122: Chapter 123 Of course, I have to stand in the center of the stage.

Senior Li Yun, filled with confusion, took his leave from Lin Muyang's seating area.

He could never have imagined that Lin Muyang's true goal was not merely the top three in Zhongnan City, nor even the qualification spot for Jiangnan Province, but the unreachable National Champion!

At this moment, even if he realized that Lin Muyang's strength likely far exceeded his displayed level, he could never link him to the National Champion. After all, was the national number one really that easy to take?

Taking Senior Li Yun himself as an example, within the scope of Zhongnan City, he had already been a top expert who consistently ranked in the top three for several consecutive years and represented the city in the Provincial Tournament. But even at the Provincial Tournament in Jiangnan Province, it was a gathering of experts, a place where hidden talents abounded. Not only were there many veteran experts like him, or even older and more experienced ones, who continued to participate, but more importantly, new talents were constantly emerging from other cities.

SS-rank Summoners like Long Aotian were not rare in other major cities within the province; there were even monsters with higher talent, faster leveling speeds, and more monstrous summon levels. He had fought hard in the Provincial Tournament many times, but his best result was only stopping at the top twenty, never having touched those few coveted spots leading to the National Tournament.

Therefore, subconsciously, he would never associate the goal of "National Champion" with a rookie Summoner who had just changed professions a little over a month ago and was only level 56. The gap between the two was like a chasm.

Given this understanding, why Lin Muyang would come to participate in this municipal tournament, which was meaningless to him, seemed even more baffling.

If one couldn't qualify from the Provincial Tournament, one would only end up with some Magic Crystal rewards. For a veteran Summoner like Senior Li Yun who needed resources to maintain his team and purchase equipment, the few million Magic Crystals from the municipal tournament were a decent income. But he felt that with the potential Lin Muyang had displayed and the "potential forces behind him," he shouldn't be lacking that bit of Magic Crystal.

"How strange..." Senior Li Yun sat back in his seat, his brows furrowed, his gaze occasionally glancing at the calm young man not far away, his heart filled with confusion. "What on earth is this young man thinking? Are those girls he summoned really that strong? Strong enough that he needed to warn me to avoid being caught in the crossfire?"

Recalling Lin Muyang's plain but firm tone, the sense of absurdity and vague unease intertwined in Senior Li Yun's heart. He had lived for over sixty years, experienced many storms, and knew deeply that there was always someone better. Perhaps this young man was not arrogant, but truly possessed some hidden trump card that he could not understand.

"Regardless, the second round is about to start..." Senior Li Yun took a deep breath and made a decision. "To be safe, I'll just do as he said later."

This was where he differed from many hot-headed young Summoners—he knew how to assess the situation and understood the principle that "caution is the parent of safety." Although he had never seen a young genius like Lin Muyang before, being cautious never hurt. If it turned out as the other party said, and his attack range or power was shockingly large, accidentally injuring his centaur "Marathon" would be a huge loss, and it would also mean being eliminated early.

Just as Senior Li Yun was pondering to himself, many sharp-eyed people in the audience and contestant seating area had noticed him going to talk to Lin Muyang earlier, as well as the somewhat subtle atmosphere when the two parted ways.

For a moment, pointing and whispering spread through some areas of the audience.

"Look! Senior Li Yun and that Lin Muyang, they seemed to have been chatting for quite a while just now?"

"They both drew into the second round! Could they be planning to team up?"

"It's very likely! They are both from Tianqi Tower; teaming up to ensure a rookie advances makes perfect sense!"

"Holy crap, doesn't that mean there's a rigged outcome? Lin Muyang definitely would have been out in the first round, but now with Senior Li Yun protecting him, he might actually sneak into the second round!"

"That's so unfair! There must be a problem with the draw! How could it be such a coincidence that they were assigned to the same group?"

"Exactly! Doesn't that Lin Muyang have a mysterious big shot behind him? Maybe the big shot stepped in and rigged the draw!"

"Right! Otherwise, how could his summon's draw speed be so fast? He must have known the inside scoop or used some method we don't know about!"

"F*ck! Refund! This competition is rigged!"

