Chapter Twenty: The Final Four (Seeking recommendations, seeking collections, seeking everything—please support this new book!)

After the competition at the Central Plaza of the Ability Training Institute.

“I’m so furious!” Tao Lu stomped the dusty ground in frustration, her face stormy. Xia Yan accompanied her in silence.

It seemed she wasn’t afraid of that brush with death, but was instead filled with self-reproach for losing the match.

For the proud Miss Tao Lu to be eliminated in the round of sixteen—how humiliating.

“Why did he want to kill you?” Xia Yan asked. “To kill you in front of so many people, without mercy, would certainly bring the institute’s punishment—he’d face severe consequences, possibly even lose his status as an ability user.”

“Hmph.” Tao Lu turned away. “So you noticed.”

“Yes,” Xia Yan replied. “If all he wanted was to win, he wouldn’t have used such lethal means. That man’s strength clearly surpassed yours.”

“I don’t know why he targeted me, but I’ll reclaim my honor,” Tao Lu clenched her fist. “I’ll take revenge myself, or I’ll never rest easy.”

“I can’t promise that,” Xia Yan shook his head. “If he shows killing intent toward me in a match, I’ll kill him.”

Connecting these events, Xia Yan began to sense a thread of reason, but now, with the tournament at a crucial stage, he couldn’t spare the focus to investigate further.

“By the way, Xia Yan.” Tao Lu spoke suddenly. “From my fight with that demonkin, I gained some intel. I’ll share it with you.”

“Oh?” Xia Yan nodded.

“First, his bloodline purity is very high among the demonkin. I can’t estimate the exact value, but it’s far above the average. The higher the bloodline purity, the stronger the power unleashed. Ordinary demonkin can maybe just fly and barely use dark energy.”

“Mm.”

“Secondly, his ability is most likely ocular in nature, but I can’t be sure what type. In that instant, I felt completely isolated from everything around me. But as soon as I conceded defeat, the isolation vanished.”

“I understand.”

In Xia Yan’s heart, since that demonkin dared to target his teammate, he had to find a way to kill him. All that talk about killing intent was just for show.

No matter the situation, if one is prepared to kill, one must also be prepared to be killed—an undeniable truth.

If possible, Xia Yan would kill this demonkin during the competition under the guise of an accident. If not, he would have to do it outside the arena.

That afternoon, the quarterfinals began, and Xia Yan already knew his opponent.

She was a favorite to win the championship, ranked thirteenth in the institute—Dongfang Hui. Young and petite, she exuded a cute, endearing charm, which made her quite popular.

As for whether her fans were all lolicons, that was anyone’s guess.

There was plenty of discussion among mentors and institute members.

“Xia Yan’s luck isn’t great. He’s already facing two of the highest-ranked contestants in the top eight.”

“Can Xia Yan win? He did beat Mei Mi!”

“It’s hard to say! Abilities can counter each other. Miss Dongfang Hui can summon multiple spirits to swarm her opponent, unlike Mei Mi’s single summoned beast.”

“What’s the difference? No. 55 will definitely win.”

When it came to the question of who would prevail, the mentors and members remained hesitant, but the audience was abuzz with excitement. Apart from a handful of diehard Dongfang Hui fans, the majority supported Xia Yan, their cheers deafening. After all, Miss Dongfang Hui was the thirteenth-ranked ace, while Xia Yan was a complete dark horse with no ranking at all.

On the arena floor, Dongfang Hui stuck out her tongue at Xia Yan, trying to act cute.

But Xia Yan ignored her completely.

She herself was troubled; in her mind, she had simulated battles against all the top contenders, and the one she had the least chance of beating was Xia Yan. And yet, here she was, facing him in the quarterfinals.

Abilities could counter each other, that was certain. Unfortunately, Xia Yan’s combat style countered her ability, not the reverse.

Her ability, Spirit Summoning, allowed her to call forth multiple spirits for a group assault, but each spirit was weak on its own, and nothing was more troublesome than an agile adversary.

Thus, the battle ended swiftly—less than thirty seconds, and her health bar was depleted by Xia Yan.

