Yan Ya stayed at the Luo family villa for a few more days, stuffing the refrigerator until it was bursting. Before she left, she stood at the door with her suitcase and gave Luo Yang one last look.
“Don’t keep eating takeout.”
“I know.”
“And control Yan Zhi’s snack intake.”
She got into the car, and the driver respectfully closed the door. Luo Yang stood on the steps and waved. Only after the car turned out of the neighborhood entrance did he turn back into the house.
The days that followed were unnervingly quiet.
The Ability Bureau didn’t call, the man named Si Zhen never reappeared, and there wasn't even any movement from the Qiu family. Qiu Shubai went to the academy for training every day on schedule and returned in the afternoon; occasionally, the two would bump into each other at the neighborhood entrance.
Luo Yang, meanwhile, continued to live his free and easy life, sleeping until he woke up naturally every day and occasionally wandering over to the academy to act as a sparring partner for a few matches. To drag him there, Zhang Xian would bribe him with two cans of limited-edition cola every time. Luo Yang would curse the old geezer for being stingy while bringing the cola home to stock in the fridge.
He didn't actually get to drink much of it; almost all of it was consumed by Yan Zhi.
In the blink of an eye, the day of the league's opening arrived. Every major academy in Shenzhou launched their internal selection trials at the same time. Only two teams from each academy would eventually make it to the National Main Tournament in the capital.
The arena at the Yuanxing City Punisher Academy was packed early on. People in academy uniforms and those in casual clothes filled every stand; there wasn't a single empty seat. The clamor had been nonstop since morning.
No kidding—this was a slaughter among the top hundred on the Ladder Rankings. The hundred strongest people in the entire academy were gathered together. Who would want to miss such a grand event?
In a way, someone did.
Luo Yang was lying on his bed with three pillows propped behind him, a bag of potato chips in his arms already half-empty. He held his phone horizontally in his left hand, the screen displaying a live feed of the academy arena.
On the other end of the video call, Yu Mingyang was holding his phone and shouting at the top of his lungs from the front row of the stands.
“Holy crap! That slash was so damn cool! Brother Luo, did you see that?”
“I saw it, I saw it,” Luo Yang said, stuffing chips into his mouth. “Can you keep it down? My ears are ringing.”
“Huh? What?”
“I said—”
“Whoa, that guy over there dodged it! It’s fine, throw another punch! He still didn't hit?!”
Luo Yang quickly turned the volume down three notches.
The camera shook violently; Yu Mingyang had likely been jostled by the students around him. He tilted to one side, and for two seconds, the screen showed nothing but the ceiling.
The two teams currently fighting on the stage had very standard compositions: main attackers, main defenders, and support players. A girl on one side held twin blades that glowed with a faint green light, every slash accompanied by wind blades. The other side had a earth-type ability and specialized in defense; thick stone pillars constantly surged from beneath his feet, allowing him to take three direct hits without retreating a single step.
Seeing that a frontal assault wasn't working, the girl simply started running around the stone pillars. Her blade-light cut down from five different angles, shattering three of the pillars. Before the fourth could rise, her blade was already closing in on the earth-type Punisher’s neck.
A sudden bolt of lightning slammed into the blade emitting the pale green glow—it was support from the earth-type Punisher’s teammate. Unable to dodge in time, the wind-type girl was knocked back two or three meters by the powerful impact. She could only use her speed advantage to circle the battlefield, looking for a new opening to strike.
Applause erupted from the stands.
“What a fast save!” Yu Mingyang’s voice came through the phone, the background noise filled with cheers. “Now this is what I call exciting!”
Luo Yang nodded slightly. “That sword of hers is most likely a custom third-tier weapon or higher. The edge is made from some kind of wind-type gemstone; she already has the upper hand in terms of raw stats. If her opponent's teammate hadn't supported him in time, that mud-slinger would’ve been ruled out by now.”
“How can you tell?”
“I can see it.”
“Damn, looks like you’d be a natural as a commentator, Brother Luo!”
The camera panned to another arena where two teams were still locked in combat, neither side holding a clear advantage.
Yu Mingyang finally managed to squeeze into a slightly quieter aisle and turned the camera back to his own face.
“Brother Luo, the top hundred are really on another level. After watching those matches, I feel like if you took any of them individually, they could crush everyone in our class. I used to think I was improving pretty fast, but seeing this today, the gap is ridiculously huge.”
“That’s normal,” Luo Yang said, placing the bag of chips on his bedside table. “Those in the top hundred have fought their way up with their lives. Heaven rewards the diligent.”
“Oh, right!” Yu Mingyang’s voice suddenly jumped another octave. “The next match is Chief’s team! This is definitely going to be the highlight of the day!”
Luo Yang quickly reached out and muted the speaker.
“Keep your voice down, you brat!”
“Huh? Is my mic peaking?”
But next is Miss Chief’s turn...
Luo Yang thought idly, a subtle curve appearing at the corners of his mouth.
