Swollen

Zhang Xuqiang was rendered speechless.

The person who had just echoed him also felt as though his face had been slapped.

He hurriedly looked around and found that most people were still staring in dumbfounded disbelief, trying to process what had just happened. He immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

Amid his surprise, Cai Xiaodong felt a surge of secret delight.

Lin Hua stood in a corner, determination shining in her eyes as she thought:

That's how it should be. Someone my age who can easily defeat me ought to advance with courage and vigor. Only then will he be worth chasing and surpassing.

After a while, someone was the first to break the silence:

"Is Li Yi's mech technique really that strong? He knocked an Evolutionary pilot unconscious with a single blow?"

Compared to the enormous size of a Divine Mech, an Evolutionary's physique naturally had negligible resistance to impacts.

But an Evolutionary was still an Evolutionary.

As pilots of the same level, they could withstand mech techniques better than non-Evolutionaries.

Moreover, everyone believed that Li Yi's slim chances of victory mainly came from maneuvering with his combat skills.

As for mech techniques, weren't those normally used against opponents of the same level?

Could they really work across levels?

"Old Fang, have you ever seen anything like this? Can mech techniques really produce such an effect?"

Someone asked the class monitor, Fang Tao.

Fang Tao pondered for a moment before saying:

"I haven't seen it aboard the Jade Pool (Yaochi) No. 7, but during last year's Deep Space Fleet grand tournament, I saw an expert whose mech techniques were incredibly formidable. He could induce piloting syncope in his opponents in just a few moves. Perhaps he could use skill to knock down someone of a higher level."

"I get it now. Although everyone here was a top ten student or rookie king from different classes aboard the Jade Pool (Yaochi) No. 7, and all of us had talent, very few people had talents focused on combat. But Li Yi may be someone who put all his talent points into fighting."

Someone began thoughtfully imagining reasons why Li Yi had been able to win.

"Aha, is that why his Divine Mech starts up so slowly? Because his talent is lopsided?"

Someone teased him a little.

"You're getting off track. Looking at the matter objectively, Li Yi has high combat intelligence. His fighting style is very clever. With no advantages whatsoever, he gradually lured Zhang Qingjian into a trap he had carefully laid out. That was the key to his victory."

"Indeed. That force-borrowing punch that decided the battle was brilliant, but without all the preparation beforehand, it would have been completely useless."

"That's right. Who doesn't have one or two trump cards that can dramatically increase their attack power? The key is whether you can use those trump cards well."

As they spoke, someone began directing their criticism toward Zhang Xuqiang.

"Old Zhang, you said just now that you could have handled it better at the same level. Is that true? I remember that before you became an Evolutionary two years ago, you were always ranked in the eighties or nineties in the Special Selection Class, weren't you?"

"During your time as a non-Evolutionary, weren't you constantly getting beaten up?"

The speaker was named Qi Yuqiang. Like Zhang Xuqiang, he had been among the top ten three years ago and had entered the Special Selection Class three full years earlier.

The two had never gotten along, so Qi Yuqiang showed Zhang Xuqiang no courtesy and directly went after him.

Zhang Xuqiang snorted coldly.

"He only won through trickery. On a real interstellar battlefield, where would you find so much luck and so many coincidences? You have to rely on real strength and fight your opponents head-on!"

"What's so impressive about beating your fellow students here? Only defeating powerful alien opponents is worthy of every mech pilot's respect!"

"You're only kissing Li Yi's ass because his fighting style is unconventional and you find it novel. But if this kind of trend continues, it'll sooner or later affect all mech pilots!"

Qi Yuqiang said speechlessly:

"Fine, you've finished putting one big label on people, only to slap on another. No matter what, you get to have the last word, huh? Boring. How about we have a one-on-one match in tomorrow's live mech battle?"

Zhang Xuqiang glared at Qi Yuqiang, then turned and left.

The few onlookers immediately laughed.

"Without Zhang Xuyang backing him up, Zhang Xuqiang can't even talk tough anymore. I've disliked that bastard for a long time."

