201: Chapter 201 What a terrifying aura! That must be an illusion!

All the organs looked toward Brain, waiting for that real number.

However, Brain did not answer directly.

[Brain]: "How much?"

"The specific number has no meaning anymore."

"He has indeed been reborn, but..."

"He is still far from it!"

...

In the real world, the Seed Pool No. 1 lounge.

The lounge, which had been whispering about Hao Yun's "carried to victory" match just a moment ago, suddenly fell into an extremely eerie silence.

It was as if an invisible giant hand had instantly gripped everyone's throat.

The golden heat waves surrounding Jiang You suddenly seemed to be swallowed by a whale, instantly receding back into his body.

Immediately after, Jiang You slowly opened his eyes.

"Hum!!!"

There was no earth-shattering explosion, but every expert above Fourth-Order present felt a tremor originating from the depths of their souls at that very instant.

Those were two beams of golden light, like substance, that flashed deep within Jiang You's originally deep blue pupils.

It was just like a giant dragon sleeping in the abyss, lazily lifting its eyelids.

In that mere instant of opening his eyes, all the air in the lounge seemed to have been sucked away.

"Clang—" Not far away, the long blade held in Lu Xingye's arms unexpectedly unsheathed itself by half an inch without any warning, emitting a sharp, mournful cry.

Lu Xingye's expression changed drastically; he slammed his hand onto the hilt, and cold sweat instantly broke out on his forehead.

"Th-this... what kind of aura is this?"

It wasn't just him. Xie Fuyao, who was sitting by the window, held a teacup that hadn't moved a muscle, yet the originally calm tea inside began to ripple with dense and rapid waves.

Xie Fuyao suddenly raised his head. His eyes, usually indifferent and seemingly unflappable even if Mount Tai collapsed before him, were now locked firmly onto the boy in the corner.

Solemn. Unprecedentedly solemn.

"Third-Order... mid-stage?"

Xie Fuyao silently repeated this realm fluctuation he had just sensed from Jiang You in his heart.

It was clearly only mid-stage Third-Order. But why... was this overwhelming sense of oppression even more heart-palpitating than facing a Peak Fourth-Order powerhouse?

"Gulp..." In the lounge, someone swallowed, the sound appearing exceptionally harsh in the dead silence.

"Brother Jiang! You're finally awake!" Gou Fugui was the first to rush over, but he slammed on the brakes half a meter away from Jiang You.

He looked at Jiang You with suspicion and uncertainty: "Brother Jiang... you..." "You seem to have... changed?"

If the Jiang You from before gave people the feeling of an unsharpened, rusty iron sword—lazy and casual.

The current Jiang You, although still sporting that sleepy look, possessed a hidden, restrained sharpness that made one's Skin ache.

It was just like... a newly sharpened demon blade.

"Changed?" Jiang You lowered his head and looked at his hands, feeling the surging, tyrannical power within his body that could be reversed and absorbed at any time.

He clenched his fist, and a dull sonic boom actually erupted in the air.

"Probably..." A confident arc curled at the corner of Jiang You's mouth: "I just woke up."

He turned to look at the big screen, where the match had already ended, and Hao Yun's name was flashing with golden light indicating victory.

"Uh..." Jiang You paused for a moment, then suddenly widened his eyes: "Holy crap, has my match already started?"

"I haven't even fought yet, how could they rule me as having lost!!!" "Rigged, this must be rigged!"

Jiang You pointed at the big screen, jumping up and down in anger. The terrifying sense of oppression from just a moment ago, as if an ancient god or demon had awakened, was punctured like a balloon by his shout, leaking away completely.

The previously dead-silent lounge instantly recovered its usual "vitality."

That crowd of experts, who had been sweating profusely and acting as if facing a great enemy, looked at Jiang You—who was now throwing a tantrum over a single win—and exchanged glances with extremely strange expressions.

"This..." Xie Fuyao finally put down the cup of tea in his hand, which had already gone cold.

He quietly loosened his tightly clenched knuckles, feeling his palms full of sweat.

"Huu..." Xie Fuyao exhaled a long breath, watching Jiang You bickering with Hao Yun, the suffocating sense of crisis in his heart vanishing without a trace.

"It seems... I overthought it."

"That's right, a mere mid-stage Third-Order, even with some fortuitous encounters, how could he possibly possess an aura comparable to a Grandmaster?"

