Beijing, Semifinals (2-in-1)

Bai Xiaowen shook his head and refused. He was joking; attending the Alchemist Conference was just a side event for him, the CUAA league was the main thing, how could he possibly reverse his priorities?

"The masterclasses held the week before the competition are a rare opportunity that can help you make significant progress in the field of Alchemist..."

"If you achieve excellent results at the Alchemist Conference, your status in the Alchemist community will rise significantly, and the benefits will be much greater than those in the CUAA league..."

"If you don't attend the lectures, there's no guarantee that people won't gossip... If you don't get a good ranking at the Alchemist Conference, it will probably cause a lot of discussion, which will be very detrimental to you..."

Director Zang made full use of his eloquence in an attempt to persuade Bai Xiaowen.

However, Bai Xiaowen remained resolute. "Director Zang, if I really have to make a choice, I would rather give up my qualification to participate in the Alchemist Conference... The CUAA League may not be of a high standard, but reaching the semi-finals was not only due to my efforts, but also to the hard work of my teammates. I cannot let down the trust of the school and my teammates."

"Well... alright! I'll report your situation to my superiors." Director Zang sighed and left.

"I originally thought the times wouldn't conflict, but I didn't expect there to be a pre-competition training camp. It seems the organizers are taking this Alchemist Conference quite seriously. Will you be disqualified if you don't participate in the training camp?" Li Shuyi asked.

Bai Xiaowen hummed in agreement. "I don't have time for the training camp, and it doesn't mean anything to me anyway. If I'm disqualified, so be it. Whatever."

However, the next day, Bai Xiaowen received a call from Zang Hua, saying that the authorities had agreed to his request not to participate in the training camp and that his eligibility to compete would be retained.

Without needing to make a choice, Bai Xiaowen naturally had no objections. After two days of brief training with her University Team, the entire University Team took a teleportation array and arrived in the Beijing on the morning of the competition day.

The natural environment of the Beijing in the Psychic Energy Era is much better than that in the Common Era. Perhaps it is due to the penetration of Psionic Particles and the accelerated growth of plants, and the sandstorms that used to occur frequently have become rare.

Tsinghua University claims to have a history of over two hundred years. However, in reality, when the Psychic Energy Era was just beginning, mutated species and Spirit Realm creatures invaded and almost destroyed all cities. All universities today are rebuilt, so in terms of history, they are all about the same.

However, Tsinghua University and Yanda University are located in the Beijing, and their educational conditions are superior to those in other base cities. Therefore, their progress in other disciplines, except for the Awakened Combat Department, is better than that of other universities.

As for determining the strength of the Combat Department for Awakened, it's not that simple. Because the Combat Department mainly depends on the Awakened students themselves, the resources provided by the school are only Trial Space and opportunities to explore treasure lands, etc. The Battle Specialty instructors can't actually teach much. To say that the Combat Department of Tsinghua University and Yanda University are definitely stronger than those of other schools is not fair.

Take the CUAA league as an example. New talents always emerge in every generation. For instance, if a university produces an outstanding Hero Class player, the university's national ranking will remain high for several years. However, if no successor takes over after the Hero Class player graduates, the university may face a continuous decline in rankings for several years.

Because Tsinghua University and Yanda University are located in the Beijing, they have a strong pool of students from the various families that rose to prominence in the early days of the Combat Department Psychic Energy Era.

The Elite Class students are exceptionally skilled, and with one or two Hero Class team leaders, their results are sure to be excellent. Therefore, Great Yan University are long-established powerhouses in the CUAA league, a fact no one can deny.

Especially last year, Tsinghua University had Lin Haoyang and Yanda University Ouyang Heng, whose abilities were already outstanding. Coupled with a group of teammates whose average level was a cut above the rest, it was no wonder that they swept the championship and runner-up titles in the CUAA league.

This year's situation is similar. Lin Haoyang and Ouyang Heng are both seniors, which is when they are at their strongest before graduation. Both universities have made it into the top four, and many media outlets are predicting that these two universities will continue to take the top two spots. The only suspense is whether Ouyang Heng can defend his title.

Of course, some media outlets are also singing a different tune. Some people are optimistic about Jinghai University, the dark horse of this year's competition, and Jinghai University's undefeated record in the previous rounds of the knockout stage is indeed astonishing. Those who put forward this view are basically local media from Jinghai Base City.

Because it was broadcast nationwide, many netizens were also paying attention to the match, especially supporters of the Spirit Channeling Prince and the Silent Philosopher. In the player comment section of the Virtual Battle Platform, prediction posts and posts that incite conflict sprang up like mushrooms after rain.

