The remaining three teams looked particularly isolated. They stood in the center circle, far from everyone else, a placement that didn’t seem logical.

Gao Lingwei stood at Rong Taotao’s side, her expression grave. "The four teams to our left and right are all second-tier."

Rong Taotao sized up the surrounding teams. It was a shame he couldn’t spot the senior, Zonglu. "Which one are you targeting?" he asked.

Gao Lingwei whispered, "The ones on our left. They aren’t twins. We’ll deal with them first."

"Mhm." Rong Taotao nodded, but couldn’t help but ask, "How come there are so many twins? I never see any during our normal school life."

Gao Lingwei smiled. "What about Shilou and Shilan?"

Rong Taotao pouted. "They’re on our side. I’m talking about opponents."

Gao Lingwei said, "It’s like not knowing how many sick people there are until you go to a hospital. Now that we’ve dived headfirst into their world, we have to be ready to face twins, or even triplets and quadruplets.

This is just the selection tournament, so it’s still a mixed bag. If we make it through, most of the people we face in the future will have identical faces."

"That’s just cheating," Rong Taotao snorted. "Imagine quadruplets. Two of them could just sit out and act as spotters for their siblings on the field. Wouldn’t that be the same as having a map-hack?"

"You could always call your brother over," Gao Lingwei said with a smile, comforting him softly. "Sometimes, too much vision isn’t a good thing. The brain can only process so much. If you’re focused on other views, you’ll naturally neglect what’s right in front of you."

"The brothers, Bai Xiweng and Bai Xiwu, are on the opposite end line," Rong Taotao said, finally spotting potential allies. Unfortunately, they were too far away. Both teams were on their respective end lines, separated by a straight-line distance of at least 120 meters.

This wasn’t a simple footrace. Once the competition began, it would inevitably become a chaotic battlefield. In a battle of this magnitude, no one could confidently claim they could cut across a 120-meter-long front.

"Qi Daoqi Tian are over by the left sideline." Gao Lingwei was also surveying the field, planning their route.

As they spoke, a group of teachers walked onto the competition field, taking up positions in front of their respective teams and filling some of the empty space in the center.

A male teacher stood ten meters in front of Rong Taotao and Gao Lingwei. Unfortunately, Rong Taotao didn’t recognize him.

"TWEET! TWEET!" Cha Er stood in the middle of the field, gesturing for the three "lucky" teams in the center circle to move further out. He raised a small flag. "All teams, get ready!"

"TWEET!" The small flag in Cha Er’s hand swung down. The competition had begun!

The quiet, green field instantly erupted into chaos!

Without a word, Rong Taotao and Gao Lingwei bolted to the left, charging straight for the non-twin pair!

Team 14 was also a male-female pair. Judging by their affectionate behavior, they were likely a couple. Even before the whistle blew, they had been secretly watching Rong Taotao and Gao Lingwei.

Clearly, as members of a second-tier alliance, the two had already received their orders: intercept Rong Taotao and Gao Lingwei first.

However, as the couple from Team 14 charged toward them, they were stunned to find that Rong Taotao and Gao Lingwei weren’t taking a defensive stance at all!

Not only were they not defending, they were actually charging forward!?

’What’s the meaning of this?’

’You two are attacking?’

’You little bastards aren’t even weaned yet! You should just focus on defending and lasting as long as you can! Isn’t that how it’s supposed to be?’

’And you dare to attack?’

Rong Taotao and Gao Lingwei had chosen to attack, and their first target was his team!

This meant that not only did Rong Taotao consider himself first-tier, but he also saw their Team 14 as a pushover!

The male student’s mind raced; he felt utterly insulted!

’I... ’

And at that very moment, an inexplicable panic seized the male student’s heart.

In his line of sight, Gao Lingwei charged forward, her long legs eating up the distance. The wind whipped her hair back, revealing her stunningly beautiful face.

The moment their gazes met, a faint, dark-red light suddenly flickered in her pupils.

