There was nothing else to be surprised about. The only unexpected thing was his intelligence attribute, which had secretly jumped from 2 to 5.
Could it be related to the reverberation ability? The increase in his mental attributes must also be inextricably linked to the reverberation.
Buying this ability was a good decision, and it even came with a bonus. He was in a great mood.
Chen Guan exited the system space and rubbed his still slightly throbbing temples.
The cost of redeeming the new ability was greater than he had imagined. It wasn't just a drain on his popularity points; he also felt a wave of mental exhaustion.
He swallowed a recovery pill and began to circulate the Stargazing Meditation Technique to restore his mental energy.
The night passed without further incident.
The next day, the draw and team formation for the team battle took place in the auxiliary hall of the Tianyan Martial Arena.
The atmosphere was even more passionate than during the individual matches. Free team formation meant there could be all-star dream teams formed by powerful alliances, or dark horses with perfect teamwork but slightly weaker individual strength.
Some people had gone to different schools but maintained good relationships from their high school days. This format allowed them to team up once again, so the overall competition level was obviously going to be higher.
An Changqing, Long Ao, Chen Guan, and Su Yuehe naturally formed Huaqing's Team One. Their goal, of course, was still the championship.
Soon, the rosters of the other teams were successively announced.
On the Beishi Academy side, Guan Jinyue had indeed teamed up with Ross. In addition, they had a heavy shielder from Beishi Academy who specialized in defense, and a life-type esper from Academy Zero.
The composition of this team was nothing short of luxurious, boasting both offense and defense. With Guan Jinyue's spatial ability as the mobile core, Ross's atomic manipulation for assault and crowd control, the heavy shielder for defense, and a healer for sustain, they had almost no obvious weaknesses and immediately became the heavy favorites to win the championship.
Kamishiro Chizuru of Kamiya Academy teamed up with two shikigami masters and an onmyoji from her school, opting for a pure human-wave tactic using shikigami.
There were also a few other cross-school combinations, but their overall strength had a clear gap compared to these two top-tier teams.
The draw results placed Huaqing's Team One and Guan Jinyue's team in the upper and lower brackets respectively, avoiding an early encounter.
The battlefield for the team matches was a simulated ancient city ruin. The terrain was complex, featuring building wreckage, narrow alleys, plazas, and underground sewers.
The rules of the match were simple: defeat all opposing members, or capture and defend the token located in the center of the battlefield for over ten minutes to win.
In the first round, Huaqing's Team One faced a mixed team comprised of students from two ordinary academies. The difference in strength was obvious. Under An Changqing's command, the four coordinated perfectly and easily crushed their opponents. Long Ao did not even break a sweat as they breezed through.
Guan Jinyue's team also dominated their first match. Their opponents were defeated before they could even organize an effective resistance.
In the second round, Huaqing's Team One encountered the Kamiya team led by Kamishiro Chizuru.
This battle was quite fierce. Kamishiro Chizuru summoned a massive number of shikigami, coordinating with her teammates' onmyodo to form an endless offensive. It was a pure monster-wave tactic, highlighting the exact trouble with facing a group of summoners.
An Changqing and Long Ao launched a frontal assault, Chen Guan continuously disrupted the enemy's movements with illusions, and Su Yuehe specifically targeted Kamishiro Chizuru's mental connections.
In the end, under the disruption of a successful fear illusion from Chen Guan, Long Ao seized the opportunity to charge into enemy lines. He forcefully shattered Kamishiro Chizuru's core shikigami, causing her shikigami army to collapse and securing the match for the Huaqing team.
Meanwhile, Guan Jinyue's team easily defeated another strong squad.
In the semifinals, Huaqing's Team One faced a team centered around two enhancement-type espers from Academy Zero. Their fighting style was simple and brutal.
An Changqing adopted a steady and methodical tactic, using Chen Guan's illusions to divide the battlefield, Su Yuehe for supportive enhancements, and Long Ao as the spearhead to pierce through. Ultimately, they clinched a secure victory without much danger.
On the other side, Guan Jinyue's team continued to win without shedding a drop of blood.
The finals finally arrived, and the two participating sides were exactly as expected.
Huaqing's Team One versus Guan Jinyue's team.
The final simulated battlefield map was set in an ancient plaza filled with massive, broken stone pillars.
The two teams appeared at opposite ends of the plaza.
"Act according to the plan."
