30: Chapter 30 The Highly Anticipated Zhao Dahai

Three words.

Like three nails.

Driven into the air, one by one.

The entire venue fell into deathly silence!

The barrage of comments that had been scrolling crazily just a moment ago seemed to have hit the pause button in this instant.

Li Haoran's first reaction was disbelief.

But he did not show it.

Only the composure on his face was starting to crack. After a brief flicker of expression, he bowed slightly.

"Thank you for your guidance, Master Li Qingyue."

His tone remained elegant.

But everyone, including himself, could hear the trembling beneath that elegance.

Someone who had created an A-grade card as a sophomore.

Only received a C-.

The entire venue was silent as the grave.

In the outer spectator stands, the family representatives who had been frantically handing out business cards froze in unison.

Vice President Wu Molin opened his mouth, but ultimately said nothing.

Because there was nothing he could say.

Li Qingyue's evaluation was objective.

She wasn't belittling the cost of the materials.

What she was saying was that this student wasn't designing. He was just piecing together a pile of existing things. Pieced together well, and precisely. But that was a jigsaw puzzle, not creation.

And what Li Qingyue wanted was creation.

Meanwhile—Zhao Dahai was standing at the other end of the testing zone.

His legs were shaking.

Literally shaking.

Because just now, he had witnessed three things.

First, someone who passed the first round was rated E-.

Second, the top student in the class who made an A-grade card was rated C-.

Third—next, it was his turn.

"Next."

As Li Qingyue's voice fell, the golden light shone down upon Zhao Dahai's head.

Zhao Dahai took a deep breath and walked step by step in front of the Stone Demon.

The five-meter-tall Stone Demon looked down at him.

From that angle, it was like a human looking down at an insect.

No—not even an insect. Insects at least didn't shake.

Zhao Dahai gripped his pathetic-looking Demon Sealing Card with his trembling right hand. There were several scratches on the card surface from repeated modifications; he wasn't exactly poor, it was just an ordinary card.

Unlike most people, he hadn't used any precious materials when crafting the mace, because it was just a Monthly Exam, why waste money?

Even if Li Qingyue really came back, would she even notice him? He would surely be eliminated quickly just like an extra, and getting a score that wasn't too good or too bad would be enough.

That was why he chose a mace.

As a result... who the hell knew this event would be so grand!

Above him was a gaze as vast as the starry sky; the giants' eyes were like the sun, scorching Zhao Dahai's heart and making him incredibly nervous.

"I, I am Zhao Dahai—"

He swallowed, struggling to keep his voice from cracking.

"My Armament Card is called [Gravity Mace]."

"The materials are an alloy of refined steel and meteorite iron, and... and some basic gravity rune stones and Tier 3 magic power stones. Although there are no high-tier materials, I kept piling on the materials, so its weight and magic conductivity are quite good, very, very suitable as a weapon."

"It, it only does one thing—"

He took out the card and activated it.

At this moment, Li Qingyue narrowed her red eyes, as if scrutinizing something.

Soon, an excessively thick mace materialized in Zhao Dahai's hands.

The body of the mace was rough and uneven, with several crooked magic patterns on the surface; it didn't look like something made by a reputable expert at all.

Zhao Dahai gripped the handle with both hands.

"—Smash it down."

Someone on the field subconsciously sneered.

It wasn't a classmate.

It was a family executive watching from outside.

Before that sneer could fade away, the universal balance in the sky descended with golden light.

Appraisal.

The Truth Panel appeared.

[Name: Gravity Mace]

[Type: Physical Armament]

[Spatial Stability: 51%]

[Armament Level: C+]

[Feature: Localized Spatial Compression Array]

[Appraisal Evaluation: Inferior materials, rough workmanship. However, the internal Spatial Circuit design is extremely ingenious, compressing a large amount of space to allow it to contain an energy density far exceeding its materials. Unassuming, yet packs a huge punch.]

The sneering came to an abrupt halt.

C+.

It wasn't a very high grade. In the entire Monthly Exam, it was at best mid-tier.

But—[Spatial Circuit design is extremely ingenious].

This sentence, compared to Li Haoran's [rough technique] and [standard template] from just a moment ago, formed a contrast sharp enough to cut someone.

Li Haoran's eyebrows knit together visibly for the first time.

Li Qingyue raised an eyebrow slightly.

"Begin the test."

Zhao Dahai closed his eyes.

