53: Chapter 53 brings a small, transformative shock to the entire Jiang University!

Jiangcheng Professional University, Tactics Building, stronghold room 301.

Li Murou hummed a little tune, carrying two bags of breakfast in her hands, and pushed open the stronghold door with her shoulder.

However, the moment the door opened...

An extremely eerie air current rushed toward her face.

The left half of her body felt like it had fallen into an ice hole, bone-chillingly cold; yet the right half felt like it had entered a sauna, parched with heat.

"Whoa!"

Li Murou couldn't help but shiver, subconsciously clutching the breakfast in her arms tighter.

"Why is it so cold! And if cold wasn't enough, why does it feel so dry and hot too! Is this some kind of 'Ice and Fire' dual experience?"

While complaining, she curiously poked her head inside to look.

The next second, the breakfast bags in her hands fell to the ground with a 'thud.'

"Wo... Wow!!!"

Li Murou's eyes widened, looking at the figure in the center of the stronghold in disbelief.

It was Su Xiaoxiao.

But it wasn't the Su Xiaoxiao she remembered.

At this moment, Su Xiaoxiao's entire temperament had undergone an earth-shattering change.

Just by standing there quietly, she radiated a heart-palpitating pressure, as if she were a goddess controlling thunder and frost.

"Xiao Xiao! You... you've changed so much!"

Li Murou ran over and circled Su Xiaoxiao several times, her eyes full of little stars.

"This aura is countless times stronger than when we were in the dungeon before!"

"I feel like you could crush that Zhou Tianren with a single finger now!"

Su Xiaoxiao smiled slightly and restrained her aura.

"I've only just adapted to this new power, so I couldn't quite stop it from leaking out."

She looked at Chen Xi, who was sitting on the sofa with his eyes closed to rest, her eyes filled with gratitude and admiration.

"All of this is thanks to Captain Chen."

Hearing their conversation, Chen Xi slowly opened his eyes, stood up, and walked over.

At this moment, a light more confident than ever before flickered in his deep eyes.

"Indeed."

Chen Xi felt the attributes surging within him due to Su Xiaoxiao's advancement, and the corners of his mouth curled up slightly.

"Mu Rou is right; our combat power has increased significantly once again."

"For the current Nirvana..."

"Even though this team only has the three of us for now."

"I have absolute confidence."

"With our current configuration and strength, compared to those so-called top ten teams, I simply don't see how we could lose!"

This wasn't arrogance.

It was absolute rationality based on data.

Li Murou's Time Freeze, Su Xiaoxiao's dual Ice and Lightning cultivation plus infinite teleportation, and himself, a 'Hexagon Warrior' whose attributes crushed everyone else...

This was simply a dimensional strike!

"However..."

Chen Xi shifted the topic, his gaze sweeping over the other two empty chairs in the stronghold as he rubbed his chin.

"The team still has two empty slots; leaving them empty is a waste."

"This means we can still continue to strengthen ourselves."

He possessed the broken talent, Myriad Rivers Return to the Sea.

The stronger the teammates equipped with class core cards and the more there were, the more attributes would be fed back to him, making him even stronger!

With only two teammates, he was already ridiculously strong.

If he could gather five teammates with SSS-rank potential...

Just thinking about that scene made Chen Xi's blood boil.

"Captain Chen, are you thinking of recruiting new members?"

Su Xiaoxiao asked.

"Exactly."

Chen Xi nodded, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.

"The Freshman Challenge Tournament is a perfect opportunity."

"It's a stage for all freshmen in the school, and our best billboard."

"Our next goals are simple."

Chen Xi reached out and clenched his fist tightly in the air.

"First, at the Freshman Challenge Tournament, in front of all the teachers and students, we'll directly destroy those so-called strong teams like Lin Feng's and Zhou Tianren's, and grind their faces into the dirt!"

"Second, with overwhelming force, we'll take the championship and make a name for Nirvana!"

"Third..."

Chen Xi turned to the two girls and smiled.

"We'll take this chance to observe carefully and see if there are any other buried talents among this year's freshmen."

