188: Chapter 189 Gu Shuanglin's Invitation to Form an Alliance

In the Chaos Arena, a total of thirty-two Summoners participated, each one a top expert who had gone through layers of selection and stood out from various provinces and major competition zones across the country. Their levels were generally above 140, and among them, there was no lack of monsters like Hao Qingshan, Zhao Man, and Wang Meng, whose levels, talents, and backgrounds were all top-tier. In such a lineup, Lin Muyang, whose level was only in the fifties, was undoubtedly the chick among the cranes, his low level glaringly obvious.

However, no one on the scene dared to look down on him in the slightest. From the moment Lin Muyang stepped into the contestant area, countless gazes—some curious, some scrutinizing, some solemn, some wary—focused on him. The miracles he created at the Provincial Tournament, and those mysterious and powerful summon young ladies of his, had long since spread across the country through recordings. This was an out-and-out anomaly that had broken countless conventional understandings.

The atmosphere in the organizer's VIP section was equally unusual. Today, the number of Nation-Guarding Level Experts present to watch the ceremony reached a staggering seven! This almost exceeded the specifications of any previous Summoner Competition final. They sat with dignity or whispered to each other, but their gazes all invariably and intentionally or unintentionally swept over the young figure sitting quietly in the contestant area.

Xu Ruohan, this stunningly beautiful woman who also rose as a genius Summoner and was now ranked at the Nation-Guarding Level, sat quietly in a corner of the VIP section. Today, she was wearing a pale cyan palace-style long dress, her temperament refined, her eyes clear, looking no more than twenty years old, no different from many young contestants in the contestant area below. Her gaze stayed on Lin Muyang for most of the time, carrying a senior's appreciation for an outstanding junior, as well as a trace of imperceptible inquiry.

Beside her, Zhou Wenyuan, also a Nation-Guarding Level Expert, was currently looking at Lin Muyang below, with an undisguised appreciative smile on his face, and whispered to Xu Ruohan beside him: "This kid is extraordinary. I, Old Zhou, have lived for so long, and this is the first time I've seen such a bizarre talent. Old Liu has really picked up a treasure this time."

Xu Ruohan nodded gently, her vermilion lips parted slightly, her voice like a flowing clear spring: "Senior Liu has always had a unique eye. It's just... when a tree stands out in the forest, the wind will surely destroy it. Today's occasion gathers the eyes of the whole country, and also gathers countless schemes. His level is ultimately a hard flaw, and I am afraid that he is young and vigorous, showing too much edge, and will instead become a target for everyone."

Zhou Wenyuan laughed heartily, unconcerned: "What are you afraid of? With us old guys here, can we let him suffer a loss? Besides, I think this kid is very steady and knows what he's doing."

Xu Ruohan did not answer, a flash of hesitation crossed her beautiful eyes, but she finally made up her mind. She was not a meddlesome person, but Lin Muyang's potential was simply too great, and its significance to the future of the Xia Kingdom was extraordinary. She did not want to see such a good talent suffer a loss in such a critical competition due to a lack of competition experience, or even have his mentality affected.

Her slender jade fingers gently pinched a spell in her wide sleeves, and a faint but pure spiritual power, like an invisible thread, silently crossed the noisy crowd and barriers, accurately connecting to Lin Muyang's ear. This was a highly sophisticated "Heart-Sound Transmission" spell, extremely secretive, and difficult for ordinary experts to detect.

"Little friend Lin Muyang," Xu Ruohan's voice, which carried a trace of seriousness amidst the softness, sounded directly in Lin Muyang's mind, "The first round is a chaotic battle, the water is muddy, and the situation is complex. I suggest you do not perform too prominently, just aim for a mid-tier result. Conserve your strength and hide your trump cards. If you show overwhelming strength from the beginning, you will likely become a target for everyone, and be jointly targeted by other contestants in the subsequent two rounds, which will make the path to advancement much more difficult. Remember, in the chaotic battle stage, survival and points are equally important; sometimes forbearance is more effective than eruption."

This was her experience as someone who had been through it, and also a well-intentioned reminder. She had also suffered in a similar competition format back in the day.

Lin Muyang, who was closing his eyes to rest and having a final communication with the young ladies in the summoning space, suddenly heard this soft female voice in his ear. He was slightly stunned at first, and then a faint, imperceptible arc curled up at the corner of his mouth. He did not expect that this Nation-Guarding Level senior, known for her coldness, would secretly transmit a message to remind him.

He did not open his eyes immediately, but instead used his spiritual power to activate a "Spiritual Link Transmission" skill he had learned in his spare time, which was of legendary-grade. The learning requirements for this skill were extremely high, and it was extremely unpopular, but it had perverted requirements for spiritual power, which just happened to suit him. A more condensed spiritual feedback, almost without causing any fluctuations, flowed upstream along the invisible connection and was accurately delivered to Xu Ruohan's perception.

