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This time, there were quite a few experts among the spectators. If something were to happen here...

Chen Guan rested his chin in his hand, wondering just how big of a deal that would be.

Inside the room, he opened the coffin. The original body inside looked as peaceful as ever. Chen Guan had already noticed that whenever the original body made an appearance, the bullet screen comments would become highly active; the person in the coffin was even more popular than he was.

However, Sys had said that Old Me's popularity points would also be credited to him. After all, he and Old Me were one and the same.

[We've been watching for so many episodes, and we still don't know the real name of the person in the coffin.]

[By the way, he's so beautiful. Can a man really be this beautiful?]

Chen Guan ignored the bullet screen. Looking at his original body, he swallowed a pill, then closed his eyes, pouring all his spiritual energy into the original body.

[Holy crap, did he just move?!]

[He really moved!!!]

First it was the fingertips, then the eyelids, and finally, those chestnut eyes slowly opened.

In stark contrast, Chen Guan's complexion rapidly turned pale and ashen.

"I..."

A stiff, hoarse syllable came from the original body's mouth. Even just this simple utterance seemed incredibly difficult.

"Cough..."

Chen Guan finally couldn't sustain the terrifying consumption of energy. After a light cough, all his strength drained away, and the original body's eyes closed once more.

Panting heavily, he popped another pill into his mouth. With his current level of spiritual energy, achieving this much was already his absolute limit.

Just now, the original body hadn't actually woken up; rather, he had been controlling its movements like a marionette.

Because the original body had no soul of its own, his soul couldn't return to it. However, since their spiritual energy shared the same origin, he was able to achieve a possession-like effect.

"One day, sooner or later, I will wake you up."

Chen Guan looked at his own face in the coffin. He spoke word by word, echoing like a vow in the small room.

[Chen Guan's face is so pale. The awakening of the person in the coffin is entirely fueled by burning himself.]

[That's enough, Chen Guan. My heart aches for you.]

[These two are like a married couple, truly a pair of star-crossed lovers.]

[This is the most I've ever supported a pair of star-crossed lovers.]

Looking at the rising popularity points, Chen Guan twitched the corners of his mouth. This was enough...

The next day, at the Tianyan Martial Arts Arena.

The circular spectator stands were packed, and the roaring cheers shook the heavens.

In the center were ten floating alloy arenas, shimmering with the light of spiritual energy shields. High above hovered a massive holographic screen, broadcasting the matches and commentary in real-time.

The opening ceremony was concise yet grand. After a brief speech by the dean of Beishi Academy, the draw for the individual arena battles began.

The holographic screen scrolled rapidly, displaying names and match-up brackets one by one.

Chen Guan saw his own name.

Round One: Huaqing Academy - Chen Guan VS Zero Academy - Alice.

Chen Guan raised an eyebrow. His opponent was a blonde, blue-eyed girl. The information provided by An Changqing showed that her ability was shaping, and she was slightly weaker than him, only at Tier One.

The others also finished their respective draws.

Long Ao's opponent was a sword cultivator from Kamiya Academy. An Changqing and Su Yuehe were matched against ordinary contestants from Zero Academy and Beishi Academy, respectively, whose strengths did not seem particularly formidable.

The competition commenced immediately.

Matches started simultaneously on all ten arenas. Dazzling clashes of abilities, exquisite battles of footwork, and fierce close-quarters combat instantly ignited the atmosphere in the stadium.

Chen Guan was scheduled to fight in the second batch.

When he walked onto Arena Seven carrying his black iron coffin on his back, he drew many curious gazes.

After all, this was Huaxia, where people were at least somewhat superstitious. Carrying such a massive coffin around would inevitably make some feel it was bad luck.

His opponent, Alice, was already standing on the stage. She looked like a lively and cheerful girl, playing with a ball of pale blue spiritual energy that constantly changed shapes in her hands.

"Hey! Coffin boy," Alice called out in heavily accented Chinese. "Is there a secret weapon hidden in your coffin?"

Chen Guan didn't answer. He simply gripped his scythe, bowed slightly, and assumed a starting stance.

"Match start!" the referee ordered.

Alice made the first move. Pushing both hands forward, the pale blue spiritual energy instantly transformed into dozens of sharp ice cones that whistled through the air toward Chen Guan.

The Gale Boots on Chen Guan's feet flickered faintly as he slid to the side, dodging the majority of the ice cones. Simultaneously, he swung his scythe to parry the stragglers. The ice clashed against the scythe and the coffin, producing a series of clinking sounds as freezing air spilled out.

"Pretty fast reflexes," Alice smiled playfully. Her spiritual energy morphed again, this time turning into two agile flaming whips that lashed at Chen Guan from the left and right.

Instead of retreating, Chen Guan advanced. His scythe traced an arc, cleaving through one fire whip, while his body twisted to narrowly avoid the other. The scorching flames brushed past him, leaving a burnt smell on his combat suit.

He closed the distance.

A gray light flashed in Chen Guan's eyes as his spiritual energy quietly rippled.

In Alice's eyes, Chen Guan's charging figure suddenly split into three, attacking from three different directions.

Illusions?

Alice was startled. Although she couldn't break free from the illusion's influence, she knew how to handle it. Her spiritual energy erupted, forming a spinning shield in front of her to try and block all the incoming attacks.

Since she couldn't tell them apart, she might as well block them all. Generally speaking, Alice's decision was correct.

However, this was not a general situation.

The moment the three Chen Guans touched the shield, they all dissipated like bubbles.

From behind, the scythe carried the heavy sound of wind. Fortunately, Alice reacted extremely fast, shifting the shield to her back in an instant. The scythe viciously struck a single point on the shield.

Clang! The shield trembled violently, and a crack appeared.

Alice let out a muffled groan and stepped back half a pace. The spiritual energy in her hands shifted rapidly as she tried to counterattack.

But Chen Guan pressed his advantage. Raising his scythe again, he didn't slash this time; instead, he delivered a lightning-fast thrust aimed straight at the center of the shield's crack.

Take advantage of her weakness to take her life!

Bang! The shield shattered.

The sharp tip of the scythe stopped just an inch away from Alice's throat.

Alice's movements froze, and the spiritual energy in her hands slowly dissipated. She looked at the sharp blade so close to her, then at Chen Guan's calm eyes, and curled her lip.

"I surrender."

There were two ways to determine victory: one was when a party was beaten to the ground and couldn't stand up, and the other was an active surrender.

She already knew she was no match for this young man. Chen Guan choosing to stop right before the strike landed had already saved her face. Refusing to surrender now would just be ungrateful.

"Huaqing Academy, Chen Guan wins!" the referee announced.

Clean and crisp. Chen Guan withdrew his scythe, nodded at his opponent, and turned to walk off the arena.

He had won his first battle without expending much effort. Alice's combat experience was decent, but being swiftly defeated by his combination of illusions and close-quarters assault was simply a matter of getting crushed by sheer stats.

It seemed Chen Guan had also become a stat monster himself.

In the stands, cheers erupted from the Huaqing support section. Although Chen Guan's victory wasn't earth-shattering, the practical combat ability and illusions he displayed were still eye-catching.

Chen Guan returned to the rest area. An Changqing and Long Ao had just finished their matches as well, both winning easily. Su Yuehe's match was a bit later, but she also advanced smoothly.

The first day of the competition passed without any major waves. Most of the seeded players from the strong academies advanced smoothly. There were occasional upsets, but they didn't have much of an impact.

The next day, the individual matches entered the second round.