Chapter 2472 - 294 - 302

Chapter 294: Her Name Is Rosy

Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_

A magnetic levitation vehicle was already waiting for him when Wang Tong stepped out of his dorm. Without asking a question, Wang Tong hopped straight into the car. The man in black that had "invited" him over to Li Ruoer's residence last time sat with Wang Tong in the back seat. Despite his cold expression, the lines on his face seemed softer than the last time they met. The vehicle dropped them off in front of a luxury restaurant.

Unlike Ma Xiaoru, Li Ruoer liked anything that was labeled with the word "luxury," including the venue she had chosen for their dinner. Wang Tong didn't mind; he was not paying anyway.

Wang Tong strolled into the restaurant and found out that Li Ruoer had reserved the entire venue for their dinner. Wang Tong had already gotten used to her lavishness, however, he found it hard to adjust to the awkward quietness of the restaurant. Privacy and quietness were considered a luxury on earth, but Wang Tong was most afraid of silence, since it had nearly driven him into madness while he was stranded on Norton.

Wang Tong struggled to rein in the memories that threatened to break their confines and flood Wang Tong's mind. He lamented being overly sentimental every time he saw Li Ruoer.

Looking at the well-dressed Li Ruoer, Wang Tong found it hard to ignore her beauty. Stylish makeup complemented her face, and her body emanated an irresistible attraction.

All this while, Wang Tong's mind reeled as he tried to figure out if it were a trap. Anything could happen when it came down to dealing with the Enchantress.

Wang Tong had thought of many ways in which Li Ruoer might start their dinner date, including a roomful of men in black. However, he didn't expect to be greeted with an attractive and amiable princess.

"Why don't you sit down, you silly?" Li Ruoer said in a tender voice.

The curve of her lips had complimented her elegant facial features, the same way her stylish white dress did to her body. Her dress had a low cut neck, revealing the ivory colored skin on her neck and a deep groove that promised treasures within.

Her dress looked simple in design, but she had made sure that no man would be able to resist her beauty.

Seeing the slightly dazzled look on Wang Tong's face, Li Ruoer figured that her time spent on putting on makeup and dressing up wasn't wasted.

Wang Tong was indeed dazzled by Li Ruoer's appearance. He cupped his forehead in surprise and then asked "Are you alright? What's up with the fancy dress?"

Li Ruoer's attractive smile suddenly froze and then faded away.

"Don't make fun of me. I was trying to be nice."

Li Ruoer held back the knot of fire in her belly as she wondered how Ma Xiaoru would have ever fallen in love with such an idiot. The questions in her mind made her feel self-conscious, as she started to doubt if Wang Tong would consider her as charming as Ma Xiaoru.

"Anyone? I am going to order. I am starving!" Wang Tong's loud voice shot through the dining hall, disrupting the serenity of the string quartet playing in the background.

A waiter appeared and filled the two's glasses with wine.

"Are we ready to order?" the waiter asked.

Li Ruoer plastered her smile back to her powered face and then said, "He is hungry, he could go first. "

"Why don't you join me? Let's order together."

The waiter was unimpressed by the uncouth behavior of the young man, but he didn't show it on his face. He quickly took the order and retreated to the kitchen.

"Their foie gras is very famous."

"Is that so? I never had that before." Wang Tong nodded, pretending he knew what the strangely named dish was. In a few seconds, the dish was already prepared. Wang Tong smelled the distinctive fragrance of liver, and he knew the contents of his dish. "Ah... foie gras...reminds me of Zerg liver. It was chewy and juicy—"

Li Ruoer's face turned darker by the second as she listened to Wang Tong's vivid description of the Zerg's liver. The knot inside her belly burst into flame again.

"Calm down, calm down." Li Ruoer reminded herself.

Li Ruoer knew that she had to remain calm while trying to exert influence onto Wang Tong, because once she lost it, she would be the one to be influenced.

Li Ruoer took a breath and gathered herself, then said in a friendly tone, "Is that right? that's interesting; I would love to try it one day."

Wang Tong showed her a broad smiled, seemingly impressed by how mature and amiable the Enchantress had become. Wang Tong had already seen through her fake appearance, but he wasn't ruffled by whatever was hidden under her disguise, because he was convinced that the tactics of the Enchantress would do little to no harm in front of his Tactics of the Blade.

Even the brain in between Wang Tong's groin was smart enough to register the danger hidden under her carefully powdered face.

Wang Tong wolfed down the dishes on the table while Li Ruoer watched him with a wicked smile. The perverse curve on her lips suggested that she was savoring this moment when her prey was still unaware of what was going to come after him.

"Does it taste good? I wonder how do you like the taste of the NDBS?" Li Ruoer narrowed her eyes, "Oh, sorry. I forgot that you might not know what it is. It's the newest hallucinogen, expensive but popular."

With only the slightest hesitation, Wang Tong continued gulping food down his throat. "You said expensive? I would like to have more please."

Li Ruoer was caught off guard by Wang Tong's answer. She rebutted. "Do you really think I wouldn't dare to do that?"

Wang Tong shrugged, "I don't care, but I was brought up being told that I should not waste anything. You said it is expensive, and it would be doubly wrong to waste expensive things."

Li Ruoer wasn't sure what to make of Wang Tong's preposterous answer. She was bluffing as she didn't add anything to his dish, but her bluff did not work.

Wang Tong reasoned that even if Li Ruoer did intend to drug him, she wouldn't do it in front of the restaurant workers. In addition to that, he didn't sense anything suspicious in the inner thoughts of the waiter and Li Ruoer—an ability he had picked up while training with Mr. Wannabe in the crystal space.

"Whatever. Finish your food and then show me what you got."

"Sure! But it is boring while there's nothing at stake, don't you think so?"

Li Ruoer was staggered by Wang Tong's change of manner from a rowdy teenage boy to a candid and openhearted man.

"Sure, what do you want?" Li Ruoer said with a seductive voice; Wang Tong knew right away that it was the Enchantress talking.

Wang Tong smirked and then said, "If I win, take me to Xiaoru, I need to talk to her."

Li Ruoer was flustered after failing to distract Wang Tong's mind away from his lover, as Wang Tong had remained practically immune to her seduction. She was extremely confident in her attractiveness, and with the aid of the Tactics of the Enchantress, she ought to be able to charm any man with ease. So, why did she failed to spellbind Wang Tong's animal instinct?

"What if you lose?"

"Tell me what you want, I will try my best as long as it wouldn't harm anyone." Wang Tong answered with confidence.

"Phf! Do you take the House of Li for gangs in the streets? I will think about it and let you know later. "

Wang Tong didn't protest. He never thought he would lose the fight, and the same unswerving confidence came over Li Ruoer as well.

"Done eating, let's start!"

"We are not doing it in a restaurant, you fool. Follow me!"

"All good to me!"

Wang Tong's manly voice tucked at Li Ruoer's heartstring, but she quickly gathered herself as her resentment towards Wang Tong intensified. She made up her mind to teach him a lesson that he would never forget.

Wang Tong waited for Li Ruoer in a well-lit gym. It was clear then that Li Ruoer was well prepared for their showdown, as the gym was not only secluded but also soundproof.

A few moments later, Li Ruoer appeared in the gym. She had removed her dazzling dress and changed into her gym clothes. Her long dark hair were pulled back into a ponytail, resting right above a long blade strapped to her back.

"Pick whatever weapon you like." Lir Ruoer snapped her fingers, and the wall opened up, allowing a weapon rack to slide forward into the room. Wang Tong saw a plethora of different weapons, including some he couldn't even name.

Wang Tong tried some of the weapons in his hand, and felt that their craftsmanship was superb, as they allowed soul energy to flow at the wielder's will. Although it paled under comparison with Charcoal, any weapon on the rack would be considered a brilliant creation by a master craftsman.

"Are you done?" Li Ruoer's held a cold expression devoid of the enchanting smile she put on earlier. Since Wang Tong was unaffected by her charm, she had decided to give up on that route altogether.

Her failure in charming Wang Tong didn't deter Li Ruoer. Instead, she felt relieved that she could finally focus on ending the matter with a much less subtle, and more visceral approach.

Li Ruoer watched as Wang Tong picked up a hammer and a shield.

"I am a coward. Therefore, I choose the most powerful weapon."

Li Ruoer shot Wang Tong a stern glance and rebutted, "Stop joking around, or else I will carve you up!"

"I knew it! Therefore, I need a shield —"

Before Wang Tong finished his words, he saw Li Ruoer unsheath her long blade, gleaming like a mountain creek under the moonlight. Wang Tong narrowed his eyes as he sensed the energy that came off from the blade. He reckoned that it was a weapon that had been passed down by generations of the enchantress. Over centuries of usage, the blade had developed on a certain power of itself.

Li Ruoer looked at the tip of the blade as if she were fascinated with her weapon, and then she said, "Her name is Rosy."

Chapter 295: Practice Target

Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_

"Nice name! Any story behind it?" Wang Tong chewed on the possible meaning of the name. He wondered if it used to belong to Zhou Zhi.