"Lin Haoyang, today your Tsinghua University Team will face Jinghai University, the strongest dark horse in this competition. Do you have confidence?"

"I noticed that you and Bai Xiaowen, the captain of Jinghai University, are both new characters introduced to the battle platform this year. Bai Xiaowen's Spirit Channeling Prince is even ranked higher than yours. What are your thoughts on this?"

"Lin Haoyang, I'd like to ask about your plans after graduation. There hasn't been any news yet about which guild you've signed a new contract with..."

Lin Haoyang was a tall, slender man with fair skin. Faced with the barrage of cameras and microphones, he simply smiled and said, "Sorry, no comment... Please make way, the match is about to begin."

The media personnel who surrounded Lin Haoyang were thwarted; Lin Haoyang was indeed as rumored—he didn't like to talk.

Of course, many media outlets also surrounded Bai Xiaowen and his group, hoping to dig up some sensational news. However, Bai Xiaowen's consistent principle was that he would not offend others unless they offended him. Since the other party had not provoked him, there was no need for him to arrogantly jump out and make any declaration of victory, which would be too shallow.

This gave reporters a real headache. In the age of psionic energy in China, everyone, including media professionals, must be responsible for their words. They cannot write whatever they want without solid information. Yu Yiguang even interviewed the entire Anhui University team to fabricate stories about Bai Xiaowen.

The highly anticipated semi-finals kicked off in a Tranquility and relaxed atmosphere.

When the two team captains stepped to the front of the stage and looked each other over, Lin Haoyang's eyes narrowed slightly, a hint of surprise flashing in them.

"You... you've reached level 6?"

"Hmm." Psychic energy fluctuations don't lie, especially for awakened individuals with a strong Mental Specialty. Although Bai Xiaowen possesses an item that can disguise his level and strength, there's no need...

Lin Haoyang's surprise faded, but his heart was in turmoil. In just the second semester of his freshman year, Bai Xiaowen had already reached level 6, and was even Hero Class! Many awakened individuals couldn't even achieve that in their junior year.

After nodding slightly, Lin Haoyang didn't say anything more.

After the guessing game, during the banning phase, Lin Haoyang disabled the Boss Challenge Mode.

"Looks like your silence isn't very effective against the BOSS?" Bai Xiaowen chuckled.

Lin Haoyang's decision to disable the Boss Challenge Mode was indeed somewhat unexpected. According to Bai Xiaowen's plan, if Lin Haoyang drew the Boss Challenge Mode, he only needed to choose a boss with Mental Specialty to be invincible—what could a Mental Specialty boss do if it couldn't use its skills?

Lin Haoyang remained silent; the name "Silent Philosopher" was truly fitting.

Bai Xiaowen shook his head and stopped talking. After banning the SOLO Mode Conquest Mode, he officially entered the draw mode.

Finally, the game mode on the big screen was set to the current state.

"Whoosh--"

A murmur of surprise rippled through the Tsinghua University in the audience.

The big screen prominently displayed... Individual Tournament, King of the Hill Mode!

Online comment section.

"The first match was already this exciting!"

"That's good. It would be best if both captains went first, so we can see who is stronger."

"That makes sense. It all depends on how Jinghai University chooses to go first. Will Bai Xiaowen take on five opponents at once?"

Under everyone's gaze, Bai Xiaowen calmly announced the first player to appear... Feng Zi'ang.

Feng Zi'ang honestly fulfilled his mission as cannon fodder. His task was not to eliminate the first enemy, but to help his team seize the initiative and deplete the first enemy's Divine Might and skill cooldown as much as possible.

Lin Haoyang seemed to have been prepared for this model, and without much thought, he directly stated:

"Our first challenger is... Fang Ziyi."

Fang Ziyi, tall and slender, carrying a large bow on her back, nimbly stepped off the stage and disappeared into the aisle.

On the big screen, a scene of Fang Ziyi and Feng Zi'ang facing off quickly appeared, and the first round of the battle began!

The away team's rest area.

"They're really going all out; they sent out their number 2 right away," Xiang Hui said.

Bai Xiaowen said softly, "This Fang Ziyi... is not simple. I just looked at her information, you should all take a look." After saying that, he shared the information with the others.

