47: Chapter 47: The Freshman Competition Ends, Champion!!

The Freshman Competition had been going on for a day. Although it was summer, the sun was gradually setting.

At this moment, only a faint afterglow of the sunset remained on the horizon.

“Brother Song, how do you know me?”

Seeing that the other party didn't attack immediately, Su Mu voiced his question.

“I was the second-place scorer in this year's Ability College Entrance Examination. So, I have looked up to Brother Su for a long time.”

Su Mu felt that the person's tone was very strange, as if there were thorns hidden in cotton.

He immediately lost interest in further conversation, picking up his spear to prepare for battle.

song own glanced at the fading afterglow, a smile curling at the corners of his mouth.

Drawing two straight swords, he clashed with Su Mu.

'Bang! Clang—'

The sound of weapons clashing rang out continuously, and song own gradually fell into a disadvantage.

After Su Mu delivered a spinning downward chop, song own was forced back repeatedly until he hit the edge of the arena, a trace of blood leaking from the corner of his mouth.

However, song own didn't look disappointed after hitting the edge; instead, he looked excited.

Because at the exact moment he hit the arena edge, the last of the afterglow in the sky had completely vanished.

“Su Mu, surrender!”

At this moment, song own dropped his previous friendly facade. His eyes were sharp and filled with confidence, as if he already had Su Mu right where he wanted him.

Su Mu didn't understand why he would say such a thing out of the blue, but surrendering was definitely impossible.

“Stop talking nonsense and show me what you've got!”

...

“The little guy was still too careless! If he had used his full strength from the start, he would have won by now. But now that it's dark, things are completely different. That Song kid has an A-rank Elemental Ability: Shadow Erosion.

Once night falls, it becomes extremely difficult to defend against.”

Professor Lu Ming, who had been conversing with Yang Wendao earlier, spoke up to explain.

Yang Wendao continued to watch Su Mu below with a smile.

“Old Lu, that's just how it goes. Even if it were you or me fighting, we wouldn't use our full strength right away. One can only say the Su kid has a bit of bad luck.”

Several professors couldn't help but sigh. In their view, Su Mu's luck was indeed poor; as long as he hadn't met song own in the final round, Su Mu would have been a guaranteed winner.

If the previous round of combat had ended just two minutes earlier, Su Mu would have also been certain to win.

But fate is a fickle thing, and as luck would have it, they met in the final match.

The professors watched the arena below, as if they could already see Su Mu being defeated and knocked off the stage.

Yang Wendao spoke up at that moment, “Do you all think Su Mu is destined to lose?”

The other professors and teachers didn't know how to answer, so Professor Lu Ming spoke up again.

“Elder Yang, although the Su Mu you favor is indeed very strong, with the boost from the night, song own's strength will increase by at least fifty percent. Moreover, Shadow-type combat techniques are very hard to detect in the dark.”

The other professors nodded in agreement, believing Professor Lu was right.

“How about this then? This year's students at Modu Ability University are so outstanding, and the two fighting below are the first and second place finishers of this year's national Ability College Entrance Examination.

We old bones shouldn't be stingy either. How about we add a little wager to this match?”

The professors looked at each other with varying expressions—excitement, thrill, and some awkwardness—but none seemed troubled. It was clear the professors didn't object to the proposal.

“Elder Yang! Tell us, how should we add to the wager?”

Yang Wendao's eyes twinkled.

“Let's do this: each of us will put up one A-rank cultivation resource. Since you favor song own, you'll bet on his victory.

Naturally, those who bet wrong will give their resource to the final winner.”

Besides the two principals, there were four professors present.

Of course, Modu Ability University didn't have only four professors; there were actually dozens. It was just that some didn't like joining the crowd, and others weren't taking disciples this year.

Principal Lin He immediately spoke up, “I think that's fine. Either way, they are both students of our Modu Ability University.”

As she spoke, she took out a multicolored flower and placed it on the table in front of her.

“Since both principals are in such high spirits, I should naturally join in. I'll put up a Grade 6 Clarity Pill and bet on song own to win.”

With one person agreeing, the other professors naturally didn't want to be left behind and brought out resources to place their bets.

Yang Wendao also took a water droplet out of his storage ring.

“Then I'll bet on Su Mu's victory. By the way, Principal Lin, you didn't say who you were betting on when you put down your resource.”

Principal Lin He looked at the two fighting on the arena.

“I'll bet on Su Mu to win!”

When the professors heard Principal Lin He also betting on Su Mu, they couldn't help but look toward the arena.

At this moment, only Su Mu could be seen on the stage.

Su Mu relied on the enhanced perception from his Dark Thunder Domain to continuously dodge song own's attacks.

Although it looked perilous, song own hadn't actually touched Su Mu once.

Feeling the movements in the surrounding shadows, a bold idea sprouted in Su Mu's mind.

Yang Wendao had said before that his ability was the result of a fusion between Shadow and Thunder elements, but so far Su Mu had only used the Thunder element and hadn't tried to develop the Shadow element.

Standing on the arena, Su Mu tried desperately to sense the shadows, attempting to merge into the darkness.

The Dark Thunder Domain slowly began to change. Strands of electric arcs gradually turned into shadow tentacles.

If the previous Dark Thunder Domain was dominated by the Thunder element, the current Dark Thunder Domain was dominated by the Shadow element.

A Thunder-dominated domain could greatly enhance Su Mu's perception, and if he strengthened the externalized energy, the domain would become a Lightning Prison similar to a barrier.

Now, the Shadow-dominated domain was more like a swamp, a trap. Anyone caught within the domain would be like someone stuck in a mire; not only would their movements be restricted, but they would also be continuously eroded.

‘I finally succeeded!’

Actually, Su Mu could have ended the battle just by relying on his Eye of Prediction, but he had realized he could change the form of his domain.

He was ecstatic!

Now that Su Mu had two domain variations, his strength had increased by at least fifty percent. Most importantly, his combat style became more flexible, and he could now learn Shadow-type combat techniques.

Through the exchange with song own, Su Mu also felt that Shadow-type techniques were very useful—not only were they stealthy, but their single-target lethality was also very strong.

song own was only at the peak of the First Stage, yet he could fight Su Mu, who was at the early Second Stage. The main reason was the combination of the night and the Shadow element.

Just then, song own swung his sword toward Su Mu's back. But just as the blade was about to strike,

Su Mu's entire body turned into a shadow and vanished from the spot.

'Clang'

The sword fell to the ground, letting out a crisp sound.

Su Mu grabbed song own's hand and, with a slight exertion of force, threw him completely out of the arena.

The battle was over. Within Su Mu's domain, any Shadow-type combat technique had nowhere to hide.

“The champion of the Freshman Competition has been born! It is Su Mu!”

The host's voice rang out once again.

Cheers instantly erupted across the training grounds.

Yang Wendao couldn't help but laugh out loud.

“Hahaha! Good lad.”

The professors were also dumbfounded. They hadn't expected Su Mu to turn the tables like that.