Chapter 344: Too Much Hype
Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_
Unsurprisingly, Li Shiming was immediately surrounded by media. The journalists liked Li Shiming, because he had always been very cooperative with them. Over time, the two had formed a symbiotic relationship, in which the media fed on Li Shiming's news while friendly coverage protected the latter's reputation. Li Shiming's father, however, had an entirely different relationship with the journalists. It was toxic, to say the least.
"Congratulations, Shiming! We all had expected your success. But, what do you think about the overall strength of your fellow fighters on the Earth?" A journalist from ETV asked him. ETV was one of the most extensive news channels in the Confederation.
"They had fought very well. I think us earthlings would do a great job in this year's tournament."
"That is good to hear. Now, we know that you are determined to hold onto your title of the champion, but who do you think would be your toughest opponent? Would it be Patroclus, Lie Jian, Michaux, or Heidi?" Everyone stared at Li Shiming as they waited for his answer.
Li Shiming cracked a smile and then said, "I think everyone who partakes in the tournament will have the chance of winning the tournament, not just those four."
"Thank you Shiming! Let's wish him success, and thank you for the interview."
"You are welcome." Li Shiming shook the reporter's hand courteously.
Li Shiming always provided the answer the public wanted to hear, which explained his popularity. People tended to believe whatever was on TV, especially what was repeated over and over. It was very rare to see an heir of the House of Li working at the Military, since most of them merely attended the military symbolically, for a very brief period. Li Feng was the only one who had continued his military career even after he had become a General.
Not only did the family business need the leader of House of Li's constant attention, but all of Li Feng's descendants were powerful fighters, who were not likely to subjugate themselves to the rules of the military. Therefore, House of Li had always sent their associates to the military instead of attending the service themselves. However, Li Shiming seemed to be different than his predecessors, since he seemed to be willing to start a long-term career in the military. His willingness to put his boots on the ground had struck a chord with the public.
However, Shiming's inclination of joining the military had greatly unnerved the Golden Hawk. They feared that once the Li had gained full control of the military, and with the help of Ma, the two families would be able to dictate all matters on Earth.
On the other side of the arena, Li Ruoer was also accepting an interview. Much like her brother, Li Ruoer was also a favorite of the public for obvious reasons.
The tactics of the enchantress could alter one's appearance, and when it reached the highest level, it would be able to slow down the aging process. Sadly, these tactics were not available to the public, and only the members of the House of Li would be able to enjoy its benefits.
While Li Ruoer was answering the journalist's questions, her attention was on Wang Tong.
Seeing the intimate interactions between Zhou Sisi and Wang Tong, Li Ruoer felt anger sprouting inside her. It didn't bother her to see the intimacy between Ma Xiaoru and Wang Tong. However, for some reason, the sight of Zhou Sisi beside Wang Tong just got on her nerves.
As she lamented over her irrational discontent, it suddenly occurred to her that she might have fallen in love with Wang Tong.
"How is that possible?"
Ever since her childhood, she had been dreaming of marrying someone like her brother. Wang Tong seemed to be on the opposite end of the spectrum compared to his brother.
Was it curiosity?
Li Ruoer's mind raced, trying to find out the culprit, but failed.
"Ruoer, Ruoer!" Li Ruoer heard her brother calling out to her.
"What's up?"
"We need to take a picture together for the advertisement of the tournament."
Li Ruoer nodded. All the while, Li Shiming didn't even spare Wang Tong a glance, as if the thorn by his side had never existed. Li Shiming knew that his real threat was not this annoying clown, but Patroclus. He had been preparing for that day for years; he wouldn't let Wang Tong spoil the mood.
"Congratulations Wang Tong! After winning the championship at the fleet battle, you have successfully entered the finals of the METAL tournament. " A reporter finally spoke to Wang Tong after she had interviewed all the hotshots.
"Thank you!"
"What is your goal in this year's tournament? Final thirty-two perhaps?" The reporter asked.
"Oh... I don't know. But I will try my best."
"Haha, you are very humble! We look forward to seeing your excellent performance." The reporter wrapped up the interview quickly with a perfunctory statement. Airtime was precious, so she would have to leave more frames for the brother and sister pair of House of Li.
"What an idiot! You are not humble." Zhou Sisi said as she laughed in her mind.
"Well, I am trying to be." Becoming a champion was the only way Wang Tong would continue the relationship with Ma Xiaoru, as his victory over the "Fantastic Five" would lend credence to House of Ma's rejection of Li's marriage proposal.
Although Wang Tong didn't tell Zhou Sisi about his grand ambition, Zhou Sisi had already guessed that much. However, she reckoned that it would be too early to say if Wang Tong's goal was realistic before he had fought with Li Shiming.
In truth, even Li Shiming was not sure if he would prevail in this year's tournament, due to the presence of a large number of high-level fighters.
The public's opinion seemed to favor Patroclus than Li Shiming, since much hype had been generated after the elusive fighter, the so-called "Perfect Human", had announced his participation in the tournament.
The poll for the support rating of each player was conducted throughout the entire Confederation. When the public was asked who they thought would become this year's champion, over forty-three percent of the public favored Patroclus, and thirty-seven percent favored Li Shiming. Only twenty percent favored Lie Jian, whose support rating had dropped drastically after his defeat by Li Shiming.
Li Ruoer seemed to be distracted while talking to the camera, but her beauty and charm still seized the public. Although Li Ruoer and Ma Xiaoru were equally beautiful, Li Ruoer was the more popular one of the two due to her bond with General Li Feng. Her appearance also struck a resemblance with General Zhou Zhi, who were considered having the most elegant oriental features.
While chatting with Zhou Sisi, Wang Tong had registered Li Ruoer's searing glare. However, he never looked towards the enchantress, as he knew that would only mean trouble.
Although Wang Tong wanted to ask Li Ruoer about how Ma Xiaoru was doing, he managed to hold back his urge. Winning the match was his priority, and his only hope to be reunited with Ma Xiaoru. The least he wanted right now was to have Li Ruoer causing him any trouble
After an hour, the second group of qualified contestants also appeared out of the maze exit. There were about fifty of them, and Wang Ben, Apache, and Cisco were among them.
Out of the fifty people, twenty of them were from S-Class academies. It was a testament to their overall power.
Wang Tong watched as Apache walked out of the exit. He had become a brawny and swarthy fellow, and his eyes glinted like obsidian in the shadows.
"Not bad!" Apache grunted at Wang Tong. When Apache first heard the news of Wang Tong's victory at the Fleet Combat Tournament, he was afraid that Wang Tong had forgotten what was more important to a real man. To Apache, Fleet Battles were merely games.
After Apache walked out of the exit, Cao Yi also followed suit.
Soon, Wang Tong found himself surrounded by friends from the S Club, since many of the contestants in the second group were members of the club.
Zhang Mi was an intern at ETV. She wanted to interview the Li siblings, but she had to wait until the senior reporters were done with their questions. While waiting for her turn, she scanned the room and noticed Wang Tong and the throng of students surrounding him—she smelled an opportunity.
She turned on the database and went over the background of Wang Tong, as well as his success at the Fleet Battle Tournament. Zhang Mi's brow furrowed; it would be hard to sell the interview to the chief editor (who was grumpy 90% of the time), if the main focus was the fleet battle. She conceded that the public was only interested in the prince and princesses from Great Houses, and therefore, Wang Tong's story had practically no value to a journalist.
Chapter 345: Stage Was Set
Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_
As Zhang Mi was about to give up, she accidentally hit the drop-down button and noticed Wang Tong's extraordinary resume: sole survivor of the Norton attack; led Ayrlarng and defeated Bernabeu, and then Capth; the Champion of the Fleet Battle, leader of the S-Club.
Zhang Mi's instinct tingled, she had found a treasure!
"Hmm...S club? What the hell is that?"
The name sounded familiar to Zhang Mi. However, she did not know where she had heard about it. After quickly doing some research, she learned that it was a student club among many lower class academies. Zhang Mi conceded that she had no chance in interviewing the hot shots. So, all her hope in having anything juicy for her editor's eyes laid on this boy named Wang Tong.
After about an hour, the third group appeared out of the maze. Zhang Mi watched as more students gathered around Wang Tong.
"Was he their leader? No... he doesn't look like a leader at all." Zhang Mi's mind raced. She kept quiet and observed the interactions between Wang Tong and his friends.
As the test progressed, more S club members appeared, and as soon as they saw Wang Tong, they closed in to greet him. Suddenly, the hallway was filled with banters and laughter from Wang Tong and his friends.
The attention Wang Tong had drawn even made some of the members of the great houses jealous. They wondered what had made these students so eager to talk to a no account?
At the end of the day, Kyaero was the only other student from Ayrlarng that had to pass the test right before it ended. Thanks to the torturous training with Wang Tong, his strength had improved a great deal, and therefore, he was able to pass the test. All other contestants from Ayrlarng didn't make the cut. Sayni wasn't too upset about his failure. He was already in the fourth year when the new Principal Samantha came to Ayrlarng. By then, he had already wasted three years, and it had been too late for him to pick up the slack.
The screen displayed the list of players that had passed the test and was eligible for the playoff matches on the Moon. The Earth government had chosen this testing method due to its ability to conceal the contestants' combat moves.
The Moon had taken a similar approach, although their test was rather straightforward. They had designed a test focusing on the student's primary skills during combat such as soul energy, GN force control, and speed. The second phase of the test was virtual combat. However, the students' opponents were virtual combat bots instead of real humans.
Patroclus and his family members were determined to do well during this year's tournament on their home planet. Even a minor defeat would be disgraceful to the sacred battleground of the legendary Sky Arena.
Meanwhile, on Mars, the qualification process was much more straightforward, as they had adopted the traditional one on one fight. The Martians despised the shady methods of the Earthlings and the Ivantians, and they believed that their tricks would only make them grow weary and weak.
Li Jian, Michaux, and Princess Heidi had significantly beefed up the rank of Martian contestants. The Martians were determined to defeat both earthlings and Ivantians on the Moon and usher in a new age, in which the Martians dominated the landscape of METAL combat.
