Electric!

Dawn was about to break.

Two figures darted continuously through the trees.

"What's wrong? Afraid to come near me?"

Liang Xing accelerated, while Li Yi twisted and maneuvered, using the Tree Shed District's naturally dense layout to widen the distance between them.

The two grew faster and faster.

Suddenly.

Li Yi halted, flicking two stones from his hand.

Whoosh!!!

The stones traced arcs through the air, shooting toward Liang Xing one after another.

Liang Xing raised a hand and knocked them aside.

Immediately after, several more stones shot at Liang Xing.

The stones carried tremendous force and came from tricky angles. Even with Liang Xing's foundation, he had to slow down and dodge.

Moreover, he had kept his Inherited Skill unactivated the entire time, requiring him to divide his attention and preventing him from fully unleashing his speed.

Whoosh!!!

A streak of a figure flashed through the corner of Liang Xing's eye, and alarm bells rang in his mind.

He got close?! How did he become so much faster?

The next moment.

Li Yi emerged from the tree sheds behind Liang Xing, leaped into the air, and drove a kick straight into him.

However, Liang Xing noticed Li Yi's sneak attack at the last moment. His body lunged forward abruptly, and he rolled, dispersing much of the force.

Even so, when Liang Xing rose to his feet, his lower back burned fiercely. He knew he had been seriously injured.

Gritting his teeth, Liang Xing forced himself to hold on, his breathing deep and steady as he prepared to erupt.

He had originally had a better opportunity, but Li Yi had noticed it and easily neutralized it.

Now, to prevent Li Yi from taking the upper hand and chaining together attacks, he could only hurriedly activate his first Inherited Skill.

"Electric!"

In an instant, light blazed in the darkness.

A cyan arc of electricity abruptly erupted and shot forth.

However.

What happened next left Liang Xing deeply disappointed.

No, it made him question his own choice.

In the darkness, Li Yi was nowhere within the electric arc's target range.

Liang Xing knew that although the electric arc was fast, once its activation intent was detected, an expert could evade it within a hair's breadth.

Clearly, Li Yi had done exactly that—and even more thoroughly.

Before baiting Liang Xing into using his Inherited Skill, Li Yi had already predicted it and left directly, causing Liang Xing's Inherited Skill to miss completely!

That was a level above a last-second dodge.

That entire string of counterattacks was all feints meant to make me unleash my first Inherited Skill? This combat setup is far too seasoned for a young man. He's more like a battlefield veteran from my father's generation.

Liang Xing gritted his teeth. Though proud, he had no choice but to admit that he had only one final chance to strike back.

He could still use his Inherited Skill a second time!

Ordinary non-evolved people could generally only use an Inherited Skill once in a short period.

His physique was special. He could use it twice in a short period!

This was Liang Xing's trump card!

"Li Yi, you're impressive. You've already tricked my Inherited Skill out of me. Since your goal has been achieved, why not show yourself and fight me fairly?"

There was no response.

"Li Yi, what is it? Still don't dare fight me openly? Afraid you'll choke at the last moment?"

His voice echoed, but the Tree Shed District only seemed to grow quieter.

Liang Xing's heart sank.

His opponent was too patient—so patient that it sent chills down his spine.

What kind of training had Li Yi undergone to avoid making even a single mistake?

And why was he so perceptive in the Tree Shed District?

Was this the advantage of The Humble Clan?

Liang Xing somewhat regretted coming to the Tree Shed District in the dead of night to fight Li Yi.

Whoosh!!!

Suddenly.

Stones shot toward him again from the side, and Liang Xing could only dodge.

Damn it!

Was Li Yi planning to use the same trick again?

Liang Xing cursed inwardly and could only keep retreating, intending to leave the area and prevent Li Yi from luring him behind the tree sheds again and kicking him in the back the same way.

But he had not expected that after retreating only seven or eight steps, he would catch sight of a figure again from the corner of his eye. He was instantly shocked.

Li Yi had predicted his thoughts again and moved into position beforehand?

Damn it!

Liang Xing raised both arms, barely blocking the attack coming from the side. He had no time at all to activate his Inherited Skill.

Bang!!!

A tremendous force struck him, numbing Liang Xing's entire body.

Not only that, but his arms had completely lost all sensation.

How was he so strong?

In his horror, Li Yi threw a punch that landed squarely on Liang Xing's nose.

Pfft!

His nasal bone snapped, and blood streamed down his face.

Immediately afterward, Li Yi thrust both hands together, driving them directly into Liang Xing's temples.

Liang Xing died completely, his body turning into particles of light.

Before the stands and screens, countless people held their breaths as they silently watched Li Yi swiftly kill Liang Xing.

"So strong."

"Perfect. Every single response was simply perfect."

"Liang Xing's little traps couldn't fool Li Yi at all. Instead, Li Yi resolved them with ease."

"He's absolutely a fighting genius rarely seen in the past decade or two."

"Now, no matter how hard Liang Shaocong fights, he can't catch up to Li Yi, can he?"

There was no longer any suspense. Li Yi taking first place was now completely certain.

After all, Liang Xing's team, which had absorbed most of the top ten teams' points, had been wiped out by Li Yi alone.

The points all fell into his hands!

"Holy shit, that's 253 points in total!"

One person had gotten that many points?!

One had to know that the total score was only 1,000.

Li Yi alone held a quarter of it!

"For Liang Shaocong to catch up to Li Yi, he'd have to claim all the points from the other members of his team, then grind through the other scattered teams roaming alone. Only then would it be possible."

"That possibility is too slim. Don't forget that Li Yi can still fight. He can steamroll his way through the rest. Even if he rested every other day, Liang Shaocong might not be able to catch him."

"Unless Liang Shaocong defeats Li Yi directly and takes his points."

"That would be far too difficult. Li Yi has already figured out the Liang family's Inherited Skill. Unless he runs into an evolved person, the moment the Liang family's Inherited Skill is activated, Li Yi will interrupt it."

"And in terms of fighting ability, Liang Shaocong is at most on par with Liang Xing."

"I'm already looking forward to what kind of Divine Mech Li Yi will choose."

"With combat skills as strong as his, controlling a Divine Mech should give him at least a 1.5 times increase in combat power."

"That's too much. 1.2 times sounds more accurate."

Many spectators had begun predicting the increase in Li Yi's combat power after he piloted a Divine Mech.

As for compatibility rate, no one had even considered that issue.

For Li Yi to pilot a Divine Mech, he still had to overcome a matter of luck.

Although he could choose a Divine Mech first, if his luck was poor and he failed to select a suitable mech—

Or failed to pick the best mech—

Then the outcome would not be very pretty either.

The next day.

Mech Corps-exclusive Cabin No. 3.

Fleet Captain's office.

"Captain Lin Guotao requests a meeting."

"Put him through."

"Understood."

The pure white cabin door opened automatically, and Lin Guotao walked in.

"Good morning, Fleet Captain!"

Lin Guotao stood straight and saluted.

"It's not early. By fleet standard hours, it's actually quite late."

Teng Baixin took a sip of warm tea, looking like a smiling old man. He had none of the bearing of a high-ranking leader.

"Little Lin, sit. You came here today because of the restart of the Deus Mech Project, right?"

"Nothing escapes the Fleet Captain's sharp eye. I recruited people from The Humble Clan, like Li Yi, into the Mech Corps because I wanted to launch reforms. But now that Li Yi has shone so brilliantly, my plan may run into some trouble."

"What trouble? Tell me in detail."