187: Chapter 188 The Girls Eager to Appear

Unlike many geniuses who are keen on fame and fortune, Hao Qingshan has an introverted personality, and one could even say he is somewhat aloof. He rarely makes a move in public, nor has he ever participated in any large-scale competitions. To him, the rewards of ordinary competitions are not worth wasting his energy on, and his father's fame does not need him to add any more luster to it.

He is more accustomed to silently improving his strength behind the scenes, exploring more powerful demons, and delving into the deeper path of contracts. If it weren't for the grand prize of this tournament—that mythical grade skill book which can permanently increase two summon slots—which is simply too tempting for him, he probably wouldn't have appeared under these spotlights.

He had assumed that with his strength and background, once he entered the competition, he would inevitably sweep away all opponents with a crushing momentum, easily win the championship, and naturally become the focus of attention across the country, and even the world. But reality gave him a small surprise.

A young Summoner from Tianhai City named Lin Muyang emerged in a more dazzling and subversive way, attracting the eyes of the whole world. Lin Muyang's age, level, the peculiarity and power of his summons, and especially his unimaginable growth speed and battle record, almost snatched away all the Aura and topics about this tournament.

Regarding this, Hao Qingshan has no great waves in his heart, and even scoffs at it. He is not a person who is jealous of talent; he holds an appreciative attitude towards true geniuses. But in his view, the outside world's pursuit and bragging are somewhat excessive. He has carefully studied Lin Muyang's battle recordings and has to admit that for Lin Muyang to reach that level at his current level is indeed brilliant and has infinite future potential.

But potential is potential, and strength is strength. Level 50-something versus level 180-something; this is an insurmountable level gap, meaning a huge gap in attributes, skill levels, equipment quality, combat experience, and all-around aspects. Lin Muyang might be able to easily crush his peers, or even challenge some ordinary Class Transferees, but facing a true powerhouse like him, Hao Qingshan, who has accumulated for decades, possesses top-tier resources, an SSS-Rank Talent, and has contracted powerful demons, the outcome is almost without suspense.

"If it were in normal times, meeting such an up-and-comer, I might have the intention to make friends, or even not hesitate to give some pointers." Hao Qingshan sat upright in the exclusive quiet room for contestants, closing his eyes to rest, thinking indifferently in his heart, "Unfortunately, this is the arena, and I am determined to win the championship reward. For that mythical grade skill book, I will not, and cannot, show mercy. If you want to blame someone, blame yourself for being born at the wrong time and being in the same session as me."

He is not arrogant, but based on absolute self-confidence in his own strength. This self-confidence stems from his bloodline, his talent, and even more from the powerful strength he has painstakingly honed under his father's Aura for decades. He yearns to use this championship to prove it to his father, and to the world!

There are quite a few contestants among the top 32, which gathers the country's top Summoners, who hold similar thoughts to Hao Qingshan. None of those who can make it to this step are mediocre; everyone has considerable confidence in themselves, believing that the championship throne is not out of reach.

Among them, besides Hao Qingshan and Lin Muyang, there are two others who are most eye-catching.

One is a female Summoner from the local Kyoto area, with a level as high as 199, just one step away from the 200-level national-guardian threshold—Zhao Man. She looks like she is only twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, with exquisite features and a temperament that is a mix of charming and somewhat lazy, making it impossible to tell that her real age is nearly forty. In the era of the universal Class Transferee, powerful life energy is enough to delay aging, and there are even techniques for maintaining youth, so appearance can no longer be used as a basis for judging age.

Zhao Man's talent is also an SSS-Rank Talent, and her physique is "Youkai Affinity," capable of summoning and driving various Youkai that have cultivated successfully, such as flower spirits, fox spirits, tiger spirits, bear spirits, etc. Moreover, most of her Youkai summons have already cultivated human forms, with various shapes and strange and changeable abilities. She has long been famous internationally. Because her fighting style is secretive and unpredictable, and her summons are mostly in the form of seductive females, she has been dubbed the "Thousand-Faced Enchantress," and has demonstrated formidable strength in many international joint operations. The combat power of a top-tier Summoner can never be measured by ordinary Class Transferees of the same level; Zhao Man alone is enough to rival a well-trained 200-level elite squad.

In the Kyoto regional finals, Zhao Man narrowly lost to Hao Qingshan and had to settle for second place. But this was not because her strength was lacking, but more because Hao Qingshan was too mysterious and low-key; the outside world knew very little about the abilities and combat methods of his demon summons, and Zhao Man suffered a loss due to a lack of information. After that battle, she already has a considerable understanding of Hao Qingshan and is confident that if they fight again, relying on her rich experience and changeable tactics, her chances of winning are not small. In her heart, besides Hao Qingshan, there are two other strong contenders for the championship in this final.

Lin Muyang is naturally one of them. No matter how the outside world evaluates his level disadvantage, an experienced veteran like Zhao Man would never underestimate any opponent, especially a "variable" like Lin Muyang who has created too many miracles. She has carefully studied every match recording of Lin Muyang and concluded: This child's individual summon combat power is extremely strong, his tactical execution is decisive, and his growth potential is terrifying. Although his level is a hard flaw, he must never be measured by conventional wisdom and must be given the highest level of attention.

And the other person is a fierce man from the Northeast Province—Wang Meng. Wang Meng is about forty years old, level 166, seemingly a cut below Hao Qingshan and Zhao Man, but his physique is extremely special—"Ancient Titan Affinity"! What he summons are not ordinary giants, but Titan Giants from legends that possess ancient bloodlines!

