158: Chapter 158 From...The Champion's Challenge?

Lu Cheng's figure paused on the commentary stand for only a fraction of a second.

The next second, he bolted out.

His jacket slipped from his shoulder, landing beside the notebook Su Wan had just packed up.

He tapped his toes against the railing of the commentary stand, using the momentum to vault over the partition wall of the front row of seats and land on the steps of the spectator aisle.

He was terrifyingly fast.

The surrounding spectators hadn't even realized what had happened; they only felt a gust of wind sweep over their heads. When they looked up, they only saw a blurred back figure already rushing to the end of the aisle.

Lu Cheng's gaze was locked tightly on the direction from which the chill had just come.

That position was at the corner of the spectator exit.

Two seconds.

It only took him two seconds to reach the corner. When his right foot stepped on the ground, a crack appeared in the stone pavement. He used the force to brake sharply, bringing his body to a dead stop while moving at high speed.

Behind the corner, there was nothing.

An empty evacuation corridor, the emergency lights overhead emitting a pale light, and a few crushed beverage cups scattered on the ground.

The fire door at the end of the corridor was still swaying slightly, a sliver of daylight filtering through the gap.

Lu Cheng stared at that fire door for two seconds.

The door was still swaying, meaning the person had just left.

But he didn't pursue.

The chill of Seeking Good Fortune and Avoiding Bad Luck had already faded.

"Ran pretty fast, didn't you."

Lu Cheng withdrew his gaze and turned back. He had only taken two steps when he was blocked.

Seventeen or eighteen people crowded into the corridor entrance. The girls in school uniforms at the front were holding their terminals, their screens still displaying screenshots of Lu Cheng from when he was commentating.

A crowd followed behind them, blocking the corridor entrance completely.

"Lu Cheng! It's Lu Cheng!"

"Why did he suddenly run away just now? You scared me!"

"Lu Cheng! Will you still be commentating for tomorrow's final?!"

"Can we take a photo, Lu Cheng?"

The corners of Lu Cheng's mouth twitched.

He hadn't considered this issue at all when he rushed out just now.

Now that people were blocking the way, he couldn't leave even if he wanted to.

Just as he was looking down to sign a notebook for a girl, a commotion broke out on the periphery of the crowd.

The people blocking the corridor entrance automatically parted to both sides.

Shen Guhong walked in from the middle of the crowd.

The black blindfold on his face was particularly striking under the corridor lights. His pace wasn't fast, but with every step he took, the people around him instinctively took a half-step back.

That sense of oppression wasn't something he was intentionally releasing; it was the aura inherent to a powerhouse of the War King Realm.

Su Wan followed behind him, holding the jacket Lu Cheng had dropped on the commentary stand.

Shen Guhong walked up to Lu Cheng and tilted his head.

"What's wrong?"

Lu Cheng returned the pen to the girl, turned to look at Shen Guhong, and shook his head.

"My Talent just triggered."

He kept his voice very low when he said this, and the fans around them were still chattering, so no one noticed what he was saying.

The corners of Shen Guhong's mouth sank slightly.

Lu Cheng continued: "It might not be peaceful these next two days."

He paused and looked at Shen Guhong.

"Tell Dean Mei to make some preparations in the Imperial Capital in advance."

Shen Guhong nodded; he was already aware of this plan.

From the moment Mei Wushuang decided to have Lu Cheng come to the Imperial Capital as a guest commentator, all possible situations had already been taken into consideration.

"Let's go back." Shen Guhong turned and walked toward the outside of the corridor.

When the three of them squeezed out of the fan group, Sister Bai happened to be walking over from the commentary stand side.

She had changed into a pair of flat shoes, and the sound of her walking was much lighter than when she wore high heels.

"I'm telling you three, can you not pull these surprise attacks every time?" Sister Bai held her forehead. "Just now, Lu Cheng zoomed off, I almost thought he was going to get on stage to compete."

Lu Cheng spread his hands: "Unexpected situation."

"Fine, fine, fine," Sister Bai waved her hand. "I'm going back to the hotel first. Tomorrow is the final, don't you guys cause any more trouble."

---

The next day, 2:30 PM.

When Lu Cheng walked into the Arena, he was almost knocked over by the roar of the crowd.

All 150,000 seats were filled; even the steps in the aisles were packed with people.

The giant screens on the four sides of the Arena dome were scrolling through the historical records, player data, and highlight reels of the two finalist teams.

Sister Bai stood at the commentary stand, wearing a bright red cheongsam, holding a microphone.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the final of this year's High School Martial Arts Tournament!"

Her voice rose by a full octave, and she enunciated every word clearly.

"The two sides facing off today are... Imperial Capital No. 1 High School! Jingmen High School!"

As soon as she finished speaking, the whole place exploded.

Dozens of banners were raised in the spectator stands, some reading "Imperial Capital No. 1 High School, Aiming for the Championship," and others reading "Jingmen Tigers, Tear Everything Apart."

The fan zones on both sides were clearly divided. On the left, supporters of Imperial Capital No. 1 High School waved dark blue cheering sticks, while on the right, fans of Jingmen High School held up black flags embroidered with a tiger head.

