Chapter 321 Sorry for the Quick Action!
“I won’t lose to you again this time.” Ye Hao bit his teeth.
Luo Fengtian kept a straight face. “You should pray to have the chance to meet me on the stage first.”
“You!”
Ye Hao flew into a rage.
Yu Weihan eyed Ye Hao curiously and asked Luo Fengtian, “Fengtian, this is?”
Luo Fengtian was not in the mood to share but considering who she was, Luo Fengtian explained, “He is the No.1 student in the Phoenix Peak Academy, the one I told you about.”
“Oh, that one…” Yu Weihan sized Ye Hao up and down with a weird look.
She had heard about the winner of the match in the Phoenix Peak Academy and how he ended up being beaten by Luo Fengtian, while completely unable to fight back at all. It was a surprise that she would run into that lousy winner here.
Ye Hao was quaking with rage after seeing the look in Yu Weihan’s eyes.
He usually wasn’t this short-tempered, but his previous failure was a burning shame for him. To make it worse, that beautiful lady was aware of it. Ye Hao wished he could find a place to hide. “This time, I will meet you after we get to the Top 10!”
Ye Hao gave Luo Fengtian one last glare. Then, he turned to see Su Lingyue. He had gone there to chat with her because she was also from the Phoenix Peak Academy and Su Ping’s sister. However, since Luo Fengtian was there, Ye Hao felt too embarra.s.sed to stay.
Ye Hao turned away and left.
Su Yanying tried to stop him but failed. She forced a bitter smile and darted a look at Luo Fengtian and the girl with him. She knew that the girl was also from the Berserking Blade Academy.
As for Luo Fengtian, Su Yanying had never liked him. Back in the day, if it weren’t for Su Ping’s intervention, the Berserking Blade Academy would have trashed the reputation of the Phoenix Peak Academy.
“What are you doing here?” Su Yanying asked. She was trying to protect Su Lingyue and she did it for Su Ping’s sake.
Luo Fengtian noticed her intention. “We do not mean her ill. We just wanted to come and talk to her to show her our care since she is here alone.”
“Care?” Su Yanying looked at him with doubt. They had once been opponents. Why would they go there to show care for Su Lingyue?
“Hmm, what are you doing? Our teacher knows her brother. What is wrong with us coming to talk to her?” Yu Weihan pulled a long face as she detected that Su Yanying wasn’t buying Luo Fengtian’s explanation.
Opponents would mutually abhor each other, which was particularly true for the fairer s.e.x.
Su Lingyue said in a hurry since an argument was about to break out because of her. “Please, sit down. Don’t worry, Yanying, they didn’t come with any hostile intentions.”
SuYanying looked at her. Still, since Su Lingyue had said so, Su Yanying dropped the matter. Besides, that girl mentioned Su Ping. At that time, Su Yanying had begun to trust their explanation.
Luo Fengtian knew that Su Lingyue was Su Ping’s sister and as such, he would not have the courage to offend her. They sat down and it just so happened that the match had just started.
The commentator announced the round’s inauguration with pa.s.sion. First up were two partic.i.p.ants in Group A.
After the salute was issued, everyone quieted down. The two partic.i.p.ants stepped onto the stage.
The partic.i.p.ants who could make their way to the Top 100, without a doubt, were all promising young elites in the Longjiang Base City.
“He’s from the Ye family!” Su Yanying squinted her eyes.
Luo Fengtian did the same thing.
Both Yu Weihan and Su Lingyue felt a surge of fear. A young man in black had just hopped onto the stage. He was about one point nine meters tall. He had a fine and well-proportioned figure, not the beefy sort; people could tell that he was flexible. As he stood on the stage, the young man was like a beast, waiting for his prey.
A suffocating aura came off from the young man. Even Su Lingyue could feel it radiating off the stage.
That young man was terrifying!
He was not hiding his strength at all. How wild he was!
During the trials, this young man had finished off half of the partic.i.p.ants!
His name was Ye Longtian. He came in second on the list of potential champions.
People shouted and cheered for him when he entered the stage.
At the same time, Ye Longtian’s opponent had also stepped into the stage.
That was an average, run-of-the-mill kind of person. He was about one point seven meters tall. His look was nothing special and neither was his hair. The only noticeable thing about him was the gun-looking device he carried on his belt and the saber on his back. He had to be skilled in using both weapons.
“Isn’t using firearms against the rules?” someone questioned.
At the same time, a few people recognized that this was a special artifact, not a high-tech weapon.
As more and more people began to voice their doubts, the commentator explained that they had tested and checked the device. It was a type of treasured artifact and thus using it was not against the rules.
