Chapter 52 (continued)

"Is the Star Magic? How can you talk like that? The top scorer in Donghua Province should have been Li Yang!"

"I'm not Star Magic, I'm a Starwart."

"Oh, so it's that big idiot from Star Wars."

"You..."

Even the Star Magic Department can't out-argue the Spirit Department, so the Star Wars faction is even worse. They're better at fighting than talking, but when it comes to fighting... they don't have any legitimate opportunities to hit the Spirit Department. In the end, all they can do is repeat, "Spirit Department! Weaklings!"

The students in the Spirit Department were too lazy to even criticize them anymore.

It's still more fun to criticize the Star Magic Department.

Unfortunately, no one from the Star Magic Department made it into the top three; they've fallen silent.

The live chat started discussing how much of a chance Li Yang had of winning this round.

"Zhong Qian has already lost a match, he's definitely out of contention for first place, he might as well just tank!"

"Yeah, if it's not first place, then second place isn't really that interesting."

"Wait... what if Lin Zhaoxia beats Zhong Qian, Zhong Qian beats Li Yang, Li Yang beats Lin Zhaoxia... how will we rank them?"

"An extra round, it's happened before."

"Found it! There was a tiebreaker in the 290th class; the three played six matches before a winner was decided."

"Let's not... I'm waiting for dinner. Li Yang, please step up your game and win both rounds."

The Star Combat Department faction couldn't hold back any longer and shouted, "First and second place are ours! Li Yang can only be third!"

"Zhong Qian is on fire right now; our Strong Attack combo is only just beginning to unleash its full potential!"

"I bet Li Yang will be off the stage in five minutes!"

I bet three minutes!

"Really?" one of the more Spirit Department, asked. "Let's bet on gifts. If Li Yang wins, each of you can give Li Yang a gift worth 5 merit points!"

"What if she loses?"

I'll give Zhong Qian 5 points.

"Deal! I'll buy!"

"Me too!"

"Me too!"

The conversation made the Spirit Department students chuckle, and they grumbled in their little psychic group, "The Star Combat Department are so naive and easily fooled."

Li Yang won, and a bunch of people sent her gifts.

Zhong Qian won, and only the person who spoke sent him gifts.

Only someone from the Star Combat Department would agree to such a bet.

The host started the countdown. "5, 4, 3..."

As the last note faded, Zhong Qian and Li Yang collided.

A loud bang.

Li Yang felt a sharp pain in her wrist, and only then did she truly feel the powerful pressure emanating from the heavy sword.

Shadow Moon couldn't withstand it; she expended twice the Power of Starlight to barely block Zhong Kun's attack.

A burst of red light erupted from Li Yang's body. Relying on her "Frenzy" speed state, she quickly circled behind Zhong Qian and successfully released "Severing Space." However, Zhong Qian turned around precisely and interrupted her Star Skill release with his heavy sword.

The Star Skill "Heavy Strike" strikes, and when combined with this evolving greatsword, its power more than triples.

Li Yang dared not use Shadow Moon to interrupt, as this would consume a large amount of her Power of Starlight, and might even destroy Shadow Moon.

Once the Star Weapon are gone, she won't be able to unleash her Burst-Speed Combo, so how will she win the match?

Li Yang could only retreat passively, while Zhong Qian seized the opportunity to advance. He was in a "hot" state—the injuries he sustained in the previous match had mostly recovered, which not only did not affect his combat power, but also made him even more fierce than in the previous match.

The heavy sword gleamed with fierce power, Li Yang suffered repeated defeats.

Feng Yiqiao and the others in the audience watched with bated breath. Lü Shunshun couldn't help but say, "Even if we lost, our junior sister was still amazing!"

Feng Yiqiao also said, "Yes... it's already very impressive that she made it into the top three."

Yu Hongyuan, displaying a true underling's spirit, refused to believe his senior sister would lose. He roared, "Go, senior sister! First place is ours!"

This shout spurred the Star Combat Department students to their feet, who all stood up and yelled, "Zhong Qian! Take down this imposter!"

The voice from the Spirit Department boomed. "Li Yang! Take down this second-in-command of Donghua Province!"

When it comes to winning hearts and minds, who can rival the Spirit Department?

The few remaining Star Magic Department freshmen on the field rolled their eyes at their fellow Star Combat Department students and said, "Why did you provoke them?"

The audience below was noisy, but the two people on stage couldn't hear anything.

Zhong Qian's attacks grew increasingly fierce, while Li Yang seemed to be completely on the defensive, only able to passively take the blows. However, it was clear to everyone that Li Yang was looking for an opportunity...

With a soft thud, the heavy sword struck Li Yang's left shoulder. She leaned against the Bark for protection, crouching low to retreat, but still felt a sharp pain spreading from her shoulder, like an electric current shooting to her fingertips.

Thankfully it was her left shoulder; if it had been her right shoulder, she wouldn't have been able to hold onto Shadow Moon anymore.

Zhong Qian swung his sword down again, Li Yang knew very well that "Bark" couldn't withstand another blow. She quickly dodged, activating "Hidden Shadow" at the same time.

No, we need to calm Zhong Qian down.

He's so tough when he's on fire; even if I spot an opening, I can't cut in and hurt him.

Zhong Qian's mental strength was even lower than Shen Shangchi's; if even Shen Shangchi couldn't see Li Yang, then he certainly couldn't.

