Chapter 135: Chapter 135: Second Round, Match 17
76 points!
When this score appeared at the top of the leaderboard in the battle space, the entire arena fell silent for a moment.
It was incredibly strong.
Countless spectators in the stands watched the enlarged "battle replay" on the big screen.
The sharp blade light and the splashing blood were enough to make any student's heart tremble.
"Tantai Feng!"
"Tantai Feng!" As Tantai Feng left, the wide stands erupted with thunderous cheers, echoing in all directions.
This excitement and shouting even surpassed the time when Li Yuan scored 74 points.
Yes, Li Yuan's 74 points were also very strong, fierce and domineering when he defeated Fang Kui.
But the sense of oppression he brought was not as intense as Tantai Feng's.
Although Li Yuan's score far surpassed everyone else's except for Tantai Feng, his high score was somewhat opportunistic.
Tantai Feng? He was alone, wielding dual blades. The speed and eerie sharpness of his blades were enough to make any participant on the stage tremble in fear.
...
"Too terrifying."
"A master of Fourth Stage techniques, killed with a single strike? How strong is he?"
"I suspect he's already at the 'Mental Profundity' level, it's purely a dimensional reduction strike against us."
"Not on the same level at all." Many participants hoping to make it to the third round were whispering to each other, utterly shocked.
However, those who were truly apprehensive about Tantai Feng's outburst were top geniuses like Li Yuan, Gaurav, Kimura Tatsuo, and Shi Ruo, who aimed for the top eight or even the top four.
They were all silently recalling Tantai Feng's blade techniques, wondering if they could block them themselves.
"Can't block it."
"Ten strikes, with dual blades, I could block at most ten strikes." Kimura Tatsuo gritted his teeth, "I am definitely not his match."
Despair!
The opponent was too strong to defeat.
...
"His blades are too fast, the burst speed far exceeds my spear techniques." Gaurav clenched his fists, thinking, "If I defend, I definitely can't hold."
"I must attack."
"Attack against attack, utilizing the advantage of my weapon, there is still hope for victory." Gaurav thought, "But according to the intel, he's best at shield techniques?"
He believed there was hope for victory.
...
"Such fast blades, dual blades."
Li Yuan closed his eyes in thought, "The Flowing Light Blade Technique is known for its speed. According to the battle video Lanyue gave me... the speed of the Flowing Light Blade Technique is based on 'continuous burst power in an instant,' the disadvantage is insufficient explosive power."
"Dual blades further disperse the power of the body and arms, making it difficult for each blade to exert full force, hard to block my thrusts."
Having watched the battle video Lin Lanyue gave him dozens of times, Li Yuan felt as if he had fought Tantai Feng dozens of times.
Extremely experienced.
"Is he really going to fight like this?"
Li Yuan kept simulating and pondering, finally opening his eyes suddenly, "Unless he reaches the 'Mental Profundity.'"
"Otherwise, he is bound to lose!"
...
"Damn, he showed off again." Yu Ming on the stands said displeased.
Beside him, Guan Ying laughed, "Unhappy? Then try to make it to the finals and defeat him."
"Defeat him? No way." Yu Ming shook his head, "His dual blade technique targets the weak, allowing him to kill faster and more efficiently."
"And it also hides his true strength, making it hard for others to gauge his shield technique level."
"But even if he uses dual blades, it's hard for me to win." Yu Ming sighed, "In the elimination rounds, he will definitely use blade and shield."
"This show-off, I know him well, seems casual and unconcerned, but in critical moments, he's very cunning."
...
In the special spectator space, many teachers watching Tantai Feng's outburst were a bit emotional.
"Dual blades like light, shadows following."
"As a freshman, he has trained the Flowing Light Blade Technique to this level, just one step away from comprehending the 'Flowing Light' intent."
"Truly a top genius of Starlight University." These teachers sighed.
The final level of a Tier 2 manual is to comprehend its intent, and once comprehended, it reaches the 'Insightful Heart.'
But these freshmen have only been in school for a few months, many not even 19 years old.
Such talent is incredible.
However, such top martial arts geniuses only emerge a few times a year globally.
"All students have made their moves in this cage battle, who do you think will take first place?" A teacher asked with a smile.
"Tantai Feng, I think he has the highest chance."
"Tantai Feng is most likely, others... Li Yuan has a slight chance."
"Li Yuan? I think Yu Ming and others are similar to Li Yuan."
The teachers expressed their opinions, but undoubtedly, most of them recognized Tantai Feng.
Firstly, Tanitai Feng's strength was indeed extremely strong.
Secondly, the reputation of Starlight University's top genius was more convincing.
...
The ten cage battles in the morning ended, and the ten in the afternoon would start at 2 pm.
Each person's second-round opponents would be as different as possible.
The reason for holding two rounds of cage battles is to ensure fairness as much as possible.
The sum of the points from the two rounds of cage battles is the final 'total score' for the second round.
Li Yuan exited the virtual network.
"All ten matches ended, and it's just past ten o'clock." Li Yuan glanced at the time on his smart wristwatch.
"There are more than three hours until the afternoon match."
"Continue practicing the spear." Li Yuan directly entered the underground martial arts room and took out his spear.
He began to practice silently.
"Dual blades are easy to break!" The spear in Li Yuan's hand moved like a dragon, producing dazzling flashes.
"But according to Dazhuang's words and the video data Lanyue gave me."
"Tantai Feng is simultaneously studying two Tier 2 manuals, the Flowing Light Blade Technique and the Vajra Shield Technique." Li Yuan thought, "Blade and shield combined are very difficult to deal with."
