CHAPTER 70: CHAPTER 70: THE CROWD GOES WILD

Advancing to the second round, the remaining matches were of little concern to Wang Lan. With two more days left in the first round, he remained indifferent, attending school regularly and punctually.

「Before he knew it, the weekend had arrived.」

Although he had crammed for two rounds of Star Martial Art classes and not only caught up with his classmates but also ranked among the top, human nature is such that there’s always that slight dissatisfaction; one isn’t content unless they are vastly superior. This left Wang Lan feeling that life wasn’t quite perfect.

That’s why, despite having complained countless times before, Who the heck would study so hard if not to unlock the system?, even without the system’s impetus, Wang Lan still led a fulfilling life.

He read books and solved problems; when the school didn’t provide enough, he bought more practice sets. Although the theoretical knowledge of Star Martial Warriors wasn’t as vast as scientific subjects, its volume was still considerable. One topic in particular—the theoretical application and development of Star Power—had Wang Lan utterly engrossed, unable to extricate himself.

As Wang Lan immersed himself in the ocean of knowledge, the prime-time Star Martial Overlord Competition was being broadcast at 8 p.m.

The announcer’s voice boomed from the television, "The third season of the Star Martial Overlord Competition, third episode, officially begins!"

"This program is sponsored by Jiangcheng Entertainment! This program is sponsored by Roland Home Textiles..."

A comment flashed across the screen: "He’s about to appear... Let the bullet comments fly!"

At this moment, a pre-match segment played, showcasing the conflicting opinions of Mr. Xiaobao and Mr. Qin through clever editing.

Mr. Xiaobao scoffed, "This Qin Xian doesn’t know a thing about Star Martial Warriors! He’s not even a Star Martial Warrior himself, just some amateur pundit."

Mr. Qin countered, "I don’t think so. Wolf has gone viral, exploding in popularity online, but an internet celebrity is still just an internet celebrity. Is his strength really as formidable as it’s hyped up to be?"

More comments scrolled by:

"Rational netizen here. Mr. Qin’s analysis makes sense!"

"Wolf has strength, sure, but he’s definitely not top-tier. That Gan Lie, on the other hand, is the Wolf of the Northwest! His experience is vast; he’s practically a special forces operative among Star Martial Warriors."

"Neither has a realm advantage, and their combat skills and experience aren’t drastically different. It’s likely going to be a fierce battle."

Amidst the heated debate in the bullet comments, the match began. Right from the start, Gan Lie unleashed a killing move. As his Wind-attribute Star Martial Skills flared, the screen filled with multiple images of him.

Watching it live would undoubtedly cause motion sickness, but the program benefited from post-production. Amateurs saw an exciting spectacle; experts appreciated the technical skill. In terms of production, Min Jian’s grasp of pacing and visual composition was undeniably at the industry’s peak.

The dazzling combat visuals, combined with shifting camera angles and slow-motion analysis, allowed viewers to effortlessly follow the fighters’ conditions and understand their movements.

From this standpoint alone, the third episode was undoubtedly the best of the Star Martial Overlord Competition so far.

In the slow-motion replays, Gan Lie attacked relentlessly. Wang Lan could only use his Star Martial Skills to dodge and parry Gan Lie’s onslaught within the arena. Gan Lie’s punches and kicks, though unflashy, possessed a thrilling, fast-paced rhythm.

For a moment, the stream of bullet comments dwindled.

"Awesome! Exciting!"

"Wolf’s finally showing his true colors! His strength was overhyped. Against a truly strong opponent, he’s clearly outmatched."

"I bet Wolf goes down within a minute! If not, I’ll livestream myself eating..."

"Eating what?"

"Durian!"

"Wolf’s done for..."

"Tsk, all that hype for nothing. Unsubscribing. Fan to hater."

"Did the commenter above forget Wolf used this exact same tactic in his famous debut battle?"

"Yeah! I got a sense of déjà vu right from the start. How can so many clueless netizens not see it? It’s Wolf’s classic ’I’ll let you go first for five minutes’ routine!"

"Let him be strong; the gentle breeze skims the mountaintop! Wolf just waits for his opponent to tire out, then launches a decisive counterattack. I can practically see the ending already."