All planet-wise qualification matches would be wrapped up in a few days. The Moon government had readied the city for the arrival of all qualified fighters.
Before the playoffs of the tournament happened, another exciting event would unfold first. It was the fight between Einherjar Wannabe and Zambrotta, the lord of the War Drum Hall.
Ever since the Blade Warrior, no one expected Einherjar Wannabe to have given people so much hope for breaking the boundary between what was fiction and reality.
After Einherjar Wannabe defeated all the powerful fighters of his age, he had inevitably come to face even more powerful fighters. This time, his opponent was a professional elite fighter—Zambrotta, the top ten fighter of the confederation. This fight was bound to be a cataclysmic event that would shake the landscape of the PA system, regardless of its outcome.
After finishing the qualification test, Wang Tong could finally enjoy watching the fight between Mr. Wannabe and Zambrotta undisturbed. To Wang Tong, watching a fight between two powerful fighters was like appreciating a piece of fine art. Although the supporters of Einherjar Wannabe were loud and feverish, there were also many who supported Zambrotta for his courage. Many fighters at his level had long since succumbed to content.
Zambrotta had carefully prepared for this fight. He didn't let the opponent's age lower his guard. As long as he was on the battlefield, he would do his best.
DREAM had finished reconstructing Zambrotta's legendary weapon—the Thunder Drum—in the virtual space. They had guaranteed that it was as good as the real one, and it would not hinder the execution of his coup de grace. Hearing this news, Zambrotta simply shrugged, since he had never intended to use his coup de grace in the fight.
The virtual area was packed with audiences already, waiting impatiently for the fight to start. The mysterious seventeen-year-old boy had lit up the curiosity in everyone's eyes. Even if the boy failed to deliver a solid performance, watching Zambrotta execute his renowned tactics would be well worth the price for the ticket to the duel.
Before the fight, Wang Tong and signed a contract with the DREAM on the behalf of Mr. Wannabe. Based on the contract, ten percent of the income generated from the ticket sale would go to Einherjar Wannabe. After having experienced so much financial struggle, Wang Tong conceded that although money was not everything, it did make the world go around. After all, he didn't want to always resort to performing dance shows every time he needed money.
As Wang Tong grew up, he started to see the importance of money. That being said, he didn't intend to use the money to improve his life qualify. Instead, he needed money to achieve his higher goals in life.
Wang Tong knew the revenues from the ticket sales would not be a small number. Although his offer of 10% had been modest, it was the 'Goldilocks' market value that Charcoal had calculated after he had tapped into the market database. Charcoal's hacking ability had also helped to conceal the path of the money transfer. He would make sure that no one would be able to trace the final destination of the fund, thus protecting Wang Tong's secret identity.
After having experienced his first fight in centuries, Mr. Wannabe appeared to be calmer than the last time. He could also feel that this opponent was much stronger his time around.
Zambrotta didn't show up until five minutes after Einherjar Wannabe had arrived. Like anyone else, Zambrotta needed money for his family, and therefore, he had also charged PA system for his participation.
Zambrotta was fashionably late like all famous people. He was in a black shirt, that was decorated with the emblem of the Thunder Drum. On Mars, thousands of Zambrotta's followers cheered for their leader, and no one seemed to be paying any attention to Einherjar Wannabe.
On the other side of the Arena, Mr. Wannabe's patience was thinning. The smug look on Zambrotta's face made him want to finish him off then and there.
However, something at the back of Mr. Wannabe's mind —a Déjà vu—suddenly calmed him down. His opponent seemed to be powerful enough to be able to tease out a sliver of his forgotten memory. However, as soon as Mr. Wannabe tried to engage that memory, it evaporated into thin air.
After Zambrotta stepped into the arena, he cast a glance at the opponent, and the smug on his face suddenly disappeared.
Brows furrowed, Zambrotta held the drumstick in his hand and hesitated to attack.
"Something is not...right. Why am I feeling a more powerful presence than Lie Jingtian?" Zambrotta asked himself as his mind raced to find an answer. Although Einherjar Wannabe didn't move a muscle, his watchful eyes followed every minute detail in Zambrotta's movements, from the slightly trembling hand to a twitch on the face.
The audiences murmured to each other as they were perplexed by what was happening. Einherjar Wannabe looked like he was mired in his troubled memory, while Zambrotta hesitated to attack, as if he were faced with the toughest opponent in his life.
The scene in the arena was quiet, but dramatic nonetheless.
The two fighters stood still while staring at each other, dragging out the silence.
Finally, Einherjar Wannabe heaved a sigh and then said, "It has been a while since I heard the beat of the war drum. Please, indulge me."
Chapter 346: Total Knockout
Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_
Einherjar Wannabe's ostentatious comment had outraged the followers of Zambrotta. It was a good thing that majority of his followers were not present at the arena. Otherwise, riots might have already broken out.
However, Zambrotta himself didn't seem to be offended, as he took out the thunder drum and set it in front of him.
Einherjar Wannabe put his hand behind his back, as if he were going to enjoy a drum performance.
"What...What the heck is going on?" The audiences were disheveled by the development, confusion written all over their faces.
With the first beat of the drum came a shockwave of GN force. When the GN force was delivered in the form of the sound wave, not only was it more potent, but it was also extremely difficult to defend against. The shockwave that covered such a wide range was so powerful that it teased out the audience's imagination, and painted a picture in their mind of a brave and young Zambrotta eliminating hundreds of Zergs.
"Mountain Quake!"
Zambrotta threw his head back and let out a thunderous roar. Each syllable of the sound carried an energy that ripped Zambrotta's shirt open, as his soul energy surged. All level six fighters started with five hundred sol. However, by this time, Zambrotta's soul energy had reached over six hundred sols and was holding steady.
As the drumbeat started to gain speed, waves after waves of shock rippled throughout the arena. The audience could sense that these shock waves were compounding, gathering strength as they traveled towards Einherjar Wannabe. Zambrotta's cultivation had reached such a high level that he could easily control the direction which the energy waves moved.
Despite being assailed by increasingly powerful waves of energy, Einherjar Wannabe stood still with his eyes closed, as if he were savoring the delightful sound of heaven.
The belligerent drum was beckoning his forgotten memories, peeling off its calloused layer one after another, until power started to seep out and build up inside of Mr. Wannabe's body. A vision came to Mr. Wannabe: he stood at the bow on one of the thousands of battlecruisers that surrounded him. Mr. Wannabe remembered that he was invincible, and his armada was unsinkable.
Seeing his attack having no effect, Zambrotta's face twisted into a knot. The Mountain Quake was the first phase in the three phases of the Tactics of the Thunder Drum. However, Zambrotta remembered that even Li Jingtian had to put up some defense when he unleashed the phase one attack during their fight many years ago. Why was his seventeen years old opponent seeming to be completely unaffected by the attack?
"Earth—Quake!"
Zambrotta roared again as he initiated the second phase. Being caught off guard by his opponent's power, he activated every GN node he was able to mobilize in his body.
"There is no way that this guy is only a seventeen years old kid! " Zambrotta told himself.
The drum beats immediately gained such frequency and vigor that the harmful energy waves started to seep out from the protective shield over the arena towards the audiences. Even as the DREAM workers fumbled to increase the intensity of the protective shield, there were already a few dozen IPA players sitting in the front row who had been injured by the rogue energy. DREAM had never hosted a match between such powerful players before, and they had thought that a protective layer that could shield 700 sol would be adequate. However, they had overlooked the fact that soul energy's damage output varied significantly based on the delivery method, as well as synergy with one's GN force. Simply put, a mere number was not enough to measure it.
As a commercial group, DREAM had plenty of experts in accounting, but none in METAL combat. Otherwise, they would not have made such a mistake.
The tempo of the beat slowed down; however, the intensity increased substantially. Every pound carried more energy than the one before it, and all of them charged directly at Mr. Wannabe's sea of consciousness.
It was a well-known fact that the sound wave attacks could not only harm one's body, but also the sea of consciousness, causing hallucinations. The only way to fend off such attack was to shut off one's auditory system.
Despite being under such a powerful and potentially deadly assault, Mr. Wannabe didn't take any countermeasure. Instead, the drumbeat seemed to soothe his soul as he listened attentively. The energy wave had practically no effect on him whatsoever.
Wang Tong didn't focus on what he saw—that was just white noise. Instead, he listened carefully to the tempo of the drum beats as Mr. Wannabe did. The flow of the forceful beats pulled and tugged at Wang Tong's imagination, teasing out inspirations in his mind.
Although Wang Tong was already on his way towards the state of Super Einherjar, he was not there yet, not by a long chalk. Looking back at the human history, only a handful of individuals had achieved such state.
As the drum beats become heavier, Zambrotta had gathered enough GN force at the tip of the drumsticks to unleash his coup de grace—the "Sky Quake!"
The master of Thunder Drum clenched the drumsticks, whitening the knuckles. Even as Zambrotta raised them high above his head, crackling GN force zapped out of the tip of the drumsticks before it landed on the drum, with the weight of mountains. On the display board, Zambrotta's soul energy reading had soared up to above seven hundred, but that was only the soul energy carried by one ripple among the turbulent sea of energy.
Using his GN force, Zambrotta channeled the waves together, compounding their effects until the previously invisible waves start to take form in front of naked eyes. The "waves" undulated in the air, distorting and warping the space-time as they closed in towards Einherjar Wannabe. It was impossible for Einherjar Wannabe to dodge Zambrotta's coup de grace, since it came from all directions.
The follower's enthusiasm seemed to have spurred Zambrotta's determination and confidence. Even he himself was pleasantly surprised by the amount of power came out of his coup de grace. This would be a perfect ending to mark the beginning of a new era, in which the War Drum Hall would finally rise to power!
As the deadly waves of energy loomed around Mr. Wannabe, distorting his view, he saw shadows lurking in the waves and battle cries that turned into heart-wrenching howls. Mr. Wannabe remembered: he had been there with those shadows, and he had left something important behind. A wave of overwhelming grief and regret came over Mr. Wannabe. Whatever he had lost, he had lost it for good.
