187: Chapter 187 Each Displays Their Unique Abilities

The live stream chat flooded with comments like a pot boiling over.

"Holy crap, this little fox is so cute!"

"What breed is this? How is it so adorable?"

"The tail! Look, the tip of its tail is glowing!"

"Is this Spirit Fox for sale? I'll offer a house for it."

"To the person above, a house wouldn't be enough to buy it, right? This is clearly no ordinary spirit beast."

On the big screen above the Arena, the Spirit Fox lay in the crook of Lu Cheng's arm, its snow-white fur illuminated by the lights like a cluster of fine snow.

The pale gold star pattern on its forehead glowed faintly, and its spirit tail hung down naturally behind it.

The most excessive part was that it seemed to truly understand that the camera was filming it.

After noticing that the entire venue's gaze had fallen upon it, not only was it not stage-frightened, but it leisurely shifted into a more comfortable position.

Then, it gently brushed its tail against Lu Cheng's wrist.

It was as if it were saying: "Human, hold me steady."

Lu Cheng looked down at it, then glanced at the projected chat on the big screen, his expression somewhat subtle.

Wait.

Isn't today the International Youth Martial Arts Exchange Tournament?

Why is everyone's attention on the little fox?

Lu Cheng remained silent for two seconds.

Forget it.

Let it be.

As long as the Little Spirit Fox is happy, it's fine.

The Little Spirit Fox seemed to sense his thoughts; it raised its head and let out a soft cry at him.

"Ying."

Lu Cheng reached out and pressed down on its head, expressionless.

"Stop performing."

...

The various delegations took their seats one after another.

The delegation area for the Dragon Nation was located to the left of the center.

Beside Jiang Xuance lay the Red-Armored Zheng. Upon seeing the Spirit Fox, the little beast twitched its nose, only to be glared back at by the Little Spirit Fox with a noble and icy look.

Tang Zhiwei sat down next to Lu Cheng naturally.

On the other side.

The Nordic Union delegation area.

Elsa Frost-Spear leaned back in her chair, her slender fingers stroking the shaft of her ice-crystal spear. She looked at the Dragon Nation delegation area, her tongue lightly licking her lips, her eyes filled with the excitement of impending battle.

"The people from the Dragon Nation this time don't seem to have much strength."

Her voice was soft, but carried undisguised arrogance.

"Except for that guy with the axe."

She was referring to Heavenly King Lin.

Heavenly King Lin's vitality was so dense that even just sitting there, the mountain-like pressure radiating from him was hard to ignore.

In places like the Nordic Union, which venerate strength and mythological heritage, they naturally pay extra attention to such pure physical-type geniuses.

Elsa smiled.

"As for the others..."

Her gaze swept over Gu Changqing, Xu Xinglan, and Ye Beihan, then finally over Lu Cheng.

It landed on the fox in Lu Cheng's arms.

"Has the Dragon Nation started bringing pets onto the field now?"

Holder, sitting nearby, grinned.

"That fox looks quite pretty."

"I just wonder if it can withstand my teeth."

Reinhardt did not smile.

From the moment he entered, his gaze had been fixed on Lu Cheng.

Or more accurately, between Lu Cheng and that Spirit Fox.

The crescent moon mark on his forehead glowed slightly, and a faint circle of moonlight diffused deep within his silver pupils.

A hunter's intuition was warning him.

Danger.

According to the information provided by the Dragon Nation officials, Lu Cheng was only at the early stage of the Meridian Opening Realm...

And the only record was "once killed a mid-stage Hua Hai Realm exotic beast."

Such a record is certainly not weak among young geniuses, but it is just 'not weak.'

Under normal circumstances, Reinhardt wouldn't feel such a strong sense of crisis toward someone listed as only early-stage Meridian Opening Realm...

But his hunter's instinct never failed him.

That person is very dangerous.

Reinhardt spoke slowly.

"Be careful."

Elsa raised an eyebrow.

"Who are you talking about?"

Reinhardt's gaze remained fixed on Lu Cheng.

"The one holding the fox."

Holder laughed.

"Him?"

Reinhardt offered no explanation, his tone dropping even lower.

"Don't get tricked."

Elsa looked at Reinhardt's serious expression, and the smile on her face finally faded a little.

She was no fool.

The Nordic Union's God-Child's hunter intuition had saved them many times.

Since Reinhardt said he was dangerous, then that Dragon Nation youth holding the fox was definitely not as simple as the file suggested.

In the center of the Arena.

Sister Bai began to announce the rules for the first event.

"The first event of this exchange tournament is the Puppet Exhibition Match."

"Each team of seven members will enter the field together to kill Source Energy Puppets within a ten-minute time limit."

"The maximum number of puppets allowed on the field at one time is one hundred."