The light was faint and subtle, but it struck true, pouring entirely into the male student’s eyes!

In an instant, the clear sky turned a dark, bloody red. The heroic, beautiful woman before him now seemed incomparably sinister and terrifying, the slight curve of her lips forming a profoundly bizarre smile.

The male student felt goosebumps break out all over his body, and his heart began to pound in panic.

A cold sweat instantly beaded on his forehead. A sudden, overwhelming terror flooded his mind, and his forward charge came to an abrupt halt.

Snow Realm Soul Skill, Elite-Tier: Ice Crystal Evil Face!

The male student stopped suddenly, even trying desperately to backpedal, but the female student behind him continued to charge forward as planned.

"Hey!? Are you crazy? Shit!" His girlfriend couldn’t brake in time and slammed right into his back, letting out a string of curses.

’You’re supposed to be a hundred-meter sprinter! Even if you stop, shouldn’t you at least slow down first to give yourself some buffer time?’

’Who just slams on the brakes and jumps backward like that? Forgetting for a second whether your knees can even handle that, are you messing with me?’

’I came here to compete with you, not to stage a rear-end collision!’

’Thousands of pairs of eyes are watching us, and you’re telling me you got scared witless by a freshman?’

The girlfriend was about to lose her mind. Their bodies collided, and they both lost control, tumbling into a heap.

But how could the male student possibly care about any of that?

Logically, he knew that in this dark-red world, the girl was stunningly beautiful and only her smile was a little strange.

But psychologically, the sudden, extreme terror had triggered an instantaneous, instinctual reaction from his body.

The charging Gao Lingwei launched herself off the ground. Like a javelin, she shot forward, skimming just above the grass at an almost parallel angle. WHOOSH!

The Snow Burst Balls in her hands spun rapidly as she instantly closed the distance to the staggering, falling couple. Then, the spheres in her hands detonated!

"BANG! BANG!"

"Team 14 is out!" the teacher overseeing them shouted, immediately running past the sideline after them.

At the same time, the teacher felt a wave of relief. It was only two Snow Burst Balls. Team 14 had just been blasted past the sideline; they weren’t seriously hurt.

’Ah, this is great!’

’The students I’m overseeing aren’t in mortal danger, so I won’t get points or pay docked, and I can even clock out early!’

’Sweet!’

’Gao Lingwei, the high school King of Guanwai, was it? You really are a model student!’

The teacher for Team 14 smugly followed them off the field. Meanwhile, Gao Lingwei, still flying low over the ground, quickly twisted around. She landed on her back, pressing her hands into the turf to stop her momentum.

The twin brothers charging from the corner of the field suddenly paled. Although their feet didn’t slow, a sliver of fear had already crept into their hearts.

’What happened?’

’An allied squad, eliminated just like that? What in the world was going on!?’

"Hah!" the two brothers roared in unison. A layer of Shuangxue appeared on their arms. As they swung their arms repeatedly, countless sharp blades of Shuangxue shot toward the sliding Gao Lingwei.

"TING! TING! TING!"

The Dragon Sparrow, the Snow Halberd, and the man who sought battle!

Rong Taotao’s rapidly charging figure vaulted over Gao Lingwei.

Saber in his right hand, he swung his snow-forged Great Xia Dragon Sparrow in a dazzling flurry. With a series of chops, flicks, and parries, he deflected one incoming Shuangxue blade after another.

Meanwhile, the Heaven-piercing Halberd in his left hand dragged along the ground, scraping past Gao Lingwei’s side.

Quick-witted and nimble, Gao Lingwei snatched the Halberd Shaft. Using the momentum, she pulled herself up from her slide, flipping to her feet to follow right behind Rong Taotao.

The figure before her hadn’t lost an ounce of momentum as he charged head-on toward the twin brothers.

’You’re the ones who wouldn’t let me play dumb!’

’Remember, you brought this on yourselves!’

...