167: Chapter 167 It turns out this guy is really stubborn.

At this moment, inside the incredibly luxurious lounge of Seed Pool No. 1...

The atmosphere was subtle and oppressive, clearly divided into three distinct small circles.

Sitting by the window was a young man dressed in a moon-white Tang suit, Xie Fuyao.

He rested with his eyes closed, his fingertips gently tapping against his knees, his aura as deep as the ocean.

Opposite him sat several veteran powerhouses from the junior and senior classes, such as the junior chief Cong Nanshan and the senior sword cultivator Gu Changfeng.

These guys were all slick old-timers; at this moment, they were sipping tea while sizing up another corner of the room with scrutinizing gazes.

That area was Class F's territory.

Yes, even though Jiang You had gone to smurf, Class F still had four ruthless figures sitting firmly in this room that represented the school's peak combat power!

Senior Ji Youyou, mid-Tier 4, was leaning lazily on the sofa, trimming her nails. A faint poison mist swirled behind her, keeping anyone from daring to approach within three meters.

Qiu Yunan, mid-Tier 4, was pushing up her glasses while reading a book. The occasional arc of electricity dancing on her fingertips showed that her heart was far from calm.

Bai Zimo, early-Tier 4, was slightly weaker in strength, but he had wrapped himself in a sleeping bag and huddled in a corner. He even had the mood to click the matchmaking button of a game at a time like this.

And the most eye-catching one was Lu Xingye, who was already sitting in the combat cabin.

He was only at the early-Tier 4.

More importantly, he was the only sophomore in this room!

Unlike the others around him who rested with their eyes closed in an "expert manner," Lu Xingye was currently almost sprawled over the control console in front of him.

His eyes were glued to the screen, and the fingers of both hands seemed to turn into afterimages, frantically clicking the same spot on the screen at a frequency of thirty times per second.

"Tap tap tap tap tap—!"

The crisp and dense tapping sounds echoed in the quiet lounge, making everyone feel irritated.

"Hmph."

Cong Nanshan, the junior chief, rolled the iron walnuts in his hand, staring at Lu Xingye with an unfriendly gaze:

"Juniors these days really have less and less sense of propriety."

"Just a sophomore, yet he dared to force his way into Pool 1. After coming in, he didn't even adjust his state and is actually playing games here?"

"Lu Xingye, this is the selection site for the Hundred Schools League, not an internet cafe! If you want to play match-three, go to Pool 3 and play with Class Monitor Zhao Feilong and those freshmen."

In the face of his senior's provocation, Lu Xingye's finger movements did not pause for a second, still frantically clicking on the screen.

But his shoulders twitched slightly, as if suppressing some extreme irritability.

*Clang—*

He stepped out of the combat cabin, the long saber in his hand unsheathing slightly by half an inch. An extremely sharp saber intent instantly sliced through the air, leaving a white mark on the coffee table in front of Cong Nanshan.

"Foundation?"

Lu Xingye finally raised his head.

He slowly reached out and pressed his bandaged right arm—that was the scar left from his battle with a Tier 5 Great Demon!

At this moment, Lu Xingye's eyes showed a hint of three parts coldness, three parts mockery, and four parts indifference:

"This seat's blade specifically cuts down so-called foundations."

"Foolish mortal..."

"To think you would attempt to use a low-dimensional concept like time to measure the power that has slept within me for ten thousand years?"

"You!" Cong Nanshan's mouth twitched.

Is this guy even speaking human language?

Lu Xingye completely ignored his reaction. He slowly held the long saber horizontally across his chest, striking an extremely embarrassing yet somehow cool pose, his eyes fanatical and chunibyo:

"Since Senior is so confident, why don't you dare to click match?"

"Aren't you just waiting for the soft targets from Pool 2 below to come up so you can harvest points?"

"Since everyone is just biding their time, stop putting on airs."

These words were like a stone thrown into stagnant water; though harsh, they pierced right through the pretense.

At this moment, a senior who had been resting with his eyes closed opened his eyes at the right time and chimed in to break the awkwardness:

"It seems... everyone is waiting?"

"Hehe, why ask when you already know the answer?"

Gu Changfeng chuckled softly, his eyes sweeping over everyone present with amusement, his tone carrying a hint of matter-of-factness:

"If we match now, we'll only encounter each other."

"Although I have the confidence to win, there's... no need to take this risk, is there?"

This was the tacit understanding of experts, as well as a cruel wisdom of survival.

Right now, everyone's points were close, and their strengths were on par. Once a fight started, it would be a clash of titans. Even a victory would be a pyrrhic one, and it would easily expose their trump cards.

They were waiting.

Like a pack of patient crocodiles, lurking beneath the calm surface of the lake.

They were waiting for the "lucky ones" from the Second Tier, waiting for those newcomers who had exhausted all their trump cards just to barely advance.

As long as someone from Seed Pool No. 2 advanced, the number of people in Pool 1 would increase.

When they matched then, the probability of encountering those "easy targets" would greatly increase.

"The current peace is merely the prelude to the storm."

Xie Fuyao gently pressed down on his instrument strings, his gaze passing through the one-way glass to look at the noisy arena below, finally landing on a figure who had just walked into the Seventh Tier area:

"Conserve energy, and reap the spoils of others' labor."

"Once those fish who want to defy their fate jump into our pool..."

"...that will be the true hunting time."

Xie Fuyao's words could be considered a grand excuse for everyone's "avoidance of battle."

We aren't chickening out; we are hunters!

With this "fig leaf," Cong Nanshan, who had just been put on the spot by Lu Xingye, suddenly felt his spine stiffen.

Looking at Lu Xingye, who was still sitting motionlessly in the combat cabin, he felt that this guy's earlier mockery was simply hypocritical to the extreme.

A surge of nameless anger welled up; Cong Nanshan felt he had to reclaim his dignity.

Facing Lu Xingye's merciless mockery, the veins on Cong Nanshan's forehead bulged, and the two special alloy walnuts in his hand creaked under his grip.

He sneered and directly retorted:

"Heh, easy for you to say."

"Junior Lu, you speak so righteously and make us sound utterly worthless, as if you're so high and mighty."

"But what about yourself?"

"Aren't you also just sitting here drinking tea? How do you have the nerve to criticize me?"

"If you're really as fierce as you boast, why don't you click match?"

"In the end, you're just a keyboard warrior, waiting for some easy target to come up from below so you can bully them!"

"I didn't click?"

Hearing this, Lu Xingye was like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, instantly bristling.

He stood up with a "whoosh," his aloof expression instantly collapsing. Pointing at the screen in front of him, which was covered in fingerprints and even had some connection issues, he roared in exasperation:

"Are you fucking blind?!"

"Open your dog eyes and look closely!"

"This seat's matchmaking button is about to be broken from all the clicking!!"

On the screen in front of Lu Xingye, the [Start Matchmaking] button was flashing frantically at a frequency of ten times per second, and the system prompt kept repeating like a broken record:

[Searching for opponent... Search timeout... Searching for opponent... No response...]

With a face full of grief and indignation, Lu Xingye pointed at the circle of people in the room and complained:

"I've been clicking it ever since I sat down! Ever since I sat down!"

"I can barely suppress the power inside me anymore!"

"And the result? Huh?"

"Every single one of you is acting all deep! Pretending to look at the scenery!"

"Someone just match with me! Even a dog would do, just fight me!"

The entire room: "..."

Cong Nanshan looked at Lu Xingye's screen, which was practically about to smoke, and was left utterly speechless for a moment.

Turns Out... this guy is actually just incredibly hardheaded?

He really just wants to fight?