Ripples After a Great Victory

In the spacious presidential suite, Fu Qiu, dressed in a burgundy dress, let out a soft hum and threw several newspapers in front of her into the trash can.

Sitting across from her, Fu Hong swirled his wine glass and asked, "How does it feel?"

Fu Qiu shook his head and said, "These second-rate local newspapers, when they see an Awakened with even a little potential, they want to praise them to the skies. The Crystal Destruction Mode is highly entertaining, but its fairness is generally poor. I looked at Jiang Yi's information; he does indeed counter Bai Xiaowen's profession. If it were the True Kill Mode, the outcome would likely be different."

"Bai Xiaowen is probably more than just 'somewhat promising.' Anyone with eyes can see that he's a rising star," Fu Hong said. "Through my connections at Jinghai University, I found the competition recordings, watched them carefully, and came to this conclusion."

"Speak your mind."

"Alright... my conclusion is that Bai Xiaowen was just testing the waters; he didn't use his full strength at all..." Fu Hong laughed. "If it were True Kill Mode, or a one-on-one duel in the ring, Jiang Yi would probably lose even more miserably."

"What makes you so sure?" Fu Qiu, somewhat indignant.

Fu Hong said seriously, "Because Bai Xiaowen can precisely control his summoned creatures, and he can multitask, each summoned creature is like a clone of him, which is terrifying. I even think that his tactical position has risen to the level of a main tank... no, it has to surpass a main tank!"

"That's impossible," Fu Qiu said.

"Why is it impossible?" Fu Hong shook his head and said, "Sister, you've overhyped the role of the main tank (MT). In my opinion, anything an MT can do, Bai Xiaowen can do as well. And Bai Xiaowen's damage output is something no MT can match... Bai Xiaowen, who can coordinate multiple summoned creatures so precisely, is a complete freak!"

Every profession has its weaknesses.

Damage dealers are too fragile, support classes lack offensive capabilities, and tanks' damage output remains a major weakness...

Summoner classes are supposed to be versatile, but they struggle to coordinate with teammates, making them unpopular in leagues. They can be described as jacks-of-all-trades, master-of-nothings.

However, this weakness is compensated when a summoner can achieve precise control over summoned creatures. Bai Xiaowen, as Hero Class Spirit Channeling, possesses powerful exclusive equipment like the Black Soul Stone, as well as a Leader Tier summoned creature like the Wrathful Rageclaw, which combines output, control, and support skills. He can be said to be proficient in everything!

It offers more comprehensive protection for teammates than a main tank (MT), covering multiple areas of the battlefield;

Its output is even more Brutality than DPS, and it has numerous summoned creatures;

There are more crowd control skills than support skills, and their priority is surprisingly high...

Fu Qiu was silent for a moment, then shook his head and said, "No matter what you say, I still stand by my opinion. Bai Xiaowen hasn't encountered a truly formidable opponent yet, which is why he seems so outstanding. Putting everything else aside, just in the MT (Main Tank) field, I don't believe you can say that Bai Xiaowen's summoned creatures are stronger than Ling Feng's."

Fu Hong shrugged and said, "Yes, yes, brother-in-law is indeed very powerful... invincible, okay? But think about it, if Bai Xiaowen joined us and teamed up with Ling Feng, a powerful alliance... our ranking in the Class-A League should be higher, right?"

This made Fu Qiu somewhat tempted. After thinking for a moment, he said, "What do you plan to do? The Super God Guild will never release him, especially considering the connection with Li Beihai's daughter."

Fu Hong: "How is Yuting any less capable than Li Beihai's daughter? She's now the team leader of Jinghai University Team, which gives her a significant advantage. She definitely has plenty of opportunities to interact with Bai Xiaowen..."

Jiangnan University, training base for the University Team.

A group of people suddenly appeared at the entrance of the Psionic Training Ground, most of them drenched in sweat.

"Alright, that's all for today's training. Dismissed!" Captain Qi Ruifeng clapped his hands; he was the Yi-Yi seemed relatively relaxed.

The group of University Team members dispersed.

"Ye Xing, wait a moment." Qi Ruifeng called out to a somewhat dark-skinned and thin young man.

The dark-skinned, thin boy Ye Xing, turned his head. "What's the matter, Captain?"

"It's nothing, just wanted to praise you. Also, don't put too much pressure on yourself," Qi Ruifeng said with a smile. "I've seen all your hard work. Among the freshmen, you're the Yi-Yi to join the University Team, and you've improved the fastest. You're almost at level 5, right?"

Ye Xing nodded, his eyes filled with admiration as he looked at Qi Ruifeng: "Yes, less than 10% away from filling the combat experience bar."