A single blade against a spear undoubtedly puts the blade at a disadvantage.
But the combination of blade and shield against a spear depends on the skill levels of both sides.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
The spear moved like a dragon, producing sharp sounds. This nearly hundred-kilogram Tier 1 top-grade spear seemed alive in Li Yuan's hands.
He practiced repeatedly.
Winning against Tantai Feng? Li Yuan had no absolute confidence. What he could do was to do his best to strengthen his own skills.
Give it his all.
No regrets for the result.
... For over three hours, except for the ten minutes he spent eating, Li Yuan was fully immersed in his practice.
As it approached 2 pm.
[Your spear technique realm has improved from Fourth Stage 79% to Fourth Stage 80%] The notification flashed across the panel.
"80%?" Li Yuan glanced at it.
After comprehending the five moves of the Starry Spear Technique, countless insights had filled his mind.
Therefore, in recent days, Li Yuan's progress in both spear and fist techniques had been rapid.
Suddenly.
"Beep~" The smart wristwatch vibrated. Li Yuan looked down and saw a V-message from Li Yang.
"In the afternoon match, don't let Kimura Tatsuo score." Li Yang's message was simple.
Li Yuan couldn't help but smile, thought for a moment, and replied, "Okay!"
Li Yuan was a bit curious.
What's up with Teacher Li? Why such a big bias against Kimura Tatsuo?
"Since the teacher has spoken." Li Yuan thought for a moment, "Then I'll handle it properly."
...
At 2 pm, Li Yuan entered the virtual network's Starry Sky Combat Network.
He arrived at the battle space, appearing instantly in the spectator stands.
At this moment, only ten minutes remained before the 11th cage battle, and the stands were already packed, definitely exceeding 300,000 people.
"Brother Yuan, go for it, aim for the total score first place." Gu Qianghan smiled.
"Senior Brother, we have no hope."
"All eyes are on you, Senior Brother." Other students also cheered and encouraged.
Although the cage battles were only halfway through, most of the six schools' freshmen who entered the second round now had zero points.
They were self-aware.
The elimination rate from the second to the third round, nearly 95%, was too terrifying, destined that most would stop at the second round.
Soon, as the burly host appeared, the afternoon's 'cage battles' officially began.
And the number of spectators in the stands kept soaring, rapidly increasing from over 300,000 to over 500,000.
"Cage Battle, Match 11, start." The host roared.
In this match, Li Mingyue from South Sea Martial University shone brightly, scoring 26 points.
Her total score for the two rounds was also 26 points.
No choice.
She encountered Tantai Feng in the first round and was killed by him before defeating any opponent.
... In the 12th match, countless spectators, including Li Yuan, were filled with anticipation.
Because, according to the previous list, Tantai Feng was supposed to participate.
Unfortunately, this anticipation lasted only 30 seconds before the entire stands exploded.
Tantai Feng did not appear!
Quickly, on the large screen above the arena, Tanitai Feng's name appeared with the note 'forfeited the second-round cage battle.'
"Forfeited?"
"So confident?" Elite geniuses from various schools were a bit incredulous.
However, upon seeing Tantan Feng's score, they were somewhat relieved.
76 points!
This score was too fierce.
Many top experts, even with two rounds combined, were unlikely to reach this level.
"Damn! Showing off to the extreme."
Yu Ming muttered, "Dare to forfeit? Just wait, he'll fall into a trap sooner or later."
"Say something positive." Guan Ying said helplessly.
...
"He forfeited?" Li Yuan was a bit stunned, then shook his head, "What a pity."
Although there was the battle video from Lin Lanyue, the effects of the same manual vary from person to person.
Watching the opponent's fight directly would have been the most beneficial.
...
Time passed.
One cage battle after another took place. Helian Cheng, Li Jiao, Fang Kui... students who hadn't fully shone in the first round all stood out in the second round of cage battles.
The overall ranking kept changing.
Of course.
Top geniuses like Yu Ming, Guan Ying, and Gaurav, despite their fully revealed strength and the extreme caution of other participants, could still score at least 30+ points due to their overwhelming strength.
Soon.
The 17th cage battle was about to begin.
Swish! Swish! Li Yuan and the other 199 participants in various parts of the stands disappeared instantly.
At this moment, the excitement of the tens of thousands of students in the battle space's stands visibly increased.
Most of them knew.
The highlight of the second round of cage battles was about to begin.
...
Whoosh! Li Yuan and 199 others, dressed in armor and holding weapons, simultaneously appeared on the stage.
Ten seconds later, the battle began.
"Quick, move."
"It's Li Yuan and Kimura Tatsuo."
"Don't engage with them."
"Let's fight." A large group of participants surged to farther parts of the stage, starting to fight each other.
Rather than being mass killed by Li Yuan and Kimura Tatsuo, it was better to seize the time to fight.
This was the thought of most participants.
"Kill!" Kimura Tatsuo, holding a long spear, was about to charge into the crowd.
Boom!
A figure suddenly rushed in front of him, also holding a long spear, blocking his way.
"Li Yuan?" Kimura Tatsuo was slightly surprised.
In this cage battle, the last person he wanted to encounter was Li Yuan.
However, Kimura Tatsuo never expected that the other party would find him first.
"Li Yuan, what do you mean?" Kimura Tatsuo looked at Li Yuan warily.
"Nothing."
"Just that killing others is no challenge, I want to see how strong you are." Li Yuan smiled.
Before he finished speaking.
Whoosh! The long spear in Li Yuan's hand moved like a dragon, tearing through the air, thrusting at Kimura Tatsuo like lightning.