The general public had no clear idea about the nature of treasured artifacts. They merely knew that those artifacts were special weapons that had strange structures. Not even with the most advanced technology in the Federation could people understand their structures.
“That man is an explorer,” Luo Fengtian pointed out.
He could tell from that man’s sinister demeanor and look. If Ye Longtian were a beast, then this person would be a seasoned hunter hiding in the depths of the woods.
Yet, at this moment, no one thought that this “seasoned hunter” would win because the beast he would be facing was vicious. That beast was the kind that could never be hunted.
Both Su Yanying and Yu Weihan were watching closely to avoid missing any details.
Su Lingyue was dedicating her mind completely to the upcoming compet.i.tion.
Bang!
The match began.
The huge stage was surrounded by a transparent seal so that the partic.i.p.ants could do whatever they wanted while on the stage.
“Just admit defeat. I don’t want to see you get hurt.” Ye Longtian looked down on his opponent indifferently.
“Well, I have been hurt many times. What can one more do?” The young explorer grinned but he remained solemn-faced. He knew that Ye Longtian, the future family head of the Ye family, was a dangerous opponent.
Whoos.h.!.+
As his grin faded away, the young explorer struck first to gain the initiative. He began to summon his pets first.
Roar! Roar!
People heard two loud noises. Two pets crawled out of the s.p.a.ce. One was a wolf of the wind family and the other was a bird of the fire family. Both pets could move with agility.
“Go!”
The young explorer growled. He pa.s.sed his order to his pets through his mind. The two pets dashed away at the same time; their cooperation was impeccable. A hurricane was swept across, and in this hurricane, flames suddenly appeared. The hurricane was suddenly set ablaze, which was much more lethal!
That was because of the combination of the wolf and the bird’s skills!
It was evident that the young explorer didn’t choose the two pets randomly. He picked them because their skills could be mutually complementary.
As the two pets released their skills, the young explorer drew his blade as well.
Bang!
The young explorer moved astral powers outside his body; he compressed them into an energy bullet and fired it.
That special artifact would use astral powers as bullets to inflict serious harm. That artifact was as powerful as an anti-tank cartridge!
It could penetrate tanks and could blast open a beast at the upper position of the seventh-rank! Compared to beasts, battle pet warriors were much weaker. A seventh-rank battle pet warrior would be weaker in defense than a fifth-rank beast unless the battle pet warrior was able to use special defensive skills.
Boom!
It sounded as if something had exploded. The hurricane swallowed Ye Longtian; the energy bullet had also penetrated the hurricane.
Before the audience even had a chance to scream in surprise, a figure had rushed out from the hurricane. It was Ye Longtian!
He had no pets with him!
“You’re asking for an insult!”
Cruelty was added to the coldness in Ye Longtian’s eyes.
The young explorer was stunned still. He couldn’t imagine how Ye Longtian had managed to come out from his attacks completely unharmed! Not to mention the fact that Ye Longtian hadn’t even summoned his
pets!
How did he do that?!
While the young explorer was still digesting the shocking event, Ye Longtian had approached him with vigorous strides.
The young explorer’s rich combat experience had saved him. He came back to his senses instantly and stepped backward right away. At the same time, he was about to summon a third pet.
“Secret skill—Instant Slas.h.!.+” Ye Longtian said in a low voice. Ye Longtian was about ten meters away from the young explorer. But with a flash, Ye Longtian had closed in on the young explorer again.
Bang!!
Ye Longtian landed a punch on the young explorer’s face, knocking him away. The young explorer ended up b.u.mping into the seal.
The battle had ended!
With one move, Ye Longtian had crushed his opponent.
The young explorer had yet to summon his third pet and the audience would never get to see what skills that pet had.
At the staging area.
“Oh d.a.m.n!”
“Is that guy a monster?”
The ninety-eight people in Group A that were waiting for their turns had turned pale as they witnessed this crazy exhibit of power.
The most astonis.h.i.+ng thing was that Ye Longtian defeated his opponent all by himself without using any pets!
All the people of the Mu, Liu, and Qin families appeared to be worried. Only three or four of them could keep a calm face.
One of the several was Qin Shaotian. Instead of looking concerned, Qin Shaotian was actually wearing a smile.
Another person who still stayed composed was Liu Qingfeng. At the end of the match, he squinted for a second, and then everything returned to normal.
A thin-looking young man of the Mu family kept a straight face throughout the process.
“What…?”
Su Lingyue and those around her were all frozen on the spot.
