The third-year tournament was in full swing, and the number of spectators was significantly higher than for the first and second years.

After all, the third-year battles were more intense. None of the contestants who had made it to the second day were weak.

When Feng Hao and Xi Yueyao arrived, Xiyue Frost was just about to go on stage. It seemed she had drawn an early number. You had to admit, the luck of the two sisters from the Xiyue Family was simply heaven-defying.

"Look, look! My sister is going on stage!" Xi Yueyao chirped excitedly.

"Oh," Feng Hao replied calmly. His gaze shifted to Xiyue Frost, who stood proudly on the stage, sword in hand. Her ribbons fluttered slightly, and combined with her frosty, pretty face, she looked like a pure and noble Fairy.

If it weren’t for that misunderstanding, Feng Hao might have been able to properly appreciate the sight. But now, just looking at Xiyue Frost sent a chill down his spine. He always felt like she might attack him at any moment.

Xiyue Frost’s opponent was a burly young man with dark skin, holding a broadaxe. He looked incredibly domineering!

"Xiyue Frost, I finally get a chance to fight you!" the burly youth declared, full of fighting spirit.

"If you want to fight, then fight. Don’t waste time," Xiyue Frost said coldly.

The burly youth immediately took a fighting stance, unconsciously tightening his grip on his broadaxe. With a roar, he took the initiative and chopped forward.

CLANG!

Xiyue Frost raised her sword to block, using the force of the impact to leap back. She immediately countered with a move from her Ice Flower Swordsmanship. In the next moment, blossoms of ice bloomed across the stage, spreading a biting chill that made the onlookers shiver involuntarily.

The burly youth looked as if he was facing a great enemy. He briefly channeled energy into his broadaxe and swung, unleashing a dark red arc of light that instantly shattered the countless ice blossoms.

"Haha... I blocked one of Xiyue Frost’s attacks!" the burly youth laughed excitedly.

Gasps of surprise rippled through the crowd. Up to this point in the assessment, no one had ever withstood a full-powered blow from Xiyue Frost—not counting Feng Hao’s match, of course.

However, just as the ice blossoms shattered into pieces, Xiyue Frost suddenly appeared amidst the glittering shards. She swept forward with her sword, looking like a Fairy of ice and snow.

BANG—!

The burly youth had no time to react before he was blasted off the stage by Xiyue Frost’s sword. Fortunately, his armor was tough enough that he wasn’t seriously injured.

"Some ice beauty she is. She’s more like an ice tyrannosaurus!" Feng Hao muttered, clicking his tongue.

Through his Crystal Eye, he could clearly detect the damage Xiyue Frost had just dealt and see the details perfectly. Her sword strike hadn’t used the blade’s edge; she had slapped him with the flat of the sword.

Even so, it still dealt nearly 10,000 damage. As expected of the recognized number one student of the third year!

Xiyue Frost walked off the stage with a blank expression and headed straight for Feng Hao. The crowd of spectators automatically parted to make way for her.

"That was a beautiful win, Sis!" Xi Yueyao said, running forward happily, her eyes filled with pride.

"It was just a matter of overwhelming strength," Xiyue Frost replied with a faint smile, then frowned at Feng Hao, who was standing to the side. "Don’t you two have matches?"

"Ahem..." Feng Hao coughed, a little unused to this. Frankly, it was the first time this woman had ever spoken to him so calmly. "Yaoyao drew number one, and I’m number thirty-two."

Xiyue Frost nodded in understanding. She hesitated for a moment before saying, "Um... the Experience Pill worked well. Thank you."

"We’re all on the same side, no need for thanks," Feng Hao replied instinctively.

"I was thanking your master. It has nothing to do with you," Xiyue Frost said, her brow furrowing.

"Erk." Feng Hao was struck speechless, so embarrassed he wanted to find a hole to crawl into. ’Damn it, this woman is definitely doing this on purpose.’

Seeing Feng Hao’s crestfallen expression, a flicker of an almost imperceptible smile crossed Xiyue Frost’s face. She patted Xi Yueyao’s head and said softly, "Alright, go on back to your matches. Your big sister doesn’t need any cheering on."

"True. First place is definitely going to be yours anyway, Sis." Xi Yueyao gave a sweet smile, then dragged Feng Hao back to the first-year competition area.

...

The tournament had reached its latter half. Zhou Chen was in a league of his own, unstoppable, drawing shrieks and screams from countless female students.

Zhang Meng and Li Mufeng also advanced smoothly to the next round. Soon, it was Feng Hao’s turn to go on stage. Thanks to his powerful performance yesterday, he also received a good number of cheers.