An Changqing said in a low voice, "Long Ao, you take the main offensive against Ross. Try to pin him down and don't let him control the battlefield comfortably. Yuehe, support Long Ao and use your spirit words to interfere with the stability of Ross's atomic manipulation. Chen Guan, focus your illusions on Guan Jinyue. You don't need to completely restrict her; just delay her spatial movements to create an opportunity for me. I will deal with Guan Jinyue, and... keep an eye out for that heavy shielder and healer."
He was still shouldering the heaviest responsibility himself.
"Understood."
The three of them nodded, and at the same time, the referee gave the command.
"Let the match begin!"
Long Ao struck first. His crimson aura erupted like a volcano as he charged straight at Ross. Su Yuehe's piccolo sounded, blessing Long Ao with a fortification buff while casting a disruption field over the area where Ross stood.
Ross raised an eyebrow and lightly tapped his finger. Several walls instantly rose from the ground in front of him, attempting to block Long Ao.
But Long Ao neither dodged nor evaded. Crimson light gathered on his fists as he smashed them down like heavy hammers.
Boom! The walls shattered, but the fragmented pieces did not scatter. Instead, under Ross's manipulation, they transformed into countless sharp blades that stabbed toward Long Ao from all directions.
On the other side, Chen Guan locked his mental energy onto Guan Jinyue, silently activating his sensory confusion.
In Guan Jinyue's perception, the surrounding spatial coordinates began to show subtle overlapping shadows. Although it wasn't enough to make her lose her way, every spatial jump now required a fraction more mental focus to calibrate.
She glanced at Chen Guan, knowing exactly who was playing tricks.
Just as she prepared to settle the matter once and for all, she stopped herself. He had the protection of the Black Iron Coffin, so there was absolutely no need for her to waste her energy; she couldn't pierce through that lump of iron anyway.
Besides, An Changqing wouldn't allow it.
An Changqing turned into a streak of golden lightning and lunged straight for Guan Jinyue. His golden sword light was brilliantly radiant and unstoppable.
Guan Jinyue drew the Moonflower longsword in her hand, meeting him with a cold, clear sword light. The two instantly engaged in a fierce melee. Sword glares crisscrossed, and the sound of clashing metal rang endlessly in the air.
Although Guan Jinyue's spatial ability was slightly delayed by Chen Guan's illusions, it remained exquisitely masterful. She could always neutralize An Changqing's attacks with minimal cost and occasionally launch fierce counterattacks.
The heavy shielder from Beishi firmly protected their life-type esper while keeping a vigilant eye on the battlefield, ready to provide support at any moment.
The battle entered a white-hot state from the very beginning.
The fight between Long Ao and Ross was the most frenzied. Long Ao's crimson fist auras clashed madly against Ross's constantly restructuring and shifting atomic creations, producing an endless series of explosions.
Su Yuehe's spirit word interference caused quite a bit of trouble for Ross, preventing him from fully utilizing the precise control of his atomic manipulation.
Chen Guan put all his effort into maintaining the illusionary interference on Guan Jinyue while splitting his attention to monitor the movements of the enemy's heavy shielder and healer, draining his mental energy immensely.
The battle between An Changqing and Guan Jinyue was a peak showdown of skill and willpower. An Changqing's swordsmanship was righteous and imposing, using sheer momentum to suppress his foe, whereas Guan Jinyue's swordplay was unpredictable and exquisite, using finesse to break through brute force. The two were evenly matched opponents, recreating the atmosphere of a grand finale, and it would be difficult to determine a victor in the short term.
't think I'm that capable, I'm just trying my best to stay alive. I've been kind all my life, never did anything bad, yet worldly suffering spared me not one bit. The human world is a nice place, but I won't come back in my next life. A kind young man, who wanted to just get by singing, but through repeated deceits and betrayals, has gone down an irredeemable path.
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
s + Rent Collection Wealth】 At the start, he inherited a rundown house in the urban village from his grandfather. The house had no tenants, but the moment he was diagnosed with a terminal illness, a self-proclaimed empress from the Tianxuan Continent arrived as his first tenant. Ye Chuan soon discovered that with every new tenant moving in, not only did he receive massive daily payments, but he also obtained unique items related to their backgrounds. 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Tiger Strength Pill—dramatically enhances physical power!】 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Deer Blood Pill—significantly boosts vitality!】 …… From that day on, all sorts of bizarre tenants began appearing in the house: the empress from Tianxuan Continent, an apocalyptic sorceress from the Magic Realm, a mysterious scientific girl who fell through a spacetime rift… Every single day, he received strange, powerful items and endless money. Then one day, he suddenly realized—he had become invincible. Enough, enough! Stop giving me more!
