Strategy

Who would go up next?

The people beside Zhang Xuqiang exchanged looks.

Chen Qiong Zhi smiled and said,

"Just go in ranking order. I don't have that much time to sit around while you deliberate."

Zhang Xuqiang's expression quickly returned to normal. He nodded and said,

"Qian Shaoyue, you're ranked thirty-fifth. It's your turn."

"Remember, Li Yi used a Pierce-Word Technique to punch straight through Old Gu's entire arm. The key was the large damaged area, which caused Old Gu's arm load to reach its limit in the short term and made him unable to concentrate."

"So you need to keep moving and avoid direct contact with the Pluto Mech as much as possible."

"If you can't avoid it, you can take those punches that clearly haven't built up momentum head-on."

"You only need to keep using Divinity Techniques to kite him, and you'll have a chance of winning."

After Zhang Xuqiang's analysis, Qian Shaoyue was persuaded. He nodded and said,

"As expected of Brother Xuqiang. If I follow your method, I'll definitely win."

Qian Shaoyue immediately jogged into the Insertion Pod that had been prepared next door.

Qian Shaoyue was activating his Divine Mech.

Cai Xiaodong stood at the western edge, filming the entire battle.

Several spherical filming drones floated beside him, recording this challenge from different angles.

Although Chen Qiong Zhi was acting as the witness,

this was not an internal training match for the Special Selection Class. They could not activate the public recording equipment to film the betting match.

To prevent Zhang Xuqiang and the others from pulling tricks if they lost, Cai Xiaodong had volunteered to film the entire event and had even spent his own money on the filming drones.

After watching the first match, Cai Xiaodong was fired up beyond belief and felt an overwhelming urge to share it.

For example, by livestreaming it to the class group.

But then he reconsidered. What if they lost? Wouldn't that mean losing face in front of the entire class?

Just as he was struggling with the decision, Li Yi called him.

"How are the filming drones? Are they any good?"

"Pretty good. They capture lossless micron-level footage at two hundred thousand frames per second. They cost thirty or forty thousand Star Credits each, but they're worth the money."

"Then help me livestream it to the class group."

"You really want to livestream it? Are you confident you can win every match?"

"Of course. Beating people like Zhang Xuqiang isn't enough. They'll probably try to keep this quiet, so I might as well stream the match and make them lose so thoroughly that they'll have no face left to trouble us again."

"Wouldn't that be too high-profile? Too flashy?"

Cai Xiaodong had some concerns.

"Afraid of shit. If I were afraid, I wouldn't have made such a big deal out of this. We're going all out and settling this once and for all! It'd be best if Zhang Xuqiang got socially destroyed! Then he won't have the nerve to bully people by throwing his weight around anymore, right?"

Cai Xiaodong gritted his teeth. "Fine, let's do it! Zhang Xuqiang's been acting like a dog relying on his master's power and strutting around like this. If we don't hit him with something ruthless, he probably won't be scared."

Li Yi had clawed his way up from The Humble Clan. Ruthlessness was ingrained in him.

He was never afraid of trouble.

Cai Xiaodong immediately forwarded the livestream link to the main group chat for Special Selection Class 123.

The title read:

The Strongest Rookie Fighting King Challenges Zhang Xuqiang!

The subtitle read:

One Non-Evolver Against Eight Evolvers!

The hype was instantly through the roof, even drawing over people from Special Selection Classes 1 and 2.

"Who's the Strongest Rookie Fighting King? Li Yi from Class 3?"

"Has it started? I want to see blood spill everywhere!"

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

A few scattered dumbass comments flashed past.

At that moment, Qian Shaoyue completed activation. Piloting the Wind God Series E-rank Divine Mech, the Hurricane Mech, he arrived opposite the Pluto Mech.

The Hurricane Mech stood thirty-five meters tall, its entire body entwined in blue and white. Its arms were abnormally thick, like two sharply angled giant pillars mounted on its shoulders, brimming with metallic heft.

Chen Qiong Zhi nodded slightly.

"Looks like everyone's ready. Let's begin right away so we don't waste time!"