"Exactly! It’s like that legendary boast: ’Let your opponent run thirty meters first; my forty-meter saber can afford to wait!’"

That was the beauty of online streaming platforms. Even if you were watching alone in your room, you were never truly alone.

Millions of netizens were there, watching and commenting right alongside you.

Fingers flew across keyboards, and the bullet comments blotted out the screen. In the comment section, discussion threads surged like the unceasing flow of the Yangtze River.

「Five minutes later」

Gan Lie’s Star Power was reaching its limit. Having attacked relentlessly without success, he lost his composure and, in a desperate gamble, launched the Wolf Teeth Tornado Drill.

Suddenly, the flood of bullet comments vanished as the scrolling text froze.

Whether watching on computers, phones, or televisions, all viewers collectively held their breath, their eyes wide and unblinking, fixed on the screen.

In that instant, eighty percent of viewers had toggled off the bullet comment display.

On screen, Wang Lan’s back was to the camera. Then, in an instant, the perspective shifted to a close-up on him.

Wang Lan stood firmly in a wide horse stance, his hands crossed before him. Red flames suddenly erupted from his palms, intertwining and then parting like a pair of scissors. A vertical Flame Sword instantly materialized in front of him.

At this sight, everyone’s scalp tingled.

Fuck! After all the speculation, who the hell would have guessed Wang Lan was a Fire-type Star Martial Warrior? Even among Fire-types, people usually saw fireballs, flame jets, or spreading ground fire. Nobody had ever seen a vertical Flame Sword like this!

The scene replayed in thirty-times slow motion. Gan Lie’s desperate attack, the Wolf Teeth Tornado Drill, slammed directly into the vertical Flame Sword—which perfectly countered his technique. The drill was effortlessly sliced open by the Flame Sword, exposing Gan Lie within, his expression rapidly transforming.

From ferocious and cold, to startled, then in an instant to disbelief, followed by fear, and finally, despair. Only a master actor could convey such a rapid cascade of emotions in so short a time.

The camera cut to the live audience. Many turned their faces away, unwilling to watch, while others covered their eyes, gasping in shock.

Min Jian’s ability to stir the audience’s emotions had reached its zenith. This particular cut caused the viewers’ excitement to skyrocket, as if hitting a second stage booster, their heartbeats accelerating wildly.

After three seconds, the view switched back. Just as Gan Lie was about to crash into the razor-sharp Flame Sword, Wang Lan suddenly retracted it. Then, with a leisurely and relaxed air, he simply extended his fist.

THWACK—

All the viewers exhaled in unison, as if a massive weight had been lifted from their shoulders.

Gan Lie hadn’t been sliced in two.

Then, the slow-motion replay showed Gan Lie’s entire face smashing violently into Wang Lan’s fist. The sight made everyone who saw it burst out laughing, or nearly spit out their drinks.

"Damn it! My brand new Weilong phone!"

"You only dropped a phone? I just spilled half a bottle of water on my Great Wall computer! That’s a 12,000-yuan Great Wall Ninth Generation!"

"Hahaha..."

"I know it’s mean to laugh right now, but why can’t I stop myself?"

"Student Gan Lie, I’d like to conduct a special interview: what did it feel like to take that punch to the face? Don’t worry, we’re professionally trained. We usually don’t laugh... unless we absolutely can’t help it. Hahaha!"

"Last semester, I was chasing a bus on my e-bike. The bus slammed on its brakes, and my face smacked right into its side. It was flattened like a pancake! It hurt so much I couldn’t talk for a week. Seriously, don’t laugh, it was agonizing!"

"Hey, commenter above, let me interview you instead!"

"Yeah, ’student from upstairs,’ please share your story!"

After the climax of Wang Lan’s match, the subsequent fights seemed dull by comparison. Although viewership numbers didn’t drop, the intensity of online discussion fell by fifty percent.

By the end of the show, the first batch of reaction memes, fresh off the digital press, began to flood the comment section.

A meme of Gan Lie: "All you do is dodge? If you’re a man, let’s fight for real!"

A meme of Wang Lan: "Behold my Vertical Flame Sword."

