Jiang Lin finally spoke.
“Oh.”
Rex’s expression stiffened for a moment, but he quickly regained his composure.
He took a deep breath and held his sword horizontally in front of him. The lightning magic essence on the blade began to condense rapidly, and blue-purple electrical arcs spread from the blade to his arms, shoulders, and his entire body. He looked as if he were wearing a coat woven from lightning.
This was his signature skill: Lightning Armor.
It used lightning magic essence to enhance his nerve reflex speed and muscle explosive power while forming a charged protective layer on the outside, serving both as an offense and a defense.
“Begin!”
The host gave the order.
Rex’s figure suddenly blurred. His speed was astonishingly fast, pulling a blue-purple afterimage across the ring as he lunged straight for Jiang Lin.
The tip of his sword condensed lightning that had been compressed to the extreme, aiming for Jiang Lin’s right shoulder.
He didn't want to cause serious injury; he only wanted to force Jiang Lin to make a move so he could see his techniques clearly.
Then, he saw Jiang Lin raise his right hand.
It was those same two fingers again, index and middle fingers pressed together.
Rex’s pupils shrank. He had rehearsed this scene countless times in his mind; he knew that a faint blue speck of light would burst from those fingertips and head straight for him.
He was prepared.
He boosted the power of his Lightning Armor to the maximum while holding his sword across his body, ready to take the hit head-on with his lightning-imbued magic sword.
But nothing happened.
Jiang Lin simply raised his hand, then lowered it.
Rex blanked for a second.
In that split second of hesitation, his feet suddenly slipped.
Without knowing what had happened, his left and right legs suddenly fell out of sync—one stepped too fast, the other too slow.
He lost his balance entirely, his body pitching forward. He stumbled for two steps before plowing face-first onto the ring.
The magic sword slipped from his hand, clattering and bouncing twice before coming to a stop at Jiang Lin’s feet.
The entire arena fell silent.
Rex lay flat on the ring, his face pressed against the cold granite, his mind a complete blank.
He tried to get up, but his legs completely refused to obey him.
His left leg kicked desperately at the ground, but his right leg was as limp as a noodle. He struggled twice, then slumped back down.
The spectators in the stands looked at each other in confusion.
“What... what happened to him?”
“I don’t know. Did he just trip?”
“No way, how could he just trip like that? He’s not a three-year-old.”
“Could it be that Jiang Lin’s doing? But he didn't even do anything? He just raised his hand.”
“Raising a hand can make someone trip? What kind of magic is that?”
The host was also stunned. Standing on the high platform, he raised the parchment in his hand and lowered it again, his mouth opening and closing twice before he finally managed to speak:
“Contestant Rex... are you all right? Can you continue the match?”
Rex lay on the ring, gritting his teeth as he tried desperately to stand.
But that sense of discoordination hadn't completely vanished. It was as if his legs were being commanded by two different brains, making it impossible for them to cooperate.
He struggled for a full dozen breaths before finally managing to prop up his upper body. But before he could steady himself, his knees buckled, and he knelt back down.
“I... forfeit.”
His voice was squeezed out through his teeth, filled with humiliation, resentment, and deep confusion.
Even now, he hadn't figured out exactly how he had fallen.
The stands erupted into an uproar.
“He forfeited? He actually forfeited?!”
“No, how did he lose? I watched the whole thing and didn't understand a single bit!”
“That golden-haired kid raised his hand, and then the other guy just fell. That’s it?”
“This is too eerie. What kind of move did that Jiang Lin use?”
No one could answer that question.
Even the veteran adventurers sitting on the judging panel looked at each other. Some of them vaguely sensed something was wrong, but at that distance, they couldn't see clearly what had happened.
High in the stands, Big Guy leaned against the railing, his mouth twitching twice.
“This kid... what strange things has he learned now?”
He glanced sideways at Aria and found that the alchemy genius was holding a palm-sized crystal plate aimed at the ring, an “as I thought” expression on her face.
“Did you record it?”
Big Guy leaned in.
“Yes.”
Aria lowered the crystal plate, her brow furrowed slightly.
“I just watched it in slow motion. The moment Jiang Lin raised his hand, a very faint, almost invisible halo of light spread out from his fingertips.
“The speed of that halo was incredibly fast. The moment Rex came into contact with it, the Lightning Armor on his body experienced an extremely brief disruption.”
“What kind of disruption?”