That was impressive. Ye Longtian ended the match with a single punch. This should have been a battle with pets but he didn’t use any pets. He had won the match while relying on himself completely!
That was what a talent from a major family was like.
Luo Fengtian was still in shock. Ye Longtian’s violent action had left a deep impression on him. Up until then, for the most time, Luo Fengtian would have to rely on his pet, the Black Pit Dragon. Luo Fengtian believed that, alone, he wouldn’t even be able to defeat one of that young explorer’s pets, not to mention survive the two pets’ strikes.
A secret skill!
That was what the major families were proud
of!
Besides, Luo Fengtian noticed something else in the match. Ye Longtian’s method was a bit uncommon among battle pet warriors, but it was similar to what he had seen in another person before.
Thinking of that person, Luo Fengtian could not help but dart a look at Su Lingyue with complicated feelings.
“He’s too powerful. We’re not nearly good enough to compete with him!” Su Yanying cried out. Ye Longtian was a monster. No, he was even more horrifying!
Sitting next to her was Yu Weihan. She didn’t seem to agree with Su Yanying’s comment at first, but a moment later, she heaved a sigh. She was compet.i.tive; however, she knew that there were certain people that she could never catch up with.
“That will be… one of my opponents…” Su Lingyue mumbled to herself. She looked even paler. She felt she was much weaker than Ye Longtian in both her own abilities and her pets!
People cheered pa.s.sionately after Ye Longtian’s victory.
Ye Longtian’s match had ignited the flames of pa.s.sion in everyone. He came off the stage and the second match in Group A began. This time, the two parties were well-matched in strength and their battle did not end so quickly. They both used pets and their match continued for several rounds.
Although their match was not as shocking as Ye Longtian’s, the skills they used, and the carefully-arranged plans they conjured up during the battle were still a feast to the eyes. Many partic.i.p.ants that didn’t pa.s.s the previous trial felt their eyes had been opened, and they also picked up a few tricks.
More and more battles were fought and the audience’s cheers were never-ending.
Soon, everyone in Group A had finished their battles.
The ultimate winner in Group A was Ye Longtian!
Group A did have other partic.i.p.ants with great potential but they had all lost to Ye Longtian. In the following battles, Ye Longtian didn’t enjoy another easy win as the first; he eventually had to use one pet. He had to summon two pets when it came to the final match in Group A. Both of the two pets had ninth-rank bloodlines. Usually, they could be more than enough to serve as major pets. However, it seemed that those two pets were merely Ye Longtian’s secondary pets. It was all because of Ye Longtian’s bossy way of fighting. He crushed all of his opponents! First, he would rely on his own strength! Then, he would summon one pet if he couldn’t end the battle!
If one was not enough, he would summon another, but it would always be a crus.h.i.+ng victory for him!
The longest battle for him had lasted for three minutes!
Compared to others who would easily fight for more than ten minutes, Ye Longtian was marvelously quick! Everyone could tell that Ye Longtian had not exerted his full strength yet. After all the matches of Group A had been completed, everyone was chanting his name, believing he was even more likely to win the champions.h.i.+p.
It was then Group B’s turn.
Group B also had a promising partic.i.p.ant, Liu Qingfeng. The partic.i.p.ants took their turns and Liu Qingfeng’s match caught much attention as
well.
Of course, compared to Ye Longtian, Liu Qingfeng’s performance was much more mediocre. He summoned his pets from the beginning and would only defeat his opponents after several rounds. At the very beginning, the audience felt a bit bored.
Then, they realized something. Liu Qingfeng defeated one opponent after another and entered Group B’s finals. He had only used one pet with an eighth-rank bloodline and he had crushed all of his opponents! The finals of Group B came to an end. The result was within everyone’s expectations: Liu Qingfeng won the finals and made it to the Top
10!
The matches in Group C came next. Partic.i.p.ants in Group C were less stunning than those of the two previous groups. None of the partic.i.p.ants stood out in any way but they weren’t bad. The battles of Group C had lasted for the longest time. The ultimate winner of Group C was a student who had graduated from the Ares Academy a few years back.
It was said that this person was a reserve member of a certain S-level explorer’s team. All the members on an S-level team would be at least at the eighth-rank. To be a reserve member was proof of the strong abilities and talents of this man!
Su Lingyue watched all the matches quietly. The more she watched, the more silent she became. This had been an opportunity for her to see so many brilliant battle pet warriors. At the Phoenix Peak Academy, she was No.1 in her grade.
Here, she was one of the youngest partic.i.p.ants. But sometimes, she could not even understand the actions of those who were six or seven years older than her. She believed that she wouldn’t even be able to reach their level in another six or seven years.