The crowd quieted down a bit, no longer shouting "Go Li Yang!" but instead focusing intently, trying to locate Li Yang's position.

"This Star Skill combined with Burst-Speed Combo is incredibly powerful. Imagine if it were in actual combat... who could avoid Li Yang's assassination attempt?"

"Unless you have a close-range protective Star Skill, you have to keep it active at all times."

"Third Grade Initial Stage definitely doesn't have this kind of setup, which is why Li Yang can easily defeat Third Grade Realm."

"To be fair, it was the situation of the monthly exam that limited Li Yang... Who would have a direct confrontation with an assassin?"

"So even if Zhong Qian wins, it doesn't mean Li Yang loses."

The Star Combat Department fans realized what was going on and started arguing in the comments. "You guys aren't trying to cheat, are you?!"

The girl from the Spirit Department coughed lightly and said, "How could that be? We agreed that Zhong Qian would win. Even if Li Yang didn't lose, I'd still send Zhong Qian gifts." She wouldn't admit defeat anyway; at most, she'd accept a win-win situation.

Facing Li Yang's Hidden Shadow, Zhong Qian was clearly prepared. He stood calmly in place, gripping his heavy sword tightly with both hands, presenting a perfect defensive posture.

He couldn't see Li Yang's location, but he knew very well that Li Yang would attack, and all he had to do was defend.

This is how the match limited Li Yang's combo.

Of course, many people are actually restricted.

For example, those with the Spirit Department and Star Support Department... at least below the Fourth Grade, they always act in teams. If they fight alone, they will definitely be crushed.

For example, the Star Magic Department is easily countered by the Star Combat Department. Ying Qi has a lot of powerful Star Skill, and if someone helps her tank, she can take on ten opponents at once.

This month's exam really belonged to the Star Combat Department.

And that's true. The three finalists are theoretically all from the Star Combat Department — Li Yang's move is also part of their combo.

Li Yang couldn't stay hidden forever. The second stage of Hidden Shadow, the effect of hiding the Star Aperture, consumed almost no Power of Starlight, but the effect of hiding one's figure consumed a lot of it.

In such a closely contested battle, every bit of Power of Starlight is crucial; often, it is that slightest mistake that determines victory or defeat.

After Li Yang uses "Frenzy", the "Hidden Shadow" effect immediately disappears. If she doesn't use "Frenzy", the speed of "Severing Space" is not fast enough, and she can't perform this combo.

At this moment, she was only half a meter away from Zhong Qian. She instantly activated "Frenzy" and "Severing Space," seamlessly connecting a combo that left the Star Combat Department in the audience gasping in amazement.

"Using affordable alternatives to this extent is amazing!"

However, Zhong Qian remained steadfast in his stance, turning and blocking, thus interrupting Li Yang's next "Severing Space".

If the number of "Severing Space" attacks released is insufficient, then "Execution" cannot be used.

Thus, Li Yang's offensive was interrupted once again.

What to do?

How can I beat Zhong Qian?

Even after interrupting his hot streak, Li Yang was unable to break through his defenses.

Zhong Kun gloated from the audience again. "My brother's so steady! Once he wears Yangzi down, he'll win the match!"

Yu Hongyuan retorted, "If Lin Zhaoxia can use Frenzy version of 'Frenzy,' my senior sister can too!"

Zhong Kun laughed heartily and said, "Dreaming! Lin Zhaoxia was instructed by Grandmaster, and besides... sigh, she's Heavenly Fortune with good fortune; she's incredibly strong, unmatched by ordinary people."

Feng Yiqiao and the other two also thought that Taro Ball too naive; how could Li Yang possibly achieve that effect?

Yu Hongyuan remained unconvinced, saying, "Our teacher is also Grandmaster! My senior sister is even more Heavenly Fortune! If Lin Zhaoxia can do it, my senior sister can definitely do it too!"

Zhong Kun waved his hand and said, "Whatever you want, my brother's going to win anyway!"

After saying this, Zhong Kun felt a sudden pang in his heart.

That can't be right.

He can't really be a jinx, can he?

The situation on the field returned to one of Zhong Qian's relentless attacks, while Li Yang passively took hits and looked for opportunities. Many Star Combat Department fans thought, "It's a sure thing. Li Yang is quite excellent, but she's naturally at a disadvantage against Zhong Qian's combo attacks."

At this moment, a mentally Spirit Department player noticed something amiss and exclaimed, "Holy crap, Li Yang removed the 'Bark'!"

"???"

"Are we really going to take this gamble?"

The students from the Star Magic Department couldn't resist any longer. They came back to secretly peek at the screen, hoping to see Li Yang's embarrassing moment after losing the game. But they didn't expect her to try to imitate Lin Zhaoxia.

The Star Combat Department fans are so bad at grasping the essentials that they couldn't help but chime in. "This is a real-life example of a poor imitation; if you don't do it right, you could get yourself killed!"

"Li Yang is really greedy, like a snake trying to swallow an elephant. Getting into the top three in the monthly exam is good enough, why does she have to be number one? Does she think there's some Master -level treasure in the Star Ash Mystic Realm?"

"The dean of the Agronomy Department is only at the Fourth Grade Realm, so there's nothing that can be done about his limited vision."

"That's just how it is to be poor. If you get crippled and have to pay huge medical bills, you'll be even poorer, hahaha."