28: Chapter 28 Consecutive Victories

After the first match ended, Shen Ye did not leave the stadium.

He sat in the corner of the preparation area, watching the matches of the other contestants in the seventh group one by one.

Fang Yan's match was scheduled for the afternoon.

His opponent was a C-rank Earth-element Awakened, with the Divine Kingdom attribute Sandstone Cavern.

Fang Yan won without a ripple—three Rock Giants advanced head-on, and the opponent's sandstone golems were like mud in front of them, shattering at the slightest touch.

The entire battle lasted a very short time; Fang Yan didn't even summon his mutated species.

He stood in the center of the battle platform, the Rock Giants lined up in front of him like a moving gray city wall.

After winning, he didn't celebrate, showed no extra expression, simply recalled his kin, nodded at his opponent, and turned to walk off the battle platform.

Shen Ye noticed a detail—as Fang Yan left the stage, his gaze swept across the preparation area, paused on him for a moment, and then shifted away.

He Shuping's match was later in the afternoon.

City No. 5 High School's A-rank, Wind Erosion Valley, Wind Elemental Warriors.

The opponent was a B-rank Metal-element Awakened.

He Shuping won even faster than Shen Ye—the speed of the Wind Elemental Warriors completely crushed the clumsiness of the Metal-element kin; dozens of Wind Elemental Warriors charged simultaneously, the screeching sound of tearing air merging into one.

Before the Metal-element kin's flying swords could even take off, the Wind Elemental Warriors had already reached them.

It took very little time.

When He Shuping came down from the battle platform, the corners of his mouth carried a hint of uncontrollable smugness.

His gaze also swept across the preparation area, paused on Shen Ye for a moment, smiled, and then shifted away.

Shen Ye saved the recordings of their matches onto his data tablet.

When Fang Yan's Rock Giants advanced, the rhythm of their steps was completely different from Zhao Duo's during the school assessment.

Zhao Duo's Lava Giants were sprinting with long strides, accelerating with every step.

Fang Yan's Rock Giants advanced at a constant speed, with measured strides, their rhythm as even as the beat of a drum.

This method of advancement wasn't fast, but it was extremely steady, without any flaws from sudden stops or turns.

When He Shuping's Wind Elemental Warriors charged, the formation looked scattered, but in reality, the assault route of every single Wind Elemental Warrior avoided the dense defensive areas in the front, cutting in specifically from the flanks and gaps.

This wasn't the autonomous behavior of the Wind Elemental Warriors—it was He Shuping's divine sense controlling dozens of assault paths simultaneously.

His divine sense strength was not low.

Shen Ye recorded these two observations into his data tablet, then closed the screen.

The opponents were observing him, and he was observing the opponents.

The second match was the next day.

The opponent was a B-rank Fire-element Awakened from City No. 7 High School, with the Divine Kingdom attribute Earth Fire Fissure.

Su Wanqing's file only had one line of notes: Fire-element, main combat kin Fire Snake, medium speed, attacks carry burning effects.

Weakness: Water-element restraint.

Shen Ye summoned a Water Spirit Root Mage and an Earth Spirit Root Miner.

The Water Spirit Root Mage was the same female cultivator from yesterday, and the Earth Spirit Root Miner was a stout-looking middle-aged man, late-stage Qi Refining, his hands covered in calluses from mining ore.

The Fire Snakes darted out from the Earth Fire Fissure, seven or eight serpentine creatures formed of flame slithering along the Dharma slate, dragging charred marks behind them.

The Water Spirit Root Mage did not spread a water film—the Fire Snakes' body temperature would instantly evaporate a thin water film, wasting spiritual energy.

She let the water flow infiltrate beneath the path the Fire Snakes were advancing along, and then the Earth Spirit Root Miner pressed his hands to the ground, causing the soil layer under the Dharma slate to slowly bulge, forming several low earthen ridges.

When the Fire Snakes slithered over the earthen ridges, their bodies were forced to lift, exposing their bellies.

