Chapter 81: Showdown Against Shi Dang

Chapter 81: Duel with Shi Dang

A long, resonant chime, as if echoing from the ancient sea of stars, rang through every corner of the "Polar Crown."

The sound was solemn and majestic, as if proclaiming the fall of one era and the dawn of another.

Within the arena, the tens of thousands of seats ignited in an instant, the gathered roar of the crowd coalescing into a tangible tsunami of energy, crashing against the dome, only to be contained by an invisible force field within the venue, forming a seething ocean.

Above, the colossal dome simulated a brilliant galaxy slowly turning; against the backdrop of the deep cosmos, hundreds of alloy battle platforms, gleaming with cold metallic luster, hung like floating stars, silently awaiting their warriors.

A spotlight precisely struck the center of the arena, where a host in official uniform, his voice amplified by psychic speakers, reached every spectator with clarity.

His voice was resonant and passionate, each word carrying the power to stir hearts.

"...Here is the cradle of geniuses! The proving ground for the strong! And the stage where the future pillars of the Empire first show their edge to all of Qiming Star, and even the entire Empire!"

"Here, sweat will water glory, and will shall forge brilliance! Now, I declare—"

The host suddenly raised his volume, his voice shaking the surroundings.

"The 32,175th Inter-School League of Qiming Star, Freshman Individual Competition, officially begins!"

"Boom—!"

The roar erupted fully.

Inside the "Qiming Viewing" building in the Redleaf Commercial District, Qin Dahai clenched his fists tightly, his knuckles turning white from excessive force.

His palms were drenched in sweat, and he unconsciously slowed his breathing.

Qin Feng, his son, was about to step onto the platform.

A platform where fists and feet show no mercy, where life and death part ways!

To say he wasn't nervous would be a lie.

Qin Dahai, Wang Ming, and his aunt were all on edge; the two younger brothers also grew worried, while the youngest sister, unaware of the danger, giggled as she stared at her big brother Qin Feng's figure, her face full of admiration.

In the viewing area of Tianquan Martial Arts High School, Lei Yi still had his eyes closed, as if everything around him had nothing to do with him.

In the area of Jinlong Martial Arts High School, Li Qing appeared completely at ease.

A trademark smile hung at the corner of his mouth.

And in the viewing area of Xinghe Military Affiliated High School, Shi Dang sat alone in a corner, like a silent rock.

He looked at no one, his eyes fixed only on the center of the arena, on the hundreds of floating platforms, as if searching for his destined place.

At the top of the observation tower.

Professor Gu Yue stroked his beard, a faint smile on his face, his eyes full of absolute confidence in his own student.

The mentors from other schools, however, wore varied expressions—some stern, some expectant, others exchanging quiet words with colleagues beside them, but the invisible, unspoken rivalry in the air grew ever thicker.

Several mentors' gazes fell on the direction where Qin Feng stood.

They wanted to see just who this Qin Feng was!

Lord Zhou of the Limit Warrior Corps stood alone before the floor-to-ceiling window, still like an eternal statue.

—

Inside the viewing area of Qiming First High School.

The host's voice rang out again.

"Attention all contestants! The draw matching system has been activated. Results will be sent to your holographic viewers and personal terminals in three seconds. Please proceed to your designated platform according to the information prompt. I repeat, please check your holographic viewers or personal terminals and proceed to your designated platform!"

As the words fell.

"Buzz—"

Qin Feng's wrist personal terminal gave a slight vibration.

A pale blue holographic screen quietly popped up before him.

On the screen, clear white text was listed line by line.

[Notification]

[School]: Qiming First Martial Arts High School

[Name]: Qin Feng

[ID]: QM-1-G1-1104

[Platform Number]: 073

[Opponent]: Shi Dang (Xinghe Military Affiliated High School)

[ID]: XH-MA-G1-0017

[Vitality Index]: 14.1

Qin Feng's gaze paused slightly on the two characters "Shi Dang."

One of the top three contenders.

And he was facing him in the very first match.

Qin Feng stood up and headed for the platform. Xiao Pang and Shi Potian, who had also received their notifications, rose and made their way to their platforms.

"Old Qin, who's your opponent? Mine's from Jinlong Martial Arts High School, a nobody."

Xiao Pang smiled and called out.

"Shi Dang."

Qin Feng replied.

"Uh—"

Xiao Pang was taken aback, scratching his head. "That Shi Dang sure is unlucky."

—

Platform 073.

It was a circular alloy platform fifty meters in diameter, suspended in midair, surrounded by a pale blue energy shield.

When Qin Feng stepped onto the platform, his opponent Shi Dang was already waiting there.

Shi Dang was exceptionally burly, a full head taller than the average student.

He wore a set of heavy custom alloy light armor, and in his hand he carried a broadsword nearly the size of half a door. The blade was thick and unsharpened, yet it exuded a suffocating weight of pressure.

Qin Feng's figure was tall and well-proportioned.

His standard-issue alloy light armor perfectly outlined his smooth, explosive muscle lines.

He held a single spear; the alloy shaft gleamed coldly under the arena lights, and the tip shimmered with piercing chill.

His aura was not like Shi Dang's, heavy as a mountain, but sharp as a blade.

The two stood far apart, one like a mountain, the other like a spear.

Their entirely different auras collided at the center of the platform, thickening the air around them.

"..."

Shi Dang spoke first, his voice deep and rumbling: "Please enlighten me."

Qin Feng's reply was simple and direct.

"Please."

As the referee on one side of the arena suddenly swung down his arm and shouted "Begin the match!" at that instant—

"Ha!"

Shi Dang let out a fierce roar and stomped his foot hard!

"Thud!"

A deafening sound; even the hard alloy arena trembled violently.

He did not choose to charge, but instead sank his waist and sat like a horse, gripping that door-plank broadsword with both hands, assuming an extremely steady starting stance.

"Rock Broadsword" — [Rock Stance]!

This was the most typical tactic of using stillness to control motion, of responding to change with constancy.

He would use his greatest strength and strongest defense to accumulate a thunderous strike—one strike to decide the outcome!

Before absolute power, any flashy technique would be ground to dust.

This was also the essence of the Rock Broadsword.

However, Qin Feng would not give him that chance.

The very next second after Shi Dang assumed [Rock Stance], Qin Feng moved.

There was no earth-shattering momentum, nor any dazzling killing move.

He simply moved.

His figure was like a wisp of smoke, leaving a faint afterimage at the spot, while he himself, with unimaginable speed, instantly cut into Shi Dang's attack range.

He flicked his long spear, twirled it into a flower, and then—the spear shot out like a dragon!

He used no killing moves, only the most basic and simplest techniques from "Thousand Troops Spear"—thrust, lift, parry, sweep.

But Qin Feng's technique was as if his arm commanded his fingers, effortlessly executed!

That long spear, from all sorts of bizarre and extremely tricky angles, precisely targeted Shi Dang's vital points.

"Ding!"

The first crisp sound.

Shi Dang, holding his broadsword in rock defense, only felt his blade being struck; a subtle force penetrated through the blade, numbing half his body.

"Ding! Ding! Clang! Clang!"

Then came a dense metallic collision like a raging storm.

The spear tip, like a woodpecker's beak, left clear white dots one after another on Shi Dang's heavy broadsword.

Elbow, knee, waist side, neck... each strike precisely hit the key force transmission points of the broadsword, the subtle force seeping through the blade into Shi Dang's body.

"..."

(End of this chapter)