How Can Anyone Win?

On the other side of the crowd, Wang Hao stared at the line of rules in mid-air, his face ashen.

Copy design.

These four words were like a bucket of ice water, completely extinguishing the glimmer of hope that had just been ignited within him.

If the third stage is a real combat battle or a one-on-one fight against the BOSS, he can still try to fight back with his S-level core card Chaotic Hair Cloak Hammer.

But once this question was presented, he didn't even have the qualifications to compete.

No one knows better than Su Mu what level of dungeon design he has.

In his first year of high school, Su Mu represented Rongcheng No. 1 High School in the city-level dungeon design simulation competition and won first place. In his second year of high school, Su Mu won first place again in the provincial competition.

For the final mock exam of the senior year, Su Mu's design paper was printed by the school as a template and distributed to the entire grade for reference.

Ye Qingxue is strong enough, isn't she?

The SSS-rank Snow Queen, the pride of Rongcheng No. 1 High School. But even she, in the course of dungeon design, hadn't beaten Su Mu once in three years.

Wang Hao gritted his teeth, his nails digging into his palms.

He dared not gamble. He didn't even dare to imagine that he could beat Su Mu in the dungeon design.

On the other side of the square, Lin Qingyin stood at the edge of the crowd from the Provincial No. 1 High School, her brows slightly furrowed.

Her gaze fell on the name at the top of the leaderboard, and she remained silent for a long time.

Su Mu.

She recognized the name.

She participated in the provincial-level copy design assessment last year and only got fifth place.

The first place winner was Su Mu from Rongcheng No. 1 High School.

She had seen Su Mu's design drafts at the time. His application of dungeon rules, his deconstruction of thematic concepts, and his prediction of the rhythm of battle were things that a high school student could not possibly write.

She thought to herself at the time that if this person awakened a good core card, his future would be limitless.

Unexpectedly, he was not only a brilliant designer, but also so strong in actual combat.

First place in the first round, first place in the second round, after two rounds, I've surpassed all the SSS-level teams in the entire province.

Lin Qingyin sighed softly.

This level is designed like a dungeon, and Su Mu's first place is basically secured. She doesn't need to compete for first place, and she can't anyway. What she needs to do is maintain second place.

On the other side of the crowd, Ye Qingxue stood beside a stone pillar, her gaze calm.

She was thinking the same thing.

Su Mu's first place is secure.

Dungeon design is Su Mu's forte.

For three years of high school, she lost to him in this subject, and she accepted her defeat wholeheartedly.

Others may not know how powerful Su Mu's designs are, but she does.

That person's mind seemed to contain a complete system for constructing instances, from terrain to creatures, from rules to rhythm, every detail was terrifyingly precise.

Ye Qingxue pursed her lips slightly, her heart filled with indescribable feelings.

She was happy for Su Mu.

This is genuine.

From the day he awakened, everyone thought Su Mu was finished. He had an F-rank stone card, a special theme, no background, and no resources. But he has walked step by step to where he is today, winning first place in two stages and trampling all the SSS-rank players in the province under his feet.

At the same time, she also felt an inexplicable sense of urgency.

Su Mu is too strong.

She chased after it desperately, and from the day she woke up until now, she has hardly had a full night's sleep.

She spent millions on cooling items, she farmed dungeons day and night, and she upgraded her Snow Queen again and again.

Even so, the gap between her and Su Mu seems to be widening.

She must become stronger.

Ye Qingxue clenched her fist, turning her gaze away from Su Mu and onto the rule-like characters in mid-air.

She will give it her all in this hurdle.

Meanwhile, on the floating platform...

The proctors looked at the rules for the third level that appeared on the screen, and their expressions varied.

"I didn't expect the policy to be issued so quickly." The middle-aged teacher pushed up his glasses, his tone tinged with emotion. "This year, the third mandatory question in every province is a copy design question. The higher-ups are really serious this time."

"It's related to that newly discovered super-large nest," another teacher chimed in, lowering his voice slightly. "The nest's structure is too complex; conventional methods simply won't work. The association sent dozens of top designers there, and they've been studying it for almost three months, but they haven't even figured out the outer perimeter."

"So the higher-ups decided to include copy design in the core assessment starting with the college entrance examination?" someone asked.

"Yes. Universities have already started preparing to establish dungeon design colleges. Tsinghua and Peking Universities, Peking University, Peking University, Magic City Jiao Tong University have all newly established dungeon design departments this year, specifically to train talents in this field. In the future, the training direction for dungeon masters will change; it will no longer be about individual strength working alone, but about teamwork and dungeon construction."

"What about real combat? Is real combat unimportant?"

"Of course it's important. But while there are always people with strong practical skills, there are very few with strong design skills. A top-notch designer can lead an entire team of top-notch dungeon raiders. Such talent is even rarer than a single strong individual."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Elder Xiu stood before the light screen, hands behind his back, without saying a word. Only when the murmurs among the crowd subsided did he slowly speak.

"The importance of dungeon design will only increase in the future." His voice wasn't loud, but every word clearly reached everyone present. "It's not just because of that massive lair. In future racial battles, dungeon design will be one of the key factors determining victory or defeat."

He paused.

"However, this involves some information that is not yet publicly available. Just know the general direction; there's no need to delve into it."

The group exchanged bewildered glances, but no one pressed for further details.

The discussions at Elder Xiu's level generally revolve around national policies and global strategic planning. He said he would stop there, so naturally we shouldn't inquire further.

At this moment, Elder Xiu was watching the video in front of him, and six words were on his mind. "Secret Realm Theme Alliance."

At the same time.

The third stage begins.