Amidst the clamor, the competition had begun. Unlike the previous two days, the third day’s matches started with one-on-one duels between the first-year students.

After all, now that the competition had progressed this far, only the top four students remained in each grade. A full day was more than enough time. It also allowed the entire school’s faculty and student body to watch the matches, which served as motivation for the other students.

"First match of the assessment finals: Zhou Chen versus Wang Biao. Will both students please enter the arena." The referee’s voice rang out, and the atmosphere instantly ignited.

Zhou Chen and Wang Biao ascended the finals stage one after the other, their duel beginning amidst endless cheers.

Zhou Chen’s popularity was undeniable. Ever since enrolling, he had been a hot topic of campus gossip. Combined with his handsome, aloof demeanor and immense personal strength, he had become the dream lover of countless infatuated girls.

But the dark horse from Class Five, Wang Biao, was rather special. His aptitude was only considered average upon enrollment, but he had awakened the [Rebound] talent upon advancing to the first rank, taking everyone by surprise during the assessment!

[Rebound] was a dual-gene talent, belonging to the Toughness and Sinew categories. This meant it could only be awakened when both genetic roots developed well simultaneously. It was one of the top-tier defensive talents known.

A Mage with the [Rebound] talent could condense a special layer of Gang Qi outside their body. This could effectively reflect ranged energy-based attacks but was ineffective against melee and arrow damage, which was why Zhang Meng had been defeated.

Of course, most Genetic Secret Techniques consumed a great deal of Magic Power, and [Rebound] was no exception. At his current level of sixteen, Wang Biao could use it four or five times at most, and that was not even counting the Magic Power consumption of his other Secret Techniques.

Facing a renowned genius like Zhou Chen, Wang Biao appeared somewhat nervous. He held his sword and shield, staring at Zhou Chen with slightly quickened breaths.

The next moment, the battle erupted.

Zhou Chen was clearly aware of Wang Biao’s [Rebound] talent. He didn’t use his Three-Part Sword Qi, instead choosing to charge forward for close-quarters combat while looking for an opportunity to end it in one blow.

Wang Biao didn’t show any weakness either. The way he switched between his sword and shield was incredibly skillful. To stand out from a thousand students, he naturally relied on more than just his [Rebound] talent.

In Feng Hao’s opinion, Wang Biao’s use of his sword and shield was extremely proficient, and his combat experience was quite good as well.

"Feng Hao, who do you think will win?" Yue Linglong turned slightly to the side, her tone full of meaning.

"Zhou Chen will definitely win," Feng Hao answered casually, then added with a smile, "Of course, if he keeps holding back his trump card, he’s very likely to lose."

Yue Linglong was taken aback, as were the others beside her. They all looked over at him, their gazes filled with confusion.

"Explain your reasoning," Yue Linglong said with a frown.

"It’s actually very simple," Feng Hao said with a faint smile. "Zhou Chen currently only has three Secret Techniques. His Basic Power Sword Qi and Three-Part Sword Qi are both countered by [Rebound]. That only leaves One-Sword Decision. But One-Sword Decision is an advanced Secret Technique with an enormous Magic Power cost. In other words, he only gets one shot."

Feng Hao paused before continuing, "According to the assessment rules, attacking vital points is forbidden. So, as long as Wang Biao can block One-Sword Decision with his shield, he can use his advantage as a Defense Mage to wear Zhou Chen down."

After hearing Feng Hao’s analysis, Yue Linglong was inwardly shocked, while Zhang Meng and the others showed looks of admiration.

"Wang Biao is very skilled with his shield. The probability of him blocking it is indeed high." Yue Linglong watched the fight on the stage and nodded indifferently.

At this point, the battle between the two had reached a fever pitch.

And the fight was clearly developing just as Feng Hao had analyzed. After a long-drawn-out melee, Zhou Chen finally couldn’t hold back and used One-Sword Decision, but Wang Biao successfully blocked it.

The damage from One-Sword Decision was indeed terrifying. Wang Biao lost half his Qi Blood in an instant!

Unfortunately for Zhou Chen, a Defense Mage could gradually recover lost Qi Blood thanks to their high vitality. With both sides trading blows and health, Wang Biao quickly gained the upper hand.

Not only did his health recover, but he also chipped away most of Zhou Chen’s Qi Blood.

