CSMCDB - Chapter 74
Chapter 74
The man dodged Number One's charge, then condensed Star Power on his square halberd to knock the Flying Sky Shuttle aside. He then took a step back, stomped hard, and, covered in Star Power, let out a furious roar as he met the Mountain River Seal head-on with his halberd! A contest of pure strength!
Wen Yuncheng found she couldn't press her Mountain River Seal down any further. How could this be? She had eaten the Mountain River Fruit! Holding her breath, she clasped her hands together and pushed down with all her might—she was determined to stamp him!
"Number One!" When Wen Yuncheng realized she truly couldn't push it down, she knew when to back off and called for backup. The man was completely immobile as he resisted the Mountain River Seal, so when Number One charged, he was forced to dodge. And in that moment of dodging, he released his power—
"Bang!"
The ethereal Mountain River Seal slammed violently onto the dueling ring! The man had dodged just in time to avoid being crushed. However, the force of Number One's charge sent his blood and qi into turmoil, causing him to cough up a mouthful of stagnant blood.
Wen Yuncheng sighed softly. Even after eating the Mountain River Fruit, she still couldn't overpower a Star Master 3rd Layer. And... the gap was still quite large. If Number One hadn't charged in time, the man would have sent her Mountain River Seal flying, even with its power boost. That would have been too embarrassing.
Having briefly tested her Spirit Treasures, Wen Yuncheng reverted to her usual combat style. She raised her hand and threw a flame explosive, followed immediately by a stun grenade. The man jabbed repeatedly with his halberd, Star Power erupting from its tip to knock away the explosive and the grenade. But just then, Number One raised its arm and fired a volley of freeze rounds that exploded at the man's feet, causing countless ice flowers to spread. Wen Yuncheng threw all three of her grenades and, in the instant her opponent was dazed by the blast, closed the distance with a Launching Slide! She spun around for a Topspin Kick, then a Piercing Kick! She deployed and instantly detonated a Self-Destructor and a Pursuer. Her mechanical armguard enveloped her hand, but instead of using the spikes, she slammed a fist hard into her opponent's jaw—a beautiful uppercut!
After the clean and decisive combo, a steel spike shot out, stopping just short of her opponent's vital point. The match was over.
She collected her winnings of 5,900 Star Stones, 150 of which belonged to Yan Ling. Wen Yuncheng turned in her Dueling Arena profits once a month.
Wen Yuncheng put away the Star Stones and waited for her next match, rubbing her wrist. The uppercut was cool, but it made her hand hurt.
She had figured out how to use the Mountain River Seal. Although it was just a little trinket a Xuan King used to stamp things, it was a Profound-rank Spirit Treasure nonetheless—or perhaps it had formed naturally after being nurtured for so many years. Because she had consumed the Mountain River Fruit, she received a bit of a bonus when using the seal. Just like in the first match against the fake Lu Bu, her ability to hold on for so long was thanks not only to her own constitution but also to the Mountain River Seal. Having eaten the fruit and absorbed its aura, she could better utilize the seal's power. Without the fruit... she could still use it, but its effectiveness would be reduced, operating at only 80% of its potential.
As for the Flying Sky Shuttle, Wen Yuncheng had figured that out too. It was controlled by thought, perfect as a hidden weapon. Its best use was to be summoned stealthily for a sneak attack. It wasn't as effective in the dueling ring, as opponents would defend against it once they saw it. In the future, if someone tried to rob her again, she could use the Flying Sky Shuttle to feign weakness and catch them off guard.
When school started in September, Wen Yuncheng became a third-year student.
Host: Wen Yuncheng
Race: Human
Age: 17
Class: Mechanical Master
Level: 35
Experience: 10755/22000
Points: 1932
Her long stint of battles in the Dueling Arena had finally allowed Wen Yuncheng to reach the 2nd Layer of the Star Master realm. Of course, this level-up didn't have a major impact on her, other than giving her a lot more mana. Over the entire break, Wen Yuncheng had finally accumulated fifty-six Enemy-Annihilators and increased her turrets to forty-one. The number of Guardians remained at forty-seven... By now, Wen Yuncheng rarely used Guardians anymore. After all, summoning them from her ring took time. When the need arose, her first instinct was always to summon Enemy-Annihilators and turrets.
Wen Yuncheng had used up most of the Abyssal Crystals Yan Ling had given her. To conserve them, she had also used Abyssal Crystals to make the turrets. However, because the energy cores glowed, the three new Abyssal Crystal turrets had been spray-painted.
With the start of the new semester, the S-Class's mission for the year was clearly the Youth Tournament. Wen Yuncheng had already learned all the theoretical knowledge of the Starry Sky Continent that she needed to. As third-year members of the S-Class, they were granted the second-greatest amount of freedom at Star Academy—because the fourth-years were obviously the most free.
As the new students arrived, the top student from the second-year A-Class—a little guy at the 1st Layer of Star Master—entered the S-Class, becoming Wen Yuncheng's junior. Among the first-years, there was also a supposed genius who had enrolled as a Star Practitioner 2nd Layer and could reach the 3rd Layer with a bit of hard work. This student was also under consideration for the S-Class.
With nothing better to do, Wen Yuncheng went to the academy cafeteria for lunch and suddenly realized she had become one of the academy's prominent figures—of course, nearly everyone in the S-Class was a prominent figure.
However, Wen Yuncheng discovered that her public image seemed a bit... off?
Battle Maniac? King of the Dueling Arena? A Knife Hidden Behind a Smile? Mechanical Madman?
Wasn't a title like "Mechanical God of War" much cooler? What on earth had caused this misunderstanding? When she heard people also calling her a "ruthless flower-destroyer" and a "steel straight man," Wen Yuncheng was shocked. She was always polite to the young ladies! She had never even received a single confession from any of them!