"It belonged to a girl with rosy cheeks who loved power instead of powder." Li Ruoer confirmed Wang Tong's suspicions by alluding to General Zhou Zhi.

As her words ended, the blade started to dance with Li Ruoer's hand.

Wang Tong sensed that Li Ruoer had used double GN force. Although Ma Xiaoru's soul energy was at par with Li Ruoer, with the double GN, Li Ruoer's damage output was much higher. The usage of the double GN force was a secret kept only among the direct decedents of the creators of the five most potent tactics, and it had become one of the prerequisites of an Einherjar. There had been people outside the great houses that had achieved the sixth level in their cultivation. However, because they weren't aware of the double GN force, they would never become an Einherjar.

Since there had never been an Einherjar in House of Ma, it was clear that the Li Family had hidden the secrets of the double GN force away from even their closest allies. However, the Ma had also many closely guarded secrets that were unknown to the Li.

It was the first time that Wang Tong had ever seen such a practical yet deadly swordplay. He conceded that Li Ruoer was not only a master Enchantress, but also possessed robust physical attack capabilities. Unknown to Wang Tong, despite the enchanting effect of the Tactics of the Enchantress, the tactics was meant to be used during combat. Wang Tong had pushed Li Ruoer to a corner after defeating her in a few rounds of a battle of wits. The defeats and humiliations had hindered Li Ruoer's cultivation. So, Li Ruoer had also planned to attend the tournament, and just like the girl with the rosy cheeks, she too, craved power.

However, Li Ruoer was more devoted to her climbing up the ladder of power than Zhou Zhi, since she was convinced that she wouldn't meet a man who would steal her heart the way Li Feng had from Zhou Zhi.

Quickly, the room was filled with clangs of the metal hitting against each other. The sword carried a formidable force, with a striking technique that had been refined and improved over three centuries.

Li Ruoer worked hard to become the most powerful woman. She never considered herself less worthy than anyone else, including her brother. Although she also knew that the world did not revolve around her wishful thinking, she believed that as long as she continued improving herself, she would become the strongest one day.

She wanted to prove to the world that the Tactics of the Enchantress was the most powerful of all tactics, including the Tactics of Vayu of House of Li.

The Enchantress rained her attacks on Wang Tong and forced him into a defensive position. Wang Tong had thrown away the hammer, since it was heavy and cumbersome. However, he had kept the shield. Once he infused the shield with GN force, it became a very useful tool for defense against Rosy. Wang Tong registered a sinister intent that threatened to kill in Li Ruoer's every strike, despite the fact that it felt less belligerent than most swordplay techniques. Wang Tong reminded himself to be careful, not to be fooled by any seemingly benign moves. He reckoned that the enchantress had used him as a practice target for her cultivation, as he lamented her underestimation of the practice target's power.

After a forceful double-jab from the blade's tip, the shield shattered. The force threw Wang Tong off balance and made him stagger a few steps back. Li Ruoer rested her hands on the pommel of the blade and watched Wang Tong struggle to regain his balance. The shimmering blade seemed to have turned even brighter; the GN force was awakening the memories of generations of the enchantresses, releasing their power into the blade.

"Wang Tong, is that all you got? I will do away with you today!" Li Ruoer was slightly disappointed after seeing Wang Tong had failed to live up to her expectation. However, she would gladly get rid of her trouble.

Wang Tong threw away the remaining pieces of the shield and cranked up her soul energy. Having experienced the real power of both the Tactics of Blaze and the Tactics of the Enchantress, Wang Tong marveled at the difference and similarity between the two tactics. The two tactics had drastically different attack techniques and GN force attributes. However, they both used double GN force as the foundation of their damage output method.

"Come on, be nice! You are supposed to be a lady. Fine, I am done warm up now. Bring it on!"

"Save your bluff, show me what you got now while you still can. I promise you won't have a second chance!" Li Ruoer was disappointed by Wang Tong's power, since she had so far sensed only a fifth level soul energy, and he had very mediocre defensive and offensive abilities.

Wang Tong held a nonchalant smile as he clenched his fists. His fingers seemed to have squeezed out Li Ruoer's energy surrounding him, and replaced it with his own hungry GN force. Li Ruoer felt his power as well, and her face suddenly turned black.

She had never felt so much energy from anyone of her age, not even from her brother.

Knowing that any resistance was futile, Li Ruoer pulled her soul energy back to defend her sea of consciousness against the assault of Wang Tong's powerful force. All this while, the enchantress wondered how Wang Tong could have achieved this much power at such a young age.

Wang Tong licked his lips in excitement. The same outburst of energy field had paralyzed one of the disciples of the Templar, Hu Yangxuan. Therefore, Wang Tong was pleased to see that Li Ruoer didn't even flinch, and marveled at her incredible ability to react to changes during combat.

Eyes burning with a luster that meant vengeance, Li Ruoer attacked again.

Wang Tong was pleasantly surprised to see that his opponent was still able to attack while being under his overbearing energy field. He remembered what a nightmare it had been on the day that he had to break the spell of Mr. Wannabe's energy field. Wang Tong figured that the masters of the House of Li must have taught Li Ruoer the way of countering the powerful energy field, and therefore, she would be able to handle it with ease.

Wang Tong launched himself at Li Ruoer, fist boring down on the enchantress. He meant to overpower his opponent with greater GN force. However, his opponent was playing a different kind of game.

Wang Tong's attacked opened himself up and gave Rosy and opportunity to slide in. Li Ruoer was unaffected by Wang Tong's energy field and carried out her attack flawlessly.

Suddenly, Wang Tong found Rosy appearing right above his head and coming towards his neck. He tried to stop in his tracks, but was carried forward by his momentum. Luckily, the blade missed him as it swooshed by his ear. Even with the protection of the GN force, Wang Tong could still feel the deadly coldness from the blade.

Wang Tong marveled at the enchantress's power, but was unruffled. Ever since the training in the crystal space, he had forgotten what fear was like.

Li Ruoer attacked again, and Rosy cut open the air in front of Wang Tong's nose. Wang Tong managed to bend backward in the most awkward way and threw a kicked at his opponent. The unexpected and unusual maneuver made Li Ruoer lose her balance while trying to dodge the kick.

Both fighters pulled themselves back, and the two suddenly gained a dozen meter distance between them.

Li Ruoer was a very powerful fighter. However, since she was a girl and was younger, she had always been under the shadow of her brother. There had been only one female Einherjar in the past few centuries, so her family didn't expect her to become a warrior either.

The tip of rosy trembled as Li Ruoer channeled more GN force into it, making the body of the blade start to vibrate and hum. Li Ruoer also cranked up her soul energy all the way to two hundred and sixty.

"Rosy's Smile!"

Li Ruoer attacked with the blade in such a way that it was hard to tell if it were the Enchantress wielding the sword or the other way around. The body and weapon had merged into one. Imbued with deadly GN force, the tip of the blade pierced through Wang Tong's energy field and aimed squarely at Wang Tong's head.

Wang Tong threw himself at the attacker with a powerful punch. He was convinced that since women were naturally weaker than men regarding physical strength, he needed to play to his advantage and subdue the Enchantress with force.

Wang Tong's aim was true, but Li Ruoer's blade seemed to shift its track slightly in the most unfathomable fashion. The still trembling blade tip traced an arc as it glinted in the air and it cut through Wang Tong's clothes, and into his flesh. Li Ruoer's attacks were deceivingly plain, but underneath every seemingly straightforward attack was a sack of poison that would be unleashed at the most unsuspecting moment.

Wang Tong no longer held back his power and punched the blade with his signature move: the Layer Fist of Tong. Instead of attacking Li Ruoer, Wang Tong decided to focus on her blade, Rosy. It was a daring move since if there were the slightest weakness in Wang Tong's punch, he might never be able to punch again for the rest of his life.

The blade and the GN force infused fist collided with each other. Li Ruoer's body trembled as a flow of GN force surged back and forth between her body and the blade.

Suddenly, Rosy was knocked off course, creating an opening. Wang Tong took the opportunity and closed in on the Enchantress. Wang Tong had registered that the perfection in the Enchantress's executions had become her enemy, since it had made her moves very predictable.

Once Wang Tong got close to Li Ruoer, he attacked with abandon and rained punches and kicks onto the Enchantress and her blade. Li Ruoer held her ground firmly and continued to execute her defensive moves flawlessly. From time to time, she was even able to sneak in one attack or two, trying to break the engagement. However, Wang Tong was able to dodge these attacks using the most unlikely and daring moves so that he wouldn't break the momentum of his aggression.

The flow of the combat had gone under Wang Tong's control as he forced the Enchantress to a corner and pinned her down. Despite Rosy's initial absorption of the force in Wang Tong's attacks, Li Ruoer still found it difficult to handle the power that had passed through the blade to her hand and though her body. Despite her usage of the double GN force, she could feel that her opponent's attack was gaining more vigor and energy after each strike.

