.
"You said he went to the Combat Trial Tower?"
Over at the plaza, Chen He from Class A, who was ranked third this time, was already in a bad mood. He had just heard a group of students from other schools gossiping, saying that this Xie Keli was going to rush into Class S after only three months of enrollment, making the A-Class students who had been in school for years look like paper tigers, their faces stomped into the ground.
Previously, Chen He had casually belittled Xie Keli at the assembly simply because he didn't like the look of him.
It wasn't a major feud at first, but now their interests were directly involved.
The spots in Class S were limited. If Fu Chuan and Wei Mingtang were to get in, what would happen to them?
Wei Mingtang was low-key and reclusive, and also a beauty, so it was hard to deal with her. But this Xie Keli… he would probably try to score points in the Combat Tower.
Chen He wiped his mouth and found an excuse to leave.
Ten minutes later, he returned to the school via a teleportation array.
He wasn't the only one who returned; many from Class A had gone back.
The students from North Gai Academy were at a sushi restaurant. An elegant gentleman in a white suit, Langxis, sipped his red wine and said slowly, "Those people from East Guan's Class A should be heading back to ambush him. If they fail, they'll truly lose all face."
"If they let him climb above them in the rankings, it would mean the entirety of East Guan's Class A was defeated by a student who's only been enrolled for three months!"
"A great humiliation."
"If this happened at our North Gai, we'd probably be too ashamed to show our faces."
Langxis was from North Gai's Class S, and his words resonated with the others. As they spoke, a black cat in a small vest inside North Gai Academy was rubbing its belly and muttering about being hungry. It spotted a small mouse not far away, its eyes glowing green. But the mouse made a face at him and quickly darted into the Arcane Trial Tower.
Tom grumbled, rubbing his belly as he entered the Talent Tower.
The point-scoring mechanism in the Combat Trial Tower was simple: fight against other people scoring points inside the tower.
There was no rule about clearing it floor by floor. Instead, it assessed the combat level of both parties and assigned matches accordingly.
The more consecutive matches you won, the stronger the opponents you would be matched with. The points stacked up with each match.
This was Fu Chuan's first time in the Combat Tower. The first and second matches were easy, basically instant kills. Starting from the third match, she began to encounter people from Class B.
"Xie Keli? I've been wanting to fight you for a long time. I hope you won't let me…"
An overwhelming cage and an all-encompassing gravity field…
Eighteen seconds later, Fu Chuan entered the next match.
"It's you."
The moment Zhang Donglin saw Fu Chuan, he gritted his teeth, about to unleash a powerful blow.
KO!
Not even 18 seconds.
Zhang Donglin: "?"
The first five matches awarded points in the thousands. By the time Fu Chuan reached her seventh match, the points started being awarded in the tens of thousands.
Seventh match, 10,000 points.
Eighth match, 15,000 points.
Her rank climbed, from 35th into 28th!
Now, the hidden scores had been revealed, and the other contestants had exhausted their tricks. It was possible that Xie Keli was the only one in all of East Guan still climbing.
Imagine it: the top ranks on the list were mostly fixed, with only one name moving, constantly creeping up from behind to take their spots. What a uniquely galling sensation that must be?
And many of the people being overtaken were sitting in the same restaurant, not far from his fiancée.
His fiancée was as beautiful as a flower, sitting there with her head down, silent. But all you could feel was a sense of humiliation, jealousy, and madness!
"I hope the ones who went back succeed in their ambush. Otherwise, we'll really be…"
A group of A-Class students, who had originally disliked Xie Keli for being aloof and arrogant, now had a single thought in their minds, unable to enjoy their food.
They stabbed their forks into the salmon as if they were stabbing Xie Keli.
Que Baicen ground his back teeth, thinking: If this Xie Keli were at West Jin Academy, I would have definitely ambushed him myself. The people from East Guan claim to be number one in strategy, but it turns out they're all for show. They didn't ambush him earlier and even lost a million points. And look at him now! The reason Xie Keli has improved so much is because he digested those vast point resources.
They had truly nurtured a tiger that would come back to bite them.
"A bunch of idiots," Que Baicen sneered.
At this moment, the restaurant seemed to have sniffed out a business opportunity. They had already applied for the broadcast rights to the combat trials from East Guan, but sensing Xie Keli's popularity, they directly locked onto his matches.
At that moment, the diners in the restaurant saw Xie Keli entering the arena for his eighth match.
