Chapter 211

Xu Jintang frowned slightly as he examined the round mirror in front of him.

The energy fluctuations emanating from this mirror are rather strange; they lack both an offensive aura and a purely defensive power.

"A mirror? A defensive skill?" Song Tianqi, who was watching the commotion from below, asked.

Jiang Shiyi shook her head. "It doesn't seem like a simple defensive skill."

Yan Yuting stroked his chin, and together they speculated, "Could it be a rebound effect?"

At this moment, Xue Zhongqi shook his finger at everyone, "It's a delayed rebound effect. My skill is called Mirror of Stars. The entire mirror surface is made of star attributes and has an extremely strong devouring effect. When an enemy's attack touches the mirror surface, it will be instantly devoured into a parallel universe. Then, thirty seconds later, I can control the Mirror of Stars at any time to release all the attacks that were previously devoured."

Xu Jintang raised an eyebrow slightly, "Delayed rebound, this skill is quite interesting."

Simple damage reflection skills are not uncommon, but delayed reflection is quite unexpected.

"What is the maximum range of damage your mirror can withstand?" Jiang Shiyi asked.

Xue Zhongqi shook his head, "It's still unclear; we'll probably have to try it."

After saying that, he looked at Xu Jintang with great interest, "Squad leader, come on, let's test the limits of my skill."

Xu Jintang withdrew her gaze and shook her wrist. "Then I'll give it my all."

Xue Zhongqi hesitated for a moment, "Well... going all out might be a bit too much."

The class monitor's mental strength level was already higher than his, and coupled with his abnormal combat ability that allowed him to fight beyond his level, if he really went all out, even three of him wouldn't be enough to defeat him.

"Alright, then hold back a bit." As soon as she finished speaking, Xu Jintang's eyes darkened, her lips tightened, her fists clenched, and she quickly rushed towards the other side.

In an instant, a raging Ice Blade Storm descended.

Then, three delicate Ice Lotus slowly appeared around Xu Jintang.

The air temperature in the entire arena plummeted.

Sensing the terrifying force rushing towards him, Xue Zhongqi's lips twitched. "Didn't I tell you to hold back?"

It's too late to back out now.

Xue Zhongqi could only grit his teeth and increase the amount of mental energy he poured into the Mirror of Stars.

The already dazzling Mirror of Stars burst forth with an even more intense light.

At the same time, Xu Jintang's attacks all arrived.

"Bang bang bang--"

After the loud bang, Xue Zhongqi was thrown off the stage.

The Mirror of Stars in front of him shattered instantly, turning into countless fragments that scattered across the land.

Jiang Shiyi was watching from below, frowned slightly. "His endurance is probably only at the Fourth Tier at most."

Yan Yuting looked somewhat disappointed. "Then the effect will be greatly diminished."

Xue Zhongqi's skill can only be described as a divine skill.

However, the maximum endurance is only up to Fourth Tier. Under this limitation, the effectiveness of this skill is reduced by at least half.

"Hey, this is a skill derived from a support ability. It's already incredibly powerful to have this effect, okay?" Xue Zhongqi argued in defense of his skill.

Xu Jintang retracted his fist, turned around and nodded, "Indeed, it's quite impressive that he can utilize this skill to this extent."

Jiang Shiyi nodded in agreement, "In team battles, this skill has a lot of potential. We can study several tactics and try to maximize its effectiveness."

"And my Vermilion Bird Descends!" Song Tianqi shouted, raising his hand.

"Okay, let's take a break, we'll continue later." Xu Jintang waved his hand, pausing the special training.

With the Military Academy League approaching.

Friction and competition among the various military academies have also increased.

As official team members, Yu Wanyao and her four teammates faced challenges from six military academies within a month.

"I'm speechless. They're using us as targets, challenging us whenever they have nothing better to do, and we can't even refuse. If this keeps up, I'm going to turn into a fighting machine."

Qin Shuxue was the first to complain.

"Sigh, who can argue with that?" Wei Zixuan shook his head, looking exhausted.

Yan Zitao and Mu Guang also leaned back in their chairs helplessly.

"The league is about to start, it's normal for the military academies to want to test our strength. Let's all hang in there, things will be easier once the league starts," Yu Wanyao reassured them.

"Okay, let's hang in there a little longer," Wei Zixuan nodded in agreement.

Xu Jintang and his group of five were quite relaxed.

Under recent intensive training, their teamwork and combat skills have been improving rapidly. In particular, with the addition of Xue Zhongqi and Yan Yuting's new support skills, their overall combat effectiveness in team battles has increased by at least two times.

There are only two months left before the start of the league.

The Federation government has released the specific rules and procedures for this year's league:

[Given that the number of military academies participating in this year's league has reached over a thousand, a preliminary round will be added this year. The main purpose is to optimize and streamline the teams participating in the official league, bringing viewers more exciting and thrilling matches...]

