Universe Infinite Canteen-Chapter 607: Victory Without Valor

The two stood firm on the field when Lu Yingying suddenly interjected, "Wait, can we take a group photo together first?"

The well-conducted match was interrupted, and Tang Dewang's annoyance intensified as he said sternly, "Can't you take the picture after the match?"

"After the match, I'm afraid you might just leave if you lose."

Lu Yingying's remark stirred Tang Dewang once more, eliciting a cold snort from him.

"Am I that kind of ungracious person? Rest assured, win or lose, I will definitely stay here and wait for you to finish the photoshoot."

"Then it's settled."

Lu Yingying seized the moment and stepped back, waiting to witness Ma Lu's strategic majesty.

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Without further disturbances, the match could finally begin.

Gao Zhiqiang wasn't in a hurry to make his move, as his opponent was a year younger and seemed to be a clumsy girl.

Gao Zhiqiang felt he should be somewhat courteous to his junior sister, so he didn't rush to act.

Yet, Yu Zimei had already charged toward him, and after just a couple of steps, tripped again.

This time she fell flat on the ground, and at that moment, she pulled a talisman from her sleeve and began her spellcasting.

Her movements were very secretive, and the oblivious Gao Zhiqiang, completely unprepared and even leaning forward out of concern, asked,

"Classmate, are you alright?"

Yu Zimei, lying on the ground, didn't answer but suddenly flung the talisman in her hand.

Ma Lu glanced sideways at Li Zhengwei, "Did you teach her this?"

"Indeed," Li Zhengwei nodded unashamedly.

"Interesting," Ma Lu stroked his chin, but noticing Lu Yingying's look of disappointment, he added, "Don't do this next time, it reflects poorly."

Li Zhengwei was unconvinced, but he complied for the sake of appearances and nodded, "Okay."

Yu Zimei's surprise attack caught Gao Zhiqiang off guard, but the talisman she threw out just turned into a wisp of blue smoke and left nothing behind.

Hmm, did the spell fail?

After Dai Lianliang's adjustments, the talismanic spell casting would be faster and more discreet, but the downside was a decrease in success rate and an increased consumption of spiritual power.

The latter was manageable, but the former was more troublesome.

Luckily, the decrease in success rate wasn't too significant, around ten percent - it just so happened that Yu Zimei was unlucky enough to hit that ten percent today.

Gao Zhiqiang, his face smeared with the talisman, was first stunned, then frightened, retreating several steps as he exclaimed, "You ambushed me!"

As he spoke, he reached into his robe and pulled out a talisman of his own, ready to fight.

Unexpectedly, Yu Zimei lowered her head and apologized, "Sorry, my hand slipped just now."

Seeing Yu Zimei admitting her mistake, Gao Zhiqiang hesitated again. Given her previous clumsy display, he couldn't help but believe her a little, and was about to say something when Tang Dewang shouted angrily.

"Fool, she's already activated the talisman, how could it possibly be a slip of the hand?"

Gao Zhiqiang then realized the truth, no longer hesitating, and hastened to recite the spell, adhering the talisman to his left arm.

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The next moment, his arm turned into a tree trunk, and his fingers into branches, reaching out to grab Yu Zimei.

The Wood Transformation Talisman—this was a new talisman that Gao Zhiqiang had just learned not long ago. Versatile in both offense and defense, its power was not to be underestimated; it should be more than enough to deal with a second-year.

Tang Dewang, who stood by, stroked his beard with satisfaction. "Heh, I thought you had some real skills. It turns out you rely on such petty and underhanded tricks."

Hearing this, Li Zhengwei showed no urgency at all, crossing his arms and continuing to watch from the sidelines.

As Gao Zhiqiang employed the Wood Transformation Talisman, Yu Zimei didn't retreat but advanced, charging headlong towards him.

Gao Zhiqiang thought this was perfect and poured his spiritual power into the talisman with all his might. His arm grew even faster, sprouting many new buds on the branches, like tentacles.

Just as they were about to entangle Yu Zimei, she suddenly raised her hand and slapped out another talisman.

This time the talisman finally took effect, similar to someone banging a gong right beside one's ear. The bystanders all felt their heads buzzing.

Gao Zhiqiang, who took the brunt of it, was so shaken that his vision blurred, and he could no longer control his spiritual power, causing his left hand to stop as well.

Yu Zimei took advantage of this gap to escape the encirclement and, in one breath, rushed to Gao Zhiqiang's face.

By the time Gao Zhiqiang recovered, Yu Zimei had already tackled him to the ground, pulled out a small knife from under her skirt, and placed it against Gao Zhiqiang's neck.

Tang Dewang, who had been confident of victory, was now taken aback.

His student had been in the lead; yet, in the blink of an eye, he had lost.

A moment later, he blurted out, "Cheating! That's cheating; she didn't win with talismans!"

"Who says so," Ma Lu immediately retorted. "She just used the Blast Talisman."

"But she still used a knife in the end! The contest is over talismanic magic; how can she use a knife?" Tang Dewang argued desperately.

"Everyone knows that body techniques are also an important part of a Talisman Master's training," Ma Lu countered strongly.

The two argued back and forth, eventually turning their gaze to the two officials from the Ministry of Education. Chang Qing, as always, sided with Tang Dewang, speaking up first, "I think this result doesn't count. Her victory was indeed dishonorable."

Jiang Guangtian pondered for a long while before saying, "The rules do not forbid the use of knives, so it's allowed. However, it is indeed dangerous for students to use sharp weapons in a friendly contest.

"In that case, how about both sides take a step back? From the next round onward, victory must be decided without means other than talismans, how does that sound?"

Tang Dewang was not very satisfied with the outcome of the first round; he felt that his students were still stronger than those from Hou De. It was just the opponent's scheming that had beaten them.

But hearing Jiang Guangtian's suggestion about no further use of weapons, he thought it acceptable; at least it ensured that Hou De couldn't use any more tricks. Losing one round wasn't a big deal; they could win back in the later rounds.

Besides, they still had Luo Hengyi as their trump card.

Although he said this, Tang Dewang still vehemently reprimanded Ma Lu and Hou De, showing reluctance before finally agreeing, for the greater good, to accept Jiang Guangtian's proposal.

Ma Lu surprisingly didn't argue much either, nodding in agreement.

Thus, the first round ended with Yu Zimei's victory, giving Hou De an early lead with 1 point.

When Yu Zimei came down from the stage, Li Zhengwei praised her, while Ma Lu grandly handed her 100 yuan as a prize.

Though it had been agreed upon earlier, Ma Lu's generous and swift payout, and the large amount given, still caused quite a stir.

Not just on Hou De's side, but even the Lingnan students were eyeing that hundred yuan.

Although Lingnan's financial situation was somewhat better than Hou De's, with funding from the Church, the school's teachers and students were generally not particularly wealthy.

Seeing that hundred yuan, many even absurdly wished they were competing on the other side.

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