“Me too!”
“Count me in!”
The Spirit System students secretly laughed at this, with one of them commenting, “The Star Battle students are so easy to fool.”
If Li Yang wins, a bunch of people will give her gifts.
But if Zhong Qian wins, only the person who made the bet will give him gifts.
This kind of betting game could only be accepted by the Star Battle students.
The host started the countdown: “5, 4, 3…”
As the final number fell, Zhong Qian and Li Yang collided.
With a loud bang.
Li Yang only felt a sharp pain in her wrist, and she truly felt the overwhelming pressure of the heavy sword.
Yingyue couldn’t withstand it, and it took double the star brilliance to barely block Zhong Qian’s strike.
Li Yang’s red aura burst forth, and with the explosive speed of “Frenzy,” she quickly circled behind Zhong Qian.
She successfully activated “Break Void.”
However, Zhong Qian made a precise turn, and the heavy sword interrupted her star technique release.
The star technique “Heavy Strike” came at her, and with the growing heavy sword, its power was more than three times greater.
Li Yang didn’t dare to use Yingyue to block; it would consume a lot of her star brilliance and might even break Yingyue.
Once the star soldier was gone, she wouldn’t be able to use her combo techniques, and how could she win the match then?
Li Yang could only retreat passively, while Zhong Qian pressed the attack.
He was in his “heated hand” state, which didn’t affect his battle strength but instead made him even more aggressive than before.
The injuries from the previous match had mostly healed, and not only was the heavy sword roaring, but Li Yang was forced to retreat step by step.
Feng Yiqiao and the others watched with tense hearts, and Lu Shunshun couldn’t help but say,
“Even if she loses, our junior sister is still amazing.”
Feng Yiqiao also said, “Yeah… making it to the top three is already excellent.”
Yu Hongyuan, with a typical younger brother attitude, didn’t believe his senior sister would lose.
He shouted, “Go, senior sister! First place is ours!”
This shout stirred up the students from Star Battle, who stood up in unison and yelled, “Zhong Qian! Beat this fake!”
The Spirit System students’ voices were like thunder: “Li Yang! Beat this second place from Donghua Province!”
When it comes to mind games, who can beat the Spirit System?
A few new students from Star Law in the audience rolled their eyes at the Star Battle students, saying, “Why provoke them?”
The crowd below was noisy, but the two on stage couldn’t hear anything.
Zhong Qian’s attacks grew fiercer, but Li Yang seemed to have completely fallen at a disadvantage, only able to passively take the hits.
However, anyone with a discerning eye could tell that Li Yang was waiting for an opportunity…
With a sound of puchi, the heavy sword struck Li Yang’s left shoulder.
She relied on the tree bark for protection, crouched, and retreated, but still felt a sharp pain spreading from her shoulder, like an electric current running down to her fingertips.
Luckily, it was her left shoulder.
If it had been her right shoulder, she wouldn’t be able to hold the Shadow Moon anymore.
Zhong Qian struck again with his sword, and Li Yang was very aware that the “tree bark” couldn’t take another hit.
She quickly dodged and activated “Shadow Concealment.”
No, she needed to make Zhong Qian “calm down.”
This heated state was too troublesome.
Even if she spotted an opening, she couldn’t get through his defense.
Zhong Qian’s spiritual power was lower than Shen Shangchi’s.
If even Shen Shangchi couldn’t see Li Yang, then Zhong Qian definitely wouldn’t.
The crowd below had quieted down, no longer shouting “Go for it,” but instead focusing intently, trying to find Li Yang’s position.
“This star skill combo with explosive speed is really strong. Imagine if this were a real battle… Who could avoid Li Yang’s assassination?”
“Unless they have close-range defensive star skills, and even then, they’d need to keep them active.”
“At the third-tier entry level, they definitely don’t have this kind of setup, so Li Yang can easily defeat opponents at the third-tier level.”
“Honestly, it’s the format of the monthly exam that’s limiting Li Yang… Who would send an assassin to face someone head-on?”
“So even if Zhong Qian wins, it doesn’t mean Li Yang lost.”
People from the Star Battle Department started to argue in the comments:
“You don’t want to cheat, do you?”
The young lady from the Spiritual 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 give Zhong Qian a gift.”
So, they wouldn’t admit to a loss, at most calling it a double win.
Li Yang’s “Shadow Concealment” was clearly expected by Zhong Qian.
He calmly stood in place, gripping his heavy sword, adopting a perfect defensive stance.
He couldn’t see Li Yang’s position, but he knew she would attack, and all he had to do was defend.
This was the limitation of Li Yang’s combo in the competition.
Of course, many others were also restricted.
For example, the Spiritual Department and Star Assistant Department…
At least below the fourth-tier, they always acted in teams, and one-on-one, they would definitely be beaten.
Also, the Star Magic Department was often restrained by the Star Battle Department.
Like Ying Qi’s strong offensive star skills, if someone helped her block, she could take on ten opponents.
This monthly exam truly belonged to the Star Battle Department.
And it was true—the three students who made it into the finals were all theoretically from the Star Battle Department—Li Yang’s combo was also theirs.
