Nemesis of Mental Specialists (2-in-1)

Without a guaranteed success rate, upgrading equipment to +6 is just a waste of money.

After burning through nearly 80,000 Psionic Points, both pieces of equipment were upgraded to +6. The Venomfang Priest's Robe only needed to be upgraded to +6, so Bai Xiaowen didn't plan to upgrade it any further and simply put it back on the Butcher.

Li Shuyi admired the +6 effect of the robe.

First, there's the universal enhancement effect on the upper body armor; Fatty gains an 18% damage reduction.

Originally, melee enemies already dealt 30% less damage to Fatty due to the Rotting Toxin effect; now, there's an additional 18% reduction. Crucially, there's no mention of these two reductions not stacking! This is terrifying, meaning Fatty now has nearly 50% permanent damage reduction against melee enemies...

How should I put it? It's like a warrior in World of Warcraft with an infinite Shield Wall —super durable, so tanky that the opponent wants to cry.

The special effect of upgrading the robe to LV4 is "Rune Skin," a passive effect that reduces magic damage taken by 15%.

"If the Butcher encounters Qi Ruifeng again, he'll torture him so badly he won't even recognize his own mother," Bai Xiaowen explained with a smile.

Li Shuyi pursed her lips. "I think, Xiao Wen, with your current strength, comparing yourself to other Awakened Ones of the same level is a bit unfair..."

Bai Xiaowen chuckled, opened the Four-Star Equipment Enhancement Card, used several Superior Psionic Crystal, and finally successfully upgraded the scepter to +7.

The +7 Venomfang Priest Staff grants a 70% attack power increase, reaching 17-68. Even without skills or enhancement effects, it's a terrifying weapon. The LV4 and LV7 enhancement effects are simply the icing on the cake.

LV4 Special Effect: Shatter, Passive. Attacks have a small chance to trigger the Shatter effect, causing the target to be crippled.

LV7 Special Effect: Savage Strike: After a brief charge, swing the scepter, dealing 150% physical damage to the target. The target must pass a Constitution check, otherwise the Shattering effect will be applied.

The Butcher put the three-piece set back on, and after the enhancement, the set's green glow was even more dazzling, like a piece of green jade, truly giving off a sense of majesty... provided that one's attention wasn't focused on the crown.

Bai Xiaowen concealed the Butcher's equipment's gleam. If other Awakened Ones saw a summoned creature wearing a +6 or +7 enhanced set, who knows what kind of commotion would ensue?

"I've discovered a problem..."

Bai Xiaowen shook his head and sighed, "I still need to hone my skills with Polearm Weapons..."

Li Shuyi chuckled. For summoned creatures to unleash their full potential, it is inseparable from the summoner's own Battle Specialty, especially Bai Xiaowen's Spirit Channeling profession, whose strength lies in precise control.

While the Butcher has developed self-awareness, this awareness is still very immature, like a blank sheet of paper, making it impossible for him to fight independently.

"I can teach you," Li Shuyi said with a hint of playfulness on her pretty face, "First, call me teacher..."

"Sen, Sen C..." Bai Xiaowen's face revealed an evil smile, and the image of a female teacher instructing students flashed through his mind...

Li Shuyi blushed. "You're thinking impure thoughts again!"

"Hey, how did you know?" Bai Xiaowen fell into deep thought. "Have you watched those kinds of action movies too...?"

"Nonsense, I've never seen that kind of film..."

After joking around for a while, the two chose to leave the settlement screen.

"Old Bai, you're finally back!"

At the training base, Chen Guowei rushed over and hugged Bai Xiaowen's leg, practically sobbing, "You have no idea how I've been these past few days while you were gone..."

"What's wrong? Did Xiang Hui give you a Xiang Hui lecture again?" Bai Xiaowen patted Chen Guowei on the shoulder. "Isn't this good...?"

"Xiang Hui's gone mad! He keeps dragging me into sparring, killing me a dozen times a day on average!" Chen Guowei's voice was filled with resentment. "Old Bai, it's all your fault for that freakish record you left on the second level of the Trial Space. Xiang Hui's definitely been traumatized..."

"Uh..." Bai Xiaowen did indeed leave a new record when he was buying the tickets.

"Where's Chen Guowei? The semi-finals are in three days, don't slack off." Xiang Hui walked over and nodded to Bai Xiaowen.

"You're a starter, I'm a substitute, I don't need to play!"

"Isn't it an obligation for substitutes to assist the starters in training?"

Xiang Hui ignored Chen Guowei's protests, cut him off, and dragged him away.

"Emmmm..."