Many spectators, especially some of Long Aotian's fanatic fans, were already dissatisfied with Lin Muyang for stealing their idol's spotlight and displaying astonishing speed. Now, they felt as if they had grasped some evidence and were loudly promoting the "rigged theory." They automatically imagined a scenario where "a big shot paves the way for a junior, manipulates the draw, and joins forces to ensure advancement," and began to accuse them emotionally.

However, a little calm thinking would reveal that this kind of "insider manipulation" actually had little significance. Even if Senior Li Yun really protected Lin Muyang to advance in the first round of the melee, according to the competition rules, the two who advanced from the same match would not be assigned to the same group in the second round.

By then, Lin Muyang would lose Senior Li Yun's protection and, facing experts from other groups, would still be in grave danger. Just for the small reward of a first-round advancement spot, using the power of a so-called "big shot" to manipulate the draw? The cost and benefit were completely disproportionate.

Unfortunately, people caught up in emotional accusations often do not perform such rational analysis. They are only willing to believe the "truth" that fits their own conjectures.

Lin Muyang turned a deaf ear to the clamorous discussions in the audience and the excited shouting of certain people. His level had long since surpassed the petty arguments of a municipal competition. To him, this was more like bringing his wife to participate in an interesting activity and warming up along the way.

About five minutes later, on the arena, the first sixteen-person melee finally drew to a close.

Because it was the first match, the participating Summoners and summons were generally quite cautious. In the opening stage, most were probing and observing each other, with few taking the initiative to attack. But as time passed, and with fragile alliances temporarily formed between certain summons, the battle quickly entered a white-hot state.

The roars of Orc warriors and the sound of battle-axes cutting through the air, the whistling of arrows from Elf Archers, the creaking sound of bones rubbing together when skeleton mages chanted, the roar of elemental magic colliding, and the mournful cries of summons dissipating before being "killed"... various sounds intertwined, combined with the constantly flashing brilliance of skills on the arena, forming a fierce and cruel battle scene.

A layer of pale blue, translucent magic barrier rose around the arena, firmly blocking all energy impacts and physical aftershocks, ensuring they would not affect the audience. This was also one of the important reasons why the Summoner competition could be held publicly and attract so many spectators—it was safe and had sufficient visual impact.

Although the strength of the Summoners and summons in the first match could only be considered mid-tier within the city, lacking the overwhelming crushing feeling of top experts, this kind of real, chaotic, and uncertain team battle still made the audience boil with excitement, with cheers and gasps rising one after another.

In the end, after a melee, only two figures remained on the arena. One was a level 99 berserker Orc warrior, covered in blood but with high fighting spirit, holding dual short axes; the other was a level 105 female Naga assassin with a figure as agile as a cheetah, holding a pair of poisoned daggers, and possessing cold eyes. They exchanged a vigilant look but did not attack again, because the rule was that as long as two survived, they would advance.

"The first melee is over! The qualifiers: Contestant Wang Meng's 'Blood Axe,' and Contestant Zhao Qing's 'Shadow'!" The host's voice rang out at the right time, announcing the result.

The Orc warrior "Blood Axe" let out a roar of victory toward the sky, while the Naga assassin "Shadow" silently merged into the shadows, appearing beside her master the next second.

"One level 99, one level 105." Lin Muyang looked at the arena, understanding in his heart, "Basically, others below level 90 are cannon fodder in this kind of melee. If they are lucky, they might be able to survive to the end by relying on tactics or stealth and get the advancement reward."

For this result, he was not surprised. A melee tests not only absolute strength, but also survival wisdom, timing, and a little bit of luck.

"Next, the second melee will begin immediately! Will the sixteen contestants of the second round please send your summons to the arena within one minute!" The host's voice sounded again, urging the next batch of contestants.

Because there were many participants, the schedule was very tight, with only a two-minute gap reserved between each melee for cleaning the arena and changing contestants.

"Go." Lin Muyang turned his head, flashed a gentle smile at Lilia sitting beside him, and gently patted her delicate shoulder, giving her "loving encouragement."

"Mm!" Lilia nodded vigorously. Although there was still a trace of nervousness in her emerald eyes from stepping onto such a large public competition field for the first time, there was more of a firmness and fighting spirit to fight for Lin Muyang. She took a deep breath and stood up.

When the organizers signaled that the second-round contestants could enter, Lilia leapt lightly from the contestant seating, holding a gorgeous scepter that flowed with soft holy light throughout its body, with a large, pure light-attribute gemstone embedded at the top.

