Inherited Skill

Two minutes later, the battle came to an end.

Li Yi had basically killed every opponent with a single strike.

The few opponents with quick reactions took two strikes.

The first strike heavily restrained their bodies; the second locked onto a vital point.

Clean, decisive, simple.

Other than Shi Zijun, who suddenly spat a burst of blazing fire at Li Yi the instant he turned back to kill him, blocking him for several seconds and successfully escaping through that opening.

Everyone else, including the burly man whose kneecap Li Yi had shattered with a kick at the start, received Li Yi's finishing blow.

In the end, he gained 9 points from this battle.

Li Yi assessed the situation himself. The main reason he had so easily dealt with those two hastily assembled groups of five

was that his two ruthless early moves had directly intimidated the pursuing opponents who came afterward.

Then, he quickly picked out the two weakest ones and killed them in one go, crushing the mental defenses of the others.

After that, everything became as easy as chopping melons and vegetables.

The opponents were not actually weak.

Every one of them had passed several rounds of fleet selection.

They all had a solid foundation in fighting.

Shi Zijun in particular, currently ranked seventh, likely possessed a Power Clan Inherited Skill with that fire-breathing ability.

As far as Li Yi knew,

the ancestors of the Power Clan were essentially among the earliest people to come into contact with Divine Mechs and undergo evolution.

Their descendants had formed vast networks of interests, controlling one or several human bases and becoming self-contained powers.

The core things that kept their descendants' status secure were not only technology and industry, but more importantly, Inherited Skills and inherited techniques.

As the name implied, Inherited Skills were extraordinary abilities produced by inheriting part of an evolved ancestor's genes.

For instance, Shi Zijun's skill was most likely breathing fire.

It looked like a very ordinary Inherited Skill, one that could easily be replaced by a flamethrower.

But once someone entered the ranks of evolvers,

its power would most likely undergo an earth-shaking transformation.

And even now, its destructive power was still considerable and could not be underestimated.

If he encountered Power Clan members with stronger Inherited Skills later, they might prove even more troublesome.

Fortunately, he had already gained an early lead within the first half hour.

He turned to look at the electronic display board in the distance.

There, Li Yi's name stood firmly in first place with 12 points.

Liang Shaocong was second with 8 points, and Lin Qin was third with 6.

Then there were familiar faces: Miao Wanwan was sixteenth with 2 points, while Liang Xing from Base 11 was eleventh with 3 points.

In just this short time, quite a few more people had already been eliminated.

After all, one point represented one person's exit.

Meanwhile.

Lou Cheng could no longer sit still.

"12 points. In past years' final standings, that would have been enough to place in the top sixty. This kid's momentum is so fierce—could he really reach the final top ten as a member of The Humble Clan?"

"If this kid turns out to be too outstanding for Boss Lin to cover up, and I'm judged severely negligent because I didn't promptly imprint the Mind Seal as required, what am I supposed to do?"

At first, he had not thought highly of Li Yi's chances of reaching the top ten.

Although Li Yi had once easily defeated him with a single punch,

that had been a one-on-one fight, and he believed his own carelessness had played a part.

Besides, every one of the thousand elite contestants selected from Eastern Mars Continent was a skilled fighter.

Even Lou Cheng, an instructor, might not necessarily be able to take a top-ten spot in the rookie martial arts tournament.

Nor could he possibly defeat eleven opponents in one breath so soon after the start.

He had spent more than a decade on Jade Pool (Yaochi) No. 7 and was still only a low-level rookie interview examiner. That alone spoke volumes.

Moreover.

Among mech cadets in the rookie martial arts tournament, those who entered the top ten were basically all from the Power Clan.

The Merchant Clan, Artisan Clan, Scholar Clan, and others occasionally rose into those ranks, but not often.

As for The Humble Clan, there seemed to have never been a case in nearly a hundred years of one taking a top-ten spot.

There had been such cases another hundred years earlier, but that was far too long ago.

If they really created a historical record, it would definitely draw a great deal of attention.

By then, what had originally not been a major problem for him would be magnified countless times.

The more Lou Cheng thought about it, the more troublesome it seemed. He simply made a call.

"Lou Cheng? What is it?"

"Boss Lin, did you see it? Li Yi got 12 points in less than half an hour after the start!"

"Hello, Boss, is the signal bad? Hello? Hello?"

"Cough, cough. Yes, the signal is bad."

Lin Guotao snapped out of his daze.

"Twelve points in less than half an hour means taking down one opponent every three minutes. My god, according to the random allocation rules of virtual reality, the first hour is the hardest time to earn points. Boss Lin, I checked. This figure has already broken a thirty-year record."

Lin Guotao wiped away several beads of sweat that had seeped onto his forehead and said calmly,

"Alright, I know. Let's leave it at that for now. Don't make such a fuss either. If you let everyone know, you'll be in even more trouble."

"What do you mean, you know? Boss Lin, I only have one question. Can you handle this?"

Lou Cheng's tone was more agitated than ever.

Of course he was anxious.

The Surveillance Department's ruthless reputation was no joke.

Within the fleet, authority was everything.

If Lou Cheng were demoted because of this and reduced to having not even Level One authority, he would not even be able to support his wife and children.

And that was not all.

If the matter was mishandled, Li Yi, who had originally possessed a bright future, might be suspected of being a cultist capable of deceiving Mind Seal detection. He could be shelved, kept under constant surveillance, or even imprisoned.

The collateral responsibility was simply too great.

"Don't panic. In my plan, as long as Li Yi can place in the top ten in the final standings, everything will be safe. Many minor problems can be remedied afterward, including the matter of you failing to complete the Mind Seal imprinting as required."

Lin Guotao said in a deep voice.

"Everything is under your control, Boss?"

Lou Cheng asked hesitantly.

"That's right. These 12 points may involve some luck. As long as he doesn't gain an overwhelming advantage and reach the top five or top three, but only barely charges into the top ten, there will be room to resolve every problem."

At this point, Lou Cheng could only reluctantly accept Lin Guotao's reassurance.

"Keep a close eye on Li Yi's subsequent performance. Apply to have Evergreen Fairy AI devote 1% of its computing power to recalculate Li Yi's combat level, behavioral patterns, personality profile, possible cult risk, and so on. The more detailed, the better. Then send the report to me."

"Yes, Boss."

Elsewhere.

Li Yi searched for targets inside Base 11.

More than half an hour had passed, yet he had only caught one person alone and gained one point.

"Looks like most people are being very cautious. They left Base 11's central area immediately."

Li Yi began to feel troubled.

This efficiency was far too low.

If he spent all three days searching for people, he might not necessarily take first place.

His match rate was low. Merely taking ninth or tenth place might not let him choose the most suitable option for himself.

"Maybe I should sleep and see whether any new memory fragments appear, or search through my old memories for a similar solution to help me break this deadlock?"