357: Chapter 357 The Fate of Wen Yan

A moment later.

Several analysts in formal uniforms walked back quickly.

The leader, Team Leader Liu, still had a look of irritation on his face, clearly feeling that the intern was making a mountain out of a molehill and wasting his time.

"I'd like to see just what..."

His words came to an abrupt halt the moment he stepped onto the observation deck and saw the scene within the arena.

The remaining words were forced back down his throat.

His entire body froze in place, unable to take another step.

The colleagues behind him had the exact same reaction.

Their vision was completely seized by that brilliant sea of stars constructed by a hundred thousand clones, and the girl standing in the center of that celestial sea, appearing as if she were steeped in divinity.

What... is this?

Is this a move a student can pull off?

You've got to be kidding me!

Team Leader Liu's Adam's apple bobbed as he with difficulty shifted his gaze away from Lin Yao toward her opponent.

Lin Yu.

That Epic Rank Card Maker.

At this moment, he was standing quietly on the opposite side of the sea of stars, motionless.

Team Leader Liu's heart sank abruptly.

"Is... is he scared witless?"

"Quick! Prepare the emergency intervention protocol! If this strike lands, even an S-rank arena will be scrapped!"

"He's just an Epic Rank, how could he possibly take it! Someone will die!"

The intern analyst nearby heard their conversation and finally snapped out of it, hurriedly explaining.

"Team Leader Liu, it's not like that..."

His voice carried a hint of a sob.

"This was the condition Mr. Lin Yu proposed himself... He let Miss Lin Yao prepare her spell's startup to her heart's content..."

The air fell into a deathly silence.

Team Leader Liu and his colleagues slowly turned their heads, looking at the intern as if he were a madman.

Then, they looked at Lin Yu in the arena as if he were an even greater lunatic.

Has he gone mad?

No.

Even if Lin Yu was crazy, they, the people responsible for safety and security, couldn't go crazy with him!

Lin Yu was just a student; he might not be able to see through the true power of this strike at all.

Lin Yao was also a student; she might not know how heavy-handed this move of hers actually was.

Could they just watch with eyes wide open and not intervene?

Who would be responsible if something happened?

The group quickly exchanged looks and, in unison, cast their final hope toward that big shot in the corner who had remained silent the entire time.

Wen Yan.

However, Wen Yan was clearly immersed in some thought at the moment, his mind wandering far away.

His fingertips were unconsciously tapping on the control console, and his entire person radiated an aura that warned others not to approach.

Since Wen Yan didn't say anything, they didn't have the courage to overstep their bounds.

What they didn't know was...

In Wen Yan's mind, Zhong Huai's words were echoing repeatedly.

"The Chasm... he defeated himself."

He looked at Lin Yu's figure, which gradually overlapped with the childhood friend in his memory who had refused to accept fate but ultimately ended up broken and bloodied.

How similar.

This reminded him of many things from the past.

Anyway, Zhao Tianyang wasn't going on stage for this match.

If he slacked off for a bit, no one would notice.

The observation deck fell into an eerie silence.

Inside the Duel Arena, that world-ending energy had already climbed to its peak.

The hundred thousand clones finished their chanting.

"Captain Wen, are we really just going to watch and do nothing?" an intern analyst finally couldn't hold back, his voice urgent as he spoke up at this critical juncture.

Only then was Wen Yan pulled back from his thoughts.

He looked up, his gaze sweeping across the Duel Arena.

That sea of stars, constructed by nearly a hundred thousand clones, had already condensed into a world-ending force.

The pillar of energy was about to descend.

Holy shit, what the hell is going on?

He just zoned out for a second, where did this leave him?

He immediately didn't have time for more thought.

Wen Yan's body turned into an afterimage, disappearing directly from the monitoring room.

Everyone was stunned.

Team Leader Liu stood frozen, his mouth slightly agape.

He didn't even see clearly how Wen Yan had moved.

That figure was already gone.

"Where... where did he go?" an intern stammered.

Another person slammed the desk hard.

"No wonder they say there are no mediocre people in Fangs..." Team Leader Liu muttered to himself.

They had only thought Wen Yan was refined and reserved, a purely analytical talent.

Looking at it now, that was a complete misconception.

Wen Yan's figure landed in the center of the Duel Arena in the next instant.

He stood between Lin Yu and Lin Yao.

At this moment, the situation was like an arrow on a drawn bow.

Lin Yao's torrent of spells was already poised to strike.

Forcibly interrupting Lin Yao's move would definitely cause problems.

Protecting Lin Yu was also by no means an easy task.

Wen Yan made a split-second decision.

He brought his hands together, and strands of complex runes entwined around his fingertips.

The runes emitted a deep blue light, spreading rapidly.

"Lock-on Transfer!" Wen Yan shouted in a low voice.

It was an incantation that only he himself could hear clearly.

An invisible force instantly enveloped the entire Duel Arena.

All the targets locked onto by Lin Yao's hundred thousand clones were, at this moment, completely transferred to Wen Yan.

Only in this way...

...could he ensure nothing went wrong.

Lin Yu looked at Wen Yan, who had suddenly appeared in front of him.

He knew Wen Yan's strength wasn't weak.

But at this moment, Wen Yan stood before him, alone, to receive the full brunt of Lin Yao's impending offensive.

Lin Yu's body tensed slightly.

He didn't speak to stop him.

This was Wen Yan's choice.

It was also Wen Yan's duty.

Lin Yao's face still carried a hint of slight redness left over from her anger.

Her small fists were tightly clenched.

At this moment, she also saw Wen Yan.

Her spell had reached its final stage.

That world-ending power was entirely condensed by her.

She wanted her big brother to witness her power.

She wanted to prove herself.

To prove that she could stand on her own.

However.

Wen Yan's intervention disrupted her rhythm.

Lin Yao's hundred thousand clones had already locked onto the target.

They all raised their hands in unison.

Meanwhile, Wen Yan wasn't afraid at all, the light on his body flashing incessantly like a disco ball.

Layer upon layer of buffs, defense, and damage reduction effects stacked into a thick, brilliant armor of light on the surface of his body.

Although he didn't think Lin Yao's attack could have any decisive impact on him, he still showed sufficient respect.

This respect was both for the Mythical-level Professional Lin Yao and for his own duty as a member of the "Fangs" squad.

However, this intervention, which seemed natural to him, appeared as an obstructive performance in Lin Yu's eyes.

It was superfluous.

Lin Yu's plan was simple.

To use a spell that wasn't very powerful but had extremely strong control to let his sister clearly recognize the gap between them.

Frost Technique was the best choice.

It wouldn't cause substantial damage, but it was enough to dismantle Lin Yao's seemingly world-ending offensive and let her understand that the outcome of a battle never just depends on the total amount of energy.

But Wen Yan's appearance messed all that up.

With him blocking like this, the nature of it completely changed.

From a "teaching match" between siblings, it became a "hero saving the beauty" in the eyes of outsiders.

And the one being saved was a guy.

This made Lin Yu's subsequent "education" seem completely unconvincing.

But it didn't matter; Wen Yan being able to block Lin Yao's attack didn't necessarily mean he could block Lin Yu's.