124: Chapter 123 Ends with the Eye of the Greedy Wolf

The comments in the livestream spiraled out of control the moment the finalists were confirmed.

"It's here, it's here, it's finally here! The ultimate showdown!"

"Little Luck Technique vs. Wall of Despair! Just putting those names together sounds like a movie!"

"Honestly… I think there's some suspense."

"Suspense my ass. With three Gold Tier powerhouses holding the line and the Renaissance's main cannon capable of wiping out an island, what does Captain Ye Shuang's team have to fight with?"

"Luck, obviously. They've had zero casualties in the first seven matches. You're telling me there's no suspense?"

"Zero casualties is because their opponents were all Silver Grade. Zheng Yuanshan's side is Gold Tier, Zhang Haotian has the sea gods horn, and President Shen Qing is an infinite healer—with those three standing together, no matter how good your luck is, you can't hurt them if you can't land a hit."

"So what's the conclusion?"

"Little Luck Technique can't kill the Wall of Despair, but the Wall of Despair might not be able to hit Little Luck Technique either. I'm betting on a stalemate."

"What are the odds for a stalemate?"

"One to four."

"Damn, even the bookies think it's possible?"

More comments poured in, but the sentiment gradually unified.

"Making it to the finals is already impressive enough. Captain Ye Shuang has lived a full life just for this."

"Fang Rui's archery is accurate, sure, but no matter how accurate, he can't shoot through the Renaissance's armor plating."

"Chen Yong's steel bones can tank the Renaissance's main cannon? Keep dreaming."

"That's why I'm saying, Little Luck Technique's ceiling is right here—invincible defense, but garbage offense. At this level of the finals, just dodging isn't enough; you actually have to be able to kill someone."

"Agreed. But win or lose, all five members of Little Luck Technique have profited immensely. From being nobodies to finalists, all thanks to one Gold Tier support. Captain Ye Shuang and Fang Rui are so damn lucky."

"If you mention 'lucky' in front of Instructor Liu Qiang, he'll probably vomit blood."

This sentence was like lighting a fuse.

"Hahahaha, don't even mention it! Instructor Liu Qiang's Face is greener right now than the Poison Fog he got hit by!"

"If he hadn't looked down on Yang Hang back then, it would be his Iron Fist Vanguard standing in the finals right now. A Gold Tier directional reinforcement, practically handed to him on a silver platter!"

"It was so close. His hand even touched the side of the ship, but he didn't make the jump. That few centimeters of distance will haunt him for the rest of his life."

"Your perspective is too narrow, brother. It wasn't a distance problem. It was his carelessness and arrogance; he didn't even value a Gold Tier talent. That kind of mindset is just wrong—though I think I used to believe that too. I clearly thought this Little Luck Technique was very ordinary before, but now that I see it, it feels like it's glowing."

"I suggest the Revival Society considers re-evaluating him. It feels like his judgment is poor, and the job of an instructor requires good judgment."

"Seconded +1."

"+1."

"+10086."

The Revival Society's livestream manager clearly understood the secret to generating traffic.

The camera cut—

Instructor Liu Qiang was sitting on the deck of a temporary Houseboat in the spectator area, arms crossed, his Face ashen. Han Feng leaned over to say something, and Instructor Liu Qiang snapped his head around to glare at him, causing Han Feng to immediately shrink back.

The chat exploded in laughter.

"I can screenshot this expression and laugh for a year."

"Han Feng: Did I say something wrong? Instructor Liu Qiang: Everything you say is wrong."

"Alright, let's wrap it up, don't bully him anymore. Give Instructor Liu some Face."

"..."

The camera cut back to the final arena.

—

The final arena.

A massive, open stretch of water five miles in diameter, specifically cordoned off by the Revival Society. The sea was calm, and the twin suns hung high.

Zheng Yuanshan's Renaissance slowly sailed into the east side. The three-hundred-meter dark gray giant ship cast a massive shadow over the sea, its six gun turrets pointing silently at the sky, the barrel of the main cannon, "Heaven's Punishment," gleaming coldly in the sunlight.

On the west side, five Silver Grade temporary Houseboats were arranged in a loose, arc-shaped formation.

Captain Ye Shuang stood at the bow of the flagship, taking a deep breath.

Beside her, Chen Yong craned his neck to look at the Renaissance, his Adam's apple bobbing twice. Fang Rui's hand moved toward his bowstring unconsciously, then pulled back.

Yang Yue, on the other hand, was so excited her eyes were shining, pulling on Yang Hang's sleeve to lean forward.

The Renaissance lowered its gangway.

Zheng Yuanshan walked down first, stepping onto the temporary floating platform laid out in advance by the Revival Society. Behind him, President Shen Qing, Zhang Haotian, Guan Tiezhu, and Gu Qingyi followed, taking their positions one by one.

The five of them stood on the floating platform, lined up.

There was no deliberate pressure. But just with those five figures standing there, even the sea breeze seemed to quiet down for a beat.

Yang Yue was the first to rush up.

"Hello, Grandpa Zheng! Hello, Sister President Shen Qing! Hello, Big Brother Zhang Haotian! Hello, Grandpa Guan Tiezhu! Hello, Sister Gu Qingyi!"

Five greetings in one breath, the speed of her speech like a machine gun.

Zheng Yuanshan was stunned for a moment, then laughed. His thick eyebrows relaxed, and the lines on his square Face softened considerably.

"Good, good, good. Little girl, what's your name?"

