SCHLICK—!

The sound of a sharp weapon piercing flesh echoed clearly throughout the silent arena.

Qin Rui’s forward charge came to an abrupt halt.

An intense pain shot through him, followed by the feeling of his life rapidly draining away.

He opened his mouth as if to say something, but all that escaped was a silent sigh as his figure slowly dissipated into a flash of white light.

"East Courtyard, Xu Wuyi wins!"

The referee’s announcement boomed like a clap of thunder in everyone’s ears.

After a moment of dead silence, the arena erupted with the most frenzied roar of the entire tournament!

"He won! Xu Wuyi won!"

"One spear to settle it all! He defeated Qin Rui!"

"The strongest of this year’s class! A well-deserved title!"

The East Courtyard’s spectator section instantly became a sea of celebration, with countless people leaping to their feet in excitement.

In the West Courtyard’s rest area, Tana and Xu Zhi were stunned, their faces etched with disbelief.

On the stage, Xu Wuyi leaned on his spear, gasping for breath, his body on the verge of collapse.

He had won, but it was a pyrrhic victory. His injuries were severe, and his Qi and Blood were almost completely depleted. He was in slightly better shape than after his fight with Zhao Qingwei, but not by much.

The good news was that his injuries were mostly external. With his current Body Refining Technique Cultivation, he still had some combat strength left.

The bad news was that having combat strength depended on having enough Qi and Blood, which was precisely what he had exhausted.

’I’ll have to see if I can stall for time.’

Xu Wuyi looked up toward the West Courtyard, his calm gaze tinged with exhaustion.

Defeating Qin Rui was only the first step. The East Courtyard’s path to the championship was far from over.

...

The climactic duel between Xu Wuyi and Qin Rui had ended with Xu Wuyi’s hard-won victory.

Everyone was still reeling from the breathtaking battle, the sounds of discussion and astonishment lingering in the air.

"Xu Wuyi is too strong! Even Qin Rui fell to his spear!"

"His willpower is inhuman! To be that badly injured and still unleash such a decisive final strike!"

"The East Courtyard is going to win the championship! They just need two more wins!"

In the East Courtyard’s rest area, Shen Wei and Zhou Mingxuan rushed over the moment Xu Wuyi’s figure materialized.

"Wuyi! Incredible! Absolutely incredible!" Shen Wei’s face was flushed with excitement. He went to clap Xu Wuyi on the shoulder, but seeing his virtual form, his hand froze in mid-air before he pumped his fist forcefully. "How are you? Can you still hold on?"

Zhou Mingxuan also wore a look of concern. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

Under the rules of the Battle Network, Xu Wuyi’s body was recovering quickly, but the mental exhaustion couldn’t be instantly erased.

He took a deep breath, suppressed his roiling Qi and Blood, and shook his head. "I’m fine. It took a lot out of me. I need time to recover."

His gaze fell upon the light screen, which showed the East Courtyard was still leading 1-0. However, he, their main powerhouse, had nearly lost all his combat ability.

"Tana will most likely be up next. I’ll try to kite her, stall for as long as I can to recover, and see if I can find an opening."

"If I can’t do that, I’ll at least try to wound her as much as possible. The rest will be up to you guys."

Shen Wei and Zhou Mingxuan exchanged a look and nodded solemnly.

...

In the West Courtyard’s rest area, Qin Rui’s figure coalesced from light.

He looked down at his own perfectly intact virtual body. There wasn’t much dejection on his face; instead, there was a sense of relief, as if he had expected this outcome.

He had known for a long time that Xu Wuyi was strong. From the moment he first noticed this opponent during the freshmen challenge, he understood that there would inevitably be a clash of titans between them.

Victory and defeat were decided by a hair’s breadth; it wouldn’t have been surprising no matter who won.

In that last battle, he had given it his all, pushing the essence of the Light-Splitting Shadow-Stealing Sword to its absolute limit. In the end, he was still outplayed by a narrow margin.

