Chapter 342 – Opponent?

Star Lake City, Star Lake Training Center:

“Not bad! Not bad!” Markless Blade sighed in relief when he saw the scene shown in the combat hall’s holographic broadcast. “My reputation would be ruined if Black Flame couldn’t even get into the top 10.”

“You’d be dead if you let Big Sis Blood Arrow hear this, Markless. The Guild has already issued an ultimatum to show Black Flame the might of Heavenly Boa so that we can convince Gentle Snow to join Heavenly Boa,” the handsome young man watching the broadcast next to Markless Blade said. “Now that Black Flame has squeezed into the top 10, his fame is bound to rise even further. It’d be terrible for us if a conglomerate ends up extending an invitation to him.”

“Don’t worry. Black Flame won’t get away,” Markless Blade said with a confident smile. “I know what Big Sis Blood Arrow is capable of. It might be a different story if Black Flame failed to get into the top 10, but now that he has gotten in, he’d have to fight against Big Sis Blood Arrow. At that time, he’ll come to learn the limit of his abilities. It’ll also become easier for me to persuade Gentle Snow.”

“While I agree with you on Big Sis Blood Arrow’s strength, I can’t say the same for the matter with Gentle Snow. According to our investigations, Gentle Snow seems to share close ties with Black Flame,” the handsome youth worriedly said. “I don’t think teaching Black Flame a lesson will be enough to convince Gentle Snow to join Heavenly Boa. It might even work against us…”

Neither the handsome young man nor Markless Blade was concerned that Empress Blood Arrow Leroja would have trouble teaching Black Flame a lesson. Black Flame’s achievement of holding his ground against a Silver Combat Puppet and instantly killing nearly 30 experts might be incredible, but Leroja could easily replicate these feats and improve on them with the help of her Divine Twilight Set. The problem was what would happen after Leroja defeated Black Flame. While they hoped this outcome would make it easier to persuade Gentle Snow to join Heavenly Boa, there was also a high likelihood of it working against them.

“You don’t have to worry about that,” Markless Blade said, chuckling. “Big Sis Blood Arrow won’t make Black Flame lose too badly. Not to mention, Zero Wing’s Shi Feng has already offended Chen Qitian. Once the city legion’s selection ends, and the trial battles for official participants begin, Chen Qilin will definitely help Chen Qitian take revenge on Shi Feng. Even if Shi Feng has received the commander’s attention, do you think a vice commander like Chen Qilin can’t take care of a newcomer?

“With Chen Qilin’s decisive personality, he might even make it impossible for Shi Feng to join any ace battle group. When that happens, so long as you and I offer to help him, our actions will definitely leave a good impression in Gentle Snow.”

“That’s a good idea,” the handsome youth said, nodding.

Shi Feng had humiliated the Dawn Light Corporation in Star Lake City, so there was no way Chen Qilin would let him off the hook, even if he shared some ties with Gentle Snow. After all, an undeveloped genius was nothing more than just a genius.

Even if Gentle Snow was monstrously talented, it would take her a long time before she could grow into an actual powerhouse. Moreover, while Gentle Snow had a very high chance of becoming a big shot who could go beyond the realm of mental strength grandmasters in the future, it wasn’t a guaranteed matter. Hence, Chen Qilin had no reason to fear Gentle Snow at all.

Chen Qilin also didn’t need to worry about offending Gentle Snow and being unable to recruit her into the Dawn Light Corporation. Chen Qilin should know that ordinary corporations couldn’t afford to recruit a monster-level genius like Gentle Snow. Only pseudo-upper-ranking hegemonic powers like Heavenly Boa and stronger powers could offer sufficiently tempting resources and status to Gentle Snow. So, even if Chen Qilin offended Gentle Snow due to his actions against Shi Feng, it wouldn’t bring any losses to the Dawn Light Corporation.

Not to mention, Chen Qilin was a late bloomer. He might not have performed as well as Gentle Snow when he first joined the Star Lake Legion, but he had shown rapid growth after joining the city legion and had already become a two-star mental strength grandmaster. So long as he became a three-star mental strength grandmaster, with his young age, the status he enjoyed among the various powers could even rival Gentle Snow’s status. This gave him even less reason to fear offending Gentle Snow.