"That's fast, much faster than me leveling up," Qi Ruifeng praised. "It seems you have a good chance of breaking through level 7 and becoming Advanced Awakened during your university years."

"The captain should be close to level 7, and Hero Class naturally require more combat experience to level up than Elite Class..."

Qi Ruifeng sighed, "No, I'm still far from it. The combat experience bar for leveling from 6 to 7 is a bottomless pit... I'm afraid it will be difficult for me to reach level 7 before I graduate."

Qi Ruifeng looked at Ye Xing and said earnestly, "I have high hopes for you. After I graduate... the glory of Jiangnan University's sports team may be inherited by you."

"Huh?" Ye Xing was startled. "I can't do it, I'm just Elite Tier..."

"So what if it's Elite Class? A level 7 or 8 Elite Class isn't necessarily worse than a level 5 or 6 Hero Class," Qi Ruifeng laughed. "I have confidence in you, but you don't have confidence in yourself?"

"No... Captain, don't worry, I will definitely work harder and buy up the Spirit Realm Ticket as soon as I get back." Ye Xing was a little excited.

"Don't put too much pressure on yourself. You've already worked very hard," Qi Ruifeng said. "Exploring the Spirit Realm involves high-intensity combat, and you need plenty of rest after each return. A balance between work and rest is essential. Aren't there countless examples of people getting into trouble in the Spirit Realm if they're constantly on edge? After each trip back from the Spirit Realm, you should rest for at least one to two months. Using this time to hone your combat skills and Battle Specialty is a good option."

"The captain is right." Ye Xing bowed his head respectfully.

Let's go grab a bite to eat.

Qi Ruifeng led Ye Xing toward the rest hall.

Before they even entered, the two heard a murmur of women talking; it was the cheerleading squad from Jiangnan University.

"Let me see my husband..."

"Oh my, this little girl's in heat... What's so great about Bai Xiaowen?"

"My husband is handsome and capable, so what's wrong with liking him? Sigh, what were those people in the admissions office doing? They actually let my husband go to Jinghai University... If only he were at Jiangnan University, I could have had a relationship with a younger man..."

"After all, he's the Top Scholar scorer. More than a dozen prestigious universities are vying for him; it's normal that they couldn't get him. Bai Xiaowen chose Jinghai University, probably because it's close to home. Besides, didn't our school admit the second-highest scorer?"

"You mean Ye Xing? He's kind of handsome, but he's nowhere near as good-looking as my husband, and his skills are incomparable..."

Ye Xing's face darkened slightly. He glanced at Qi Ruifeng and noticed that Qi Ruifeng's expression wasn't much better either.

Qi Ruifeng pushed open the door and entered the lounge:

"Don't you all have anything to do?"

"Ah... Hello, Captain."

Several cheerleading girls from Jiangnan University were startled and greeted Qi Ruifeng with smiles.

One of the girls laughed and said, "Captain, we're not just playing around, we're helping the University Team gather intelligence. Look, this is Jinghai University's battle report, they defeated Jinling University by a large margin... and there are also some exciting replay videos."

Qi Ruifeng took the phone, opened the video to replay, and Ye Xing silently joined in to watch.

I watched a few short videos quickly.

Ye Xing's already dark expression became even more solemn, like a clay judge in a temple.

In the video, Jiang Yi's encounter with being ambushed and Skeleton Soldier... evoked Ye Xing's past memories.

There's a saying... On that day, humanity finally remembered the fear of being dominated by giants, the humiliation of being imprisoned in a birdcage...

Seeing Ye Xing's expression, the cheerleaders felt inexplicably uneasy, as they had just been discussing this "second-place finisher."

Generally speaking, the gap between the Top Scholar and the runner-up in previous years is not very large, and sometimes the runner-up is even stronger than the Top Scholar. But this year is obviously different. Under the halo of Bai Xiaowen, the strongest Top Scholar, Ye Xing can basically be considered the most frustrated and least noticeable runner-up in history.

One of the girls tried to ease the tension, smiling and saying, "Captain, Bai Xiaowen is so strong, can our University Team beat him?"

Qi Ruifeng shook his head, handed the phone back to the other party, and smiled calmly, "These news media outlets are really something else. It's just a qualifying match, and it's even an entertainment event, yet they've blown it out of proportion."

Ye Xing quickly chimed in, "Yes, if Bai Xiaowen were to face the captain, she would definitely know what the difference in skill level means."

"The qualifying schedule shows that we'll face Jinghai University in the final match," Qi Ruifeng said to the cheerleading girl who had just asked the question. "You'll see how ridiculous your question was when the time comes."

Jinghai University, President's Office.

"Grandpa, have you watched the recording of this competition? What did you think?" Yan Xiaoxin asked with a grin.