[Fang Ziyi (Elite Tier Level 7)]

[Race: Human Species / Human Race]

[Class: Frost Archer]

[Attributes: Strength 31, Agility 51, Constitution 26, Spirit 22]

[Skill 1: Frost Shot (Class Skill): Passive. Ranged physical attacks or skills will inflict Chill Effect, reducing the target's movement speed by 8%. The Chill Effect can stack up to 5 times.]

[Skill 2: Deadly Arrow Rain: Launches a barrage of arrows, dealing multiple instances of physical damage to all enemies in a medium-sized area.]

[Skill 3: Soulwalk: Enter spirit form, becoming untargetable by enemies and ignoring all obstacles and unit collisions for 3 seconds.]

[Skill 4: Rapid Shot: Passive, your ranged attack speed is increased by 15%. Activating Rapid Shot will double any ranged attack speed bonus you gain through any means, lasting 7 seconds.]

"This... I feel like it's almost at the level of Hero Class," Li Shuyi said, frowning.

"This shows she has a good set of equipment,"

Bai Xiaowen said, "However, attributes aren't the main point... The main point is her skills. They're well-matched and perfectly complement her passive ability. She has AOE, burst damage, and invincibility... Don't forget, the attribute data I've seen only covers the basic skills; it doesn't include the special effects after the skills are upgraded to higher levels!"

"If she has a few more Top-grade Gold Equipment, and one or two skills that increase damage or control, she'll be even harder to deal with."

As expected of Tsinghua University's No. 2 vice president, his strength is truly formidable.

On the big screen, Feng Zi'ang cast a shield on himself and then began casting Smite, unleashing a beam of holy light energy.

Fang Ziyi easily dodged the arrows by maneuvering around the pillars, then drew her bow repeatedly, firing a series of arrows imbued with the scent of frost.

Arrows fired with high agility travel very fast. Feng Zi'ang's agility wasn't high either; he only managed to dodge the first arrow before being hit by the second, which slowed him down. Now, it was even more difficult for him to dodge the attacks.

After a few arrows, Feng Zi'ang was riddled with arrows. In the first round, Fang Ziyi successfully challenged the champion and became the reigning champion!

A round of applause rang out in the auditorium. The students from Tsinghua University were quite restrained, and there were no cheers or other loud noises. For them, this kind of victory seemed to be a very ordinary thing, and polite applause was enough.

The faces of the Jinghai University Team were somewhat grave. It was normal that Feng Zi'ang couldn't win, but Fang Ziyi killed Feng Zi'ang without losing a single drop of health or using a single skill... This was a bit unsettling, as it meant that Jinghai University was down a player and could only fight 4 against 5.

The host, a cute girl with glasses and a student at Tsinghua University, said with a smile, "Contestant Fang Ziyi has successfully secured the first kill, and her performance was perfect... Now it's up to Jinghai University to decide how to respond. Please, Jinghai University, decide on your challenger..."

"I'll go," Li Shuyi said.

"I'll go." Xiang Hui stood up.

Bai Xiaowen shook her head. "Sit down, everyone."

"???" The group looked puzzled.

Bai Xiaowen stood up, shook her head, and then rubbed her knuckles.

"Tsinghua University has exploited our weakness. Our team lacks a ranged shooter... well, besides me."

Bai Xiaowen said with a smile, "The three of you are all melee fighters, which puts you at a disadvantage against a marksman with a passive slow effect. It seems like I'm the most suitable person to deal with this marksman."

"This is a trap," Xiang Hui said.

"Yes, their goal is to force you out of the game early, wear you down, and then let Lin Haoyang take the field." Li Shuyi also realized this.

Bai Xiaowen shook his head and laughed, "That's right, I knew Tsinghua University was up to something when I saw Fang Ziyi's information. But it's okay, sometimes the difference in strength can't be overcome by strategy. Didn't Sister Zheng say she wanted me to win cleanly and decisively, without any controversy? It's been a long time since I've felt like I've defeated five opponents single-handedly."

"Serve the boss some tea..." Chen Guowei, who came over as a substitute, bowed ninety degrees.

"Alright. Let me see... just how strong you really are." Xiang Hui sat back down.

Li Shuyi, however, seemed quite at ease. She tore open a bag of potato chips and said, "Don't be too high-profile." She had officially entered spectator mode.

When Bai Xiaowen stepped forward, not only were the Tsinghua University audience members in the auditorium agitated, but viewers in front of their televisions and computers were also shocked.

The bespectacled, cute female host exclaimed, "Oh my god, Jinghai University has sent their team captain, Bai Xiaowen! What an unexpected decision! Let's wait and see..."

Bai Xiaowen's figure disappeared into the corridor.