Promotion Match Begins

Lin Yu glanced at Xie Xie, then nodded and said, "What's truly terrifying is that this is a standard-issue Federation mecha, not even a customized one. Those personalized custom mechas can have their power boosted by at least another factor of two simply through different metals and fine-tuning of their Soul Tool arrays."

"It's just that our Federation is far too lacking in prestige. Plenty of factions don't take it seriously, so funding is limited. Otherwise, the power of standard-issue mechas could be raised by a huge margin. Right now, a purple-grade standard mecha might not even outperform a specially customized yellow-grade mecha across the board."

Xie Xie rolled his eyes and said to Lin Yu, "That's just theoretical. If I had enough money to make every stat of a yellow-grade mecha surpass a purple-grade one, why wouldn't I just commission a better purple-grade mecha directly? The end result would still be pretty much the same."

After saying that, Xie Xie nudged Lin Yu and deliberately changed the subject. "Forget that. How are those two treasures you brought back? Let me see them."

Lin Yu clicked his tongue and waved a hand. "You want me to shake those things out in the middle of the street, let everyone see them, then have those evil soul masters come knocking on both our doors in the middle of the night?"

Xie Xie shuddered slightly at that, while Lin Yu lowered his voice and said, "Even though I risked my own neck to get them, we should be fair about this. Half the Dragon Gold is yours, while all the dragon bones go to me. How about it?"

Xie Xie's eyes widened as he stared at Lin Yu in disbelief. "Both of those are supreme treasures in the forging world, and you're just giving me half of one?"

Lin Yu smiled and patted Xie Xie on the shoulder. "The place you picked wasn't reliable, and it nearly caused a major disaster. But without you, I couldn't have gotten in, much less come into contact with these things. I'm taking one item for myself and splitting the other with you. I'm already making a killing."

Xie Xie nodded. Both of them felt they had come out ahead. After all, in his view, without Lin Yu, he would have died in that ventilation duct.

And even without him, as long as Lin Yu found a way inside, he would have had a chance to kill that guy in the ventilation duct and obtain the treasures.

After all, Lin Yu had killed him far too easily. The poison had taken effect in the human body faster than anyone could imagine.

"If there are no problems, find a storage Soul Tool of suitable size over the next couple of days. We'll find a warehouse or some other spacious building and divide the goods," Lin Yu said, pulling Xie Xie's thoughts back to reality.

Xie Xie nodded, then thumped his chest and said to Lin Yu, "Don't worry, Brother Yu. Leave both matters to me. I'll quickly sort out a storage Soul Tool and an empty room."

Lin Yu nodded, then joked, "No rush. It's fine even if we wait until everyone has forgotten about this."

A few days later, as the matter gradually faded from the discussions of Eastsea City's residents, Xie Xie brought Lin Yu to a secluded residence owned by his family.

There, Lin Yu took out the dragon bones and dragon tendons. He kept the dragon bones for himself and gave half the Dragon Gold to Xie Xie.

"With this windfall, it'll be much easier for me to get a more powerful customized mecha later," Xie Xie said excitedly as he played with the storage ring in his hand.

Lin Yu shrugged and poured cold water on him. "This world doesn't only have mecha masters. You might change your mind about what you want to do later. Besides, if you want to become a mecha master, your greatest difficulty has never been materials, but finding a forger, right?"

Xie Xie immediately looked embarrassed. Remembering the miserable experience of his dear father trying to book a thousand-forging master for over a year without success, he said helplessly, "Why do you have to crush my dreams now... Just wait until the promotion match. I'll elbow you hard!"

Lin Yu smiled. "Speaking of the promotion match, your first task is to make it in front of me. I'm in Class One, and you're in Class Five. If you want to fight me, you'll first have to beat Classes Four, Three, and Two."

Xie Xie clenched his fists. "Don't get cocky either. Just watch how we defeat your Class One when the time comes!"

Lin Yu nodded. "Having drive is a good thing. Only people with goals feel alive. Without any goals, if you spend every day gloomy and lifeless, you'll lose the ability to act."

The days afterward returned to calm, until the day of the promotion match finally brought some excitement.

The day the promotion match began was unusually fine, with a gentle breeze, bright sunshine, and a clear blue sky stretching without a cloud.

A competition platform had already been set up in the middle of the intermediate division's field. Calling it a platform was somewhat misleading—it was actually a circular stretch of ground one hundred meters in diameter, paved with metal plates ten centimeters thick.

It occupied a large portion of the field. Special Soul Tool barrier generators had been installed around it to prevent accidents during the matches.

Today was the first day of the competition. To avoid disrupting the students' studies, the matches were held after school. The dismissal bell had already rung, and students poured out from the teaching building, but very few headed toward the competition platform.

Only Lin Yu had come from New Student Class One. On one hand, it was because of his friendship with Xie Xie; on the other, he wanted to check on Gu Yue. After all, Lin Yu had taken Na'er away before Tang Wulin could meet her, and he was not sure how much that would affect the main storyline.

At this moment, Xie Xie had shed his usual frivolous manner. He followed behind Tang Wulin and walked solemnly toward the arena. Beside the two of them was a girl whose appearance was not especially striking, yet whose temperament was exceptionally outstanding.

It seemed that even though Na'er had not encountered Tang Wulin, Gu Yue had still come. However, this time, Gu Yue did not seem particularly close to Tang Wulin. Xie Xie even stood between them, placing the two at opposite ends of the team.

There was honestly not much to watch in the match between New Student Class Five and New Student Class Four. With Tang Wulin and Gu Yue, two cheats, on the field, the vast majority of everyone else were merely speed bumps.

This was a matchup Tang Wulin could have settled alone with his fists. With all three of them working together, the battle naturally ended within ten seconds.

A satisfied gleam flashed through Long Hengxu's eyes as he presided over the promotion match, and he immediately announced the result.

Until the promotion match ended, New Student Class Five would remain Class Five. However, the opponent they would challenge tomorrow was Class Three.

Once the entire promotion match was over, the classes' new rankings would be determined according to their match results.