Suddenly, at the corner of Mr. Wannabe's eyes, he registered an incoming attack that pierced through the shadows, and the lurking shadows disappeared immediately, breaking the only connection between him and his past. Losing his memory the second time, Mr. Wannabe threw his head back, opened his mouth, and howled a heart-wrenching cry.
"WHY?"
The words formed an overbearing force that meant death. Zambrotta's face turned pale and staggered back to get out of harm's way. The energy waves that he had been weaving the last ten minutes were washed away by Mr. Wannabe's cry.
The followers of the War Drum Hall froze in the face of such a catastrophic turn of event. Some of the senior followers had seen with their own eyes that even an Einherjar had trouble defending against Zambrotta's coup de grace. What happened then was beyond their comprehension.
Einherjar Wannabe straightened his head, and he saw his opponent's legendary weapon—Thunder Drum. Suddenly, the drum appeared in Einherjar Wannabe's hand as if by magic.
By then, Mr. Wannabe had already forgotten about Zambrotta; he was not a worthy opponent. However, while staring at the drum in his hand, he could sense a wisp of the old memories that he saw in the shadows still linger inside of him.
Suddenly, Einherjar Wannabe hit the drum.
With a forceful drumbeat, a tsunami of energy gushed out from the impact. The energy spill into Zambrotta's sea of consciousness and ripped it apart.
Zambrotta's mind went blank as he collapsed to the ground.
Einherjar Wannabe then hit the drum again, this time with both hands. His movement was slow. However, the audience was surprised to see that Einherjar Wannabe's two hands became four, and then eight.
When the first pair of hands landed on the drum, nothing had come out except for a tiny din, but with each extra pair of hands hitting the drum and merging its outline with the one before it, the moderate din quickly became an ear-deafening blare.
Blood spilled out of Zambrotta's mouth, nose, eyes, and eyes, as his face contorted into a painful knot. All the while, he held onto the pair of drumsticks as if that was the only thing between him and death. One more attack, and Zambrotta's mind might shatter.
Everyone watched as Einherjar Wannabe slowly raised his hand, on which his opponent's life rested. Einherjar Wannabe was no longer a seventeen years old boy, but a deadly hell-bound monster.
While struggling to retain his remaining sanity, Zambrotta suddenly came to a moment of epiphany: to release the most power from the Thunder Drum, he would have to relent the drumstick as his opponent did. But, it was too late. When Einherjar Wannabe's hand fell on the drum once again, his sea of consciousness would be shattered beyond recovery.
As Mr. Wannabe was about to hit the drum again, a dark presence loomed ahead of him and then charged at his sea of consciousness. Mr. Wannabe faltered and then slowly moved his hand away from the drum. The dark presence also dissipated as he did so.
Without giving anyone a heads up, Einherjar Wannabe signed off, leaving the audiences in shock and bewilderment.
"What had just happened? Why did he stop?"
Zambrotta face was planted to the ground. He had met many tough opponents, but no one was as deadly as Einherjar Wannabe. He conceded that if the fight had taken place in real life, he had already been dead many times over.
Zambrotta staggered back to his feet and then walked to the Thunder Drum. He folded his hands as he prayed to the long-dead founder of the Tactics of the Thunder Drum before he signed off.
Although no one knew for certain what had happened, they all registered that Einherjar Wannabe had held back his power at the very last moment, and thereby spared Zambrotta's life.
After five minutes of silence, the official results finally came out—Winner: Einherjar Wannabe!
An explosion of cheers, shouts, and curses erupted from the audiences. No one signed off, as there were simply too many unanswered questions.
A seventeen years old boy defeated a Martian grandmaster? Even an Einherjar might not be able to boast such an achievement.
Who would dare accept his challenge next?
Chapter 347: The Second Legend
Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_
Truth be told, no one, not even Einherjar Wannabe's die-hard fans, had thought that he could win the fight. However, not only had Einherjar Wannabe defeated his opponent, he brought Zambrotta into submission by copying his power.
"What kind of a fighter would be able to subdue a grandmaster at the age of seventeen?" As the question rang inside of the mind of the audience, they remembered another legendary fighter who lived on the earth three hundred years ago.
The DREAM had lauded Einherjar Wannabe's victory as a triumph in the human history, and no one disputed the bold claim. Some even doubted if the Blade Warrior would be able to accomplish the same achievement when he was only seventeen.
Soul energy cultivation was much more difficult than power-suit training, since it required more time and patience. Only a very few privileged ones, such as Li Shiming and Patroclus, who were born with superior genes and were taught more potent tactics, might be able to break the rule and defeat someone much older and experienced than them. However, even though Li Shiming and Patroclus might have a chance of winning such a fight, they would never be able to win it by copying Zambrotta's power like Einherjar Wannabe did.
On the main page of the Martial Hall's website, a large banner read, "Submit yourselves to the new god!"
It was such a decisive victory that it had silenced all voices that questioned Einherjar Wannabe.
The DREAM also doubled down on their boldness as they changed the advertisement to "The strongest human is here, waiting for your challenge."
Should Einherjar Wannabe be a middle age man, the public might as well think that one of the Einherjar was having an episode of midlife crisis. However, that was not the case, since Einherjar Wannabe was only seventeen, and he also possessed the ability that no Einherjar would possess—"Power Copying."
Einherjar Wannabe's victory was the victory of the entire human race, especially for the earthlings. Centuries ago, when crisis plagued the Earth, the Blade Warrior came to their aid. Three hundred years later, the Ivantians and the Martians had surpassed the Earth in technology development as well as political influence, leaving only an empty title as the origin of the human race to the earth.
However, the title itself possessed a magical power that the other two factions had overlooked. It had summoned the Blade Warrior centuries ago, and now, an incarnation —Einherjar Wannabe!
The miracles that the Einherjar Wannabe performed were real, and so must be the legend. Deny it the Ivantians and the Martians might, but they could not ignore the boy's victory, and their inability to come up with a reasonable explanation.
History tended to repeat itself, as when Blade Warrior first emerged, no one was willing to accept his god-like power until he saved them from destruction.
However heated the debate was between the believers and the haters, the day went on.
On his way to the apartment, Wang Tong reflected on today's fight. Something was amiss in the way Mr. Wannabe acted in the arena; he seemed to be thirsty for bloodshed.
When Wang Tong arrived at his apartment, he found Mr. Wannabe and Charcoal were already watching TV together. Having sensed Wang Tong walking into the room, Mr. Wannabe grumbled, "Don't ask me anything, I—Don't—Know!"
Wang Tong took off his shoes and then said, "I am not going to ask anything. It was a good fight, but I think I could have done better."
Einherjar Wannabe shook his head and then said, "Since when have you learned to brag about yourself? But to tell you the truth, you are not wrong. He is no match for you." Mr. Wannabe had spoken the truth. He knew Wang Tong's real power better than anyone else, and his recent advancement in his cultivation had caught Mr. Wannabe by surprise. It seemed that nothing was more effective in spurring a young boy's motivation than his beautiful lover.
"Mr. Wannabe, how the hell did you amplify the energy like that? It was impossible to achieve such power output with only one strike." Wang Tong asked with a smile.
"No time to explain it to you. You go figure it out yourself." Mr. Wannabe waved his hand in dismissal. However, something was hidden in his seeming ordinary movement of the hand.
Wang Tong paused for a second and a moment of epiphany came over him. Although he was not one hundred percent sure about his conjecture just yet, he decided to test it during his training.
The next day, all media persons regretted their lack of interest in the last PA fight, and immediately devoted their resources to the PA system as the outcome of the fight came to light.
All major news outlets started to contact DREAM and tried to secure the live coverage during Einherjar Wannabe's next fight. Meanwhile, the public started to speculate Einherjar Wannabe's next opponent. Everyone had thought that the mysterious fighter would only choose the younger generation. However, his last fight had proven that age was not an issue to him.
Thanks to the frequent comparison between the legend of the Blade Warrior and Einherjar Wannabe, even the initially indifferent Ivantians and Martians started to pay attention to the recent development of the PA system.
PA had set aside five million credits as the reward for whoever was able to defeat Einherjar Wannabe.
In academies across the Confederation, the identity of Einherjar Wannabe quickly become the second most talked about topic following the Tournament.
"Earthling, seventeen years old, that could be any one of my friends!"
Lie Jian had watched the recording of Einherjar Wannabe's last fight four times, and he found it hard to believe that this insanely powerful fighter was the same boy he fought just a month ago. Unable to control his urge to fight this powerful opponent again during this year's tournament, Li Jian squeezed the display panel until it crumbled.
Zhang Jin was bewildered after watching the fight between Einherjar Wannabe and Zambrotta. She was convinced that the mysterious fighter was not seventeen years old; he was an Einherjar! But how was that possible? Which Einherjar in their right mind would pull off such a prank?
While mired in questions that had no answers, Zhang Jin closed her eyes and started the Tactics of the Conscious Heart, trying to sort through the information. Although she was no longer sure if Wang Tong were Einherjar Wannabe, she was confident that Wang Tong had something to do with the mysterious fighter. She reasoned that the riddle would answer itself the moment Wang Tong encountered Patroclus during this year's tournament.
"Is the world already on the verge of a new era?"
The thought brought Zhang Jin a smile. She knew there was no need for further speculations, since time would soon answer everything.
The students who had passed the qualification test were being sent to the Moon along with their cheerers. Zhou Sisi was appointed as the cheerleader of Team Ayrlarng. Samantha had generously offered to pay for all of the students' travel expenses.
As the heir of the DREAM corporation, Samantha was no doubt the biggest winner of the recent events. DREAM had been half reliant on House of Ma before the rise of Einherjar Wannabe. However, the recent surge of PA's popularity had strengthened their position significantly in dealing with the Ma. Also, ever since Einherjar Wannabe's last victory, DREAM's stock price had risen over nine percent—the greatest uptick ever since the company went public.
Samantha could feel that her dream of becoming a councilor was about to come true.
