Spirit Channeling Prince VS Silent Philosopher

The internet was in an uproar.

"The captain's duel is only the second game! How exciting!"

"Isn't this the third game?"

"Oh, I forgot that Jinghai University has already eliminated one person." (Feng Zi'ang:...)

"That's fair enough. It'll be a good opportunity to see who's stronger, the Spirit Channeling Prince or the Silent Philosopher."

"That's not fair. Bai Xiaowen has already defeated the opposing team's second-in-command, so he must have been somewhat exhausted."

"Where was the energy depleted? Life force is fully restored, Divine Might is fully restored..."

Leaving aside the controversy on the official website of the Virtual Battle Platform, Bai Xiaowen and Lin Haoyang have already begun their standoff on the arena.

A gentle breeze stirred, causing Bai Xiaowen's Commander’s Cloak to flutter slightly. His hands were enveloped within the cloak, and combined with his slender figure, he exuded a powerful, boss-like aura.

"Thank you for showing mercy to Ziyi," Lin Haoyang said.

Although Fang Ziyi wouldn't actually die in the arena evolved from the Psionic Training Ground, as her boyfriend, Lin Haoyang certainly didn't want to see Fang Ziyi's brains splatter.

Bai Xiaowen grinned. "Don't be shy, I'm just trying to save on a 100% Critical Hit rate." He said this mainly to put pressure on Lin Haoyang.

Lin Haoyang nodded; he was well aware of the passive effect of Bai Xiaowen's "Ryuji Yamazaki's Fighting Gloves".

"Anyway, I still want to say thank you. You're still in relatively good condition, which makes our fight more fair," Lin Haoyang said.

What an innocent young man! Much better than Qi Ruifeng, who took advantage of others and then acted all high and mighty. Bai Xiaowen silently murmured to himself. He had already scanned Lin Haoyang's information once with his Insight.

[Lin Haoyang (Hero Tier Level 6)]

[Race: Human Species / Human Race]

[Class: Silence Mage]

[Attributes: Strength 24, Agility 26, Constitution 36, Spirit 52]

[Skill 1: Silence (Class Skill): Passive. Your spells will trigger a silence effect, preventing affected enemies from casting non-silent spells for 10 seconds. Area-of-effect spells have a silence duration of only 33%. Your spell attacks against silenced targets will deal 20% additional damage.]

[Skill 2: Greater Slow: Curses enemies within a large area (radius of 10 times Divine Might, unit: meters), reducing their movement speed by 30% and attack speed by 15%.]

[Skill 3: Blink: Omitted.]

[Skill 4: Mana Barrier: Creates a mana absorption barrier, absorbing 50% of damage. For every 30 points of damage absorbed, 1 point of your Divine Might is automatically consumed. The barrier lasts a maximum of 60 seconds and disappears automatically when your Divine Might drops to 2 points or lower.]

[Skill 5: Flame Ground: Infuse energy into the ground beneath your feet, causing enemies within a small radius (radius of 1 unit of Divine Might, in meters) to suffer continuous fire damage for 8 seconds.]

"As a mage Mental Specialty, how come he doesn't have a single ranged damage skill?" Bai Xiaowen narrowed his eyes. "In that case... Lin Haoyang should have a Golden Tier staff."

Staffs, as weapons used by spellcasters, generally have very low physical attack power. However, Golden Tier staffs all come with a basic single-target spell, such as Water Arrow, fireball, Magic Missile, etc.

This basic single-target spell has three characteristics.

Firstly, the damage dealt is only affected by the minimum single-target Divine Might —150%, meaning 1 point of spirit will deal 1.5 magic damage, with no additional damage bonus.

Secondly, basic single-target spells require a casting time, typically 1.5 to 2 seconds.

Finally, there's the cooldown time. The basic single-target spells attached to the staff generally have very short cooldowns, some as short as one or two seconds. Basically, by the time the cast is finished, the cooldown is also ready, and you can cast it again.

Many awakened individuals with Mental Specialty desire a high-quality staff as their weapon. However, Golden Tier weapons are already rare, and specific types of staffs are even rarer. Li Shuyi's off-hand weapon is still only of Blue Quality.

Blue Quality staves may come with basic spells, but their cooldowns are generally quite long, making them rather useless as filler for combat skills. As for plain staves, they don't come with any spells at all...

What if I don't have Golden Tier staff?

Most awakened individuals with Mental Specialty choose to also cultivate Shooting Specialty, using one or two crossbows to impress others.

Some players have even honed their Shooting Specialty to an exceptionally high level, upgrading their crossbows to a very high LV. Their ranged damage output is truly impressive; even a golden staff might not be suitable for them. For example, Bai Xiaowen, and Old Demon...

