In just one second, all the buffs were applied, and he was bathed in holy golden light!
"Hahaha, Zhou Rui! Bring it on! Bring it on!"
Seeing Zhou Rui charging towards him like an arrow released from a bow, Feng Qiang not only didn't panic, but felt a surge of warmth in his heart.
What he feared most was that Zhou Rui would use his agility to move around the field, and if they really went head-to-head, it would play right into his hands!
" Zhou Rui! Let me show you the true power of a pure strength-based build!"
" Explosive Force Slash!"
Just as Zhou Rui was about to crash into him within a meter, Feng Qiang roared, swung his greatsword with both arms, and slashed down with the force to tear through the air!
Almost at the same instant, Zhou Rui, who had rushed over, also moved.
call,
The Weeping Blood Battleaxe crashed down through the air, seemingly carrying the force of a mountain, unstoppable!
clang!!!
The battle axe and the greatsword collided with a deafening roar, making the eardrums of the entire audience ring!
Feng Qiang, however, was thrown backward like a small boat tossed about by a raging wave.
It plowed through the ground, leaving several shallow craters, and flew more than twenty meters before crashing to a stop...
"Um?"
Only a blur remained where Feng Qiang had stood, Zhou Rui now Feng Qiang where Feng Qiang had been, looking slightly surprised.
A single-point strength bonus? That's all?
"One axe strike breaks the attack!"
"What a powerful battle axe!"
"This isn't a contest, it's clearly a road roller crushing cement!"
Just seconds into the match, Feng Qiang was chopped down by an axe.
This scene instantly triggered gasps of amazement from the entire audience.
Keep in mind, this is the fourth round of the singles competition!
The 11 contestants who made it to this round are all top-tier players from their respective schools.
In the previous match, Wei He, who was also considered a strong favorite to win the championship, struggled for nearly ten minutes before finally securing a hard-fought victory.
In contrast, Zhou Rui only took a few seconds, so fast it was almost unreal.
"What?! In a pure brute force clash, Brother Qiang actually lost?!"
In the rest area, the team members from Modu University looked at each other in disbelief.
That's true.
Yesterday's match between Suhang University and Qingjing University made it clear to everyone: Zhou Rui can not only play support, but also carry the main damage output; he is not only proficient in various spells, but can also use high-level magic with ease!
That " Hand of God " was something few of the professionals present dared to say they could withstand.
But that's a magical attack, and its core relies on the intelligence attribute!
The impact, knockback, and penetration of that axe strike just now... were all sustained by pure strength!
"His intelligence attribute far surpasses that of ordinary mages, and his strength attribute even surpasses Feng Qiang of Feng Qiang, who specializes in this path..."
Shuri, the teacher leading the team from Modu University, stood on the sidelines, his heart churning with emotion.
Feng Qiang's base strength is about 290 points, and with the addition of equipment enhancements, the total value barely reaches around 370.
Although Zhou Rui's level is slightly higher, apart from his weapon which is level 22, all his other equipment is level 18, which together only provides about 100 points of strength bonus.
"To achieve that decisive, overwhelming effect, his total strength needs to be at least 450!"
"Even disregarding equipment, just considering basic strength alone, it needs to easily surpass 350..."
Upon arriving at this number, Shuri's fingertips trembled slightly.
Horrifying!
That's terrifying!
Having coached for nearly ten years and led teams to five or six exchange competitions, she has never seen a freshman whose basic strength can reach over 350!
"What's even more terrifying is that his intelligence attribute is also ridiculously high..."
Shuri shook his head slightly and let out a soft sigh.
Modu University has consistently ranked third in the exchange competition for three consecutive years.
It ranks among the top three out of more than 3,600 vocational colleges nationwide, and its strength is beyond doubt.
However, compared to the three top universities, this ranking is ultimately just a runner-up position.
High hopes were placed on this year: the freshmen are full of geniuses, and the goal is to be at the top.
Unexpectedly, Suhang University and Qingjing University also produced many outstanding talents, especially Zhou Rui, who is simply not human!
" Wei He, what are your chances of winning?"
Shuri turned her head to the side, her voice very soft.
Wei He, the top freshman at Modu University this year, is also the Champion of the competition.
If there's one person on the team who can match Zhou Rui, it has to be him.
"Thirty percent." Wei He's expression was solemn.
This was still a slightly overestimated result; in reality, it was probably less than 20%...
"Thirty percent? That's enough."
Shuri took a deep breath and turned his gaze back to the center of the arena.
On the ring.
Although Zhou Rui landed a successful blow, Feng Qiang was wearing the strongest armor in the entire arena, and this axe strike was not enough to knock him unconscious and force him to withdraw from the match.
He gritted his teeth and propped himself up, his face filled with astonishment:
"How... how is this possible? How can your strength be greater than mine?!"
The webs between my hands were split open, and I was in excruciating pain. This was caused by the force of the battle axe rebounding along the blade.
But what suffocated him even more than the physical pain was the bewilderment of having his beliefs shattered on the spot.
"Calm down... calm down... this is only the beginning, I still have a chance!"
He closed his eyes, inhaled deeply, and forcefully suppressed his trembling arms as he slowly straightened up.
At that very moment, whoosh!
A golden spear tore through the air, hurtling towards him at a speed imperceptible to the naked eye, less than three meters from his calf!
"Oh no! It's the Spear of Victory!"
Feng Qiang suddenly woke up, but it was too late to dodge!
Pfft,
The spear pierced through his heavy armor, pinning his right calf to the spot!