Zhou Chen’s expression was grim. He knew he couldn’t win a battle of attrition like this, so he could only grit his teeth and play his trump card.

"This ends now!"

Zhou Chen suddenly let out a roar. His skin instantly turned red, and even his physique underwent a subtle change. His once-slender body became robust, with chiseled muscle lines covering his entire frame.

Gasps erupted from the audience below. Even the Old City Lord and the academy’s upper echelons in the stands were startled.

"Is this... a racial talent?!" Zhao Hao shot to his feet, looking at Elder Gu in astonishment. "Elder Gu, Zhou Chen has already awakened his bloodline?"

"That’s right." Elder Gu smiled faintly, sighing a little. "He originally planned to reveal it when challenging the upperclassmen. I didn’t expect it to be exposed in the top-four semifinals."

"You can’t blame him. After all, he ran into the Rebound talent." Zhao Hao quickly made excuses for Zhou Chen, grinning from ear to ear.

"Excellent, excellent!" The Old City Lord’s eyes crinkled with a smile, his spirits high.

Even Xiyue Luan couldn’t help but exclaim, "What a formidable little fellow. Yaoyao didn’t lose to him for nothing. Elder Gu, can you tell us what his bloodline’s effect is?"

Elder Gu was quite respectful toward Xiyue Luan. He stroked his beard and said, "Xiao Chen’s bloodline talent is called [Raging Battle]. When activated, it doubles his Basic Power and basic attack speed."

"[Raging Battle]?" Xiyue Luan furrowed her brow in thought, then said with admiration, "A decent bloodline ability. It has strong late-game scaling potential."

Elder Gu stroked his beard and nodded, then looked up to ask, "Special Envoy, you’ve returned from tracing your ancestry. Do you happen to know the origin of this bloodline?"

"I lived abroad for decades but have never heard of such a bloodline." Xiyue Luan shook her head with a wry smile. "But that’s normal. The universe has hundreds of millions of worlds, and new bloodlines are endless. I’ve only ever lived in a small Star Realm."

"I see." Elder Gu sighed in understanding, his eyes filled with longing.

...

On the stage, Zhou Chen was now like a berserker. His attack speed and damage had instantly skyrocketed.

Wang Biao, who originally had the advantage, was forced back step by step under the dense flurry of sword strikes. He couldn’t block them all with his shield. With each blow dealing over two thousand damage, his health bar quickly bottomed out, and he was defeated.

The crowd watching below was already buzzing with discussion, and Class One’s section was no different.

"It’s actually a bloodline talent! No wonder he hid it so carefully!" Yue Linglong exclaimed in amazement.

Zhang Meng’s fat quivered as he asked in disbelief, "Holy crap, I thought only high-rankers had a chance to awaken their bloodlines?"

"Ignorant!" Xi Yueyao said with contempt.

"Does our class president know? C’mon, tell us," Zhang Meng said shamelessly.

"This young lady can’t be bothered to explain." Xi Yueyao turned her head away haughtily. ’She had wanted to show off, but when her great-aunt explained bloodlines to her, she hadn’t paid any attention at all.’

Seeing everyone’s confusion, Yue Linglong spoke up to explain, "Racial talents are also called bloodline talents. They’re closely related to the special bloodline within one’s body. Theoretically, the earlier you awaken your bloodline, the purer it is. Those who awaken theirs at a high rank only do so because their bloodline is diluted."

Feng Hao had been listening attentively from the side. He, too, had a racial talent.

’And according to Yue Linglong’s explanation, the fact that I could awaken my bloodline upon advancing to the first rank means my bloodline concentration is very high. But I’m just an ordinary person from Earth, aren’t I? How could I have any connection to a bloodline talent from the Mage World?’

The more Feng Hao thought about it, the more confused he became.

Just as Feng Hao was puzzling over it, Yue Linglong looked over, her eyes filled with worry. "Feng Hao, are you still confident now?"

"Don’t worry. That guy is even weaker than I expected," Feng Hao said, brimming with confidence.

"..." Everyone was speechless, shocked by Feng Hao’s confidence.

At the same time, the referee’s voice rang out again: "Second match of the assessment: Feng Hao versus Xiao Yu. Will both students please enter the arena."

"Everyone wait here. I’ll be right back."

Feng Hao grinned, leaving behind that incredibly cocky remark as he strode quickly onto the battle stage.

He left behind a stunned Yue Linglong and his group of followers.