53: Chapter 53 Wilderness

The smoke from the semifinals hadn't even dissipated, yet the war drums for the finals were already beating.

Shen Ye versus Qin Sese.

"The clash of the province's strongest spear and shield" — that was how the media wrote it.

Shen Ye had just finished breakfast when he saw this headline, with the yolk of a spirit beast egg still hanging from the corner of his mouth.

He folded the newspaper, placed it on the corner of the dining table, and continued drinking his porridge.

Gu Qinghan's complete tactical analysis report had been sent to his data pad the night before the finals.

Qin Sese, S-rank talent, bloodline ancestry, Kingdom Projection: Wild Ancient Land.

Her kin are the Wild Ancient Land giant beasts, not just one or two, but an entire herd.

The hardness of the Armored Rhinoceros's bone plates exceeds that of rare-grade metal sword leaf orchid leaves.

The sharp claws of the Saber-toothed Tiger can tear through law-reinforced stone slabs within two breaths.

The swing of the Mammoth Giant Elephant's trunk can shatter all physical defenses.

Her fighting style is simple to the point of being brutal — frontal assault, overwhelming power.

In the Provincial Tournament, not a single opponent could withstand more than three of her charges.

Her weaknesses were equally obvious: her speed was slightly slow, and her defense against divine sense interference was almost zero.

But knowing her weaknesses was useless — in the face of absolute power, knowing how you lose doesn't mean you can win.

At the end of the report, Gu Qinghan had written a note: "Qin Sese's parents are Tier 1 Gods who have guarded the frontline of the Gray Zone for many years. She grew up on the frontline and possesses the unique wildness of the Wild Ancient Land. Her combat experience wasn't practiced; it was forged by fighting the Void Race. She is participating in the Provincial Tournament because the frontline commander said she must obtain a university degree to lead a team. She isn't fighting for the ranking; she's just going through the motions so she can return to lead her team. She will not hold back."

Shen Ye read the note repeatedly.

Qin Sese is not like Fang Yan.

Fang Yan is silent, while Qin Sese is wild.

Her power doesn't come from talent, but from a childhood spent following patrol teams, repeatedly charging at Void Tribe Scouts.

The intuition brought back from countless brushes with life and death cannot be practiced on the battlefield.

Shen Ye didn't have absolute certainty of victory, but he had to fight.

Because there were only two tickets for the National Competition — the champion and the runner-up.

Win, and he advances directly.

Lose, and he could still fight for third place.

He didn't want to reach that point.

He wanted to get the ticket to the National Competition directly from the finals.

On the morning of the finals, tens of thousands of spectators packed the stands under the dome of the main venue.

The light gray formation of Nanjiang No. 7 High School still hoisted that gold-stamped banner in the corner, while the silver-gray formation of Provincial Capital No. 1 High School and the dark brown formation of Border City High School, where Qin Sese belonged, each occupied half of the venue.

Admissions officers from four universities were all present. Principal Zhou Wenyin appeared at the very top of the stands, Qin Shu also found a seat in a corner, and Gu Qinghan sat at the Provincial Association's technical desk, her data pad already open.

Fang Yan and Lu Chuan sat in the front row of the Nanjiang contestant area.

As Shen Ye walked into the main venue, he encountered Gu Changfeng in the contestant tunnel.

Both paused.

"Qin Sese's Wild Ancient Land giant beasts have the strongest individual combat power of all the contestants in the Provincial Tournament. Your Void Vines are useless against her, and your wind-thunder twin spears are only half-left. But you still have Jin Lin, Mu Sheng, and Daoist Quan. If you can beat me, you can beat her."

Gu Changfeng reached out his hand.

Shen Ye shook it.

"After the finals, win or lose, I'll treat you to a drink."

Gu Changfeng had a rare hint of a smile.

Shen Ye stepped onto the battle platform.

The gray-white law stone slabs had been reinforced again.

Opposite him, Qin Sese stepped onto the stage from the other side.

