76: Chapter 76 The Much-Anticipated Grand Final

The medical team's stretcher cart was quickly pushed onto the stage, and they carefully carried the unconscious Jiang Feng away.

The shattered energy protective shield around Stage Two was closing back up under the emergency repairs of the examination committee, emitting a buzzing charging sound.

But none of the hundred thousand spectators in the stands cared about the repairing machinery at this moment. Everyone's eyes were locked onto the massive holographic broadcast screen directly above the VIP platform.

The giant screen was split in half.

One half showed Zhao Kuang, clad in his S-Grade Brilliant Gold Battle Armor, his face dark with rage.

The other half showed Su Chen, wearing a faded black shirt, his eyes cold as frost.

On the VIP platform, the atmosphere had reached a boiling point.

"Have you found out yet?! What kind of method did that kid just use?"

A director of admissions from a top martial arts university in Kyoto stood up, propping his hands on the table as he stared intently at the replay on the screen.

On the big screen, the footage of the bribed referee rolling his eyes and passing out, along with the protective shield of the stage instantly cracking, was playing on loop.

"There were no spiritual energy fluctuations, absolutely none!" Another instructor held an energy detector in his hand, his voice trembling with sheer shock. "The device shows that at the moment he broke through the protective shield, the spiritual energy index of the surrounding space was zero! He completely relied on pure physical kinetic energy to shatter the Formation!"

"Then how do you explain that referee? A referee in the Martial Artist Realm was knocked unconscious and spitting blood without even being touched by a single finger?"

"Could it be a rare mutated mental-type talent?!"

"Impossible! How could an F-grade mental mutation possess such terrifying pressure? Unless he hid his strength, this is at least a 'Spiritual Sense Shock' that only a mental-type Great Grandmaster would possess!"

The various big shots argued until they were red in the face, with everyone wildly guessing the hidden trump cards Su Chen possessed.

"All of you, shut up!"

Major General Lei Wuji of the Zhenyuan Army slammed his palm on the table, cutting off everyone's arguments.

This iron-blooded general's eyes were shining at this moment as he stared at Su Chen on the screen, as if looking at an unparalleled, priceless treasure.

"What mental-type talent! That is Killing Intent! It is materialized will!"

Lei Wuji's voice was booming, making the eardrums of the surrounding admissions directors ring. "To be able to knock out a Martial Artist of the same level solely through the pressure of his will, and shatter the protective shield with his Physical Body without any spiritual energy assistance! This kid is not only a once-in-a-century Body Refining genius, but a natural-born peerless God of Death!"

Lei Wuji turned his head to look at the Provincial Supervisor sitting in the center. "Lord Supervisor, I don't need to say more about the significance of this match, do I?"

The Provincial Supervisor nodded slightly, his eyes also flashing with intense anticipation.

"Pass down the order."

The supervisor picked up his communicator and directly issued the highest command: "Shrink the broadcast screens of the other nine exam areas. Mobilize all hover cameras to give Stage Two a full close-up from all angles!"

"This duel is the grand finals of this year's Provincial College Entrance Exam Combat Ranking Tournament!"

With the supervisor's command,

inside the hundred-thousand-person Arena, the other nine big screens instantly went dark. Only the largest and clearest main screen in the center projected the footage of Stage Two in the air with a 360-degree view.

This match, which was originally universally expected to be a one-sided slaughter by Zhao Kuang, instantly saw an earth-shattering reversal after Su Chen's mind-blowing entrance, becoming the ultimate focus locked in by countless media lenses.

...

Meanwhile,

on the outskirts of the Arena, the trading hall of the underground betting ring also experienced an unprecedented shock.

On the massive electronic odds board, red and green numbers fluctuated wildly.

[Third High School: Zhao Kuang] VS [Third High School: Su Chen]

"Hurry, hurry, hurry! Bet more on Zhao Kuang! He has the S-Grade Armor, it's a guaranteed win!"

"Why are the odds still so low? 1.01 for Zhao Kuang, and 100 to 1 for Su Chen?"

"No shit! Zhao Kuang is a low-tier Martial Artist now, and he's wearing an armor worth tens of millions! Even if Su Chen has a bit of strength and can catch a Flying Sword, how can a mortal body withstand temperatures of two thousand degrees? Only a fool would bet on Su Chen to win!"

A crowd of gamblers squeezed in front of the trading counter, shouting loudly.

In the eyes of the vast majority, although Su Chen's entrance just now was shocking, the common sense of the high-martial world remained deeply rooted. Without a spiritual energy shield, facing an S-Grade fire-type ability meant certain death.

However,

just when there were only five minutes left before the start of the grand finals,

the main screen in the center of the trading hall suddenly flashed with a piercing red light.

"Beep—!"

A crisp notification sound for a massive transaction rang out.

The bustling hall instantly fell quiet. Everyone looked up in unison, staring at the latest betting record scrolling across the very top of the screen.

[Anonymous Account, Bet: Su Chen Wins.]

[Bet Amount: 1,000,000 Star Coins!]