Chapter 296: Score Settled

Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_

Wang Tong was wholly engrossed in attacks and started to overlook defense. He charged up GN force to his fist and hewed at Li Ruoer with abandon. The GN force ignited the air and released a blaring sound. Li Ruoer did not flinch, as she calmly blocked the attack with the blade. The impact forced the two warriors to break the engagement.

Wang Tong cracked a smiled and licked the blood off his right hand. He admired the blade for its power, as he did not expect to get hurt while his hand was charged fully with GN force. The taste of the blood triggered a flood of memory rushing into Wang Tong's mind.

Li Ruoer gathered herself and examined the body of Rosy to make sure there was no damage. She was shocked by Wang Tong's strength, as she was convinced that her strike should have been able to chop Wang Tong's arm off. However, it seemed that Rosy was only able to graze the boy's skin.

"Wang Tong, you are full of surprises. However, our fight ends here. You will be the first person to have seen the Enchantress's coup de grace!" Li Ruoer announced with unswerving confidence.

Li Ruoer's confidence piqued Wang Tong's interest as he wondered what the enchantress's coup de grace would look like.

Wang Tong watched as Li Ruoer set the blade about her waist, and the index and middle finger of the other hand pressed lightly on its mid-upper section. Wang Tong noticed Li Ruoer's eyes start to give off a faint purple luster, which was gaining intensity by the second. Without sensing any wind, Wang Tong was surprised to see the Enchantress's hair being tossed around and getting disheveled by some unseen force.

Suddenly, a strange light appeared at where Li Ruoer's two fingers had rested.

"Shit! It was a light of a sword aura formation." Fear came over Wang Tong as soon as he saw the deadly light.

Li Ruoer's soul energy had already crept quietly up to three hundred. This was her real energy level, and it was unmatched by any fighter of her generation. However, the soul energy was not what set her apart from the others.

"Enchantress's Song!"

Li Ruoer's dream-like voice hummed a tune as the strange light at her fingertip expanded into thousands of sharp rays of blade aura. As if commanded by Li Ruoer's humming, these deadly blade aura flew to Wang Tong.

Wang Tong's body tensed up as he marveled at such peculiar method of using one's soul energy.

At the sight of the deadly coup de grace, Wang Tong did not waver; instead, he became even more excited.

In a blink, these blade auras intertwined to formed thirty shimmering aura blades. They lined up in a rotating circle, each blade seeming to have a thousand facet, as a thousand lights bounced off of its surface. It turned the sword formation into a splendid display of both deadliness and astonishing beauty, a fitting combination as the coup de grace of the Enchantress.

Wang Tong opened up his sea of consciousness as the golden soul energy spilled out into his hands. Wang Tong would not dodge the incoming attack; instead, he was determined to face it head-on. He could have sneaked in a cheap attack while Li Ruoer was charging up her sword formation. However, the yearning to test the Enchantress's ultimate power had prevented Wang Tong from doing so.

All thirty-six aura blades had landed at their mark and exploded. The thirty-six explosions rattled the building as an avalanche of plaster fell off from the ceiling. Behind Wang Tong, a giant hole appeared from the immense force of the blade aura.

The purple luster faded as Li Ruoer regained some of her conscience at the sight of the havoc she had wreaked. She didn't mean to kill Wang Tong after all, and for a second, Li Ruoer was worried for Wang Tong's safety.

As Li Ruoer was unnerved by the potential death of Wang Tong at her hands, she heard a blast from a pile of cement and concrete and then saw Wang Tong walk out from the explosion with a golden light in his eyes.

As Li Ruoer locked her eyes onto Wang Tong's, she immediately lost her consciousness.

It was the soul energy override, an ability Wang Tong had learned from Mr. Wannabe in the crystal space.

The key to performing the soul energy override was to synchronize one's soul energy wave with that of the opponent. Wang Tong was just hit by Li Ruoer's soul energy blades, so the memory was fresh. Hence, the synchronization was easily achievable.

Having gained temporary control of Li Ruoer's sea of consciousness, Wang Tong searched it using his own soul energy while hungrily absorbing its power. As soon as he reached the bottom of Li Ruoer's soul energy, he was shocked by the complexity and intricacy.

After a few moments, Wang Tong was ready to pull his soul energy out. He couldn't sustain the connection for too long, since Li Ruoer was a high-level fighter who possessed exceptional soul energy defenses. He had succeeded in overriding her soul energy only because she had lowered her guard due to her concern for Wang Tong's life.

Before he left the enchantress's consciousness, Wang Tong paused and decided to take a final look at the real form of the enchantress. He eventually found her in a corner, but instead of a teenage girl, he saw only a little girl curling in on herself. Helplessness and loneliness were written all over her face.

"Is this really Li Ruoer?" Wang Tong was shocked.

In front of the girl, on the ground was a doll, and the little girl extended her arm, trying to reach it. But, her fingers were shy of a few inches. Despite the futile attempt, the girl was insistent in her action. Wang Tong felt a slight pity for the helpless little girl, so he walked to her and pushed the doll closer to her.

And then he saw a golden flash—

Li Ruoer staggered back a couple of steps, face pale as purple lights flickered in her eyes. She asked, "Wang Tong, what have you done?"

Blood had seeped through Wang Tong's clothing. Although he had survived the Enchantress's coup de grace, he had underestimated its power and didn't put up a full defense. However, he conceded that getting beaten up was the best way to understand opponent's real power.

Wang Tong held Rosy in one hand and pointed its tip at her owner's chest. "You lose."

Li Ruoer was stupefied by what had just happened. She remembered seeing the golden light in Wang Tong's eyes, but she could no longer recall what had happened next as if she had just wake up from a dream that she had already forgotten.

Wang Tong cracked a smile and then turned the blade around, so the handle was facing Li Ruoer, "Li Ruoer, it's just a spar. "

Li Ruoer took over the blade as her face turned bleak. She stomped on the ground out of sheer frustration, "I will honor our deal. But remember, this is not the end of it!"

Li Ruoer turned on her heel and ran away without even sparing Wang Tong a glance. Wang Tong smiled wryly. What he saw in her soul energy seemed to suggest that behind the shining facade, the life in the Great House was nothing to be jealous about.

After the duel, Wang Tong returned to his dorm and found that Zhou Sisi had been waiting for him. Ever since she learned about the duel, she had been worried for Wang Tong. As soon as she saw Wang Tong's blood-soaked clothing, she was infuriated.

"This had gone too far. Let's call the police!" Zhou Sisi said angrily.

It took Wang Tong a while to realize that Zhou Sisi was referring to the blood on his shirt, so he said, "Nah, it's no big deal, just some scratches. You should have seen Li Ruoer, and I think she is the one who should call the police. But anyways, the tactics of the enchantress was potent. You should have seen the way she used her soul energy...It was incredible!"

Zhou Sisi swallowed down the anger and started to dress Wang Tong's wounds. Despite the bloody appearance, these wounds really meant nothing to Wang Tong.

Even Li Ruoer had failed to understand how Wang Tong could have survived her coup de grace. Li Ruoer was confident that her coup de grace would be able to carve her opponent up even if he or she was wearing a METAL suit, much less wearing practically no protection at all.

Wang tong had been too reckless with Li Ruoer's sea of consciousness. Anyone who had mastered the art of soul energy override would understand that it was extremely harmful to alter other's consciousness. However, Wang Tong only knew the way to enter the sea of consciousness, but was unaware of the danger he might have imposed to Li Ruoer.

Wang Tong lied on the bed as the images of the aura blade flashed in his mind like a movie. He conceded that the members of great houses were masters of disguising their real powers. He reasoned that if Li Ruoer knew how to do it, so would Lie Jian. However, Lie Jian would rather lose face than reveal his real power in front of his nemesis, Patroclus.

After the fight, Wang Tong not only gained insight into the Enchantress's technique, but also on the Enchantress's training method. Since both Ma Xiaoru and Li Ruoer had reached about the same level of soul energy, Wang Tong reasoned that Li Ruoer's much higher damage output was a telltale sign that Ma Xiaoru's training method needed adjustment. He had even formulated in his mind the adjustments he believed that were required to bring Ma Xiaoru's damage to the next level. However, he lamented the fact that Ma Xiaoru was not here with him. Otherwise, he could test his theory right away.

Suddenly, another question pressed on him.

"How did Ma Dutian gain his power? And why didn't he notice the obvious shortcomings in Ma Xiaoru's training?" One question bade other. Sensing the complexity of the problem, Wang Tong started to feel tired, so he pushed the matter away.

"I am fine; these are just scratches. No biggie. I covered my face though. See? No scratches on my face."

Wang Tong's words made Zhou Sisi forget about her anger and burst into laughter. She chided gleefully, "Idiot! Are you turning into Hu Yangxuan? That's very attractive."

"Haha, of course not! Hu Yangxuan only has his face, but I got not only the looks, but also the personality. "

Zhou Sisi shook her head and decided to ignore his silliness.