"We'll pull two more in and fill our team!"

"Immediately after that, we'll participate in the school's open-rank competitions and challenge the upperclassmen!"

"When that time comes..."

A hint of fanaticism flashed in the depths of Chen Xi's eyes.

"I want Nirvana to become a legend that the entire Jiang University, and even the entire Dragon Country Professional circle, must look up to!"

"Mhm! Captain Chen, it will definitely happen!"

Inside the stronghold, Li Murou nodded vigorously, her clear large eyes burning with fighting spirit, as if she could already see the championship trophy waving at her.

Beside her, although Su Xiaoxiao was cold by nature, she was also infected by the atmosphere at this moment.

She stepped forward, reached out her slender hand, and lightly patted Chen Xi's shoulder, her lips curling into an extremely faint but firm arc.

"Work hard, and carry us to victory."

Looking at his two teammates, Chen Xi felt a surge of heroic pride.

Everything was ready, all that was needed was the finishing touch.

"Good! Then in two days, let's give the entire Jiang University a little Nirvana shock!"

...

Two days later.

Jiangcheng Professional University, Central Trial Arena.

Today was the grandest festival for the entire freshman year—the Freshman Challenge Tournament.

Inside the massive circular arena, colorful flags fluttered, and the noise was deafening.

In the center of the arena, twelve massive teleportation arrays were already prepared; only the twelve top-tier teams that qualified had the right to step into this final circle.

Although the venue could only hold a portion of the audience, the attention from the school's faculty and students didn't diminish in the slightest.

Whether in teaching buildings, dormitories, or the various teams' stronghold rooms...

Countless students who weren't qualified to compete were gathered around computer screens or projectors, following this grand event through the school-wide live stream.

In a certain stronghold room, a team was sitting around a computer, the table covered in snacks and soda.

"Sigh, this year's competition is really full of variables."

The twin-tailed girl, Zhou Li, said while cracking melon seeds.

"Say, now that Night Curtain has disbanded, who do you think will be number one?"

The bald man sitting behind her, Jin Tong, curled his lip in disdain upon hearing this.

"Is that even a question?"

Jin Tong pointed at a team on the screen entering the arena wearing uniform five-colored combat suits and said confidently:

"It's definitely the previously second-ranked Five Rings! They're identical quintuplets! That's true mental synchronization!"

"Whether it's the degree of coordination or skill chaining, what team can compare to them? Now that Night Curtain is gone, the world belongs to Five Rings!"

"That's not necessarily true."

Sitting in the corner, Wu Zihao, wearing thick-rimmed glasses, weakly countered.

Jin Tong's eyes widened.

"How is it not certain? Tell me, who else is there?"

Wu Zihao hesitated for a moment and said:

"Have you guys heard... two days ago, there was a team called Nirvana? Apparently, there are only three people, but they broke the school record in the Level 20 Hell-mode dungeon Frost Dragons Lair with a time of five hours!"

"I heard they just barely had enough points to participate in this challenge tournament too!"

"Tch—!"

As soon as these words came out, they were immediately met with strong contempt from the yellow-haired Jiang Qing nearby.

Jiang Qing rolled his eyes, wearing an expression as if he had seen through the world.

"Don't even think about it. That kind of record must be because it happened to suit their class characteristics, or they exploited some dungeon bug!"

"Think about it, three people breaking a record? Is that scientific? Is that logical?"

"It's fine for grinding specific dungeons normally, but this is the Freshman Challenge Tournament! It's full of big shots and it's an ultra-large complex map. What use is a team that relies on opportunistic tricks? They'll just be fodder!"

Wu Zihao was a bit unconvinced.

"That's not necessarily true. The data is right there. Maybe they really have the strength?"

"Drop it! What strength can three people have? Can they beat Five Rings? Can they beat Divine Wind?"

Jin Tong also joined the ranks of mockery.

Just as the several of them were arguing incessantly...

Ye Yu, who had been sitting at the very front watching most closely, suddenly shouted, his whole body almost pressed against the screen.

"Holy crap! Stop arguing! Look! Look at this team entering the arena!"