Worldwide Class Change: Minimal Effort, Maximum Reward!-Chapter 41, Setting New Record, Phantom Void Step!

Chapter 41: Chapter 41, Setting New Record, Phantom Void Step!

The moment the match pairing appeared on the giant display screen, murmurs spread across the arena like ripples across water.

"Lin Yi?"

"The Laborer?"

"Isn’t that a lifestyle class?"

Students leaned toward each other, whispering rapidly.

Under normal circumstances, someone with a Laborer class shouldn’t even be standing in the elimination round.

Lifestyle classes existed to support the hunter economy. They repaired equipment, carried supplies, or assisted teams outside combat. Very few of them ever entered combat tournaments.

Yet Lin Yi was standing there.

And not just standing.

He had reached the elimination round.

Several students near the front rows whispered more quietly.

"I heard rumors about him."

"What rumors?"

"That he defeated Zhang Wei in the qualification match."

"Impossible."

"I’m serious. Some people said it looked effortless."

Another student frowned.

"But Zhang Wei is a combat class."

Someone else added in a lower voice.

"And there were other rumors too..."

"What rumors?"

"That Lin Yi has a legendary ranked weapon."

The discussion spread through the crowd.

Meanwhile, some students looked toward the other side of the arena.

Standing opposite Lin Yi was Liu Ling.

The shy Recovery Priest who had shocked the academy by defeating a C-rank Wind Archer during the qualification round.

That victory had already turned her into a small legend among the freshmen.

Support class defeating combat class.

It almost never happened.

But now...

She faced a lifestyle class.

A strange situation.

One student scratched his head.

"This match is weird."

Another nodded slowly.

"In a normal situation..."

"...the Laborer should be the one in danger."

But someone else whispered quietly.

"Not this time."

"Why?"

The student lowered his voice.

"Because this Laborer is the scary one."

Across the arena, Lin Yi stepped onto the battlefield calmly, the Abyssfang Blade hanging quietly at his side, his expression suggesting this was nothing more than a casual practice session. From the observation platform above, several instructors watched with folded arms.

"A Laborer class reaching the elimination round..."

"I want to see what this student can do."

Liu Ling stepped onto the battlefield as well, both hands gripping her priest staff tightly, her fingers white around the wooden handle. When she saw Lin Yi standing calmly across from her, she lowered her head slightly. The match hadn’t started yet. Participants were still permitted to speak briefly before the signal.

She looked up nervously. "Um... hello."

Lin Yi nodded. "Hello."

A short silence settled between them. Then Liu Ling spoke again. "You’re Lin Yi, right?"

"Yes."

She hesitated slightly. "I remember seeing you earlier today. In the corridor."

"Yes."

She gave a small, shy smile, her nervousness easing slightly now that she had placed him. "You’re... very calm."

Lin Yi gave a faint smile. "People say that often," he said calmly. "But you don’t need to be so nervous either."

Liu Ling shook her head quickly. "For me... it’s still very stressful." Her gaze drifted toward the Abyssfang Blade hanging at his waist before lifting again. "After all, you’re a Laborer."

Lin Yi only smiled a little at that.

Seeing his reaction, Liu Ling let out a soft laugh, the tightness in her shoulders easing slightly. "But... I heard some people say you’re very strong."

Lin Yi shrugged lightly. "People in the academy like to talk."

Liu Ling tilted her head, studying him curiously. "You don’t look like someone who enjoys fighting."

Lin Yi paused for a moment before replying calmly, "Neither do you."

She blinked, then nodded slowly with a small smile. "That’s... true."

For a brief moment, the atmosphere between them felt strangely relaxed, as if the two of them were simply chatting beside a training ground rather than standing face to face in the middle of the elimination round arena.

Then the instructor’s voice cut across the arena. "Participants. Prepare."

Liu Ling straightened. But her earlier nervousness returned, though not as strongly as before. She then looked at Lin Yi one last time. "Let’s have a good match."

"Yes."

Both stepped back to their starting positions. The arena settled into a focused silence, thousands of students watching closely as the instructor raised his arm.

"Ready..."

A faint wind drifted across the battlefield. Lin Yi’s eyes sharpened slightly.

"Begin!"

For the first half-second, nothing happened. Liu Ling lifted her staff and began preparing a defensive recovery barrier around her body and started creating distance between her and Lin Yi.

Her mind moved quickly.

Priests were fragile.

Distance was survival.

But before she could even begin the chant, Lin Yi moved.

Or rather, he vanished.

[Phantom Void Step.]

The skill activated instantly, space rippling around him as his body blurred forward. From the audience it looked as though he had simply ceased to exist at his starting position. Gasps erupted across the stands.

"What—?!"

"Where did he go?!"

A faint wind brushed past Liu Ling’s shoulder. She blinked. Then she heard a calm voice directly behind her.

"Sorry."

Her eyes went wide. Lin Yi had already appeared behind her, the Phantom Void Step carrying him across the entire battlefield in a single instant, the distance between them erased as though it had never existed. She tried to turn, but it was already too late. Lin Yi raised his hand, not reaching for his blade, simply pressing two fingers to the back of her neck with precise, controlled force. Just enough to shut down consciousness without causing injury.

Liu Ling’s eyes fluttered. Then she collapsed softly onto the arena floor.

The stadium went completely still. The instructor blinked once, then looked at the arena timer. His expression shifted. The screen above the battlefield flashed.

Match Duration: 0.81 Seconds

No one reacted for a full breath. Then the realization detonated across the arena.

"WHAT?!"

"That’s faster than Chen Feng!"

"He broke the record!"

Students were on their feet across entire sections, as the screen updated again.

New Tournament Record

0.81 Seconds

Lin Yi

Even the instructors on the observation platform looked shaken.

One of them whispered, "Did he just... teleport?"

Another frowned, eyes still fixed on the battlefield. "That was a movement technique. But I couldn’t track it."

On the arena floor, Lin Yi stood calmly beside Liu Ling as academy medics rushed in to check on her. After confirming she was only unconscious, the medic gave a thumbs-up. The instructor then gathered himself and raised his voice.

"Match over!" He glanced once more at the timer. "Winner... Lin Yi!"

Wang Hao was already standing on his seat with both arms raised. "BROTHER LIN!!! YOU BROKE THE RECORD!"

Beside him, Su Qinghan stared at the battlefield without moving, something quiet and unreadable passing through her eyes.

"That speed..." she murmured in disbelief, "...was terrifying."

On the arena floor, Lin Yi watched as Liu Ling was carefully carried away by the medic team, his expression completely calm. The fight had lasted less than a second. Yet somehow the atmosphere inside the arena had fundamentally shifted, settling into something heavier and more attentive, the kind of silence that follows when a crowd realizes it has been underestimating someone.

The Laborer class student was no ordinary freshman.

And somewhere in the spectator stands, one particular student slowly turned his head toward the battlefield.