193: Chapter 194 My skills don't have a cooldown.

Dead silence spread throughout the martial arts arena, but the fine, spiderweb-like black cracks remaining at the edge of the shattered space were like red-hot branding irons, searing the vision and hearts of everyone who was still conscious.

"Void Burst... that's the second time..."

The power of a mythic grade skill is usually directly proportional to its long cooldown time and massive consumption. Skills like Void Burst, which possess terrifying power and act directly upon the origin of space, typically have cooldowns measured in minutes or even hours, and the mental energy they consume is also astonishing. Yet, the stunning Nine-Tailed Fox in the arena had released it twice in succession, and her Aura remained steady and long, with not a trace of fatigue visible on her beautiful face, as if she had merely casually tossed out two small fireballs.

Was the skill itself special, possessing an extremely short cooldown? Or did she have some heaven-defying equipment or talent that could significantly reduce skill cooldowns? Or perhaps, it was a combination of both? Thoughts raced through Zhou Wenyuan's mind, but he could not arrive at a definitive answer. The fog shrouding Su Daji and Lin Muyang was even thicker than he had imagined.

The rhythm of the old man in military uniform's fingers tapping on the armrest accelerated slightly, revealing his inner unrest: "Continuous release... this means that in front of her, so-called defense, so-called tactics, and so-called consumption might all have lost their meaning. As long as one is locked onto by her, it is almost a guaranteed death sentence."

Xu Ruohan let out a soft breath, the brilliance in her beautiful eyes intensifying, but at the same time, a trace of gravity appeared: "It's not just the cooldown... look at her demeanor, it's so relaxed. Either this skill's consumption is negligible to her, or... she has even more and stronger trump cards that she hasn't used yet. This Lin Muyang, his method of cultivating a summon has already exceeded conventional boundaries."

They did not know that the reason Su Daji could be so unscrupulous was rooted in Lin Muyang's companion Aura originating from his god-level talent 【Infinite Evolution】—【Infinite Firepower】. The cooldown reduction as high as 99% made the cooldown time of the vast majority of skills almost negligible.

Combined with the additional cooldown reduction provided by Su Daji's own legendary-grade set, the actual cooldown time of a skill like Void Burst, which has a base cooldown of 300 seconds, was compressed to an extremely short duration. Coupled with Su Daji's own terrifying mental attributes and the massive mana regeneration provided by Lin Muyang, this level of skill consumption was indeed not too much of a burden for her.

Of course, apart from Lin Muyang himself, no one knew this. To others, this was simply naked, unreasonable suppression of strength.

At this moment, on the martial arts stage, the only opponent still standing was that Mountain-Crushing Titan Giant, which resembled a small mountain of rock.

It still maintained the posture it had when it was charmed, like a huge sculpture, motionless. Its massive body, reaching twenty meters in height, was covered in thick, mottled rock armor, full of a sense of power and solid beauty. However, the soul fire flickering in the eye sockets of this sculpture now appeared exceptionally dim and dazed. The effect of Su Daji's 【Innate Charm】 had not been dispelled; it remained deeply trapped in the impact of that incomparable "beauty," unable to think, unable to act.

On the contestant bench, Wang Meng's situation was not much better than his summon. Although he had already woken up, he was still holding his head, squatting on the ground, his face flushed, veins bulging on his forehead, looking extremely painful. His own attributes were severely lopsided; his strength and constitution were terrifyingly high, but his mental attribute was a weakness.

In front of Su Daji's charm skill, which had its power skyrocketed by the Demigod Level talent 【Overthrowing Cities and Nations】, his mental resistance appeared exceptionally fragile. Others might only be dazed for a few seconds or a dozen seconds, but he felt as if he had been struck hard on the soul by a heavy hammer; even now, he was still dizzy, his mind in chaos, and even the soul link with Yan Nu had become blurred, let alone giving any commands.

"This big dummy, is his mental resistance really that low?" Lin Muyang looked at Wang Meng's disheveled appearance and shook his head with some amusement. He had originally thought that a contestant who could make it to the national finals would have at least some means to resist mental control, but he hadn't expected this tough guy, known for his defense and strength, to be so pure in this regard.

However, the match had to end eventually.

Lin Muyang's thoughts stirred slightly, and through the soul contract, he conveyed a simple command to Su Daji.

