The first round of matches had ended, but the second round didn't start right away.
Lin Ye sat for a long while on the rock-textured arena platform before the second round began.
The scene changed.
When Lin Ye opened his eyes again, the arena had become a forest. The trees were sparse, and the ground was soft. His opponent appeared ten meters away: a tall, thin boy who conjured a long saber in his hand and stood holding it horizontally, watching him cautiously.
At the same time, the countdown in midair reached zero.
Seeing his opponent take a defensive stance, Lin Ye took a deep breath and chose to attack first.
A longer weapon had the advantage.
Against a long saber, his boxing gloves put him at a disadvantage in terms of reach.
The fact that his opponent wasn't rushing to attack was actually a good thing for him.
But as soon as they clashed, Lin Ye felt how formidable his opponent was. Judging by the shock of their blows, the other boy should have been at the Late Body Tempering Stage. But he had probably only just reached it. His Blood Qi Value should have been a little over 300—not enough to exert the kind of pressure that came with a Blood Qi Value of 350 or 400.
That was good news for Lin Ye. Their clashes also showed him that while his opponent's saber technique was solid enough, it clearly lacked the tempering of real combat. Whenever he changed moves, there was always a slight pause.
That pause might not have posed much of a threat to an ordinary fighter, but the fluid, relentless attacks of a Great Success Grade boxing technique magnified the weakness.
Relying on the seamless flow of his Great Success Grade boxing technique, Lin Ye pressed in and kept up the close-quarters fight. When his opponent paused to catch his breath, Lin Ye took a risk and slipped inside his guard. It was a dangerous move: if the blade caught him, his virtual body would be grievously wounded at the very least.
But the good news was that he pulled it off.
Before his opponent could react, Lin Ye slammed a punch into his ribs. The metal boxing glove shattered the boy's virtual ribs.
His opponent grunted, and his Blade Momentum fell into disarray.
Lin Ye seized the advantage and pressed his attack, throwing several more punches in quick succession.
"Pfft—"
After taking so many hits from Lin Ye, his opponent spat blood and flew backward, the long saber slipping from his hand.
[The winner has been decided] [Winner: Candidate No. 46]
After a hard-fought battle, Lin Ye wiped away sweat that wasn't really there, a hint of delight on his face. With two consecutive wins, he figured his ranking points were probably in pretty good shape.
Just as he was congratulating himself on his good luck, however, it seemed his luck ran out in the next round.
[Third-round match begins]
A flash of white, and Lin Ye found himself in a quiet bamboo grove.
At the other end of the clearing stood a tall, straight-backed boy, holding a long silver spear with its tip angled toward the ground. He radiated a sharp, icy aura.
Lin Ye immediately had a bad feeling.
He stamped his foot and charged straight at the other boy, trying to close the distance between them.
But the other boy was faster.
He stepped forward, and his long spear shot out like a dragon, thrusting toward Lin Ye and making full use of the reach of his weapon.
Lin Ye's pupils contracted. He barely managed to twist aside as the spear tip grazed his cheek, leaving a bloody gash. With the pain feedback set to 50%, the wound burned fiercely.
Before he could recover, the second thrust came.
This time, the spear swept horizontally, its shaft whistling as it shot toward his waist.
With no time to dodge, Lin Ye sank low into a horse stance and tried to block it with both fists.
"Bang!"
Fist met spear with a sharp crack.
A tremendous force surged through Lin Ye's fists. He staggered backward several steps and only managed to stop when he slammed into a thick bamboo stalk.
His arms were numb, and for a moment, he couldn't muster any strength.
What incredible power!
His opponent's Blood Qi Value was definitely over 380.
Lin Ye marveled inwardly, but his face twisted into a bitter smile. He more or less understood that he wasn't going to get past this round.
Before he could think any further, the opponent's third thrust came with a sharp whistle, aiming straight for his throat.
The angle was treacherous, and the attack so fast that Lin Ye had no time to react.