“The magic circuit of the Lightning Armor originally starts from the magic crystal in the sword hilt and travels up the arm to cover the whole body. But in that instant, the circuit was broken, and the lightning magic essence flowed backward. The magic flow in his left arm was three times faster than in his right, causing the neural enhancement on his left and right sides to become severely asymmetrical.”
She paused, summarizing with a complex tone:
“To put it simply, Jiang Lin made his left leg think it should run and his right leg think it should stop. Then, he fell.”
Big Guy was silent for a moment.
“...What kind of bullshit move is that?”
“I don’t know either.”
Aria put the crystal plate away.
“This kid... is getting more and more ridiculous.”
By the time Jiang Lin walked back into the contestant passage, the clamor in the stands behind him had not yet subsided.
The girls holding their support signs might not have understood what just happened, but that didn't stop them from screaming.
“He won! He won! He won!”
“I knew he would win!”
“That move just now was so cool! I didn't understand it, but it was so cool!”
Several reporters broke through the security barrier, rushing toward Jiang Lin with recording crystals and pens in hand.
“Contestant Jiang Lin! Please wait! How did you achieve that victory just now?!”
“Was Contestant Rex’s sudden fall related to you?!”
“What is your true rank?! 4th-rank? Or 5th-rank?!”
“There are rumors that you are the predetermined champion of this year’s competition. Do you have any response to that?!”
Jiang Lin didn't stop, nor did he even look back.
He simply walked calmly into the contestant passage, his long golden hair flashing for a moment in the play of light and shadow at the entrance.
The reporters tried to give chase but were blocked by knights in silver armor.
“Contestant passage. No unauthorized entry.”
They could only stand there, watching that disappearing back and stamping their feet in frustration.
That night, the headlines of almost every media outlet in the Royal Capital shared the same theme.
《Royal Capital Daily》: “Jiang Lin takes another victory, advancing to the final four! Opponent admits after the match: ‘I still don’t know how I lost.’”
《Magic Weekly》: “Eerie strike sparks heated debate; the mysterious youth of Saint Brilliance Academy adds another layer to his legend.”
《Adventurer's Bulletin》: “From obscurity to title favorite—the rise of Contestant Jiang Lin.”
《Girls' Friend》: “He wore white today! He looks so good! (Multiple on-site hand-drawn sketches included)”
In the underground betting market, Jiang Lin’s odds of winning the championship had skyrocketed from 80 to 1 before the tournament to 1.3 to 1.
The few people who had bet on Jiang Lin to win before the first round were now sitting in taverns, holding their drinks and looking at their betting slips, unable to stop grinning.
The semi-finals were held two days later.
Jiang Lin’s opponent was a beastkin girl from an academy near the north, a 3rd-rank peak who specialized in a combination of ice magic and close-quarters combat.
She stood on the ring, looking at the golden-haired youth opposite her. She took a deep breath, and then...
“I forfeit.”
She spoke crisply and decisively, without any hesitation.
The host was stunned.
“Are you sure?”
“I’m sure.”
The beastkin girl put away her weapon and turned to walk off the ring.
“It’s not like I haven't watched his matches. I saw what happened to the contestants in the previous rounds. Rather than being blasted off by a single finger, I’d rather walk away with some dignity.”
A complex mix of jeers and laughter erupted from the stands.
Some thought she was too cowardly, some thought she was wise, and more were simply speechless, as this was already the fourth contestant to withdraw.
With that, Jiang Lin marched into the finals with a record of eight consecutive victories, with zero points conceded and zero injuries sustained.
His opponent for the finals would be decided in the other semi-final match the next day.
When Jiang Lin walked out of the arena, the setting sun painted the streets of the Royal Capital in a golden-red hue.
The streets were lined with citizens who had come to see him—girls holding support signs, parents carrying children on their shoulders, and even a few young women trying to stuff love letters into his hands.
The three elves walked on either side of Jiang Lin, helping him fend off the majority of the over-enthusiastic onlookers.
Fenrir used his massive frame to literally push a path through, while Alicia stood expressionlessly on Jiang Lin’s left.
Elune walked quietly on Jiang Lin’s right, her pale purple eyes calmly scanning the surroundings as if issuing a silent warning.
“Teacher Jiang Lin, your popularity in the Royal Capital is just too high.” Fenrir muttered as he cleared the way. “I’ve lived for so many years, but I’ve never seen a spectacle like this.”
Jiang Lin didn't answer; he simply quickened his pace.
