Gentlemen, I Like Fighting!

After Jiang Xiaoyue's reminder, Mo Bai and Dai Guang looked at the terminal at the same time.

Mo Bai raised an eyebrow. "It really is true. There are actually two Biohumans. That's rather unusual."

Generally speaking, only a city's elites could participate in the Martial Exam Warm-Up Tournament.

Biohumans had extremely stable genes, which meant their talents in all aspects were generally ordinary. Martial arts geniuses rarely emerged among them.

Coupled with the lack of family backing to provide initial cultivation resources, it was difficult for them to achieve much in martial arts.

In previous Warm-up Tournaments, even one Biohuman was a rare sight, let alone two appearing at once.

In the vast majority of cases, all contestants were Natural Humans. There was simply no place for Biohumans.

"I take back what I said earlier. This batch of River City elites is somewhat interesting after all." Mo Bai smiled.

Dai Guang, however, frowned slightly. "It seems River City's martial arts environment isn't much. They actually let two Biohumans take these spots."

Imperial Capital University did not admit Biohumans. Though it was not explicitly stated, it was an unspoken rule at Imperial Capital University.

Before the fights had even begun, he had already lost two possible recruitment slots.

They had come on behalf of their martial universities to select talented students in advance. Naturally, the greater their gains, the greater their rewards.

If they returned empty-handed, not only would they receive no rewards from the university, but it would also easily lower the higher-ups' impression of them.

"Tsk, this Zhao Tianyi is a fine prospect. Too bad you can't take him in!" Mo Bai mocked him without reservation.

Dai Guang gave a cold chuckle. "You make it sound like Upper River would accept Biohumans. I heard that at your university, students even have to bribe people and pull strings just to choose a mentor."

Mo Bai was left speechless.

Although Upper River Martial University did not discriminate against Biohumans, it discriminated against the poor. Money and resources were needed to grease the wheels in many areas.

In truth, that was not much different from discriminating against Biohumans.

Everyone knew Biohumans were poor.

Both of them looked toward Jiang Xiaoyue. Among the Three Elite Universities, Huaying Martial University was the only one where Biohumans had slightly better standing.

"This Zhao Tianyi is indeed not bad..." Jiang Xiaoyue fell into thought, silently comparing the candidates.

Meanwhile, the people standing on the football field had no idea what was happening in the spectator stands.

They were all gathered around the weapon racks, choosing suitable weapons.

Personal weapons were not allowed. They had to use the weapons provided by the event organizers.

Fortunately, the armory contained weapons of many types and sizes. There was always something suitable.

"Chen Yu, I didn't expect you to compete?"

Hao Xi sized Chen Yu up from head to toe, never expecting to encounter him here.

Their last fight was still vivid in her mind.

She, a top martial arts genius from First High School, had actually lost to an unknown nobody. It had kept her awake for several nights.

Every time she dreamed, she relived the details of that battle and thought about how she could have responded to win.

"Long time no see." Chen Yu greeted her, then turned his attention back to finding a weapon.

"If we meet this time, I won't lose." Hao Xi muttered before ignoring Chen Yu.

Others might not have heard Hao Xi's words, but Zhao Tianyi and Wang Qianjun, who stood beside Chen Yu, naturally could not have missed them.

"You beat Hao Xi before?" they asked in unison.

Wang Qianjun in particular had lost all the coldness on his face, replaced by stunned disbelief.

Even he would not dare claim he could definitely defeat Hao Xi!

"Uh... Hao Xi suppressed her realm back then. Didn't I beat you once too?" Chen Yu looked at Wang Qianjun and reminded him.

"I see." Wang Qianjun suddenly understood.

Zhao Tianyi clicked his tongue in amazement. "So she deliberately suppressed her realm. Even then, that wasn't easy."

The three stopped chatting and each chose their weapons.

Chen Yu selected a black combat saber. Its quality was excellent, but it was nowhere near as sharp as his Blood Chant. It was even somewhat blunt.

"They must have specially modified them to prevent accidental injuries." Chen Yu glanced at the others' weapons and found that all of them had undergone special treatment.