"This league is terrifying; there are over a thousand military academies participating," Yan Yuting exclaimed repeatedly.

"It's alright, the five military academies don't need to participate in the preliminary rounds; they'll advance directly. We can just watch the show." Xue Zhongqi opened his folding fan and leaned back on the sofa, fanning himself with a relaxed expression.

The preliminary rounds are essentially like a large-scale open selection process.

The members of the five military academies are basically top-notch, so participating in the preliminary rounds would be a piece of cake. Therefore, the authorities gave the five military academies a green channel, which can be considered a privilege.

"This preliminary round is estimated to last a month. It'll be a good opportunity for us to see the strength of the other military academy members," Xu Jintang said, stroking his chin.

"The main thing is to see if there are any Dark Horse Team," Jiang Shiyi pointed out.

The greatest threat to them is undoubtedly the other four of the five major military academies. In addition, they should also be wary of those teams that may harbor hidden talents.

News of the qualifiers spread rapidly across the internet.

Shortly thereafter, the preliminary round schedule, venue arrangements, live broadcast times, and on-site ticket sales links were released.

The preliminary rounds will be held in the Central Auditorium venue in the form of a series of point-based matches, and the entire competition will be broadcast live.

The website crashed as soon as the pre-sale link for tickets to the live event was released.

After a few seconds of lag, all 100,000 tickets were sold out, a level of popularity no less than that of the Ability User Competition.

"The organizers gave us fifteen tickets to the event. If you guys have some free time, you can go check it out." Zhuang Silin pulled out a stack of tickets and handed them to Xu Jintang. "Although other military academies might not pose a significant threat to us, it wouldn't hurt to learn more about them."

"Understood!" Xu Jintang replied readily.

Song Tianqi and the others then replied in unison, "Understood!"

Chapter 211

On the opening day of the qualifiers, topics related to the league began to explode on the Star Network forum.

[Why is this year's Military Academy League starting so early?]

[This isn't an official competition yet, it's just the qualifiers.]

This year's competition is really exciting; they've even added a qualifying round.

[Hilarious! I waited two hours beforehand yesterday and still couldn't get a ticket. Sigh, if the qualifiers are this competitive, I doubt I'll be able to get a ticket for the actual matches.]

At this moment, outside the venue where the preliminary rounds are being held.

Xu Jintang and his entourage had already quietly lined up to enter.

"I didn't expect so many people to watch the qualifiers. Luckily, I was quick with my hands."

"Who knows what dark horse teams might emerge from the qualifiers? That alone makes it something to look forward to."

"And the members of the five major military academies might also come to watch the game. If we could bump into them and take a picture, wouldn't that be a huge win, hahaha?"

The whispers of passersby reached Xu Jintang and his companions' ears.

The group exchanged a silent glance and, without prior arrangement, all chose to lower their heads and remain silent.

Fifteen minutes later, Xu Jintang and the others entered the venue one after another and found their seats.

The preliminary rounds are similar to the Ability User Competition, using a round-robin format to eliminate teams one by one, with the remaining half of the participating teams advancing to the official league.

Soon, the lights inside the venue came on.

The host, seated on a floating sphere and microphone in hand, began enthusiastically, "Thank you all for coming to our preliminary round. There's still half an hour before the competition officially begins. Before that, please welcome the Wood Spirit Show Idol Group to the stage for a warm-up performance."

As soon as he finished speaking, the surrounding lights suddenly went out.

All eyes in the audience turned in unison to the center of the stage.

The elevator slowly rose.

The group, led by Shen Mucheng, then made their appearance.

The light shone on them, creating a soft halo.

A cheerful and lighthearted rhythm began to play.

The stage lights flashed continuously.

With the accompaniment of music, Shen Mucheng and the others danced in perfect unison.

The atmosphere at the scene immediately became lively.

"Shen Mucheng! Shen Mucheng!" Many fans came specifically for Shen Mucheng, and their shouts instantly echoed throughout the venue.

The accompaniment gradually became louder and more intense.

Shen Mucheng pursed his lips, each dance move was skillful and precise, and under the lights, he seemed to radiate a dazzling glow.

Xu Jintang, sitting in the audience, leaned back in his chair, his eyes half-closed, and began to enjoy the enhanced effects of Shen Mucheng's superpower.

The warm-up show ended 15 minutes later.

The waiting area for the players' teams was already packed with people.

Each team member held their head high, back straight, and looked radiant as they welcomed the start of the qualifiers.

A short while later, the host walked onto the stage.

With a "snap," the light shone on him.

The host smiled slightly, "Due to the large number of participating teams in the qualifiers, our competition will be held over a week. Next, we will proceed with the team draw."