This move is specially prepared for you.

“Come on, Senior Qin Wu!” Shan Heng clenched his fists nervously.

Su Yuehe leaned lightly against An Changqing. Her lashes fluttered as she whispered, “He’ll win.”

An Changqing looked at the back of his senior’s head and nodded.

Chen Guan’s gaze swept over Bai Huanran before settling on Qin Wu.

He could clearly sense the desperate, all-or-nothing determination surging within Bai Huanran. He could no longer afford to lose.

Another defeat would be no different from having his dignity pressed into the dirt and rubbed against it.

Qin Wu’s aura, however, was steadier than ever. He was like an immovable mountain—massive, profound, and impossible to fathom.

Unlike Bai Huanran, he was no longer carrying such a heavy burden.

Whether he won or lost, Qin Wu believed he could accept the result calmly.

“Begin!”

The referee’s arm came crashing down.

Bai Huanran moved without the slightest hesitation, his hands instantly forming several complex seals.

“Thousand Illusory Water Mirrors!”

In an instant, the moisture throughout the arena was forcibly drawn out and condensed into dozens of crystal-clear water mirrors before him. Each mirror reflected his figure, spinning rapidly according to his will and creating a dazzling blur that made it impossible to identify his true body.

“That’s Bai Huanran’s signature technique. He wants to use illusions and speed to wear Qin Wu down completely.”

Several spectators familiar with Bai Huanran immediately saw through his intentions.

The next moment, dozens of Bai Huanrans burst out of the water mirrors simultaneously. Each one wielded a long blade condensed from high-pressure water, sealing off every possible escape route around Qin Wu.

Before the blades even arrived, an icy chill and the shriek of air being sliced apart had already rushed toward him.

Yet Qin Wu’s reaction to the overwhelming assault left everyone dumbfounded.

He neither dodged nor retreated. Instead, a thick, earth-yellow wave of energy, so dense it seemed capable of solidifying the air, erupted from his body and spread violently in every direction.

Pop! Pop! Pop!

A string of popping sounds rang out.

The imposing “Bai Huanrans” crumbled the instant they came into contact with the earth-yellow wave. One after another, they vanished like bubbles beneath the sun, dissolving into a sky full of water vapor.

The earth-yellow wave transformed into a tangible sandstorm, washing away the illusion Bai Huanran had always been so proud of.

Only Bai Huanran’s solitary true body remained in the arena.

His chest heaved as he forcibly suppressed the surging blood in his veins. He then slammed his hands together.

The scattered water vapor was forcibly drawn back and compressed between his palms into a three-foot-long water blade. It was crystal clear, yet radiated an intensely dangerous aura.

“If illusions won’t work, then I’ll use pure strength to cut apart a block of stone like you!”

Bai Huanran shot forward like an arrow released from the bow. The water blade in his hand dragged a white trail behind it as he thrust it straight toward Qin Wu’s heart.

Faced with this strike containing all of Bai Huanran’s strength, Qin Wu did not meet it head-on.

He stomped heavily with his right foot. The alloy floor rang with a dull boom, and his body shifted half a step to the side.

That half-step, taken at an unbelievable angle, allowed the edge of the water blade to skim past his chest.

At the same time, his right hand, wrapped in earth-yellow energy, struck the side of the blade with the precision of an iron-forged bear’s paw.

Bang!

A thunderous impact erupted.

Bai Huanran felt a tyrannical, surging force explode from the blade, splitting the web between his thumb and forefinger and sending him staggering uncontrollably to the side.

Qin Wu pressed his advantage.

He took a single step forward, cracking the ground beneath his feet. His fists swung with the force of a thousand weights, and although every punch was plain and unadorned, they completely sealed off every avenue Bai Huanran might use to maneuver or evade, forcing him to block desperately with the water blade in his hand.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The collisions between fists and water blade came as thick and rapid as a rainstorm, sparks flying with every impact.

Across the arena, the spectators could see only a white blur struggling within the earth-yellow fist wind. With each block, the water blade in Bai Huanran’s hand grew dimmer, while cracks spread across its surface.

“This… Qin Wu is that strong?”

In the North City Academy’s rest area, the team members exchanged astonished whispers.

In their memories, Qin Wu had been a wide-swinging, violently aggressive enhancement-type fighter. Yet now, he was as steady as a living battle manual, controlling his strength with terrifying precision down to the smallest detail.

“He’s gotten stronger.”

In the Huaqing rest area, An Changqing watched the mountain-like figure on the arena and spoke softly.

Chen Guan’s gaze moved between the two fighters. He could see everything clearly.

Every one of Qin Wu’s punches was eroding Bai Huanran’s will to fight and draining his stamina, while Qin Wu’s own aura remained as calm as the earth beneath their feet—deep and bottomless.

This was the smartest way to fight.

It was also the most torturous.

“That’s enough!”

Bai Huanran abruptly retreated and opened up some distance. The cracked water blade in his hand suddenly blazed with light before exploding into dozens of water arrows that sealed off every inch of space around Qin Wu.

Qin Wu remained unmoved. He drew a circle with both arms before his chest, and his earth-yellow energy instantly condensed into a heavy, round shield engraved with patterns of mountain ranges.

The water arrows struck the shield, raising only rings of ripples before being swallowed and worn away by the mountain-like force.

“It’s useless, Bai Huanran.” Qin Wu’s steady voice came from behind the shield. “Your attacks can’t break through my defense.”

Having known each other for years, Qin Wu was thoroughly familiar with Bai Huanran’s techniques.

“Is that so?”

A smile appeared on Bai Huanran’s face.

Those who improved were never the only ones.

Qin Wu, you’ve fallen into my trap!

The moment his words fell, he brought his hands together before his chest and formed a strange seal shaped like a lotus.

“Water and sky become one. Nothing can escape. Explode!”

A warning exploded in Qin Wu’s heart, but it was already too late.

The water vapor scattered through the air by his round shield—seemingly harmless—now appeared to have received an emperor’s command.

It completely ignored the seemingly impregnable earth-yellow shield. From Qin Wu’s mouth and nose, from every pore of his skin, it frenziedly poured into his body.

“Pff!”

A mouthful of blood burst from Qin Wu without warning, splattering the earth-yellow shield in front of him with a streak of red.

He could clearly feel countless streams of water, thinner than strands of hair yet sharp as steel needles, stabbing wildly through his meridians and internal organs.

Because the energy within his body had fallen into chaos, the sturdy earth-yellow shield instantly dimmed.

This technique… When did he…

“What?”

“Senior Qin Wu!”

In the Huaqing rest area, worry appeared in An Changqing’s furrowed brows. He understood what had happened.

From the very beginning, Bai Huanran’s goal had never been a direct assault. The water arrows had merely been a feint. His true killing move was the water vapor that had seeped into the air, infiltrating everything without leaving a trace.

In the North City Academy’s rest area, a deathly silence was followed by an eruption of joy, like survivors celebrating their escape from disaster.

“We’ve won! The captain is going to win!”

“Nicely done! This is the chief of North City Academy!”

On the arena, Bai Huanran’s smile grew wider when he saw Qin Wu vomit blood.

I prepared this move especially for you.

He stepped forward, raising both hands high.

More water vapor gathered from every direction, forming an enormous dark cloud above his head.

Lightning flickered within the clouds, and the terrifying pressure made the entire arena tremble.