r18novel Chapter 48: Winning Streak
Chapter 48: Winning Streak
"However, dealing with opponents like them is not worth listing all nine methods."
"We'll defeat them using the simplest method!"
Yu Chen spoke calmly, his gaze sweeping over the three Gu brothers circling in the air.
"Gu Yue, you'll be in charge of creating elemental artifacts to provide me with leverage points in the air."
"Wu Lin, use the elemental artifacts created by Gu Yue to throw them, blocking their flight paths and movements, and confining them to a fixed airspace."
After speaking, Yu Chen looked at the two of them.
Thanks to the team training and tacit understanding developed over the past few months, Gu Yue and Tang Wulin understood Yu Chen's tactical intentions almost instantly.
The two exchanged a glance and nodded without any hesitation.
The next moment, Yu Chen slightly bent his knees, his leg muscles suddenly exerted force, and his whole body soared into the sky like an arrow released from a bow!
Almost simultaneously, the yellow soul ring beneath Gu Yue's feet flashed, and gentle yet powerful wind elements silently gathered, forming an upward lifting force that precisely boosted Yu Chen's jump height and speed.
At the same time, several medium-sized, smooth ice balls and several sharp-edged, hard stones quickly condensed on the ground in front of Gu Yue.
Below the stage, Ye Yingrong, the homeroom teacher of Class 3, saw Yu Chen surrounded by a blue light, soaring upwards and rushing straight towards Gu Tianri, one of the three Gu brothers. Her pupils couldn't help but shrink slightly.
What is that? How can it fly? Isn't Yu Chen's martial soul an eye? Could it be a twin martial soul?
Seeing Yu Chen's leaping posture, which resembled flying, Ye Yingrong was genuinely startled.
But she quickly calmed down.
Because she saw that after Yu Chen's figure reached a certain height, his upward momentum clearly weakened and he began to fall.
This is clearly not the state of a true flying Soul Master who can hover and move freely.
This made her secretly breathe a sigh of relief.
No, that's not right!
What's with the relief?! Even if he can't fly, Yu Chen's jump height is ridiculously high! He couldn't have jumped up there purely using his physical strength, could he? That sounds even more terrifying!
Ye Yingrong was internally ranting, but on the surface she still tried to remain calm.
As long as Yu Chen doesn't possess true flying ability, this competition is still ongoing.
The three Gu brothers possess flying martial spirits and are also triplets with a shared understanding. She has spent a great deal of effort training these three brothers in aerial combat coordination these past few days.
The opponent's sudden takeoff was like a lone army venturing deep into enemy territory, giving the three brothers the opportunity to encircle and attack him one by one!
Once we take care of Yu Chen, the most threatening opponent, the rest of the match will be a two-on-three situation, giving us the advantage!
Ye Yingrong had already sketched out in her mind the look of resentment that might appear on Wu Changkong's cold face after her class won, and the fantasy of perhaps taking this opportunity to have something happen with that icy male god.
However, the reality on the ring shattered all her fantasies in an instant.
Just as Yu Chen lost his upward momentum and was about to begin falling, a grayish-brown rock suddenly appeared beneath him without warning!
The stone appeared at just the right time and in the perfect position, precisely landing under Yu Chen's feet as he was about to land.
Yu Chen lightly touched the rock with his toes, and skillfully used the slight reaction force to stop his descent. He felt as if he had stepped onto solid ground and regained the momentum to rush forward, shooting straight at Gu Tianri not far away like an arrow!
Judging from the origin of the stones, they are from Gu Yue on the arena below.
With a focused expression and her fingers slightly raised, she was clearly using exquisite elemental control to remotely manipulate these aerial creations.
The change was extremely sudden, and the execution was so smooth that many audience members gasped in amazement.
Gu Tianri, who was preparing to attack Yu Chen, suddenly felt a deadly threat!
He instinctively tried to flap his wings and retreat quickly to the side and rear.
But just then, a cold blue object flew past his ear at an extremely tricky angle with a whooshing sound!
The chill from the ice shards made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end, and he broke out in a cold sweat.
What the hell?! I'm clearly in the sky! Who could have attacked me from the ground?!
Just as Gu Tianri was filled with doubt and confusion, Yu Chen's figure had already approached him like a ghost!
Seeing their brother in danger, Gu Tianyue and Gu Tianming on either side immediately flapped their wings, wanting to rush forward to help.
