157: Chapter 157 Invincible Punch!

Qin Ye remained standing in place, not pursuing.

The Stand behind her also didn't make any moves, still maintaining the pose with arms crossed over its chest.

Only those eyes burning with dark golden flames slowly swept across the people on the arena from left to right.

The moment they were stared at by those eyes, a few more contestants subconsciously took a step back.

But soon, they reacted.

This isn't a private fight.

This is a national broadcast!

Because Qin Ye's Mental Power data of 500,000 was exposed, the number of global online viewers has already exceeded one billion!

In other words, the scene of them subconsciously stepping back just now has been seen clearly by over one billion viewers.

More than thirty of the nation's top young prodigies, after being glanced at by one person, collectively retreated.

By tomorrow, there would be no need to guess the front-page headlines of the major academy forums.

Just thinking about those headlines made the faces of several contestants turn dark.

At the edge of the arena.

Fang Jingzhe finally crawled up from under the protective barrier.

Just as he steadied himself, he happened to see the scene of everyone collectively retreating.

Fang Jingzhe opened his mouth, seemingly wanting to say something.

But after hesitating for a moment, he swallowed the words that had already reached his lips.

Forget it.

At least he was sent flying by a punch after actively charging up.

These people in front of him had already been scared into retreating by Qin Ye before even truly fighting.

Comparing it this way, it seemed they were even more embarrassing.

Fang Jingzhe felt much better instantly.

"Don't be intimidated by her!"

Just as everyone was feeling the urge to retreat, Han Ce suddenly spoke up.

His voice, amplified by the sound amplification formation, instantly spread across the entire arena.

"No matter how strong she is, she is only one person!"

"Mental Power can be converted into other attributes, but that doesn't mean she can distribute 500,000 points of attributes to all directions simultaneously!"

Han Ce's speaking speed became faster and faster, but his train of thought remained incredibly clear.

"If she strengthens her speed, her defensive capabilities will inevitably decrease."

"If she strengthens her strength, her perception and mobility capabilities might have gaps!"

"No matter how high her conversion efficiency is, the total amount of 500,000 points of Mental Power is fixed!"

"Our only advantage is our numbers!"

Han Ce looked around, his voice suddenly rising.

"If we continue to fight on our own and get defeated one by one, then we truly won't have a single chance!"

These words were like a wake-up call, instantly bringing several contestants back to their senses.

That's right.

No matter how powerful Qin Ye is, she is ultimately just one person.

No matter how fast her Stand is, it's impossible to block attacks from over thirty directions simultaneously.

Gathered here are the nation's top young prodigies.

There are defense types, melee types, control types, as well as support types and long-range damage dealers.

If they unite, they might just have a fighting chance!

"Earth types and defense types to the front row!"

Someone reacted first and shouted loudly.

"Control types, lock down her movement space!"

"Long-range classes, start charging up, do not attack before receiving the order!"

"All support cards, deploy!"

"Connect the mental link to the same channel, everyone share battlefield intelligence!"

Orders were quickly spread.

Under the pressure of death and elimination, the remaining contestants could no longer care about so-called personal honor.

In just a few seconds, everyone's positioning underwent a earth-shaking change.

Six warriors skilled in defense quickly rushed to the very front.

They took out their shields and formed the first line of defense.

Eight melee class users split to the left and right sides, capable of supporting the front row at any time or seizing the opportunity to launch surprise attacks from different directions.

Elemental types, summon types, and long-range archers retreated to the back of the formation at the first opportunity, starting to prepare their respective strongest attacks.

Han Ce stood in the center of the entire formation.

He held a silver-white card vertically in front of him, and his Mental Power spread along with it.

Hum!

A silver-white mental network emerged from beneath Han Ce's feet, then quickly spread in all directions, enveloping all the contestants within it.

Insubstantial mental threads connected to everyone's consciousness.

From this moment on, the scenes everyone saw, the dangers perceived, as well as the intelligence analyzed by Han Ce through the [Eye of Omniscience], could all be shared within this mental network.

They were no longer thirty-two top prodigies fighting on their own.

But a complete whole possessing defense, control, damage output, support, and intelligence analysis capabilities!

On the host stage.

Chief Commentator Lu Ming looked at the battle formation rapidly taking shape on the arena, so excited he almost jumped directly onto the console in front of him.

"A joint battle formation!"

"This is the first time in the history of the National Competition that a joint battle formation has been temporarily formed by thirty-two top prodigies!"

"Thirty-two contestants have completely set aside personal honor!"

"Facing the immense pressure brought by contestant Qin Ye, they have decided to unite and use their absolute numerical advantage to fight against Qin Ye alone!"

"This is the truly terrifying part of Purgatory Mode!"

"Under this competition format, no matter how powerful an individual is, it is possible to be besieged by all other contestants!"

Accompanied by Chief Commentator Lu Ming's near-shouting commentary, the entire audience erupted again.

Everyone stared intently at the arena, not daring to miss any upcoming scene.

And opposite the battle formation, Qin Ye finally made a move.

She slowly lowered the right hand that was pressed against her face.

Those dark golden pupils calmly watched the defensive network that was gradually taking shape and continuously tightening around her.

A moment later, the corners of Qin Ye's mouth curled up slightly.

"Finally."

"Looking like something."

...

## Chapter 155: One Punch! Surpassing the Professional Match Record!

"Attack!"

Han Ce suddenly let out a roar.

The order, through the mental network, was instantly transmitted into everyone's consciousness.

Almost at the same moment, all thirty-two contestants moved!

