109: Chapter 109 Battle Situation

“Yes, at that time he was still in the Late Stage of the Unity Realm, not even at the Peak,” the silver-haired youth confirmed, unable to completely hide the astonishment in his tone.

“That’s only been a month, and he’s already charged into the Momentum Realm? This speed—isn't that a bit monstrous?” The youth with the steady demeanor looked slightly surprised.

“Hmph,” the Prodigy ranked in the top ten, who had previously shown disdain when Lin Xuan cleared the field, now let out an undisguised cold snort. “He’s just a Technique Awakened. Relying on talent to prematurely overdraft potential and stack Realms explosively in the short term, what’s so strange about that? People like this can show off early on, but it gets harder the further they go.”

He looked at the grayish-white blade light on the stage, disdain lingering in his condescending gaze. “In terms of potential and Foundation, how can they compare to us who broke through through solid comprehension?”

His words were extremely pointed.

Although the other Prodigies did not explicitly agree, their expressions—whether Lin Xuan’s slightly pursed lips, Chu Feng’s thoughtful look, or the silver-haired youth’s slightly raised eyebrows—clearly indicated that, deep down, they at least partially agreed with those words.

The “advantages” and “shortcomings” of a Technique Awakened were already a consensus among people at their level.

“Looking at his stance while wielding the blade, his Intent is quite stable,” the silver-haired youth steered the topic back to the Blade Technique itself. “His Foundation is solid, not just for show. His burst power and area control are not bad.”

“The efficiency is passable, but—” Lin Xuan shook his head slightly. His blade sought absolute lethality and swiftness. “Compared to the Middle Stage of the Momentum Realm, the sharpness of the edge—is slightly lacking.”

He was referring to the burst of Intent that shook the surroundings when he cleared the field in the first round.

Chu Feng also nodded: “It lacks ultimate pressure and a sense of breaking limits.”

His assessment of Li Wen was a Momentum Realm performance above the passing line, but it did not exceed expectations.

“At this rate,” the silver-haired youth who first recognized Li Wen summarized, “he should have a good chance of breaking into the top twenty of our Provincial First Mock Exam rankings. But—”

He paused, exchanging glances with the others, seeing the similar expressions in their eyes, before continuing, “The top ten—he’s probably still a bit short.” His tone carried the unspoken “threshold” definition understood among Prodigies.

This judgment was clearly derived from observing Li Wen’s performance and comparing it to their own.

The “standard” Momentum Realm Blade Technique displayed by Li Wen at that moment was astounding to ordinary people, but in the eyes of these true top Prodigies, it was not yet a real threat to their positions.

At least, in a chaotic battle on the stage, a “mowing down grass” segment like this, Li Wen had not yet shown the extreme power that could make them feel pressure.

The timeline cut back to the moment Li Wen was teleported onto Stage Number Seven.

In the real world.

On the grand square of Qingshi No. 3 Middle School, the underclassmen from the first and second years also saw Li Wen take the stage on the big screen, instantly igniting their long-suppressed passion like water droplets thrown into boiling oil.

“Go, Senior Li Wen!”

— —

“Qingshi No. 3 Middle School must win!”

“The Big Shot is counting on you!”

The rising cheers converged into a tide, echoing across the square.

After continuously watching the previous twenty-something batches of brutal and rapid free-for-alls, these younger students had not only witnessed the terrifying strength of the provincial top Prodigies sweeping the field with every move, but they also placed greater, more fervent expectations on the legendary figure from their own school.

This expectation even carried a hint of humble yearning, as just a few batches earlier, their school’s second-ranked Huang Hao had appeared so unremarkable, struggling so helplessly against true experts on the stage. This further emphasized the weight represented by Li Wen, who was now stepping up, carrying the hope of the entire Third Middle School.

The timeline cut back to the normal virtual arena timeline.

As Li Wen unleashed the seemingly plain yet fatally precise gray-white blade light on Stage Seven, calmly eliminating contestant after contestant like a farmer harvesting wheat sheaves.

Another focal point, the area where Changning City No. 1 High School was located, also had people casting complex gazes toward that light screen.

Li Changjie, squeezed among numerous City No. 1 High School students, had a constantly shifting expression.

His gaze was locked onto the figure wielding the blade inside the screen, his heart churning restlessly.

That cousin, Li Wen, who was intentionally or unintentionally overlooked by his clan during the Ancestral Worship and whose parents were also belittled—that person who was completely insignificant in his perception just a month ago, was now powerful enough to shine so brightly on a stage watched by the entire province!

The blade in his hand, his Momentum Realm Intent, and his composure were all stinging Li Changjie’s heart, which had just experienced a harsh reality check.

Shock, disbelief, and a trace of jealousy and fear he was unwilling to admit were intertwined.

It wasn't just Li Changjie; Luo Zhen, standing not far from him and who had achieved first place in Changning City in the previous Provincial First Mock Exam, also had an unusually grim expression.

