Chapter 69: The Promotion and Relegation Tournament Officially Begins

Zhu Mao instinctively raised his greatsword to block! Yan Yi, with remarkable combat experience, unexpectedly changed his aerial downward slash into an upward thrust. With a quick twist of his wrist, the attack that was originally descending from above transformed into a rising strike from below.

Clang!

A piercing sound echoed. Zhu Mao felt his arm go numb as a flash of white light swept past; his greatsword was knocked from his grasp, tumbling to the side. As a warrior, to lose one's weapon so easily left him utterly powerless. Yan Yi gave him no chance to retrieve it, relentlessly pressing the attack. One sword—minus 100 HP! A second—minus 120 HP! A third strike—a critical hit, minus 200 HP!

Through the digitized interface, Chen Mo could clearly see the damage inflicted by each of Yan Yi’s strikes. He was not alone; some classmates, like Young Master Wei and Scholar Zhang, had unlocked the "Wisdom Eye" feature, which allowed them to view combat damage from both sides. Naturally, Instructor Moon Fox could see it as well.

Seven consecutive strikes landed, leaving Zhu Mao battered and unable to retaliate. His two combat skills were rendered useless, and he was left in a pitiful state.

Bang—

A dull sound signaled the shattering of the blue shield. Yan Yi did not stop, intending to continue his assault, but Instructor Moon Fox, like a crescent in motion, surged forward in a burst of speed, knocking Yan Yi—sword and all—clear across the arena.

Moon Fox shouted in anger, "All of you, remember this: when a shield is broken, it means the match is over. If anyone continues attacking, their qualification will be revoked! This time, I’ll let it pass. I declare Yan Yi of Class B has successfully defended. He cannot be challenged again by Class F, but later, Yan Yi may choose to challenge others!"

In the gymnasium, matches were being held simultaneously across several arenas. Five consecutive challenges from Class F had ended in defeat, making the gap between Class F and Class D painfully clear. The students of Class F had underestimated the situation; they thought they’d improved, grown stronger, but the students of Class D had advanced even faster, becoming even more formidable! A quarter of Class D had already cleared the novice difficulty, while not a single student from Class F had managed it—such was the magnitude of the disparity.

Suddenly, more than twenty Class F students who had stood up in anticipation slumped back into their seats, too frightened to further humiliate themselves.

Class D jeered, "Ha! Come on, F class, don’t be cowards! Keep challenging us!"

"Yeah, yeah, come challenge us! I’m a mage, soft and adorable, ooh ooh ooh!"

Despite the mockery from Class D, Chen Mo remained impassive; he was above challenging Class D.

The top-ranked student in Class B, Shangguan Chao Yue, shot Chen Mo a look that seemed to say: Chen Mo, go ahead, with your strength, you should have no trouble taking on Class D. Shangguan Chao Yue even gestured '1333'—meaning that the student ranked 1333 was weak, urging Chen Mo to choose him.

Chen Mo felt complex emotions toward his roommate; sometimes he seemed cold and aloof, other times unexpectedly gentle and nuanced like a woman. Wait, he was a woman to begin with!

"I’ll go!" came a shrill voice.

To everyone’s surprise, the challenger was none other than the renowned socialite of Pingli Middle School—the Douyin Goddess, Zhong Lin’er!

Zhong Lin’er, true to her reputation as the school’s premier socialite, had previously offered herself to Zhou Xiong, ranked tenth in Class A. Discovering Zhou Xiong’s reputation was undeserved—good at dungeons, but weak in real combat, unable even to defeat Chen Mo—she quickly moved on to Wu Chen, one of Class A's five prodigies. This time, her choice was spot on; Wu Chen, both in dungeon results and combat, was among the school’s best. Zhong Lin’er learned many dungeon and combat techniques from Wu Chen.

Wu Chen was utterly besotted with Zhong Lin’er, granting her every wish. Yet, for men who adored her beauty, Zhong Lin’er had never any interest, not even for the exceptional Wu Chen.

"Look, it’s that green tea girl! She actually dares to challenge!"

"Shh, keep it down. Her boyfriend is Wu Chen, one of the five prodigies. He’s utterly bewitched by her!"

"Only a fool like Wu Chen would fall for such a wanton woman!"

Zhong Lin’er paid no mind to the gossip around her. She believed girls mocked her out of jealousy for her beauty, and boys taunted her because they couldn’t have her. To live with such confidence as Zhong Lin’er was no small feat.

With a proud smile, she blew a kiss toward Wu Chen in Class A before the entire student body, sparking a wave of cheers.

Wu Chen felt his heart melt—the girl was too beautiful. He swore to himself to protect her at all costs.

"Silence! This is a competition arena, not a marketplace!" Moon Fox snapped.

The stands fell quiet.

Moon Fox asked sternly, "Zhong Lin’er, whom do you wish to challenge?"

Zhong Lin’er teased, flicking her tongue across her lips, eyes smoldering as she gazed at Class D.

Moments ago, many Class D boys had cursed her as shameless, but now, under her gaze, their hearts fluttered, longing to conquer her.

With a delicate gesture, Zhong Lin’er curled her fingers and pointed, "Du Nan, ranked 1333!"

Du Nan, named from Class D, immediately grew flustered, stumbling as if he might collapse at any moment.

Many who knew Du Nan shook their heads in regret, "It’s over. Du Nan is finished. He’s a mage, and though his rank is high, it’s only because he awakened a special camouflage spell, allowing him to blend with his surroundings and evade gorilla attacks, slowly climbing the ranks. It’s useless in real combat! His camouflage isn’t advanced enough; he can fool gorillas, but not humans!"

"This green tea—she only picks the soft ones!"

As everyone expected, Du Nan stood no chance against Zhong Lin’er, who had mastered fireball magic. Du Nan comically activated his camouflage, merging with the gym floor. At a glance, he was nearly invisible, but the subtle difference between the human form and the floor was detectable if one looked closely.

"Haha! Prepare to die!" Zhong Lin’er, clearly enjoying herself, summoned fireballs and hurled them at Du Nan.

Poor Du Nan remained motionless, even as fireballs struck him. This was perhaps his last shred of dignity—not only camouflaging his appearance but his emotions, refusing to let others see him disgraced.

Fireballs rained down in succession as Du Nan gritted his teeth; unwilling to lose so pitifully, he activated his camouflage and slowly moved, finally reaching Zhong Lin’er’s feet. He tried to muster all his strength for a surprise attack, but Zhong Lin’er drew a dagger from her waist and stabbed straight through his shield!

Bang!

The shield shattered, and in the instant it broke, the dagger plunged into Du Nan’s chest, blood spilling out!

Class D erupted in fury, "Instructor! She’s hurt someone! Disqualify her!"

"This woman is vicious, bringing a dagger!"

Moon Fox replied coolly, "When Zhong Lin’er attacked Du Nan, he still had a sliver of shield left. It does not count as a violation. Therefore, I remind all future competitors: if your shield is about to break, it’s best to concede—otherwise, the final blow may break the shield and injure your body."

A close friend of Du Nan in Class D protested angrily, "I refuse to accept this! I demand to challenge her—I'll crush her!"

Moon Fox denied mercilessly, "Except for Class A, you may only challenge classmates ranked higher than your own class. Class A, being the highest, may challenge anyone ranked above themselves."

Watching Zhong Lin’er flaunt her victory, Chen Mo knew it was time for him to step onto the stage.