On the martial arts stage, Su Daji received her master's will. She didn't even glance at the huge Titan, as if it were just an obstructive rock. She elegantly raised her slender hand, and the light at the tip of the staff in her hand transformed from the heart-palpitating void depth from before into elemental brilliance of different attributes: scorching, freezing, and violent.

Dealing with such a "wooden stake" that was completely controlled and unable to move, especially one known for its physical defense and elemental resistance, using the relatively high-consumption Void Burst was a bit of a waste. Other skills could solve it just as easily.

"Wind and Snow."

Her red lips parted slightly, spitting out two cold words.

In an instant, with the Mountain-Crushing Titan Giant at the center, the temperature within a radius of dozens of meters plummeted! Goose-feather-like heavy snow was generated out of thin air, swirling and roaring, and the biting cold wind was like countless ice blades, frantically cutting at the Titan Giant's thick rock body. The ice and snow not only brought extreme cold damage but also rapidly condensed a thick layer of frost on its body, attempting to freeze it completely. This was a high-tier ice-type area-of-effect skill—【Polar Storm】.

"Tsunami."

Su Daji tapped her staff again.

The ground under the Titan Giant's feet, the hard bluestone, suddenly began to ripple like the surface of water! Immediately after, a roaring sound of water exploded out of thin air, and the majestic water elements gathered into a blue giant wave several meters high, not surging from afar, but "gushing" directly out from the earth beneath its feet, slamming fiercely onto it! The giant wave contained immense force, impacting Yan Nu's massive body so that it swayed slightly, and the frost on its body was washed away in part, but more water flow frantically poured and squeezed along the rock crevices. This was a high-tier water-type area-of-effect skill—【Earth Surge】.

"Thunder."

Without the slightest pause, Su Daji's third skill had already been unleashed.

Above the area originally filled with wind, snow, and water waves, blinding lightning suddenly lit up! Bolts of azure lightning, as thick as water buckets, tore through the air, carrying an Aura of destroying everything, like the whip of the God of Thunder, lashing fiercely at the Mountain-Crushing Titan Giant's head, shoulders, and torso! The rumbling thunder was deafening, and electric snakes frantically darted and exploded on its rock body, leaving behind charred marks and even shattering some protruding rock spikes directly! This was a high-tier lightning-type area-of-effect skill—【Raging Thunder Descent】.

The wind and snow raged, the angry waves crashed, and the wild thunder roared!

Three distinct yet equally powerful natural elemental forces, under Su Daji's exquisite control, were not simply superimposed but produced a strange resonance and amplification. The extreme cold reduced the toughness of the rocks, the water infiltration intensified the conduction of lightning, and the violent thunder exploded between the ice and water, triggering even more intense energy bursts!

The Mountain-Crushing Titan Giant's proud and terrifying defense, which was almost immune to wind-type damage after being stacked with 【Adaptive Armor】, appeared stretched thin in front of this composite elemental bombardment with distinct attributes. Its rock skin became fragile in the frost, developed fine cracks under the impact and infiltration of the water flow, and was finally mercilessly torn apart and shattered by the violent thunder!

"Roar——!!"

In the continuous elemental bombardment, Yan Nu's massive body finally let out its first and last roar, filled with pain and unwillingness. But this roar was quickly drowned out by even more violent explosions.

It tried to struggle, tried to raise its arms to block, and tried to activate the talent skill 【Earth Tremor】 to disrupt the casting environment. However, it was all too late. Under the control of Su Daji's unreasonable 【Innate Charm】, it was like a living target that had lost all defensive capabilities, only able to passively endure this destructive elemental baptism.

Crack... Boom!

First, the outermost layer of rock armor on its body cracked and peeled off in large areas under the intertwining of ice and thunder, revealing the relatively "softer" rock torso underneath. Immediately after, the majestic water flow, like a high-pressure water jet, frantically poured, washed, and expanded along the cracks. Finally, several thick bolts of lightning merged into one, like a spear of divine punishment, accurately striking the vulnerable parts of its torso and joints!

Under the gaze of countless shocked eyes, that Mountain-Crushing Titan Giant, towering like a small mountain and symbolizing absolute defense, let out a groan of being unable to bear the burden. Its massive body was covered with huge, crisscrossing cracks, and hot, lava-like energy leaked out from the cracks, only to be rapidly cooled by the extreme wind and snow, emitting a "hissing" sound and releasing large amounts of white smoke.

