111: Chapter 111 Ye Qing, 1v3!
The Arena Defense Tournament officially began.
In the center of the square, ten massive arenas slowly rose from the ground.
Each arena was approximately twenty meters in diameter, with translucent light curtains at the edges separating them from the outside world.
The combat situations on each arena were invisible to one another; only the screens on the main stage could display the footage of all ten arenas simultaneously.
Lin Fan's trio stepped onto Arena Number One.
Light curtains rose from the arena's edges, enveloping the entire stage in a pale blue halo.
The sounds from outside vanished instantly.
Ye Qing leaned against the light curtain at the edge of the arena, looking at the blurred figures outside.
"This is actually quite convenient. Once the fight is over, we don't have to look at anyone else's faces."
Lin Fan sat cross-legged in the center of the arena, picking Little Rabbit up from his shoulder and placing it on his lap.
He somehow produced a Spirit Leaf and handed it over; Little Rabbit sniffed it and began to nibble on it in small bites.
Ye Wushuang stood on the other side of the arena, still maintaining his cool and aloof demeanor.
Time passed minute by minute.
Outside the light curtain of Arena Number One, no one stopped.
Ye Qing let out a yawn.
"No one's coming? We were the top team in the first round; do we really have that little presence?"
Little Rabbit, having eaten its fill, rolled over on Lin Fan's lap, belly up with its paws in the air.
"It's normal. Everyone wants to pick on the softest targets. The arenas for the lower-ranked teams are the popular ones."
About half an hour later.
Suddenly, figures stopped outside the light curtain.
Lin Fan looked up to see three figures standing outside the light curtain, seemingly discussing something.
One of them pointed at them on the arena and said a few words.
The other two hesitated for a moment before nodding.
A line of text appeared on the light curtain: Challengers—The Sixth-Ranked Team.
Ye Qing was stunned for a moment.
"Sixth place? Weren't they supposed to be defending an arena? Why are they coming to challenge us?"
Lin Fan stood up.
"It means they failed to defend their arena and got knocked off by someone else."
Outside the light curtain, the figures of the three people became increasingly clear.
The newcomers were two men and one woman, all over twenty years old.
Leading the group was a tall male student wearing a blue training uniform with short hair and a prominent mole on his nose.
Behind him followed a man and a woman; the man was burly with a fierce expression.
The woman had her hair in a ponytail, her expression slightly nervous.
The light curtain lowered, and the three stepped onto the arena.
The tall male student glanced at Lin Fan, then at Ye Wushuang and Ye Qing, his lips curling up slightly.
"First place in the first round. I thought you'd be something special, but it turns out you're just a bunch of kids."
Ye Qing raised an eyebrow. "Kids?"
The tall male student crossed his arms, his gaze scanning back and forth across their faces.
"I've been watching you for a while. Your team of three hasn't even reached adulthood yet. You probably won the first round by picking low-level Armor Beasts to speed-run, right?"
Lin Fan was taken aback for a moment, then smiled.
"How did you know?"
Seeing that Lin Fan didn't deny it, the tall male student became even more certain of his judgment.
"Low-level Armor Beasts are weak, so you can clear them fast, which naturally gives a high score. But real combat is different from a simulation. How long can people like you, who relied on tricks to get first place, last on a real arena?"
Lin Fan glanced at Ye Wushuang and then at Ye Qing; neither of them spoke, they just looked at him.
Lin Fan turned to the tall male student and said,
"Then why don't you try?"
The tall male student gave a cold laugh and raised his right hand.
"Armorization!"
The two behind him underwent Armorization at the same time.
The tall male student's right arm and hand were covered in a layer of crimson scales, his five fingers transforming into sharp beast claws with flames dancing at the tips.
His left leg was also covered by a layer of reddish-brown fur-like armor, which looked extremely heavy.
Lin Fan's left eye grew slightly warm as information flashed by.
【Name】: Zhang Kui
【Rank】: Rank 35 Armor Spirit
【Contracted Armor Spirits】:
Scarlet Flame Tiger, Rank 34 Lower Earth Spirit, (Armorization Part: Right Hand.)
Armor Skills: Flame Claw, Rushing Flame Strike, Fire Spirit Bullet, Flowing Flame Tide
Flameburst Mountain Bear, Rank 30 Mid Mystic Spirit, (Armorization Part: Right Arm.)