Bai Xiaowen determined that Lin Haoyang possessed a Golden Tier staff primarily because the opponent's passive skill had a passive effect. "Deals 20% extra damage to spell attacks against silent targets!" If he was using a mixed crossbow, then this valuable passive skill would be wasted.

The bell rang.

Lin Haoyang stretched out his hand, and a staff appeared. The staff looked very simple and unadorned, without any gemstones or patterns, and looked like a mop handle.

Lin Haoyang quickly cast a spell, and a beam of colorful energy shot out.

"It really is Golden Tier staff."

Bai Xiaowen raised his hand, and a Skeleton Sword-and-Shield Soldier appeared, blocking the energy arrow.

"Your summoned creature: Skeleton Sword-and-Shield Soldier has been hit by Siphon Arrow, taking 77 magic damage and falling silent for 10 seconds."

At the same time as the airdrop, Bai Xiaowen also released two Skeleton Sword-and-Shield Soldier who landed next to Lin Haoyang.

Because of his superior Insight, Bai Xiaowen knew that Lin Haoyang possessed a wide-range slowing control skill and an AOE continuous damage skill, making it impossible for him to directly airdrop and surround him.

The best option is to summon a small number of creatures to disrupt his spellcasting.

Lin Haoyang unleashed a Mana Barrier around his body, a shimmering white light enveloping him. Ignoring the two approaching skeletons, he pointed his staff, and with a buzzing sound, three spiraling missiles shot out, their target still Bai Xiaowen.

The missile's trajectory was unpredictable, and even with his Targeted Airdrop, Bai Xiaowen couldn't block them all, and he was hit by one himself. Although the damage wasn't high, it successfully silenced Bai Xiaowen.

Under the silence effect, Bai Xiaowen was unable to cast "non-silent" spells, and the Talisman Switching with casting animations was useless. However, this did not affect Bai Xiaowen much. He directly summoned the Rageclaw and at the same time distracted himself by controlling the Skeleton Sword-and-Shield Soldier to launch a Shield Bash at Lin Haoyang!

A flash of white light appeared, but Lin Haoyang's figure didn't sway at all. The spellcasting bar on his staff remained steady, and another energy arrow of Siphon Arrow was fired, shattering Bai Xiaowen's first Skeleton Sword-and-Shield Soldier into pieces.

After the kill notification, Bai Xiaowen received an additional notification:

"Based on your Insight skill, you have obtained the following combat information: The special effect of the Siphoning Staff, the Hero Tier -exclusive equipment of the Silence Mage Lin Haoyang, has been triggered. After the Siphon Arrow deals damage to a silent target, it will steal 5% of the target's Divine Might, with a minimum of 1 point stolen."

Bai Xiaowen frowned slightly.

Unexpectedly, Lin Haoyang possessed the ability to "Mana Drain," which was even better than the mana-draining effect of the Vengeful Spirit, allowing him to steal the opponent's Divine Might and convert it for his own use.

Lin Haoyang's Mana Barrier skill is a powerful damage absorption skill, but it consumes Divine Might. With the Mana Drain property of Siphon Arrow, Lin Haoyang can continuously obtain Divine Might to maintain the Mana Barrier in its active state.

The Skeleton Sword-and-Shield Soldier's Shield Bash failed to take effect, which is clearly an enhanced effect of the Mana Barrier skill at a higher level. The basic skill description, as seen in the Insight description, does not mention any anti-interruption effect.

"Their strength is indeed formidable. Since Shield Bash can't interrupt the casting, then we have no choice but to go all out! Even if you maintain 50% damage reduction, combined with armor and magic resistance, it's equivalent to increasing your Life Value two or three times, so what? I'll still kill bosses with over a thousand health without hesitation!"

This thought flashed through Bai Xiaowen's mind, and he raised his hand to summon the Rageclaw.

Unfortunately, the Rageclaw lacks the ability to Targeted Airdrop, so it can only run wildly towards Lin Haoyang. Without Li Shuyi, melee damage output mainly relies on the Rageclaw.

However, Lin Haoyang remained calm and composed in the face of the Rageclaw ' pounce, as he was well-prepared. He opened his palm, and a scroll shattered with a bang.

A beam of pure white light enveloped the Rageclaw.

The Rageclaw Claw vanished in an instant!

"Based on your Insight..." The prompt from the Spirit Realm Rules came again.

"The Silence Mage Lin Haoyang used A-Tier item: Banishment (Scroll): Forcibly banishes the target summoned creature from this plane, lasting up to 300 seconds. The duration is affected by the strength (level and template) of the target summoned creature; the stronger the creature, the shorter the duration."

"Rageclaw will be banished for 75 seconds."