During her eighth match, Fu Chuan could feel the increase in her opponent's strength. This person was much stronger than Zhang Donglin. He was usually quiet but had been steadily improving. Upon meeting Fu Chuan, he suddenly said, "I just faced Wei Mingtang. I couldn't withstand her soul attacks, but I think the outcome will be different with you."
Wei Mingtang was a bug who could fight above her level, something that couldn't be judged by attributes. There was nothing to say about that. As for Xie Keli…
He immediately summoned three mechanical battle pets, went all out, and furiously bombarded the gravity field. As for himself, he quickly concealed himself within a spatial fold, breaking Fu Chuan's pupil technique lock.
Huh, this person is also skilled at this?
Fu Chuan became wary and quickly brought herself into the gravity field as well, eliminating any possibility of a surprise attack. At the same time, she released rays of light, using continuous penetration and sensing to lock onto the opponent's position. Then, with a flick of her finger, she controlled all the light rays…
On the screen, the originally transparent spatial walls were suddenly filled with dense golden threads, like a golden silk embroidery painting—beautiful and captivating, but filled with killing intent.
The opponent sensed it and was forced to exit the spatial fold. But the moment he emerged, he unleashed his ultimate move. Against a master like Xie Keli, who had both pupil techniques and light control flow, a head-on confrontation was necessary!
His three mechanical battle pets merged, and his stats shot up to an average of 1.5 million. Then, his palms enlightened, and he wildly swung a pair of dual blades. Two blade streams, sealing off the plane, shot forward with ferocious power. It was as if space itself was being pushed, carrying a sharp, cutting aura.
Fu Chuan floated within her field, using the gravity field and the suction of her light tentacles to alter the elemental distribution within, forming an air current… which deflected the angle of the dual blade streams.
But terrifyingly, the blade streams that missed their mark entered a vortex that suddenly appeared behind Fu Chuan.
After devouring the blade streams, the vortex chewed them up and then formed… Whoosh!
A storm of shattered blades!
What was this?
A technique from the First Sequence was also a special kind of manifestation, integrating an arcane field into the gene sequence, transforming it into a remotely controlled field. It was extremely stealthy, detached from elemental control, and could be manipulated by thought alone, appearing and disappearing at will. This arcane art was related to devouring and conversion—devouring an original attack and transforming it into another. It was a type of conversion flow that could significantly reduce energy consumption and catch opponents by surprise.
Honestly, this technique was very impressive. At the very least, Fu Chuan truly hadn't expected it, and no one else had expected this low-key, old-cadre type from Class B to be so strong.
The storm of shattered blades came out of nowhere, transforming into piercingly sharp fragments that surrounded Fu Chuan. Its explosive power was amplified twofold, breaking through the gravitational influence of her field…
Just as it looked like Xie Keli was about to be riddled with holes…
A four-sided mirror cube defense.
360 degrees, all reflected.
Simultaneously, Fu Chuan also merged with her pet, instantly draining all elements. Then, the composite arcane art she had formed—a combination of stun, fear from a BOSS, and pupil technique intimidation, all hidden within the light rays beforehand—took the shape of a birdcage. The moment it surrounded the man, it was instantly cast.
This person was hit by so many control spells at once. Even if he resisted some, he was still frozen in place.
Not good!
Immobilized and stripped of elements, that meant…
Bang!
A single bullet sent him on his way.
After being defeated, the man smiled wryly before exiting. "Time is not on my side. Encountering you two new students is a true nightmare."
Fu Chuan said, "You can't say that. Although I remember the names of those before you, I might not remember them in the future. But I will always remember your name is Lin Chen, and I expect Wei Mingtang remembers you too. Thinking of it that way, does it make you feel a little better?"
This person was quite formidable, but his innate talent was probably not high. He had gotten this far purely through hard work and a steady, stable character. Fu Chuan was also this type of person, so she had a favorable impression of him.
Lin Chen was taken aback, then chuckled. "I suppose so. Perhaps in the future, I'll feel honored to have been defeated by you. But I must remind you, the tenth match is a major hurdle. The system will send someone very strong."
Respecting one's opponent is a sign of good upbringing.
Lin Chen felt it.
In the ninth match, Fu Chuan relied on the perfect defense of her four-sided mirror, element stripping, and her own sustainable energy recovery to KO an opponent even stronger than Lin Chen.
After two matches, she had gained 50,000 points, bringing her total to over 350,000.
And then came the tenth match.
Everyone was already solemn about this, but then something even more terrifying happened. A name on the leaderboard shot straight up.
Wei Mingtang, 18th place, 520,000 points.