These Titan summons are often ten or even twenty meters tall, possess immense strength, amazing defense, and once they grow to level 100 as adults, they have at least an SS-Rank Talent in bloodline, with huge potential. In the Northeast regional, Wang Meng's matches were simply "giant crushes" one after another. His Titan summons often only need one punch to blow the opponent and their summons out of the arena, demonstrating absolute power dominance. To this day, he also has not shown his strength limit, and like Lin Muyang, he is shrouded in a mysterious veil.

In the eyes of Zhao Man, Hao Qingshan, and even many senior spectators and analysts, Wang Meng's threat level is even above Lin Muyang's. The reason is simple: the level advantage is real. 166 versus 50-something; this gap of over a hundred levels means that Wang Meng's attributes, skill levels, and basic values added by equipment are likely several or even more than ten times that of Lin Muyang. Even if Lin Muyang's summons are gifted, whether they can break through the defense in the face of absolute power and defense is a question. Therefore, although many people marvel at Lin Muyang's talent, rationally analyzing, they are more optimistic about Wang Meng, who has a higher level and a more "solid" fighting style.

At this moment, in the huge circular venue of the Xia Kingdom Central Martial Arts Hall, the voices are boiling like boiling water. Hundreds of thousands of spectators are waving glow sticks and flags, shouting the names of the contestants they support, and the sound waves are almost about to overturn the dome. When Lin Muyang's figure, alone, walked unhurriedly from the contestant passage into the venue and stepped onto the special passage leading to the central contestant area, the noise of the entire venue seemed to reach a new climax.

"Lin Muyang! It's Lin Muyang!"

"Wow! So young! So handsome! He has even more charisma than he looks in the videos!"

"Did he really just change his class a month ago? This growth speed is too heaven-defying, right?"

"Look at the organizer's VIP seats! My god, how many big shots came today? Sword Saint Yue Jiuyang! Yang Ci! And is that... 'Northern King' Hao Tiangang?! Did he come in person to watch his son's match? No, wait, his eyes seem to be constantly on Lin Muyang?"

"The main characters of today's match are probably either Hao Qingshan or Zhao Man and Wang Meng. Although Lin Muyang is strong, the level gap is too big."

"I don't think so! When has Lin Muyang not challenged higher levels? I bet on him to cause an upset!"

"Come on, can those previous opponents compare to Hao Qingshan and Zhao Man? They are not on the same level at all! I bet on Hao Qingshan to win the championship!"

"I support Wang Meng! One force conquers ten skills! Titans are invincible!"

There was much discussion in the audience, with supporters for everyone, but undoubtedly, Lin Muyang's appearance attracted the most attention and discussion. Especially those young female spectators in the stands erupted into bursts of excited screams, among which there was no lack of fans holding light boards like "Lin Muyang Support Association" and "Yang God Invincible." Although Lin Muyang himself has never managed a fan group, his sudden emergence, handsome appearance, and mysterious and powerful image have long spontaneously attracted a large number of followers, forming a sizable fan group on the Internet.

For the tsunami-like cheers and the gazes cast from all directions that were curious, scrutinizing, admiring, or unconvinced, Lin Muyang seemed unaware. His expression was calm, his steps were steady, and he walked straight to his own seat in the contestant area and sat down calmly. His eyes did not even linger too much on the VIP seats or his competitors, as if this final scene, which would make anyone's blood boil, was no different from the place where he trained daily.

On the way here, he had already mastered the situation of the thirty-one opponents through the most detailed internal official information provided by Su Qingyue. At this moment, he seemed to be closing his eyes to rest, but in fact, his thoughts were racing in his mind, silently communicating with the young ladies in the summon space.

"Master, let me go for the first round of the melee! Qingyan guarantees that one breath of dragon fire will blast a large area to death!" Ao Qingyan's cold voice with a hint of eagerness sounded in Lin Muyang's mind.

"If Sister Qingyan goes, it will naturally be easy. However, if we send out our trump card in the first round, wouldn't it be bullying people too much?" Lilia's gentle voice carried a smile.

"Bullying people? Hmph, Master has said that a lion fighting a rabbit still uses its full strength. Besides, resolving the battle as soon as possible can also save time for Master." Elabess's voice carried her habitual coldness and rationality.

"I think the first round can be left to the sisters who are good at group attacks." Su Daji analyzed, "In the melee rules, kill counts and survival rankings both count towards points. If we can quickly clear out most of the opponents' summons, not only can we ensure our own high ranking, but it can also greatly weaken the opponents' subsequent strength. According to the data, the summons of other contestants are vastly different from us in terms of attributes. If the range skills are sufficient, we can instantly clear the field."

Lin Muyang listened to the discussion of the young ladies, and he already had a plan in his heart. Just as Su Daji said, the first round of the melee pursues efficient and rapid kills to establish a point advantage. Although with the current attributes of the young ladies, even basic attacks can easily crush them, using range skills is undoubtedly the most efficient.

"Elena has the strongest auxiliary ability, but her frontal clearing ability is slightly weaker, and she needs protection, so she is not suitable for a single-person melee. Lilia is more inclined towards healing and strategic support. Seraphina is good at assassination and single-target burst, and range attack is not her strength. Elabess's Abyss Demon Flame has a huge range, terrifying damage, and comes with continuous damage and debuffs, which is a good choice. Qingyan's Dragon Language Magic and sword formation are even more divine skills for clearing the field... However, Qingyan is one of our trump cards, she can appear a little later."

Lin Muyang quickly weighed the options. Finally, he made a decision.

"For the first round, just let..." He transmitted his thoughts.