At the same time, Lin Haoyang used another item, causing Earthquake and magma to rise. Four creatures engulfed in flames stood up and slowly walked towards Bai Xiaowen.

"The S-Tier item, Cataclysm Summoning Scroll... summoned four Rare Elite- level Lava Construct! Their roles are similar to the Butcher, possessing extremely Life Value and a burning, mobile area-of-effect attack..."

Bai Xiaowen finally understood Lin Haoyang's tactics: after banishing the Rageclaw, use four Lava Construct to burn Bai Xiaowen's summoned creatures in a group. He used two items for this battle, one of which was an S-Tier item, so it can be said that he went all out.

Online comment section.

"That's a foul! Lin Haoyang definitely used an item. The Silent Philosopher's ability panel doesn't have a special move to summon lava men, nor does it have a skill that can instantly destroy a Boss Tier summon!"

"That's too much! I wanted to see a fair fight."

"Those upstairs who say it's a foul, just save your breath. First, look up the league rules... As long as the player uses items obtained through their own ability, it's not a violation. These items were accumulated by Lin Haoyang through his own abilities, so why say it's a foul?"

"That's right, Bai Xiaowen can also use props, if he has them."

Someone else offered their analysis. "Rageclaw probably wasn't destroyed, maybe it was banished to another dimension. But the result is the same, it probably can't participate in this battle. Now, Bai Xiaowen is in danger. The advantage of summoned creatures has been negated, and Lin Haoyang's own output ability is something Bai Xiaowen, as a summoner, can't match."

The online comment section was buzzing with excitement, while the atmosphere at the scene was tense. Xiang Hui, Han Xu, Feng Zi'ang, and others watched the big screen with some nervousness.

Crunch! Li Shuyi ate another potato chip.

"You... you still have the appetite?" Chen Guowei asked, somewhat incredulously.

"Uh... what's wrong?" Crunch, crunch.

"The captain is at a disadvantage now; the opponent happens to have items specifically designed to counter him..." Chen Guowei sighed. "If Lao Bai loses, we'll have to think about who should go on..."

"Oh." Crunch, crunch.

"Are you even listening to me, sister-in-law...?" Chen Guowei said, looking utterly defeated.

Li Shuyi nodded, then snapped, "I heard it..."

Xiang Hui, on the contrary, relaxed. "Judging from Lao Li's attitude, we can probably tell that Lao Bai still has some tricks up his sleeve; he hasn't collapsed yet. Lao Chen, don't say anything for now, just watch the game."

"..." Li Shuyi's forehead creased with annoyance.

On the battlefield.

Bai Xiaowen breathed a sigh of relief and summoned Kitz and Skeleton Champion, leading the Skeleton Sword-and-Shield Soldier to meet the four Lava Construct.

Since the Lava Construct is a non-living entity among the Elemental Species and is immune to toxin damage, the Butcher would be useless against it. Therefore, Bai Xiaowen did not send out the Butcher, but instead had it guard him.

"You should also have powerful items, use them... Hmm? What are you laughing at?" Lin Haoyang conjured another Siphon Arrow, the energy arrow arcing around and hitting Bai Xiaowen, stealing 3 points of spirit.

Although he had the upper hand, Lin Haoyang remained cautious and did not show any smugness or confidence.

Bai Xiaowen laughed and said:

"Sorry, I just thought of something and couldn't help myself."

Lin Haoyang (with a question mark face): "???"

Bai Xiaowen quickly wiped the smile off his face. He hid behind the Butcher, dodging the next Siphon Arrow, his expression turning serious. After a moment of preparation, he slowly spoke:

"I want this sky to no longer obscure my vision; I want this earth to no longer bury my heart; I want all living beings to understand my will; I want all the gods and Buddhas to vanish into thin air!"

Lin Haoyang was speechless again. What was with these lines that were so melodramatic and childish? He could have read two more clips in that time.

However, the next second, Lin Haoyang saw a magic book with a funny face drawn on it quickly open and flipping through Bai Xiaowen's palm... Then, an ordinary Wind Blade slashed down.

"These cringeworthy lines... are they supposed to be part of the chanting process? It sounds kind of embarrassing... but all bark and no bite, this Wind Blade is only slightly stronger than a basic spell..."

The thought had barely crossed Lin Haoyang's mind when he was struck by the Rapid Fire approaching Wind Blade. Wind-attribute spells, while not dealing high damage, are characterized by their speed; the projectile speed is phenomenal.

Protected by the Mana Barrier, Lin Haoyang only suffered less than forty points of magical damage. He calmly prepared to cast his next Siphon Arrow, and was about to say something when suddenly...

An irresistible force took control of him.