Chapter 348: I've Got Practice
Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_
The busier Samantha was, the emptier she felt inside. As her career advanced, the landscape of her love life became starker. Whenever she was lonely, the time she had spent with Wang Tong always came back to her. Things were simpler back then. Samantha wished Wang Tong and Ma Xiaoru happiness, as she knew she had forever lost her sweet young love.
Personality determined one's fate, and thus it was. Ma Xiaoru's nature had driven her to be so foolish that she would sacrifice anything for her love. Although her kind was becoming increasingly rare in the modern world, so were the ones who were genuinely happy, and didn't mind to be labeled as "foolish."
By then, Samantha had conceded that the terms "a smart woman" and "happiness" were mutually exclusive in the real world.
Although she was happy with her career advancement, she felt that she still needed more to fill up the hole in her heart.
Meanwhile, on a spaceship bound for the moon, the students from Ayrlarng were elated about their trip. There were about seventy of them, and it would be the first time visiting the Moon for most of them. Karl was engrossed in talking to a few girls that surrounded him about his great achievements on the Moon during the fleet battle tournament. It was impossible for him to not brag about himself.
At the other end of the spaceship, Kyaero remained quiet, and was nervous about the coming fight. He knew that as a fourth level fighter, his qualification test was a close call. Being able to attend the final did not mean that he was no longer one of the weakest among the attendees. He feared that he would make a spectacle of himself while facing even stronger opponents than his fellow fighters from the Earth.
"Hey Kyaero, what's up with that face? Let's go to the pool house and have some fun!" Zhen Zhong asked.
"I'm not in the mood."
"Everyone, don't overthink things. You have already done a good job at the qualification test, and you need to relax now. No need to stress yourself out. Look at Hu Yangxuan… He has much more things to worry about than you." Zhen Zhong said as he dragged Kyaero to the pool table.
"Ah-ha! How about that? I told you I would kick your ass!" Hu Yangxuan shouted out as he pounded a fist at the pool table.
"We are not done yet. One more round, and I will show you my real skill!" Karl rolled up his sleeve and announced.
"You have already lost three rounds. I want to play with someone who actually knows how to play. "
"I do," Kyearo replied.
"Hold on," Karl yelled at the two and then turned towards other students. "Come on now! Hu Yangxuan versus Kyaero, the floor is open for your bets. Stand to the left if you bet on Hu Yangxuan, and to the right if you bet on Kyaero! "
"What if I am not betting?" Lumi asked.
"Stand in the middle please."
The crowd of students was quickly separated into three groups. Karl scanned the groups and then announced, "Hey Hu Yangxuan, you are not as popular as Kyaero after all."
"I don't care. I will show them who is better."
The game they were playing was a variation of the standard billiards game. The more hits the white ball had in one shot, the higher the score. After ten minutes, Hu Yangxuan won the game by a minimal margin.
A smug look crept onto Hu Yangxuan's face as he said, "Haha! Told you so! Who's next? "
Seeing there was no one answering his challenge, he scanned the room and quickly found Wang Tong, who was standing at the other side of the ship and staring into the distance through a window.
"Wang Tong, what about a round of billiards with me? Come on! Give me a chance of winning against you."
"I will pass. I haven't touched a cue for ages."
"Just one round, boss! Have some fun! Let's worry about the tournament after we have reached the Moon." Lumi pleaded.
"Fine, fine. I will do it, just for you." Wang Tong finally cracked a smile and agreed.
"Don't you worry Wang Tong. I won't embarrass you too much in front of everyone, maybe just a little. Haha! You go first!" Hu Yangxuan laughed, thinking that he finally would best Wang Tong at something.
Billiards was not an expensive sport. However, knowing how frugal Wang Tong was, Hu Yangxuan was confident that his opponent was much less experienced than him. Hu Yangxuan not only played it every day, but also received private lessons from the pros.
Wang Tong picked up a cue and handled it in his hands. The spaceship boasted first-class entertainment utilities, and Wang Tong felt it was rightfully so. The cue was straight, and slid smoothly against Wang Tong's fingers. The coldness of the wooden stick reminded Wang Tong about the old times.
As Wang Tong hunched down and was ready to strike, his fluid movements and professional stance surprised Hu Yangxuan.
The white ball struck home and caused an explosion of colors against the green of the table top, and three colored balls sank into the corner pockets.
Wang Tong shook his head as he felt his skills had grown sluggish.
As Wang Tong continued playing, his score quickly shot through the roof.
Three thousand five hundred and eighty to ... zero!
'The winner is Wang Tong!'
Hu Yangxuan swallowed down his indignation. However, his face was red as an apple.
Everyone burst out laughing at this comical development. They had thought that Wang Tong was a nerd who was only interested in studying and math textbooks. However, his skills at billiards had proven otherwise.
"It looks like you have at least four to five years of hard training behind you." Kyaero marveled. "It's almost at the professional level."
"I hate you. Why didn't you tell me that you are this good?" Hu Yangxuan grumbled, still feeling hurt by his humiliating defeat.
Wang Tong grinned at Hu Yangxuan. Although no professionals had ever trained him, he did not tell anyone either that playing billiards at underground venues used to be his family's primary source of income.
"I had played a lot when I was young. Another round?"
"No way!" Hu Yangxuan had enough of defeat. He retreated and decided to never compete with Wang Tong on anything.
"Wang Tong, I want to learn."
"Yeah, me too."
Everyone followed Zhou Sisi's request, and Wang Tong quickly became the center of the group's attention.
Karl and Hu Yangxuan grimaced at each other knowingly.
"It's all your fault. You should have left him alone."
"Well, it's not like I know everything about him." Hu Yangxuan grumbled as he walked out of the pool house.
On the streets of the Moon City, it was evident that METAL tournament had garnered much more public attention than the fleet battle tournament. From the neon signs to the huge colorful banners, the streets screamed the unbearable anticipation. There were over six hundred players on the moon, and if one counted their friends, the number would reach thousands. Audiences from all corners of the universe would gather around, and their number was estimated to reach six figures.
Despite the huge logistical challenge, Wang Tong could tell that the Ivantians were well prepared. Although it wasn't Wang Tong's first time visiting the Moon City, the sheer volume of people on the streets gave him a drastically different feel.
Many of Wang Tong's friends were first-time visitors, and they were interested in almost anything in front of them. So advanced was the public infrastructure on the Moon that many of them were completely alien to the students from the Earth.
Unlike their friends, the contestants were less interested in sightseeing, as they needed to prepare for the enormous challenge ahead of them.
On the same day that Wang Tong arrived the Moon, he found out that the match schedule was already set up. With no time for a short respite, Wang Tong and his fellow teammates quickly went over the schedules and rules.
Upon reading the schedule, it occurred to the students that all of the team Ayrlarng's fighters had a match on the first day.
The playoff was grouped into eight sections. All three factions would then each assign eight first-class seeded players and eight second-class seeded players into the eight sections, and the results were listed as follows.
The first section: Patroclus, Moon
The second section: Li Shiming, Earth
The third section: Li Ruoer, Earth
The fourth section: Lie Jian, Mars
The fifth section: Michaux Odin, Mars
The sixth section: Heidi, Mars
The seventh section: Li Xing(heir of the Thunder Blade), Moon
The eighth section: Zhang Buyu, Templar
The other eight seeded players were Ye Kai (Templar), Guan Dongyang (Martian, Heir to the Sect of the Hidden Path ) Turbolix (Earthling, Heir of the wind cloud kick), Tevez (Ivantian, heir of the Dark Moon), Sammill (Kaedeian), Gongsun Wuce (Ivantian, heir to the Gongsun family), Wuma (Earthling, heir of the Dark Witch), and Allen Smith (Ivantian, heir of the Golden Wheels)
The sixteen players from each faction represented their best shot at winning the tournament. Although Wang Ben and many others had practiced renowned tactics, they didn't make it to the top sixteen, because they were less popular, or because they were deemed to have fallen from grace after the previous catastrophic defeat.
In the legendary Sky arena, the opening ceremony of the sixteenth pan-solar METAL combat tournament was about to draw back its curtain. The opening ceremony never lacked big-name performers ever since its conception. There were stars such as Mike, as well as heavyweight politicians such as Douglas, the chairman of the confederation council. Almost all the powerful men and women on the Moon had gathered inside the VIP room. Since the game had taken place on the Moon, it was expected of them to show up in support of their fighters. Plus, the House Lord of the Zhang as well as the Dower —two of the most influential players in the politics on the moon—would also show up. Therefore, no politician dared to be absent.
The exuberant opening ceremony boasted the Ivantian's marvelous technical advancements and substantial financial clout. The area of a few kilometers around the arena was covered with a virtual reality projection. Its scale and cost had deeply impressed the Martians and the Earthlings.
Chapter 349: Headbutt Is Legit
Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_
The most popular pop group, HG, also performed at the opening ceremony, with a song called "God of Fighting." It was an upbeat song and had lifted the audience's spirit. The attendance of almost nine hundred thousand people strong audience had also broken the record of any live event; it was indeed a testament to the popularity of METAL combat.
As the song arrived near its final line of lyrics, a haughty figure walked onto the stage. When the man stepped into the stage light, the music came to a jarring halt. He was the Einherjar on the Moon, the House lord of the House Dower—Andalidis Dower.
Audiences watched as the Einherjar slowly raised the clenched fist until it was in front of his face, and then suddenly, he opened his fist. An intense light shot out from his palm and lit up the entire arena. It was not a visual effect; it was the power of the Einherjar.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, the sixteenth METAL tournament… START!" The host shouted, almost losing his voice.
The first fight was between Patroclus and a Martian opponent called Luther Charles. The announcement of the battle elated the audiences who came to watch Patroclus's fight.
All major media houses were live-streaming the event, and many journalists were outside the arena, interviewing pedestrians about their views on this year's tournament.
"Hello everyone, my name is Lulu. As we all know, this year's tournament has reached the highest strength of audience ever recorded in history. Meanwhile, right where I am standing, at the Moon City's square, people have gathered to watch the show together. A rough estimate gives us a whopping two million people here. Let us hear what they have to say about this year's tournament." Lulu, the journalist, announced to the camera and then walked towards an Ivantian. "Hello! Can I ask you a question? Who do you think will be the champion of this year's tournament?"