Hearing all this, Wen Yuncheng could only let out a heavy sigh. She could no longer keep up with the pace of campus gossip.
Of course, 1947 believed Wen Yuncheng had earned those last two titles by mercilessly beating up female opponents. But it thoughtfully kept this to itself.
Lin Jinyu broke through to the 3rd Layer of Star Master in mid-September. She went to the Fire Tempering Bath almost every day. During a brief get-together over the break, 1947 had mentioned that Lin Jinyu had the strong scent of medicinal pills on her.
Clearly, Lin Jinyu had been consuming no small number of pills during her cultivation. This was likely one of the reasons she had to frequent the Fire Tempering Bath.
Wen Yuncheng saw this and worried inwardly. She was relieved to hear that Lin Jinyu had broken through to Star Master 3rd Layer. The breakthrough from Star Master to Star Lord required a degree of enlightenment; it wasn't something one could achieve through brute force alone. Lin Jinyu would probably cool down for a while now and focus her efforts on the Youth Tournament.
Once she accumulated more combat experience and gained new insights during the Youth Tournament... breaking through to Star Lord should be much easier.
The Youth Tournament was only an individual competition, so it ran for a very long time! It began one week after the end of the Beast Tide and was held at the Imperial Capital's Royal Combat Arena. Not only would members of the Imperial family and the capital's nobility be watching, but even the three Protectors of the Nation would gather to oversee the competition! Many young people without factional support participated in this tournament hoping to make a name for themselves in battle and win the backing of a major power. After all, for most cultivators on the Starry Sky Continent, resources were indispensable for rapid advancement.
After the semester started, Yan Ling watched a few of Wen Yuncheng's matches in the Dueling Arena. She saw that Wen Yuncheng could now seamlessly integrate her Spirit Treasures with her own skills, and her regular combat flowed like water with almost no major mistakes. She was actually very satisfied with Wen Yuncheng, and her cultivation speed was a pleasant surprise. Although it was a Star Power Mutation, Wen Yuncheng clearly possessed excellent potential.
When Yan Ling saw Wen Yuncheng buying Abyssal Crystals at the auction house, she took the initiative to have the manager sell them to Wen Yuncheng at cost, as a small show of support for her disciple. After all, Wen Yuncheng's demand wasn't that high.
After another period of cultivation, Wen Yuncheng was finally able to run into Lin Jinyu frequently at the academy. In early October, Lin Jinyu began to join Wen Yuncheng in the Dueling Arena for matches.
However, most of the Star Master 3rd Layer cultivators were no match for Lin Jinyu, and the battles didn't put much pressure on her. So, Lin Jinyu didn't persist with the Dueling Arena and instead returned to the academy to spar with Qiu Fei. Being crushed by one's mentor was also a way to improve.
"For this Beast Tide... I want to try fighting a Abyssal Crystal Eagle." Wen Yuncheng figured that since she was a Star Master 2nd Layer now, the existence of her Enemy-Annihilators gave her the confidence to challenge one. With Lin Jinyu's cooperation, it wouldn't be a problem even if the Abyssal Crystal Eagle was a Star Lord 3rd Layer.
"Okay," Lin Jinyu nodded, agreeing.
Once the Beast Tide began, Wen Yuncheng would be able to trigger the experience missions within it and level up again. 1947 was still very busy during this time. According to it, it was dividing its attention to monitor the scholars' decryption progress. The hints it provided couldn't allow the scholars to instantly understand the meaning of the data stream, or it would seem too strange and arouse suspicion. It was a matter of finding the right balance.
—"Senior Lin!"
Wen Yuncheng's face instantly darkened, but when she turned to look at the new second-year junior, she put on a warm and friendly smile.
The junior acted as if he had just noticed Wen Yuncheng and added, "Hello, Senior."
This was the S-Class's newcomer, the second-year Zhou Yaze. He was the adopted son of the Sky High Sect's Great Elder and possessed outstanding talent.
Lin Jinyu gave a polite nod. The junior, Zhou, trotted over, flashing a brilliant smile that showed off his eight pearly whites. "Senior Lin, I heard the Beast Tide is about to start. This is my first time participating... Are we going to be acting together?"
"No, we're not. The S-Class is different from the other classes. We all act individually," Wen Yuncheng answered before Lin Jinyu could, explaining to the junior with a gentle smile.
Zhou Yaze's expression stiffened, but he kept his gaze fixed on Lin Jinyu, ignoring Wen Yuncheng completely.
Being stared at like that, Lin Jinyu had no choice but to answer, "You'll be acting on your own. You can also look for your own team."
"Ah... Are you going to be acting alone, Senior Lin? I won't hold you back..."
"Sorry, but if there's nothing else, I'll be going." Lin Jinyu didn't elaborate on the topic. She glanced at Wen Yuncheng and turned to walk off campus. Wen Yuncheng raised an eyebrow slightly and followed her.
Wen Yuncheng glanced back and saw that Zhou Yaze hadn't followed them. He was just standing there, looking over at them with a very dejected expression. She finally felt a sense of satisfaction. "You're really popular, you know. So many people at the academy like you."
"It's meaningless," Lin Jinyu replied, clearly unconcerned with such matters. She looked at Wen Yuncheng. In truth, she found Wen Yuncheng's disguise very clumsy. Especially... after she had discovered her identity, the more she looked at Wen Yuncheng, the more flaws she saw. No matter how she looked at her, she just seemed like a girl. But... but why had no one in this academy ever suspected?
...Even back when Wen Yuncheng was weak, those people who called her a sissy never suspected she was actually a girl.
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