After an hour of working, Zhou Sisi was finally done taken care of Wang Tong's wounds. She wiped the sweat from her forehead and then said. "That will be it for today. Lay on your back and don't move. Next time, think before you act, and please use the brain in your head, but not the one in between your legs! You struck lucky once by surviving the nuclear blast, but your luck would eventually run out."

"Yes, madam!" Wang Tong smiled broadly.

"Just shut up and rest, will you?"

Zhou Sisi didn't leave Wang Tong until she cleaned up the room and made sure he had everything he needed for tomorrow.

Chapter 297: A Bully

Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_

Wang Tong smiled satisfyingly as he enjoyed the benefit of having Zhou Sisi around—free maid service.

After Zhou Sisi was gone, Wang Tong found it hard to sleep as he suddenly realized how bad his injury was. Some of the wounds almost reached his bones. Although he didn't feel much pain while fighting, as he lied down, he found the pain had made it hard for him to relax.

"Come out Charcoal, talk to me!"

"Yes master, what do you want to talk about?"

"Do you know any bedtime stories? "

"Yes. A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, there was a service robot called R2Charcoal..."

Soon, the room was filled with Wang Tong's snoring. Being able to fall asleep as quickly as possible was a prerequisite of being a competent fighter.

Meanwhile, somewhere else on earth, someone was suffering from insomnia.

In a lavishly decorated room, a girl curled up into a ball at one corner. Ever since she arrived home, she had felt a warm and fussy feeling rise inside her. She also sensed something else amidst the warmth and fuzziness, something that she had never felt before—a gentle caress on her heart by a pair of warm hands

"Tenderheartedness is poison for success." Li Ruoer repeated to herself.

As the heir to the House Li, she needed only a pragmatic mind and a cold heart; there was no place for kindhearted sentiments. Only ruthlessness could make a formidable warrior.

She knew that her father wanted her to behave like a warrior instead of a girl, and help him in reasserting House of Li's control over the world. Although House of Li appeared to be prospering, its influence had been shrinking to just a fraction of what it had been during the time of General Li Feng. So much so that members of the House of Li constantly felt that they were living in disgrace.

Li Ruoer had grown up watching her brother's training under her father's unforgiving methods. Some of the disturbing scenes that she had seen had haunted her childhood. Time, at last, had not only made her get used to the harsh training, but had also twisted her mind and molded her into a cold-hearted power-monger.

She had never seen her father smile once, not even when she tried to please him by subjecting herself to the training of inhuman intensity. It was never good enough for him.

However, Li Ruoer never gave up, and finally, her father had noticed her efforts and started to regard her approvingly. All she wanted to do was to please her father. Therefore, although her father never smiled at her, nor did he verbally acknowledged her hard work, his approving look was enough to make Li Ruoer feel happy.

Later, when Ma Xiaoru visited House of Li with her parents, Li Ruoer's eyes were green with envy at the sight of the amiable Ma family. Ma Xiaoru was living a life of her dreams: her parents always wore a smile in front of her, and everyone could tell that Ma Xiaoru's father cared about her more than anything in the world.

She hated Ma Xiaoru for having what she didn't, and she was convinced that Ma Xiaoru would never understand her. While Ma Xiaoru was enjoying a colorful childhood, all that Li Ruoer had was the Tactics of the Enchantress and Rosy.

Hatred and jealousy fueled her motivation to be stronger than Ma Xiaoru, and therefore, she became even more devoted to her training.

However, tonight, she had tasted defeat for the first time. What bothered her the most, in addition to her frustration, was the fact that she had forgotten about the number one rule of being an Enchantress: be ruthless, as she had worried about her enemy's life.

Wang Tong was surprised that Li Ruoer had left with the visiting students without causing any more troubles. As calm and quietness started to set in, the first phase of the tournament, the fleet combat, was about to begin.

Any student could represent their academy in the battle, and therefore, it also became a testing ground for the overall fleet combat abilities of different academies.

DREAM provided the simulation platform. It was an excellent opportunity for the company's PR campaigns, since all the major news outlets had pledged to follow all stages of the Fleet Combat closely. In recent years, the fleet combat had increased popularity against the predominant METAL combat due to its unique focus on the battle of wits. Since the soul energy was not a determining factor, the members of the great houses did not have the huge advantage like they would in METAL combat. The reward for having an excellent fleet combat skill was enticing as well, since the rank of a fleet commander was very high in the navy.

Ordinary students wouldn't think so much about the potential benefits of winning the tournament, since in addition to having fun, they just wanted to use the stage to prove themselves.

The school-wide competition was finished very quickly in a couple of days, and every school had chosen their ten best fleet commanders. The seeded players from Ayrlarng were Wang Tong, Karl, and Zhou Sisi. Although the three were all listed as the seeded players, their skills were wide apart. Most of the members of the S club had become the seeded players of their schools as well.

"Ladies and gentlemen! This was a fantastic fight! Flash, the king of the fleets, the ultimate commander, the commander of the space!" Even the host could no longer hold back his excitement after watching Flash's thrilling performance.

Flash had made a name for himself as the "Ultimate Commander", and therefore, fearing his power, a few of opponents had unleashed coup de grace from the very beginning as a surprise tactic. However, not only was Flash able to fend off their surprise attacks, but he had also spotted their mistakes and turned into his advantage until the enemy fleets were decimated.

"Gods! This is the skill that would bring the Kaedeians to their knees. This is Bisu every one; he is the superstar of fleet battle, the god of APM. He is practically a bug in the simulation, if you will. I am 110% sure that the champion of the fleet combat tournament would be from earth this year!" Another host announced in a high pitch voice. Bisu's combat style was drastically different than Flash, as he relied solely on his unrivaled micro control skills.

Compare to Flash, Bisu laid bare his intention in front of his opponents. When he possessed such incredible micro skills, he wouldn't need to worry about concealing his moves. His insistent micro control would eventually overwhelm his opponents, regardless of how useful their countermeasures were.

As a rising star from Capth, Kal's talents in mastering all aspects of fleet combat had made him victorious in all of his matches so far.

"Karl! Karl the invincible! The young man who had made history. Although he was faced with a tough opponent from Yalen, he won the fight like it was a piece of cake! Congratulations Karl, you have passed!"

On the big screen, Karl displayed the victory pose that he had been practicing overnight—A big Y.

"Congratulations Zhou Sisi! She has become the second female student who has passed the selection process. 2 to 3, it was a close call! Let's wish her good luck in her future competition."

Although the opponent's skill and the level were higher than Zhou Sisi, she was able to turn her opponent's slip up into her advantage and eventually surprised everyone and won the match. After spending days dealing with freaks like Wang Tong, Zhou Sisi had not only improved her patience, but was also able to remain calm under stressful circumstances. It was her patience and calmness that had allowed her to catch her opponent's mistake and turn the tide of the battle.

In front of the camera, despite Zhou Sisi's effort to remain calm, excitement was written all over her face.

In another virtual simulation room, the seed player from Yalen stared blankly at the scoreboard. Yalen had trained him for the specific purpose of defeating Flash. However, he lost the match zero to three.

Wang Tong felt that the match he had just finished was less intense than even his usual warm up as he demolished the opponent with ease.

The show host heaved a sigh and then announced, "This is incredible! Who would have thought that Ayrlarng would have such a powerful fleet commander? Congratulations Wang Tong! With his victory, Team Ayrlarng has secured their ticket to the final phase!"

On the big screen, Wang Tong looked calm. The opponent's ability was so limited that he barely felt that it was a victory; instead, he felt like a bully.

Wang Tong was still relatively unknown, and even his last victory over Flash was played down as a fluke. The outcome of the fleet battle was highly unpredictable, and therefore, people were not surprised to see one fluke or two from time to time.

In the end, thirty players from the earth had entered the final match. In addition, there were fifty Ivantians, ten Martians, and six Kaedeians that that also earned the ticket to the final stage, tallying the total numbers of the contestant at one hundred and fifty.

Out of the hundred and fifty contestants, eight of them would enter the final four. All final four matches were broadcasted live across all corners of the universe.

As the playoff started, so did the real competitions. After weeding out the weak ones, the fight between the remaining hundred and fifty students would all be tough matches.

After having made their way to the final stage, no one wanted to stop halfway to the Hall of Valhalla.

Zhou Sisi struck lucky and won another battle against a Martians. The Martians were well known for their pathetic fleet combat skills, and even the ones that had entered finals were much weaker than fighters from other planets. Therefore, no one was surprised by Zhou Sisi's victory.

Karl was less fortunate than Zhou Sisi, as his first playoff proponent was a Kaedeian. However, Karl's excellent skill had made good fortune irrelevant. Using his unrivaled technique, he won the match three to zero.

Karl was elated at his victory as he jumped up and down while flailing arms wildly. A lot of people were surprised by Karl's excitement, thinking that the famous Karl should have expected his victory. However, despite Karl's popularity and fame, not a lot of people knew that he used to be a nobody in the F class.