Lu Cheng sat at the commentary stand and pulled the microphone closer.

"Sister Bai, you've read that ad slogan three times already."

Sister Bai remained calm, her voice still sweet:

"Because the sponsor daddy gave too much money."

Lu Cheng: "Fair enough."

On the ring, the team members from both sides had taken their positions.

Imperial Capital No. 1 High School had five members, with Qin Zhaobai standing at the very front.

He wore a dark blue school uniform with the sleeves rolled up to his forearms, and faint veins could be seen on his exposed arms.

Jingmen High School had five members, with Shi Kaiyue standing at the very front.

His height of 1.9 meters, combined with his solid, hard-trained muscles, made him look like a wall standing there.

The whistle blew.

Shi Kaiyue was the first to move.

He pulled a palm-sized short staff from his waist. The staff was pitch black, with dense Source patterns carved on its surface.

S-Rank Source Weapon, Earth-Splitting Staff.

He slammed the short staff backhand onto the ground.

Boom!

The stone slabs of the ring shattered instantly, and three stone walls rose from the ground. Each wall was two meters high and one meter thick, with gray Source light shimmering on the surface.

The three stone walls crisscrossed the ring at great speed, directly cutting the formation of Imperial Capital No. 1 High School in half.

Qin Zhaobai was separated alone on the left side.

The other four members of Imperial Capital No. 1 High School were cut off on the right side.

Splitting the battlefield.

Lu Cheng held the microphone, his voice steady:

"Shi Kaiyue used an S-Rank Source Weapon right from the start to split the battlefield, completely isolating Qin Zhaobai from his teammates.

This tactical approach is very clear."

Sister Bai followed up: "Why do you say that?"

"Because in a team fight, Jingmen High School has no chance of winning." Lu Cheng's gaze fell on Qin Zhaobai.

"Qin Zhaobai's individual strength is far above Shi Kaiyue's, and he could even take on two at once without a problem.

If the battlefield wasn't split, Jingmen High School would fall apart quickly under Qin Zhaobai's assault.

What Shi Kaiyue needs to do now is very simple... stall."

On the ring, Shi Kaiyue stood in front of the stone wall, his hands hanging at his sides, fists clenched.

He looked at Qin Zhaobai opposite him and didn't move...

He couldn't beat him...

He had known this before the match started, and he felt quite helpless.

Qin Zhaobai had an S-Rank Talent, was the absolute core of Imperial Capital No. 1 High School, and was the undisputed number one in individual strength for this tournament.

In a one-on-one against the ace of Imperial Capital No. 1 High School, his chance of winning was less than 30%.

But his goal wasn't to beat Qin Zhaobai anyway...

Stall for time...

As long as he could hold Qin Zhaobai back and let his own four teammates take care of the other four from Imperial Capital No. 1 High School, then it would be five against one... or three against one. Even if they just wore him down, they could grind Qin Zhaobai to death.

On the other side of the stone wall, the battle between the other eight people had already begun.

Lu Cheng's commentary speed increased: "Four from Imperial Capital No. 1 High School are fighting four from Jingmen High School. The Jingmen High School side is all power-type hard-training practitioners, while the Imperial Capital No. 1 High School side has a standard balanced configuration: two attackers, one controller, and one defender."

Sister Bai asked: "Which side has the advantage?"

"The advantage of power-based hard-training in the early stages is far greater than that of cultivating Source Power."

As soon as he finished speaking, a muffled sound exploded on the ring.

A bald team member from Jingmen High School punched the metal shield of an Imperial Capital No. 1 High School defensive player.

The shield deformed on the spot, and the player holding it was knocked back four steps, each step leaving a shallow pit in the stone floor.

Hard-training martial artist.

Those four words weren't just for show.

At the Source Gathering Realm stage, the power of Source Techniques is limited.

At this time, the difference in physical strength directly determines the outcome.

The five members of Jingmen High School had all grown up practicing hard-training techniques.

Their physical strength was far higher than other contestants of the same level.

Although the four people from Imperial Capital No. 1 High School were not weak overall, in this kind of hard-hitting confrontation, they were at a disadvantage every time they collided.

Four minutes.

The battle on the other side of the stone wall ended.

All four from Imperial Capital No. 1 High School fell to the ground, losing their ability to fight.

Jingmen High School didn't have it easy either; only two remained...

They circled around the stone walls and stood with Shi Kaiyue.

Three against one.

The whole Arena was boiling.

The Jingmen High School fan zone exploded, black flags waving frantically; some people stood directly on their chairs, shouting Shi Kaiyue's name at the top of their lungs.

On the ring, Qin Zhaobai stood in the shadow of the stone wall.

He turned his head and glanced at his four teammates under the ring who were being checked by the medical team.

"A bunch of losers."

He didn't speak loudly when he said this.

But the microphone's pickup was too good, and everyone in the Arena heard it.

The noise in the spectator stands paused for a moment.

Qin Zhaobai withdrew his gaze and began to roll up his sleeves.

On his arms, black patterns emerged from under his skin.

