“A small family like that will naturally try to latch on when there’s a benefit. But they also need to know that not just anyone is someone they can cling to.” Yan Ling let out a low laugh. “I pulled a few strings, spent some Star Stones to buy them out. The next year, they came to my auction house demanding more. The ones who came all left with broken arms and legs, so they didn’t dare to return.”

“However, I wasn’t the first one to make a move against the Wen family’s patriarch.” Yan Ling glanced at Qiu Fei, her tone full of meaning. “Your disciple is the truly considerate one.” Wen Yuncheng hadn’t yet made a name for herself back then, so Yan Ling hadn’t paid her much mind; all this happened later. But at the very beginning—when Wen Yuncheng entered Star Academy and fought her way into A-Class with a string of victories in the placement battles, it caused quite a stir, which the Wen family naturally heard about. The reason they didn’t make a move was that someone else had already given them a warning.

Qiu Fei’s face turned pale upon hearing this. As Lin Jinyu’s mentor, she often counseled her. Yan Ling’s comment reminded her of when Lin Jinyu had asked her about a “friend,” and how deeply troubled she had been by this “friend” recently. Listening to her worries and seeing her reactions, Qiu Fei felt something was off. A friend? Even for a best friend, would someone react like that? Why did it feel like Lin Jinyu had been led astray by that kid Wen Yuncheng without even realizing it?

Of course, she didn’t dare point this out. It was best to let the two of them develop naturally. With the marriage alliance between the Lin and Wen families dissolved, Sect Master Lin had placed great hopes on Lin Jinyu… If Lin Jinyu were to develop feelings at a time like this, it probably wouldn’t be good. At this thought, Qiu Fei shot another glare at Yan Ling. Yan Ling wasn’t annoyed; she just thought Qiu Fei was jealous of her. It was common knowledge that Wen Yuncheng was her disciple. With Wen Yuncheng’s rising fame, her auction house also benefited. That kid Yan Ci had even marveled at how some nobles were suddenly scrambling to invite him to dinner.

Wen Yuncheng had heard about these things, but she paid them no mind. Whenever she had free time, she went to the Dueling Arena to temper her winner’s heart, leaving no room to think about anything else. At most, she would find time to have a meal with Lin Jinyu, where they would encourage each other.

After the first round ended, Wen Yuncheng’s draw for the second round wasn’t one of the closely watched seeded contestants. Although her opponent wasn’t famous, he was said to be an elite from a certain sect, a Star Master 2nd Layer. He was, quite obviously, no match for Wen Yuncheng. Once the second round concluded, only about one hundred and twenty contestants remained in the Youth Tournament. One more round would directly produce the top seventy.

[Why isn’t this tournament following the rules? Isn’t it supposed to be a top 100 list? Why is there a top 120?] 1947, which had issued a top-100 mission, was speechless. It found that it was constantly being thwarted on the Starry Sky Continent, and the events unfolding were a hundred and eight thousand li away from the Long Aotian script it held. After a moment of depression, it threw the “pot” directly onto the Huanling Continent—it must be that stowaway who passed through the turbulent spacetime flow that was interfering with its plot. Otherwise, it would never make a mistake!

Wen Yuncheng found this amusing but didn’t bother to argue with 1947. She was still more than 8,000 experience points away from level 40, so she wasn’t in a hurry.

However, when the pairings for the third round were announced, Wen Yuncheng was stunned.

She was actually up against Di Yuanhao?

Wen Yuncheng looked at the number on the card in her hand, then at the opponent and arena number listed on the announcement board. It felt surreal. Was her luck this good? Was she fated to fight the Protectors’ sons one by one? After Di Yuanhao, would she have to face Mo Wensheng next?

Contestant 28, Arena 8.

Wen Yuncheng sighed, then recalled how Di Yuanhao had not only run his mouth during the Academy Exchange Tournament but had also beaten Lin Jinyu until she vomited blood. She rolled up her sleeves, planning to teach this guy a lesson! Blood Demon Transformation? Heh heh. After accepting reality, Wen Yuncheng continued to read the list and discovered that Lin Jinyu was facing… Mo Wensheng? Moreover, Lin Jinyu and Mo Wensheng were contestant number 30, in Arena 10. Their matches were in the same round.

Wen Yuncheng blinked. The good news was that she wouldn’t have to beat up all three of the great Protectors’ sons in succession. The bad news was… she probably wouldn’t be able to watch Lin Jinyu’s match.

This, perhaps, was a case of not being able to have it all.

With this inexplicably profound thought, Wen Yuncheng wasted no more time and rushed toward the Dueling Arena.

“Your match today has a lot of eyes on it,” Yan Ling reminded her. “Just do your best.”

“Yes, Teacher.” Wen Yuncheng replied obediently, sitting in the waiting room for her number to be called. The First Princess hadn’t come to encourage her, but Lin Jinyu had spoken with her, telling her about a few of Di Yuanhao’s common moves to watch out for. Although Wen Yuncheng had seen the battle between Di Yuanhao and Lin Jinyu, her understanding of him was certainly no match for Lin Jinyu’s firsthand experience.

As for Mo Wensheng? Wen Yuncheng had tentatively asked if Lin Jinyu was confident, to which Lin Jinyu had simply replied, “Aren’t we aiming for first place?” After that, Wen Yuncheng didn’t worry anymore.

Just as Lin Jinyu never worried that she would lose, Wen Yuncheng believed that Lin Jinyu wouldn’t lose either.

Her thoughts returned to the present as she looked at the light screen in the waiting room. Outside, matches in several arenas had already concluded.

“Will contestants number 21 through 30 please proceed to arenas 01 through 10.”

It was starting.

