Regretful Exit

Chen Guan's opponent was an elemental esper from North City Academy. His ability was Rock Skin, giving him astonishing defense. However, for Chen Guan, who was an old rival of Wang Hanyue, this was nothing.

He had good luck; this person's strength was not even on par with Wang Hanyue, so he won easily.

Long Ao's opponent was a ninja-style student from Kamiya Academy, whom Long Ao forcefully crushed and defeated with his tyrannical physique.

An Changqing and Su Yuehe also continued their triumphant advance.

Guan Jinyue's match caught Chen Guan's attention. Her opponent was a strength-enhancement contestant from Academy Zero.

The match was an absolute crush. Guan Jinyue did not even draw her sword. By simply forming her fingers into a sword and releasing sword qi, she blasted her opponent out of the arena in just three ranged strikes. The sharpness contained within her sword qi left the spectators in awe and fear.

Her power was undeniable, and Chen Guan was secretly alarmed.

Unlike his good luck, Wang Hanyue, Zhou Dun, and Sun Miao were stopped here.

On the third day of the individual battles, the top eight advancement matches saw increasingly fierce competition.

Chen Guan had a premonition that he was going to lose.

With his Tier 2 strength, losing at this stage was only natural.

Sure enough, his luck had run out. He encountered Kevin Ross.

The ace of Academy Zero, possessing the ability of Atomic Manipulation, and a widely recognized strong contender for the individual championship of this tournament.

Arena Number Seven.

Chen Guan and Ross stood facing each other.

Ross was a somewhat thin Caucasian youth with blond hair and blue eyes. His face carried a hint of laziness and cynicism.

Wearing the special silver-gray combat uniform of Academy Zero, he stood with his hands in his pockets, seemingly not taking Chen Guan seriously at all.

"The guy carrying a coffin?" Ross said in fluent English, a smile of interest tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Your ability is illusion? Is there something special inside this coffin?"

Chen Guan still did not answer. He merely tightened his grip on his scythe. Facing Ross, any distraction could be fatal.

Even if he was destined to lose, he wanted to give it his all and lose without regrets.

"Match start!"

As soon as the referee's voice fell, Ross casually waved his right hand that had been in his pocket.

The alloy floor of the arena beneath Chen Guan's feet dissolved without warning, instantly turning into a quicksand-like metal quagmire that sought to devour him.

Chen Guan reacted extremely fast. His Gale Boots flashed brightly as he rapidly retreated backward. At the same time, he fiercely stabbed his scythe into the undissolved ground nearby, using the leverage to fling himself out of the quagmire's range.

However, Ross's attacks followed closely behind.

He lightly tapped the air with his left index finger.

In the air beside Chen Guan, dozens of tiny metal particles condensed out of nowhere, instantly accelerating to bullet-like speeds and shooting toward him.

These particles were not physically thrown but directly reconstructed from the metal elements in the air, making their speed astonishingly fast.

Visual Distortion!

Chen Guan's spiritual power erupted as he attempted to interfere with Ross's visual judgment and cause the metal particles to miss their mark.

But Ross merely sneered, "A petty trick."

For him, the visual distortion created by illusions had a negligible effect.

Clang, clang, clang!

Chen Guan swung his scythe, dancing into a gray blur as he desperately blocked. Most of the particles were deflected, but a few still grazed his arm and ribs, drawing bloody streaks. Moreover, a bizarre concussive force penetrated his body, making his blood and qi churn.

"Nice reaction," Ross commented, waving his right hand again.

This time, the air around Chen Guan seemed to solidify. No, it was not solidifying; rather, the air molecules were forcibly fixed in place, forming an invisible cage that trapped him within, instantly making his movements incredibly sluggish.

Simultaneously, Ross opened the five fingers of his left hand and aimed them at Chen Guan.

"Deconstruct."

An invisible fluctuation enveloped him. Chen Guan felt a terrifying sensation that the scythe in his hand, the combat uniform on his body, and even the cells beneath his skin were about to be dismantled.

This was an attack that acted directly on the atomic level.

Chen Guan's eyes turned fierce. He poured out his spiritual power recklessly, no longer using delicate illusions to deceive, but transforming it into a violent mental shockwave that pierced straight into Ross's brain.

Mental Shockwave was a rather crude method of mental attack, and its effect would be limited against an opponent with much higher spiritual power than himself. But at this moment, Chen Guan had no other choice; he only needed to interrupt the other party's deconstruction process.

Ross frowned slightly, clearly not expecting Chen Guan to possess such a direct mental attack method.

Although his ability was strong, his spiritual power was not top-tier. This sudden strike made him slightly dizzy, causing a momentary interruption in the deconstruction process.

In that very instant, the faint layer of gray energy on Chen Guan's body suddenly erupted, forcibly shattering the restraints of the air cage.

He exerted force through his legs, violently breaking free from the sluggishness. With all his strength and remaining gray energy, his scythe transformed into a ruthless gray gleam, stabbing straight at Ross's chest. This was a desperate, life-risking strike.

Ross's eyes turned cold. In front of him, countless metal scraps rapidly gathered from all over the arena and even the air, instantly condensing into an incredibly thick alloy shield.

Clang!

An extremely ear-piercing sound of tearing metal exploded.

The scythe viciously struck the alloy shield, sending sparks flying wildly. Chen Guan's all-out strike only left a deep dent on the shield; it failed to pierce through.

The massive rebound force split the webbing between Chen Guan's thumb and index finger, nearly causing the scythe to slip from his grasp as his entire body was sent flying backward.

As for Ross, he only took half a step back. The dent on the shield quickly returned to its perfect state with a light tap of his finger.

The superiority was immediately clear.

Chen Guan crashed at the edge of the arena, his arms trembling. His spiritual power was nearly exhausted, and his gray energy was completely depleted.

Ross dispersed the shield, clapped his hands as if dusting them off, and shook his head while looking at Chen Guan, who was struggling to get up.

"You're quite good. Your illusions and spiritual power are unique, and you're ruthless enough in close combat. But unfortunately, your power level is just too far behind."

His tone was flat, carrying a condescending sense of evaluation. "Atoms are the foundation of all things. To control them is to control the world itself. Your illusions cannot deceive the truth of atoms."

He raised his hand, pointing his fingertips at Chen Guan. "Surrender. If we keep fighting, you might end up having some important parts deconstructed."

Chen Guan panted heavily, looking at the terrifying fluctuation at Ross's fingertips.

He gritted his teeth and, finally, slowly loosened his grip on the scythe.

"I surrender."

He did not continue his stubborn resistance. The current Ross was an opponent he could not match, unless he relied on the system to redeem a one-time attack method to cheat.

There was no need for that.

"Academy Zero, Kevin Ross wins," the referee announced.

Discussions broke out across the stands.

Chen Guan's journey stopped here, but his performance still left a deep impression on many people.

Chen Guan struggled to stand up, picked up his scythe, and carrying his coffin on his back, walked down from the arena step by step.

The feeling of defeat was not pleasant, but he knew this was due to the gap in their strength. Ross's mastery over his ability and his power level were indeed far above his own.