Li Yang couldn’t hide forever.
The second phase of “Shadow Concealment,” which hid her star nodes, consumed almost no star brilliance, but hiding her body had a substantial cost.
In such an evenly matched battle, every bit of star brilliance was critical.
A tiny mistake could decide the outcome.
Once Li Yang activated “Frenzy,” the “Shadow Concealment” effect immediately disappeared.
Without “Frenzy,” the speed of “Disruption” wasn’t enough to complete the combo.
At this point, Li Yang was only half a meter away from Zhong Qian.
She instantly activated “Frenzy” and “Disruption” in perfect succession, delivering a combo that amazed the Star Battle Department people below.
“Using the replacement skill to this extent, that’s amazing!”
However, Zhong Qian responded with unchanging defense, sidestepping with a quick turn, interrupting Li Yang’s next “Disruption.”
The release of “Disruption” was insufficient, so she couldn’t trigger the “Execution” effect.
Thus, Li Yang’s offensive was interrupted once again.
What should she do?
How could she win against Zhong Qian?
Even if she interrupted his heated state, she couldn’t break through his defense.
Zhong Kun was gloating below: “My brother is too steady! Once he tires Li Yang out, he’ll win the match!”
Yu Hongyuan disagreed: “Lin Zhaoxia could use the Frenzy version of ‘Frenzy,’ and my senior sister can do it too!”
Kun laughed loudly and said, “You wish. Lin Zhaoxia was guided by a grand master. Plus, she… oh, the fortune is on her side, she’s too strong for ordinary people to compare to.”
Feng Yiqiao and the others thought that Yu Yuan was too naive, wondering how Li Yang could even use that effect.
Yu Hongyuan still disagreed:
“Our teacher is also a grand master! My senior sister is also blessed by fortune! If Lin Zhaoxia can do it, my senior sister can definitely do it!”
Zhong Kun waved his hand and said, “Do what you want, my brother is going to win!”
After saying this, Zhong Kun felt an uneasy pang in his heart.
It can’t be…
Could he be a jinx?
The battle returned to Zhong Qian’s ferocious attacks, with Li Yang passively taking the hits and looking for an opening.
Many people from the Star Battle Department thought: “It’s settled, Li Yang is pretty good, but she’s naturally at a disadvantage against Zhong Qian’s combo.”
At this moment, some spiritual experts in the crowd noticed something was off:
“Wait, Li Yang removed the ‘tree bark’?”
“Really going all in?”
The students from the Star Magic Department couldn’t resist and sneaked a peek, initially planning to watch Li Yang lose the match, but unexpectedly, she seemed to want to copy Lin Zhaoxia.
The Star Battle Department people didn’t get the point and couldn’t help but comment: “This is like the real-life version of Dong Shi mimicking Xie, this effect is dangerous if it goes wrong!”
Li Yang was being too greedy, aiming for first place when she could have been satisfied with third.
Was she hoping there was a grandmaster-level treasure in the Star Ash Secret Realm?
“The Agriculture Department dean is only at the fourth-tier, their perspective is limited.”
“This is the life of the poor. If she’s injured, the medical expenses will make her even poorer, haha.”
Now even the people from the Spiritual Department could only grit their teeth in frustration, unable to rebut.
Li Yang’s chances of winning were slim.
The most likely outcome was severe injury and elimination.
She could have gracefully taken third, but now she might be labeled arrogant…
Feng Yiqiao nervously clenched his fists:
“Why did she remove the tree bark… What’s she doing?”
Lu Shunshun and Xia Putao were also anxious:
“This isn’t good, her health is the most important!”
They no longer cared about what the live stream comments were saying, all they could think about was Li Yang’s safety.
She wasn’t the type to compete for the sake of victory, so why did she insist on first place?
When Lin Zhaoxia won against Zhong Qian, she was covered in blood.
What about Li Yang? She was bound to suffer even more.
They weren’t worried about her life being in danger, but being injured so badly would still hurt terribly.
At this moment, Li Yang didn’t care about anything else.
When she removed the tree bark, she felt lighter, and the consumption of star brilliance inside her body decreased significantly.
Defense-type star skills protect people, but they’re also a “burden.”
At this moment, Li Yang felt as if she had removed a weight, feeling incredibly light.
She rushed toward Zhong Qian again, using a blood-exchange technique identical to Lin Zhaoxia’s.
Zhong Qian hurt her, but she also wounded Zhong Qian.
In just a minute of fighting, both were covered in blood.
Li Yang had never used “Frenzy” in actual combat.
She had only simulated it in her mind, watching Lin Zhaoxia’s videos dozens of times with her 500 spiritual points.
Could it work?
She didn’t know.
But Li Yang couldn’t afford to lose.
She had to win first place in the monthly exam!
The heavy sword left wounds all over her body.
At first, Li Yang felt a lot of pain, but later it wasn’t as bad.
The surrounding air reeked of blood, and it felt as though she had detached from her body, coldly observing her own condition.
Not enough, still not enough.
“Frenzy” was like a greedy beast, stretching out its crimson tentacles, absorbing the blood energy spilling from her body.