Jinghai University President Yan Boyuan waved his hand and said, "I had limited time... so I only skimmed through a few sections, but it was indeed quite good. Your initial proposal was correct."

Yan Xiaoxin laughed, "It's more than just good! The admissions officers at Yanda University, Tsinghua, Jiangnan University... they're probably kicking themselves. But it's no use, Bai Xiaowen is already one of us."

"Alright, stop talking about 'our people,' it sounds like you're dealing with the mafia..." Yan Boyuan waved his hand, "How did you feel about this CUAA league?"

"Qualifying is definitely not a problem," Yan Xiaoxin said. "However, achieving a breakthrough in performance will also depend on some luck. Although Bai Xiaowen is very strong, he has only just reached level 4. His skill level, Battle Specialty level, and equipment accumulation are all at a disadvantage. Compared with veteran Hero Class students like Qi Ruifeng and Ouyang Heng, there should be a considerable gap between them."

After a pause, Yan Xiaoxin continued, "But Grandpa, you don't need to worry. Bai Xiaowen is only a freshman. He'll really start to shine next year. When Qi Ruifeng and the other 'Golden Generation of '93' graduate, the CUAA arena will definitely belong to Bai Xiaowen."

Spirit Origin Era was the year that Qi Ruifeng and a group of others entered university. Because many Hero Class emerged from the class of '93, they were also known as the "Golden Generation of '93".

Yan Boyuan nodded. "That's good. Putting you in this position puts pressure on me too. Our Jinghai University's overall level is good enough to be among the top five in the country, but in recent years, our CUAA league results have consistently been outside the top 30, which is quite unacceptable. If we can't make a breakthrough, people will gossip."

"Don't worry, Grandpa... By the way, should we give the University Team members some rewards for this qualifying round?" Yan Xiaoxin said. "I'm thinking of setting up a milestone reward, such as 1,000 Honor Points for qualifying, 2,000 points for reaching the top 16, 5,000 points for the top 8, and 10,000 points for the top 4... What do you think?"

"Yes, that's fine. But be careful not to use a one-size-fits-all approach when distributing Honor Points, or engage in egalitarianism, and definitely don't let unfair distribution cause internal conflicts. You'll have to figure out the right balance yourself," Yan Boyuan said.

After winning the first qualifying match, Bai Xiaowen found herself becoming a star at school...

Walking along the cement road, the sports field, the artificial lake... wherever he went, he attracted the attention of the surrounding students. Some even pointed and whispered, and the conversations were mostly about things like, "That's the University Team captain," or "He's so handsome."

Bai Xiaowen's daily life now includes an additional task: cleaning up the gift boxes piled up in front of Taoran Residence, such as chocolates, love letters, and hand-knitted scarves. Almost every gift contains a carefully taken selfie of the sender, with handwritten contact information on the back.

The vast majority of the photos are of girls, and they're all quite beautiful, which shows just how abundant the pool of attractive women is at Jinghai University. Of course, it's uncertain how much post-production editing these photos have undergone.

Bai Xiaowen's approach was to accept the gift but discard the photo.

As for why he didn't throw the gifts away... Bai Xiaowen was, after all, a poor child who was used to hardship. Although he was now rich and had no worries about food and clothing, he was still not used to throwing so many beautifully packaged chocolates, candies, beef jerky, pork jerky... into the trash can.

Watching Bai Xiaowen dump stacks of photos, Chen Guowei cried out in protest against the injustice, wishing he could snatch two stacks from Bai Xiaowen's hands. However, with the University Team's midterm exams approaching, like a sword hanging over his head, Chen Guowei ultimately dared not act rashly.

With Bai Xiaowen, a loyal friend, watching over him, Chen Guowei's training has yielded significant results. Two of his combat skills have already reached LV4, and his Battle Specialty have also improved noticeably. Chen Guowei is planning to go to the Wilderness Zone to accumulate his combat experience bar, and once it's full, he will go to the Spirit Realm to level up.

Spirit Realm Ticket aren't easy to obtain, mainly because the time limit is too tight; they expire if not used within that time.

Fortunately, the Virtual Battle Platform has Virtual Hall where many awakened players exchange items and negotiate prices. The Virtual Battle Platform then notarizes the transaction, which is how Li Beihai acquired the Spirit Realm Ticket.

For college student awakeners, another option is to challenge the school's Trial Space and obtain tickets from the treasure chest at the end of the level. This method is more reliable for Chen Guowei.

The number of times you can enter the Trial Space needs to be exchanged for "Honor Points". Bai Xiaowen and Chen Guowei currently only have 0 Honor Points. However, the good news is that Yan Xiaoxin has mentioned that as long as the University Team advances, there will be Honor Points rewards.