"Yang Yue! Water Control! I'm ranked 132nd on the God-Seeing Society's leaderboard!" She puffed out her chest. "Grandpa Zheng, can I get an autograph? And a group photo!"

"Sure." Zheng Yuanshan agreed readily.

Zhang Haotian carried his Great Strength Battle Axe and grinned: "The little girl has spirit."

Guan Tiezhu snorted, his chin slightly raised: "An autograph is fine, but make sure I look handsome in the group photo."

Gu Qingyi didn't speak, but the corners of her mouth curved slightly.

President Shen Qing stood at the back, her gaze passing over Yang Yue and landing on the young man a few steps away with his hands in his pockets.

Yang Hang, Little Luck Technique, Gold Tier.

She looked for two seconds, then withdrew her gaze.

Captain Ye Shuang stepped forward, her posture dignified. "General Zheng, long time no see."

Zheng Yuanshan nodded: "Captain Ye Shuang. I watched your matches. Outstanding."

His gaze also swept over the young man standing furthest away behind Captain Ye Shuang. Like President Shen Qing, he looked for two seconds.

Then he did something that surprised everyone.

He took two steps toward Yang Hang and proactively extended his hand.

"Yang Hang."

Yang Hang was slightly taken aback, then shook it.

"Chief Zheng."

Zheng Yuanshan held his hand with moderate pressure. The old man's palm was rough, with deep palm lines.

"I'll tell you the truth." Zheng Yuanshan's voice wasn't loud, but everyone on the floating platform could hear it, "In the upcoming faction wars, Yanhuang Civilization needs people like you. Your talent is far more important than most people think."

He let go of his hand and took a step back.

"But for now—" He glanced at the four people behind him, a hint of a smile on his lips, "The old man and these young people won't go easy on you. If you win, it's your ability. If you lose, the Revival Society will provide support all the same."

Zhang Haotian took the battle axe off his shoulder and propped it on the floating platform with one hand; the sound of metal hitting wood was dull and powerful.

"Are you done talking? Let's fight."

Guan Tiezhu cracked his neck, his joints popping.

Gu Qingyi's clothes were already beginning to flutter without wind.

President Shen Qing stepped back half a step, hands clasped in front of her, her cold and detached Face devoid of any extra expression.

Captain Ye Shuang took a deep breath and turned to look at her teammates.

"Back to the ship. Prepare for battle."

Yang Yue reluctantly put away the photo she had just taken, pouted, and ran back to the ship with Yang Hang.

The two referees took their respective positions.

"Both sides ready—"

"Begin!"

And then.

For the next twenty-eight minutes, 1.35 billion people witnessed a battle they would never forget for the rest of their lives.

Not because it was brilliant.

But because it was absurd.

Zhang Haotian's Great Strength Battle Axe slashed horizontally and vertically, every swing carrying a gravity field that seemed to crush the sea surface.

Five swings. Ten swings. Twenty swings.

Not a single swing touched the side of Captain Ye Shuang's fleet.

Even the gravity, every time it was deployed, was neutralized by a nameless magnetic field fluctuation.

Guan Tiezhu jumped onto the ship after fully rock-armoring—just like Instructor Liu Qiang, he missed by a few centimeters and fell into the sea.

After being fished out by Zhang Haotian, he jumped again. This time the distance was enough, but the moment his foot landed on the deck, he stepped on a piece of wood softened by seawater, and he slid right off the other side of the ship.

The livestream chat went completely out of control when Guan Tiezhu fell into the water for the second time.

"Grandpa Guan Tiezhu!!!"

"My rock-armor grandpa!!! You're made of stone, you'll sink!!!"

"He's floating, he's floating, don't panic."

"The panic isn't about whether he sinks or not, it's that the Gold Tier Little Luck Technique even controls Grandpa Guan Tiezhu!"

Gu Qingyi was the only one who truly approached Captain Ye Shuang's team.

The Wind Walker's extreme speed allowed her to break through the water tornado defense line three times and step onto Captain Ye Shuang's ship.

But the first time her foot landed, a strong gust of wind from nowhere blew her off course by half a meter. Fang Rui's explosive arrow flew past her ear, scaring her so much that she instinctively dodged, stumbling back to the sea. The second time, she changed her strategy and approached from underwater, but a passing magic flag tuna bumped into her ankle. The third time—

"Don't say it." Gu Qingyi stood on the deck of the Renaissance, expressionless, her ear tips turning red, "Don't say it."

But the Wall of Despair was, after all, not those previous Silver Grade teams.

Clearly, they had made contingency plans for this situation long ago.

Previously, they had just hoped to win using gentler means.

Ten minutes in, Zhang Haotian raised the incomplete sea gods horn.

The sound of the horn was desolate, echoing across the entire sea area.

Tidal Binding.

The seawater surged, rising out of thin air into a wall of water a hundred meters high, trapping all five of Captain Ye Shuang's Houseboats within it.

Yang Yue tried desperately to resist using Water Control, the water tornado attempting to break through the water wall, but the incomplete sea gods horn was, after all, a Gold Tier wonder; it simply couldn't be broken by her Water Control.

Captain Ye Shuang's team was trapped in place.

Zheng Yuanshan stood on the bridge of the Renaissance, giving orders in a deep voice.

"Main cannon, minimum power, area bombardment."

The main cannon slowly rotated, the muzzle aimed inside the water wall where Captain Ye Shuang's team was located.