As soon as she finished speaking, the Pluto Mech charged forward as swiftly as ever.

The Hurricane Mech remained where it was, opening its jaws wide and spewing out a highly condensed hurricane.

The hurricane resembled a massive spiraling white whip. Carrying tremendous suction force, it lashed toward the Pluto Mech.

The Pluto Mech sidestepped, but the spiraling hurricane immediately curved after it.

It also blocked the Pluto Mech's advance, forcing it to retreat several steps in succession to avoid being struck.

The Hurricane Mech remained connected to the hurricane vortex through its mouth, constantly whipping its head back and forth as it flung the vortex at the Pluto Mech.

Moreover, the hurricane vortex grew longer with every lash.

Like a hungry snake, it extended from over a hundred meters to three or four hundred meters.

It nearly filled the entire fighting arena.

However, the Pluto Mech quickly figured out the hurricane vortex's movement pattern.

After three consecutive flashes, it darted low through the vortex's turning angles and rapidly closed in on the Hurricane Mech.

Qian Shaoyue, inside the Hurricane Mech, was instantly startled. Without a second thought, he rapidly retreated!

After more than a dozen exchanges of pursuit and evasion, a series of question marks began appearing in the comments.

"Why is the Hurricane Mech, which is clearly piloted by an Evolver, so afraid of directly engaging the Pluto Mech?"

"That hurricane vortex Divinity Technique is pretty well used, but why can't it keep the Pluto Mech under control?"

"The Pluto Mech probably has some deadly close-combat move. The Hurricane Mech doesn't dare get close!"

There were quite a few sharp-eyed viewers online.

They immediately saw what the Hurricane Mech feared.

Below the arena, Zhang Xuqiang was furious and shouted repeatedly,

"Qian Shaoyue, be bolder when you attack, damn it! I told you to kite him, not to be this cowardly even when attacking! When you've opened up the distance, attack boldly! You're using your Divinity Technique like this? Your father would curse you to death!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the Pluto Mech broke through the hurricane vortex's defenses again, closed in on the Hurricane Mech, and finished it with a straight punch that delivered layered shockwaves.

The Hurricane Mech's Insertion Pod was ejected, crashing heavily to the ground.

Comments immediately flashed across the livestream.

"Boring. Isn't this just stomping a noob?"

"The Hurricane Mech is trash."

"The Hurricane Mech is ranked thirty-fifth in our Class 3. He's not weak—the Pluto Mech is just strong."

"I respected your Class 3 rankings before last year, but all your experts graduated and took positions this year. You guys aren't good enough now."

"Enough, enough. You people from Class 2 really are something. Haven't you heard that even a dying camel is bigger than a horse?"

Chen Qiong Zhi nodded slightly and thought, Li Yi's predictions really are unbeatable when the gap in strength isn't too great. I wonder how he gets his prediction accuracy so high.

With that thought, Chen Qiong Zhi asked,

"Li Yi, you've fought two matches in a row. Do you need to rest?"

"No need. That didn't even count as a warm-up."

"A warm-up? I didn't expect Li Yi to look so modest on the surface while actually being arrogant as hell."

Zhang Wuqiang looked displeased.

Zhang Xuqiang ignored him. Turning his gaze toward the others, he said solemnly,

"Qian Tongyue, you're up next!"

"Remember, don't let Li Yi drag you into his rhythm!"

"This time, I want you to attack head-on!"

"Your Divinity Technique has high armor-piercing power. There's no need to slowly wear Li Yi down. Trade damage with him directly!"

"Our advantage is obvious. We can wear him down one after another, constantly break through the Pluto Mech's defenses, and steadily reduce his combat strength!"

"Even if you lose, our victories afterward will make up for your losses! Can you do it?"

Qian Tongyue took a deep breath.

"Since Brother Xuqiang has said so, I naturally have no objection."

Zhang Xuqiang patted Qian Tongyue's shoulder and reassured him,

"Don't worry. I know you're more reliable than your younger brother Shaoyue. The reputations of the Zhang and Qian families depend on you to uphold them."

Soon, the Wind God Series D-rank Divine Mech, the Abyss Mech, entered the arena.