"Our prince Patroclus, no doubt about it! He is UNSTOPPABLE!" the young Ivantian shouted while waving a fist in front of the camera. Perhaps, only the METAL tournament would make an Ivantian lose his usual coolness and aloofness.
Wang Tong was assigned to the third section. In five minutes, he had kicked his opponent out of the arena. He didn't intend to waste too much time and energy in these earlier fights. Therefore, he had finished the fight as fast as he possibly could without raising any suspicions.
Starting with Wang Tong, all of Ayrlarng's fighters finished their fights in the morning. The Sky Arena was so large that it was able to host more than ten fights at one time. But, only the major matches, such as that of Patroclus, would take place at the most prominent main stage, while the rest of the matches would fill up the secondary stages.
Wang Tong finished his opponent with ease. By then, a Level Five Warrior was a piece of cake for him.
After the Match, Wag Tong dashed towards stage number 32, where Kyaero's match was taking place. Unfortunately, Kyaero's first opponent was Qin Kun, one of Lie Jian's henchmen, and one of the leading instigators of the brutal Martian insurgence at the PA system a while ago.
When Wang Tong arrived at the stage, he saw Kyaero half beaten and lying on the ground.
"Hey, noob! You are done. You shouldn't have come to the Moon, you know? It's embarrassing! " Qin Kun spat on the ground irritatingly.
Knowing that his opponent was much stronger than him, Kyaero had been thinking about giving up. However, as a man, he could not stomach the insult.
Qin Kun's words spurred Kyaero's fighting spirit, and he was back to his feet and charging at the Martian brute with a clenched fist. Without turning around to face his opponent, Qin Kun had sensed the incoming attack. He turned his hip around and then lashed out his leg like a whip. Kyaero's vision suddenly blurred and his body was sent flying by the kick.
Qin Kun shook his head and then finally turned around. "So, this is what they call a fighter on the Earth? Pathetic! Try me again. " Qin Kun curled his index finger, taunting Kyaero to attack again.
Such blatant over-the-top insult was very rare among the Earthlings and the Ivantian fighters, since only the harsh environment on Mars would breed such a tough culture in which modesty was perceived as weak.
However, Kyaero struggled back to his feet again and was about to attack his opponent again.
Wang Tong found Zhou Sisi near the stage, her eyes filled with worries. "Do something, Wang Tong! If this continues, Kyaero will be gravely injured."
Wang Tong shook his head and then said, "Sisi, you don't understand how a man's mind works. To a man, there is something far important than his life. This fight is no longer about winning… it's about honor and dignity."
If Kyaero submitted to this Martian brute, he would never get over his humiliation, and as guilt and self-doubt took hold in his mind, he would never progress in his cultivation.
Qin Kun kicked again, and the kick sent Kyaero flying once again. Nevertheless, Qin Kun secretly wished that Kyaero would last a bit longer, so that he could have more fun with him. So far, Qin Kun was pleased by his persistence.
"Too slow, too SLOW!" Qin Kun caught up with Kyaero and kicked at his left hand. With a crisp snap, Kyaero's left wrist was shattered. Despite the pain shooting through his body, Kyaero gritted his teeth, trying to hold back a wince as bead-size sweat appeared on his forehead.
"Haha, your bone crunched like lettuce." Qin Kun laughed.
Kyaero drew a large gulp of air and then attacked the Martian suddenly. However, the Martian was faster; he lashed out a kick at Kyaero's right wrist with lightning speed.
With the kick came another loud snap.
As if shocked by electricity, Kyaero's body flew back. The Martian had fused a level four GN force at the tip of his toe to make sure that the earthling boy would never stand up again.
Qin Kun had made sure that by then, Kyaero's body would not allow him to join any more matches. This was a despicable strategy devised by the Martians, a group of brutes that firmly believed in the survival of the fittest.
"What an a*shole! He did it on purpose! This is not virtual space, you b*stard!" Karl shouted.
Although everyone from Ayrlarng felt indignant for Kyaero, they conceded that the only way to stop Kyaero's suffering was surrender.
Wang Tong didn't speak a word as he watched Qin Kun carefully. He would pay for this.
Kyaero managed to pull himself back up again; his arms were dangling below his shoulders.
"Not bad! Still able to stand up, eh? Well, you are one hell of a punching bag. Haha! Come on now, come at me again. Try hit me! Haha! I will submit if you can even touch me." Qin Kun laughed again; his voice was filled with contempt.
Body trembling, Kyaero shambled towards the Martian. Qin Kun laughed again; his voice getting increasingly high pitched "Oh? Haha! Are you going to come kowtow to me?"
Qin Kun was well aware of the power on his last kick. He wagered that the earthling boy would collapse at any time before reaching him.
Lo and behold, a fit of a cough suddenly seized the earthling boy, as blood spilled out of his mouth and nose. As Qin Kun expected the boy to fall to the ground, Kyaero's eyes suddenly lit up as he launched his body at the Martian like a cannonball.
Since Kyaero had been sparring with Wang Tong, whose attack was much more powerful than that of Qin Kun, Kyaero had significantly toughened his body and will. All the while, Kyaero had been waiting for the Martian to lower his guard, so that he would strike at his most venerable spots.
Although Qin Kun reacted immediately, the point blank distance had given Kyaero an edge. As heart-wrenching shirk shot through the arena as Kyaero had successfully annihilated Qin Kun's groin with a head-butt.
As Qin Kun rolled around on the ground, hands cupping over where he was hit. Kyaero stood still, savoring every second of it.
Attacking the groin violated the tournament rule, however. After careful examine from a panel of referees, an exception to the rule was made. The panel had assumed that Kyaero had aimed at Qin Kun's chest. However, due to the extreme humiliation he was under, Kyaero had missed the target and accidentally hit Qin Kun's groin.
Therefore, the winner was—Kyaero!
Students from Ayrlarng rushed onto the stage after the announced was made. They watched as Kyaero was carried out by a stretcher; his tournament had ended, but he had won like a real man.
"Balls! You are bada*s, bro! " Karl shouted out to Kyaero as he hugged his friend on the stretcher.
"Don't... please...Don't hug me. It hurts." Kyaero winced.
"Good job Kyaero! " Zhou Sisi also gave Kyaero a thumb up. She had thought Kyaero would lose the battle, but his perseverance had eventually paid off after all.
"Hehe... thanks to Boss's brilliant idea. What he taught me kicks a*ses! " Kyaero winked as he spoke. He had known all the while that only the most brutal attack would be able to grant him victory against a brute.
Chapter 350: The Power of the Divine Master
Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_
After Kyaero was carried out by medics, Zhou Sisi tugged at the Wang Tong's sleeve and asked, "What the heck is it that you taught him?"
Wang Tong waved off the question and then said, "Nothing. I only told him that even the strongest have weaknesses. The hairier the situation, the calmer he needs to be. That's all!"
Knowing Wang Tong, Zhou Sisi didn't believe a single word out of his mouth. Wang Tong looked over Zhou Sisi's shoulder and found Karl snickering while giving him a thumbs up.
While training with Kyaero and Hu Yangxuan, Wang Tong did not restrict their sparring to regular moves. Instead, Wang Tong had exhausted all tricks he knew, regardless of how despicable they were. Although Hu Yangxuan and Kyaero had both fallen victim to Wang Tong's tricks, they had also learned to be cunning and calculating while fighting.
It was fortunate for the world that Wang Tong was not an outright evil person either, because he never fought with fairness and righteousness in mind.
While students from Ayrlarng felt remorse for the loss of a fighter on the first day, the rest of the audiences were caught by surprise, and found Kyaero's unlikely victory remarkable. Kyaero's headbutt had broken a bone in the Martian's leg, a fair price for his conceit.
It took Hu Yangxuan a while to dispatch his Ivantian opponent. Not only was the Ivantian tougher than expected, but Hu Yangxuan had also been very cautious while fighting, trying to avoid injury.
Unlike the fleet battle, METAL combat might take a toll on combatants' health. Therefore, combatants needed to be careful while fighting to avoid unnecessary injuries.
Except for their close friends, hardly anyone in the audience was paying attention to the fights happening on the side stages. On the main stage, bright stars came and went, taking their victories away without any suspense. However, the audiences' enthusiasm was not dulled the slightest by the lack of dramatic development. Most of the audiences didn't come here to watch the fight, but to bask in the glory of the fighters' noble origin, and worship them like zealous apostles.
After watching Kyaero's fight, Wang Tong's attention was immediately drawn by Li Shiming's match. He marveled at Li Shiming's perfect control of his power, as it was just enough to overwhelm his opponent, but not so much that would make him look like a bully.
Each of the three factions had developed their own focus regarding combat training. The Earthlings focused on mental stability, the Ivantians pursued perfection, while the Martians valued strength above all other things.
Li Shiming's humility and strength had owned many members of the audience's hearts, including many Ivantians. Ivantians were obsessed with the purity of bloodlines and power, and it seemed that Li Shiming had both.
Both Ivantians and Earthlings were convinced that the final battle would be between Patroclus and Li Shiming, despite their drastically different convictions as to who would be the winner.
That being said, there were still a significant number of people from the Mars who believed that the title of champion could belong to Lie Jian, Michaux, or Heidi.
The first match in the afternoon was between Lie Jian and his opponent. The Martian prince finished off his opponent with one deadly punch. Although any physical competition could be dangerous, the death of an opponent could potentially constitute a manslaughter charge in any regular competition. However, the pan-solar tournament had been an exception, as unfortunate accidents happened during almost every tournament. If not for the pressing need for the promotion of physical fitness among human due to the impending invasion of Zergs, such a dangerous sport would have been banned.
At three o'clock in the afternoon, a much-anticipated match was about to start. It would be Michaux Odin's virgin appearance in a public competition.
Wang Tong sat in front of the TV and waited patiently. He didn't even bother to buy a ticket, knowing that the Martians would have grabbed them all. As the heir to all Martian's spiritual leader, Michaux had enjoyed as much popularity as Lie Jian on the Mars, if not more.