Wen Yuncheng walked out of the waiting room and exchanged a smile with Lin Jinyu, who was emerging from the room next door. Then, they each walked toward different arenas.

“I can’t believe you actually beat Chu Nianmu… Haha, but I’m no rookie like him.” Di Yuanhao was as arrogant as ever. He laughed loudly. “I hope we can have a good, satisfying fight.”

Wen Yuncheng pursed her lips, an idea forming in her mind. She raised a hand and gave Di Yuanhao a thumbs-up, her expression sincere. “You’re indeed very strong, but…” With the word “but,” the raised thumb flipped over, pointing straight down. “…you’re no match for me.”

“…” Seeing the familiar gesture, Di Yuanhao’s face turned green. Of course, he remembered taunting Lin Jinyu the same way during the exchange tournament, and then… he had lost. Not only did Di Feng lecture him endlessly afterward, but he had also caused his academy’s score to fall behind. They had been hoping for first place, but in the end… “You’ve angered me, kid.”

Wen Yuncheng simply nodded, her tone light. “Then it’s truly my honor.”

The referee watched as Di Yuanhao was provoked into a rage with just a few words. He cleared his throat as a reminder before formally announcing, “The match begins.”

“I’ll make you pay!” With a fierce shout, Di Yuanhao immediately unleashed his Star Power. Red energy surged across the surface of his body as he stomped heavily on the ground, sending a wave of Star Power rippling outward. Using the momentum from his stomp, he shot toward Wen Yuncheng like a cannonball.

Summon Number One. As her Mechanical Wings lifted her into the air, she used G-1 Corona. Seeing Wen Yuncheng take flight, Di Yuanhao didn’t change his attack. Instead, he slammed a heavy punch into Number One. Red Star Power practically enveloped his entire fist. Bang!

With an instantaneous burst of force, Number One’s massive frame was sent flying by a single punch, tumbling off the stage. Wen Yuncheng frowned slightly. Just as a flicker of worry arose, Number One’s voice echoed in her mind: “I can still fight.”

Number One’s “stomach” section was dented inward. Fortunately, 1947’s paint job was extremely reliable; otherwise, the energy core inside would have started glowing. It swayed for a moment before climbing back onto the stage. The referee instinctively took a step forward but then remembered that Number One was one of Wen Yuncheng’s Star Power skills, not a contestant.

…If it’s a skill, it should be able to come back up after falling off the stage, right? The competition rules didn’t specify anything about such a situation. The referee held back and focused on watching the battle between the two juniors on the stage.

G-1 Corona’s attack power wasn’t actually high; it was meant to disrupt Di Yuanhao’s offense. Wen Yuncheng had summoned it in its Corona form so she could switch it to Rolling Thunder at a critical moment to use its attack that had an “electrified” special effect.

It seemed… Di Yuanhao had gotten stronger, too. As expected, despite his annoying personality, he was still a genius. After a moment of thought, Wen Yuncheng decided on her strategy for dealing with him: attrition!

If Di Yuanhao used his Blood Demon Transformation, he definitely wouldn’t be able to last long. If he didn’t use it… Wen Yuncheng didn’t think he could beat her anyway.

“Fight!” Di Yuanhao roared, kicking off the ground with explosive force. Propelled by a burst of Star Power, he shot toward Wen Yuncheng in the air. He clasped his hands together, forming a giant Star Power hammer, and swung it violently down at her—

He’s staying in the air on his own? Wen Yuncheng’s eyes lit up. She raised a hand and threw a stun grenade at him. Then, she immediately used the Mountain River Seal, and the small seal instantly expanded. Wen Yuncheng made a downward pressing motion in the air, even deactivating the boost from her Mechanical Wings to add the impact of her own active descent and passive fall to the attack!

Di Yuanhao was shocked. Wen Yuncheng’s stun grenade instantly dissipated the Star Power hammer he had just formed. He became dazed, and in that single moment of confusion—

With a loud bang, he was slammed down by the Mountain River Seal! Of course, this was also because the stun grenade had interfered with his ability to mobilize his Star Power, causing him to fall naturally.

The spectator stands erupted in an uproar.

Even Di Feng, who was on guard duty and in a state of alert, couldn’t help but frown. Was his son really this pathetic? Was this really his son? Must be a fake, right?

He had just been vowing to make his opponent pay, and in the very first exchange, he gets slammed into the stage?

Disgraceful, truly disgraceful. Di Feng silently averted his gaze, his expression somewhat dark. Then, he sensed Chu Han’s mocking look directed at him. Di Feng grew even more furious. After the match, he would definitely give that brat a good beating! When Chu Nianmu lost, he had laughed at Chu Han for quite a while. Who would have thought… that his own son would be hammered to the ground right from the start.

“Is it… over?” Some of the uninformed spectators were completely bewildered. They had come because of the hype. After all, many people had discussed the battle between Wen Yuncheng and Chu Nianmu, and they had watched the recording. They had high expectations for this match, so who could have anticipated this outcome?

However, Wen Yuncheng didn’t know what these people were thinking. She didn’t relax, because she knew the match had only just begun—

Di Yuanhao was a madman. The more injured he became, the stronger he would get.

The hand she was pressing down with was soon forced upward by an immense power, and the massive Mountain River Seal began to rise. Red Star Power gradually became visible to the audience as Di Yuanhao, bracing his hands against the seal, slowly got to his feet.

Instantly, Wen Yuncheng recalled the Mountain River Seal and, with a thought, sent Number One charging forward.

“Heh, the match has… only just begun!” Di Yuanhao raised a hand and casually wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. The fighting spirit in his eyes was so intense it had almost solidified, and seeing it made even Wen Yuncheng’s blood begin to boil.