He focused all his Mental Power on the mace in his hands. What surfaced in his mind wasn't the template of a standard circuit—but the seven rotating spatial axes inside Su Bai's card three days ago in the Third Training Room.

He only remembered a tiny bit.

One-thousandth.

But it was enough.

"Haaah—!!"

With an explosive power that completely defied his physique, Zhao Dahai charged toward the five-meter-tall Stone Demon.

He held the mace high over his head with both hands.

And smashed it down.

Boom!!!

The mace collided with the Stone Demon's breastplate.

No lightning, no flames, no phoenix pattern resonance, no dragon clan pressure.

Only a dull, muffled thud to the extreme.

And then—the Stone Demon's chest exploded.

Not smashed, but exploded.

Centered on the point where the mace landed, a spatial compression field collapsed inward violently. It wasn't a shockwave destroying the rock—it was space itself creating an implosion within the Stone Demon's chest cavity. The rock structure was torn apart from the inside, and rubble flew in all directions as if sucked by a vacuum.

Bang!!

After the roar, a deep crater exploded out of the Stone Demon's tall body!

Although it couldn't shatter the entire Stone Demon in one blow like Li Haoran—but just with one hammer—the area of the Stone Demon destroyed by this hammer was orders of magnitude higher than the blow where the bespectacled man's spikes broke.

It didn't rely on material hardness.

Nor elemental enchantment.

It was the compression force of space itself.

The whole venue gasped in unison.

"..."

Zhao Dahai stared wide-eyed at the Stone Demon in front of him, then looked down at his own hands.

"I did it? I really did it—?"

Outside the field.

Li Qingyue watched the appraisal results on the panel and couldn't help but reveal a smile: "It really is like this, this guy is a bit interesting. Vice President Wu, did you notice anything?"

Vice President Wu Molin was also somewhat astonished at this moment. Logically speaking, a crappy mace shouldn't be able to exert such great power, and the materials Zhao Dahai used couldn't be anything rare, so how could this happen?

Now hearing Li Qingyue speak, he quickly said: "I would like to hear the details."

"This child's Spatial Circuit is problematic."

Li Qingyue said: "The Spatial Circuit of his magic card is unusually unique; it is different from those copied Spatial Circuits from before. It is original."

"Original!?"

Hearing this news, Vice President Wu Molin felt as if he had been struck by lightning!

An original Spatial Circuit for a Tier 1 card? What a joke!

Anyone capable of creating an original magic card circuit must be a top-tier Card Creator above Tier 4, and even for such Card Creators, their original circuits aren't necessarily particularly powerful. An average Tier 4 Card Creator would be doing well if they could publish one usable original circuit in their lifetime.

But Zhao Dahai, a beginner, actually created a circuit? What a joke!

Could it be that a top genius had appeared in the school? Was this kid playing the pig to eat the tiger?

He felt stormy waves in his heart, but before he could think further, Li Qingyue said helplessly: "I'm not saying he created it himself, it's just that some structures are very peculiar. He likely had some lucky encounter and observed a brand-new Spatial Circuit up close, at least a Spatial Circuit not recorded in our modern times."

"So that's it!"

Hearing this, Vice President Wu Molin was even more surprised, and his heart couldn't help but fill with pleasant surprise.

A brand-new, referenceable Spatial Circuit—the value of this was unimaginable, and it might even lead to a comprehensive upgrade for all spatial-related card decks.

Of course, that would depend on the power of the Spatial Circuit.

"Regardless, this trip wasn't in vain."

On Li Qingyue's small face, there was, for once, a lack of her previous coldness. Then, her voice penetrated directly through the Mustard Seed Space, echoing in the surroundings, clearly directed at Zhao Dahai.

"This localized Spatial Circuit technique is not any template from the textbooks. It is a brand-new structure."

"Who taught you?"

When these words fell, everyone's gaze in the venue was focused on Zhao Dahai.

A fat guy who used the most inferior materials.

Had achieved a more powerful combat effect than most of the top students.

Being asked personally by a 9th-tier Supreme, "Who taught you?"

Zhao Dahai's brain crashed at this moment.

He opened his mouth and let out a sound like a goose being grabbed by the neck—"Gah?"

"I am asking you."

Li Qingyue repeated patiently, a rarity, "Where did you learn the design concept for this set of localized spatial compression circuits?"

An extremely complex expression appeared on Zhao Dahai's face.

There was wild joy.

There was terror.

There was disbelief.

Then—

"Su Bai."

He said.