CSMCDB - Chapter 40
Chapter 40
With Li Kongyi having gone first, the A-Class students suddenly fell silent. They looked at one another, but no one else spoke up to issue a challenge.
Wen Yuncheng noticed many people looking at her. She glanced around and saw that both the A-Class and S-Class instructors were watching her with smiles.
"Wen Yuncheng, issue a challenge!"
"Wen Yuncheng! Go for it! Get into S-Class!"
"Go challenge Lin Jinyu!"
The people around them started to egg her on, clearly waiting for this showdown.
Wen Yuncheng felt a bit helpless. She really didn't want to challenge the Little Ice Mountain; it wouldn't feel right whether she won or lost... The second-lowest ranked student in S-Class was a second-year senior, a Star Master at the 1st Layer.
In the end, Wen Yuncheng stood up and walked down. "I want to challenge..." She looked at Lin Jinyu, who was also looking back at her. Wen Yuncheng smiled and said, "I challenge the S-Class second-year, Yao Mu."
"What?!"
"Who did Wen Yuncheng just say he was challenging?"
"A second-year? Challenging someone from a higher grade? Is he looking down on Lin Jinyu?"
"Wen Yuncheng must resent Lin Jinyu for breaking off the engagement, right? He's deliberately challenging Yao Mu instead of her."
"He's being so pretentious. No matter if he wins or loses, he comes out looking good."
...
Wen Yuncheng didn't care what others said or what they thought. She stood quietly on the dueling platform. The A-Class and S-Class instructors were surprised for a moment, then broke into smiles, eager for a good show. No matter what Wen Yuncheng was thinking, this match would be interesting, wouldn't it?
Wen Yuncheng stood on the platform, meeting Lin Jinyu's gaze from afar. The S-Class instructor took out a communication stone, clearly to notify Yao Mu to hurry over for the match. After all, upperclassmen in S-Class generally didn't bother watching the matches of the lower years.
Wen Yuncheng waited quietly on the stage for a while before seeing a slightly tanned young man run over.
"Sorry, sorry! I didn't think anyone would challenge me, my apologies!" Yao Mu said, apologizing as he ran onto the platform. He wasn't surprised to see Wen Yuncheng; instead, he pressed his palms together and apologized again. "I'm sorry, fellow student. I really didn't mean to keep you waiting."
"Not at all. I'm the one who's disturbing you, Senior," Wen Yuncheng said with a smile, returning the polite gesture.
"Haha, even if you say that, I won't hold back in a bit." Yao Mu laughed. He didn't ask why Wen Yuncheng hadn't challenged Lin Jinyu. Since she had challenged him, he would naturally respect her and give it his all.
-"The match begins."
"Be careful," Yao Mu whispered, then stomped his foot hard on the ground. A wave of Star Power instantly radiated out from him! Immediately after, his entire body shot toward Wen Yuncheng like a cannonball, a pair of curved blades appearing in his hands.
He gave a word of warning because he felt this junior looked well-behaved and harmless and spoke so politely, which had given him a rather good impression.
Another assassin?! Wen Yuncheng was startled. She instantly created a Pursuer and a Self-Destructor. The mechanical armguards on her arms extended to block two of Yao Mu's slashes, and she immediately detonated both robots.
Taking advantage of the moment Yao Mu was caught in the blast, Wen Yuncheng—who only took 5% damage—immediately followed up with a topspin kick, then a piercing kick that sent him stumbling back several steps, creating distance between them.
"What kind of messed-up combat skills are these?!" Yao Mu was questioning his reality. He knew there was an oddball among the freshmen but had been too engrossed in his cultivation to pay much attention, so this was his first time witnessing Wen Yuncheng's fighting style. And this first encounter left him utterly bewildered.
"Hehe, it's my Star Power Mutation," Wen Yuncheng said with a shy smile, though her hands never stopped moving. In the time it took for Yao Mu to arrive, all her skills had finished their cooldowns, so she could now use them with ease. She started with a stun grenade as usual, followed by a flame exploder and a G-14 grenade. Only after using those skills did Wen Yuncheng begin to use G-1 Corona.
The reason was simple: this skill had a longer casting time than the others and was easily interrupted. With a few movements of her hands, onlookers saw Wen Yuncheng gather a large mass of Star Power. She then controlled the energy, compressing and reshaping it until it became a strange, small white machine resembling a turret. The little machine floated into the air, hovering above Wen Yuncheng's right shoulder, and began to continuously fire blue energy blasts from its barrel...
Yao Mu had no intention of catching any of the strange things Wen Yuncheng threw. He condensed his Star Power and slashed with his curved blade, knocking the stun grenade off course. It fell off the stage, where the S-Class instructor casually detonated it to prevent it from harming any bystanders.
However, the subsequent flame exploder and G-14 grenade weren't so easy to deflect. The moment Yao Mu's Star Power slash touched the devices, they exploded. Because his first slash had been used on the stun grenade, his follow-up attacks were much slower. As a result, he was caught squarely in the blast.
"What the hell kind of Star Power Mutation is this? This is a Star Power perversion!" In the blink of an eye, Wen Yuncheng had created yet another gadget he'd never seen before that was now following her. If it weren't for the fact that the object was clearly formed from her Star Power, Yao Mu would have reported her for cheating, one hundred percent!