Bai Xiaowen glanced at Xiang Hui and Chen Guowei's retreating figures, pondered for a moment, and commented. "These two buddies seem to be getting along better and better."

Yan Jun, Ding Cheng, and passersby A, B, and C: "..."

Bai Xiaowen looked at Han Xu beside her. "While we were gone for a few days, the draw results should be out by now, right? Who is our team's next opponent?"

Before Han Xu could speak, Yan Xiaoxin's voice rang out from not far away. "It's Tsinghua University."

Hello Teacher Yan.

"Teacher Yan arrived so early today."

A group of students greeted Yan Xiaoxin.

Adjusting her glasses, Yan Xiaoxin said, "Now that the captain is back, let's have a quick meeting... Xiang Hui, wait a minute, we'll go to training after the meeting."

Xiang Hui agreed, and Chen Guowei breathed a long sigh of relief.

"Is it confirmed to be Tsinghua University?" Bai Xiaowen asked, following up on Yan Xiaoxin's earlier question.

Yan Xiaoxin nodded and hummed in agreement. "It's really bad luck that we're facing Tsinghua University in the semifinals. Tsinghua University was last year's runner-up, so they're definitely stronger than Yunnan University. If we had drawn Yunnan University, our chances of making it to the finals would have been much better."

"Yeah, yeah." Four echoed from the substitutes.

Although Yan Jun, Ding Cheng, and others did not make it into the main team, as substitutes, they earned Honor Points for every step the University Team took in terms of ranking. Naturally, they hoped the University Team would achieve an even better ranking.

Bai Xiaowen shook her head. "Don't be too pessimistic... Just lie down and relax."

"No problem, winning by doing nothing is our specialty!" (4 echoes)

Chen Guowei glanced disdainfully at the other four substitutes. "Do you think substitutes can just lie around and win? Substitutes have a very important task! Substitutes not only have to lie down gracefully, but they also have to learn to shout '666' (a Chinese internet slang for 'awesome'), learn to praise the main players, especially the captain, and be innovative and original..."

With a swift motion, four middle fingers were raised and pointed at Chen Guowei.

Yan Xiaoxin glanced at Bai Xiaowen: "You and Li Shuyi have both reached level 6... Did you make a great discovery in the Spirit Realm?"

"That's a secret..." Bai Xiaowen waved his hand and laughed, "But dealing with Tsinghua University is more than enough."

"Pretty confident... Hmm, that's a good thing. Then I'll just do my job and let them win without lifting a finger... Everyone take a look at the information on Tsinghua University University's main team so you have a good understanding." Yan Xiaoxin took out a USB drive.

"Tsinghua University has a Hero Class, namely Captain Lin Haoyang,"

Yan Xiaoxin skipped to Lin Haoyang's page on the slideshow playing on the large screen in the lounge. "Don't underestimate him. Many people have speculated that Lin Haoyang must have exclusive equipment for the Hero Class, but he's a low-key person and has never confirmed it."

"This... the nickname is ' the Nemesis of Mental Specialists '?"

Bai Xiaowen narrowed her eyes when she saw the introduction of Lin Haoyang on the slides. As Mental Specialist, she was naturally very sensitive to such nicknames.

"We only have some information on Lin Haoyang from last year's competition. His class is called the Silence Mage, which has the ability to Tsinghua University and seal. However, he will definitely be stronger this year. Moreover, Tsinghua University's opponents are different from those in the past. It's not just one person who is strong. In addition to Lin Haoyang, his girlfriend, who is also the marksman on Tsinghua University University's University Team, also needs to be watched."

On the slide, the figure of a girl wearing a monocle reappeared.

"This girl's name is Fang Ziyi, a professional Frost Archer. Not only does she have formidable damage output, comparable to Hero Class, but she also possesses a constant slowing effect, making her extremely difficult to deal with in both one-on-one duels and team battles..."

"The other three players shouldn't be underestimated either. To paraphrase a CUAA league commentator, they could be competent role players even in top Professional League teams..."

While the Tsinghua University match video was playing, Yan Xiaoxin provided commentary, giving the University Team members a clearer understanding of the abilities of the five Tsinghua University Team.

The video ended quickly.

"Captain, could you please give your opinion?" Yan Xiaoxin asked Bai Xiaowen.

All eyes turned to him. To be honest, seeing a Hero Class with the ability Silence Mage silence was a bit worrying. If Lin Haoyang really countered Bai Xiaowen, then this semi-final match would be in serious trouble.

