First, Beyond Dispute!

"You three... have no honor!!!"

Die Xiaoxiao, Ling Langtian, and Wan Wuxia all looked livid. They had never expected the other three to turn on them at such a crucial moment.

"Easy there, buddy. This is a free-for-all. What even is honor?" Zhao Tianyi grinned at Ling Langtian.

Wang Qianjun gave his spear a shake and said coldly, "Why were you so certain that we had to be your teammates?"

Those words left Die Xiaoxiao, Ling Langtian, and Wan Wuxia speechless.

That was right. This was a free-for-all.

Enemies could become friends, and friends could become enemies in the next instant.

"But without our help, the three of you might not be Chen Yu's match. How will you take first place?" Die Xiaoxiao asked in confusion.

"First place?" Zhao Tianyi looked puzzled and shook his head. "Actually, no matter what happens, Chen Yu is already first."

"No matter how hard we struggle, we can only fight for second place."

"Don't forget, this Warm-up Tournament is for securing contracts from the Three Elite Universities. The rankings themselves don't mean much. First place doesn't even come with a reward."

The essence of the Warm-up Tournament was not ranking, but displaying one's strength and earning the recognition of Martial University representatives.

Rankings were not important.

"I see. I was overthinking it." Die Xiaoxiao suddenly understood. She asked no more questions and took the initiative to leave the football field.

A loss was a loss. There was nothing to argue about. She could afford to lose.

Ling Langtian and Wan Wuxia also looked dejected as they reluctantly followed her off the field.

"Phew, I was really worried you two wouldn't help me!" Chen Yu looked at Zhao Tianyi and Wang Qianjun.

He had expected this outcome, of course, but he had not been certain. If the two of them had refused to help, there would have been nothing he could do.

Besides, he had not cared that much about taking first place to begin with. A loss was a loss. He had already copied all the talents anyway.

He had already made a fortune.

"Hey, we're fellow Biohuman brothers. Don't say something so distant!" Zhao Tianyi said with a faint smile.

"Acting is too hard." Wang Qianjun sighed. He had really put in a great deal of effort this time.

Trying not to give himself away had been far too difficult.

"As for you..." Chen Yu looked at Hao Xi. He had not worked with her, and her actions had been completely beyond his expectations.

"I just guessed part of it. Wang Qianjun's performance was a little too stiff," Hao Xi explained casually.

She had only confirmed it at the very end, so she had simply switched sides on the spot and eliminated someone as well.

"So, what are you planning to do now?"

Only the four of them remained on the field.

The moment those words fell, Zhao Tianyi suddenly attacked Hao Xi. Hao Xi had been prepared and raised her sword to block.

Wang Qianjun did not hesitate either. Taking advantage of the moment when Zhao Tianyi's old force had been spent and his new force had yet to arise, he decisively launched a sneak attack.

The three immediately became locked in battle, treating Chen Yu beside them as if he did not exist.

Chen Yu's performance in this Warm-up Tournament had simply been too outstanding. There was no need for them to compete with him anymore. They could only do their best to fight the others for second place.

"It's finally over."

Chen Yu moved farther away, sat down cross-legged, and finally relaxed.

Before his eyes, the talents he had copied after fighting Die Xiaoxiao, Ling Langtian, and Wan Wuxia slowly appeared.

[Fluid Movement (Blue)]: Movement technique cultivation is thirty times more effective than for an ordinary person.

[Martial Dao Grade-B Bone (Blue)]: Cultivation speed is thirty times faster than for an ordinary person.

[Swordsmanship Prodigy]: Sword Dao cultivation is thirty times more effective than for an ordinary person.

"Three Blue-Quality Talents and eighteen Yellow-Quality Talents. This really is a Warm-up Tournament that gathered River City's top geniuses!"

Chen Yu was instantly overjoyed.

His efforts had not been wasted—not the Martial Arts Madman persona he had crafted, nor the full thirty doses of Body Tempering Elixir he had taken before the tournament.

"Using these talents as materials should be enough to forge two Cyan-Quality Talents."

The higher a talent's quality, the better its effect when used as forging material.

Chen Yu did not expect these talents to forge [Blade Technique Grandmaster (Purple)] to an even higher level.

After all, the higher a talent's quality, the more the quality and quantity of the talents needed as fuel rose accordingly.

For instance, Gray and White Talents were almost useless for improving a Purple Talent.

Generally speaking, only talents of the same quality or one quality lower could produce noticeable results.

For example, if one wanted to forge a Blue-Quality Talent into a Cyan-Quality Talent, Blue-Quality Talents of the same grade naturally worked best.

Yellow-Quality Talents were slightly less effective.

Below Yellow Quality, Green-Quality Talents could still barely make a ripple, while Gray and White Talents were almost useless. It was difficult to stack them purely through quantity.

"What talent should I forge?"

Chen Yu could not help sinking into thought, finding it difficult to choose.

Meanwhile, after a fierce struggle, Zhao Tianyi, Wang Qianjun, and Hao Xi finally had a result.

Zhao Tianyi eliminated the other two by a narrow margin and claimed second place.

Thus, this year's Warm-up Tournament finally came to an end.

"Wonderful, truly wonderful!" Mo Bai could not help applauding.

He had thought it would be another boring match, yet it had turned out to be so entertaining!

The Martial Madman taking on the entire field alone, the crucial betrayal at the end... It was one of the most twists-and-turns-filled, most exciting matches Mo Bai had ever seen!

He even regretted not recording it.

"Tsk. River City's martial arts students are truly embarrassing. Two Biohumans took first and second." Dai Guang was in a foul mood after seeing the final result.

He did not even want to sign any of these people.

Not a single one.

However, Imperial Capital University had contract quotas as well, so he could not avoid signing people. At the very least, he had to take one or two.

Otherwise, he would have no way to explain himself.

After the match ended, the many contestants stood obediently on the football field, waiting for the final outcome.

The essence of the Warm-up Tournament was to sign a contract with one's preferred Martial University in advance and become a Martial University student early.

Furthermore, the level of the contract differed according to one's performance, and the benefits naturally varied greatly as well.

Before long, Martial University representatives approached the geniuses they favored and made their offers.

For a time, the scene became incomparably lively.

Meanwhile, some geniuses who had performed poorly were not approached by any Martial University representatives. They could only look around awkwardly, feeling deeply uncomfortable.

However, most people's attention remained focused on the three leading Martial University representatives.

They were from the Three Elite Universities.

The three top Martial Universities they represented on Crimson Radiance Star drew everyone's attention with every move they made.

Everyone knew that if they were chosen by one of them, their future would truly be secure.

At that moment, a man and a woman among the three suddenly stood up, drawing everyone's attention.

"They're coming! The Three Elite Universities are choosing people!"

"Tsk, Chen Yu was the biggest winner of this Warm-up Tournament. At minimum, he'll get a B-Rank Contract. He might even secure an A-Rank Contract!"

"Can't be helped. That Martial Madman is absurdly strong. Aside from being a little crazy, he's unquestionably number one in strength."

"This is martial arts. Strength reigns supreme. It's extremely realistic."