"My skills were inferior. There’s nothing more to say." Qin Rui let out a soft breath, dispelling the last trace of unwillingness from his heart. His eyes became sharp once more.

Defeat wasn’t frightening. What was frightening was losing the courage to catch up.

"Qin Rui!" Xu Zhi came forward, his face a mixture of concern and lingering shock.

Tana also tightened her grip on her Heavy Hammer, her small face tense. "His injuries are severe!"

"Yes, his injuries are very severe, and his Qi and Blood are almost gone." Qin Rui immediately focused his Heart and Spirit, his tone becoming urgent and certain. "Tana, you’re up next!"

"You absolutely cannot give him any chance to catch his breath and recover. Use your most ferocious attacks to take him down as quickly as possible! His Body Technique isn’t as agile as Li Hao’s, so it will be difficult for him to completely evade the area-of-effect attacks of your Heavy Hammer!"

He quickly shared his own experience: "Be careful of his Spiritual Domain. It will slow your movements and your Heart and Spirit. But as long as your will is firm, you can break through it to some extent by flaring your Qi and Blood."

"And be even more careful of that strange burning sensation in his Qi and Blood. Don’t get drawn into a battle of attrition with him!"

Having personally fought against Xu Wuyi, Qin Rui had already gained a great deal of insight.

Tana nodded heavily, a blazing fighting spirit igniting in her blue eyes. "Understood! I’ll smash him flat with one swing of my hammer!"

She took a deep breath, her petite frame seemingly containing the power of a volcano, and strode toward the stage’s teleportation area.

...

On the stage, Xu Wuyi stood leaning on his spear, his face pale and his chest heaving violently.

The cost of defeating Qin Rui was immense. His current state was not much better than after he had exhausted himself taking down Zhao Qingwei in the previous round.

A flash of light, and Tana’s small yet imposing figure appeared. Her jet-black Heavy Hammer radiated a heart-pounding aura.

"The match begins!"

The moment the referee’s voice fell, Tana shot toward Xu Wuyi like a cannonball, holding nothing back!

She remembered Qin Rui’s warning and gave him no room to breathe!

BOOM!

The Heavy Hammer whistled through the air like a collapsing mountain, smashing straight down at Xu Wuyi’s head!

Her speed and power both surpassed what she had shown in her match against Luo Liang!

Xu Wuyi’s eyes narrowed. He chose not to block it head-on, instead executing a hasty Instant Shadow Step and sliding backward and to the side.

However, Tana’s Hammer Technique wasn’t just about brute force. The instant her hammer missed, she twisted at the waist, changing the downward smash into a sweeping blow. The hammer followed him like a giant black python!

’The range is too wide!’

With no way to evade, Xu Wuyi gritted his teeth, raised his spear horizontally, and poured his crimson Qi and Blood into the shaft in an attempt to block.

CLANG—!

A deafening explosion of sound erupted!

Xu Wuyi felt an indescribable force travel up the spear shaft. The webbing between his thumb and index finger split open instantly, dripping blood. A sweet taste filled his throat, and he nearly coughed up a mouthful of his own.

He staggered back several steps before managing to steady himself, his right arm, which held the spear, trembling slightly and numb.

’As expected... her attacks are heavy and powerful. I can’t block them head-on.’ Xu Wuyi’s heart sank.

At his peak, he might have been able to contend with her using his pure Qi and Blood and Melting Furnace Boiling Blood. But now, meeting her head-on was suicide.

Pressing her advantage, Tana roared and charged again, swinging her Heavy Hammer in an impenetrable barrage.

Xu Wuyi took a deep breath, forcibly suppressed his turbulent Qi and Blood, and pushed his Body Technique to its limits, constantly weaving and dodging across the stage.

At the same time, his Soul Suppressing Domain quietly unfolded, an invisible force field enveloping Tana.

Tana’s forward momentum clearly faltered, as if she had been plunged into an invisible bog.

The motion of her swinging Heavy Hammer also became slightly sluggish, and a flash of annoyance crossed her blue eyes.