53: Chapter 53 Xiao Qingwu Admits Defeat?

Never could anyone have imagined that the two top geniuses, who had crushed the entire field all the way and remained undefeated, would collide prematurely at the threshold of the top ten!

You must know that up to this point in the City Tournament, Xiao Qingwu's dominance could be described as unbeatable.

Across three rounds of combat, she had never gone all out, summoning only fifty Xueli Ice Luan from beginning to end—a number far fewer than the vassal legions of other contestants.

Yet in every match, she only needed to gently raise her jade hand and activate her innate divine ability, Thousand-Mile Frost Lock. An extreme frosty aura would instantly cover the entire arena, completely freezing and instantly shattering all of her opponent's vassals. The battle would end in a second, an absolute crush without a single suspense.

She was the only S-Class genius in the entire City Tournament, the universally acknowledged ceiling, and her calls for the championship ranked at the top, unshakable by anyone.

At this moment, the early duel between two dark horses and two top powerhouses could be called a collision of destiny!

On the arena, Lin Ye looked at Xiao Qingwu opposite him, whose figure was aloof and whose temperament was extraordinary, and felt a slight hesitation in his heart.

He had not yet completed the S-Class evolution of the Marrow-Eating Demon Hound, lacking high-end combat power. If he were to fight with all his might, he would inevitably expose the combat power of his entire legion and might even be forced to use his hidden trump cards.

If it were purely for a spot in the top ten, exposing his foundation too early would yield losses that outweighed the gains, instead plunging the subsequent State Competition into passivity.

For a moment, the thought of directly conceding and retaining his trump cards even sprouted in Lin Ye's heart.

Yet just the second before his mind flickered and he prepared to raise his hand to concede—

Under the gaze of everyone in the audience, at the very moment when the eagerly anticipated peak duel was about to begin—

Xiao Qingwu gently lowered her raised jade hand, withdrew the biting frigid spiritual energy around her body, and spoke softly. Her voice was clear and transparent, spreading across the entire venue:

"I concede."

Those short three words sounded like a thunderclap, instantly flipping the entire audience!

Everyone was instantly stunned in place, their pupils contracting sharply and their faces filled with disbelief!

"Did I hear that right? The S-Class ceiling, Xiao Qingwu, actively conceded?!"

"The number one person who crushed the entire field and remained undefeated directly gave up the match for the top nineteen to enter the top ten?"

"This is a spot in the City Tournament top ten, the ticket straight to the State Competition! Why would she actively yield it to Lin Ye?"

The sound of uproar was overwhelming, and the entire government hall boiled completely. No one could understand this cognitive-defying scene.

Standing in the corner of the crowd, Ye Feng's face turned livid instantly, his fists clenched tightly, and the grievance and anger in his heart were almost about to gush out.

He had tried his best and overdrawn his resources wanting to crush Lin Ye, yet even an S-Class genius could do nothing to the other party; as a result, Xiao Qingwu actually took the initiative to concede and escorted Lin Ye to advance directly!

"On what grounds?!"

On the arena, Lin Ye was also slightly stunned, raising his eyes to look at Xiao Qingwu, who was walking over slowly.

"You don't have to go easy on me." Lin Ye spoke with a flat tone, "If we really fought, the outcome would be unknown."

Xiao Qingwu walked up to him, her aloof eyes looking straight at him, clear and transparent as if she could see through all his disguises and trump cards. Her voice was gentle yet incomparably firm:

"I am not going easy on you."

"I just don't want you to expose your full strength too early."

"I can tell that you are hiding very deeply. The Marrow-Eating Demon Hound has never been your only trump card; you have other powerful vassals under your command, and their combat power is definitely not inferior to anyone's."

"If we fought with all our might in this match, in order to win, you would inevitably use all means, exhausting all your trump cards and exposing them completely in the eyes of all geniuses in Quanzhou."

"The City Tournament is just a warmup; there's no need to expose your trump cards here."

Her transparency and insight made Lin Ye's heart stir slightly.

This seemingly aloof and indifferent girl had a mind far more delicate and profound than anyone else.