"Being distracted on the battlefield is not a wise move."
Zhou Rui's tall figure approached silently, his clear black and white eyes as cold as an icy pool.
" Rising Slash!"
Pinned down by the spear, Feng Qiang was unable to move, and the trajectory of his battle axe swing was completely predicted, the axe blade slamming solidly into his chest!
Bang!
With a dull thud, Feng Qiang was thrown off the ground and hung in mid-air!
" The Hammer of Repentance!"
Zhou Rui lightly touched his brow with his left hand, and the incantation was completed instantly.
A colossal golden holy light warhammer descended from the sky, crashing down with the force of thunder!
BOOM!!!
The Hammerhead Feng Qiang breastplate squarely, causing the heavily armored suit, known for its defensive capabilities, to dent and deform instantly!
puff,
A mouthful of blood spurted out, staining the armor on his chest red!
He slammed heavily onto the ring floor with a thud, his face contorting in agony.
But this is just the beginning!
After the Hammer of Repentance crashed to the ground, it suddenly exploded into a frenzied golden holy light, Feng Qiang like a raging tide, rampaging through his flesh and bones!
"Ah!"
A piercing scream instantly tore through the entire arena!
"Let's end the game, we concede!"
In the rest area, Shuri suddenly stood up and shouted to the host.
According to the rules, a singles match is considered over only when one player is completely unconscious.
At this moment, Feng Qiang was consumed by excruciating pain and was unable to voluntarily give up; if they forced him to faint, it would probably take a while longer.
Rather than letting him suffer more, it's better to cut your losses now.
Modu University concedes defeat! Zhou Rui is the winner of this match!
As soon as the host's loud announcement ended, the audience erupted in a deafening roar:
Zhou Rui! The strongest!
Zhou Rui! I love you!!
The fourth round of the singles competition consisted of three matches: the first match lasted more than forty minutes, the second match lasted about ten minutes, and the third match, from start to finish, took only one minute!
Zhou Rui's overwhelming performance throughout the entire event won him countless fans on the spot!
Not only did the audience at the venue erupt in cheers, but the online live stream also exploded, with the chat filled with a dense barrage of comments:
"He won so decisively in the fourth round; Zhou Rui probably didn't even show half his true strength!"
"Terrifying! High strength and intelligence, and this is still a paladin?"
"A paladin unleashing that kind of burst damage? I'm going to change classes tomorrow!"
"Ha, Paladin is a hidden class. You think you can become one just by clicking the mouse?"
"... Alright, sorry to bother you."
The more they talked, the more excited they became about the Paladin class; but when they heard it was a hidden class, they all gave up on the idea.
Without special opportunities or extraordinary luck, this path is simply impassable.
"That's insane!"
As the match ended and the energy shield dissipated, a deafening roar of cheers assaulted Zhou Rui's ears.
He even caught a glimpse of the light in the eyes of a few young women in the front row—a light that was intense and radiant, as if pink hearts were about to burst forth from them.
"Quick! Help them!"
"Tsk, that domineering holy light again..."
"Nonsense, their opponent is Zhou Rui!"
Before the words were even finished, a group of white-robed priests rushed onto the arena. After checking Feng Qiang's injuries, they all turned to stare at Zhou Rui, their eyes filled with resentment like those of lovers who had been wronged for ten years.
The priest heals with gentle holy light; Zhou Rui, however, releases violent, punitive holy light. Though they share the same origin, they are mutually exclusive.
If that frenzied energy isn't dispelled first, the treatment effect will be halved.
Therefore, whenever they encounter Zhou Rui's opponent, their workload doubles.
You guys are busy.
Zhou Rui, unaware of what was going on, felt uneasy under their gaze. He quickly greeted them and turned to walk briskly towards the rest area.
" Brother Rui, that's amazing!"
"So cool!"
"..."
As soon as they stepped into the rest area, Liu Yang and the others surrounded them, praising them repeatedly.
Zhou Rui smiled, sat down in his seat, and turned his gaze back to the arena to continue watching the match.
There were five matches in the morning, and all of them ended at 11:30 a. m.
With that, the fourth round concluded, and including the lucky winner who advanced directly, a total of six people advanced to the fifth round:
Paladin Zhou Rui and Spiritualist Song Xialan from Suhang University;
Wei He and magician Mu You from Modu University;
Li Yuan, a soldier, Wang Xuan, a mechanic, from Qingjing University.
It's worth mentioning that Wang Xuan was the one who advanced without taking the competition.
Although Li Yuan played with an injury and was not in good form, his opponent was just a captain from one of the seven ordinary university teams.
With the strength of a top university captain, they will crush them without a doubt.
After the winners' bracket concluded, the losers' bracket immediately began.
More than seventy people fought fiercely for an entire afternoon, but only two managed to break through.
Jiang Churan, a spirit swordsman from Suhang University, and Lu Qiang, the captain of the representative team from Hancheng University, a level 18 sharpshooter.
With this, the eight finalists for the fifth round of the individual competition have been finalized.
"Seven out of the top eight players come from the three top universities; they truly live up to their reputation!"
"Nonsense, the resources the country invests in these three schools every year aren't free."
"That's right, but this year's freshman exchange competition was truly the most exciting one in recent years!"
"Same here! Especially Zhou Rui, he's totally my type!"
With the slots finalized, the first day of the competition came to a close.
The audience was still eager for more and continued to discuss the topic.
Zhou Rui, with his sharp style and decisive moves, won unanimous applause.
"Fantastic! Three students from Suhang University have made it to the fifth round!"