“How tragic, really tragic—the ability matchup is just too unfavorable.” Mentor Nina watched and understood that the difference between the two wasn’t as great as it seemed; it was simply the abilities at play.

Xia Yan’s speed directly countered Dongfang Hui’s ability. What’s more, she wasn’t adept at close combat, so the outcome was utter domination.

A group assault? Multiple spirits? What did it matter? Each spirit was as slow as a turtle compared to Xia Yan. They looked intimidating in a cluster, but in reality, they were useless.

The audience buzzed with excited chatter.

“Amazing, truly amazing.”

“How long did that take? No. 55 already won.”

“No. 55 is a sure bet for champion—he’s beaten the twelfth and thirteenth-ranked contestants, and this last win took under thirty seconds. He’s too strong.”

“He’s a lock for first place. I just checked the odds—there’s no profit left.”

Xia Yan’s popularity soared after defeating Dongfang Hui in just thirty seconds. In everyone’s eyes, he was now the clear favorite to win it all; the highest-ranked contestants had already been eliminated by him, leaving only Tang Yun.

The next day, the semifinals arrived. The arena grew even more animated, as the remaining four were all formidable.

Xia Yan sat in the waiting area, observing his three remaining opponents: the hot favorite Tang Yun, who was still dressed in his traditional Tang suit, calm and collected; Darren the demonkin, who had cruised through his matches and continued to conceal his true abilities, winning by bloodline alone; and lastly, a tall man, an unknown dark horse who had surged into the semifinals.

Of these four, public opinion was divided, but most agreed that Xia Yan was the frontrunner, having already beaten the institute’s twelfth and thirteenth-ranked members.

Next in line was Tang Yun, whose fighting style was distinctive.

The other two were considered less likely to win—everyone believed they were no match for Xia Yan or Tang Yun.

However, the draw had Xia Yan facing Tang Yun, meaning he’d faced three top contenders in a row.

Many had picked these three as the likely champions, but Xia Yan had knocked out two of them already.

As the crowd roared, Tang Yun remained composed, walking silently to the arena, his gaze fixed only on Xia Yan.

“Would either of you like to use the system’s simulated weapons?” Mentor Nina asked.

“No need,” Tang Yun replied.

“Yes,” Xia Yan answered as usual, taking a simulated pistol.

Miyako watched all this, believing Tang Yun had the greatest overall strength among the three favorites. As a human, he had always earned her admiration. The rankings were set a year ago and might have shifted since, but after a year of training, Tang Yun’s strength was not necessarily below that of Mei Mi or Dongfang Hui.

Tang Yun was a true contender. For a strong person like him, winning was everything. He had trained hard, preparing specifically to defeat Mei Mi and Dongfang Hui.

He was confident he could beat them and take first place. He never expected the emergence of a dark horse—Xia Yan—to eliminate them both.

Still, it didn’t matter. He would win, whether against Mei Mi, Dongfang Hui, or Xia Yan. They were all stepping stones.

For Xia Yan, victory was imperative. He needed to become the eleventh-ranked member of the institute, defeat Levin, and win enough money to save Ding Li.

Now, he had one more goal: to reach the finals and kill the demonkin. That demonkin had crossed his last line.

Both sides had powerful convictions—unbreakable, unyielding.

The match began.

At the signal, both men moved at once, racing across the arena at blinding speed.

Xia Yan raised his simulated pistol, aiming at Tang Yun’s darting form.

“He’s so fast,” Xia Yan thought, face darkening. Tang Yun was the first person he’d ever faced whose speed exceeded his own. Clearly, Tang Yun’s ability was some form of speed enhancement.

“So fast,” Tao Lu muttered, awed by the duel. Xia Yan might not realize it, but she knew: his strength was constantly increasing. Four months ago, his brain development was below the threshold of 14. Three months later, he’d surpassed it and could apply for ability measurement.

But was it only his brain development that had improved?

Tao Lu was certain Xia Yan’s physical development had risen as well—by at least three percentage points, putting him above fifteen percent.

Even so, Tang Yun was still faster—a bit faster.

On the arena, the two speedsters moved like phantoms.

Whoever was faster would win, perhaps.

Or perhaps not.