"HISS..." Rong Taotao sucked in a sharp breath, his eyes widening slightly. ’Are all these individual competitors this strong...?’

Beside him, Gao Lingwei watched the arena with a grave expression, unable to stop herself from nodding in silent approval. ’Such strong Martial Arts.’

A victor finally emerged on the field. A male student had pinned a female student at the boundary line, his longsword held steady, its tip resting on her throat.

The strike was controlled, stopping just short. That was good.

However, just as the female student was about to raise her hand to surrender, the male student suddenly lifted his leg and kicked her out of the arena...

The female student was stunned, the audience was stunned, but Li Lie was not.

"TWEEET~ TWEEET!" The whistle blew immediately as Li Lie waved his small flag repeatedly.

"HSSS..."

"BOOOOO..." A chorus of hisses and jeers flooded the arena.

The male student, however, just shrugged and walked off the field.

Li Lie watched the advancing competitor leave, then turned back to the quarter-finalist waiting area and announced, "The individual matches are over. We will now begin the first match of the doubles tournament. Will the opposing pairs please enter the arena!"

Rong Taotao shot to his feet, grabbing Gao Lingwei’s hand and pulling her up with him, muttering, "Let’s go~ Time to teach our ’elderly’ upperclassman a lesson!"

Hearing this, Zonglu’s face darkened. He shot to his feet and headed down toward the arena with his girlfriend.

As the two pairs entered the field, the stands erupted in a wave of cheers and applause.

"Juanjuan is here! He’s finally here!" Shi Lan, full of energy, clenched a fist and jumped to her feet, shouting at the top of her lungs, "Go, Juanjuan! Go! You’re the best!!!"

Beside her, her older sister Stone Tower covered her face with one hand, looking utterly embarrassed. She quietly took a step to the side, trying to distance herself from her sister.

"Hey? Why are you moving away from me?" Shi Lan looked indignant. ’Everyone’s cheering, so what if I’m a little loud? What, are you ashamed of me?’

An idea popped into Shi Lan’s head. She turned back to the arena, waved her arms frantically, and yelled, "Go, Rong Taotao! I’m Stone Tower from the Junior Class! I’m your biggest fan!!!"

Stone Tower’s expression froze. ???

Sun Xingyu: "PFFT..."

Fan Lihua couldn’t help but giggle. "Hee hee..."

On the field, it was hard for Rong Taotao to hear Shi Lan’s voice. Standing in the middle of the arena, the sounds from all directions were too jumbled.

He simply stood on the eastern side of the field, his gaze fixed on Zonglu and his partner on the western side.

Gao Lingwei casually retrieved her weapon, holding the halberd in one hand behind her back. "Are you sure you want me to lead?"

Rong Taotao nodded. "This is a real match. You take command first, let’s see how it goes."

Gao Lingwei didn’t refuse. "Alright, I’m going to focus fire on the girl. She’s weaker than Zonglu and makes for a good breakthrough point. You watch my back and play support."

"Zonglu’s girlfriend?" Rong Taotao looked at the girl curiously. "She’s not as pretty as you."

Gao Lingwei: "..."

Rong Taotao grinned. "Just charge in without a worry. I can play the Shadow Guard."

Gao Lingwei asked, surprised, "Shadow Guard?"

Rong Taotao: "When I fought with Ye Nanxi, I was always the one coordinating with her. Don’t worry, I can keep up with the pace of you Soul Captains."

Gao Lingwei’s voice grew colder. "You could keep up with her speed because a Starfield Soul Captain doesn’t have Snow Dance.

If we were to plant our feet and fight defensively, you could keep up with my rhythm. But I’m about to charge straight ahead. How will you keep up with me?"

Rong Taotao paused, confused by her icy tone, and said cautiously, "Then... could you run a little slower?"

Gao Lingwei: "Mm."

Rong Taotao scratched his head. After racking his brain for a moment, he suddenly blurted out, "Ye Nanxi isn’t as pretty as you, either."

The corners of Gao Lingwei’s mouth lifted slightly. She tilted her head and shot Rong Taotao a sidelong glance. "I don’t need you to be my shadow. I’ll create an opportunity to isolate the girl for a one-on-one. You hold off Zonglu, and I’ll back you up as soon as I can."

"Oh, okay. So first we do this, and then we do that..."

Li Lie stood in the center of the field. After confirming both sides were ready, he blew his whistle. "TWEET~!"

The match began!

At the sound of the whistle, Gao Lingwei and Rong Taotao shot forward, charging straight for Zonglu’s pair.

Zonglu and his girlfriend charged forward as well. Seeing this, a murmur rippled through the stands.

"They actually dare to charge straight in. They have no respect for their upperclassmen..."

"Well, Gao Lingwei is a Soul Captain, too. Her physical stats are nothing to scoff at."

"Did you not see the last breakout match? That kid’s Martial Arts are excellent, and he has more than enough strength."

"Enough, my ass! Son of a bitch, a Soul Warrior is way weaker than a Soul Captain! That kid has been hiding his Starfield Soul Skills. I guarantee every single one of his moves is infused with strength-enhancing Douxing Qi. How else could he contend with a Soul Captain’s power?"

"Just having Douxing Qi to boost his strength wouldn’t be enough. It’s mainly his technique. He almost never clashes head-on; it’s all fluid deflections and counters. It’s really bizarre..."

On the field, Zonglu, who was charging forward, realized his opponents had no intention of defending at all. They were just brazenly rushing him, as if they didn’t take him and his partner seriously in the slightest.

Zonglu’s face turned grim. "Arrogant!"

’You beat a few scrubs and now you think you’re hot shit? I’m gonna fucking show you today!’

It had to be said, for Zonglu to become the "Alliance Leader" of the second tier, his strength was indeed a cut above the other allied teams.

The figures of the four combatants drew infinitely closer, like four cars about to collide head-on.