The patterns looked like some kind of ancient runes, spreading from his wrists all the way to his shoulders. Wherever they passed, the color of his skin deepened.

His aura began to surge.

Mid-stage Source Gathering Realm peak.

Late-stage Source Gathering Realm.

Black Source Power overflowed from his body, forming a visible vortex of air around him.

The gravel on the ring was swept up by the vortex, clattering against the stone walls on both sides.

Late-stage Source Gathering Realm.

The whole place went quiet for a moment.

Then it exploded.

"Holy crap! Secret technique! He's using some kind of secret technique that temporarily boosts combat power!"

"Late-stage Source Gathering Realm! How are they supposed to fight this?!"

"No! Look at Jingmen High School!!"

On the ring, Shi Kaiyue and his two teammates looked at each other.

All three of them smiled.

A low roar rolled from deep in Shi Kaiyue's throat. His muscles swelled instantly, his school uniform pulled tight, and the veins on his arms twisted like earthworms under his skin.

His breathing became heavy, every exhale carrying white heat, and his physique grew larger at a visible rate.

The other two also activated their secret techniques.

Three auras erupted simultaneously, colliding with the stone walls to create ring-shaped shockwaves. The five members of Jingmen High School had all reached the late-stage Source Gathering Realm.

Everyone in the spectator stands stood up.

"Three against one!"

"They're all late-stage Source Gathering Realm! This is going to be hard to fight!"

"Jingmen High School has a huge chance of winning this one!!"

Lu Cheng sat on the commentary stand, watching the four people confronting each other on the ring, and said nothing.

Su Wan paused her movements of packing up her notebook.

On the ring.

There was not a hint of tension on Qin Zhaobai's face.

The next second, all three moved simultaneously.

Shi Kaiyue pressed in from the front, his fists wrapped in heavy earthy-yellow Source Power; every step he took made the ring shake.

Another person cut in from the left, a cold light flashing from the short blade in his hand, aiming straight for Qin Zhaobai's waist and abdomen.

The last person circled to the rear, Source Power gathering in his palm, ready to seal off his retreat.

Pincer attack from three sides.

There was no extra space.

However, Qin Zhaobai only took half a step back.

Black Source Power spread from under his feet like a faint shadow, diffusing along the ring.

The moment Shi Kaiyue's fist smashed down, Qin Zhaobai sidestepped to avoid it, his shoulder almost grazing the wind of the punch.

He raised his hand to clasp Shi Kaiyue's wrist, using the force of the opponent's forward charge to pull him, forcefully making Shi Kaiyue collide with the teammate attacking from the left.

Bang!

The attacks of the two collided, and the Source Power exploded, shaking the protective barrier at the edge of the ring.

The contestant in the back seized the opportunity and slapped his palm toward Qin Zhaobai's back.

Qin Zhaobai seemed to have eyes in the back of his head; his body suddenly sank, avoiding the palm wind while executing a sweeping kick.

That person's footing became chaotic, and he lost his balance entirely.

Before he could stabilize his stance, Qin Zhaobai was already close, his elbow slamming heavily into his chest.

A muffled sound spread.

The contestant took several steps back, his face turning pale, and blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.

Shi Kaiyue roared, forcibly stabilized his body, and rushed up again.

The siege of the three closed in again.

Fist shadows, blade light, and Source Power exploded across the center of the ring. In just a few seconds, the four figures collided more than a dozen times.

But the more they fought, the quieter the spectator stands became.

Because everyone could see it.

This wasn't three people besieging Qin Zhaobai at all.

It was Qin Zhaobai alone, leading the rhythm of all three people.

He wasn't even in a hurry to end the match; instead, he was constantly dismantling their coordination, tearing apart Jingmen High School's last hope bit by bit.

Finally, Qin Zhaobai's eyes turned cold.

Black Source Power erupted suddenly.

Boom!

All three figures were knocked back almost simultaneously.

Shi Kaiyue was the first to fail to hold on; a clear sound of bone cracking came from his left arm, and he fell to his knees.

Another person hit the stone wall, and the aura maintained by the secret technique dissipated instantly. The last person was barely standing, but his face was already deathly pale, and he couldn't even hold the short blade in his hand steadily.

Twenty seconds.

From the three joining forces to besiege him, to all of them losing the ability to fight, only twenty seconds had passed.

The whole place was silent.

Qin Zhaobai stood in the center of the ring, the black patterns on his body slowly fading.

He looked down at the blood on the back of his hand, his expression as calm as if that chaotic battle just now hadn't even made him take it seriously.

He shook his hand, flicking the blood droplets onto the stone floor.

Then he turned around and looked at the commentary stand.

To be precise, he looked at Lu Cheng.

"They say the students of Navigator Academy are the strongest of their generation..."

Qin Zhaobai's voice was captured by the microphone above the ring, clearly spreading to every corner of the Arena.

"I wonder..."

He raised his head, his gaze crossing the protective barrier at the edge of the ring and pinning directly onto Lu Cheng.

"Classmate Lu Cheng, are you interested in suppressing your cultivation to the Source Gathering Realm and giving some pointers to this tournament champion?"

The whole place was dead silent... and then it exploded.