Armor-Breaker Cybernetic Body Wager

Early the next morning.

Jiang Hai City No. 1 High School's campus broadcast suddenly crackled to life.

"Emergency announcement, emergency announcement!"

"Following a joint decision by the New Star Martial Arts Admissions Joint Center and the school board, this year's senior special admissions selection tournament will officially begin in three days!"

The academic affairs director's impassioned voice rang through every corner of the campus.

"In this selection tournament, the student who takes first place in the final rankings will receive unprecedentedly generous rewards!"

"The rewards include three vials of third-tier exotic beast Wind God Wolf blood essence! A complete inheritance of an A-rank martial art of your choice! And six months of access to an A-rank private cultivation chamber!"

Boom!

The entire campus erupted at the news!

"Holy shit! Third-tier exotic beast blood essence? And three vials?!"

"A-rank martial arts! Complete inheritances! Not those incomplete scraps the school hands out!"

"A cultivation chamber! Don't only New Stars have those? I heard one day of cultivation inside is worth ten days outside!"

Countless students flushed with excitement, their breathing turning heavy.

The rewards were simply too tempting!

Any one of them was enough to completely transform an ordinary student and give them a bright future!

Inside the classroom, Guo Hongtao also excitedly grabbed Jiang Yuan's arm.

"Brother Yuan! This was made for you! First place is definitely yours!"

Jiang Yuan remained calm.

The rewards were indeed generous, but he knew this was likely the New Star Investigation Group's doing. Their goal was to further test his potential.

Just then, a commotion arose at the classroom door.

Everyone's conversations abruptly stopped.

Jiang Yuan looked up and saw Song Xi standing in the doorway, her pretty face frosty.

But this time, she had not come alone.

Beside her stood a capable-looking middle-aged man in a black suit.

A strangely designed badge was pinned to his chest—Celestial Pivot Industries.

What drew even more attention, however, was Song Xi.

Her right arm and right leg had already been replaced with cybernetic limbs gleaming with metallic luster.

The cybernetic limbs had a sleek, streamlined design and brimmed with a futuristic feel. At the joints, faint blue energy halos could be seen circulating.

"Armor-Breaker Type III Cybernetic Body..."

A knowledgeable student gasped quietly.

"Celestial Pivot Industries' newest product. I heard a full set costs over ten million!"

"That's not the point. The point is that this cybernetic body comes equipped with a high-frequency vibration core!"

The middle-aged man, Celestial Pivot Industries' representative Chu He, led Song Xi over to Jiang Yuan.

"Hello, Student Jiang Yuan." Chu He wore a professional smile. "I am Chu He, Celestial Pivot Industries' regional representative."

"Miss Song Xi failed her previous assessment due to an issue with our company's product. We deeply apologize for that."

"To make up for it, we replaced Miss Song Xi's cybernetic body with this latest Armor-Breaker Type III model free of charge. Its core function is high-frequency vibration, specifically designed to counter special abilities like your... force-reflection ability."

Chu He spoke bluntly, making no effort to conceal their intentions.

They were targeting him directly!

Song Xi raised her mechanical right arm and spread her fingers. An invisible vibration wave spread outward, sending ripples through the surrounding air.

Confidence returned to her face.

"Jiang Yuan, I'm challenging you again in the selection tournament three days from now!"

"Of course, a mere challenge would be meaningless." Chu He smoothly took over with a smile. "On behalf of Celestial Pivot Industries, I'd like to make a wager with you."

"If Miss Song Xi defeats you in the tournament."

Chu He's smile turned somewhat playful.

"You will hand over the broken sword in your possession to Celestial Pivot Industries for research. At the same time, you will cooperate with us in a harmless living tissue sample collection."

"If Miss Song Xi loses," he said, spreading his hands, "then we'll write off the matter of the damaged exoskeleton."

The classroom immediately erupted in uproar.

This wager was far too unfair!

If Jiang Yuan won, they would merely stop holding him accountable.

But if he lost, he would not only have to hand over that divine weapon capable of slicing through iron like mud, but also be dissected and studied like a lab rat!

"We're not taking that bet!" Guo Hongtao was the first to object.

"Student Jiang Yuan, what do you think?" Chu He ignored Guo Hongtao and merely looked at Jiang Yuan.

Everyone's eyes focused on Jiang Yuan.

Under their tense gazes, Jiang Yuan slowly rose to his feet.

"I accept."

Two simple, decisive words.

Chu He's smile widened. "A wise choice."

With that, he turned and left with the proud-looking Song Xi.

Only after they had gone far away did Guo Hongtao begin hopping around in agitation.

"Brother Yuan! How could you agree to that? It's obviously a trap!"

"That Armor-Breaker cybernetic body doesn't sound like anything good! It was made specifically to counter you!"

"It's fine." Jiang Yuan sat back down, his expression calm.

Counter him?

Perfect. He also wanted to test the power of his new move.

After school.

Guo Hongtao mysteriously dragged Jiang Yuan to an empty corner.

Then his older sister, Guo Yuting, dressed in black stockings, sashayed over.

"Little Brother Jiang Yuan, I heard you made a wager with someone?" Guo Yuting's voice was sweet and cloying, and she held something in her hand.

"I have a treasure here. It's a family heirloom heart-protecting mirror that can save your life at a critical moment. Since you're Little Tao's friend, I'll sell it to you cheap. What do you say?"

She handed over the so-called "heart-protecting mirror."

Jiang Yuan looked down, and the corner of his mouth twitched.

It was a square piece of foam wrapped haphazardly in several loops of black tape, with the words "shockproof" scrawled crookedly across the middle.

"Sis, quit messing around." Jiang Yuan was speechless.

"How is this messing around?!" Guo Hongtao chimed in from the side. "My sister said this foam is imported and has amazing energy absorption! It's specially made to defend against vibrations!"

Jiang Yuan could not be bothered to waste words on this pair of living treasures. He picked up the foam and stuffed it straight into Guo Hongtao's endlessly chattering mouth.

"Mmff mmff mmff!"

After getting rid of the two of them, the relaxed expression on Jiang Yuan's face gradually vanished.

High-frequency vibration...

This really was troublesome.

His Physical Kinetic Reversal essentially redirected and reflected external macroscopic kinetic energy.

But vibrations of that frequency, capable of penetrating through force, would be extremely difficult to defend against.

It seemed he had to master Thunderclap Vibration within three days.

Otherwise, on the arena stage, he would likely be forced to reveal more of his trump cards.