A dead silence lasted for a full three seconds, and then, the entire hall erupted!

"Holy shit! One million Star Coins? Betting on that F-grade trash to win?!"

"Are they insane?! Pouring a million into a 100-to-1 bet? If they win, that's a hundred million! Who the hell is gambling this big?!"

"Is there some insider information? Could that Su Chen really be the disciple of some hidden expert?"

"Insider info my ass! It's definitely some brainless nouveau riche trying their luck. Throwing away a million to watch a piece of scrap metal get burned to ashes, they must have too much money to burn!"

The gamblers broke into a massive commotion and wild speculation.

Meanwhile, in a corner of the Arena,

Instructor Lin Yi of the Cannon Fodder Class, who had just settled Jiang Feng, was clutching an unregistered black card in his hand. Looking at the successful payment notification on his communicator, his palms were drenched in cold sweat.

This one million was the entire retirement pension he had saved up from serving in the military for most of his life.

He recalled the scene in the dormitory last night, where Su Chen had easily snapped his refined steel saber with just two fingers, as well as Su Chen's calm yet absolutely confident words:

"If you trust me, bet all your savings on me winning first place. Just wait to count your money."

Lin Yi took a deep breath and looked up at the big screen.

"Kid, I've staked my entire life savings for my retirement on you. You better not let me down."

...

Although the identity behind this unusual, massive bet was not disclosed, the news quickly spread through the chat groups of various spectator stands, invisibly pushing the suspense and anticipation of this duel to its absolute peak.

Everyone's appetite was thoroughly whetted.

One was armed to the teeth with the backing of a top financial magnate, possessing an S-Grade Talent and being a Tier 1 Martial Artist.

The other was an unarmed commoner from the bottom of society, with an F-Grade Talent and not a single trace of spiritual energy fluctuation on him.

Would this be a one-sided slaughter, or the birth of a miracle?

"Dong—"

The heavy, echoing toll of an ancient bell rang out over the Arena.

The grand finals of the Provincial College Entrance Exam Combat Ranking Tournament had officially begun.

On the holographic simulation Stage Two.

The previous unconscious referee had already been dragged away. The newly appointed chief referee was a high-ranking Martial Artist from the military. Standing at the edge of the stage with cold sweat on his forehead, he tightly clutched his whistle.

"Both contestants, prepare," the new referee's voice projected through the loudspeakers.

At one end of the stage,

Zhao Kuang stared intently at Su Chen opposite him.

His momentary retreat just now had been witnessed by a hundred thousand people. That cowardice born of fear made the always-proud Zhao Kuang feel an unprecedented, extreme humiliation.

He had to wash away this humiliation! He had to prove that just now was merely an accident!

"Boom!"

Zhao Kuang held nothing back, erupting completely.

The blood qi inside him was like boiling water, frantically surging into the S-Grade Glittering Gold Psionic Armor he wore.

The runes on the armor were all lit up.

Blinding dark-gold flames instantly erupted from his body, enveloping him entirely. From afar, he looked like a god of war descending upon the mortal realm.

The moisture in the surrounding air evaporated instantly, and the temperature on the stage skyrocketed at a visible rate. Under the scorching heat, the alloy floor beneath Zhao Kuang's feet began to turn red and warp.

He was going to use the most extreme and brutal method to completely burn this trash who made him feel fear into a pile of ashes!

And on the other end of the stage,

Su Chen stood there quietly.

He had already pulled his hands out of his pockets, letting them hang naturally at his sides.

He didn't take any defensive stance.

He didn't even release a single shred of a Martial Artist's blood qi.

Set against the backdrop of Zhao Kuang's sky-covering flames that seemed capable of destroying heaven and earth, Su Chen's figure appeared extremely frail and small, as if a gust of wind could knock him over.

On one side was the overbearing and arrogant Prodigy of a prominent family, burning like raging fire.

On the other side was the cold-as-frost, unarmed commoner youth.

This intense, almost absurd visual contrast was clearly displayed before the eyes of the hundred thousand spectators through the big screen.

The vast Arena instantly fell dead silent.

Everyone held their breath, staring unblinkingly at the stage, terrified of missing a single second.

"Match..."

The referee raised his right hand high, then swung it down fiercely.

"Start!"

The instant the words fell,

Zhao Kuang let out a hysterical roar.

"Die for me!!!"

Instead of choosing close-quarters combat, he swung his hands frantically in front of his chest.

The energy-gathering Formation of his armor went into overload.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Within just two seconds,

over a hundred head-sized, two-thousand-degree Radiant Gold Fireballs, like a dense meteor shower trailing long dark-gold tails, whistled out from around Zhao Kuang!

These fireballs interwove in mid-air into an airtight fire net of death.

Covering the sky and earth,

they completely sealed off all of Su Chen's escape routes in every direction.

Carpet bombing!

Zhao Kuang gave Su Chen absolutely no chance to get close; he wanted to use this absolute elemental suppression to blast Su Chen directly into dregs!

Facing this terrifying sea of fire crashing down from the sky,

Su Chen, who was standing in place, finally moved.