CHAPTER 65: CHAPTER 65: THE COMPETITION THAT STIRRED UP THE WHOLE NETWORK

"Mr. Qin, are you suggesting that this masked man is at the Star Cloud Stage?"

"No! Those at the Star Cloud Stage would not participate in the Star Martial Arts contest. This platform is too small, and Star Martial Warriors at the Star Cloud Stage simply disdain to join. This masked man is still a Star Shine Stage Star Martial Warrior. However, he has mastered an A-level Star Martial Skill."

"But from the previous match footage, the masked man didn’t seem to have an advantage over the cheongsam lady, did he?"

"Of course he didn’t have an advantage! Because that cheongsam lady is no unknown; if I’m not mistaken, she should be the one hailed as Lan Die, the Thousand Hands Guanyin. Lan Die, a peak Star Shine expert, possesses two A-level Star Martial Skills. Thousand Hand Phantom is her technique for throwing hidden weapons; with both hands, she can launch thirty projectiles in a single second, each with a different trajectory and target. Her other skill was unknown to me before, as Lan Die’s records lacked detailed information. But now it seems to be her ability to control objects with her mind. Lan Die is quite famous in Kunming for pioneering new fields and is said to have a good chance of breaking through to the Galaxy Stage before the age of thirty-five. It’s just unexpected that she would participate in the Star Martial Arts contest. Logically, she should be pioneering new fields in Kunming right now. Both of them are not your regular Star Shine Stage warriors. So, we are quite lucky to witness a match of finals-level quality in the preliminaries. The masked man appeared very passive, yet his movement technique was not at all chaotic, and his evasions were effortless. Initially, I thought that while Lan Die’s attacks were sharp, they couldn’t be sustained. Her hidden weapons are finite. Lan Die either had to win before running out of hidden weapons, or once the Star Cloud Sword was launched, the outcome would be hard to predict. But now, seeing that Lan Die can control her hidden weapons, it’s a completely different situation. For Lan Die, her hidden weapons are endless. The masked man is unlucky. With his strength, he was a safe bet for the top twenty. Unfortunately, he encountered such a formidable opponent in the preliminaries and might not even make it to the official competition."

With Mr. Qin’s commentary through the live streaming platform, the audience watching the spectacle finally began to comprehend the nuances of the contest. The moment Mr. Qin appeared, the number of viewers in Qiuqiu’s live broadcasting room suddenly exploded. Rockets flew by, attracting viewers from other broadcasters’ rooms. For a while, the traffic of other broadcasters at the venue plummeted, while Qiuqiu’s live broadcasting room was particularly outstanding; its success could be described with a single phrase: ’in a league of its own’!

"It’s exploding! Qiuqiu, your stream is lagging! Aren’t you on a 5G network?!"

"I... Is 4G not enough?" Qiuqiu felt like crying. She was just a second-rate broadcaster from Suzhou City, never imagining that one day her streaming room would break the three million viewer mark, when her previous best was only one hundred thousand viewers.

"I’ll top up for you, just stabilize the network for me."

"The final showdown! Shit, it’s ’All Swords Return to the Origin’!"

In the image, the battle between Wang Lan and the cheongsam lady had indeed reached its final stage. The cheongsam lady’s Talented Skill seemed inherently designed for hidden weapons. Wang Lan even felt that her earlier throws were a waste of time. If she had controlled the objects directly, Wang Lan might not have been able to withstand the first onslaught.

If analyzed by a data system, the cheongsam lady’s prowess with hidden weapons would likely be rated at the Silver level. She didn’t just throw her hidden weapons out all at once; the rhythm, direction, coordination between the hidden weapons, and the angle of attack were all perfect.

Perhaps the hidden weapon technique was meant to lull the opponent into a false sense of security! Thinking about this, Wang Lan broke into a cold sweat. If the lady hadn’t reminded him that her Star Martial Skill was magnetism-based, Wang Lan would have charged at her, only to be attacked from behind by hidden weapons rising from the ground. He might already be dead by now, wouldn’t he?

I’ve learned my lesson.