The Water Spirit Root Mage's water flow cut in from the side, precisely hitting the Fire Snakes' bellies—that was where the Fire Elemental core was located.

Steam erupted; the Fire Snakes' cores were impacted by the water vapor and exploded from the inside.

In a few breaths, the few Fire Snakes turned into several wisps of dissipating steam.

The time taken was even shorter than the first match.

Third match.

The opponent was a B-rank Wood-element Awakened from City No. 8 High School, with the Divine Kingdom attribute Thorn Woodland.

Mu Sheng did not fight.

Shen Ye summoned a Fire Spirit Root Artificer and an Earth Spirit Root Miner.

The Artificer drew a wisp of refined Fire Essence from the Earth Fire Furnace, not attacking directly, but scattering the Fire Essence into the earthen ridges raised by the Earth Spirit Root Miner.

The surface of the earthen ridges rapidly heated up, turning into walls of scorching fire.

The vines of the Thorn Woodland cringed before the fire walls—the plant-type kin's instinctive fear of fire was magnified several times by the high temperature of the Fire Essence.

The opponent tried to make the vines bypass the fire walls, but the Earth Spirit Root Miner constantly raised new earthen ridges, and the Artificer constantly scattered new Fire Essence.

The fire walls grew from one to three, from three to five, eventually forcing the thorn vines into the corner of the battle platform.

Under the searing heat, the vines lost moisture, their leaves curled, and their thorns softened.

The opponent conceded.

Fourth match.

The opponent was a C-rank Metal-element Awakened from City No. 9 High School, with the Divine Kingdom attribute Iron Ore Vein.

Shen Ye summoned a Gold Spirit Root Sword Cultivator and a Water Spirit Root Mage.

The Gold Spirit Root Sword Cultivator was not the young sword cultivator from yesterday—it was replaced with one with a more mature face, also late-stage Qi Refining, also taught by Jin Lin.

The kin of the Iron Ore Vein were Iron Golems, with higher defense than Stone Demons and slower speed than Stone Demons.

The Water Spirit Root Mage spread a thin layer of water on the ground, and after the Iron Golems stepped on it, the water seeped into their joint crevices.

The Gold Spirit Root Sword Cultivator's flying sword did not stab at the eye sockets—the Iron Golems' heads were solid blocks of iron, with no core to pierce.

The flying sword pierced into the joint crevices of the Iron Golems, and the sword intent erupted from within, instantly vaporizing the rust and moisture at the joints; the expanding steam cracked the joints.

The Iron Golems collapsed to the ground like puppets with cut strings.

The time taken was slightly longer, but still controlled within a very short time.

Fifth match.

Sixth match.

Seventh match.

Shen Ye won consecutively in the group stage.

Each match used only two or three kin, and each match resolved the battle in a very short time.

The Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth kin took turns going into battle; on the mountain of the Five Elements Array Eye: Metal, the Gold Spirit Root Sword Cultivators began to take turns asking to fight—not fighting for credit, but like students waiting for their teacher to call their names, everyone wanted to go up and fight a match.

The Wood Spirit Root Vine Net Handlers sat around the spiritual fields, reviewing the entanglement techniques used by their kin who had fought in each match.

The Water Spirit Root Mages deduced new water flow manipulation techniques by the Twilight Spirit Spring, with Elder Quan occasionally offering a comment or two.

The Fire Spirit Root Artificers turned up the temperature of the Earth Fire Furnace by one notch, starting to attempt to refine higher-purity Fire Essence.

The Earth Spirit Root Miners dug new branches deep in the mines, using newly mined spiritual stones to replenish the consumption of the kin from continuous combat.

Shen Ye did not stop them.

The schedule for the City-level Competition was long, twenty-nine matches in a single round-robin; relying on a few core kin wouldn't last until the end.

What he wanted was a whole army, not just a few fierce generals.

Other contestants in the seventh group began to study Shen Ye's fighting style.