Bai Xiaowen recalled, "I saw something in the video. Lin Haoyang's silence is a passive skill. We don't know its priority yet... Also, it seems to target skills that require casting time, right? So instant-cast skills can still be used."

Skills that require casting time, such as a warrior's charged heavy attack, have a charging animation, which can be considered as casting time. Bai Xiaowen's skill Talisman Switching also requires casting time—although the casting time is very short.

The aforementioned skills cannot be used when the user is in a state of imbalance or silence.

Instant-cast skills are different. For example, Bai Xiaowen's Intimidation is an area-of-effect control skill that takes effect immediately without any casting animation or time.

"One more thing, his Silence can be seen as a sealing skill, but what exactly is the scope of this? Combat skills, equipment-added skills, and items are three different scopes."

Xiang Hui said, "It should be a combat skill. If even equipment-added skills can be sealed, that's too overpowered. I can't think of anyone of the same level who could defeat him. In fact, Tsinghua University, led by Lin Haoyang, is only in second place."

"Yeah, that's about what I thought. I also thought it was unlikely to seal the equipment's additional skills. Based on his performance in last year's competition videos, the limit of Lin Haoyang's silence effect is sealing non-instantaneous combat skills."

Bai Xiaowen said, "Professional skills only evolve at levels 4 and 7. If Lin Haoyang hasn't reached level 7, then his Silence effect won't see any significant improvement. In that case, my summoned creatures won't be affected."

"So that means we can win?" Yan Xiaoxin asked.

"Well, basically... there's no problem. We can continue training as usual." Bai Xiaowen nodded.

"That's good."

Yan Xiaoxin smiled and said, "If we can make it to the finals, the school's reputation will be greatly enhanced, and I will ask the principal for recognition on everyone's behalf."

The team members all looked excited.

Bai Xiaowen smiled but didn't say anything. Actually, he felt that celebrating after winning the championship was better than celebrating prematurely. Celebrating beforehand might demoralize the team. However, the semifinals hadn't started yet, so there was no need to dampen their spirits. He could take advantage of this excitement to boost morale.

"Oh, right, there's one more important thing," Yan Xiaoxin said. "The semi-finals and finals are crucial for determining the champion, runner-up, and third-place winners. With rewards recognized by the Spirit Realm Rules, all four teams will be going all out. Don't hoard any powerful items you have; use them during the competition... Of course, you must first report to the officials and provide them with information about the Spirit Realm Rules for obtaining loot."

The CUAA League does not prohibit high-powered items, but the items must be obtained by the students themselves, whether through loot draws, merit point exchanges, or mission rewards.

One more thing to add: as long as the props have been registered, there is no problem with them being traded and circulated among the students.

So-called high-powered items are usually trump cards, either dealing extremely high damage, summoning a squad of Elite Tier, or providing a powerful group buff... In short, they are precious items that can turn the tide of battle and secure victory.

In the earlier elimination rounds, everyone was reluctant to use powerful items.

The reason is simple: high-powered items are extremely scarce. A team's five main members are lucky to have one or two of them.

Using it in the knockout stage will at most advance the team by one round. If the team's strength is insufficient, it still won't be able to reach the top three, and therefore won't receive the rewards that the Spirit Realm Rules to the top three, making it meaningless.

The school also discourages students from using powerful items during the elimination rounds.

The knockout stage doesn't get much attention; the real highlight is the national broadcasts after the semifinals, which greatly help promote the school's reputation. Advancing one more round in the knockout stage doesn't really make much difference.

Even with the help of powerful items and by using up their potential to advance to the semifinals, they still couldn't avoid being utterly crushed in the final four...

"I have a C-Tier Silver Tier item, but I'm a substitute and might not get to play. Do I need to report it?" Chen Guowei raised his hand.

"Of course we need to report it, just in case," Yan Xiaoxin said with a smile. "Don't worry, everyone. The principal has already said that after the semi-finals, everyone will receive compensation from the school's Psionic Points for any items used in the competition, ensuring that no one suffers a loss."

This is actually a common practice among many universities and is not considered a violation of regulations—the official only considers whether the items used by the students were obtained through their own efforts, and the post-match compensation of Psionic Points is not within the scope of supervision.

Everyone submitted the props they might use, along with corresponding hints about the Spirit Realm Rules, to Yan Xiaoxin.

Bai Xiaowen rummaged through his Storage Space, first submitting information about the S-Tier item Sandstorm Scroll, and then reporting items such as "Gladiator's Elixir," "Scale of Sanctuary," and "Smoke Bomb" for Li Shuyi. Regardless of whether they would be used or not, reporting them was necessary just in case.