Armor Skills: Explosive Augmentation, Flame Armor, Shockwave
Flame-Stepping Leopard Cat, Rank 30 Lower Mystic Spirit, (Armorization Part: Left Leg.)
Armor Skills: Extreme Speed Flame Shadow, Violent Flame Kick, Repulsion Fire Ring.
It was obvious that this person followed a specialized path of fire-element heavy assault.
Lin Fan then shifted his gaze to the two people behind him, who followed a similar pattern.
The burly man's left and right arms were both covered in semi-circular, dark brown rock-like shields, with sharp stone spikes protruding from the surface.
When he brought his arms together, they would form a massive shield capable of covering his entire body.
Lin Fan's left eye shimmered again, and the opponent's information surfaced clearly.
【Name】: Zhao Yan
【Rank】: Rank 30 Armor Master
【Contracted Armor Spirits】:
Needle Hedgehog, Rank 30 Lower Mystic Spirit, Armorization Part: Left and Right Arms.
Armor Skills: Piercing Glow, Shield of Thorns, Myriad Thorn Barrier.
He was a Beast Armor Master specializing in defense, and the Armor Spirits contracted to both his arms were of the same kind: Needle Hedgehogs.
Lin Fan then looked at the girl with the ponytail.
A pair of overlapping plates, a mix of blue-gray and silver-white, grew from her back, resembling the folded yet slightly spread feathers of a skylark.
They were much smaller than Lin Wushuang's and looked extremely nimble.
Her right arm featured a different style of armament.
From her shoulder to the outside of her wrist, an emerald-green arm blade with a striking curve had condensed.
It was shaped like the foreleg of an Orchid Mantis—long, slender, and sharp.
Two long, narrow ribbons hung from her waist, drifting slowly around her body like swimming snakes, shimmering with a blurred, illusory brilliance when she turned.
【Name】: Su Qian
【Rank】: Rank 33 Armor Spirit
【Contracted Armor Spirits】:
Swift-Shadow Skylark, Rank 33 Mid Earth Spirit, Armorization Part: Back.
Armor Skills: Wind Blade, Shadow Swoop, Thousand Feather Dance, Small Whirlwind.
Orchid Mantis, Rank 32 Lower Earth Spirit, Armorization Part: Right Arm.
Armor Skills: High-Speed Slash, Petal Shadow Mangle, Throat-Sealing Slash, Armor-Piercing Augmentation.
Labyrinth Lizard, Rank 30 Mid Mystic Spirit, Armorization Part: Waist.
Armor Skills: Mimicry Breath-Concealment, Phantom Illusion Clone, Tail-Drop Escape.
Lin Fan hadn't expected this timid-looking girl to follow an agile assassin path, and her strength was even higher than the leader's.
Lin Fan withdrew his gaze, having assessed the situation.
These three could indeed be considered decent among ordinary Beast Armor Masters.
But they were merely "decent."
He and Ye Wushuang exchanged a glance, then both looked at Ye Qing.
Lin Fan raised an eyebrow at Ye Qing.
"You want this?"
Ye Qing was startled.
"Me alone?"
Lin Fan sat back down cross-legged, placing Little Rabbit back on his lap.
"A fire-type heavy assault, a turtle shell, and an assassin—you're taking them three-on-one. Scared?"
Ye Qing rolled her eyes.
"Who are you looking down on?"
Ye Wushuang didn't say anything; he just took two steps back, leaned against the light curtain, and crossed his arms.
Zhang Kui's expression changed.
"What do you mean by this? Looking down on us?"
Lin Fan looked up at him with a look of pure sincerity.
"No, no, I just think the three of you fighting her alone should be enough. If you feel like you're getting the short end of the stick, I can add another person."
Zhang Kui's face turned beet red.
"You!"
Ye Qing interrupted him.
"Stop wasting breath, let's start."
She underwent Armorization instantly, the feelers on her right leg swaying gently as she vanished from the spot.
Zhang Kui's pupils constricted, and he instinctively raised the Scarlet Flame Tiger claws on his right arm to block in front of him.
Bang!
Ye Qing appeared in front of him, her right leg kicking into his crossed arms.
Zhang Kui was kicked back three steps, his arms going numb. He gritted his teeth to steady himself, but before he could react, Ye Qing had vanished again.