Gritting his teeth, Lin Ye forced his strength up and pushed his Great Success Grade boxing technique to its limit, meeting the spear tip head-on with "Rolling Stone Crushing Peak."
"Clang—!"
The boxing glove collided with the spear tip, sparks flying everywhere.
Lin Ye barely managed to block the attack, but the entire length of his right arm went numb, and the damage to his virtual body instantly surged to 40%.
His opponent looked clearly surprised, apparently not expecting Lin Ye to stop that thrust. His Momentum faltered for the briefest instant, but the fourth thrust followed right after.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
The spear tip carved three afterimages through the air and thrust toward Lin Ye once more.
With only a split second to live, Lin Ye chose to defend against the upper afterimage. He hadn't expected the real spear tip to thrust through the middle, straight for his heart.
"Shk!"
In an instant, Lin Ye's body dissolved.
[The winner has been decided] [Loser: Candidate No. 46]
As darkness closed in, the last thing Lin Ye saw was his opponent turning away with his spear in hand—cold and composed, as if he'd just done something utterly insignificant.
A moment later, Virtual Pod No. 13 gave a muffled hum, and its hatch slid open. Lin Ye slowly sat up.
The pain of his virtual body being pierced still lingered in his nerve endings. The icy sensation of the spear running through his heart in particular felt far too real. He took several deep breaths, trying to calm himself down.
After a while, he finally got himself under control, stood up, and left. He glanced around and saw that quite a few candidates had already vacated their virtual pods, their indicator lights changing from green to gray.
Since all eligible candidates from Third High School had taken part this time, there wasn't a designated Rest Area like there had been yesterday. Once their matches were over, they could leave directly. Lin Ye walked out of the examination hall and crossed a rather empty corridor. At the turn in the stairs, he saw a familiar figure.
"Teacher Zheng?"
Lin Ye paused in surprise at the corner. He hadn't expected Teacher Zheng to be here.
He had a feeling Zheng Huai had been waiting here specifically for him.
"Finished your match? Come sit with me in the office."
At his words, Zheng Huai turned around. Seeing that it was Lin Ye, he nodded. His expression was calm, but his eyes held a concern that brooked no argument.
Lin Ye followed him.
Zheng Huai's office was at the end of the third-floor corridor. The door was ajar. He pushed it open, and Lin Ye followed him in, gently closing the door behind them.
"Sit."
Zheng Huai pointed to the chair opposite his desk, then went to the water dispenser by the window and poured two glasses of water. He handed one to Lin Ye.
Lin Ye took it. The water was just the right temperature.
"How did you do?"
Zheng Huai got straight to the point.
"Pretty well, I guess."
Lin Ye wasn't sure what to say. He'd been beaten in the third round in what was basically an instant, and the thought still brought a little shame creeping over him.
"Specifically, how far did you get?"
Zheng Huai's expression didn't change as he pressed him for an answer.
"I made it to the third round, then lost."
Lin Ye answered honestly.
Zheng Huai didn't comment. "What kind of weapon did your opponent use?"
"A spear."
"How did his spear technique feel to you?"
"Fast. Cold. Like... he'd trained in the real thing."
Zheng Huai nodded without asking for more details. He leaned back in his chair and studied Lin Ye. "How did the second day of the challenge go?"
"Uh, I made it to the fourth stage."
"The NPC in that stage was too strong. His strength kept increasing, and I couldn't beat him."
The office suddenly fell silent for a few seconds. For some reason, Lin Ye started to feel like a real amateur.
Even though he thought he'd done pretty well this time.
But a few seconds later, Zheng Huai suddenly smiled. It wasn't a big smile, just a faint one, but it held a trace of relief. "That's enough."
Lin Ye looked up, a little taken aback.
"What, did you think I expected that much from you?"
Seeing Lin Ye's astonished expression, Zheng Huai smiled. "At your current level, making it to the fourth stage and reaching the third round of the Ranking Tournament is already more than enough to satisfy me."
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