No one knew why Michaux had broken the Divine Master Sect's tradition of never being involved in public affairs.
Michaux's opponent was an earthling from an A-class academy, a solid level five fighter called Saru.
Saru was unruffled by the fame of his opponent, as he doubted a vegetarian monk would pose any real threat to him.
Unlike the Martians, Saru was not obsessed with the Sect of the Divine Master. He was convinced that the power of Michaux was grossly overrated, since he had never heard any victory of the young master. Nevertheless, Saru reasoned that it would be a good opportunity for him to make a name for himself.
Saru was hopeful that he could be able to defeat the monk by relying on his much more diverse combat experience.
The arena was packed, and everyone's attention was on the main stage.
Saru sauntered onto the stage while brandishing his blade. If there were any cheers for him, they had been drowned by the flood of boos. Displeased by the audience's response, Saru turned to the side where most Martians sat and gestured them to shush.
"I like this dude! Go Earthlings, go!" Karl squatted on top of a sofa and yelled at the TV. Karl enjoyed watching the fight with a group of friends instead by himself, as the former felt much more exciting
Wang Tong and Hu Yangxuan remained silent as they waited for Michaux's entrance. Although Michaux didn't intervene in Wang Tong's fight with Lie Jian, Wang Tong could tell that the young master's soul energy was exceptionally powerful.
As the din in the arena became louder due to Saru's ostentatious entrance, a thin figure appeared on the stage. A reverential quiet suddenly fell onto the arena, cutting the clamor off like a pair of scissors. At the sight of their spiritual leader, all Martians set their fingers on their chest— a salute to the young master.
Although the sudden quietness didn't tease out a single word from the young master, the martian's devotion had unnerved Saru.
The two fighters faced and bowed to each other cautiously.
Saru set his blade about his waist and charged up his soul energy to two hundred and thirty. Hands folded and eyes closed, Michaux didn't make a move, as if he had already deemed Saru unworthy.
With his Patience wearing thin by his opponent's annoying pretentiousness, Saru let out a battle cry and charged at Michaux, with the tip of the blade aimed squarely at Michaux's chest.
Michaux opened his eyes slowly, and made a slight change in his hand gesture.
The charging earthling suddenly face-planted into an invisible wall that came out of nowhere. Saru collapsed to the ground; he was knocked out.
"The Winner is Michaux Odin!"
Only the Ivantians and some Earthling audiences cheered loudly for Michaux's performance, as the Martians were too deep in their religious belief to see the fight as a normal competition. Michaux was their god, just as the Blade Warrior was to the Earthlings.
Chapter 351: Soul Mastery
Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_
Karl had been hoping to watch a heated battle, but the fight had ended much faster than he thought.
"Balls! Is that it? What kind of an attack is that?" Karl was dumbfounded by what he had seen. Wang Tong and Hu Yangxuan threw each other a knowing glance, as they had both registered Michaux's incredible power.
"Hey, you! Say something. How come it ended so suddenly?"
"Karl, this is the so-called direct soul energy attack. The divine sect believed that the soul energy was the source of human 's power, and despised the usage of GN force. Saru was not prepared for such an attack, and therefore was caught off guard. "
"Ah, Soga! So, if one were prepared for his soul energy attack, would he be easy to defeat? Michaux didn't look that tough." Lumi announced.
"Hehe, you are not entirely wrong, Lumi. However, no one knows exactly how good his defense is." Hu Yangxuan nodded.
Wang Tong shook his head and disagreed. "I can feel that Michaux's soul energy is one of the strongest among all the contestants. I don't think his defense would be weak."
"...Is he really that powerful? Would he become the champion?"
"Hehe. If he wanted to, then yes. But I don't think he is here for the title of the champion." Wang Tong said expectantly. His soul energy was at par with Michaux, and he looked forward to fighting against him.
All the heirs of the great houses had defeated their opponents without any suspense. As Li Ruoer walked on to the stage, she garnered even more attention than her brother Li Shiming, partly because of the charm of the enchantress. The tickets of her match were sold out in minutes by male audiences.
Although Wang Tong didn't want to attend the enchantress' match, all of his male friends were excited about the fight, and had persuaded him to join them. Wang Tong noticed that Li Ruoer had changed a lot ever since the last time he saw her. She had transformed from a capricious teenage girl into a cold and distant beauty who lacked any cardinal desires. Her lack of interest somehow made Wang Tong feel relieved.
Li Ruoer's indifference didn't dull the admiration of the audience. Her opponent, an Ivantian, was unnerved by the fame of the daughter of an Einherjar.
But, Li Ruoer finished the match in under a minute, without even using her legendary sword "Rosy." After the match, Li Ruoer scanned the crazed audiences, and then fixed her gaze at the camera.
Although Wang Tong was sitting miles away from the arena, he was caught off guard by the searing glare. The stare was so intentional as if it were meant for him. Li Ruoer then looked away and walked into the resting room quietly without leaving a word to her fans.
On the other side of the arena, Heidi also defeated her opponent with ease. So quick were her phantom-like moves that the opponent didn't land a single blow on her before he was defeated.
In two days, all of the eight seeded players had won their first round of the match, and none of the matches lasted more than five minutes.
Thus it was, as the power of the great houses lied in the combat strength of the family members, especially the heirs who were going to succeed the power.
Although Lie Xin from the Thunder Blade and Zhang Buyu from the Templar's court were not from the five major houses, they were no less powerful than their great house counterparts.
Although no one knew exactly how powerful Zhang Buyu was, the fact that he was the seeded player from the Templar's court —the birthplace of all Tactics—spoke loudly about his strength.
Although the Thunder Sword Sect from the Moon was not a part of the fiver houses, the current house lord, Lee Moshan was an Einherjar. Rumors had it that Lee Moshan had even defeated Patroclus's father, since the old Dower wasn't able to finish the Tactics of the Deva King. Lee Moshan's fame was at par with that of Li Zhedao, since both of them used swords. They were regarded as the top two sword masters of the world. Although they both had entertained the idea of fighting with each other, the fight between the two sword masters never materialized for one reason or another.
Even on the Moon, Lee Xin was considered the only person in the Confederation who would be able to stand up against Patroclus. Many years of dormancy had somewhat eroded the influence of House of Dower on the moon and given rise to the House of Lee. House of Lee had enjoyed the unbridled expansion power on the Moon until lately, when Patroclus had announced that he had mastered the Tactics of the Deva King.
Lee Xin had since challenged Patroclus to a duel, but the latter had refused the challenge.
All Ivantians was hopeful to see the two houses put the matter to rest in a duel. Be it the Deva Lance or the Thunder Blade, only one of them could dominate the moon!
In addition to Patroclus, Lee Xin was also looking forward to the fight with Li Shiming, since that would be the fight between the heirs of the top two sword masters. However powerful his opponents were, Lee Xin was convinced that he would be the unmatched champion of this Tournament, and Thunder Blade would prevail.
Three days later, Wang Tong was about to partake in his second fight. His second opponent was an Ivantian. As the third disciple of the Lunar Soul-Mastery, the second opponent was much stronger than his first opponent.
The Soul-Mastery was an emerging new technique in using one's soul energy. It started as off-shoot branch of the prominent tactics that focused on using soul energy. However, it quickly grew into a category of its own. There were, by now, hundreds of different soul mastery sects across the three factions.
In simpler terms, a soul-mastery was a way of channeling one's soul energy to achieve the seemingly supernatural effect.
The soul-mastery was generally useless against Zergs. However, it was particularity effective against humans. Although most of the soul-mastery fighters were physically weaker than their normal counterparts, they always had the element of surprise by their side. Due to its ineffectiveness against the Zergs, The Confederation had tried to ban the soul-mastery many times. But, the sect members of the soul-mastery were able to talk their way out of extinction each time. Eventually, the confederation had given up on the matter entirely and let the soul-mastery influence grow stronger by the day.
Cultivators following the way of soul-mastery saw it as a part of a greater evolution in human history. They despised the usage of brute force as well as GN force, and believed that the soul energy was a much more elegant solution to resolving the conflicts between human. This year's tournament would provide the soul-mastery cultivators a perfect opportunity to state their case to the world and display their power.
"Boss! Crush him! Crush!" Karl waved a fist in the air excitedly. Karl was not alone. On the earth, pubs and virtual clubs were filled with people watching the fight, all of them cheering for Wang Tong.
In the Dream Cafe, the plump owner was pleasantly surprised to see Wang Tong's face on the screen.
Chapter 352: Puppet Show
Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_
Wang Tong's opponent was Han Linu from the Lunar Mastery. Although he was not listed as one of the seeded players, his power was considered at par with them.
As the strongest member of the third generation at the Lunar Mastery sect, Han Linu was considered by most people to be the winner of this fight. Not only had he mastered the Lunar Mastery, but he had also invented a unique mastery himself, which had surprised even his master. During his first fights, he had won without even using the Lunar Mastery. Therefore, everyone was eager to see his techniques during the fight with Wang Tong.
The crowd boiled over as they saw Wang Tong and Han Linu stepped onto the stage simultaneously.
Wang Tong studied his opponent and was surprised by his lack of expression on the face. When Wang Tong probed his opponent with soul energy, he was shocked to discover that his opponent's sea of consciousness was empty.
Wang Tong immediately registered that something was amiss. He cranked up his soul energy as a golden light glinted in his eyes. Already, he had detected a strand of soul energy that was attached to the back of his opponent's head. Tracing back along the strand of soul energy, he found the source of energy —an audience member who looked precisely like Han Linu.
"Match, start!"
Wang Tong suddenly requested a timeout before the referee's announcement had faded away.
"Wang Tong, do you have any questions?" The referee ran to Wang Tong and asked, seemingly unimpressed by Wang Tong's mischievous behavior.
Wang Tong cracked a smile and then answered, "My real opponent is still sitting down there." Wang Tong pointed towards the source of the soul energy.
Wang Tong's reply disheveled the referee. After a while, he said, "What do you mean? Your opponent is right here, right in front of you."
As the referee was convinced that Wang Tong had an episode of stage fright, a young man stood up from the direction where Wang Tong had pointed, and he walked slowly toward the stage.