At the very front, six defense-type warriors took a step forward simultaneously.

They gripped their shields with both hands and slammed them heavily onto the ground.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Six heavy shields embedded into the arena, emitting a deafening roar.

The next moment, earth-yellow light erupted from the surface of the shields and quickly connected to each other.

Surrounding earth-type energy gathered frantically.

Sand and stone surged, the earth trembled!

A thick city wall, fully twenty meters high, rose from the ground like an impassable mountain range, stretching between everyone and Qin Ye.

Behind the city wall, the long-range class users' attacks were also ready.

Wild winds howled.

Flames billowed.

Lightning flashed.

Cold air permeated.

The four elements of wind, fire, lightning, and ice rose into the air simultaneously, interweaving yet remaining distinct.

From beneath the ground, a series of dull sounds came.

Hundreds of thick vines broke through the already vitrified sandy ground, drilling out of the ground like giant pythons, locking down all possible directions for Qin Ye to dodge.

Roar!

A deafening roar followed immediately.

Three giant Tier 5 summoned beasts appeared simultaneously.

They crushed the glass ground beneath their feet, pouncing toward Qin Ye from three different directions, their massive bodies casting large shadows on the ground.

And above the arena, a giant magic formation with a diameter exceeding one hundred meters unfolded as well.

Complex formation patterns layered one upon another.

Countless runes lit up within it, connecting with each other, finally completely enveloping the entire arena!

"Spatial Anchoring!"

"Gravity Field — Five times!"

"Perception Deprivation!"

"Slow!"

"Mental Shock!"

Five control-type class users attacked simultaneously.

Five different types of control abilities fell upon Qin Ye from five directions.

Hum!

The air around Qin Ye became solidified at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The space seemed to turn into an incredibly hard piece of amber, completely locking her whole person within it.

Immediately after, five times gravity descended with a boom.

The glass ground beneath Qin Ye's feet sank downward violently.

Rumble!

Dense cracks, with her feet as the center, spread frantically in all directions.

The slow effect acted on her body, perception deprivation began to interfere with her five senses, and mental shock directly impacted her consciousness.

Under layers of control, even a peak Tier 5 class user would lose the ability to resist in an instant.

This was the countermeasure formulated by Han Ce.

In his view, time-type abilities fear spatial locking the most.

Even if Qin Ye could use Time Stop, it didn't mean she could ignore spatial anchoring.

As long as they fixed the area where Qin Ye was located in advance and restricted her movement space, then even if Time Stop succeeded, she wouldn't have enough area to dodge the subsequent attacks.

"It worked!"

Seeing all five control abilities hit, someone's eyes lit up.

However, the next second.

Qin Ye disappeared.

No Time Stop.

The live broadcast screen did not show any dropped frames.

There were no energy fluctuations unique to spatial movement around her either.

She didn't use any special abilities.

It was purely speed!

Boom—!

The glass ground beneath Qin Ye's feet exploded with a boom.

Countless fragments flew in all directions like bullets.

And her whole person, like a cannonball fired head-on by an electromagnetic railgun, instantly tore open the solidified air!

A straight dark golden afterimage pierced through the arena.

In the incredulous eyes of countless viewers, Qin Ye actually relied on the purest speed to forcibly rush out from under the dual restrictions of the five-times gravity field and spatial locking!

She did not attack Han Ce, who was in the center of the formation.

Nor did she rush towards the long-range class users in the back row who were charging up.

The target Qin Ye chose was the far left side of the entire defensive formation!

Standing there was a defense-type warrior clad in heavy armor and holding a giant shield.

"Left side!"

Han Ce's pupils suddenly contracted.

The [Eye of Omniscience] captured her attack direction almost at the same time Qin Ye moved.

The warning sound exploded directly in the minds of all contestants through the mental network.

That heavy-armored warrior's reaction was also extremely fast.

The moment he received Han Ce's warning, he activated his core defense card without hesitation.

Tier 5 SS-rank defense card—

[Molten Gold Holy Armor]!

Boom!

Golden-red light erupted from the surface of the card.

Liquid metal, as hot as molten lava, started from the heavy-armored warrior's shoulders and quickly spread over his entire body.

Click!

The heavy helmet closed instantly.

The armor on his chest layered over, and the weakest joint positions for defense were also completely covered by the flowing metal.

Finally, the heavy-armored warrior raised his arms, crossed them in front of him, and struck the most standard defensive pose.

At the same time, the two support-type Magic Card Masters located in the back also raised their hands simultaneously.

Two support cards that had long been prepared lit up instantly.

"Holy Shield Amplification!"

"Rock King Protection!"

A layer of milky-white holy light shield fell first, covering the surface of the [Molten Gold Holy Armor].

Immediately after, a layer of rock-yellow thick barrier rose from the ground, once again enveloping the heavy-armored warrior within it.

Molten Gold Holy Armor.

Holy Shield Amplification.

Rock King Protection.

Three full layers of defense, formed simultaneously in less than the time of a single breath!

With this defensive strength, even facing a full-strength strike from a peak Tier 5 warrior, it would be enough to block it head-on!

Just at the moment the third layer of defense completely formed, Qin Ye arrived.

Her figure appeared in front of the heavy-armored warrior.

Without any pause.

Qin Ye's right hand slightly curled, five fingers bent, clenching her palm into a fist.

At the same time, the Stand behind her, burning with dark golden flames, also raised its right arm at the same instant.

No charging up.

Nor were there any flashy moves.

It just clenched its fist and, towards the three layers of defense in front, threw a plain and unremarkable punch.

One punch—

Thrown!