The moment he cursed, he saw Wen Yuncheng flash that same well-behaved, shy smile. Yao Mu was speechless. Why had he ever thought this kid was obedient? He couldn't drag this out any longer; he had no idea what other bizarre combat skills she possessed!
[Don't let him get into close range.]
I know. Wen Yuncheng grew vigilant as she watched Yao Mu suddenly accelerate. If she could just use her Guardian and turrets, she wouldn't be in such a sorry state! Hmph, but did he think her year of long-distance running was for nothing? Wen Yuncheng turned and fled, mentally commanding the G-1 Corona to aim its barrel behind her and fire. The mechanical armguard on her right arm extended, encasing her entire hand and forearm in silver-white Star Steel. She spun around and fired a blast at the charging Yao Mu.
"Boom-"
Each blast consumed 1% of her MP. Wen Yuncheng fired her hand cannon at Yao Mu again and again. Star Power blasts, compressed by an energy core, shot from the muzzle and exploded around him. Yao Mu raised his curved blades and began to spin them, covering them in Star Power to form a simple, rotating shield that blocked a few of the blasts.
Why only a few? Because Wen Yuncheng couldn't aim properly.
How can this thing have recoil! Wen Yuncheng's hand shook with every shot. She watched helplessly as the Star Power blasts flew erratically and exploded at Yao Mu's feet, and her composure crumbled. This hand cannon was less accurate than the G-1 Corona.
[Stop shaking your hand! Aim!]
You think I don't want to! Wen Yuncheng pulled out another grenade with her left hand and threw it. At least thrown objects she could land steadily enough to hit Yao Mu and trigger an explosion.
Yao Mu's footwork was agile as he continuously dodged the hand cannon's blasts. He closed in on Wen Yuncheng, raised his left hand, and threw his curved blade. Star Power filled the weapon, leaving a white trail in its parabolic arc.
Wen Yuncheng couldn't worry about her image anymore. She dropped and rolled, staggering to her feet just in time to see the curved blade graze past the G-1 Corona.
To be more precise, it passed right through the G-1 Corona without damaging it at all.
The Corona was... invincible?
[Correct. The G-1 modified robot series can only disappear when its duration expires. It cannot be destroyed by attacks.]
Just then, Yao Mu suddenly unleashed all the Star Power in his body and stomped his foot hard. Wen Yuncheng, who was just about to get up, felt a wave of Star Power slam into her and detonate.
She watched as Yao Mu's clothes suddenly burst apart, revealing toned, dark muscles. His upper body faintly glowed with white light due to the surging Star Power.
Wen Yuncheng clutched her chest as she got to her feet and immediately threw her last G-14 grenade. Then, she could only watch as the glowing Yao Mu powered through the explosion, charged forward, and knocked her right off the platform...
"Challenge failed! Yao Mu is the victor!" the A-Class instructor hurriedly announced. When he saw that Wen Yuncheng hadn't gotten up, he rushed over, only to find her lying on the ground with a speechless expression, contemplating the meaning of life.
"Are you all right? Do you need treatment?"
"I do. I'm injured right here." Wen Yuncheng pointed to her heart, her face a mask of despair. "Isn't Yao Mu an assassin? What in the world was that move?!!" Her clothes had been ruined in the blast, too. If she hadn't been wearing her mechanical battle armor underneath, the impact might have made her cough up blood.
"Are you okay?" Yao Mu also jumped down from the platform, extending a hand to Wen Yuncheng on the ground. But then he suddenly coughed twice. To Wen Yuncheng's horror, he casually spat out two mouthfuls of blood, then grinned with blood-stained teeth and continued to show his concern. "Want me to take you to get treated?"
"No, no, no... Dude, what's wrong with you? Why are you spitting up blood!"
"Ah, it's a side effect of that last move. I'll be weakened for a day," Yao Mu said, not minding at all. "The Star Power Diffusion skill slows you down, and the subsequent White Jade Transformation covers all my muscles in Star Power, creating a short-term damage reduction effect. Because of the Star Power coating, my melee capabilities and strength are greatly enhanced."
Simply put, it was a slowing debuff combined with a move that had an invincibility effect... like a wild boar's charge? A reckless rampage?
Wen Yuncheng climbed to her feet and said earnestly, "If I had my turrets, I definitely could have beaten you!"
"Of course. You're very skilled," Yao Mu said with a smile. "You have a lot of talent."
"..." Why is this guy so easy to talk to? Wen Yuncheng started to feel embarrassed. "Senior, you should probably put some clothes on. Are you a warrior or an assassin, anyway?"
"An assassin?... Ah," Yao Mu didn't understand what she meant at first, but he figured it out after a moment. "Either one works. As long as I can win, I'll use any fighting style." As he spoke, he took out a new set of clothes and put them on, then pulled Wen Yuncheng to her feet. "You're really okay?"
"I'm fine."
Yao Mu nodded and looked at the S-Class instructor. "Teacher, if there's nothing else for me, I'll be going?" After the instructor gave his approval, the senior left in as much of a hurry as he had arrived.
Wen Yuncheng watched Yao Mu's retreating back, scratched her head, and walked back toward the A-Class students. She said to 1947, That guy is so strange.
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