The feeling that her peers excelled made her anxious. At first, she would find excuses, that they enjoyed having tons of allotted resources thanks to their big families and were in want of nothing. Later on, she thought of Su Ping. That guy had nothing, and yet he was as strong as a monster.
He was more powerful than the partic.i.p.ants she had seen there so far. Therefore, the excuse of having a lack of resources would not stand for long. Eventually, she decided that it was because she had not worked hard enough and she didn’t have enough talent. One would know better than anyone else if he or she were working hard enough. Su Lingyue remembered that sometimes, she would give herself some time off to relax. Maybe, others were still cultivating and training while she rested.
The more she thought of that, the more anxious she became. She wished she could make the best of every minute at the staging area to cultivate! She knew she couldn’t, though. Cultivating there would expose her strength. If someone were to disturb her on purpose, her cultivation could backfire.
Finally, she understood why Su Ping would hurry home as soon as her matches were over.
Going back home to cultivate was better than remaining to see the other matches. She would tell people that she was there, observing, gaining experience. But whether she was relaxing under the pretense of learning, she knew better than anyone.
At the moment, she regarded herself as one with a slightly above average talent. She had so much to work on before she could become an amazing battle pet warrior.
Such being the case, to catch up with that genius, she would have to be diligent!
As the games in Group C came to an end, it was Group D’s turn.
The partic.i.p.ants first drew their names.
Everyone turned their looks to the large screen and everyone seemed to be stressed out except for one, Qin Shaotian. He gazed at the Liu family’s seats with antic.i.p.ation. There, those of the Liu family were fixing their eyes on the screen. They were dying to find out who would be Liu Jianxin’s opponent.
At the same time, Su Lingyue and Yu Weihan were also staring at the screen. Both were in Group D. “Oh please don’t let it be them…” Yu Weihan whispered to herself. She was anxious to outdo others but she did not want to encounter those two freaks. She would have no chance to prove herself.
Having watched so many battles, the confidence that stemmed from the fact that she thought she was better than her peers had been crushed a bit.
That was what the matches were about.
This was a stage for the elites and a graveyard for the weak!
This was a place where people could grow up fast and be inspired! Su Lingyue never took her eyes off the screen. She didn’t utter a single word. Before that day, she might have prayed for a weaker opponent by this time. But her mindset had changed within a short time, just as she watched the matches of the previous three groups. Growing up always happened within an instant. When the mindset changed, a person would grow. Since her target was to win the champions.h.i.+p, she would eventually meet those opponents. It was just a matter of time. Worry would not do her any good. No amount of hiding or clever tricks could help her win. She needed none of that because her only leverage was the Moonfrost Dragon Su Ping had given her.
That was her ace card!
At the moment, the spinning names had come to a stop on the screen.
Five pairs had been decided. The second Yu Weihan saw the name of her opponent, she was both surprised and relieved. She felt lucky. Yu Weihan turned to Su Lingyue and smiled, “What a surprise. It’s us. I think we’re both lucky enough to not have to face those two guys.” Su Lingyue took her gaze off from the screen and said to Yu Weihan, “Good luck to you.”
“To you, as well. Don’t go easy on me,” Yu Weihan answered.
“I won’t. Likewise.”
Su Yanying felt happy for Su Lingyue since her opponent turned out to be Yu Weihan. Su Yanying was not sure how good Yu Weihan was because she didn’t go to the most recent academy exchange. Nevertheless, this was better than seeing Su Lingyue competing against the two freaks from the beginning.
Up until then, the ten partic.i.p.ants whom people thought were likely to win the champions.h.i.+p had not let anyone down. Su Yanying gave Su Lingyue a bit of a pep talk, “Best of luck to you. You can do it.” Su Lingyue nodded with a smile. Yu Weihan showed a cold grin upon hearing Su Yanying’s words.
Luo Fengtian noticed her grin. He frowned and whispered to Yu Weihan, “You’d better be careful. She… is not that easy to beat.” Yu Weihan turned around to face Luo Fengtian, surprised that such a proud person would be afraid of someone, a girl who was in her first year in the academy and was not from any major family.
Yu Weihan smiled and used her astral power to build up a sound-proof seal. “All she has is the dragon which has just reached adulthood at best. I, for one, am eager to find out how strong the dragon can be!”. Luo Fengtian’s frown continued but he said nothing else to her.
He knew that her words made sense. Yet, somehow, his mind was disturbed. Some unsettling images would flash past his mind now and then.
At the same time.
The Liu family.