Holy shit!
Many people were so shocked they dropped their chopsticks.
Even Zhao Ranxue and the others were stunned. They checked the rankings, then looked up the school's internal information, and confirmed one thing: Wei Mingtang was clearing the Arcane Tower.
And her score had been skyrocketing while they were focused on Xie Keli.
This meant one thing…
Zhao Ranxue had the most authority on this matter, as he had attempted the higher floors himself and knew how many points could be earned. He asserted, "She just gained 300,000 points directly. She must have cleared the fifth and sixth floors consecutively and should now be on the seventh."
The seventh floor?
The students from Class S looked at each other in dismay. It seemed only half of them had reached the seventh floor; the rest were still on the sixth, like Zhan Xuandong and the others.
So the problem was, before they could even successfully ambush Xie Keli, they had already been ambushed by Wei Mingtang.
The teachers were also a bit dazed…
"To reach the seventh floor of the Arcane Tower within three months of enrollment… I think I'm starting to understand why the Dean took her as a direct disciple. This person might be a terrifying genius of the death system. Otherwise, her comprehension of Arcane arts wouldn't be so terrifying. I'd say her Arcane talent could rank in the top five among all students in the Four Great Academies."
"Absolutely."
The restaurant fell somewhat silent. The expressions of Que Baicen and the others changed.
This was no longer just a crisis for East Guan Academy's Class S. The Class S students from the other three great academies all felt their sphincters tighten.
This Wei Mingtang from East Guan was the real menace.
They had let Xie Keli completely distract them.
"But you can't ambush someone in the Arcane Tower, it's not the Combat Tower… Fuck! East Guan got damn lucky recruiting Wei Mingtang. I bet the deans of our schools are all regretting it now."
They truly were regretting it.
At the academy, the Vice Dean was gloating, crossing his legs as he reported his success to the Dean, who was away on a business trip.
"I told you, didn't I? This Wei Mingtang is definitely a talent worth molding. I strongly recommended you take her as a disciple. I was right, wasn't I?"
The Dean was young, in her thirties, with a clear and elegant voice that carried a mint-like coolness. "I recall you strongly recommended Xie Keli at the time."
"Er… I recommended both of them, didn't I? It was only after I learned you and Xie Siyi don't get along that I stopped mentioning him. But that kid, while not as good as Wei Mingtang, is definitely very powerful. He has the potential to become a pillar of Class S in the future. I have a feeling."
"Not as good as Mingtang? Not necessarily."
The Dean's laughter was faint, but the Vice Dean was stunned.
Could it be?
He had analyzed and studied Wei Mingtang, and later tested her with the Dean, confirming that she was truly a child of talent for the death system. Her comprehension of Arcane arts was almost universally applicable, a born master of the undead.
The Vice Dean of North Gai Academy had just been cursing him out, even offering to trade resources to have Wei Mingtang transferred, spouting some nonsense about not holding the child back…
In his dreams, ha!
Compared to her, Xie Keli didn't seem particularly outstanding, but his genetic talent was good—after all, it was an inheritance from the Xie Clan. His system and path were also very impressive, making him a technically skilled powerhouse.
But he couldn't compare to Wei Mingtang, who was strong in all aspects, right?
When the difference in strategic thinking wasn't too outrageous, talent would always trump hard work. That was an ironclad fact.
The Dean sighed. "Xie Siyi's eye is sharper than mine."
The Vice Dean: "?"
Just because of that?
"And ignore the complaints from the other academies. They're hiding a few talents of their own. It's strange, the quality of talent this year is quite high. It's as if they've all emerged at once, like a golden age is about to arrive. The situation in the capital is even more absurd. I don't know if it's a blessing or a curse." The Dean's tone was deep and complex.
The Vice Dean was taken aback.
When things are out of the ordinary, there must be something amiss. Right now, only those at the very top could sense that something was wrong.
No one understood the Vice Dean's turmoil, but back in the restaurant, amidst the silence, someone muttered, "Good, Xie Keli is about to be ambushed. He's up against Chen He."
Chen He hadn't expected his luck to be so good. He had been thinking about ambushing Xie Keli, and he really got matched with him.
He looked at the person before him and cracked his neck.
"Xie Keli, your journey ends here. After this, go have dinner with your wife."
With that, he went all out. Three peak blue-tier pets—land, sea, and air—all merged, boosting his strength, constitution, and agility across the board. His average stats were 2.2 million, and he had two spirits, a fire elemental and a mental spirit!!!
I'm screwed!