A contest isn’t a real battle, after all. The restriction against killing is a significant limitation for experts who truly fight on battlefields.

The sky filled with hidden weapons that danced like dragons, swirling darkly like a passing swarm of locusts. The spectacle was indeed just as the audience in the live broadcasting room shouted, reminiscent of ’All Swords Return to the Origin’.

At this moment, Wang Lan had successfully closed in to within five meters of the cheongsam beauty. This range, merely five or six steps, was an extremely dangerous distance.

A torrential rain of swords suddenly fell, attempting to stop Wang Lan from pressing closer. The concrete floor, unable to withstand the bombardment of the hidden weapon rain, shattered.

The combined damage to Arena Number 7 from dozens of previous fights wasn’t as horrific as the destruction from this single match.

Wang Lan’s heart tightened. He faced a very skilled cheongsam lady. If he couldn’t even make it past the preliminaries, wouldn’t this trip have been in vain?

Open the system! Add points for me!

In an instant, his Star Cloud Sword Dance, which was at Silver Rank 5, was pushed to Silver Rank 6, then Silver Rank 7.

The moment Star Cloud Sword Dance reached Silver Rank 7, Wang Lan’s eyes suddenly sparkled. He had comprehended another assault-and-kill type Star Martial Skill hidden within the Star Cloud Sword Dance.

"Butterfly Passing Through Flowers!"

Wang Lan’s figure suddenly turned into afterimages. Amidst the torrential rain of hidden weapons, the space at the center of the battle seemed to twist, and faintly, a butterfly spread its wings.

BOOM—

All the hidden weapons filling the sky were suddenly blown away by terrifying Star Power. Wang Lan’s figure transformed into a streak of light, charging towards the cheongsam lady before him.

The cheongsam lady’s expression changed dramatically. She instantly controlled the sky full of hidden weapons, attempting to weave a shield in front of her.

But just as the shield was forming...

BOOM—

A loud crash echoed as Wang Lan’s figure, like a drifting cloud, collided with the coalescing shield of hidden weapons. The terrifying force instantly exploded, and the shield, like a dam obliterated by a tidal wave, burst apart.

The cheongsam beauty was briefly stunned. Through her distorted vision, she saw a butterfly flicker and vanish. When her sight finally focused, a figure stood before her.

The Ghost Wail in his hand was pressed against the cheongsam beauty’s throat.

CLICK—

With a crisp sound, Wang Lan’s mask instantly cracked, unable to withstand the horrifying explosion of Spiritual Power.

"I lost."

The woman’s voice sounded—low, soft, and young—like an arrow piercing Wang Lan’s heart.

"Actually, I lost! If you hadn’t told me earlier that you are a magnetism-controlling Star Martial Warrior, I would already be a corpse. Thank you for showing mercy."

"There’s nothing to thank me for. This is a competition, and I can’t kill anyone. Since I can’t kill, the least I could do was give you a warning. If you were about to unleash a hidden killing move on me, you’d warn me too, wouldn’t you? It’s only fair."

"Arena Number Seven, contestant forty-four, wins!"

Wang Lan silently turned away.

"Wait! What’s your name?" the lady in the cheongsam suddenly asked.

"Nice Person!"

"Nice Person? You’re strong. I hope you can return to the battlefield someday; this place isn’t for you."

"Uh! I will." Wang Lan didn’t explain, responding indifferently.

As Wang Lan left the arena, the live streaming chat exploded.

This was the most stunning match they had seen to date. It was so breathtaking that they even forgot to breathe. Neither Wang Lan nor the lady in the cheongsam held back in the slightest. Every move they made, every attack they launched, had only one purpose: to defeat the other. The high-frequency exchanges, rapid evasive maneuvers, and every feint and shift electrified the spectators’ nerves. This was a feast for the eyes, a fiery eruption of combat.

Ordinary people rarely had the chance to witness Star Martial Warriors in battle. Whenever Star Martial Warriors were needed, the first order of business was to clear and isolate the area.