A young Liu family member was visibly relaxed as he whispered, “Lucky you. You don’t have to fight him in the first battle.”
Liu Jianxin felt he could breathe as well.
He didn’t have to fight Qin Shaotian in his first battle.
Qin Shaotian’s opponent was someone he didn’t deem as threatening either. Liu Jianxin was glad that he didn’t have Qin Shaotian as his opponent. “It is a shame that you don’t have that girl with a wild talk as your opponent,” another Liu family member said. The others looked over and cast their sights on a girl in the distance. All of them were pulling long faces. “Don’t worry. She is in Group D and she’s out of luck. Either you or Qin Shaotian will teach her a good lesson.” Liu Qingfeng didn’t seem to worry. The others chuckled. That was what they thought.
Back to the Qin family
Qin Shaotian took his look of disappointment off from the screen. He had lost interest. The others of the Qin family, on the other hand, felt a burden had been lifted. They didn’t want their young master to take risks too early in the match, either. After all the results of the drawing lots had come out, the match in Group D was just beginning The order was also randomly selected among the five pairs.
Yu Weihan was surprised to see that she would be the first to compete in Group D. Su Lingyue saw the result as well. She stood up, keeping a straight face. Yu Weihan turned her gaze from the screen to Su Lingyue, only to see that girl had changed completely. The latter didn’t seem to be afraid or nervous at all. Su Lingyue’s calmness vexed Yu Weihan but she kept it to herself. “Let’s go.”
“Sure.”
The two girls went onto the stage at the same time.
The audience raised a burst of cheers as two pretty girls made an appearance. Su Lingyue’s face leaped into the audience’s view and they began to shout her name in joy. Yu Weihan looked awful after hearing everyone shouting Su Lingyue’s name. Yu Weihan knew about the guaranteed champions.h.i.+p matter but she merely regarded that as a publicity stunt. Same as everyone else, she had never taken the advertis.e.m.e.nt seriously. However, it seemed that everyone was cheering for Su Lingyue and the pa.s.sion had been ignited because of her. Yu Weihan was unhappy about this. The glistening seal opened up a path and the two girls went into the seal and onto the stage.
The seal was closed off at once. The chanting and cheering became even louder.
Su Lingyue and Yu Weihan stepped to the edges where a red line had been drawn, much like a goal line on a football field. Before the match officially began, the partic.i.p.ants couldn’t step over the line.
“Su Lingyue, don’t be softhearted. I will exert my full strength!” Yu Weihan cautioned Su Lingyue seriously and coldly.
Su Lingyue nodded as a reply. To not be softhearted?
Naturally She had to win. She wasn’t competing to lose! The judge announced the beginning of the match. Immediately, Su Lingyue summoned the Moonfrost Dragon.
The s.p.a.ce twisted and a gust of chilly wind was spread across. The Moonfrost Dragon came out!
Many partic.i.p.ants at the staging area were excited to see this dragon. The Moonfrost Dragon was one of the rarest and most cherished kind.
Yu Weihan had naturally predicted that Su Lingyue would use this dragon. With a grin, Yu Weihan made a pulling gesture in the air. Two swirls appeared and from them crawled out two pets. “Penetrating Wave!”
Su Lingyue gave the command.
She had done half of her job the moment she summoned the Moonfrost Dragon and the other half was issuing commands to the dragon.
Roar!!
The Moonfrost Dragon roared; the sound echoed in the entire venue!
The two battle pets that Yu Weihan had just summoned lost their sight due to the shock of the roar, before they were able to see their surroundings. The next second, an almost transparent light wave came into being in the Moonfrost Dragon’s mouth!
“No!!”
The judge who was standing in the air saw energy converging in the Moonfrost Dragon’s mouth. Frightened, the judge mobilized his astral powers and built up many astral s.h.i.+elds in front of Yu Weihan. Over a dozen s.h.i.+elds were overlapping; because of their sheer number, the transparency in the s.h.i.+elds had turned into a light blue.
Yu Weihan was still confused when the s.h.i.+elds emerged in front of her. The next second, she witnessed something she would never forget for the rest of her life. The more than a dozen s.h.i.+elds cracked open instantly! They broke up like gla.s.s mirrors!
That moment, she saw a beam of light.
She knew that her hair had been blown back.
Immediately afterward, a loud noise came into her ears, and Yu Weihan felt that the stage under her feet, as well as the entire seal and venue, were shaking violently!! That light wave didn’t hit Yu Weihan. Instead, the light wave flew past her and landed on the seal behind her. Yu Weihan felt she had just brushed against death.
She was frozen on the spot, with a dull look on her face.