In front of the Silver Crown Inn, dozens of fans were already waiting.
They held flowers, letters, and small gifts. When they saw Jiang Lin approaching, they immediately let out a wave of suppressed screams.
“Jiang Lin! Jiang Lin! This is for you!”
“Good luck in the match! You have to win the finals!”
“I knit this scarf myself! The winter in the Royal Capital is very cold!”
Jiang Lin stopped, took the scarves and letters, and gave a slight nod to the crowd.
“Thank you. I will win tomorrow.”
Then, amidst even louder screams, he quickly walked into the inn.
In the lobby, the innkeeper was standing behind the front desk, looking at Jiang Lin with an extremely complex expression.
“Mr. Jiang Lin, from this morning until now, forty-seven people have come to ask which room you’re staying in.”
He pushed the glasses up the bridge of his nose.
“I didn't reveal your information, but I think... you might need to find a different place to stay.”
Jiang Lin was silent for a moment.
“We’ll talk after the finals.”
He turned and went upstairs, the three elves following behind.
When Elune reached her room door, she suddenly stopped and called out softly:
“Jiang Lin.”
Jiang Lin turned to look at her.
Elune watched him, her lips moving slightly as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, she simply shook her head gently.
“It’s nothing. Good luck tomorrow.”
“Mm.”
Jiang Lin pushed open his door and went inside.
Elune stood in the hallway, staring at the closed door for a long time.
Then she lowered her head and said in a voice only she could hear:
“Those scarves... I knit one too.”
That silver-gray scarf was currently lying quietly in her spatial ring, stacked together with that issue of 《Girls' Friend》.
She hadn't given it to him.
She didn't know why, but she just felt like she didn't want to give it to him at a time like this.
As for Jiang Lin, after seeing the three elves back to their rooms, he once again went to the main hall of the Temple to continue his cultivation.
He couldn't let some competition slow down his pace of cultivation!
...
Soon, the day of the finals arrived as scheduled.
The Royal Arena welcomed the climax of this year’s national competition.
The circular stands, with fifty thousand seats, were packed to capacity, with even the most remote corners filled with people.
The aisles were crowded with spectators who didn't have seats. The Royal Knights maintaining order had to deploy double the manpower at every entrance to prevent the crowd from collapsing the railings.
The skylights in the dome were all open, and the winter sun poured down, illuminating the central ring.
The magic barrier at the edge of the ring had been adjusted to the highest level, the translucent light screen shimmering with a faint golden hue in the sunlight.
In the stands, reporters from various media outlets had long since occupied the best spots.
Some held recording crystals, some gripped shorthand pens, and several sketch artists laid out their drawing boards, ready to illustrate the match scenes live.
Reporters from major newspapers like the 《Royal Capital Daily》, 《Magic Weekly》, and 《Adventurer's Bulletin》 sat in the front row, followed by assistants holding thick folders of information.
The reporters from 《Girls' Friend》 were there too—three of them. One was responsible for observation and recording, one for live sketching, and one specifically tasked with “capturing those moments that make a girl’s heart flutter.”
“He’s out! He’s out!”
Someone shouted, and the eyes of fifty thousand people simultaneously turned toward the contestant passage.
Jiang Lin walked out from the entrance.
Today, he wore a set of silver-white martial attire, the collar and cuffs embroidered with simple silver patterns, with a wide belt of the same color around his waist.
His long golden hair flowed with the luster of molten gold in the sunlight, tied loosely at the ends with a silver hairband.
Standing there, he was clean, sharp, and so radiant it was impossible to look away.
A deafening roar of cheers erupted from the stands.
The girls holding their support signs nearly went wild, their screams rising one after another.
Some were so excited they shook their signs over their heads with all their might.
Some covered their mouths, their eyes turning red.
A few even started crying, though they didn't even know why they were crying.
“Jiang Lin! Jiang Lin! Jiang Lin!”
The rhythmic chanting rose from every corner of the stands, converging into a massive wave of sound that echoed continuously under the dome.
Jiang Lin stepped onto the ring and stood on his side, his golden eyes scanning the surroundings calmly.
High in the stands, Big Guy leaned against the railing with his arms crossed, a grin stretching from ear to ear.
Beside him, Aria had uncharacteristically swapped her soot-stained old coat for a clean, sharp set of dark blue casual clothes.
Her silver-gray goggles hung around her neck, and she held a recording crystal aimed at the ring.
...
Rate on N.U.
