188: Congshuang's sense of crisis

Chapter 188: Cong Shuang's Sense of Crisis

The first round of the competition quickly concluded.

Fifty people advanced to the second round, which would resume at 2 PM.

After announcing the results of the first round, the host gave a brief summary.

"I believe everyone witnessed the thrilling process of the first round of competition."

"As expected of the elites recommended from all over Dragon Xia, the battles were truly spectacular!"

"Contestants who lost, do not be disheartened. It's not that you are not strong enough, but simply that your opponents were a bit more outstanding."

"Contestants who won, do not be arrogant. Your journey has just begun!"

"Of course, in this competition, there were also a few dark horses that caught everyone's attention, making our competition even more exciting."

"Like you, I am very much looking forward to the second round of competition this afternoon."

"See you at 2 PM!"

...

In truth, the host didn't really watch the matches closely.

After all,

one cannot see everything and hear everything at once.

It's impossible to meticulously observe every contestant's match.

This speech was almost identical to the one given every year.

But this year was different.

There truly was a dark horse that sparked widespread discussion!

He was Lu Ran, the Undead Mage from Black Fire City!

Many spectators present hadn't actually seen Lu Ran's battle process, as it was simply too fast.

The battle between an Undead Mage and a Mystic Armor Berserker itself wasn't particularly exciting.

However, the news of the fastest match completion still spread everywhere.

An Undead Mage, who wasn't even qualified to participate in the Hundred Cities League, not only managed to participate but also defeated his opponent in the fastest time!

And it wasn't just defeating his opponent; his opponent happened to be a Mystic Armor Berserker, a class that completely countered Undead Mages!

Given the natural disadvantage, how did he manage to defeat his opponent in the fastest time?

For a time, rumors spread like wildfire!

"He must have connections, right? An Undead Mage can participate in the Hundred Cities League now?"

"What's the use of connections? His opponent was a Mystic Armor Berserker, a complete counter to magic-based professions!"

"They said he has connections. Is it really that hard to make his opponent give up resistance and go up there with garbage equipment?"

"This is favoritism!"

"I seriously doubt the fairness of the Hundred Cities League now."

"Damn it, which young master is this running up to compete? How annoying!"

"In the second round, I'm going to keep an eye on him!"

...

It was predictable that this would be accompanied by significant doubts about Lu Ran from many people.

This was normal; it would be strange if there were no doubts.

After the competition ended,

Cong Shuang also returned to the Cong Family.

"Xiao Yu, before your match, you said that your friend, Lu Ran, was very powerful. How powerful is he? Can you tell me in detail what you two did yesterday?" Cong Shuang asked impatiently.

"Oh, we didn't do much yesterday, just went to complete a quest." Cong Yu cautiously glanced at Cong Jixian and stammered.

"Tell me the truth." Cong Shuang rolled her eyes at Cong Yu.

She knew this younger sister too well.

Especially when lying, she loved to watch her father Cong Jixian's reaction.

"Aiya, actually, we just went to complete a quest. The quest was a bit dangerous at the time, so I asked Lu Ran for help, and it was indeed very dangerous. At that time..."

Cong Yu recounted everything that happened during the quest yesterday in detail.

Upon hearing this, Cong Shuang immediately understood why Cong Yu had been stammering and afraid to speak.

Cong Jixian was the first to react.

He widened his eyes and said, "Second girl, are you ignoring my words? You accepted such a dangerous, high-difficulty, cross-level quest? If it weren't for Lu Ran, do you know what would have happened to you?!"

It was clear that Cong Jixian was very angry.

Cong Yu also knew she had made a mistake, being a bit reckless and impulsive, and didn't dare to speak.

Cong Shuang, meanwhile, looked at Cong Yu in astonishment.

She pondered, "Titan Python? That should be a BOSS-level wild creature, right?"

At this moment,

a young man wearing glasses beside her spoke up, "I checked the data. It should be a Ruin BOSS, located in the Southern Frontier."

Cong Shuang's head buzzed after hearing that.

Ruin BOSS!

And a Ruin BOSS from the Southern Frontier. An Undead Mage could actually summon that thing during battle?

An Undead Mage, a Ruin BOSS—how did these two connect?

"What else?" Cong Shuang continued to ask.

"Nothing else. The rest were Undead creatures summoned by Lu Ran's Legion Guard skill. But I don't know if it's just my imagination, Lu Ran's Skeleton Soldiers summoned by Legion Guard are incredibly powerful. Their stats seem to far exceed those of other Undead Mages' Skeleton Soldiers, even stronger than the Skeleton Soldiers of high-level Undead Mages I've encountered!" Cong Yu mused.

Cong Shuang heard this and did not ignore Cong Yu's 'imagination'.

She turned to look at the people brought by the Cong Family.

Pointing a finger, she said, "You are an Undead Mage. Come, cast a Legion Guard."

The subordinate did as he was told, dutifully.

Immediately,

ten Skeleton Soldiers appeared before them.

Cong Shuang then looked at Cong Yu, pointed at the Skeleton Soldiers, and asked, "Look at the stats of these Skeleton Soldiers. How do they compare to Lu Ran's Skeleton Soldiers?"

Cong Yu turned her head to look, specifically staring at the Skeleton Soldiers' stat panel.

Then she said, "When Lu Ran summoned them, they immediately Corpse Exploded. I don't remember the exact stats, but they were definitely much, much stronger than these Skeleton Soldiers."

Cong Shuang's eyes narrowed slightly.

This Undead Mage, Cong Ji, was Level 51!

His equipment was also top-tier.

But the Skeleton Soldiers he summoned were actually inferior to Lu Ran's?

And according to Cong Yu, Lu Ran's Skeleton Soldiers were much, much stronger than these Skeleton Soldiers!

"By the way, what happened on Ring 6 just now? Did you see it?" Cong Shuang continued to ask.

"I didn't see it clearly, but I had someone watching. Lu Ran cast a Blood Spear at the time," Cong Yu said.

Cong Shuang was still waiting for Cong Yu to continue.

But she realized Cong Yu had no intention of saying more.

She suddenly reacted and asked doubtfully, "That's it? Just cast a Blood Spear?"

"Mm-hmm, just one Blood Spear." Cong Yu nodded.

"One Blood Spear instantly killed his opponent? What class was his opponent?" Cong Shuang quickly pressed on.

"I remember that. It was a Mystic Armor Berserker," Cong Yu said truthfully.

Cong Shuang found it hard to describe her feelings at this moment.

An Undead Mage, casting one Blood Spear, instantly killed a Mystic Armor Berserker, a class known for its magic resistance and hailed as the bane of magic-based professions!

The battle ended in a few seconds!

"Indeed, that Lu Ran, he's not right!" Cong Shuang murmured.

She had even hoped before this that Lu Ran might have just been lucky enough to encounter some weakling professional from another academy.

Or perhaps,

his opponent had withdrawn or surrendered due to some accident or reason.

But the real result slapped Cong Shuang hard in the face.

"Big girl, don't pay too much attention to him. Even if that Lu Ran is strange, he is ultimately just an Undead Mage. The championship will definitely be yours, and becoming a core member of the Tiandao Alliance is your ultimate goal," Cong Jixian said to Cong Shuang.

Core member of the Tiandao Alliance...

Cong Shuang even felt a bit bitter inside.

She handed a document to Cong Jixian and said, "Before this, Lu Ran was already a core member of the Tiandao Alliance, and not only that..."