The brown uniform of Border City High School wrapped around her slender, toned figure. Her eyes were amber—not an elegant amber, but the kind of amber that had settled over countless years on the Wild Ancient Land.

She didn't speak, just nodded at Shen Ye.

Shen Ye nodded in return.

The referee raised a hand.

Both sides deployed their Kingdom Projections.

The Wild Ancient Land spread out — an endless wilderness with rolling low hills. There were no traces of law stone slabs on the ground, as it was completely assimilated into a primitive battlefield by the ancient aura.

Low roars of beasts came from the depths of the Kingdom, causing even the law stone slabs to resonate slightly.

The Armored Rhinoceroses charged out first, their mountain-like bone-plated bodies flashing with a dull metallic luster, each step causing the battle platform to shake.

The Saber-toothed Tigers accompanied them on both sides, their amber vertical pupils contracting into lines in the sunlight, their sharp claws dragging white marks across the stone slabs.

The Mammoth Giant Elephants brought up the rear, their trunks raised high, emitting low trumpet calls.

Shen Ye deployed the Land of Cultivation.

Over four thousand kin were all lined up.

The Gold Spirit Root Sword Cultivator century-squad was in the front, the Wood Spirit Root Array Master century-squad and Earth Spirit Root Body Cultivator century-squad were mixed on the flanks, the Water Spirit Root Mage century-squad was in the center, and the Fire Spirit Root Artificer and Alchemy squads were in the rear in reserve.

Jin Lin stood at the very front of the Sword Cultivator squad, his hand on the hilt of his sword, a small golden dragon slowly slithering on his shoulder.

Mu Sheng stood at the very front of the Array Master squad, vines tucked into his sleeves.

Daoist Quan stood at the very front of the Mage squad, hands tucked into his sleeves.

Tie Chui stood at the very front of the Alchemy squad, his palms cradling the rhombic light of a spiral foundation establishment pill.

Yan Shan stood at the very front of the Body Cultivator squad, the Rock Pattern on his right arm a layer deeper than before the Provincial Tournament.

Xiao Zhi sat in the compartment of the Scripture Pavilion, eyes closed, the divine sense synchronization network already covering the sea of consciousness of all four thousand-plus kin.

Qin Sese raised her right arm and swung it down violently.

The Wild Ancient Land giant beasts launched their charge simultaneously.

The Armored Rhinoceroses formed an iron wall of bone plates side-by-side, the Saber-toothed Tigers flanked from both sides, and the sound of hooves and claws scraping the stone slabs merged into a huge roar.

Daoist Quan made his move first.

The century-squad of Mages formed seals, and a hundred spiraling water currents wrapped along the ground, spreading a layer of extremely thin but extremely tough water film on the law stone slabs.

It wasn't a frontal interception — they couldn't stop them.

The water film guided the direction at a very small angle along the momentum of the Armored Rhinoceroses' charge, just like dealing with Zheng Chuan's Wind Elemental, but the rhythm was completely different.

The Wind Elemental was light, and the water currents could deflect it with a nudge; the Armored Rhinoceroses were as heavy as mountains, so the water film could only deflect them slightly.

Immediately after, Mu Sheng's guiding vines arrived.

Unlike when dealing with the Wind Elemental, today all the vines were driven deep into the stone slabs, weaving into a net underground and pushing up from deep within the soil layer.

It wasn't about flipping the Armored Rhinoceroses directly — they couldn't be flipped.

It was about pushing up the stone slabs under the feet of the Armored Rhinoceroses, forming a slight angle of inclination.

The water current guidance combined with the tilting stone slabs, the dual guidance superimposed, caused the leading Armored Rhinoceros to tilt its front hooves slightly; the massive body couldn't contain its inertia and collided with its companion beside it.

The collision of bone plates made a dull, loud sound, and the seamless charge line loosened.

Qin Sese immediately reacted.