Unfortunately, the moment the Dance Team appeared, the direction of the cheering immediately shifted!

The hooligans, led by Li Ting and Xiaoyou, immediately started cheering for Feng Hao’s opponent, which led to countless others joining in to jeer. It got to the point where even Feng Hao’s opponent felt a bit awkward.

"When did the boss get on the Dance Team’s bad side?" Zhang Meng asked, leering at the Dance Team’s section.

Tu Xiaoshan frowned and replied, "I think it was during the fourth round yesterday. The boss defeated Li Ting from the Dance Team."

"Li Ting? Isn’t she the dean’s niece?" Li Mufeng asked, looking curious.

With a lewd gleam in his eyes, Zhang Meng nodded and said, "Honestly, the boss doesn’t know the first thing about going easy on a pretty girl."

"What are you guys talking about?!" Xi Yueyao, who had been listening with pricked ears for a while, suddenly felt inexplicably irritated. "All of you, start cheering your lungs out! If those bitches outshine us, just you watch how I’ll deal with you!"

The three of them hurriedly shut their mouths and began to cheer for Feng Hao at the top of their lungs.

On the stage, Feng Hao’s strength was already enough for a complete stomp. His opponent was a greenhorn to begin with, and after being flustered by the beauties from the Dance Team, his head was completely in the clouds.

And then, that was it. Feng Hao didn’t even use a weapon, ending the fight easily with a single kick.

The poor greenhorn fell off the stage with a dumbfounded look on his face, wanting to cry but having no tears as the beauties from the Dance Team looked on with contempt...

The second round of matches began quickly. Xi Yueyao was the first to rush onto the stage, her expression incredibly arrogant. But when Zhou Chen appeared on the stage, that arrogance immediately vanished without a trace.

"It’s over, it’s over! The class president is up against Zhou Chen!" Tu Xiaoshan said worriedly.

Feng Hao’s expression turned grim, and he couldn’t help but break into a cold sweat for Xi Yueyao.

On the other side, the teachers were chatting and laughing, but they all turned to look when Zhou Chen and Xi Yueyao came out.

Hu Mingshan was naturally the most smug. He shot a strange, taunting glance at Yue Linglong. "Teacher Yue, it looks like your class’s top student won’t even make it into the top sixteen!"

"Hmph!" Yue Linglong snorted coldly, her gaze fixed nervously on the stage.

’Although I’m reluctant to admit it, with Xi Yueyao’s current strength, she’s indeed no match for Zhou Chen.’

In the central stands, the academy’s upper management kept their focus on the third-year tournament. The Old City Lord was not present for the second day of competition due to health reasons.

Zhou Chen and Xi Yueyao’s match quickly drew the attention of the higher-ups. After all, both were recognized as geniuses among this year’s students, and Zhou Chen was also Elder Gu’s Direct Disciple, so he commanded a certain degree of respect.

On the stage, even the usually carefree Xi Yueyao was starting to get nervous. "Zhou Chen, you should just obediently admit defeat! This young lady doesn’t want to bully you."

"Admit defeat?" Zhou Chen sneered. "Are you kidding me?"

"Hmph!" Xi Yueyao grunted weakly. "This young lady is very strong, you know."

"Is that so? Then let’s see how many moves you can last against me," Zhou Chen sneered. He turned his head to exchange a look with Beixing Ran below the stage, then drew his sword.

The one thing Xi Yueyao couldn’t stand was being provoked. Hearing his words, her nervousness and fear vanished in an instant. She shouted angrily, "You’re just like that Ran Girl, cut from the same cloth! Watch how this young lady whips you to death!"

"You’re courting death!" Zhou Chen’s face darkened. With a surge of light from his sword, he immediately unleashed a high-level Secret Technique.

Zhou Chen truly lived up to his name as Elder Gu’s Direct Disciple. Not only was his aptitude formidable, but he had also been taught Secret Techniques by the Elder. Three streams of cyan Sword Qi shot out, weaving and crisscrossing as they flew, leaving no blind spots in their path.

When Xi Yueyao’s fierce side came out, she feared nothing. Wielding her long whip, she charged forward like a rampaging Little Demon.

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

The long whip in her hand whistled through the air, leaving trails of red light in its wake, and actually managed to disperse one of the streams of Sword Qi.

Unfortunately, the other two streams of Sword Qi were already upon her. Weaving around to attack from both sides, they left her with nowhere to dodge. Fortunately, the defensive power of her Violent Bear Hide Armor was good enough to prevent her from being defeated outright.

From Feng Hao’s perspective, he could clearly see the damage numbers rising from Xi Yueyao’s body through his Crystal Eye:

"7688!"