Unfortunately, Tang Wulin below was already prepared.
He swung his hands alternately, like a whirlwind, forcefully throwing one ice ball and stone after another that Gu Yue had condensed into the air!
Although these "ammunitions" may not be very powerful individually, under Tang Wulin's amazing arm strength, they were fast, numerous, and covered a wide area, forming a dense "anti-aircraft fire network." This forced Gu Tianyue and Gu Tianming to dodge repeatedly, and they couldn't find an opportunity to get close to rescue Gu Tianri.
How fast Yu Chen is!
As the man approached Gu Tianri in the air, a flash of golden light appeared in his deep eyes.
The realm of zero time quietly unfolded, and everything around him became slow and clear in his perception.
He threw a punch, simple and direct, yet with undeniable power.
The instant the flow of time returned to normal, Gu Tianri felt a blur before his eyes, and then an irresistible force came to his cheek!
He didn't even see how Yu Chen threw the punch.
Yu Chen possessed immense strength.
Even if one deliberately restrains most of their strength when attacking, it is still not something an ordinary one-ring Soul Master can withstand.
Gu Tianri let out a muffled groan, as if he had been struck by a giant hammer, instantly losing his balance and control, and like a kite with a broken string, he spun and fell off the stage.
"Gu Tianri is here." Referee Long Hengxu swiftly caught Gu Tianri as he fell, and announced his elimination.
Yu Chen struck successfully and did not stop.
He found another piece of ice to use for leverage, turned around, and did the same thing again, swiftly lunging at Gu Tianyue who was closer.
Under Tang Wulin's continuous "firepower suppression" and Yu Chen's ghostly close-range speed, Gu Tianyue could only hold out for less than ten seconds before Yu Chen seized an opening and sent him off the stage with a punch.
"Gu Tianyue is here!" Long Hengxu announced again.
In the blink of an eye, only Gu Tianming remained in the air, struggling to hold on.
Gu Tianming had learned his lesson by now. He flapped his wings frantically, raising his altitude to more than 30 meters above the ground.
This height is beyond the range that Gu Yue can precisely control elemental creations and allow Tang Wulin to effectively throw support.
Although Tang Wulin was strong enough to throw things up, his control over his strength was not as precise as Gu Yue's. If he were to provide Yu Chen with a temporary foothold in the air, Yu Chen would likely not succeed in using the momentum, but would instead be smashed into a "bruise and welt".
The situation seemed to have reached a stalemate for a moment.
With no new footholds to gain, Yu Chen began to slowly fall.
Gu Tianming hovered high in the sky, temporarily escaping the attack range.
"Brother Chen, take the hammer!"
In this brief stalemate, Tang Wulin shouted and made an unexpected move.
He suddenly swung the heavy silver hammer in his hand and hurled it with all his might in the general direction of Yu Chen in the air!
The heavy silver hammer flew past Yu Chen's hair with a muffled whistling sound, tracing an arc.
Yu Chen's eyes narrowed, and he seized the opportunity perfectly. His right hand shot out like lightning and accurately grabbed the hammer handle!
The immense forward momentum of the Silver Hammer propelled Yu Chen upwards even further!
At the same time, a golden light flashed in Yu Chen's eyes again.
The Zero Realm of Time, unfolding for the second time!
In the relatively slow flow of time, Yu Chen clearly saw Gu Tianming's slightly panicked figure high in the sky, who was about to rise again.
He used his waist to generate power, and his body completed a beautiful half-rotation in the air. Using the remaining momentum of the heavy silver hammer and his own twisting force, he hurled the heavy iron hammer in his hand like a javelin towards the location of Gu Tianming!
Time flow rate restored.
Amidst everyone's gasps, the heavy silver hammer, imbued with immense kinetic energy, shot straight into the sky like a soul-guided cannonball launched from its barrel, accompanied by a terrifying whistling sound!
Gu Tianming only had time to see a blurry black shadow rapidly enlarging before he could make any effective dodge maneuvers.
"Bang!"
A dull thud was heard.
The heavy silver hammer did not strike Gu Tianming's body directly, but instead accurately hit the root joint of one of his wings on his back.
A sharp pain shot through him, and Gu Tianming screamed in agony. His soul power circulated in chaos, and the wings on his back drooped limply.
He was like a bird with broken wings, screaming as he plummeted straight down from the sky.