"Thank you for the reminder, Senior Xu." Lin Muyang's voice, calm with a hint of a smile, rippled directly in Xu Ruohan's heart, "However, Senior, if I remember correctly... you didn't keep a low profile during the chaotic battle in a similar competition format back then, did you? I remember in the recording, your Angel Legion was slaughtering in all directions; you couldn't keep a low profile even if you wanted to."

The cold expression on Xu Ruohan's beautiful face suddenly stiffened, her clear eyes widened slightly, and a flash of astonishment crossed them. She never expected that Lin Muyang would not only know such an advanced transmission spell, but the content of his reply... was actually teasing her "dark history" from back then? When she participated in the National Competition back then, she was indeed young and vigorous, and extremely confident in her own strength, so she summoned the powerful Six-Winged War Angel during the chaotic battle stage and pushed everything horizontally, never considering the word forbearance at all. She didn't expect this kid to remember even that?

After a brief moment of distraction, Xu Ruohan transmitted again, feeling a bit helpless: "That's different. That was a small-scale ten-person chaotic battle, and the impact was controllable. But today is thirty-two people on the same field, the scale is larger, there are more variables, and there are quite a few deeply hidden, experienced opponents. Once you are focused, even if your summons are strong, it is inevitable that you will be unable to attend to one thing while losing another."

"It doesn't matter, it's all the same." Lin Muyang's reply was still short, but it carried an unquestionable indifference and confidence, "Thank you for your concern, Senior."

Feeling the almost absolute calmness and certainty in Lin Muyang's tone, Xu Ruohan swallowed back the words that were on the tip of her tongue. She took a deep look at the young man below who was still closing his eyes to rest, seemingly indifferent to the coming storm, and a ripple stirred in her heart.

"It seems... we still underestimated him." Xu Ruohan thought to herself, withdrew her spiritual link, and said no more. She was not a stubborn person; since Lin Muyang dared to say so, he must have his reliance. She began to be a little curious about what kind of performance this young man could bring today.

Meanwhile, around the Kyoto Central Martial Arts Stadium, under the seemingly calm city night sky, an invisible net had already been spread.

A few kilometers away from the Martial Arts Stadium, on the edge of the rooftop of a skyscraper, a figure as straight as a pine stood against the wind. He looked about fifty or sixty years old, his hair was already graying, but his face was gaunt, his eyes as sharp as an eagle's, wearing a washed-white old-fashioned long gown, and a simple, sheathless long sword hung loosely at his waist. He was holding a vermilion wine gourd in his hand, looking up to sip from time to time, his posture free and uninhibited; it was the Sword Saint of the Xia Kingdom, Liu Qingtian.

He looked leisurely, but in fact, his spiritual power had already covered a huge area with a radius of more than fifty kilometers centered on the Martial Arts Stadium like mercury pouring onto the ground, silently. Any trace of abnormal energy fluctuation, any suspicious breath, could not escape his perception of "Sword Heart Clarity."

"This kid has finally reached this step." Liu Qingtian looked at the brightly lit Martial Arts Stadium in the distance, where the sound waves could be faintly heard, a look of gratification appeared on his face, and he muttered to himself, "Fight well, and let those old guys open their eyes too. When you truly grow up, this old bone of mine might be able to put down the burden and find a place with beautiful mountains and clear waters to drink for a few years..."

To ensure the absolute safety of this competition, especially Lin Muyang, the official authorities of the Xia Kingdom had almost used the strongest security forces they could mobilize. In addition to the seven Nation-Guarding Level Experts sitting in the VIP section, more than ten top experts with levels above 200 were lurking in various key nodes in Kyoto! They were either veteran military generals or reclusive masters, and they had all received the highest-level orders to ensure the smooth progress of the competition and prevent any interference and destruction from all external forces. Under this level of defense, any foreign force wanting to infiltrate and engage in small actions would be no different from wishful thinking.

Inside the venue, the mountain-calling and sea-howling sound waves almost blew the roof off. The passionate voice of the commentator, the gorgeous summoning light when the contestants appeared, the crazy cheering of the audience... all intertwined into a rhapsody called the Final.

Across the country, hundreds of millions of eyes focused here through magical projection. In Zhongnan City, inside the Ziyun Mountain Villa, Shen Muyao, Su Qingyue, Chiba Ruri, and other beautiful young ladies who were close to Lin Muyang sat nervously in front of the huge magical projection screen; in Tianhai City, at the Gu Group headquarters, Gu Xiaoyu and many senior executives were also holding their breath; Lin Muyang's former classmates, teachers, and countless people who knew or did not know him had stopped what they were doing at this moment and cast their eyes on the screen.