Life was a miraculous journey for people like Karl.

Chapter 298: Power Attack

Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_

Wang Tong met with strong resistance from the Ivantian called NADD— the rising star from the Lustre Academy. NADD was pleased with meeting an opponent from earth, since he believed that the opponent from Mars was too weak, and the ones from Kaedians were too strong. It was the first time he partook in the tournament, and therefore, despite his confidence in his ability, he needed an opponent at the appropriate level to help him to adjust.

The two players started their warm up. As Wang Tong performed his warm-up exercise, listening to the cheers of the audience, he thought it was a good day to start his victory.

All the other students from Ayrlarng had already finished their matches, and therefore they all attended Wang Tong's game. Due to his lesser popularity, Wang Tong had only half the number of the audience than Karl.

"Boss! Go !" Karl shouted loudly, unable to hide the excitement from his earlier victory.

Most of the audiences were from the S club, and they were here for Wang Tong. As a second-grade student group, it was an extraordinary achievement to have three of their members entering the finals. Motivated by their accomplishments, they came to cheer for their leader's match.

There were a few from the Lustre Academies, and the rest of the audiences were ordinary public.

The entrance of two new audiences stirred up the viewers. It was a beautiful girl and a handsome teenage boy. Their appearances were scintillating, attracting more attention than the two contestants in the simulation room. They were the Ivantian Prince Dower and the young lady from House of Zhang.

Why did the two come here?

Excitement flashed in NADD's eyes, as he was convinced that the two honored quests had come to watch his performance. As a sense of pride rose inside him, adrenaline shot through his body. He was all the more determined to defeat his opponent with his best performance ever.

Wang Tong cracked a smile after seeing Patroclus had teamed up with Zhang Jin.

"He is very confident, don't you think? Instead of preparing for the fight with you, he is reveling in the fleet combat. " Zhang Jin said quietly.

Zhang Jin was much smarter than Li Shiming, and since the latter could deduce the identity of the Mysterious Einherjar Wannabe based on his disappearance during the Norton Campaign, so could Zhang Jin. Plus, she had full confidence in Patroclus's senses.

However, Zhang Jin had never thought that the boy she had rescued from Norton would become the one to change the course of human history. She lamented failing to reach that conclusion the minute she saw Wang Tong on Norton. She should have known better that no one other than the heir of the Blade warrior would be able to survive the planet by himself for a year.

What kind of tactics would render all the five major tactics ineffective? Zhang Jin remembered the sense of familiarity when she first saw Wang Tong.

She conceded that Wang Tong still had a long way ahead of him. The world had changed since his last incarnation, so she decided to wait and see if the fame of the Blade Warrior would eventually translate to power and strength.

Patroclus's effeminate face showed a faint and almost insubstantial smile.

All the girls' attention gravitated toward him, some peeking at him and some outright ogling. Thus, it seemed that if the Ivantian prince were faced with a female opponent, he wouldn't even need to fight, since his charming looks alone would be able to make his opponent throw herself at his feet.

It was hard to find a single shortcoming in Patroclus. Unlike most Ivantians, he was not even pretentious. Perhaps, his only downfall was his perfection, if perfection could be counted as one.

The battle started.

Wang Tong could tell from NADD's initial formation that he was about to focus on early aggression.

Wang Tong and NADD both sent out their scouts, the Mirage. Both scouts met each other and NADD attacked first.

Three seconds after the engagement, NADD's unit exploded into pieces while Wang Tong's proceeded forward.

A wave of applause erupted from the audiences. The members of the S club had been worried about Wang Tong's performance, but seeing his easy victory, they were relieved and cheered in excitement. NADD attempted to showcase his micro control skills. However, he was completely overwhelmed by his adversary. The Ivantian had lost his edge over Wang Tong already. He attempted to win back the control of the battlefield by pushing out a wave of suicide ships. However, that move was also countered by Wang Tong with ease. Wang Tong's final counterattack crumbled NADD's defense and ended the battle in just under seven minutes.

Zhang Jin was slightly disappointed by NADD's performance. She figured that she and Patroclus's appearance might have disturbed his concentration during the battle. Losing a scout ship at the beginning would not constitute a considerable disadvantage. However, due to his eagerness to prove his ability, he had forced himself into an aggression when his fleet were not yet ready. His desire to prove himself eventually became his downfall.

Wang Tong didn't feel the need to celebrate his victory at all; it was all too easy for him.

During the second round of the match, while NADD was still trying to come to terms with his defeat, his fleet was already engulfed by Wang Tong. Another catastrophic failure.

After losing two fights in a row, NADD's face turned pale. It took him two defeats to realize his opponent's real power, and was finally waken up from his illusions.

Teetering on the edge of defeat, NADD knew that with one more mistake, he would fall into the chasm of failure. The thought gave him immense pressure. He didn't even dare look back at the faces of the two honored guests. The thought of their disappointed alone had already been fraying the edge of his sanity.

NADD's hands were shaking, unable to execute even the most basic commands, and Wang Tong immediately defeated him with ease.

It was clear then that NADD's insufficient forbearance had hindered his ability. Such was the unpredictability of the fleet combat; many things could have gone wrong to render the hundreds of hours of training before the match useless.

There were people who got extremely nervous and slipped up under pressure, such as NADD, and there were also people who got excited and performed even better, such as Karl.

The audiences cheered for Wang Tong's victory. Ayrlarng and Capth became the only two schools whose participants had all passed their first playoff match.

Samantha also sent a message to the participants, congratulating them and wished them good luck in the following matches.

"What do you think of it, Jin?"

"I can tell that he is more powerful than he appears. Don't overthink things. I understand where you are coming from." Zhang Jin cracked a smile, trying to hide her excitement.

She doubted that her family elders would believe what she was going to tell them. The significance of the news she was about to bring to her family was so profound that she had to remind herself to be very cautious.

"I will need your help… Don't let the news leak out from the Moon. I don't want the media to bother him."

"You seem very sure about this."

Patroclus put on a faint smile,"Jin, do you believe in destiny?"

Patroclus had wanted an opponent who was as invested in their fight as he was. He was slightly disappointed on seeing that Wang Tong had partaken in the fleet combat instead of focusing on his METAL training. The Ivantian prince was convinced that Wang Tong did this because he was overly confident, if not conceited.

Zhang Jin knew precisely what Patroclus was vexed about, but she didn't interpret Wang Tong actions the same way Patroclus did. From the couple times of brief encounters with Wang Tong, Zhang Jin was already convinced that the earth boy was neither conceited nor arrogant. Therefore, she was confident that there were more than what met the eyes in Wang Tong's participation in the fleet combat tournament.

Whatever was hiding underneath the plain view had piqued Zhang Jin's interest. On the other hand, she was also very confident in Patroclus's strength, especially when he was serious about his opponent, which didn't happen too often.

Meanwhile, inside a conference room on earth, two young men smiled at each other amiably.

"Brother Li, congratulations on your success!"

"Thank you, brother Porten." Li Shiming smiled.

"I knew you were busy, but I have important news for you. I have reduced the candidates down to five." Porten said as he waved his arm in the air and a projection appeared, listing the details of the five potential "Einherjar Wannabe."

Li Shiming smiled faintly and then said, "No matter who he is, he would definitely show up in this year's tournament."

"Hehe. Brother Li, if I were you, I would do away with this fool who dares to mock your ancestor. He is a disgrace to House of Li" There was anger mixed in Porten's voice.

Chapter 299: Zhou Sisi's Victory

Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_

Li Shiming didn't change his expression, "You are right Porten. But I don't have the time, so I think I will have to let the matter rest for now."

"It's a piece of cake. I can do away with the kid for you."

"That would be nice of you. Thank you so much."

"Don't mention it. I am still hoping to become your future in law, you know."

"That is my hope too."

"Great! I will be counting on you then."

"Ruo'er should feel lucky to have someone competent and responsible as you looking after her."

"Haha, thanks! I will be off now. "

The two nodded, and their image disappeared from the screen.

"My lord, how would this idiot be a good match for our lady? "

"Hehe, Uncle Quan, don't you worry about it? Plus, we do need an ally at the council meeting." Li Shiming said to the house minister Li Quan.

"I know. I just felt indignant that you would have to rub shoulders with arrogant fools like him."

Li Shiming smiled faintly. To restore the former glory of his family, his father had spent most of his life on his cultivation, without realizing that in this day and age, force alone would no long be able to bring in power and influence. Although Li Zhedao was a great fighter, he was no Blade Warrior.

The only way to dominate the world, Li Shiming believed, was to combine physical strength with a crafty method and be as resourceful as he could.

The most important quality to a great man was to tolerate others.

Li Zhedao had great ambitions when he was young, as he had sworn to take control the entire council. However, he had been mired in the matters on Earth, unable to even exert his influence further than the solar system. His failure was partly due to his conceit and the lack of tolerance for the unctuous politicians. Although tolerance and shrewdness were what his father lacked, Li Shiming had the abundance of both.