Most importantly, Star Lake City was the Dawn Light Corporation’s roots. If the corporation dared not take action against Shi Feng simply because it feared Gentle Snow, the corporation’s future in Star Lake City would be bleak.

All of these factors combined made it so that Chen Qilin had to teach Shi Feng a lesson. Moreover, there would be nothing Gentle Snow could do about it.

“But it truly is a pity… Even though the top 10 this time are all paragons, the battle inside the Ancient River’s Heart can’t be broadcast,” Markless Blade said, sighing when he saw the image in the holographic broadcast disappearing.

“It is indeed a pity,” the handsome youth agreed.

Rarely would paragons clash with one another. Not to mention, apart from Blood Empress Leroja, the Rookie Competition this time also saw the participation of the Undefeated Battle Maniac Cross. With these two individuals in the top 10, the finals in the Ancient River’s Heart could be considered the battle of the century.

Yet, they couldn’t see this battle of the century. It didn’t matter even if they were willing to pay a large sum of Star Coins.

The top 10 participants in the Ancient River’s Heart were the only people who could spectate the finals. As for people in the outside world, they would only get to see the final rankings announced in the Ancient River Secret Land.

“Argh! Goddammit! It’s the middle of the day, yet we can do nothing but wait until Big Sis Blood Arrow is done with the competition and share with us her battle video!” Markless Blade said, feeling even more frustrated than the handsome youth as he looked at the midday sun outside the window.

Empress Blood Arrow Leroja and Undefeated Battle Maniac Cross were both regarded as invincible individuals at Tier 4. They were also mostly done with their preparations at Tier 4 and would soon take on the challenge of creating their own Tier 5 Epic Mana Body. Hence, this was most likely the first and last time the two fought each other at Tier 4. If Markless Blade couldn’t see the two clashing this time, it was highly unlikely he could get another opportunity to do so.

…

Ancient River Secret Land, Ancient River’s Heart:

Two beams of light descended outside a majestic temple situated in the middle of the Ancient River’s Heart. Immediately, the eight figures waiting outside the temple turned to look at the two new arrivals.

“The competition can finally begin!”

After seeing the arrival of the last two participants, a simple-looking man with a lean but powerful body reached for the two sharp axes he carried on his back. Then, he turned to look at a female Ranger with long pink hair, his eyes burning with the desire to fight.

The female Ranger also glanced at the simple-looking man clad in dark-blue armor, the corners of her mouth lifting slightly. Immediately afterward, an aura rivaling Tier 5 Legendary monsters erupted from her body.

As for the other people present, they quietly stepped out of the simple-looking Berserker and pink-haired Ranger’s line of sight. Compared to these two people, most of the other people present had an obviously weaker presence. The only person here who could hold a candle to these two individuals was a savage-looking young man sitting in the corner. However, this young man only glanced at Shi Feng briefly before closing his eyes to rest again.

Meanwhile, when Midsummer felt the auras of the simple-looking Berserker and pink-haired Ranger, her complexion paled significantly.

“So, they are the two Tier 4 invincibles of the past?” Midsummer was greatly shocked by the presence of the Berserker and Ranger. “How am I supposed to fight against these people?”

Truth be told, Midsummer was rather proud of her current strength. After all, she was more or less a fourth-floor expert in the Greater God’s Domain. Combined with her 120% Epic Mana Body and Four Gods Secret Art, she was confident she could hold her ground against even Desolate Fury.

However, when she looked at the simple-looking Berserker and pink-haired Ranger, feelings of fear and powerlessness overwhelmed her mind and body. She couldn’t even begin to fathom the two’s current strength and Concentration standards.

“It’s natural that you can’t beat them in your current state,” Shi Feng said in response to Midsummer’s rhetorical question. “Both of them are most likely equipped with items close to rivaling Legendary Equipment. Both of them have also developed their Concentration to the Tier 5 standard already.”

“Items close to rivaling Legendary Equipment? Tier 5 Concentration?” Midsummer gaped in shock.

With such equipment and Concentration standards, Cross and Leroja could already be put on the same level as veteran Tier 5 powerhouses.

While Midsummer was in shock, the sound of a system notification entered everyone’s ears.

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