Xiao Qingwu raised her eyes, a trace of shallow anticipation flashing across the depths of her eyes, and said softly:

"The top ten spots are already secured for both of you and me anyway. I take the initiative to concede, and you keep your trump cards and quietly await the State Competition six days later."

"Lin Ye, I am waiting for you to participate in the Nantan Prefecture tournament together with me."

A soft promise carried a heavy weight.

The referee also snapped back to his senses at this moment, loudly proclaiming the final result:

"Xiao Qingwu concedes! Lin Ye successfully advances to the city's top ten!"

With this, the final top ten slots of this Cangnan City Godhood League were completely locked in!

The boiling discussions of the audience had not yet subsided, and the fully frozen top ten rankings on the light screen made countless people feel startled once more.

Everyone's attention was focused on Lin Ye, who had counterattacked all the way and crushed S-Class geniuses, yet no one noticed that the tenth-ranked name was unexpectedly the unremarkable Wang Hu.

Even many teachers and students of Cangnan No. 3 High School were full of astonishment at this moment, completely not expecting that Wang Hu had also steadily crossed the line to charge into the city's top ten.

You must know that this City Tournament gathered numerous geniuses; A and A+-class powerhouses from fifteen key high schools were everywhere, and countless deep-rooted seeded players fell one after another in the knockout rounds. Yet Wang Hu, whose initial aptitude was only B-Class, abruptly fought his way out of the siege.

No one knew that Wang Hu's top ten spot was obtained a hundred times more difficultly than Lin Ye's, which could be described as exhausting everything and being extremely tragic.

Unlike Lin Ye, whose path was relaxed and smooth with restraint and crushing victories, several byes, and even being actively yielded a match by powerhouses, every round of advancement for Wang Hu was a life-or-death battle.

Especially in the previous position-seizing battle for the top ten out of nineteen, he encountered an A+-class beast-type genius from a key high school. The opponent's vassals were numerous in quantity and possessed extremely strong physical resistance, perfectly holding back the flame burst of the Crimson Flame Heavenly Ape.

Under desperate circumstances, Wang Hu no longer held anything back and completely exhausted all his foundations.

Not only did he urge his core vassal, the Crimson Flame Heavenly Ape, to engage in a berserk bloody battle, but he also summoned all the reserve vassals sealed within his divine kingdom into the world. The Thunder Dome War Eagle, Nether Poison Spider, and Cold Tide Water Wolf all came out together, enveloping the opponent overwhelmingly.

Countless lower-tier vassals traded lives for injuries and consumed the enemy layer by layer. The Crimson Flame Heavenly Ape withstood the opponent's fierce attacks and fought hard, burning up all the origin flames in its body, and abruptly wore down the opponent's vassal legion.

After the entire match was fought, the vassals under Wang Hu's command were nearly depleted, most of his reserve vassals were completely annihilated, and the Crimson Flame Heavenly Ape was also covered in wounds with its origin overdrawn, barely securing victory relying on the last shred of residual strength.

This top ten spot was a result he fought for in a solid bloody battle, without a shred of luck; it was entirely obtained by risking everything.

"Not bad, Wang Hu! You managed to squeeze into the top ten from a bunch of high-tier geniuses!"

"That's too desperate! All vassals came out; this is playing the match by gambling on the entire foundation!"

"As expected, none of those who managed to break through together with Lin Ye are weaklings! Even if their rating is low, their combat power far exceeds ordinary people!"

The discussions in the arena rose and fell one after another. Everyone completely recognized Wang Hu's strength, no longer holding a shred of the contempt they had before.

As the arena atmosphere calmed down slightly, the referee walked slowly onto the ring and loudly proclaimed the final decisive schedule of this City Tournament, instantly grasping the attention of everyone in the audience.

"The top ten knockout round has ended. Next, we will open the ultimate schedule of this Cangnan City Godhood League—the top ten to top five round-robin points tournament!"

"This schedule will finally finalize the five qualification slots for the state-level league to represent Cangnan City in fighting for the Nantan Prefecture tournament!"