The tension between the Li and the council had been significantly relieved thanks to Li Shiming's work. Although Li Shiming was not yet the house lord, as the first heir in line, he was able to represent his father on many occasions. Thanks to his apparently mellower personality than his father, people were more inclined to deal with him instead of his overbearing father.

They said it was easier to change a country's borders than to change a person's personality. Thus, when Li Zhedao realized what he had lacked all this while, he found it hopeless in changing himself. However, he thanked the gods for having a son who was much more resourceful than him.

"Have you researched thoroughly? Are you sure that Wang Tong is the Einherjar Wannabe?"

"There is no conclusive evidence to prove that just yet. However, he is really suspicious. Do you want me to—"

"It's already too late. He had made contact with the Ma, giving them one more reason to break our alliance."

"Should we expose his identity?"

Li Shiming smiled, "Hehe. Don't you think that is exactly what he wanted? Li Jian might have lacked a sharp mind, but it's not easy to deceive Patroclus."

"Ah! No wonder that little Dower prick showed up during the match but had done nothing!"

"Patroclus was much smarter than that brute Li Jian. Now, they are all going to partake in the tournament. This is a stage that I cannot pass up now, can I?"

Li Quan's face became serious as a sense of respect rose inside of him, "You are the most observant and resourceful, my lord."

"Thank you. You are excused now. "

"Yes, my lord."

Li Quan was the house minister of House Li. He had watched as Li Shiming grew up, so he knew the young master of House of Li very well. As Li Shiming grew older, Li Quan more frequently found himself marveling at the young boy's forbearance, a rare and valuable trait for a powerful leader.

After Li Quan was gone, Li Shiming clapped his hands, and a man cloaked in black appeared like a phantom emerging out of the shadow.

"Master, I am here to serve."

"Dispatch number ten, get rid of Wang Tong."

The man in black cloak nodded and then disappeared back into the shadows again.

Li Shiming gave the order as if he had done so for many years. Wang Tong was just another minor wrinkle in his master plan that he needed to iron out.

Li Quan was a critical member of the family, and also a public face. Therefore, Li Shiming could not let him know about the dirty work, let alone allowing him to dirty his own hands. However, Wang Tong must die, not because he was potentially the Einherjar Wannabe, but because Li Shiming felt he had spent too much time on his marriage proposal.

Li Shiming opened up a notebook, found the name of Wang Tong and put a cross right beside it.

He took a deep breath and then placed the notebook back into the crystal space, then he stepped into the gym. As the heir of House of Li, he had only one purpose in this world, to reassert House of Li 's control over the human race.

The fleet battle experts marveled at the brilliant display of skills from the students.

The Kaedeians and the Ivantians remained the most competitive groups, but the team from Earth had caught up with the two very quickly.

Team earth's rise was largely thanks to a few fresh blood: Flash, who was unbeatable due to his Macro skills and acute sense of enemy intentions, Bisu, who had unrivaled micro control, and Karl, who was invincible simply because he was Karl.

This fresh blood had made the earthlings see hope in not only entering the final eight, but also obtaining something much more glorious—title of the champion.

"Haha! Did you guys see that? I am on the front page!" Karl smiled broadly.

"Keep it to yourself, and stay low key. Come on Karl, do I have to teach you how to behave like a famous person?" Hu Yangxuan rebutted.

"What? I am letting everyone know about the news. Is that not how a famous person should do?" Karl said, seemingly confused.

Everyone heard his comment and laughed at him "As the founder of your fighting style, you have become more popular than you think. Don't act like you are so surprised by the news coverage; you should pretend its normal even if you are."

Clearly, Karl had not realized his incredible fame and popularity, and rightfully so, since he had to deal with powerful monsters such as Wang Tong.

"These guys are lame. They didn't say anything about our boss!"

"Hehe, boss like to keep things to himself so that he won't reveal too much to his opponent. You should learn from him." Tita cracked a smile and said.

"What? That's deceit! I like to fight openly." Karl was visibly distressed for being unable to bring himself to be as cunning as Wang Tong.

"They were just pulling your leg! Your fighting style is the most adaptive, so you don't have to worry about hiding your strength." Zhou Sisi encouraged Karl.

"You are the best, Sisi! Win face for us girls of the Ayrlarng!" Rumi waved a small fist in the air, unable to hide her admiration for Zhou Sisi.

"I had been lucky, that's all. I expect that It would be harder for me as I progress through the playoff games. But it would be a good practice for me nonetheless."

All members of the S club applauded for Zhou Sisi's positive attitude. As the most active member of the S club, Zhou Sisi was observant in everyone's troubles, and tried her best to guide them through their difficult times. Therefore, many members held Zhou Sisi in high regard.

Everyone agreed that without Zhou Sisi and Cao Yi, there would not be the S Club, much less its current prosperity.

"As the members of S club, we have only one word to say in the face of difficulties —FIGHT!"

Wang Tong raised the soup bowl and willing everyone to do the same.

"FIGHT!" The bowls consummated in a toast.

So, it was the new Ayrlarng, full of fighting spirit and energy, determined to regain its former glory.

"Gods! Am I really seeing this? Zhou Sisi has yet survived another close call. Three to two again, everybody! Her calmness has turned the situation around and helped her to defeat her opponent from the Moon. Let's once again congratulate the amazing fighter."

Even the game host was not able to hold back his admiration. To him, Zhou Sisi' victory was a miracle. He had watched as Zhou Sisi lost the first two rounds, and when he thought that she was about to lose the third round due to being overtaken with stress, she remained calm had defeated her opponent, who had lowered his guard in the third round.

Even with the score settled at one to two, neither Zhou Sisi nor anyone else had seen any hope of winning the next round. However, Zhou Sisi's previous victory had lent her confidence, and reminded her not to give up until it was over.

Chapter 300: Always Be The Winner

Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_

Zhou Sisi remained calm and started the battle with a single base, and focused heavily on early aggression. Her opponent, who failed to foresee Zhou Sisi's change in strategy, was unprepared when Zhou Sisi's harassment came. A few seconds later, Zhou Sisi won the fourth round and evened the score.

Everyone applauded for Zhou Sisi's methodical and calm approach, as well as her perseverance. There was never a lack of talented fleet battle commanders who had excellent skills and abilities. However, only those who had the iron will to carry through difficult times with calmness would eventually be successful in their career.

Natural talent might give an academy student fifteen seconds of fame, but it was tenacity that could make a real commander out of a mere teenager.

During the fifth and the final round of battle, Zhou Sisi did what she did best—adjusting her mentality. She let go of her desires of winning, and focused her mind entirely on the match. Her strategy also took a 180-degree turn as she focused on developing fleet economy instead of early aggression.

The defeat ruffled the Ivantian, so he decided to play safe as he deployed many costly defense systems while emptying his fleet coffer in the process. However, after his scout finally found Zhou Sisi's base, he realized that the earthling girl's economic advantage had enabled her to create a much more productive and well-defended base than his. After the reality set in, the Ivantian calmed down and conceded that he should attack right then. The Ivantian's aggression worked for a while in the beginning, thanks to his superior micro control. However, the little advantage he had stolen during skirmishes was not enough to topple the formidable defense of Zhou Sisi's base. As the battle carried on until the late stage, the two players finally lined up their fleets and were ready for the showdown, and that was when the Ivantians slipped up again.

It would be unfair to call it a slip-up, since he didn't actually do anything wrong but simply overlooked Zhou Sisi's micro ability.

Zhou Sisi used her coup de grace: the colon technique.

Although her execution of the technique was not as fluid as Wang Tong, her usage of the Kaedeian's traditional technique had disheveled her opponent. Zhou Sisi seized an opportunity and defeated the Ivantain after only one around of fire.

Sitting in the audience seat, Wang Tong gave Zhou Sisi a thumbs-up.

Zhou Sisi held her trembling hand together, excitement written all over her face as her victory set in.

This battle was a textbook example of the weak overcoming the strong.

The students form Ayrlarng cheered loudly. No one had thought that Zhou Sisi would be the winner. However, she proved to everyone that being cool-headed was more critical than micro skills.

As soon as Karl's match began, he became engrossed in the battle. Practice made a man perfect, and Karl had gradually become a force to be reckoned with. His power had gone beyond skills and techniques, as it had blend in with his instinct.

Karl's opponent attacked with abandon at the beginning. However, Karl 's instinct had told him that his opponent would focus heavily on early aggression. Therefore, when his opponent's fleet arrived at Karl's well-defended base, it was obliterated right away. The opponent acknowledged his defeat without the slightest indignation.

A full-on assault early on was a double-edged blade, as once it failed, the sudden setback would almost undoubtedly erode the commander's confidence.

In the second round, Karl reversed the role and became the early aggressor. With his unrivaled micro skills and the element of surprise, Karl won the second round with ease.

The third round quickly turned into Karl's solo performance. There was no need to worry that Karl would lower his guard, because he always went all out, regardless of his opponent's strength.