Finally, with an earth-shattering bang, the Mountain-Crushing Titan Giant's twenty-meter-tall rock body exploded with a roar, as if explosives had been detonated inside! Countless hard stones the size of millstones, wrapped in lava and ice chips, flew out in all directions, smashing against the magic barrier at the edge of the martial arts arena, stirring up intense ripples.

The dust, mixed with water vapor, ice crystals, and electric light, slowly dissipated.

In its place, there was only a huge crater, and scattered on the ground were rock fragments that were gradually disappearing into points of light. The massive figure representing the Mountain-Crushing Titan Giant had completely vanished.

At the same time, on the contestant bench, Wang Meng, who had finally caught his breath from the mental shock, was struck as if by a heavy blow, violently spitting out a mouthful of blood. His face instantly turned pale as paper, and his Aura withered. The backlash from the breaking of the soul link, combined with the blow of witnessing his ace being so violently dismantled, made him unable to hold on any longer; his vision went dark, and he nearly fainted.

At this point, apart from Su Daji and the Little Grass Spirit Jiumi, who was firmly protected by her in an iceberg, unharmed and even curiously peeking through the gaps in the ice, there were no other living things left on the field.

A cruel battle of thirty-two to sixteen, from start to finish, had only lasted less than two minutes.

And in the end, the only things standing in the arena were the summons of two Summoners—Lin Muyang's Su Daji and Gu Shuanglin's Little Grass Spirit.

Su Daji turned around gracefully, not even looking at the devastated battlefield behind her. She raised her jade hand and lightly snapped her fingers.

The faint, intoxicating pink halo that had enveloped the entire arena receded rapidly like the tide, finally completely withdrawing into her body and disappearing.

【Innate Charm】, dispelled.

With the active dispelling of the skill, the audience and contestants who were originally still immersed in endless beautiful illusions seemed to wake up from a big dream, one after another, coming to their senses.

"Uh... what... just happened to me?"

"My head is so dizzy... did I have a beautiful dream?"

"The match! How is the match going?"

"Where is my summon?!"

After a brief moment of daze, a tidal wave of confusion, shock, puzzlement, and angry clamor swept through the entire martial arts arena like a tsunami!

[part:gemini-3.0-flash]

Those contestants whose summons were cleared in the first wave of the wind blade vortex now looked at the empty martial arts stage, and then at the dimmed soul contract marks in front of them representing the "death" of their summons. One by one, their faces turned pale and their eyes went hollow, completely unable to accept this reality.

"W-what happened? Where is my Iron-Winged Thunderbird?"

"My Shadow Demon Wolf! How could this..."

"Who did it? Who killed my summon?!"

"It's that fox! It's Lin Muyang's Nine-Tailed Fox!"

Finally, someone reacted, casting a gaze filled with shock and anger toward that peerlessly beautiful figure standing alone in the center of the arena, and at the young man on the contestants' bench who remained calm and indifferent throughout.

Gu Shuanglin also slowly woke up. She shook her still somewhat groggy head and subconsciously looked toward the martial arts stage. When she saw her Little Grass Spirit, Jiumi, perfectly protected by the iceberg, and Su Daji, standing beside the iceberg looking matchless in her elegance, she was first stunned. Then, her beautiful eyes widened instantly, her small mouth opened slightly, and her face was filled with disbelief.

"I-it's over? My Jiumi is fine? Everyone else is gone?" She quickly inquired with the Little Grass Spirit through their soul link, but only received a series of dazed and fearful "Jiu-mi Jiu-mi" sounds from the little fellow. Clearly, being protected inside the iceberg, it also knew very little about what happened outside.

"How... how on earth did this happen?" Gu Shuanglin was completely bewildered. She only remembered that at the moment the match began, she seemed to daze out for a second, and then... it was like this? Lin Muyang's summon really swept the entire field single-handedly? Even the trump cards of those three monsters—Hao Qingshan, Wang Meng, and Zhao Man—were all taken out?

She hurriedly looked at the surrounding large screens, which had already begun playing back the recording of the battle just now.