She had the Armored Rhinoceroses abandon the dense charge and attack separately, while the Saber-toothed Tigers accelerated to intersperse from the flanks, and the Mammoth Giant Elephants trampled from the front — dividing and attacking.

Shen Ye also had his kin divide into teams.

The Gold Spirit Root Sword Cultivator century-squad split into three small groups, each containing one Mammoth Giant Elephant.

Mu Sheng's guiding vines concentrated entirely on the flanks to delay the Saber-toothed Tigers.

Daoist Quan's water film continued to interfere with the Armored Rhinoceroses from below.

The Earth Spirit Root Body Cultivator century-squad, led by Yan Shan, arrived at the very front. Without weapons, they simultaneously inserted their hands under the stone slabs, using their Rock Pattern arms to forcibly lift the entire layer of law-reinforced rock.

The rock layer cracked into gullies under the feet of the Wild Ancient Land giant beasts, the speed of the Saber-toothed Tigers plummeted, and the Mammoth Giant Elephants stumbled.

Qin Sese's amber eyes narrowed slightly.

She did something no one expected — she had all the Wild Ancient Land giant beasts stop their charge.

The Armored Rhinoceroses, Saber-toothed Tigers, and Mammoth Giant Elephants all retreated to the core area of the Wild Ancient Land, forming a circular defensive line, protecting Qin Sese in the center.

Then, the Kingdom Projection of the Wild Ancient Land expanded violently.

It wasn't an expansion at the law level — it was Qin Sese herself pulling a stone spear condensed from the ancient aura out of the Kingdom Projection.

The spear body was covered in Wild Ancient Land law patterns, and the spear tip was formed from a Mammoth Giant Elephant tusk fossil.

She held the spear with both hands, the tip pointing diagonally at the ground.

"Wild Ancient Land Stone Spear."

Qin Sese said, her voice not loud, but every word sounded like war drums coming from the depths of the wilderness, "My dad taught me. He said, a God cannot just stand behind their kin."

Shen Ye looked at the stone spear in her hand.

Law-condensed weapon — Lu Chuan used a blood-colored halberd in the City-level Competition finals, and Gu Changfeng used the wind-thunder twin spears.

Now Qin Sese was using the Wild Ancient Land Stone Spear.

Three people, three types of law-condensed weapons.

He sensed an extremely intense fighting spirit from Jin Lin's mental link.

Shen Ye also did something no one expected.

He deployed the Land of Gods and Demons, pulling a twilight longsword condensed from holy light and the abyss from the intersection of light and darkness, holding the sword with both hands, the tip pointing diagonally at the ground.

"twilight longsword. My kin, the angels and succubi, taught me to condense it."

The stands exploded.

Cultivation Divine Kingdom, light-type cultivation technique, and now the twilight longsword.

Qin Sese looked at the twilight longsword in his hand, grinned, and then charged forward with the spear in both hands.

The stone spear and the longsword collided in the center of the Wild Ancient Land giant beasts' circular defensive line.

There was no muffled sound of law cushioning; it was a pure collision of physical strength.

Qin Sese's stone spear was heavy as a thousand jun, and every strike felt like an ancient mountain pressing down.

Shen Ye didn't take it head-on — the twilight longsword tapped lightly on the side of the stone spear's landing point, using guiding techniques to deflect the spear's direction.

What Mu Sheng taught him: the vines don't need to carry the giant beasts; they just need to give a light nudge at the right position and the right angle.

Spear came, sword went.

The audience couldn't see the figures clearly, only the earth-yellow spear shadows of the Wild Ancient Land Stone Spear and the gold-purple sword light of the twilight longsword intersecting and flashing.

The cushioning patterns of the law stone slabs all lit up, and the defense laws of the entire main venue were activated simultaneously.

In Shen Ye's mental link, Xiao Zhi's divine sense synchronization network was integrating the Sword Cultivator century-squad, the Body Cultivator century-squad, and the Array Master century-squad into a whole.

