(Please follow, don't leave me... Thank you, everyone o(╥﹏╥)o)
In the Martial Arts Miniature World, each person had three matches a day.
Every day, there would be contestants who dazzled and stood out, each with their own pride, but in the following days, Meng Yu became the most popular and flashy young star!
With two Sword Intents, a notorious past, dressed in prison garb, and only seventeen years old!
His third opponent was a brawny man wielding an Eight-Sided Bronze Staff, strong as an ox, with defenses like iron walls, formidable and intimidating, he...
And then, with a single encircling slash, the man's head fell to the ground.
No need for fire, a clean and swift sword strike sufficed.
The fourth opponent was a timid young girl. After blushing, upon seeing Meng Yu, she transformed into a Thousand-Handed Guanyin, unleashing all kinds of Hidden Weapons, Spirit Vessels, and Magic Artifacts that spread like a web, enveloping Meng Yu. No matter how hard she tried, no matter what techniques she used, he effortlessly made his way to her side.
With one thrust of his sword, he shattered her last web of hidden weapons.
At that moment, although Meng Yu's move was an old one, she felt the breath of death.
The girl was so frightened she frantically performed the Seven Stars Step, mysteriously moving backward to evade Meng Yu's thrust, yet her heart pounded violently in terror.
Just when she thought Meng Yu's thrust had been spent, a small flame sparked at the tip of his sword, shooting out and landing right on her chest.
Unlike the grandiose attack that disposed of Little Fatty in the previous match, this match was utterly straightforward and clear.
It was like a mountain flower blooming, a solitary branch bursting through the clouds.
The Fire Crow pierced through her body, and she lost.
The experts in the studio explicitly stated that such effortless expertise was even more ingenious than grilling Little Fatty!
Meng Yu's Swordsmanship had reached a divine level!
The fifth contender, Flame Slash.
Not strong enough, you say? I'll slash, slash, slash!
This time, with fire as the theme, wind served as the booster!
The sixth, Wind and Fire Chop!
Wind rolling, flames burning, then the flames transformed into a blade, a flaming blade within the winds, I chop, chop, chop!
The seventh, I burn, burn, burn!
You cultivate Withered Wood True Qi, your Withered Wood Armor is said to be the best in defense, but my flames, they can burn endlessly!
The further he went, the stronger the enemies became, the more exhilarating the fights were for Meng Yu!
The Sword Intent of Wind and the Sword Intent of Fire became more skilled and harmoniously intertwined with each battle. Thanks to these brave and talented high schoolers, Meng Yu used them, time and again, to sharpen his swordsmanship!
In the top five thousand, no one could stand against him.
In the top three thousand, no one could stand against him!
In the top one thousand, no one could stand against him!
Dressed in a yellow prison outfit, bareheaded and barefooted, armed only with a Wooden Sword (with another slung across his back), without any slightest bit of better gear, he advanced step by step to the peak, to the glory.
Meng Yu occasionally looked up, occasionally noticed the odds for his single matches, hmm, they had already dropped to one to 1.3.
On the leaderboard, he had reached the twenty-third place.
Oh, and he gained another title.
Unbeatable in Close Combat!
...
The thirteenth match.
Meng Yu's name had become known to all, already listed as a seeded contestant and one of the players who was sure to enter the top hundred—if only his equipment were better, many were convinced he would definitely be in the top ten!
But even so, many believed Meng Yu would surely make it into the top ten!
This match, Meng Yu saw the name of his opponent and was quite surprised, so he went to meet her.
Little Swallow, wasn't she the female class president from the class, one of the two girls the original host secretly adored?
"How come you're here?"
"Can't I be?"
The girl with a bun hairstyle snorted, then gave Meng Yu another glance.
"Indeed, Little Swallow is extremely intelligent, highly talented, and possesses great martial skill, so it's only natural for her to make it into the competition among ten thousand contenders."
Meng Yu looked at the beautiful girl, the class president, smiling very happily.
Indeed, the class president was very talented and had trained in swordsmanship with great diligence, being the number one in their grade, and most importantly, she was extraordinarily lucky.
The competition among ten thousand was a multi-round elimination system, but it also incorporated random factors, and since it was a virtual battleground, there were no issues of fatigue or injury. Therefore, in the first half of the match pairings, some strong fighters might keep encountering other strong fighters and lose continuously, while some weaker ones might get lucky, either by getting a bye or by facing even weaker contenders.
Of course, the beautiful and proud class president was far from a weak contender; after all, Meng Yu had once found her combat strength unattainable, but what he admired even more was her luck.
"Why have you come now when you haven't visited me these past few days?"
Meng Yu looked at her and asked.
"I didn't help you, and I always thought that you were doing well..."
The class president said with her head lowered, feeling somewhat guilty towards Meng Yu.
She and Meng Yu were not in a relationship; her concern for Meng Yu stemmed from his always being helpful with class affairs, which had greatly aided her as the class president. Even though she often 'fed' him with drinks, snacks, and ice cream, she still felt embarrassed.
Meng Yu never shared his family matters with everyone, so she felt powerless to intervene until things took a drastic turn. But by then, when she wanted to find Meng Yu, her family had strictly forbidden her to contact him.
What, you don't help when someone is in trouble, but draw near when they are doing well?
She was definitely not that kind of person.
The birthday cake she had prepared for Meng Yu, she ended up eating with her cat. Afterwards, she scrimped and saved together with her cat to buy Meng Yu a gift.
Today, if she hadn't been paired against Meng Yu, she would've continued to lay low like a turtle withdrawing into its shell.
"I'm really grateful to you, for the chance to fight you in the final battle; sorry, I have always thought... your family situation..." she apologized once again to Meng Yu. Her record was poor, and after today's loss, she would have no more matches to fight.
"How could I bear to win against you?"
Meng Yu smiled, sighing.
After he entered prison, many people sent him gifts. When Teacher Chen visited him, she told him that the class president had smashed her piggy bank and used her savings to buy him the Crimson Jade Glazed Sword, the treasure sword he used in the stone chamber for his practice.
She regretted not knowing more about Meng Yu and not fulfilling the camaraderie of a classmate.
She had sent it anonymously, but the secret was exposed by Teacher Chen.
"Alright, let's not talk about this, let's chat. I wonder how everyone is doing?"
Meng Yu smiled and started chatting about the past with her.
The two of them enjoyed tea and sweets together, reminiscing about the good old days, breathing in the fragrance of flowers on the breeze.
Until an hour later, when they entered the battlefield.
"Let's agree first, no beheading, no burning me. Give me a clean death."
The girl would not surrender, but at the same time, she did not want Meng Yu to turn her into a roasted duck.
"Agreed."
Meng Yu smiled, gazing at the class president in front of him.
She was extremely happy to see Meng Yu, to meet an old classmate, her face beaming with a sweet smile that made the whole world seem bright and radiant.
Ah, the beloved, the red rose of his original heart.
"Come on."