Chapter 118

The other team members who failed to make it into the top 64 all lowered their heads and sighed.

They had no choice but to accept the fate of missing the next stage.

After the eliminated teams left the waiting area, the entire area immediately became empty.

The area where the Mask Squad stood was also separated by a vacuum layer.

"Enough with the small talk, let's get straight to the random opponent matching for the knockout stage."

As soon as he finished speaking, the light screen behind Li Xiang flickered and pulsed again.

Xu Jintang raised her eyes and glanced at the floating light screen in front of her.

A few seconds later, the matchmaking results for each team appeared above.

The Mask Squad's match was scheduled for the eighth game: Mask Squad vs. Prosperous Age Women's Team.

As soon as the matching result was announced, gasps and whispers immediately arose from the surrounding crowd:

"We've been matched with the Prosperous Age Women's Team! This is going to be interesting."

"These two killer teams have actually run into each other, they're something else, hahaha."

"I seriously suspect that the tournament organizers also wanted some excitement, so they pulled some shady tactics and matched the two teams together, hahaha."

Xu Jintang glanced at the name of the Prosperous Age Women's Team, then looked around.

The other team, which was also in the spotlight, was looking in her direction at that moment.

The Prosperous Age Women's Team is an all-female team, and all the members are hot and beautiful women.

The team leader was tall with long, straight legs. She raised her slender hand, gently brushed aside the wavy hair between her collarbones, and gave Xu Jintang a flirtatious wink.

Xu Jintang had never experienced such a shock before, and he was stunned on the spot, quickly averting his gaze.

Fortunately, the mask concealed her embarrassment, so those around her couldn't see it.

Xue Zhongqi was also sizing up the Prosperous Age Women's Team next door. He'd probably fallen for his sister's seductive charms without even realizing it. He quickly coughed, lowered his head, and muttered in a low voice, "This Prosperous Age Women's Team... looks a little intimidating."

Seeing the two of them acting this way, Song Tianqi and Yan Yuting also glanced over there curiously.

A few seconds later, both of them blushed and lowered their heads, agreeing, "It really is terrifying."

Of the five, only Jiang Shiyi was completely unaffected.

She merely glanced coldly at the captain of the Prosperous Age Women's Team, then looked away without a trace of emotion, as if nothing had happened.

After the matchmaking was finished, Li Xiang smiled and announced that everyone could disband.

Xu Jintang immediately turned around and continued walking out of the passage with his arms crossed.

"Please wait a moment, everyone." A clear and gentle female voice sounded from behind.

It was the voice of Jiang Yingying, captain of the Prosperous Age Women's Team.

Xu Jintang turned his head. "What is it?"

Jiang Yingying played with a strand of her hair as she walked up to Xu Jintang and stopped.

Her fragrance wafted towards me; it was a light, fruity scent, pleasant without being cloyingly sweet.

Xu Jintang cleared his throat and took a small half-step back.

Jiang Yingying smiled and finally spoke, "Let me introduce myself. I'm Jiang Yingying, the captain of the Prosperous Age Women's Team. What's your name?"

Xu Jintang continues to maintain his aloof persona, portraying himself as a "Foodie."

Jiang Yingying smiled gently, raising her hand to cover her lips. "You know, I'm more interested in knowing your real name."

As she spoke, she suddenly leaned closer, closing the distance between them.

Just as Xu Jintang was about to react, she saw Jiang Yingying suddenly raise her hand and reach out to touch her mask.

Xu Jintang quickly stepped back, raised his hand to block hers, and spoke in a cold voice:

"Captain Jiang actually likes to use sneak attacks."

Jiang Yingying wasn't annoyed by being stopped; she simply chuckled and withdrew her hand to continue playing with her hair. "Little sister, you're quite wary. I won't test you then. We'll see who's truly superior when we get to the arena."

After saying that, she turned around, bypassed the five members of the Mask Squad, and headed towards the entrance of the passage.

Xu Jintang's gaze followed Jiang Yingying and her group of five until their figures completely disappeared at the end of the passage.

"Squad leader, they... what is this..." Yan Yuting swallowed.

Xu Jintang had already composed himself and calmly turned around. "Don't worry about it, they're just trying to mess with our mentality."

Upon returning to the villa dormitory, Wu Jinghong immediately called the five people to a meeting in the conference room.

Wu Jinghong stood in front of the conference table, pointed to the floating light screen, and said, "The entire Prosperous Age Women's Team consists of girls, and they are all 18-year-old third-year military academy students, two years older than you. In terms of mental strength level, their team has one Fourth Tier, three Third Tier, and one Peak Second Tier, completely overwhelming you."

Song Tianqi's mouth was slightly open. "Didn't they say there weren't many strong teams in the upper bracket?"

Yan Yuting and Xue Zhongqi were also shocked by the data, and they both looked up in astonishment.

Wu Jinghong crossed her arms, her face calm. "That's right, the upper bracket you drew doesn't have any particularly strong teams. Because the Prosperous Age Women's Team isn't actually the strongest in the entire Ability User Competition."