In Tianhai City, the Gu family. Gu Xiaoyu clenched her hands tightly, her nails almost digging into her flesh, her beautiful eyes staring unblinkingly at the contestant seat on the screen that represented her sister, Gu Shuanglin. Being able to break into the top 32 in the country had already exceeded the expectations of many in the family and was a huge honor. But at this moment, looking at the figures on the contestant seats who were more terrifying than the other, Gu Xiaoyu's heart tightened. She knew that every step her sister would take next would be extremely difficult.

On the contestant seat, Gu Shuanglin was wearing a sharp silver outfit, outlining her tall and graceful figure. Her beautiful face looked calm, but her slightly pursed lips and the gaze that swept toward the strong enemies from time to time revealed that she was not relaxed inside. Her level was 145, with an SS-Rank Talent, which was top-tier in Jiangnan Province, but placed among these top 32, it could only be considered mid-to-lower tier. Especially the existence of Hao Qingshan, Zhao Man, and Wang Meng gave her huge pressure.

Before the competition, there had indeed been discussions within the family, hoping to find a powerful ally for her to look after each other during the chaotic battle stage and improve her survival rate and points. The best choices were naturally the three favorites to win: Hao Qingshan, Zhao Man, and Wang Meng. The Gu family had also sent people to contact them, but the conditions offered by the other party were extremely harsh, involving a large amount of resources, commercial interests, and even future commitments. Several major factions within the family argued endlessly about this and were unable to reach a consensus for a long time.

Seeing that the competition was about to begin, the matter of the ally was still unresolved. Gu Shuanglin took a deep breath and cast her gaze toward the figure not far away who was always calm and indifferent—Lin Muyang.

She had had interactions with Lin Muyang; they competed on the same stage during the Provincial Tournament and she was crushed, and later Lin Muyang also acquired secret realm scrolls through her, so the two sides had established an initial commercial connection and a thin friendship. Compared to those arrogant and harsh old-school experts, Lin Muyang gave her a feeling that was more pure? Moreover, Lin Muyang's strength, verified by the Provincial Tournament, was definitely not to be underestimated, and he might even have deeper trump cards hidden.

The hesitation was only for a moment, and Gu Shuanglin made a decision. She quietly took out her mobile phone, quickly edited a message, and sent it to Lin Muyang's communication number. This was one she had saved privately, and she didn't expect it to be used at this time.

"Classmate Lin Muyang, the chaotic battle is imminent. I wonder if we can form an alliance temporarily? Look after each other and strive for a better ranking. Conditions can be discussed. —Gu Shuanglin"

The message was sent, and Gu Shuanglin's heartbeat accelerated slightly. She knew this was a bit presumptuous and might even be rejected, but this was the most likely and "cost-effective" choice she could think of at the moment.

Lin Muyang, who was having a final tactical communication with Isabella, felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He raised his eyebrows slightly. Who would send a message at this time? He took it out and saw it was Gu Shuanglin's alliance request.

"You're only coming to talk about an alliance now?" Lin Muyang was a little surprised, but then he remembered the sincerity and efficiency the other party showed when helping to collect secret realm scrolls a few days ago, and the 20% discount she proactively offered. For him, taking care of the other party in the chaotic battle was just a small effort.

He thought for a moment, his fingers tapped quickly on the screen, and he replied: "Okay. Let your weakest summon go into battle. I can't guarantee anything else, but I can let you survive until the end of this chaotic battle."

The message was sent.

Gu Shuanglin received the reply almost immediately. After seeing the content clearly, her delicate body trembled slightly, and surprise and hesitation flashed in her beautiful eyes, which then turned into a trace of determination.

"Let the weakest summon go into battle?" This meant that she almost had to give up actively obtaining kill points in the first chaotic battle and completely entrusted the hope of "survival" to Lin Muyang's promise. Lin Muyang... does he really have the ability to ensure that a "burden" like her survives to the end in such a chaotic and cruel 32-person battle?

This decision was extremely risky. If Lin Muyang could not fulfill his promise, or if an accident occurred halfway, she would not only lose a precious opportunity for her summon to fight, but her points would also be disastrous, basically declaring that she had no chance with the top eight.

But for some reason, looking at the short two lines of Lin Muyang's calm reply, a sense of inexplicable trust rose in Gu Shuanglin's heart. Perhaps it was because of his unrivaled performance in the Provincial Tournament, perhaps because of his calmness and indifference that transcended his age, or perhaps... just an intuition in a desperate situation.

Just at this moment, above the venue, the huge magical light and shadow changed again, condensing into 32 clear contestant avatars and names. The passionate system prompt sounded through the amplification magic array and resounded throughout the venue:

"Please all contestants, make the final confirmation of the summons for the first 'Chaos Arena' battle! The summoning magic array will be activated simultaneously!"