The three forces of Jin Lin, Yan Shan, and Mu Sheng were woven together by the divine sense synchronization network. While Shen Ye was swinging his sword, three different laws were undergoing extremely precise fusion within his body.

Qin Sese's stone spear speed became faster and faster, with the ancient aura from the Kingdom Projection continuously injecting into the spear body.

Shen Ye's twilight longsword flowed endlessly — the dual forces of holy light purification and abyss transformation formed a flowing twilight light on the sword body, and every collision with the stone spear deflected the impact of the ancient aura.

He was waiting.

Waiting for that moment when Qin Sese's offensive was most dense.

It came.

Qin Sese raised the stone spear high, gripping it with both hands, and slashed down with full force from above her head.

Shen Ye didn't dodge — the twilight longsword met it from the side, not to block it, but by spiraling along the spear body, guiding the stone spear's downward slash trajectory from vertical to inclined.

At the same time, the three forces of Jin Lin's sword intent, Yan Shan's Rock Pattern arm strength, and Mu Sheng's guiding vine soft power were fused into one by Xiao Zhi's divine sense synchronization network, and guided into the spear body along the twilight longsword.

Qin Sese felt an irresistible guiding force coming from the spear body; the stone spear flew out of her hands and plunged into the law stone slab not far away, the spear body vibrating and humming.

She looked down at her empty hands, then looked up at the endlessly flowing longsword in Shen Ye's hand.

She grinned.

"You won."

The referee raised a hand.

"The winner — Shen Ye!"

Provincial champion.

Qin Sese pulled the stone spear out of the stone slab, shouldered it, and walked to Shen Ye.

She tapped Shen Ye's shoulder lightly with the tail of the stone spear.

"You guy, hiding such a trick. twilight longsword, holy light, abyss — just how many more trump cards do you have that you haven't shown?"

"There are many more."

Shen Ye said.

Qin Sese was stunned for a moment, then looked up and laughed loudly.

"Good! See you at the National Competition. When that time comes, my Wild Ancient Land Stone Spear will fight your longsword again."

"Anytime."

Shen Ye said.

Qin Sese turned and walked away with the stone spear on her shoulder, her silhouette dragged very long under the lights of the contestant tunnel.

Shen Ye retracted the twilight longsword, and the Land of Gods and Demons slowly closed deep within his consciousness.

Chen and Ye stood on either side of the Twilight Spirit Spring, simultaneously pressing their hands to their chests and bowing slightly.

They didn't speak, but the twilight light surged silently in the depths of the spring.

Jin Lin sheathed his sword, Yan Shan released his hands from the stone slab, Mu Sheng retracted all the guiding vines, and Xiao Zhi opened her eyes deep in the Scripture Pavilion and let out a long sigh of relief.

Tie Chui had already approached Yan Shan, holding his spiral foundation establishment pill and comparing it with the forearm that Yan Shan had just mutated and hardened during the battle — he planned to refine the natural patterns of the spiral mineral crystals into the next batch of foundation establishment pills, so that Body Cultivators could directly absorb the deep-layer mineral vein laws in the Rock Patterns after taking the pill.

Shen Ye walked off the battle platform.

Principal Zhou Wenyin walked down from the stands and handed him an envelope — the Wanxiang University alumni recommendation badge.

Qin Shu stood in the shadows of the tunnel, saying nothing, just nodding.

Su Wanqing's congratulatory message was the first to flood in, followed by Jiang Yue's decryption progress update, and the list of seeded players for the National Competition sent by Gu Qinghan.

Provincial Tournament champion, National Competition ticket, top ten in the province — all obtained.

There was still time before the college entrance examination, and the National Competition awaited him in the distance.

Shen Ye pinned the recommendation badge to his collar, a faint golden light flowing across the surface of the badge.

He pushed open the door to the plaza, and the twilight was surging up from the edge of the dome, dyeing the entire provincial capital in flowing twilight.