"When you signed up for the competition, I reminded you that the age limit for the Ability User Competition is eighteen years old. Many older students are eligible to participate. For them, reaching the Fourth Tier or Third Tier eighteen is quite normal."

Xu Jintang rested his chin on his hand, lost in thought.

That's true.

The main reason why the audience was shocked that their team had Fourth Tier and Third Tier was that they were all under sixteen years old.

However, for ability users who have reached the age of eighteen, the Fourth Tier and Third Tier are quite normal.

"We've only made it to the top 32 and we're already facing a team like this. Won't it get even more terrifying from here on out?" Yan Yuting's expression revealed a hint of worry.

In the knockout stage, losing just one match means the entire team is eliminated, leaving no room for error. Therefore, the pressure increases as the competition progresses.

Wu Jinghong continued, "That's why the use of magic weapons and inscriptions is more effective. The main purpose of having you participate in this competition is to train your mentality and the use of magic weapons. No matter how far you end up, as long as you make progress, that's a good thing. Don't put too much pressure on yourself."

Despite this, Yan Yuting and the others were still quite nervous.

Having already participated, who wouldn't want to take home a championship?

Wu Jinghong quickly changed the subject, pointing to the floating light screen behind her, "Next, I'm going to talk about the specific abilities of the five members of the Prosperous Age Women's Team. Take good care of them."

"The first one is Team Jiang Yingying. Her mental strength level is Fourth Tier, and her special ability is soul control. Her main attack method is mental attack. Her attacks can directly enter your mental sea, and this kind of attack is difficult to defend against. Unless your mental strength level can overwhelm her, or you have a similar mental attack-type special ability, you are very likely to fall victim to it."

Upon hearing this, Xue Zhongqi couldn't help but ask, "Then there's no other way to defend against it?"

"Yes," Wu Jinghong continued, "Her mental attacks need time to take effect. The only solution is to interrupt her use of her powers as quickly as possible or eliminate her from the game before her attacks take effect."

"Of the five of you, only Xu Jintang and Jiang Shiyi have the burst damage to deal with this kind of instantaneous attack. So whether it's a 1v1 or a team battle, Jiang Yingying can only be dealt with by the two of you."

Xu Jintang nodded, "Understood."

Wu Jinghong continued analyzing the next four team members.

"For you, the biggest threat to the Prosperous Age Women's Team is actually those three Third Tier members. Jiang Yingying can be dealt with by Jiang Shiyi or Xu Jintang, but these three Third Tier, when their strength is fully unleashed, are no weaker than Jiang Yingying. Yan Yuting, Xue Zhongqi, and Song Tianqi, it will be very difficult for the three of you to completely stop them."

Xu Jintang stroked his chin. "Then the most advantageous match mode for us should be 1v1?"

Wu Jinghong nodded with satisfaction, "Yes. If we draw a 1v1 match, we can use certain tactics to wear down the opponent. But if it's a team fight, once several opponents team up, it will be difficult for you to deal with them."

Yan Yuting sighed softly, "It all depends on fate."

"So we can't rely too much on fate. Since we can't determine what the battle mode will be, we need to develop different tactical strategies for each mode. Even if we're really unlucky and get a team battle, we still have to go all out," Xu Jintang said.

Wu Jinghong gave her an approving look. "That's right, if you want to win, you have to fight for it yourself."

Xu Jintang and the others spent the entire afternoon plotting and strategizing.

It didn't end until sunset.

Xu Jintang rubbed his sore shoulders as he returned to his room. As soon as he sat down, his communicator vibrated.

It was a private message from Xue Zhongqi on the Inscription Master's internal network: [Miss Qian, don't forget the Inscription Master elimination match tomorrow morning at nine o'clock.]

Xu Jintang: [I remember.]

After turning off the communicator's light screen, Xu Jintang leaned back on the sofa and closed his eyes to rest.

"This is exhausting! If I hadn't saved you and wasted so much of my energy, I wouldn't have had to go into seclusion to start all over again." The familiar child's voice rang out again.

The Green-Membrane Archaeopteryx, which was resting in the pet space, immediately bristled and flew out.

He could certainly sense that this was the aura that had subdued him in one move that day and ultimately forced him to become Xu Jintang's contracted beast.

The Ice Soul Dragon, which had been sleeping in its spiritual sea, was also awakened. It slowly raised its head, and a hint of vigilance appeared in its aged eyes.

Xu Jintang slowly opened his eyes, calmly shifting into a more comfortable sitting position. "Who are you?"

She was already quite adept at handling the matter of the mysterious creature residing within her.

One more wouldn't be a big deal.

The child's voice immediately started chattering, "I'm a weapon spirit! Do you know what a weapon spirit is? It's the spirit that an exceptionally powerful weapon-type ability carries within it!"

Xu Jintang hesitated for a moment, "So?"

"So I'm pretty amazing. For example, I know all the secrets about the Tilting Scales, how to use them, and how to summon them to fight."