A meme of Gan Lie recoiling: "Nope, can’t mess with that. I’m outta here!"

The night was quiet, her room illuminated as if by daylight. Jiang Xinyu silently finished watching the latest episode of the Star Martial Overlord Competition, then replayed Wang Lan’s match from beginning to end one more time.

After hesitating for a long while, Jiang Xinyu opened QQ.

A notification popped up on Wang Lan’s computer: "Wang Lan, you have a new message from Jiang Xinyu."

"Hm?" Wang Lan looked up from his book and clicked on the flashing QQ icon.

Jiang Xinyu: "Where did you learn that Star Martial Skill?"

Wang Lan: "Which one?"

Jiang Xinyu: "The Flame Sword!"

Wang Lan: "That... I learned it from an uncle. It’s not convenient for me to disclose his identity. I also didn’t expect so many ’uncles’ and ’elders’ to suddenly appear after I awakened as a Star Martial Warrior."

Jiang Xinyu’s fine brows furrowed slightly. After thinking for a long moment, she quickly typed, "Let’s have a sparring match another day."

Wang Lan: "No way!"

Seeing the decisive rejection pop up, Jiang Xinyu’s eyelid twitched. "Why not?"

Wang Lan: "You’re a Star Cloud Stage practitioner bullying me, a mere Star Shine Stage. Have some dignity!"

Jiang Xinyu: "I’ve learned a new Star Martial Skill and need real combat practice to master it."

Wang Lan: "A pre-packaged Grade A Star Martial Skill?"

Jiang Xinyu: "Yes!"

Wang Lan: "Then that’s even more of a reason to say no!" he refused without hesitation. "I’m afraid I’ll be dead and gone before you even get the hang of it. Don’t mess around. Wait until we go to the training field next time to practice."

Jiang Xinyu: "Fine..."

Closing the chat window, Jiang Xinyu gritted her teeth. That blockhead!

"Sis..." Jiang Xincheng had appeared behind Jiang Xinyu at some point. "Knowing Lan, he’d never guess at your complicated feelings."

"What complicated feelings?" Jiang Xinyu asked, her expression blank.

"You saw Lan showing more and more strength, and deep down, you were thrilled. Your internal monologue was probably something like, That’s the man I’ve set my sights on! So you couldn’t wait to share that sense of pride with him.

"Unfortunately, Lan is a hopelessly dense guy. He wouldn’t realize that a small thing like asking for a sparring partner could easily wait until school tomorrow. A girl contacting a boy this late at night... even a complete idiot would think of other possibilities.

"So, Sis, your strategy was flawed. If you don’t spell it out for him, Lan will probably die alone, still clueless."

"Die alone?" Jiang Xinyu’s eyebrow twitched.

"Yeah. Lan earned his single status through his own sheer ’talent’ for cluelessness, and by that same ’talent,’ he’ll likely die alone."

"Xincheng, you’re only fourteen," Jiang Xinyu said.

"But girls mature faster than boys, don’t they? In ancient times, fourteen-year-old girls were already mothers."

"What I mean is, you seem to have a lot of free time lately to be thinking about such things. Wang Lan awakened his Star Martial Art talent at the same time as you. He’s already at the mid-Star Shine Stage, while you’re still at the Starlight Stage. It took him just over a month to catch up to most geniuses. Don’t you think you should be working harder?"

"I know, I promise I’ll work hard tomorrow."

"Tomorrow is too far away. Seize the present," Jiang Xinyu said, shutting down her computer and standing up. "Come with me."

"Sis, are you trying to kill me? It’s ten o’clock already! I have school tomorrow!"

"For the past two years, I haven’t gone to bed before midnight."

"But I’ve already showered..."

"You can shower again; we can afford the water. No more excuses. Follow me to the Training Room!"

Xincheng grumbled under his breath, "Hmph! Just because you’re upset, you take it out on me. If you’ve got the guts, go bother Lan!"

"What did you say?" Jiang Xinyu’s voice was dangerously soft.

"Nothing! I’m coming right now!" Xincheng shivered, shook his head quickly, and reluctantly got up to change his clothes.