Translator: CinderTL
On the cosmos arena, Lin Yushu lay sprawled at the edge, his sword vanished, his hair disheveled, and his appearance utterly wretched.
His face was blank with shock.
He had spent three months in grueling training, achieving Small Success in his swordplay. Though it was only a low-tier profound tier technique, his progress had already surpassed many of his classmates.
Lin Yushu had imagined this battle would be a fierce, back-and-forth struggle, a grueling clash with no clear victor.
But now?
"I was one-shot killed?" Lin Yushu stared at Jiang Ye's figure on the arena, his expression dazed.
From the match's start to its end, less than three seconds had elapsed.
Jiang Ye had blasted him off the arena with a single shot.
In that instant, Lin Yushu fully grasped the vast gulf between his own strength and Jiang Ye's.
Match Over
Jiang Ye Wins!
"Brother Jiang," Lin Yushu said as he struggled to his feet, "have you already reached the first breakthrough peak?"
Jiang Ye nodded with a smile.
"Hiss!"
"You monster... you're terrifying," Lin Yushu couldn't help but hiss.
He had achieved his first breakthrough half a year before Jiang Ye.
How long had it been since then?
Jiang Ye had already reached the first breakthrough peak, while Lin Yushu remained stuck in the mid-stage of his first breakthrough.
To reach the first breakthrough peak himself, he would likely need at least another year. The second breakthrough seemed even more distant.
"Brother Jiang," Lin Yushu said after a moment of silence, "you must make it into the top ten! Ancheng is counting on you."
Among the three participants from Ancheng, neither he nor Zhao Qingli stood a chance of reaching the top ten, let alone the top hundred.
That left only Jiang Ye.
Jiang Ye had become Ancheng's last hope.
"Alright," Jiang Ye replied with a smile. "I will."
Lin Yushu gazed at him intently before his figure slowly faded into nothingness.
"Top ten?" Jiang Ye murmured.
That wasn't enough.
Not nearly enough!
Student Jiang Ye, you have advanced to the top 500. Please wait patiently for the next match to begin.
A notification appeared.
"Top 500," Jiang Ye breathed deeply, his gaze as unwavering as stone.
This was just the beginning.
The competition continued.
After waiting a minute in the competition space, Jiang Ye officially entered the next match.
The top 500 showdown had begun!
Without the slightest pressure, Jiang Ye effortlessly defeated his opponent in under ten seconds.
As a first breakthrough peak cultivator, his sheer cultivation level alone was enough to crush over eighty percent of the freshmen.
Penglai University, after all, wasn't a top-tier institution like White Dragon University.
Having reached the first breakthrough peak within just three months of the semester's start made him an exceptional talent even among the A-grade students.
Top 500!
Top 250!
Top 100!
Top 50!
Time flowed like a river.
Jiang Ye ascended through the ranks like a rocket, effortlessly cutting his way to the Top 50 without encountering any resistance.
But from the Top 50 onward, the competition rules changed.
Boom!
Jiang Ye materialized on an arena several times larger than the previous ones.
Four other competitors appeared alongside him.
"A group of five?" Jiang Ye glanced at the others, immediately understanding the round's rules.
Five competitors per group, ten groups in total.
Four would be eliminated from each group, leaving one victor to advance to the Top 10.
The format bore a striking resemblance to the Reserve Star Professional Assessment he had taken earlier.
The key difference was this time, all five members of his group had essentially reached the first breakthrough peak!
Their strength was remarkably similar.
No single competitor could realistically hope to defeat four others alone.
"Jiang Ye!" a voice called out.
"Brother Deng," Jiang Ye replied, his expression shifting slightly as he turned toward the other side of the arena.
Deng Yunfei was in his group too!
Whoosh! Deng Yunfei flashed to his side, his voice soft and coaxing. "Jiang Ye, let's team up."
"Alright," Jiang Ye agreed without hesitation.
The other three contestants on the arena had already formed a tacit alliance, clearly intending to eliminate Jiang Ye and Deng Yunfei first.
Deng Yunfei, ranked 12th among the freshmen.
Jiang Ye, ranked 1st among the freshmen.
With these two teaming up, the other three naturally had to band together, as their rankings were all outside the top twenty.
"We're ranked 23rd, 29th, and 35th," one of them said.
"Jiang Ye may be the freshman champion, but his actual strength is said to be lacking. Deng Yunfei is the real threat."
"Let's eliminate them both first!"
Across the arena, the three freshmen quickly reached an agreement.
In an instant, a suppressed Martial Dao Aura seemed to surge from their bodies, as if ready to erupt at any moment.
Similarly, Jiang Ye and Deng Yunfei stood firm, their qi prowess as deep as an abyss.
The atmosphere grew suffocatingly tense.
Match Start
Boom!
Boom! Boom! The moment the subtitles vanished, both sides erupted into action simultaneously.
Jiang Ye and Deng Yunfei transformed into two phantom-like figures, each charging toward their respective opponents.
"Let's take out the weakest one first," Jiang Ye muttered, his gaze locking onto a short, wiry youth.
Whoosh! His spear, like a rampaging dragon, surged forward with overwhelming force.
"Trying to kill me?" The wiry youth, gripping his halberd, scoffed. "You've picked the wrong opponent!"
He had heard that Jiang Ye's strength upon entering the academy was around the mid-stage of the first breakthrough. His victory in the Freshman Trials was attributed to some special physique, granting him exceptional speed but lacking true combat prowess. The youth believed he could handle Jiang Ye alone.
"Kill!"
Jiang Ye moved like lightning, his spear thrusting forward with explosive force.
Not everyone could achieve top rankings in the Freshman Trials through multiple buffs like he had. The rankings in the trials, to some extent, reflected one's true strength. This wiry youth, ranked only 35th, had never been considered a worthy opponent by Jiang Ye.
Boom!
Jiang Ye's figure blurred as his Small Success-level Great Sun Spear Technique erupted without restraint. There was no flashy prelude, no unnecessary flourish.
A seemingly simple thrust!
Clang! The short, wiry youth erupted simultaneously, his halberd sweeping out like a dragon.
"What? This—"
His expression twisted in shock.
A mountain-toppling force slammed into him, as if he'd been struck by a colossal warship. His body was sent flying backward.
[Playing the Fool to Catch the Tiger: When underestimated by an opponent, instantly increase critical hit damage by 150%.]
150% critical hit damage!
Pfft! A bloody hole pierced the youth's chest, crimson blood spurting wildly.
His body rapidly dissolved into nothingness.
With a single thrust, the 35th-ranked freshman was eliminated!
"What? A one-hit kill?"
"How is that possible?" The remaining two fighters paled, utterly stunned by the unexpected turn of events.
"Jiang Ye...?" Deng Yunfei was equally astonished. As Jiang Ye's fellow disciple, he had never imagined his comrade possessed such overwhelming power!
"Kill!"
Ignoring the others' reactions, Jiang Ye moved like a phantom.
Whoosh! He charged toward the remaining two fighters.
With his spear in hand, he moved like a dragon rising from the water!
In the next instant, Jiang Ye unleashed his full power.
Swish! Swish! Swish! His spear erupted in a storm of dozens of thrusts, each strike relentless and overwhelming, enveloping the two fighters.
Each strike carried the searing heat and explosive force of stellar energy, pouring down like a raging torrent.
Great Sun Spear Technique, Twelfth Form: Fiery Tempest Spear Rain!
BOOM!!!
(End of the Chapter)
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