A B-rank Awakened from City No. 4 High School posted a long article on social media, saying that he had repeatedly watched the recordings of all of Shen Ye's matches, "trying to find his tactical patterns."

The result was that he found he couldn't.

"The first match used Water-element crowd control plus Metal-element point killing, the second match used Water-Earth joint control with Steam Explosion, the third match used Fire-Earth joint control with high-temperature suppression, and the fourth match used Water-Metal joint control with joint explosion."

Five Elements, five types; the combination he used in every match was different.

The kin were not fixed either—the Gold Spirit Root Sword Cultivators were changed three times, the Water Spirit Root Mages were changed twice, the Fire Spirit Root Artificer was changed once, but the Earth Spirit Root Miner was always that same middle-aged man.

It wasn't random rotation; it was specifically configuring restraint combinations based on the attributes and weaknesses of different opponents.

At the end of the article, he wrote: "Some say this is the crushing power of an S-rank talent."

"I have watched the recordings many times; this is not talent crushing."

"Talent crushing is like Lu Chuan's—no matter who you are, I will drown you with the Undead Sea."

"Shen Ye is not like that."

"He uses the configuration that can just barely restrain the opponent in every match, no more, no less, just enough to win."

"This ability for tactical configuration precise to the individual is more terrifying than simple talent crushing."

"Because it shows that his kin pool is deep enough, deep enough that he can freely mix and match restraint combinations based on the opponent's attributes."

"It also shows that his research on his opponents is thorough enough, thorough enough that he knows which kin and which skill combinations to use to dismantle the opponent's defensive line in a very short time."

This post was shared many times.

Some agreed, saying that Shen Ye's tactical literacy ranked among the top of all contestants in the City-level Competition.

Others refuted, saying he was just lucky to be assigned to a weak group, and he would be exposed when he met a real A-rank.

Someone tagged Zheng Chuan, asking for his opinion.

Zheng Chuan did not reply.

He maintained a rare silence.

Shen Ye did not see this post.

It was Liu Yang who took a screenshot and sent it to him.

He glanced at it and put down the communicator.

"His analysis is quite accurate."

Liu Yang's eyes widened: "They've studied you thoroughly, and this is your reaction?"

Shen Ye said: "What he studied is what I have already displayed."

"What I haven't displayed, he can't study."

Liu Yang opened his mouth, but in the end, he only managed to squeeze out: "You really are boring."

Shen Ye did not respond.

He was watching the recording of Fang Yan's match from that day.

Fang Yan also maintained an undefeated record, and like him, won every match without a ripple.

Three Rock Giants advanced head-on; the mutated species was never summoned.

He Shuping was also undefeated; the speed of his Wind Elemental Warriors was overwhelming against B-rank and C-rank opponents.

The top three of Group 7 were all undefeated; the battle for qualification from the group was concentrated among these three.

The eighth match.

His opponent was a C-rank Water-element Awakened from City No. 11 High School, with the Divine Kingdom attribute of Underground Dark River.

Shen Ye summoned an Earth Spirit Root Miner and a Wood Spirit Root Vine Net Handler.

The miner used earth ridges to raise the Dark River's channel to the surface, and the Vine Net Handler wove vines into a net to intercept the flow in the raised channel.

The water flow was absorbed layer by layer by the vine net; the vines became more supple as they drank their fill of water.

The opponent's Dark River dependents lost the cover of water, exposed to the air, and were strangled by the vines.

The time taken was still very short.

The ninth match.

The tenth match.

Shen Ye remained undefeated.

A saying began to circulate among the other contestants in Group 7: "When fighting Shen Ye, you can never guess which two dependents he will use next."

But you can always guess that the two dependents he uses will be exactly what counters you.

Some tried to change their tactics temporarily before the battle, making their dependents avoid the weaknesses recorded in the files.

But Shen Ye's dependent configuration was not static.

When the opponent changed tactics temporarily, his dependent configuration adjusted accordingly.