After that day, Qiu Shubai had kept the matter of Crimson Abyss strictly hidden. She actively controlled the flower's reflection so it wouldn't appear in her eyes, and she even concealed that distortion power. She hadn't used the new ability from Crimson Abyss once, even during sparring sessions.
Others might not know, but how could Luo Yang not?
He dared to guess that with the girl’s current strength, even if she were placed in those old-school academies in the capital and went head-to-head with the true geniuses there, she wouldn't necessarily be at a disadvantage.
A Clear Heart Level 2 at eighteen—she was only two minor levels behind him!
Moreover, she was still hiding a trump card that she hadn't used yet.
On screen, Qiu Shubai led her team onto the arena.
She was wearing the standard academy uniform today, her long hair cascading behind her like a waterfall, her bangs hanging down to partially cover her eyebrows. Bloodfall hovered three inches from her side, the pale gold light on the blade significantly more solid than before.
Through her recent training, she had already reached the threshold of Clear Heart Level 3 and was just a step away from crossing it.
The three teammates behind her had also grown.
Tang Xuan was Core Consolidation Level 3, and Li Qiang was Core Consolidation Level 5. Chu Zimo was even more remarkable; in less than a month, he had grown by two levels, reaching Core Consolidation Level 5 just like Li Qiang.
Luo Yang sat up a little straighter.
Chu Zimo had truly been pushing himself to the limit lately. Rumors had been circulating in the academy for half a month saying that his parents hadn't been found after the great battle in South City, and they were likely gone. Since then, he had become a different person, training with excessive desperation. His fighting style had become increasingly extreme, specifically targeting his opponents' most lethal spots.
He was becoming more like a professional assassin and less like a student who hadn't yet left the academy.
The camera swept across his profile; his face was a size thinner than before, with faint dark circles under his eyes and his lips pressed into a tight line.
The broadcast voice boomed from the arena’s loudspeakers, making Luo Yang’s phone speaker vibrate.
“Next to take the stage is the Yuanxing City Punisher Academy First Team! Captain: Qiu Shubai, Ladder Ranking No. 1! Member: Chu Zimo, Ladder Ranking No. 27! Member: Tang Xuan, Ladder Ranking No. 41! Member: Li Qiang, Ladder Ranking No. 36!”
“They will be facing the Tenth Team! Captain: Fang Xin, Ladder Ranking No. 33! Member: Qin Liang, Ladder Ranking No. 62! Member: Jiang Sixue, Ladder Ranking No. 78! Member: Shen Yun, Ladder Ranking No. 89!”
Beneath the broadcast, the shouting from the stands was impossible to suppress.
In the center of the arena, Fang Xin, who had two short blades hanging at his waist, tilted his chin toward Qiu Shubai, who was also standing at the front of her team.
“Chief Qiu,” he gave a grim smile and cupped his fists in greeting.
“Good luck.”
The referee raised a hand.
“Begin!”
Fang Xin’s ability was called Blade Orbit Synchro. Its specific effect was to mirror the user's movements onto their weapons. The two short blades at his waist left their sheaths simultaneously, performing mirrored actions in perfect synchronization with his hands.
In a way, his ability could be considered a super weakened version of Weapon's End, Ember's Birth. Luo Yang had also sparred with him; although Fang Xin had been brutally beaten every time, Luo Yang had taught him some insights on controlling weapons.
“Command the blade with your heart; the blade is an extension of yourself. Make the blade follow your rhythm, rather than observing the blade and being led by it.”
Fang Xin charged forward, and his blades charged with him. Jiang Sixue flipped his palm, and a thin layer of black substance spread across the ground. With a flick of his finger, a wall of raging fire instantly surged up across the front half of the arena.
This was his ability: Flame Overspread. He could autonomously ignite the special substance formed by his blood energy, using it to generate flames that he could control at will.
The bubble gum in Tang Xuan’s mouth popped.
She raised her left hand, and Light Flame erupted from her palm, forcefully tearing a gap in the fire wall. Qiu Shubai’s sword darted through the gap, the white light of the blade grazing Fang Xin’s shoulder.
Fang Xin himself didn't stop, his movements shifting rapidly. The two short blades made an illogical turn in mid-air, slicing diagonally toward Qiu Shubai’s flanks.
Bloodfall was recalled in a flash of white light. Qiu Shubai held her sword to parry, and the sharp clang of clashing metal rang out.
At the very edge of the arena, Chu Zimo quietly vanished into the shadows.
Just as Qin Liang was about to use his ability, the blood energy he had just condensed was ruthlessly shattered by a dark short blade wrapped in pitch-black mist. In the next second, his throat was pinned by that signature shadow dagger.
He froze for half a second before being easily pinned to the ground from behind by Chu Zimo. The dagger pressed against his carotid artery didn't loosen for a moment until the referee announced Qin Liang’s elimination.
The strike was both ruthless and fast, and the sound of the crowd gasping for air was endless.
On screen, Fang Xin’s expression changed.
Luo Yang leaned back against his pillows and took a bite of a potato chip.
“Interesting.”
Rate on N.U.