Not just her, but all the contestants still in a state of confusion and most of the audience also locked their eyes onto the large screens.

When they saw Su Daji cause everyone on the field to fall into a stupor with just a snap of her fingers, exclamations rang out again.

When they saw that terrifying cyan tornado of wind blades sweep across the field, easily shredding more than twenty powerful summons like mowing grass, the sound of people gasping for air rose one after another.

When they saw the Heavy Hammer Demon Trixis being cut into several pieces by a strange void power and ultimately annihilated, many people couldn't help but cover their mouths, their faces full of horror.

When they saw the Thousand-Year Scorpion Spirit Scarlet Serpent being silently erased along with the surrounding space, the entire venue fell into a deathly silence, so quiet that a pin drop could be heard.

When they saw the Mountain Quake Titan Giant being torn into pieces alive by the triple elemental bombardment of snow, tsunami, and thunder, many people had already become numb, leaving only awe and fear for such absolute power.

The video playback ended.

Inside the massive martial arts hall, a long and eerie silence fell.

So that was how the match ended.

It turned out they didn't lose because of tactics, coordination, or a gap in strength, but rather to an overwhelming power that was simply not in the same dimension.

Charming the entire field, elemental clearing, void sniping, violent dismantling... the whole process was as smooth as flowing water, so effortless it was as if someone had casually swatted a few flies while taking a stroll after dinner.

"Unfair! This match is unfair!" Finally, a contestant whose mental state had collapsed shouted out hoarsely, their face flushed with agitation and humiliation. "There's definitely something wrong with her charm skill! How can there be a control skill with such range and intensity? How are we supposed to fight? I demand a rematch!"

"Right! Rematch! This skill must be a violation of the rules!"

"Even the Nation-Guarding Lords were affected; this is definitely a bug! I demand the organizing committee conduct a strict investigation!"

"Lin Muyang must have used some illegal means! Otherwise, how could he be so strong?"

Some eliminated contestants, especially those who had high hopes but were insta-killed at the start, now turned all their frustration and unwillingness into questioning Lin Muyang and Su Daji's skills, shouting one after another in an attempt to grasp at a final straw.

However, their protests appeared weak and powerless in the face of a detailed battle data report subsequently released by the officials, which had been jointly verified by several Nation-Guarding Level Experts and formation masters.

The report explicitly stated:

The [Innate Charm] cast by Su Daji is a mental control skill. Its effect, range, and control intensity are all within the reasonable limits of her own attributes, talents, equipment bonuses, and the Summoner Aura amplification. No traces of illegal items or external energy injection were detected.

Although the skill has a vast area of effect, the control duration on units with high mental attributes and high willpower is extremely short (the effect on Nation-Guarding Level Experts lasted less than 0.5 seconds), which is consistent with the skill's characteristics. Long control durations on units with low mental attributes are a normal phenomenon.

[Void Burst] is a mythic grade space-attribute skill. Its power, cooldown, and consumption are basically consistent with the characteristics of similar recorded skills, and no abnormalities were found.

Upon retrospective inspection, the magic barrier functioned normally during the match with no external interference. The match results are valid.

Once the official report was released, the voices clamoring for a rematch immediately died down, replaced by a deathly dejection and even deeper shock.

Within reasonable limits?

Reasonable amplification?

Consistent with similar skill characteristics?

Every word in this report was like a heavy hammer striking their hearts. This instead indirectly confirmed an even more terrifying fact—this summon of Lin Muyang's, her base attributes, talent strength, skill levels, equipment bonuses... everything had reached a terrifying height that they could neither understand nor reach! The so-called "unreasonable" was only because they were too weak to comprehend that level of power!

"He won... he really won... and in such a manner..." Gu Shuanglin looked at the official report, then at Lin Muyang, who was still calm on the contestants' bench, and then at the figure of the fox girl standing quietly on the martial arts stage as if she had just done something trivial. A complex emotion she couldn't describe surged in her heart.

There was relief, fear in hindsight, and shock, but more than anything, a wordless excitement. She had bet right! Lin Muyang had not only fulfilled his promise, but he had done so in a posture that crushed everything and shocked the entire venue! Following such a big shot, even if she only got a few scraps, it would be enough to benefit her and her family immensely!