After Karl and Zhou Sisi's match, everyone waited impatiently for Wang Tong's to start. Wang Tong seemed to have a piece of work cut out for him this time, as his opponent was a seed fighter from Royal Kaedeian Academy called Rhimo

Convinced that it was her destiny to bring home the title of champion, Rhimo was confident that she would end this match quickly with a score of three to none.

Wang Tong had already recovered to his full capacity, and therefore, he decided that there was no need to hold back his strength any longer. What he should do instead was to push himself to the limit, and Rhimo would be a perfect lab rat.

The overwhelming victory had astonished the host and the audiences, including those from the S club who had seen Wang Tong's previous power first hand.

Flash was the only person that had expected such an outcome, since he was the only person who knew that Wang Tong's real power was well above that of most of the fleet combat contestants.

Wang Tong won the second round in a blink of the eyes without any difficulty.

Leveraging his unmatched discernment, Wang Tong had unleashed his full potential. Thanks to the Tactics of the Blade, Wang Tong had achieved unimaginable power, and instead of holding them back, Wang Tong conceded that he needed to practice them to make the power part of his instinct.

Mr. Wannabe's training had not only strengthened Wang Tong's body, but also had —although unintentionally—changed his mindset, making him more willing to brave his boundaries. It was a much-needed transition for Wang Tong.

The Tactics of the Blade was the king of all other tactics, and therefore, its user needed to have the personality of an assertive ruler to use it to its full intent.

Although it would be difficult for Wang Tong to tell the difference between arrogance and assertiveness, there would be only one rule that Wang Tong would need to adhere to: be the winner.

After a few rounds of playoff games, the host finally announced the final thirty-two contestants.

There were six from the Earth, Flash, Bisu, Karl, Best, Wang Tong, and Zhou Sisi. Ayrlarng had unprecedentedly gained the greatest number of students on this list school wise.

The Kaedeians had twenty-six contestants on the list, while the Ivantians had ten. No one from Mars had reached the list.

From there on, the battles would all be intense clashes between top-notch students, and luck would no longer play an important part in the outcome.

After Wang Tong had defeated Rhimo with ease, he had quickly turned into the media's new favorite.

Soon, the thirty-two students started to battle against each other for a seat in the final sixteen.

Flash and Bisu were the first in making their way into the final sixteen list. Flash had defeated his opponent with the same score of three to none. He had performed his skills flawlessly so far, and was almost invincible. He had quickly become the most expected player to win the title of champion. The earth confederation was also very pleased with Flash's performance so far, and hoped that this boy would be able to prove to the world that earthlings were no less capable in fleet combat than the Kaedeians.

During his battles with the Kaedeians, Flash had demonstrated exactly that. He made it clear that the Kaedeians did not have a huge advantage from their race. Instead, having the right mindset during the battle was the key to winning a fleet battle.

Bisu had won his match with a score of three to one. Although his freakish AMP ability could overwhelm his opponent, his AMP was far from powerful compared to that of Kaedeians. However, his training with Flash and taught him the ability to predict enemies moves, as well as the method to control the flow of the combat. Thanks to these newfound skills, Bisu was able to defeat his tough Kaedeian opponent eventually.

Karl had also entered the final sixteen as his ability was almost god-like. The former F class student had never imagined that one day, he would be considered one of the most powerful students of anything.

After his victory, Karl displayed his signature victory pose. The public loved this honest young man, and many had joined his fan club.

Unfortunately, Best lost his battle two to three to a Kaedeian. He had tried his best, but he conceded that the gap between their power was unbridgeable. Best had expected this to happen, as it was hard to predict the outcome of any fleet combat matches. Although he had lost, he still considered it a good fight.

"Congratulations to Wang Tong again! Three to zero and made yet another breakthrough for Ayrlarng! Two of the three contestants from Ayrlarng have already got their ticket to the next round."

Wang Tong waved his arm nonchalantly. He was at his peak condition, so no ordinary opponent would pose a real threat to him. His opponent, a Kaedeian girl, was still dumbfounded by her defeat. She remembered that Wang Tong made a straightforward move, and her fleet crumbled without any apparent reason. All the while, the girl was confident that she had carried out her tactics flawlessly.

The members of the S club were ecstatic at the news. Two of their members had already entered the final sixteen. They believed that the fame of their club was about to reach a new height.

Right after his match, Wang Tong hurried to Zhou Sisi's session to offer his encouragement.

When he got there, he found Zhou Sisi was mired in a fight against an opponent from the moon. He was the top fleet combat seed player KKK. He was a well-known contestant among the small circles of the fleet combat enthusiasts. His ability was on par with Flash even under the most conservative estimation.

His excessive brutality was well known, just like his fleet combat abilities. Zhou Sisi's skill had fallen short during the fight, as the Ivantian was slowly nipping away her fleet force, as if teasing her. Although Zhou Sisi possessed dauntless courage, her failure was evident.

KKK loved to play with his prey before he finally finished them off. In the end, KKK blatantly revealed all of his base locations to mock his opponent, hoping the humiliation would force her into submission.

Chapter 301: Forcing It Through

Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_

As the most skilled in the Luster Academy, if not among all the Ivantians, KKK was also notorious for his battle style. To put it simply, it wasn't the victory he sought after, but the pleasure of torturing his opponent's mind.

Therefore, he had gained a nickname the "Death God."

Many people disliked him, but no one could deny his power.

Zhou Sisi's match started at the same time as Wang Tong's. However, when Wang Tong had already finished his game, Zhou Sisi was still in the second round after losing the first.

The second round was the exact copy of the first, as KKK pour out his forces in the very beginning to overwhelm Zhou Sisi and rattle her confidence. Although this method was despicable, it worked pretty well.

Despite his notorious reputation, KKK was very popular among the Ivantians. In addition to perfection, the Ivantians also worshiped power and cared very little about personality.

After having gained an unfair advantage, he started to torture his opponent again by nipping Zhou Sisi's confidence, one morsel at a time. KKK particularly enjoyed this form of slow torture on young and attractive looking female victims.

After a slow but painful burn, Zhou Sisi eventually lost the battle. She had tried her best and didn't yield until the last minute. The gap in their skill was simply too great.

KKK's skill was on par with Flash, and at that level, it was almost impossible to slip up. Therefore, Zhou Sisi was not able to catch an opportunity for a counter attack.

After her defeat at the hands of the sadistic Ivantian, Zhou Sisi felt a knot of fire in her belly. No matter how hard she tried to calm herself, the flame inside of her burnt only brighter by the second.

In the third round, Zhou Sisi had chosen Karl's unique method. However, her opponent had already seen through her intention and was prepared. When the two forces engaged, Zhou Sisi's micro control fell short once again.

The third round should have ended in ten minutes; however, it took well over thirty. It the end, when Zhou Sisi finally conceded her defeat, she turned the anger into her determination to train even harder, so she could revenge the humiliation she had suffered.

Zhou Sisi gritted her teeth and typed in "gg." However, she got an infuriating reply from her sick opponent, "hey pretty girl, come to my place. Let me teach you how to fight." The comment also caused many boos from the audience.

Wang Tong smiled wryly and lamented at the variety of freakish individuals that lived among them.

Wang Tong walked into Zhou Sisi's combat studio and found her was still there, reflecting on her defeat. This defeat seemed to have destroyed all of her confidence that she had slowly built up, and was catastrophic for a budding commander.

"Leave me alone!" Zhou Sisi shouted after hearing footsteps coming toward her.

Wang Tong paused for a brief second and then walked to Zhou Sisi. He patted her shoulder and said, "Get up where you have fallen. That's how you become stronger."

Zhou Sisi leaned against Wang Tong and then muttered, "Let me lean on you just a little longer. Just a little longer please."

The list of final sixteen was fresh out of the oven, and they were as followed.

Earth: Flash, Wang Tong, Bisu and Karl

Moon: KKK, Vitas, GoRush, Cold

Kaedeians: Paris and seven others.

After random grouping, everyone was assigned an opponent. Both Wang Tong and Karl were up against Kaedeians.

"I was hoping to teach that Ivantian b*stard a lesson!" Karl growled.

"Don't worry about it, Sisi. I'm sure boss will revenge you."

"He is done for!"

KKK's opponent was Bisu.

"Although we had been opponents before, we are all from the Earth. So, I promise I will let him regret ever bullying an earthling."

Bisu was very interested in this controversial opponent. Although the Ivantians were the so called "new humans," not all of them were suave and deferential. Some were outright psychopaths, such as KKK. Despite their superior gene, they seemed to lack a firm moral bearing.

Zhou Sisi quickly walked out of the shadow of her defeat. She had accepted this tournament as a practice, an opportunity for her to understand the area which she needed to work on later. The stake was higher in the tournament, and therefore, her opponent was willing to release their full power, thus making the battle scenarios more akin to that in real life.

Adjusting mindset had always been Zhou Sisi's strongest suit. She had turned her defeat into a turning point in her life as she had realized that, as a student, she had been living in her own bubble, and the world outside her bubble was a harsh and unforgiving one.