"It must be that the continuous high-intensity battles these past few days have caused my mind to be too tense, leading to hallucinations."

Not just Xie Fuyao, but everyone present silently gave themselves a "reasonable" explanation in their hearts.

Even Lu Xingye, who had felt his blade trembling earlier, was now dumbfounded as he sheathed his sword and scratched his head:

"Strange, I clearly felt the gaze of the abyss just now..."

"Could it be that the nearsightedness of my 'Black Flame Demon Eye' has worsened again?"

"It seems it's time to get a pair of glasses!"

Meanwhile, in the F Class area, the scene had completely turned into a wet market.

"Fatty! Don't run!" Jiang You grabbed the fat on the back of Hao Yun's neck, shaking him with a "fierce and wicked" expression: "Return my points! Return my win rate!"

"Do you know how long I've been building up my emotions for this match? Do you know how hard I practiced in my dreams... ah no, while in seclusion?"

"And yet, the moment I open my eyes, my home has been stolen?"

Hao Yun was shaken until the fat on his face trembled, and he shouted aggrievedly: "Brother Jiang! I'm innocent!"

"Can you blame me for this? It's your own fault for not logging in!"

"It was the system's ruling! It was the system! I didn't want to win either; I had already planned out how to kneel in a cool way!"

"I don't care!" Jiang You began to act like a rascal, extending a hand out in front of Hao Yun: "Mental damages! Lost wages! And my lost youth!"

"At the very least... at the very least, you have to treat me to a good meal! One with seafood!"

Watching this scene, Gou Fugui pushed up his glasses and shook his head helplessly, though a trace of a smile hung on his lips.

He just knew it. Brother Jiang was still the same Brother Jiang; although he had become stronger, that "never-enough-freebies" attitude hadn't changed at all.

"Alright, alright." Gou Fugui stepped forward to smooth things over, pulling a coupon out of his pocket and stuffing it into Jiang You's hand: "Brother Jiang, Fatty isn't having it easy either. These points are just staying in the family anyway; it's all an F Class win regardless."

"This is a half-price coupon for that seafood buffet at the school gate. It's on me, alright?"

"Deal!" Jiang You took the coupon, changing his expression faster than flipping a book. He instantly let go of Hao Yun, even helping him straighten his collar, and said with a beaming smile:

"Oh, we're all brothers here; talking about money hurts our friendship." "I was just joking with you earlier, look how scared you got."

Hao Yun: "..." Everyone: "..."

Watching this suffocating display, the other contestants in the lounge finally completely let down their guard.

"Tch, I knew it."

"That was just an accident, or some kind of one-time burst ability."

"With this kind of attitude, he wants to challenge Xie Fuyao? He must be dreaming."

Everyone shook their heads and returned to their respective spots, drinking tea or resting, treating that terrifying scene from earlier as just a small interlude between matches.

However.

No one noticed.

The moment Jiang You tucked the coupon into his pocket and turned around.

The playful grin on his face vanished without a trace, like clouds blown away by the wind.

He raised his head, his deep blue eyes becoming calm as water once again. He looked at the leaderboard on the big screen.

Because of that ruling of a loss, his win count remained at 4 wins and 1 loss, and his points had dropped instead of rising, causing his ranking to fall several places.

At this moment, less than five hours remained until the end of the selection tournament.

"I've messed around enough, and I've played enough."

Jiang You flexed his wrists, and the blood and qi in his body began to circulate slowly according to the [Reverse Blood Flow] trajectory.

Although there wasn't that sharp, exposed sense of oppression from before, this restrained depth was actually even more dangerous.

"Xiao Bai." Jiang You called out softly. Bai Lan, who was squatting on the ground counting ants, immediately looked up: "Here, Big Brother!"

"Our starting spot seems a bit precarious." Jiang You pointed to the glaring ranking on the screen. His tone was flat, yet it carried an unquestionable firmness: "So for the time remaining..." "I don't plan on resting anymore."

He turned around and walked straight to the matchmaking console. This time, there was not the slightest hesitation, nor did he engage in any artistic behavior.

"From now on."

"Until I take first place..." Jiang You's finger pressed onto the red button, blue light gleaming in his eyes: "Whoever blocks my path, dies."

"Click!" Matchmaking started!