Among the remaining people, some laughed heartily while others watched coldly from the sidelines.

Cai Xiaodong observed everyone's positions and combined that with the information he had gathered earlier, silently thinking:

Most of those supporting Li Yi come from Mars or the Jovian Moons Series, while the main force questioning him comes from the Sirius System. Interesting.

The live mech battle ended, and it was time for independent training.

Since Li Yi's startup speed still had not improved, he simply chose not to shut down and continued training in place on the combat field.

As everyone knew, there was a daily limit to how long a person could receive Divinity Radiation.

But even without actively triggering Divinity Radiation, simply piloting a mech still exposed one to the infinitesimal traces of divinity present everywhere inside it.

Therefore,

it was also beneficial to extend one's piloting time as close to the limit as possible.

Inside the cockpit.

Li Yi emerged from his meditative state and let out a long breath.

"Sure enough, the mech's massive, constant load can indeed help push along my digestion of those memories."

He had formed that hypothesis when he had rapidly started the Pluto Mech to make it to the finals last time.

Now that he had tested it in practice, the results were remarkable.

"Should I just skip returning to the dorm and sleep here overnight? That way, I can capture more memory fragments related to the Pluto Mech."

Li Yi knew his own situation best.

Although he had successfully used a series of predictions, setups, and inducements to defeat the Flame Crow Mech piloted by the Evolutionary Zhang Qingjian through a mech technique today,

that was more or less the limit of what he could do at his current stage.

He was still somewhat short of being able to defeat Zhang Xuqiang.

Either he had to become an Evolutionary, or his combat skills had to improve further.

"Perfect-level combat skills should only be the limit of ordinary techniques."

"But as one's physique improves, more techniques can surely be developed."

"Perhaps, after everyone else leaves, I can try using the technique I discovered last time to trigger divinity and strengthen my physique."

As thoughts flashed through his mind and he carefully took stock of everything, Li Yi settled on his next improvement plan.

By the time independent training ended, standard starship time had reached seven in the evening.

At the edge of the combat field.

Cai Xiaodong called out to the Pluto Mech:

"Li Yi, how are you still training? Isn't your active time only a little over an hour? Get some rest and come eat with us."

The Pluto Mech responded:

"I have an A-grade Assist Module. Even I don't know my current activity limit. Go eat first. If it's convenient, bring some back for me. My dorm is Room 4308, Building A. Thanks. Preferably enough for five people."

"..."

Cai Xiaodong was stunned by that show-off for quite a while. Then he gritted his teeth and said:

"Fine, you're something else. Since you taught Zhang Qingjian a lesson for me, I'll bring you dinner for ten people today. Happy now?"

"Okay, then thank you very much. Stop talking and hurry up. If you go too late, even the premade meals will be gone."

Cai Xiaodong's mouth twitched. Deciding to ignore Li Yi, he turned and left.

Before long, only the Pluto Mech remained in Area 8, standing silently in place with its systems still active.

Only at that moment did the vast space seem to possess the same silence as the depths of the universe.

After quite some time.

A strain of Pluto Divinity, like the coldest, darkest, most hellish abyss, slowly began to emanate from within and around the Pluto Mech.

Inside the cockpit, Li Yi could not help letting out a soft sound of surprise.

"Chen Qiong Zhi's Divine Mech is still powered on? She hasn't left?"

Li Yi immediately understood. Chen Qiong Zhi's ability to erase her sense of presence had caused him to subconsciously overlook her existence.

Only after he triggered Pluto Divinity had he broken through that psychological barrier.

Just then, a voice suddenly rang out:

"You've been hiding your true abilities. You can already trigger divinity on your own?"

Li Yi froze for a moment, then replied with a smile:

"Instructor, you haven't left either?"

"That's right. I need training and improvement too."

"In that case, Instructor, are you interested in exchanging a few moves with me and getting some exercise?"

Li Yi decisively extended the invitation.