"Well done, I didn't expect you to see through my trick." The young man said as he applauded.
The referee closed into the audience and announced, "Mister, this is a combat area. Only combatants are allowed here."
The young man took off his sunglasses and hat and then laughed, "Haha, I AM the combatant."
The referee was shocked by the young man's likeness with the Han Linu on the stage. He looked at the young man in front him, then looked at the Han Linu on the stage, and then looked back at the young man before realization finally dawned on him.
"Han Linu, you have violated the rules of the tournament, I thereby denounce your qualification for the fight. The winner is—"
"Mister, the match has just started, and he has already revealed himself. I think we can carry on the match now." Wang Tong suddenly cut the referee short.
"Wang Tong, this is not up to you. The rules are there, and everyone has to follow them." The referee was adamant in his decision.
Wang Tong smiled and then shrugged his shoulder.
Han Linu also cracked a smile as he found his opponent pleading for his qualification rather amusing.
Han Linu sauntered towards his double on the stage, grabbed onto its scalp and pulled. The action had removed the double's skin and revealed a mechanical robot.
"Sir, this is only my weapon. It is part of my mastery. I am going to use the unique technique of the Lunar Mastery—The Puppeteer. "
Han Linu bowed to the audiences and announced, "This is my combat puppet."
Everyone realized that they had watched a match between a puppet and a human in Han Linu's last game, and were shocked that the puppet had won.
The referee was not sure whether to believe Han Linu or not. He had never heard of such thing.
"I believe him. Let's not hold back the fight any longer. " Wang Tong didn't want to waste too much time.
The referee hesitated slightly and then commenced the match again. The situation was apparently beyond his pay-grade, but he found it reasonable for a puppeteer to use his puppet as the weapon.
"You are Wang Tong, aren't you? I wonder what made you so brave. Puppet One, Attack!"
The puppet heard the command and threw its body at Wang Tong. Although the movement of the puppet was mechanical, Wang tong could sense the thousands of strands of meticulously controlled soul energy behind it.
Wang Tong punched at the puppet, trying to gauge its strength.
"Haha, Wang Tong, my puppet was custom made from Titanium alpha-alloy. It's indestructible!"
Wang Tong suddenly changed his course as he circled the puppet and closed in again.
Han Linu was unruffled by the incoming attack. He took a quick breath, set both hands on his chest, and then shouted, "Now!"
Wang Tong's body came to a jarring halt, as if an invisible wall stopped him. Behind Wang Tong, the puppet had already changed its course, running towards him. Han Linu's soul energy soared up to two hundred and sixty.
Han Linu started to think that he was going to finish this fight with ease. "Wang Tong, did you take me for a helpless puppeteer? Well, think again."
A swell of cheers and applause rose among the Ivantians audiences, and a smug look appeared on Han Linu's face.
The students from Ayrlarng remained silent. They felt indignant for Wang Tong, as he had to fight an indestructible puppet and a level five fighter at the same time.
As the puppet closed in, Wang Tong punched heavily at its body, shattering its outer shell and revealing the shiny inner mechanical components.
"Haha. The human body is weak. But, we combined the soul energy and technology to create the most powerful weapon and the perfect combat strategy. Don't waste your time and energy; even a level six fighter won't be able to destroy my puppet."
Han Linu touted his puppet as a crazy evil scientist would to his planet-devouring laser beams. The Lunar Mastery had been investing many resources in the technique of the puppeteer, and it didn't succeed until Han Linu gave it a try. His success was mainly due to his unique soul energy that was able to be broken down into extremely fine threads. Over time, the technique matured, and the Lunar Mastery finally decided to reveal it to the world. The Lunar Mastery wanted to prove to the world that combining the soul energy with technology was the right direction for the human's military development.
The soreness in Wang Tong's hand had proven Han Linu's claim regarding the puppet's indestructibility. Wang Tong had thought that the puppet was operated by a serious of mechanical contraptions hooked up to a power source. However, after a few close observations while exchanging blows with the puppet, Wang Tong was surprised to see that the puppet seemed to be powered by soul energy, as it lacked complex mechanical components inside.
"It's amazing, isn't it?" Han Linu asked as his eyes glinted. He was convinced that after this year's tournament, the Lunar Mastery would finally become as influential as the five great houses.
After exchanging a few rounds of blows, Wang Tong watched as the Puppet retreated to the front of Han Linu, eclipsing its master's figure. Suddenly, the puppet and the puppeteer seemed to merge into one, and it charged at Wang Tong anew. Wang Tong immateriality saw through the illusion. As the fused figure was about to land a blow, it suddenly separated into two, each wielding twin blades. Suddenly, Wang Tong found himself surrounded by four sharp blades.
"Komm!"
The attack cracked the floor where Wang Tong was standing. However, Wang Tong was no longer there. Instead, he reappeared about four meters away from where he was standing.
Han Linu shook his head and then said, "I thought I was good at concealing power. Seems like you are even better. We should talk after the match."
It had finally occurred to Han Linu that Wang Tong was no ordinary fighter. Otherwise, he would not be able to detect his usage of a puppet, much less escape his last attack.
Chapter 353: Wang Tong's Claw
Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_
Wang Tong shrugged and also conceded that the opponent might be stronger than he had thought.
As the intensity on the arena cranked up, so did the excitement among the audiences. Suddenly, a few gasps erupted among the excited murmurs as an unexpected guest sat down among the spectators. The guest was Michaux Odin.
"What is he doing here?"
"Is he here to watch the fight? Did he think that one of those two fighters is actually worth his time?"
The journalist Zhang Mi was elated by this development. Conceding that she would never have a chance interviewing the big names, she had been following Team Ayrlarng—specifically, Wang Tong—ever since the qualification match.
She had found no news-worthy material during Wang Tong's first match, but it seemed that things were taking a very dramatic turn with Michaux Odin's appearance.
Despite the attention his appearance had attracted, Michaux had remained calm and stoic. A few of his followers sat around him, separating him from the rest of the crowd.
So unique was Michaux's soul energy that Wang Tong had picked up his presence as soon as he entered the arena. Wang Tong cast a glance at the young master and smiled at him knowingly.
Having registered the exchange of glances between Wang Tong and Michaux, the puppeteer asked, "Do you know Michaux? Did he come here to watch your fight?"
"Hehe, maybe, or maybe he is here for your puppet show."
"I don't have time for your jokes. To tell you the truth, the only person I don't want to fight among all the contestants is Michaux. Since he considers you worthy of his attention, I guess there is no excuse for me to keep on holding back my power any longer."
The puppeteer moved his hand and traced a circle in the air. Wang Tong watched as three more exact copies of the puppet appeared out of thin air.
Han Linu was controlling three puppets at the same time.
"I must apologize for my meager force. These puppets are very hard to come by. "Han Linu gave Wang Tong an ugly grin.
If weren't for Michaux, Han Linu would never use these many puppets in a fight with a no account.
The earthlings protested against such an unfair fight. Wang Tong was practically fighting against four level five fighters at the same time.
Even as the earthling audiences complained loudly about the unfairness, the referee released an instruction from the organizing committee, stating that Han Linu's technique was legal.
To clear the air with the angry mob, the referee announced loudly, "Han Linu possesses one of a kind web-like soul energy, and he uses these puppets as one would with a weapon. The organizing committee has made its ruling—the match will continue."
"Web Soul Energy? What the heck is that?"
The web soul energy was a unique and very rare form of soul energy. It was the most highly praised by fleet combat commanders, as the fine threads of soul energy meant unmatched micro control during a battle. However, the occurrence of the web soul energy was extremely rare; the odds were one out of a million, if not even smaller. Judging by the power of the fighter the Lunar Mastery had sent in, it was evident that the Lunar Mastery, like the great houses, had come for the title of champion of the tournament.
Wang Tong watched as Han Linu's soul energy covered the bodies of the puppets like a thin web, granting the puppets the same ability and soul level as the puppet master.
Even an amateur would have noticed that Wang Tong was in danger.
"What a d*ck move!" Karl cursed as he disproved the Iranian's cheap strategy.
"Calm your underpants, Karl!" Hu Yangxuan pressed Karl back to his seat.
"Calm my a*s! This is just not fair. Three more? Heck, next time, I might as well bring a combat drone with me."
"Combat drone is nothing compared to these puppets. I had learned about this technique before while I was at the Templar's court. The puppet master could control up to five puppets at one time through five of his fingers. The Templar told me that it was tough to find anyone who was talented enough to use the technique. The Templar's themselves had been looking for such talent for years, but without any success. That being said, you need to believe in Wang Tong. He... should be fine...I think"
"Thanks, that's very assuring," Karl said sarcastically.
"Young Master, it seems that the Mastery had improved themselves by leaps and bounds. But...Hehe... They are still no match for you...hehe..." One of the servile sect guards whispered to Michaux.
Michaux cracked a smile. "Not just me, he would not stand a chance against Patroclus, and... this Wang Tong."
The four sect-guards looked at each other in disbelief.
Meanwhile, on the battlefield, Han Linu had removed his cloth, revealing a tenacious body. Unlike other Mastery fighters, Han Linu relied on his body as much as he would on his puppets.
"Resonance!"
As the Ivantian puppet master shouted the command, his soul energy soared to over two hundred and seventy sols, and then so did his puppets.
As world's first level five puppet master, Han Linu was very confident in his abilities. Each one of his puppets was as threatening as a level five fighter.
Two Blades suddenly appeared in the four puppet's hands. In a blink of an eye, Wang Tong found him surround by eight sharp glinting blades.
The four puppets closed around Wang Tong swiftly, without giving Wang Tong any opportunity to break the encirclement.
Han Linu grinned and then announced, "You can give up now. I don't want to hurt you... or do I?"
"Hurt me with your dolls? Your mom never bought you boy-toys or what?" Wang Tong laughed as he stood still at the center of the shrinking encirclement.
Han Linu yanked his hand, channeling soul energy into the puppets as the eight sharp blades bore down onto Wang Tong.
Sitting in the audience seat, Lumi covered her eyes, fearing that Wang Tong would get hurt.