While films and television featured many Star Martial Warrior battles, the techniques and fight scenes were choreographed for visual appeal. They were impressive to watch but lacked realism.

As netizens often said, protagonists never die, no matter how fiercely they fight; they always manage to turn the tide even in the direst situations. But what about reality? No one is the protagonist; the whole world is a furnace where anyone can die, where death could come for anyone.

A real battle is relentless, with no moment for breath or letup. There’s only one moment you can let your guard down: when the fight is utterly over.

In a battle lasting less than ten minutes, they danced with death countless times. Who could truly enjoy the thrill of dancing on a stage where hidden weapons fell like rain, or endure the gentle graze of Sword Qi across their cheek?

Each intense frame of the battle left a profound impression on the viewers.

The live streaming room fell into a brief silence, lasting perhaps ten seconds.

"Who would have thought that a match worthy of the finals would take place in a preliminary round. It’s fortunate this is only a preliminary round and isn’t broadcast; otherwise, even the official matches would pale in comparison."

In the end, it was Mr. Qin’s words that broke the silence in the streaming room.

"Holy shit!"

"A big freaking holy shit!"

"A graveyard-sized holy shit!"

"You’re telling me this is a prelim? I feel like I’ve just watched the finals of this season’s Star Martial Arts contest."

"Who is this guy with the mask? And who’s that cheongsam beauty?"

"Even a noob like me saw more than a dozen brushes with death... Can someone tell me if this is real? Are you sure it’s not a planned stunt? They could really die, right?"

"Come here, the brother who says it’s a stunt. Let’s test this ’design.’ Forget everything else; just stand there while I throw a few hundred frying pans at you from the twentieth floor, and you dodge every single one without a scratch."

"If you get hit, of course, you’d die, but they didn’t get hit, did they? We’re all Star Martial Warriors; we know how to measure our blows... Sorry, gotta go. I’m visiting the grave of a brother who attempted a similarly dangerous move last time. To support his wife and daughter, I haven’t had time to weed his grave, and it’s overgrown waist-high."

"Hey, commenter above, you didn’t kill your brother just because you coveted his wife and daughter, did you?"

"Open up, community care coming through."

"Look, I spent thirty seconds to capture this frame at one-tenth speed for everyone’s enjoyment."

In the frame, six hidden weapons attacked Wang Lan from various angles, but his body twisted and turned, evading all six with impossible agility. The image was but a fleeting moment on screen. Yet on the battlefield, it could be the fraction of a second that mattered. Who knows how many such moments there were throughout the battle? I daren’t even think about it. Just imagining it makes my scalp tingle.

"Fuck, is this guy even human?"

"In a mere fraction of a second, to calculate the trajectory and timing of incoming weapons and execute movements with machine-like precision... what kind of terrifying control over one’s body would that take?"

"Is the commenter above in mechanical engineering? But I have to say, control over one’s body is, in a way, control over Star Power. Clearly, the Star Martial Skills utilized by the masked man belong to the Form Changing Star Martial Skills. Mastering such skills requires gaining subtle control over Star Power, let alone succeeding in their cultivation. To perform Form Changing Star Martial Skills, one must have that level of control over their body."

"The commenter above is right. Sit down, everyone; this is basic stuff!"

"Basic stuff, my ass! Do you think I’m not a Star Martial Warrior? That level of control, even if it hasn’t reached the theoretical perfect 1:1 fusion ratio, is damn close. Achieving anything below 1.5 is impressive, and below 1.3 is god-tier."

"Seeing such masterful prowess, I wanted to compose a poem in his honor, but alas, I’m uncultured. All I can say is, ’Damn, he’s on another level!’"

By the time Wang Lan got back to the stands, the announcement for Hu Qing’s match was sounding.

Hu Qing could only hurriedly congratulate Wang Lan before rushing off.

"Qiuqiu, Qiuqiu, the god-tier player is sitting right in front of you, what do you think?"

"About your thoughts, I have a suggestion."

"About your suggestion, I have a plan."

"About your plan, I would like to make a point."

"Regarding the point you made, I have a... fuck, I can’t keep this up."