62: Chapter 62 First Clash

The atmosphere in Nanjiang City was tense on the first day of the Jiangnan Province Prodigy Tournament's knockout stage.

After a night of fermentation, rumors of the shady deal regarding Jiang Xun being predetermined to face last year's runner-up, Long Ao, had spread overnight, making this knockout match the focus of the entire city. Everyone was watching the youth from Jiang City, wanting to see how this dark horse from the group stages would handle such blatant targeting.

The main arena was bustling with excitement; on the massive light screen, the match list for the first round of the knockout stage was scrolling by.

"Look, Jiang Xun's opponent is out!"

Someone shouted, and everyone's eyes turned to the top of the light screen.

[Match 1: Jiang Xun (Jiang City) vs. Lu Tao (Suhang City)]

"Lu Tao? I haven't heard much about him. Is he a newcomer?"

"You don't even know Lu Tao? He's from the Suhang Lu Family! Their family made their fortune through silk and water transport. Although he's only a branch family member, he had an Awakening of the A-rank Water-Marsh Civilization. His water control divine arts are very powerful; he's a well-known Genius in Suhang!"

"Water-Marsh Civilization? Doesn't that perfectly counter Jiang Xun's Undead Wasteland? This is going to be a good show!"

Discussions continued in the audience, while in a VIP box with a great view, Li Ang was leisurely sipping red wine with several other noble scions who had also suffered in the group stages, watching the match list on the light screen with faces full of mockery.

"He's taken the bait. Although Lu Tao isn't much, his Water-Marsh Civilization perfectly counters Jiang Xun's undead sea. Even if he can't win, it'll be enough to annoy him for a while and help us probe the kid's capabilities," a richly dressed youth said lazily, swirling his wine glass.

Li Ang's gaze was dark as he sneered, "This is just the beginning. I've already made arrangements. No matter who wins or loses this round, in the next round, he will face an opponent he simply cannot beat. I want him to know that by offending us, he won't even make it to the semifinals!"

On the other side, in the VIP section where Xu Qingran was, the atmosphere was a bit heavy.

"The Lu Family... they've finally started to make their move." Xu Qingran frowned, her expression filled with worry.

Old Baitou was quite calm, slowly taking a sip of tea and saying, "Don't worry, that kid is clever. It's the perfect time for us to see what new tricks he's cooked up over the last few days."

Under everyone's gaze, Jiang Xun and his opponent, Lu Tao, were simultaneously transported into the virtual battlefield.

It was a vast plain with simple terrain and no place to use clever tricks.

Lu Tao was a tall, thin youth wearing a water-blue silk robe, his face bearing the arrogance typical of noble scions. He looked Jiang Xun up and down with a contemptuous smile.

"So you're that Jiang Xun from that small place? I thought you'd have three heads and six arms, but you seem like nothing special." He fanned himself elegantly with a Jade Bone Fan and said, "I advise you to kneel and admit defeat now to keep some dignity. Otherwise, once I start, I'm afraid not even a single intact bone will be left of your pile of skeletons."

Jiang Xun adjusted his glasses and smiled at Lu Tao's display.

"The Suhang Lu Family? I heard your family deals in silk and water transport. I didn't expect you to moonlight as a stand-up comedian."

The smile on Lu Tao's face froze, and his gaze instantly turned cold. "You're looking for death!"

Lu Tao stopped wasting words, and his Divine Kingdom power erupted!

Dark clouds instantly gathered over the originally dry plain, the humidity skyrocketed, and then, amidst deafening thunder, a torrential downpour fell from the sky.

But that wasn't all!

As Lu Tao pointed his Jade Bone Fan forward, a massive rift appeared in the space behind him. Endless floodwaters gushed out with destructive force, turning into a giant wave dozens of meters high, surging toward Jiang Xun's Divine Kingdom Domain!

"Flooding the Seven Armies! Break for me!"

Lu Tao laughed wildly, as if he could already see the scene of Jiang Xun's crude Undead Wasteland being washed away completely by this disaster-level power.

This scene was also clearly reflected in everyone's eyes outside the arena through the light screen.

"My god! Is this the power of an A-rank Water-Marsh Civilization? He starts with a disaster-level divine art!"

"How can he fight this? Jiang Xun's undead sea tactic is completely countered by this kind of large-scale destructive flood!"

"It's over, it's over, the dark horse is going to crash!"

The commentator also shouted loudly, "Contestant Lu Tao has launched the Divine Kingdom Spell, Heavenly River Inversion, right from the start! He's trying to end the match in one wave! We see that contestant Jiang Xun hasn't chosen to evade. What is he doing? Does he intend to take it head-on?"

Everyone thought Jiang Xun would choose to temporarily avoid the brunt of the attack or summon his Divine Kingdom army to fight it out, but he made a move that no one could understand.

Jiang Xun just stood there and snapped his fingers.

The next second, the ground beneath Jiang Xun's feet began to vibrate. Countless Undead Skeletons crawled out from underground, but they didn't rush toward the flood; instead, they began to rapidly stack and assemble in a straight line in front of Jiang Xun!

At the same time, a group of tall Orc Engineers, carrying massive blueprints and tools, rushed out of the Divine Kingdom portal. They roared, directing the Undead Skeletons to join massive bone plates together. The bone plates gleamed with a pale white luster, and the joints were perfectly flush.

"Clang! Clang! Clang!"

The sound of metal striking bone was surprisingly clear even amidst the roaring flood.

Under everyone's shocked gaze, a massive white barrier rose from the ground!

It was a giant dam built from countless white bones!

Its structure was exceptionally precise, with an internal mortise and tenon structure unique to orcs, and an external layer of hard skull armor. The gaps between the bones were even cauterized by Necromancers with Soul Fire, forming a strange energy film.

In just a few dozen seconds, right before the giant wave was about to crash down, a bone dam several kilometers long and a hundred meters high stood on the plain, protecting Jiang Xun and his Divine Kingdom.

Boom...!

The flood finally arrived. The massive wave slammed hard against the bone dam, letting out an earth-shaking roar that made the entire virtual battlefield tremble.

However, that temporary bone dam remained motionless under the impact of the giant wave; not even a single crack appeared.

The massive flood was stopped dead in its tracks. Silence fell inside and outside the arena. Everyone stared blankly at the incredible scene on the light screen, their minds completely empty.

The wild laughter on Lu Tao's face had long since frozen. He looked at the scene before him in disbelief.

"This... how is this possible?"

On the high platform, Jiang Xun looked at the successfully intercepted flood and then at the pale-faced Lu Tao. He adjusted his glasses and revealed a slight smile. His voice wasn't loud, but everyone could hear him clearly.

"Your 'Great Yu Controlling the Waters' seems half-baked; it doesn't even qualify as a shoddy construction project."

"In that case, let me show you what a real hydraulic engineering project looks like."