The northern land was blanketed in snow, with the scenery frozen as far as the eye could see.
Over a month ago, when the snowflakes began falling heavily from the sky, Zhao Mengxi had become excited. Thanks to her ability to control snow, she could manipulate the falling snow into various shapes at will.
On the day Kent and Zhao Mengxi were heading to the Windstorm Tournament, they left the Changdao Hotel on foot instead of by bike.
After a long night of freezing temperatures, the streets were covered with a thick layer of snow, at least half a foot deep. Snowplow workers were everywhere.
"Change," Zhao Mengxi said, breathing out a thin mist of white fog. With a bright, rosy smile, she began controlling the surrounding snow. In an instant, the snow within a ten-meter radius rolled and gathered together, continuously shifting...
A minute later, the snow had transformed into a giant snow elephant, realistically mimicking the gesture of a trumpeting walk.
As they walked, the entire path was filled with Zhao Mengxi's creations.
For the past month, she had enjoyed this to no end. Every day on her way to school, she would create various lively snow sculptures. The university's slightly empty campus had become her personal playground, filled with birds, animals, flowers, insects, and even houses, cars, weapons, and monsters. Anything she could think of was sculpted from snow and ice.
There were even many funny depictions of Kent in different situations.
She had become something of an ice princess, capturing the attention of countless people. Many boys were mesmerized by her every move, while many girls felt overshadowed by her radiant beauty.
This put immense pressure on Kent, who was constantly subjected to various gazes.
To make matters worse, Zhao Mengxi's snow creations had gone viral online. People took photos of her masterpieces and uploaded them, leading to widespread admiration. After seeing Zhao Mengxi's stunning looks, a fierce wave of criticism against Kent spread across the internet.
Numerous personal attacks flooded his inbox daily, with people urging him to leave Zhao Mengxi. Even many prominent young men from Earthstar City had come to Kent, one after another, to confront him.
Fortunately, during this time, Kent had focused on his training and ignored these trivial matters. He had become so indifferent that nothing could faze him anymore.
Zhao Mengxi, understanding his intentions, never distracted him from his training. Kent remained strong and resolute, bearing it all without showing any weakness.
"Kent, you'd better be careful today," Zhao Mengxi finally broke from her snowy world and smiled at him.
Kent nodded, understanding that during the Windstorm Tournament, he would be challenged many times. However, he only needed to accept three challenges.
Those with higher rankings, on the other hand, didn't have such flexibility. If a student with a lower rank challenged them, they couldn't refuse.
Thus, countless students wanted to defeat Kent, hoping to show Zhao Mengxi how powerless he was, thereby showcasing their own charm. This had become an obsession for many of the boys.
The Xuanwu Training Hall was the largest training venue at Earthstar University, capable of holding over forty thousand people. Every Windstorm Tournament was held here.
That day, under the leadership of their class advisors, each class entered the Xuanwu Hall and found their assigned seats.
Kent sat with his classmates in Class A of the Inspection Academy, led by Ji Guanghe, looking relaxed and calm.
Around him, many people glanced over, some even using binoculars from a distance, trying to warn him.
However, Kent paid no attention to them.
He was confident as he attended the Windstorm Tournament. While he might not be able to compare with the top-ranked students on the Windstorm List, those ranked lower, or even those with no ranking at all, were not worthy of challenging him.
"Kent, you're really like a magnet for hatred. You haven't done anything truly evil, so why does everyone target you?"
A classmate sitting beside Kent, who also wore a pair of black sunglasses, joked. His name was Yu Zhengfeng, from Hengduan City, and his family was reasonably well-off.
"Ah Feng, I have no words to express my frustration," Kent admitted, feeling somewhat agitated internally.
Yu Zhengfeng grinned and said, "Kent, just get used to it. Pressure is a source of motivation. You've got to tough it out, especially today. Some of the people who usually don't show themselves are back for the Windstorm Tournament. Did you see the handsome couple behind us?"
Kent glanced over, and indeed, a handsome couple was seated there. The woman was exceptionally beautiful, wearing only a single layer despite the winter chill. Her ample chest was emphasized by her attire, and her expression was cold, her eyes filled with indifference.
The man sitting next to her was composed and confident, like a gentleman, sitting very close to the woman.
"Who are they?" Kent couldn't help but ask.
"The woman is the legendary campus beauty of our academy, Fan Qingmei. The man is Ye Qiugao, a senior who has been chasing after Fan Qingmei for a long time but has never been accepted," Yu Zhengfeng explained.
Kent nodded. These two were indeed famous and powerful, ranking in the top ten on the Windstorm List.
"Good thing they're not my enemies. Otherwise, life at the Inspection Academy would be difficult," Kent smiled faintly.
"Kent, you're too optimistic. I've heard that those who resist you have formed a group. They're plotting ways to make you look bad, especially today when all the students are present. If you mess up, not only will you lose face, but Zhao Mengxi will also be humiliated," Yu Zhengfeng warned.
"So that's their goal? Well, that puts my mind at ease," Kent replied dismissively. "Who are these people?"
"I don't know. But honestly, it doesn't matter. Kent, when the world is against you, just fight. Let them come. Whoever they are doesn't matter," Yu Zhengfeng flattered him.
Kent nodded in agreement.
After all the classes had entered, the Windstorm Tournament officially began. The vice president, Su Gezhi, gave a brief, outdated speech before the competition formally started.
Everyone took their seats, and live streaming platforms set up their cameras to broadcast the event.
"Kent, our Inspection Academy is number 13 out of 36 academies, so we'll be the 13th to compete," Yu Zhengfeng explained.
The students participating in the tournament were introduced in order, with the first group coming from the Forging Academy, which specialized in the creation of battle tools.
Each participant had one chance to challenge another competitor.
There were three rounds in total, and each round allowed participants to challenge others.
The electronic screen above displayed the list of competitors from the Forging Academy as the first four freshmen came up to challenge others.
Among them, all four were male, and their eyes were fixed on Kent from the distance.
"I want to challenge Kent from the Inspection Academy," the four of them said almost in unison, sending their challenge requests to Kent.