As for the other contestants, like Hao Qingshan and Zhao Man, although their faces were still unsightly, they also fell silent upon seeing that official report. They were all true geniuses with knowledge and mentalities far beyond ordinary people. They knew very well that since the officials dared to release such a report, it meant they had already recognized the "legitimacy" of Lin Muyang's strength. To question Lin Muyang was to question the authority of the officials and the vision and judgment of the seven Nation-Guarding Level Experts.

When one's strength is inferior to another's, there is nothing to be said. It was just that this "inferiority" was a gap so large it led to despair.

Just then, a muffled voice filled with obvious excitement and admiration broke the slightly oppressive atmosphere on the contestants' side.

"Lin Muyang... oh no, Boss!"

The burly Northeastern man, Wang Meng, had recovered at some point. His face was still a bit pale and his Aura was somewhat weak, but those bell-like eyes were frighteningly bright. He rushed in front of Lin Muyang in a few strides, stopping about two or three meters away, and then without hesitation, he cupped his fists and bowed deeply to Lin Muyang in an extremely solemn salute.

"I, Wang Meng, am convinced! Utterly convinced and full of admiration!" His voice was loud, carrying the characteristic straightforwardness and honesty of a Northeasterner. "From now on, I, Wang Meng, am your most loyal subordinate! If you tell me to go east, I'll never dare go west!"

Lin Muyang was stunned by this sudden move and waved his hand with a wry smile. "Student Wang Meng, it was just a match, there's no need for this."

"No, no, no!" Wang Meng shook his head like a rattle, looking dead serious. "My old man said that a real man should be able to afford to win and even more so afford to lose! You and your summon are incredibly strong; I didn't lose unfairly at all! I'm a crude man and don't know how to say pretty words, but I've decided—you are my boss from now on! If there's anything you need me for, just give the order!"

This incredibly blunt declaration, which was almost like a pledge of fealty, not only left Lin Muyang a bit dazed but also left the other surrounding contestants and many audience members in the stands dumbfounded. This was Wang Meng, the most outstanding genius of the Northeastern Wang Family's current generation, known for his defense and strength and possessing a fierce and fiery personality. When had anyone ever seen him so respectful to someone, even willing to call himself a "subordinate"?

However, an even more unexpected scene occurred.

The feminine and deep-thinking Zhao Man also walked over gracefully. The previous paleness and fear on her face had long since vanished, replaced by a perfectly measured smile filled with a hint of awe and appreciation. She first took a deep look at Lin Muyang, then her gaze bypassed him to land on Su Daji standing behind him. A flash of deep wariness crossed her eyes, but it was quickly masked.

"Little brother Lin Muyang, a hero truly comes from youth; you've really opened my eyes." Zhao Man's voice carried a unique softness, but her tone was very serious. "If I offended you in any way before, please forgive me. I wonder if you'd do me the honor of adding me as a friend? If you have leisure time in the future, we could exchange pointers. Also..." She paused, a perfectly timed smile of elder-like concern appearing on her face. "That good-for-nothing girl of mine is about your age and usually admires young heroes the most. If she knew about you, she would certainly be very happy. Perhaps I can introduce you to each other when there's a chance?"

Lin Muyang: "..." Isn't this topic jumping a bit too fast? They were just fighting to the death a moment ago, and now she's starting to promote her own daughter?

With Wang Meng and Zhao Man "taking the lead," the other contestants who originally felt awe or even fear toward Lin Muyang now seemed to have found a breakthrough and crowded around. Although they didn't go as far as Wang Meng to directly recognize him as boss, they were all smiles and respectful tones, not hiding their various praises and intentions to make friends.

"Student Lin Muyang, your strength is astonishing. I am truly impressed!"

"Only today did I learn that there is always someone better. Student Lin Muyang has truly given us a good lesson!"

"I wonder if Student Lin Muyang is free after the match? I have prepared a small banquet in Kyoto and hope you will grace us with your presence."

"Brother Lin Muyang, I am Li from Xishan Province..."

For a moment, Lin Muyang's surroundings became quite "lively." These arrogant geniuses finally lowered their heads in the face of absolute strength. They all knew very well that with the terrifying strength and potential Lin Muyang displayed today, his future achievements would certainly be limitless. If they didn't make friends now, then when? Even if they just got on familiar terms, it might bring infinite benefits in the future.