Chapter 406: The Competition Enters Its Endgame (3k)
Wende’s unexpected death spread throughout Seattle, catching many by surprise. The captain’s death and the severe injury of the priest directly led to Cambridge University being eliminated before the top six, not even getting a chance to compete in the resurrection round.
“I am no match for you. Please win the remaining matches for Magic Capital.”
Su Jiu’s opponent in the semi-finals was a fellow student from her school, a martial arts enthusiast senior sister. The senior sister merely glanced at Su Jiu, gave her instructions, and then smiled and shook her head as she left.
Since they were from the same school, the martial arts enthusiast senior sister’s actions were within reasonable limits. If one couldn’t win, they could forfeit, allowing the other team to remain in peak condition.
The competition then entered another break. The organizers announced that due to the monsters outside being cleared, the team competition was canceled.
Unexpectedly, this did not elicit much protest from the audience; there were only minor discussions. After all, Su Jiu’s matches had consistently brought them surprise and excitement.
Some who knew Su Jiu’s identity did not consider Wende’s death a coincidence, but they wouldn’t say much. After all, those who truly knew Su Jiu’s identity wouldn’t be foolish enough to offend such a young elder for the sake of a dead person.
Of course, there were exceptions.
Meanwhile, at the Henry family’s estate in the United States, everyone had solemn expressions. The leader, dressed in a wide tailcoat, possessed a tall physique radiating an immensely powerful aura. In the center of the group was a screen displaying a photo of Su Jiu.
“Regardless of whether my son was involved with her, this Dragon Country girl named Su Jiu must be buried with him. Are there any honored guests willing to go? I am willing to pay a satisfactory price for your transport.”
He gently tapped the table, gazing at the photo for a long time, before finally speaking slowly, his voice carrying an undeniable tone of finality.
Soon, a robust man with white eyebrows and hair slowly stood up, straightening his muscular body. He tilted his neck a few times, the bones cracking, and grinned, saying, “Family Head, I can go and hunt down this girl. I happen to need a short human mannequin.”
“Bairnis, your strength is close to the Demigod Level, right? Killing this girl, who is at the Intermediate Battle King level, should be no problem. However…”
The Henry Family Head nodded with a smile, but then, as if recalling something, said with great seriousness, “We cannot make a move now, nor can we make a move within that country. You must wait until the World Competition awards ceremony, gather people, and then make your move when they are heading to the southern part of Asia in Bear Country.”
“So late?”
Mr. Strongman Bairnis was slightly taken aback, then his snow-white eyebrows furrowed slightly. He asked in confusion, “I understand about the World Competition, Family Head, as there will be many strong individuals. But why not in Dragon Country? It shouldn’t take me long to kill an Intermediate Battle King, should it?”
“Your brute strength is indeed exceptional. You are basically invincible among those at the High-Rank Battle King level.”
Upon hearing this, the Henry Family Head glanced at him. He looked out at the snowflakes blowing outside the window and, after a moment, said deeply, “But if you kill the World Competition champion on that land, not only will you die, but I will also be targeted by those hounds.”
“Those people are extremely sensitive to intrusions by foreign forces.”
…
Days and nights passed. Wende’s incident caused the final match against Stanford University to be postponed to a week later. After all, the pressure from the Henry family quickly reached the competition organizers. Of course, with Yun Mo present, the Henry family’s request to have Su Jiu undergo a lie detector test to determine if she had murderous intent was reported.
Su Jiu was happy to have some leisure time. She waited for her excellent level two divine holy attribute and began the process of absorption and fusion. She predicted that after absorbing it, her basic attributes would likely increase further.
Currently, her attributes, without any amplification, were roughly equivalent to the late stage of the Initial Stage Battle King. If she could defeat early stage Intermediate Battle Kings by using various skills, it would be easy.
After completing her tasks, she asked E Huo to guard her. In the quiet room, faint moonlight streamed in through the window.
“Knock knock!!”
Su Jiu sat cross-legged on the white bedsheet, the space around her slightly fluctuating. A dark, small heart, constantly beating, floated between her eyebrows. It appeared as if tiny black flames were consuming it, and clusters of dark light began to swirl around Su Jiu.
The absorption lasted for nearly half a day. When the pale, cool sun shone in through the window, Su Jiu slowly opened her eyes. The bright white little flower had turned a dark gray, losing some of its ethereal quality and gaining a hint of malice.
There was no change in her attribute type as expected. However, strangely, Su Jiu found that her control over the Dark Erosion attribute had solidified by two points, which was an unexpected pleasant surprise.
“I can feel my basic attributes within my body steadily rising. Without any amplification, I should be comparable to an early stage Intermediate Battle King. If I activate the ultimate version of Elegy, my strength will truly reach the middle stage of the High-Rank Battle King.”
“If I combine it with Holy Grime or Life Frost, and if I were to face Kyoungde again, I would certainly not be as disheveled as I was before.”
Su Jiu clenched her fist slightly, walked to the window, stretched, and basked comfortably in the cool sunlight. She watched the people coming and going in the street, with a week left.