Wang Tong didn't evade the blow. Instead, he had something to show to Michaux, something he had promised to show the young master—the meaning of soul essence.
When the eight blades were mere inches away from Wang Tong's head, the four puppets' attack suddenly came to a jarring halt, as if they had been turned off. Wang Tong strolled out from under the eight blades.
The sudden turn of events dumbfounded Han Linu, and a sense of fear slowly crept into his heart. Han Linu didn't expect anyone other than the Divine Master Sect to be able to interrupt his puppetry, as the construction of these puppets were exquisitely designed to prevent interference. Han Linu was convinced that Wang Tong would not be able to disrupt his control unless he was a level six fighter. What was even more disbelieving to him was that even a level six fighter would not be able to achieve what Wang Tong had done so effortlessly.
In the beginning, Han Linu could feel that the connection between him his puppets still existed, although something was preventing the puppets' movement. However, with a loud snap of Wang Tong's finger, even the connection between the puppeteer and the puppets was lost.
The sudden loss of connection with his puppets sent a chill down Han Linu's spine. The puppets, on the other hand, started to dance and move like drunkards. After a few seconds, the puppets stopped moving altogether.
Michaux's eyes suddenly lit up at the sight of the moving puppets. He had finally found what he was looking for—the soul essence—encapsulated inside the puppets.
The soul essence was a well-kept secret among Einherjars. It would not grant one unlimited soul energy, but would steer the cultivator closer towards immortality. Although cultivation of soul energy would help extend one's life, the source of soul energy—the sea of consciousness—was tied directly to the cultivator's life force, which was deemed to perish over time. Therefore, the only way to achieve real immortality was through obtaining soul essence.
Chapter 354: Complete Victory
Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_
The soul essence was not only the secret to immortality, but also the key to becoming a Super Einherjar.
Even among the Einherjars, the soul essence was not a well-understood subject. The leading parties in this field were the Divine Master sect and the Templar's court. They both agreed that the soul essence was the most effective in staving off malignant elements such as the effect of Soul Mastery.
Michaux Odin was not only the one-in-a-million genius, but he was also regarded by the sect elders as the most likely candidate to be the second person in the sect history to obtain the power of soul essence. His power lied in his extraordinarily powerful sea of consciousness, which had given him a decisive advantage in cultivating the soul essence. The sect elders believed that with the unique cultivation methods that they had taught the young master, Michaux would become the first person to achieve immortality in 300 years.
Compared to the members of the great houses, Michaux did not carry the burden of becoming an Einherjar. His motivation was purer, and therefore, he was more focused on his goal. Michaux had always thought that no one would have known more about the soul essence than him. However, he was surprised to see the existence of soul essence in someone else's body.
There were a number of reasons why Wang Tong would never understand the complicated feeling inside Michaux right then. For one, Wang Tong barely understood what the soul essence was, because he had never read the complex and intricate theories of the mysterious power. Wang Tong's approach to any new power had always been "get it first, understand it later."
Wang Tong had first come in contact with the soul essence through Mr. Wannabe. He had always suspected that it was Mr. Wannabe's soul essence that had allowed the latter to exist in the crystal space. Otherwise, the power of the crystal would undoubtedly have eroded Mr. Wannabe's soul energy over time. Wang Tong's suspicion was confirmed while he was trapped inside the crystal space, fighting the Pirate King Zachery. If not for his attempt to tap into this new source of energy, Wang Tong would have been defeated by Zachery in a heartbeat. Although Wang Tong was lucky enough to possess the power, he practically knew nothing about it. Nevertheless, Wang Tong was convinced that the new power he had discovered was the ultimate prize in cultivation, and therefore, he decided to learn more about it from the experts such as Michaux.
The key to the Mastery of spells was to use soul energy to disturb opponent's sea of consciousness. However, since Wang Tong's sea of consciousness was already infused with soul essence, he was practically immune to any soul energy attacks.
Han Linu tasted bile in his mouth when he watched the puppets slump to the ground. He was dumbfounded as to how his opponent was able to cut off his connection with the puppets.
Most of the audiences thought that the puppeteer simply slipped up at the most crucial moment of the battle, and some even suspected that Wang Tong was one of the practitioners of the Lunar Mastery.
"Haha! I told you guys that petty tricks are not reliable. You just can't count on it to work every time." Karl shouted at the top of his lungs.
"Calm your underpants, Karl. The mastery didn't fail by itself; it was Wang Tong's doing. Perhaps, he has learned the Mastery as well… Nah... it can't be. I didn't see him use any hand signs. Hmmm... strange." Hu Yangxuan mumbled to himself as Wang Tong's method of countering the mastery was entirely different than what he had seen at the Templar's court. Wang Tong's technique of breaking the mastery had eluded everyone, including the puppeteer himself. By then, not only Han Linu had lost his weapons—the puppets, his confidence had also taken a toll.
After a while, the puppeteer finally gathered himself. "Ha! Interesting! I would never think that there is such a powerful fighter on Earth. Which school are you from?"
"A-Class Academy, Ayrlarng." Wang Tong answered.
Although Han Linu had searched hard in his memory, the name of the school still escaped him. He smiled awkwardly as then said, "Sorry.. never heard... of it. Well, it doesn't matter! Count yourself lucky, because today, I will show you my real power. "
Suddenly, a curved blade appeared in Han Linu's hand, and his fingers of the other hand started to form and shift into various signs. All the while, Han Linu's lips moved quickly and quietly, as if he were murmuring to himself. As Han Linu's fingers finally stopped dancing, he looked up at Wang Tong, eyes glinting as he roared, "Sword Attack—Web of Heaven and Earth!"
Wang Tong hurried a few steps back, and he watched as thousands of golden tendrils sprouted out of the tip of Han Linu's blade. These sparkling tendrils formed an intricate web that threatened to engulf Wang Tong. This was the ultimate form of the technique "Web of Heaven and Earth." The web of golden tendrils was infused with the arcane power that Han Linu harnessed from his cryptic cultivation.
Although Han Linu's movement was rather ordinary, the sudden explosion of the deadly golden web had made the strike more lethal than the coup de grace of a sword master. Once trapped inside the golden web, even a level six fighter would be completely immobilized long enough for Han Linu to finish off the fight.
Wang Tong had been quick to evade the attack, but he was still too slow, and was trapped and immobilized by the web.
"Han Linu has materialized his soul energy!" One of the hosts shouted in surprise.
The turn of events had put a spin on the mundane match between the two fighters. No one had expected the two fighters to display such power, that was fit for the final match of the tournament.
Wang Tong cranked up his soul energy, trying to break free but to no avail. The harder he worked against the web, the tighter the constrictions became.
With his puppets destroyed, the web attack was Han Linu's last hope. While he had been worried that Wang Tong was able to move quickly and render his web attack useless, looking at his struggling opponent then, Han Linu finally heaved a sigh of relief. He knew that once Wang Tong was trapped, any resistance would be futile.
"Just give it up. This web is our sect's secret weapon. It's not made out of just soul energy, as you might have already guessed. Your GN force is useless. No one but an Einherjar might have a chance of getting out of the trap."
Seeing the situation come back under his control, Han Linu took a deep breath and tidied up his tousled hair. All the while, he marveled at his near escape from a complete defeat.
Han Linu's concern was not unfounded, since this web attack was meant to be used together with his puppets to cover all angles. With the puppets destroyed. Han Linu was not entirely certain that the attack would be effective.
Wang Tong cracked a smile and then replied, "This web might not be as powerful as you think."
Although Wang Tong was not sure what kind of material these webs were made out of, he was certain that there were soul energies attached to it. He reasoned that he would be able to disable the trap once he absorbed all the soul energy that was attached to its substance.
Thanks to the Tactics of the Blade, Wang Tong's soul energy was adapted to absorbing soul energy, as he had performed such task—intentionally or not—on Ma Xiaoru and Li Ruoer. Ever since Wang Tong had obtained soul essence, his ability to absorb other's soul energy also had improved significantly.
"Ha! Fine! I will allow you three seconds to get out." Han Linu closed into Wang Tong while brandishing his blade, threatening to attack at any moment.
Before Han Linu got any closer, his jaw almost dropped when he saw the golden web suddenly lost its luster. The sudden turn of events also disheveled all the sect members. They had witnessed a boy disable the two deadliest weapons of the Lunar sect: the puppets and the golden web.
As the golden shimmer disappeared, the web became just an ordinary web made out of a clear material that looked like plastic. Wang Tong easily tore the 'plastic' web apart and freed himself.
"What else do you have, use it all on me! Otherwise, I am ready to kick some a*s!" Wang Tong shouted as he flexed his wrists. He didn't enjoy a second when the web restricted his movement, and it was now time to attack.
"Hold on a second, please, PLEASE! I ...I... surrender!"
Only with the slightest hesitation, Han Linu surrendered to his opponent. Many more fights were waiting for him, and he figured that there was no sense in getting injured in a losing battle, especially while he was already down on his luck.
Wang Tong was shocked by the puppet master's plea, as he found it out of character as a warrior.
As if Han Linu had heard Wang Tong's thoughts, he shrugged helplessly and then said, "Well, you have disabled two of my weapons in a row, so what else am I supposed to do? Let's hope that I will never fight with you again."
As the heir of one of the most powerful Mastery sects, Han Linu was well aware of the importance of withdrawing from danger and preserving the strength of his sect. There was still a long way ahead of him, with the hope of the entire sect on his shoulder. Therefore, he needed to be prudent.
The students from Ayrlarng were elated by Wang Tong's victory against the heir of the Lunar Mastery. They felt that despite the splendid display, the Lunar Mastery's technique was very ineffective, as it appeared to have failed twice.
However, the sect members knew that it was impossible for Han Linu's weapons to have accidentally failed, since they were as reliable as human GN force. Although no sect member was willing to admit it, the failure of the weapons had proven that Wang Tong possessed extraordinary power and knowledge about their sect's secret weapons.
"Haha! Boss, this dude only looks tough, but he fights like a girl."
"No kidding. I was expecting much more from him."