Just as everyone finished choosing their weapons and waited eagerly, the Suit-Clad Man from earlier stepped into the center of the spectator platform.

At the same time, his voice rang out from the surrounding speakers:

"The format of this Martial Exam Warm-Up Tournament will be: a melee!"

A melee!

The moment those words were spoken, the expressions of many students present changed.

Compared with arena matches and point-based matches, melees had by far the most unpredictable factors.

Alliances between enemies and friends, betrayals, ganging up on others... a whole host of factors made the final outcome impossible to predict.

After all, even an Eighth Layer of the Body Tempering Realm could rank below a Seventh-Level Body Tempering fighter if they were surrounded and attacked by many people.

In an instant, the martial arts students' gazes subtly changed as they began considering who to ally with.

If they could form an alliance with stronger fighters, they could certainly improve their final ranking.

But the strong... might not think much of them.

"The competition area is the entire football field. Leaving the boundaries will be considered a loss..." The speaker continued to announce the rules.

On the football field, Zhao Tianyi and Wang Qianjun's eyes flickered. They began signaling one another in secret as their feet started moving.

Hao Xi, Ling Langtian, Die Xiaoxiao, Wan Wuxia, and the other Body Tempering Eighth Layer experts also began moving toward the same area.

"These Body Tempering Eighth Layer fighters look like they're planning to eliminate everyone else first!"

Chen Yu saw through their intentions.

It was only natural. The Body Tempering Eighth Layer geniuses were proud. How could they allow a group of Seventh-Level Body Tempering fighters to profit off them?

They would join hands to eliminate the weak first, then decide victory or defeat among themselves. That was the best choice.

Chen Yu could see it, and naturally, so could everyone else.

"Hao Xi and the others can cooperate, so can we!"

"We have more people. We might not lose to them!"

At that moment, the many Seventh-Level Body Tempering fighters quickly gathered together, confronting Hao Xi and the other geniuses head-on.

Their individual strength might be inferior, but they had greater numbers!

Three times as many as the other side!

The speakers were still announcing the rules of the Warm-up Tournament.

Yet the martial arts students on the football field had already chosen their factions in advance, merely waiting for the final moment to arrive.

Except for one person.

Chen Yu had yet to choose a faction and stood caught between the two groups.

On one side was the Genius Alliance formed by Hao Xi, Zhao Tianyi, and the others. On the other was the Seven-Layer Alliance formed by eighteen Seventh-Level Body Tempering fighters.

"Hey, if you don't come over now, are you waiting to be the first one eliminated?" a Seventh-Level Body Tempering student shouted.

On the other side, Zhao Tianyi and Wang Qianjun could not help frowning when they saw that Chen Yu still had not chosen a faction.

"Chen Yu, we get along well enough, but I can't help you now." Zhao Tianyi reminded him.

The Warm-up Tournament was important.

If he let Chen Yu join them, everyone else could bring their own friends in too. What would they even be fighting then?

Wouldn't it turn into a complete mess?

At that moment, Chen Yu stood between the two groups. He first looked toward the Seven-Layer Alliance.

"Sorry, I'm not at the Seventh-Level Body Tempering, so I can't join you."

As his words fell, Chen Yu no longer concealed himself.

The aura of the Body Tempering Eighth Layer revealed itself.

Body Tempering Eighth Layer!

"Body Tempering Eighth Layer?!" Hao Xi, Zhao Tianyi, and Wang Qianjun, who had fought Chen Yu before, were all shaken.

But they had no time to consider how Chen Yu had reached this level in merely two months.

Hao Xi stepped forward. "Since you're also at the Body Tempering Eighth Layer, come to our side. We'll eliminate those weaklings first, then settle victory and defeat among ourselves!"

However, Chen Yu shook his head. "Sorry, I'm not joining your side either."

Hao Xi: "?"

At that moment, both sides were somewhat unable to make heads or tails of it.

There was no such thing as neutrality in this situation. Anyone who dared remain neutral would undoubtedly face the full attacks of both sides and would certainly be eliminated first.

Under everyone's gaze, Chen Yu smiled softly.

"Gentlemen, I like fighting!"