"Every time a puppet is destroyed, the system will automatically replenish it."

"The final ranking will be based on the total number of kills within the ten minutes."

"First place receives five points, second place three, third place two, fourth place one, and fifth place receives no points."

Her voice was clear, her speaking pace steady.

"Next, the order of appearance for each team will be determined by an on-site draw."

On the big screen, the logos of the five delegations began to scroll rapidly.

The entire audience's gaze fell upon it.

A few seconds later.

The draw results locked in.

[First Match: Eagle Country]

[Second Match: Nordic Union]

[Third Match: Dragon Nation]

[Fourth Match: Sakura Island]

[Fifth Match: Tianlan Ancient Kingdom]

Eagle Country delegation area.

Adam Gray slowly stood up.

The six team members behind him also stood up simultaneously.

Unlike the other delegations, almost every member of the Eagle Country team had obvious signs of mechanical modification.

Some had white prosthetic limbs covering their arms, some had eyes glowing with red electronic light, some had exoskeleton frames attached to their backs, and others had light blue Source Energy pipelines visible on their necks.

Sister Bai's voice sounded accordingly.

"The Eagle Country delegation team enters the field for the first match!"

In the center of the Arena, a countdown lit up.

[3]

[2]

[1]

[Start!]

Boom!

One hundred Source Energy Puppets activated simultaneously.

Adam Gray was the first to charge out.

His speed wasn't extremely fast, but every step he took caused fine cracks to tremble across the ground.

As the first shield-bearing puppet deployed its defense, he had already slammed his fist into the shield.

Bang!

The shield caved in.

The puppet's chest crystal core was shattered.

On the other side, Eve hovered in mid-air, countless data streams flowing through her pale gold pupils.

"Thirty-seven degrees to the front left, three artillery-type puppets."

"Shield-bearing puppets advancing on the right, Logan, intercept."

She was like a mobile command core, linking the entire team's vision and combat rhythm.

Logan Steel-Skull grinned and shoulder-checked directly into the puppet horde.

His mechanical skeleton emitted a low roar; he was like a human-shaped armored vehicle, sending a dozen puppets stumbling around.

The two long-range modifiers in the back opened fire simultaneously.

A rain of Source Energy bullets wove into a net, accurately striking the crystal cores in the puppets' chests.

The Eagle Country team's combat style was not flashy.

But it was extremely stable.

Adam was responsible for tearing open the front line.

Logan was responsible for tanking damage and charging.

Eve was responsible for battlefield calculations.

The remaining team members cooperated like gears, continuously clearing the respawning puppets.

The ten minutes ended.

The final roar subsided.

The numbers on the big screen locked in.

[Eagle Country Delegation Team: 468]

A gasp of surprise echoed throughout the venue.

But because it was the first battle, most of the audience didn't have a very intuitive concept of this number.

Four hundred sixty-eight.

It sounded high.

But just how high was it?

Sister Bai quickly provided an explanation.

"The Eagle Country team's final score is four hundred sixty-eight."

"This is an excellent result."

"Perhaps some audience members don't have a concept of this number."

"According to the general training standards of Dragon Nation universities, it is very difficult for an ordinary seven-member student team to survive until the end when facing forty puppets of the same realm in simulation training."

"And on this field, the maximum number of puppets is one hundred, and they are continuously replenished."

"The fact that the Eagle Country team could destroy four hundred sixty-eight in ten minutes shows that their sustained combat capability, battlefield coordination, and firepower output have far exceeded those of ordinary university teams..."

The chat finally realized.

"Holy crap, they're that fierce?"

"This group from the Eagle Country really doesn't look like students..."

"Adam's recovery ability is absurd; he didn't even react after being slashed by a puppet."

The Eagle Country team exited the field.

As Adam Gray walked off the field, his gaze swept over all the other countries. He knew his advantage didn't lie here, and this number wasn't that high...

His eyes are calm.

No provocation.

Yet it was as if he were evaluating prey...

Second match.

The Nordic Union entered the field.

The moment they stepped onto the field, the temperature seemed to drop a few degrees.

Elsa walked at the front, carrying her ice-crystal spear; Holder loosened his neck, and Reinhardt stood quietly at the back, his silver bow hanging at his side.

The remaining four stood on either side of Reinhardt.

The countdown ended.

The puppet horde activated.

Elsa made the first move.

She flicked her spear, and frost spread out like a tide, causing the movements of the dozen puppets in front to slow down simultaneously.

Holder turned into a black shadow and charged into the puppet horde, his hands tearing open the puppets' chests like beast claws.

The other Northern European team members also unleashed their respective mythological relic inheritances.

Some summoned storms, some deployed ice shields, and others used giant axes to smash through the puppet lines.