The moment Fu Chuan saw his pet and spirit configuration, her scalp tingled.
Did spending a few more years at the academy really mean nothing?
What a joke!
Accumulating millions of points could be exchanged for sufficiently powerful pets and spirits.
Several million points, three pets, and two spirits!
This was the strength of the third-ranked student in Class A. What was even more terrifying was that both spirits were equipped with orange-tier spatial concealment treasures, allowing them to provide continuous support from hidden space, making them impossible to target and kill.
Chen He also drew a manifested arcane weapon from his palm.
A crimson-flame, red-tasseled spear, with rolling magma coalescing into a pair of terrifying, flowing wings.
"Flame Burst!"
The wings flowed, attaching to the arcane weapon… wind speed enhancement, attack speed +200%.
It pierced through instantly… Even with her pupil technique, Fu Chuan couldn't see its trajectory at all. She could only defend instinctively and passively.
A direct downward thrust…
Two fields, a tortoise shell, a vortex, and a mirror—multiple layers of defense surrounded Fu Chuan.
But all she heard was a series of explosions…
Bang!
Fu Chuan saw only a flash of red. She instinctively wanted to activate Forbidden Arcane, but she suppressed the urge.
The moment she used Forbidden Arcane, her identity would be exposed.
The incident of killing Qin Minfeng that night would become a trigger, and she would be dragged away for investigation by various departments…
She somewhat regretted selling the Lesser Heavenly Book to Wei Mingtang. Otherwise, she might have been able to break through some arcane levels. Although it was for a long-term plan, she hadn't expected her luck to be so bad as to be successfully ambushed by someone like Chen He, the third-ranked in Class A.
So…
Boom!
In that split second of prediction, Fu Chuan twisted her body sideways, but the searing magma-wrapped spear still shot through, directly blowing off her arm and half her shoulder. It was only a finger's length away from her heart.
Moreover, the magma was an attached damage effect, continuously burning and eroding the wound on her shoulder, searing its way towards her heart and other internal organs.
She could smell her own flesh cooking and was nearly paralyzed by the excruciating pain, almost passing out.
But as sweat beaded on her forehead, she used her light rays to drag her body away, flying into the air…
"A one-armed cripple still dares to run!"
Chen He had known this person would be no match for him, but out of caution, he had basically unleashed his full power. One explosive move had nearly killed him, which was necessary to maintain the dignity of Class A. But he was dissatisfied that it wasn't an instant kill.
With contempt laced with killing intent, he threw his spear again…
The attack speed was too fast.
As Fu Chuan flew, she watched the spear piercing towards her again… A glow pulsed from her shoulder stump as Little Yellow, the vines, and the density-less tentacles all activated.
Whoosh!
Her arm suddenly regenerated. Her palm faced the space, and also the incoming spear, and released!
Hundreds of vines shot out to grab the spear.
The spear's destructive power was enough to pierce through these vines, but terrifyingly, while a large portion of them were pierced, a third still managed to entangle the spear.
Fu Chuan clenched her palm.
"Absorb!"
In an instant, the remaining vines began to frantically drain the powerful energy contained within the spear…
Boom!
The vines were still pierced through, but the spear's attack had been weakened by more than half. It was finally caught by the wind vortex and the mirror.
Chen He's expression changed slightly.
The restaurant was in an uproar.
"What is that? When did he start specializing in the Life system? Isn't that body regeneration a signature move of the Life system?"
"Incredible, he's an all-rounder!"
"He already had insane sustainability, and now he has body regeneration… Is he an immortal? Between him and Wei Mingtang, who's the real necromancer? I remember there's an immortality branch in the necromancy system."
"Don't talk nonsense. It's a combination of his pet's talent, his First Sequence, and his own genetic talent that created this body regeneration."
"Hey, Flosius, say something."
Inside a designer women's clothing store in the shopping mall, a young man in a gray suit who was flipping through a magazine looked up at his friends who were chatting. The young man had features straight out of a Western comic book, like a noble from West Asia. He was observing the new clothes his friend was trying on.
"It's alright."
"I was asking about that Xie Keli from East Guan. This kid is interesting. Body regeneration isn't easy to cultivate."
Flosius looked back down at his magazine and said flatly, "Don't know him, don't care. Let's talk again when he can break into East Guan's top twenty."
"Tsk, I thought you only cared about the top ten of the Four Academies," a tall, stunning green-haired beauty said teasingly, modeling a long dress.
"Arrogance is not a good habit."
Flosius turned a page and saw that line of text written on it.
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