First, she would go to the school to get medicine for Bairnis from Dean Zi, and then she could go find Bai Zhi. She would also go to the Southwest Military Region to pick up her younger brother for the New Year and show E Huo to her father.
“E Huo, when the time comes, I’ll take you back to try some specialty dishes from Dragon Country.”
“Mhm, mhm.”
Thinking this, Su Jiu turned to look at E Huo, who was devouring slices of meat. She walked over and petted its head. Then, as E Huo looked at her expectantly, she began to take ice-attribute medicinal herbs from her ring and eat them in small bites, savoring their bitterness and minty flavor.
Next, she needed to strengthen her understanding of the Ice Cicada’s domain. Once she had a domain, her journey to the Northern Country would have more assurance.
She was not like Bai Ming, who was favored by the Snow Demon Princess. In this battle between two races where High-Rank Battle Kings would appear, strength was the most important asset.
“All five High-Grade Magic Crystals are gone, and I’ve eaten over a dozen ice-attribute General-Slaying medicinal herbs. I forcibly used Elegy to comprehend the domain, and now I’m broke again.”
…
A few days passed. Su Jiu exhaled a breath of turbid air. Her aura had strengthened slightly, and she had gained a new understanding of the ice attribute domain. However, her strength had not yet truly reached the Half-King Level, so she couldn’t manifest it.
She felt that she couldn’t use the Ice Cicada domain and was likely missing two things. Approximately one was Half-King strength, and the other was the advanced bloodline in the mysterious space, as the true Ice Cicada bloodline was only A-level.
“Today should be the last day of the competition, right?”
Shaking her head, she took E Huo’s hand and headed towards the competition venue. Today would usher in the most exciting climax, as it was the final of the World Competition. Although the outcome was known early on, everyone’s eyes were still filled with anticipation.
Su Jiu’s strength was like that of a great demon king. The audience’s anticipation shifted from expecting her victory to expecting whether this great demon king could be defeated by the “hero” from Stanford University, though the odds were about the same as buying a lottery ticket.
The finals did not have the usual flashy introductions. The captains of both sides would meet directly, and the competition would commence immediately after their meeting.
As Su Jiu passed through the dimly lit player-only tunnel and stood on the competition field again, the cheers almost turned into an ocean that threatened to engulf her.
She looked at the densely packed crowd for a long time before her gaze fell on Morin opposite her on the stage. Seeing the familiar “mage” outfit on him, she then smiled and said, “We meet again.”
“I am no match for you at all. My teacher and I are already very satisfied with our team getting second place in the competition. This is a token of my appreciation…”
Hearing Su Jiu’s words, a hint of helplessness appeared in Morin’s khaki eyes. He then forced a smile and slowly stepped forward a few more steps, taking out a storage bag and handing it to Su Jiu.
Su Jiu was slightly taken aback by Morin’s action. She then took the storage bag, hung it around her waist, and said righteously, “This is the World Competition, Classmate Morin. Please do not try to bribe me!”
Seeing Su Jiu’s smooth hand movements, Morin twitched the corner of his mouth but still waved his hand, smiling as he explained, “It’s not a bribe or anything. Some classmates who read your books are genuinely in awe of what you’ve done.”
Nodding somewhat suspiciously, Su Jiu glanced around at the audience shouting for the competition to begin. She gently patted E Huo’s head and asked with a smile, “Are you still planning to compete?”
Finally facing this question, Morin turned to look at his teammates and saw expressions of fear on all of their faces. They shook their heads like rattle drums, and then he withdrew his gaze, smiling helplessly at Su Jiu and saying, “We can’t compete. I know very well that our team is actually inferior to Wende’s team. Rather than letting the team members get injured, it’s better to concede early.”
More than anyone else, he understood Su Jiu’s true identity. He suspected that she hadn’t even used her full strength against Wende. Moreover, the title of “Night Watcher” was no less formidable than an assassination organization in the eyes of foreigners.
Su Jiu had directly killed Wende and was still playing coy. Who knew if she would kill him too?
Just as everyone anticipated the start of the match, the two on the stage staged a dramatic performance. Everyone in Morin’s team agreed to concede, which momentarily stunned the referee.
The referee, dressed like a dragonfly captain, did not dare to make a direct ruling. Instead, he looked towards the judges’ area, awaiting their reaction.
The judges deliberated for a long time and finally had the representative from Bear Country speak. He stood up, lowered his voice towards the boisterous audience, and slowly announced the competition results: “In this World Competition, Magic Capital University’s ‘Moyu Squad’ has emerged victorious. The title of World Competition champion belongs to Frost Blade, and Stanford University has obtained second place… The rewards will be presented to their respective countries. In one month, the organizers will invite the members of the top ten teams to Bear Country for a marrow-cleansing activity.”
Upon hearing the representative’s words, a smile appeared on Su Jiu’s face. She could finally stop wasting time here. She then took out her phone and sent a message to Bai Zhi:
[I’ll come see you in a week. Can you give me your location?]