"Class 5 of Grade 1 wins!" Long Hengxu moved again, catching Gu Tianming as he fell, and loudly announced the final result of the match.
At this moment, his feelings were quite complicated, and he even regretted not assigning Yu Chen to Class 1 directly.
Who would have thought that this seemingly ordinary Class 5 actually possessed such terrifying combat power?
Given their current strength and teamwork, they could very well lead Class 5 to an astonishing height that they never expected to reach in this promotion tournament.
Even when facing teams of older students, Yu Chen and his group are not without a fighting chance.
If Class 5 of the first year really makes a comeback and creates a "dark horse miracle" that is rare in the history of Donghai Academy's promotion competition, wouldn't that prove that his initial decision to assign classes was a major mistake?
The other homeroom teachers, especially those who felt they had been "tricked" by him, must be cursing him to death behind his back.
On the other side, watching her carefully trained triplets be cleanly and decisively defeated in just a few moves, Ye Yingrong's eyes almost spit fire.
She now feels that she has been tricked from beginning to end!
Yu Chen, Gu Yue, and Tang Wulin—except for Tang Wulin's slightly lower soul power level—each of them has the strength to enter Class One. One or two "escaped fish" ending up in Class Five could be explained by accident, but now it's a three-person team, perfectly coordinated, with complete combat power. Isn't this deliberately setting a trap for her? They're not even pretending anymore!
Ignoring the various thoughts of the others, Wu Changkong walked over to Yu Chen and the other two who had just won and stepped off the stage.
His cold blue eyes swept over the three of them, his voice still calm, but those who knew him well could detect a subtle softening in his tone.
"Well done. On the battlefield, this kind of adaptable tactical execution is exactly what's needed."
He changed the subject, his tone becoming serious again.
"However, your victory today was somewhat lucky. Your opponents were too weak, and their understanding of utilizing their own flight advantage and aerial tactics was still very rudimentary."
"Remember, before you acquire mechs or battle armor in the future, the safest approach when facing flying Soul Masters who have absolute air superiority is often to solidify your defenses and look for opportunities, rather than risking a direct confrontation."
After saying these words, which were both an affirmation and a warning, Wu Changkong said no more and turned to leave.
"Huh? Is Teacher Wu praising us or criticizing us?"
After Wu Changkong walked away, Xie Xie muttered to himself, his expression somewhat conflicted.
"It's probably both."
Tang Wulin walked over, patted Xie Xie on the shoulder, and smiled.
"You know, that's just how dance teacher is—tough on the outside but soft on the inside. For him to say 'well done' is already a huge compliment to us."
……
The promotion matches continued.
Yu Chen and his group of four then faced off against Class 2 of the first year.
This time, Wu Changkong sent out Yu Chen, Gu Yue, and Xie Xie, who had recovered from his injuries.
Class Two only has one student with a century-old yellow spirit ring, and their overall strength and teamwork are far inferior to those of Yu Chen and his two companions.
The match was almost entirely one-sided.
Under Yu Chen's overall command, Gu Yue's elemental control, and Xie Xie's ghostly and swift attacks, Class Two's defenses were quickly breached, and the three of them won the victory with ease without much effort.
Three wins in three battles!
Class 5 of Grade 1, which was originally considered the worst class by everyone, has become the most eye-catching dark horse in this year's promotion competition!
Everyone wanted to know if this dark horse could continue to create miracles.
However, the final showdown was scheduled for a week later.
As Long Hengxu announced the end of today's matches, the once-boiling stadium was filled with a cacophony of discussions, exclamations, and whispers of disappointment. Only then did the crowd slowly disperse, their emotions a mixture of excitement and regret.
A week of waiting has only intensified the suspense and anticipation surrounding this showdown.
A week passed quickly.
That afternoon, the promotion tournament finally ushered in a new round of crucial matches.
Compared to previous matches, the number of students coming to watch this match has increased dramatically.
The hundreds of seats around the playground were almost full, and many students from the advanced department also came to see for themselves who this legendary "dark horse" was.
There is no other reason.
Whether it was the rumor that Dean of Students Long Hengxu had secretly "set up" the game, or the astonishing three-game winning streak of Class 5 in the first year, the attention and buzz surrounding this match skyrocketed.
Everyone wanted to know just how far this unexpectedly successful squad from Class 5 could go.