In real life, the price for such a catastrophic defeat was not just a deflated self-confidence, but also many lives.

Although painful, the defeat had taught Zhou Sisi a powerful lesson.

"Karl, if you ever cross path with him, make sure you are as calm as possible."

Karl nodded. "Don't worry about it. If he ever becomes my opponent, I will crush him."

Wang Tong nodded in agreement.

The final sixteen started.

Karl's first final sixteen match was significantly harder than the ones he had finished before. After the fourth round, the score settled at two to two and then there was the showdown.

This could be the last battle they would ever partake in this tournament. So, the Kaedeian decided to play safe as she used the opening that she was the most comfortable with. She had also expected Karl to do the same.

However, Karl didn't use his signature opening; instead, he poured all of his force in a surprise attack early on and caught the Kaedeian off guard.

No one had expected Karl to leave his most comfortable moves and take so much risk in a high stake battle.

When Karl saw the "gg" on the screen, he howled again with his signature victory pose.

Unlike any other fighters who had fought with their skills and discernment, Karl had fought with his instinct and an unswerving confidence.

Karl entered the final eight, and his success had even caught himself off guard.

While watching the live broadcasting, Samantha could feel that her student's hard work had finally paid off. She also felt a new sentiment that tugged at her heartstrings, which was the friendship between a teacher and her students. She too, felt excited and proud of her students' victory, and felt sad when they were defeated.

"Principal Samantha, Councilor Randolph is here."

Thanks to the success of Ayrlarng, Samantha had quickly earned a group of supporters, and Councilor Randolph was one of them.

When Karl got his ticket to the final eight, students from Bernabeu also cheered loudly for him for becoming the first earthling to have entered the stage for the final eight.

Chapter 302: Forbearance

Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_

While everyone was going to celebrate for Karl, he himself had disappeared. His friends found it strange that he would pass up such an opportunity to bask in others' admiration.

"Granny, I have got into the final eight. Have you seen me on TV?"

"Yes! Granny knew that you would be successful one day! You have to give face to your deceased parents."

"Thank you, granny. I will become even stronger."

No one knew that the seemingly lighthearted boy was raised by his grandmother, because his parents both died right after he was born. Without the welfare money, Karl might not have been able to even attend the academy. Although Karl was never confident in his own ability, his granny was always very supportive of him. She was convinced that Karl would be successful, since he was talented like his father. In order to please his grandmother, Karl always carried out the study with his unique methods, despite being laughed at for being foolishly stubborn.

Today, he had finally proven himself and entered the final eight.

In a grocery store of a ghetto district, the old women's eyes glued to the TV as she mumbled, "This is my grandson, Karl!"

She had always been proud of Karl, although he had been simply a mediocre student from an average school. However, Karl had right then turned into the top fleet commander of the confederation, and he was the first one from Earth to enter the final eight.

This was the best record that the Earth Confederation had ever achieved thus far.

"Karl, the real genius!"

On the Tv screen, the two hosts gave Karl two thumbs ups, and inside the convenience store in the ghetto, people boiled over as they cheered loudly for him.

Right after a brief celebration for Karl, the second match started, which was between Bisu and KKK. Bisu had encountered the greatest threat in this tournament. In a blink of an eye, he had lost two rounds in a row to the Ivantian.

"Hehe, is this what represents the best of the Earth players? Stupid and naive, are you hoping that I would go easy on you?" KKK said with a high pitched voice.

"Player KKK, please refrain from making any personal attacks." The judge warned him.

"Sir, am I wrong about what I have just said? You can ask him yourself." KKK retorted.

Bisu's face turned black. He swallowed down his pride and tried his best to hold back his urge to punch the Ivantian in the face.

Flash's heart sank as he saw the expression on Bisu's face. He registered that Bisu was about to fall into KKK's trap.

KKK aggravated Bisu at the beginning of the match by insulting him for his slip-ups in earlier matches. Angered by KKK's words, Bisu attacked his opponent with abandon from the beginning of the game. However, KKK was well prepared as he had lined his base up with cheap defense tactics and had easily defeated Bisu. The same pattern repeated in the second round. It was clear then that KKK had not only a sharp mouth, but also a sharp mind.

Unlike METAL combat where anger sometimes could translate to power, getting overly emotional would only lead to irrational decisions and slip-ups during fleet combat.

Although Bisu was very clear regarding what his opponent was after, anger had prevented him from taking the appropriate measures in the third round. After his defeat, he punched the dashboard in an uncontrollable fit of rage.

KKK swept back his long and carefully coiffured hair, "Is this the best micro-control of the Earthlings? How disappointing! I hope you are better than this, Flash."

If Flash were the best fleet commander the earth had seen, then his Ivantian counterpart would be KKK. Their battle styles were very similar as well, as they both possessed well-rounded skills, as well as ability to unleash unscrupulous moves whenever they were called for.

KKK never wasted his energy in provoking his opponents if he were fighting someone other than earthlings. Earthing's emotions were volatile compared to residents of other planets; the difference was particularly drastic when compared to the ever-stoic Kaedeians.

Knowing the earthlings' weakness, KKK had repeatedly assaulted his earthling opponents and made them lose their nerve.

Flash smiled away KKK's insult. As the top fighter, he was convinced that he would win in a heartbeat in a fight against the arrogant Ivantian.

After Karl, KKK had also entered the final eight.

The third match of the day: Flash vs. Cold.

Flash's calm demeanor after having witnessed his comrade's defeat did not amount to being totally devoid of indignation and anger. He had woven the anger into his strategies, and Cold had, unfortunately, become the scapegoat and lost the match zero to three.

Flash repeated a simple and effective strategy as he seized three perfect timings, and overwhelmed Cold's based on mass infantry. Cold heaved a sigh after the battles and conceded that his ability to control the overall flow of the battle paled in comparison with that of Flash.

Flash didn't need to play mind games with his opponent as KKK did; his skills were his best weapon.

The fourth battle: Wang Tong vs. Birance

Birance was the top fleet commander among the second year students of the Kaedeians. This fight had quipped the interest of the Kaedeian team captain Rhimo, and she had given orders to Birance to spare no expense in stopping Wang Tong from entering the final eight.

Wang Tong twisted his wrist and stretched his neck, trying warm up the muscles. The simulation room was already packed with audience. Most audiences from earth were pleased to see that there were so many beautiful young Kaedeian girls around them.

According to the information she was given, Birance was supposed to treat her opponent as Einherjar Wannabe. She conceded that if the information was correct, she had a piece of work cut out for her. However, she also reckoned that if Wang Tong was unaware that his cover had already blown, she might have the element of surprise.

The Kaedeians withheld the information they had and carried out the match as if it were just another regular tournament game. As one of the princess's guards, Birance's power was at par with that of Paris. She was convinced that only the Art of Soaring Heaven might stand a chance against her.

There were three hosts for the game, one from the Earth, one from the Moon, and the third a Kaedeian.

Although Kaedeians were fierce protectors of their traditional way of life, they had also attempted to learn the best from the human society, and tried to blend in as much as they could. They had eventually won the hearts of the human with their humility as well as their beauty.

Kaedeians had studied humans well, and therefore, they were aware of the xenophobic nature of human mind. In order to alleviate the risk of falling victim to the ugly side of the human world, Kaedeians had brought the two races closer via arranged marriage. The girls were told to obey their human husbands, and therefore, once they got sent to the earth, the audacious and independent Kaedeian girls would quickly become the most obedient wives, even more than earthling girls. After a few hundred years of investing in themselves, the Kaedeians and already become a force to be reckoned with, and therefore, the need for arranged marriages was gone. Only on infrequent occasions could one hear the news of an earthling and Kaedeian getting married to the love of their life.

Since the human and the Kaedeians could not produce offsprings naturally, most of the couples resorted to adoptions or test-tube babies.

The two started their battle.

As everyone had expected, Wang Tong used his most confident technique.

Wang Tong's starting strategy amused Birance, since it was the most common, run of the mill defense tactic. Letting go of her worries, Birance unleashed her aggression.

However, as soon as the battle started, Birance was surprised by the passive-aggressiveness of Wang Tong's defense tactic, as it allowed him to sneak his fleet in and behind the aggression forces whenever he could find the opportunity to do so. After a while, as Wang Tong's forces were getting more diverse, different ships complemented each other's strength, and his fleet started to turn the tide of the battle.

Birance's first attack of the first battle was therefore dissolved by Wang Tong's passive-aggressive expansion. Although Wang Tong had gained the upper hand, he didn't initiate any large-scale attacks. Instead, he continued to nip away his enemy's territories. To keep Wang Tong's expansion in check, Birance was forced to wage another attack on Wang Tong, and losing more territories in the process.

It was clear then that Wang Tong's defense lines were only a trap, and once his enemies were in the trap, it was almost impossible to get out.

Although the aggressive encirclement tactic was what the Kaedeians were well known for, Birance conceded that her strength had been turned into her downfall by her shrewd opponent.