A month ago, he had condescendingly glanced at Li Wen from Qingshi County listed behind him on the rankings, noting the “Unity Realm” annotation, feeling only contempt and indifference, thinking he was just some country boy lucky enough to get by, not worth mentioning.

But the scenes unfolding on Screen Number Seven before his eyes ruthlessly shattered that disdain.

Between the flashing blade lights was an absolute suppressive force far exceeding the city-level standard.

Luo Zhen clearly realized that the “lucky boy” he had looked down upon had a true combat power that had already left him far behind.

The bitterness and regret brought by the gap made him press his lips tightly together, remaining silent.

The three minutes seemed exceptionally long amidst the tense and fierce fighting, but for Li Wen, who controlled the overall situation, it felt too short and rather dull.

As the final contestant who tried to sneak an attack in the chaos was swept off the stage by the residual force of one of Li Wen’s casual slashes, the space on Stage Seven instantly contained only ten figures—including Li Wen himself.

Li Wen slowly sheathed his blade, and the Momentum Realm pressure that seemed to make the air stagnate also receded slightly.

He did not fight until only he remained, like Lin Xuan or Chu Feng he had seen before.

It was simply unnecessary.

If not for the rule limiting the time to ten minutes to decide the top one thousand, otherwise everyone would be eliminated, he wouldn't even bother to move.

For him, crushing opponents who hadn't even touched the threshold of the Momentum Realm with his current Momentum Realm technique mastery was like a grown man facing a staggering infant—not only tedious but offering no sense of accomplishment whatsoever.

Clearing just ten people was sufficient to complete the mission.

When the gentle white light representing successful advancement enveloped Li Wen and teleported him back to the real-world area belonging to Qingshi No. 3 Middle School, he was met with a roar far more intense and fervent than when he left.

“Li Wen!!!”

“Too strong! He was practically bullying the weak!”

“You brought glory to our Third Middle School!”

“See! This is the Big Shot of our Third Middle School!”

The surrounding classmates, regardless of whether they had been curious, reverent, or slightly distant toward Li Wen before, now all had faces full of excitement and shared pride.

Li Wen’s advancement this time was clean and decisive, even carrying a hint of pity for his opponents. In their eyes, it was the most glorious victory.

This was not just Li Wen’s victory, but a resounding vindication for the entire Qingshi No. 3 Middle School on the cruel provincial stage.

The crowd gathered around, showering him with praise and admiration without reservation.

Time quietly slipped away, and the tense atmosphere accumulated amidst the waiting.

Finally, as the massive countdown hit zero, the System prompt sounded coldly: “The list of one thousand qualifiers for the first round is confirmed. After three minutes of preparation, the second round of the free-for-all will commence—deciding the top two hundred.”

After a brief silence, an even greater commotion erupted.

Everyone knew that the real main event, the moment of Prodigy collision, was approaching.

The white light descended as scheduled, far brighter and more dazzling than before.

The remaining ten thousand elite students instantly vanished from their respective preparation zones.

When the light dispersed and the second batch of students was evenly distributed across the familiar twenty giant floating stages, the spectators immediately noticed the key point—this “random” distribution was, as expected, pseudo-random.

Approximately fifty-three Prodigy-level figures confirmed to have broken through to the “Momentum Realm” were evenly spread across these twenty stages.

The vast majority of the stages were arranged with three Momentum Realm experts as the core collision points; only a few stages had only two Momentum Realm experts.

The gaze of the Qingshi No. 3 Middle School crowd instinctively and uniformly locked onto the light screen of one of the three-person stages—Li Wen was on it.

Li Wen stood calmly on the stage, his gaze sweeping over the two people not far opposite him who also exuded powerful auras.

Based on the experience from watching the previous few batches and the basic information displayed by the System, he recognized these two: one was named Zhang Lin, and the other was Chen Zhuo, both ranked outside the top thirty in the Provincial First Mock Exam.

At this moment, both Zhang Lin and Chen Zhuo’s faces were extremely solemn, and their eyes had silently communicated upon meeting.

They had witnessed Li Wen’s effortless reaping process on Stage Seven, and they knew from the Provincial First Mock Exam that this person had entered the top fifty while still in the Unity Realm, and now, upon breaking through to the Momentum Realm, he was already showing extreme sharpness.

Potential to challenge the provincial top twenty? They fully believed it.

To engage such an opponent head-on at the start was definitely not a wise move.

Not only did they feel immense pressure, but the relatives and supporters of Zhang Lin and Chen Zhuo, who had already filled the virtual spectating space, were also holding their breath, palms sweating.

But the arrow was on the bowstring and had to be released.

There were ten advancement slots; as long as they avoided the sharpest spear tip, advancing would be very simple for them.

As the cold, merciless countdown echoed above every stage: “3 — — 2 — — 1 — — Battle Start!”

Zhang Lin and Chen Zhuo moved simultaneously with great tacit understanding.

They did not charge toward Li Wen, but instead chose diametrically opposite directions, heading toward the relatively weaker “ordinary” contestants near the edge of the stage.