Jin Lin added a new course in front of the sword stele: Combat Adaptability.

It wasn't to teach the sword cultivators how to strike, but to teach them how to autonomously adjust their attack angles and timing on the battlefield based on the opponent's temporary changes.

Mu Sheng added combat training for the Vine Net Handlers beside the Spirit Field, letting the Vine Net Handlers play different types of enemies to practice switching vine net types quickly under pressure.

Elder Quan added complex scenario simulations of water flow control beside the Twilight Spirit Spring, allowing the Water Spirit Root Mages to precisely complete crowd control even when the water flow was interfered with, polluted, or diverted.

Qin Shu sat in the last row of the stands for every match, holding a data pad.

He did not give Shen Ye any tactical guidance, only recording something on the data pad.

After the tenth match ended, Shen Ye came down from the battle platform and met Qin Shu in the contestant passage.

Qin Shu turned the data pad around to show him.

On it was the complete data of Shen Ye's ten matches: the number of dependents used in each match, the combination of dependent attributes, the combat time, the opponent's tactical type, and Shen Ye's way of adapting.

In ten matches, he used various different dependent combinations.

All five elements were rotated through.

The combat time was compressed from about three minutes in the first match to a very short time limit by the tenth match.

The opponents' tactical types covered positional defense, fast-attack charges, crowd control and attrition, and elemental bursts—every single one was dismantled by Shen Ye using a configuration that perfectly countered it.

At the very bottom of the data pad, Qin Shu wrote a line of text.

"You hid it well."

Shen Ye looked at that line of text.

What Qin Shu said was "hid," not "fought."

From the first match to the tenth, Shen Ye only used dependents of the Cultivation Divine Kingdom in every match, only showing the conventional tactics of the Five Elements system.

Jin Lin's Deflection Sword did not appear—the flying sword assassinations of the Metal-element Sword Cultivators only used the most basic sword moves, without the sword intent with golden dragon patterns.

Mu Sheng's Differentiation Vine Net did not appear—the vine nets of the Wood Spirit Root Vine Net Handlers only had the most basic entanglement and interception, without the optimized structure of seven nodes and five intersection angles, and without the differentiated control of twenty-one vines.

Elder Quan's Spiral Water Curtain did not appear—the water flow control of the Water Spirit Root Mages only had conventional applications like film laying, ice freezing, and Steam Explosion, without the composite water curtain of three parallel spirals and the convergence of a hundred water flows.

Morning and Night, Angels and Succubi, the Twilight Spirit Spring, and everything in the Land of Gods and Demons—everything was hidden deep in the mist.

Ten matches, ten crushing victories, but what he displayed was only the surface-level power of the Cultivation Divine Kingdom.

Qin Shu took back the data pad.

"Do you know why I let you hide it?"

Shen Ye nodded.

The City-level Competition was just the starting point.

Behind it were the Provincial Tournament, the National Competition, the core training programs of top universities, and the real battlefield against the Void Race.

His real opponents were not Zheng Chuan, not Fang Yan, not He Shuping, and not even Lu Chuan.

His real opponents were in the gray zone, deep in the Abyssal Empire, in that mist where even Gu Yan had disappeared.

The stage of the City-level Competition was too small, not worth him revealing all his trump cards.

Qin Shu looked at him.

"Your next two matches are against Fang Yan and He Shuping."

Two A-ranks.

Conventional Five Elements tactics could win, but it wouldn't be as easy as the previous ten matches.

For Fang Yan's Granite Fortress, if you use a Metal-element Sword Cultivator to target the core, you can't pierce the Rock Giant's chest.

For He Shuping's Wind Elemental, if you use a Wood-element vine net for crowd control, the mesh is too loose and the Wind Elemental will drill through, and if the mesh is too dense, the deployment speed cannot keep up with the Wind Elemental's charge.

Shen Ye said: "I know."

"How do you plan to fight?"

