436: Chapter 436 No, we haven't won yet.

The player faction erupted in a roar that threatened to tear down the dome.

Countless glow sticks were tossed into the air, transforming into a brilliant rain of light.

"great demon king! great demon king!"

"This is true art! This is the romance that belongs to men!"

"We want Iron Mountain Lean! We want Iron Mountain Lean!"

The waves of sound grew higher and higher, making the surrounding buildings hum.

Hearing the cheers, Sander felt that they had already won.

She did not leave the stage, but instead strode to the edge of the ring and snatched a megaphone from an NPC nearby.

"Ahem."

Sander cleared her throat, and her rough voice instantly drowned out the noise of the entire arena through the magic device.

Chen You's eyelids twitched.

What is this person trying to do?

"Today, I stand here." Sander took a deep breath, her eyes turning strangely red.

Two large teardrops rolled down her granite-like cheeks, hitting the floor with a crisp "plop" sound.

The entire arena fell silent instantly.

The players held their glow sticks, looking at each other.

"I know that in the eyes of many, I am just a crude city lord, a brute who only knows how to brandish weapons."

Sander's voice choked with emotion.

Her thick fingers gripped the megaphone tightly, her knuckles turning white.

"I have been lost, I have suffered. I love the stage, I crave the spotlight, but I didn't know what true art was."

"Until I met him."

Sander turned abruptly, raising the arm capable of crushing boulders, and pointed from afar at Chen You on the sidelines.

Swish!

Tens of thousands of gazes, plus the gazes of the three big shots on the thrones, instantly focused on Chen You.

Chen You's cheek muscles twitched imperceptibly.

Hey, you're overacting!

"It was he who gave me a ray of light in the darkness."

Sander sniffled, her voice becoming increasingly passionate.

"It was he who told me that art has no boundaries!"

"It was he who told me that even the battle techniques of our ancestors, as long as they are infused with a soul, can become the brightest starlight on the stage!"

"Mentor!"

Sander suddenly knelt on one knee, her massive knee smashing a deep pit into the ring.

She held the basketball with both hands, as if holding a supreme sacred object.

"Thank you! It was you who withstood the pressure of capital and tailored this 'Singing, Dancing, RAP, and Basketball' for me!"

"It was you who made me understand what the perseverance of 'two and a half years' means!"

"If it weren't for you, there would be no Sander today! There would be no soul-shattering Iron Mountain Lean!"

"This supreme glory, this crown of art, belongs to you, my respected mentor—Chen You!"

Tears streaming down her face. Heart-touching.

If one ignored her tight overalls and ridiculous center-parted hairstyle, this would absolutely be a touching speech worthy of going down in history.

Chen You stood where he was, feeling like his toes were about to dig through the soles of his shoes.

He just wanted to find a crack in the ground to crawl into, or spend 100,000 gold coins to buy a teleportation scroll and escape this social death scene.

But he couldn't. He was the mentor. He was the lone hero fighting against capital.

Chen You took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the frantic complaints in his heart.

He slowly raised his head, his gaze deep, and the corners of his mouth curled into an arc of thirty percent mockery, thirty percent coldness, and forty percent indifference.

"Sander."

Chen You's voice was not loud, but it clearly spread throughout the entire arena.

"You are wrong."

Sander was stunned, raising her tear-streaked face.

"The glory does not belong to me; it belongs to you."

Chen You stood with his hands behind his back, looking up at the starry sky, his tone revealing a sense of world-weary vicissitudes.

"I only gave you a seed; it was you who used sweat and obsession to water this flower of art named 'Iron Mountain Lean'."

"Remember, never bow to capital."

"Your stage is in the stars and the sea."

Boom! The entire arena exploded.

"God You is awesome!"

"Mentor is mighty!"

"Down with capital! Long live art!"

The players went crazy; they were completely ignited by this atmosphere that was extremely chuunibyou yet inexplicably passionate.

Lin Miao stood behind Chen You, feeling an inexplicable vibration in her heart.

She looked at Chen You's tall back, her hands tightly clenched in front of her chest.

"Captain Chen... you really have it too hard."

"Enough!"

A sharp voice suddenly broke the fanatical atmosphere.

From the NPC faction, the murloc girl Bobo rushed out.

She pointed at the green-skinned goblin on the stage who had been knocked unconscious by the sound waves and screamed: "This is a competition! A dance duel! This is naked violence!"

"What Iron Mountain Lean, it's just a battle technique! This is unfair!"

The centaur, Slime, and other eliminated contestants also responded one after another.

"Yes! Protest! We demand they be disqualified!"

"This is not art at all!"

The situation instantly became tense.

[Both performances have concluded. Please, judging panel, cast your votes!]

The system prompt sounded at the right moment.

The eyes of the entire audience instantly focused on the three thrones.

Salos, Arrow of the Moon, and Oro looked at each other.

They all knew what the result should be.

As long as all three voted for the goblin, Chen You would lose the first round directly.

Chen You stood below the ring, looking up.

He did not wait for the system countdown, but spoke directly.

"Brother Salos." Chen You waved with a smile.

"You are the number one in the entire server, the role model for Berserker, straightforward and direct. You cast the first vote."

Salos snorted coldly.

He was straightforward and didn't bother to hide his intentions.

"I vote for that green-skinned dwarf!"

Salos pointed at the goblin merchant, his voice like a bell: "Although he wriggles like a maggot, at least I can understand that he is in heat!"

"That big woman down there, bouncing balls and shoulder-bumping, what a mess! 0 points!"

A red light shot out from Salos's throne and landed on the NPC faction's scoreboard.

0 : 1.

The player faction was behind.

The NPC faction erupted into earth-shattering cheers.

"Very good." The smile on Chen You's face remained unchanged; he didn't even blink.

He turned his head and looked at Oro, who was sitting on the throne on the far right.

"Brother Oro."

Chen You's tone was sincere, "You represent the gods and value fairness and conscience the most."

"You cast the second vote."

On the throne, Oro's hand holding the staff tightened slightly.

He looked down at Chen You, no emotion visible on his compassionate face, but he was quickly calculating in his heart.

Salos voted directly for the goblin, which was expected.

The score was now 0 : 1.

If he also voted for the goblin, the score would become 0 : 2, and Chen You would lose the first round directly.

This seemed to be the choice that best served the interests of the three of them.

However, Oro was a smart man.

He knew very well how to maximize his own interests.

If he voted for Sander, the score would become a 1 : 1 tie.

Then, the final vote that would decide the winner would fall into the hands of Arrow of the Moon.

Let Arrow of the Moon be the villain who offended Chen You.

Thinking of this, the compassion on Oro's face deepened.

"The gods teach us to see the essence through the appearance."

Oro spoke slowly, his voice ethereal and sacred.

"That goblin gentleman's dance is full of worldly greed and is uncomfortable to watch."

"And this lady..." Oro pointed at Sander, "Although her movements are strange, I felt a wild power of breaking free from shackles, which is the cry of the soul."

"I follow my heart and vote for this lady."

A blue light shot out from Oro's throne and landed on the player faction's scoreboard.

1 : 1 tie!

The whole arena was in an uproar.