She wore a simple and elegant white priest robe, with golden elf patterns embroidered on the hem and cuffs. Her long golden hair behind her was like a waterfall woven from sunlight, fluttering gently with her movements. She looked like an Elf fairy who had walked out of a myth, holy and beautiful, instantly attracting the gaze of the entire audience.

However, sharp-eyed people would notice that the energy fluctuations emitted by the scepter in her hand were not the warm and peaceful healing power of typical healing scepters, but faintly revealed a sharp and majestic aggressiveness! It was a level 65 Emperor Level equipment [Hymn of Holy Judgment], with attributes extremely biased toward light-type spell damage bonuses and spell critical hits! This was equipment Lin Muyang had specifically prepared for her "violent output" mission this time.

Usually, Lilia used equipment that enhanced healing and support effects. But today, Lin Muyang needed her to end the battle in the fastest and most shocking way, to announce their strength to everyone. Therefore, he directly changed her into a full set of extreme output gear. This kind of thing was probably something only Lin Muyang, who had more equipment than he could use, could do.

Just as Lilia landed in the very center of the arena like an angel of holy light, from other directions of the contestant seating, fifteen other figures also leapt out, boarding the wide arena in various ways.

The most eye-catching among them was naturally Senior Li Yun's S-rank centaur warrior— "Marathon," who was over three meters tall and as sturdy as a small mountain! It wore heavy rune plate armor, and the steel poleaxe in its hand, which was thicker than an adult's thigh, shone with cold light. Just standing there, it exuded a suffocating sense of oppression. Its attribute panel was extremely luxurious, with both strength and constitution exceeding 35,000 points, and its attack power and speed were among the top levels of similar summons. It was Senior Li Yun's trump card for sieging and dueling.

At this moment, the other fourteen Summoners participating in the second melee felt somewhat heavy. They had also seen the interaction between Senior Li Yun and Lin Muyang earlier, and a shadow inevitably cast over their hearts. Being assigned to the same match as Senior Li Yun was already high pressure; if Senior Li Yun were to team up with that mysterious Lin Muyang... their hope of advancing would undoubtedly be even slimmer.

Of course, they were not afraid of Lin Muyang himself or his summon. What they worried about was, if Senior Li Yun was determined to protect Lin Muyang's Elf Priest, would they have the ability to eliminate her first under the protection of Senior Li Yun's centaur warrior?

However, when all the summons boarded the stage and took their positions, a scene that made everyone drop their jaws appeared!

The holy and beautiful Elf Priest Lilia, after getting on the stage, did not seek to find Senior Li Yun's centaur warrior for protection, nor did she choose the relatively safe edge of the arena. She just held that scepter emitting a dangerous aura, her expression calm, even looking at the other summons around her with a trace of curiosity, and then stood steadily in the very center of the arena, the most conspicuous position, and also the one most vulnerable to attacks from all directions!

On the other side, the imposing centaur warrior "Marathon," which should have been the focus of the whole arena, did not rush to the center of the arena to join Lilia as everyone expected after boarding the stage, nor did it occupy a favorable position. Its large horse head looked left and right, and then... it moved its heavy hooves, "tap, tap, tap," carefully, step by step, moving towards a relatively remote corner at the very edge of the arena! Finally, it even curled up its huge body as much as possible, held the battle-axe in front of it, and struck a defensive pose that said, "I'm just passing by, you guys fight, don't mind me."

What is going on?!

The whole arena instantly fell into an eerie silence.

Countless gazes switched back and forth between the Elf Priest in the center of the arena, who was alone but seemed as relaxed as if she were taking a walk in her own backyard, and the mighty centaur in the corner of the arena, who was shrinking its neck and had undergone a sudden change in style.

Everyone was stunned!

What happened to the promised team-up?

What happened to the promised rigged advancement?

How come Senior Li Yun's centaur... ended up crouching in the corner?

And why would that Lin Muyang's Elf Priest dare to stand so brazenly in the most dangerous center?

A huge question mark floated in the sky above the martial arts arena as if it were tangible. The originally clamorous accusations of "insider manipulation" were cut short, as if someone had grabbed them by the throat. Replacing them was a more intense feeling, a mixture of doubt, confusion, and a vague sense of unease and anticipation that things might be completely beyond their imagination.