Shen Ye thought for a moment.

"For Fang Yan, I'll use Elder Quan's Steam Explosion and Mu Sheng's Penetrating Root System."

"For He Shuping, I'll use Mu Sheng's Heaven-enveloping Net and Jin Lin's Deflection Sword."

Qin Shu was silent for a while.

"Elder Quan, Mu Sheng, Jin Lin."

"Three dependents who have Awakened 'self,' you are prepared to reveal them in the group stage of the City-level Competition?"

"They have been holding back for a long time."

Shen Ye said.

Qin Shu looked into his eyes.

Shen Ye did not avoid his gaze.

Jin Lin had practiced sword skills for countless years in front of the sword stele, Mu Sheng had woven nets for countless years beside the Spirit Field, and Elder Quan had realized the Dao for countless years beside the spirit spring.

They practiced day and night in the Divine Kingdom, watching their clansmen be summoned to the battle platform in turns, while they themselves were never named.

It wasn't because Shen Ye didn't trust them, but because previous opponents weren't worth them taking action.

Fang Yan and He Shuping, two A-ranks, one defense and one speed.

They are worth it.

Qin Shu nodded and made another note on the data pad.

Then he raised his head.

"Come find me after you finish."

The opponents in the Provincial Tournament are a grade higher than those in the City-level Competition.

Your Five Elements dependent pool needs to be twice as deep.

Shen Ye said okay.

Qin Shu turned and left, his back disappearing at the end of the contestant passage.

Shen Ye stood in place, watching his back.

In Qin Shu's Array-Breaking Divine Kingdom, dependents do not respawn; if they die, they are truly dead.

So he knows better than anyone what "hiding" means.

It's not hiding for the sake of hiding, but to seal the throat with one sword when it's time to shine.

Shen Ye walked out of the contestant passage.

The gymnasium dome hung high overhead, and the light poured down from the light screen in the center of the dome.

In the stands, the contestants for the next match of Group 7 were entering.

Fang Yan stood on one side of the battle platform, his Rock Giants lined up in front of him, their gray bodies casting neat shadows under the lights.

His opponent was a B-rank Fire-element Awakened, looking nervous, his fingers wiping repeatedly on the seams of his pants.

Shen Ye sat down in the preparation area, opened the data pad, and flipped to Fang Yan's file.

Granite Fortress, about three hundred Rock Giants, one mutated species.

Defense rating A, attack method physical crushing.

Weakness: The internal structure is dense and lacks toughness; water-element penetration followed by freezing can crack the rock body; wood-element root penetration can disintegrate it from the inside.

He read these lines repeatedly many times, then closed the data pad.

In the Divine Kingdom, Elder Quan sat cross-legged beside the Twilight Spirit Spring, three spiral spirit springs slowly rotating in his palm.

He did not open his eyes, but the lines at the corners of his mouth were a few shades deeper than usual.

Mu Sheng stood beside the Spirit Field, twenty-one vines slowly stretching out under the sunlight, and a few more flower buds at the tips of the vines had bloomed.

Jin Lin sheathed his sword in front of the sword stele, a small golden dragon wandering on his shoulder, its dragon whiskers swaying gently.

Fang Yan's Rock Giants advanced steadily on the battle field, the Fire-element Awakened's flame jets landing on the rock surface, leaving only scorched marks.

The Rock Giants withstood the flames, pushing step by step to the opponent, and then stopped.

Fang Yan did not let them swing their fists, just stood there like a gray city wall.

The opponent conceded.

Fang Yan recalled the Rock Giants, nodded to his opponent, and turned to walk off the battle platform.

Passing the preparation area, his gaze collided with Shen Ye's.

The two looked at each other for a moment across several rows of seats.

There was no provocation in Fang Yan's eyes, no contempt, only a rock-like silence—"I know you are also undefeated, I know we will bump into each other sooner or later."

"I am waiting."

Shen Ye withdrew his gaze.

He was waiting too.