Reinhardt stood at the very back of the team, raising his bow, drawing the string, and releasing.

A moon-silver arrow cut through the air.

One arrow pierced three.

Another arrow shattered the crystal core of a back-row artillery puppet.

His arrows seemed to have eyes.

Every shot accurately hit the most critical spots of the respawning puppets.

Sometimes, as soon as a puppet landed, before its chest crystal core had even fully lit up, it was already pierced by a moonlight arrow.

The ten minutes ended.

The numbers on the big screen locked in.

[Nordic Union Delegation Team: 593]

The whole venue was in an uproar.

"Five hundred ninety-three!"

"Over a hundred more than the Eagle Country?"

"This Northern European God-Child is too OP! He handled over half of the puppets by himself."

"Is this the weight of solo-killing a peak Hua Hai Realm exotic beast?"

As Elsa walked off the field, the corners of her mouth curled up slightly.

She looked toward the Dragon Nation delegation area, her eyes carrying a hint of provocation.

"It's your turn."

Heavenly King Lin grinned and stood up.

"Let's go."

The Dragon Nation delegation team entered the field.

The cheers of the entire audience instantly heightened.

Regardless of anything else, this was the Dragon Nation's home turf.

Heavenly King Lin walked at the front, carrying his giant axe, while Gu Changqing, Ye Beihan, and Jiang Xuance entered their combat positions one by one.

Xu Xinglan stood in the middle-rear, a rune pen spinning between her fingertips.

Tang Zhiwei gently adjusted her cuffs, her silver bells emitting a faint sound.

Lu Cheng tossed the little fox aside and walked slowly to the edge of the field.

Then he found a relatively inconspicuous spot and stood there.

He had no intention of attacking at all.

She looked at Lu Cheng on the field, her tone pausing slightly.

"On the Dragon Nation team side, contestant Lu Cheng has not made a move yet."

"Judging from his positioning, he seems to be held in reserve as a trump card."

Academic Director Zhao Mingshan watched this scene from the sidelines, his expression very calm.

Very good.

Lu Cheng was obedient.

The countdown ended.

Heavenly King Lin was the first to charge into the puppet line, his giant axe sweeping across and directly smashing several shield-bearing puppets away.

Gu Changqing's sword light was like a thread, specifically cutting at crystal cores.

Ye Beihan unleashed his Profound Frost Battle Bones, covering the front-row area in cold air, causing the puppets' movements to slow down again and again.

Jiang Xuance and the Red-Armored Zheng moved left and right, tearing open the flanks.

After Xu Xinglan's Source Array spread out, she accurately predicted the puppet spawn points, and the team's output efficiency began to improve.

Although Tang Zhiwei's poison needles had no real toxic effect on mechanical puppets, her Thousand-Mechanism Needles could interfere with the Source pathways in the puppets' joints, causing many of them to experience brief stutters in movement.

The Dragon Nation team fought very steadily.

But being steady also meant they lacked the extremely precise burst efficiency of the Nordic Union team.

Time ticked by second by second.

The numbers on the big screen kept jumping.

[Dragon Nation Delegation Team: 312]

[Dragon Nation Delegation Team: 389]

[Dragon Nation Delegation Team: 441]

The last thirty seconds.

[Dragon Nation Delegation Team: 472]

They were still one hundred twenty-one short of the Nordic Union's five hundred ninety-three.

The chat began to get anxious.

"That's too big a gap!"

"Why hasn't Lu Cheng made a move yet?"

"It'll be too late if he doesn't act now!"

"Is there really something wrong with his condition?"

"Catching up over a hundred in thirty seconds? That's impossible, right?"

Nordic Union delegation area.

Elsa chuckled softly.

"It seems that fox is better at attracting the camera's attention."

"The person is mediocre."

Reinhardt did not speak.

His gaze remained fixed on Lu Cheng.

The next second.

Lu Cheng looked up and glanced at the countdown.

[00:29]

He sighed.

"That's quite a gap."

As his voice fell.

Gold-white dragon scales spread across his arms.

Boom!

Holy Dragon Armament activated.

A terrifying dragon aura instantly swept across the entire field.

The horde of puppets that had been charging came to a simultaneous halt.

The next second.

Lu Cheng disappeared from where he stood.

Bang!

The first puppet exploded.

Then the second.

The third.

The tenth.

The twentieth.

The gold-white afterimage was like a violent beam of light, cutting across the entire puppet field.

Xu Xinglan even immediately adjusted the Source Array, guiding all spawn points toward Lu Cheng.

Gu Changqing, Heavenly King Lin, and the others also quickly cleared the main path.

Tang Zhiwei stood on the sidelines, watching that gold-white afterimage, her eyes somewhat dazed.