“The tournament begins now!”
Lin Jiayi’s voice resounded throughout the venue via the amplification spirit tool.
“Students who wish to challenge, please go to the left side of the rostrum to register.
The order of challenges will be arranged according to the order of registration.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the spectator stands immediately erupted in commotion.
“I’ll do it!”
“Count me in!”
“Let me go first!”
In an instant, a long line formed in front of the registration desk.
Although many people had heard of Lu Ren knocking Wang Shaojie down with a single punch yesterday, few had actually witnessed it with their own eyes.
Most students simply felt that he was just a specially admitted freshman; how strong could he really be?
On the rostrum, Lin Jiayi looked at the long registration list, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly.
Soon, the first challenger walked onto the Trial Ground.
It was a youth of fifteen or sixteen, of average build and ordinary appearance.
The badge on his chest indicated his identity as a Level 4 Soul Engineer.
Only, at this moment, his expression looked somewhat nervous.
“Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy, Level 4 Soul Engineer, Xia Xuanchen.”
The youth announced his name to Lu Ren, his gaze filled with curiosity and eagerness.
Lu Ren glanced at him.
Xia Xuanchen…
That name sounded familiar.
Oh, I remember now, one of the background characters beaten up by Huo Yuhao in the original story.
But that would be something happening in two or three years.
“Lu Ren.”
He stated his name concisely.
Xia Xuanchen took a deep breath, his nervousness gradually subsiding and turning into excitement.
If he could defeat this hyped-up specially admitted student in this first match…
Hehe, wouldn’t the class beauty look at him differently?
Maybe he could even directly enter Mingde Hall for advanced studies!
“Both sides, retreat to the waiting area.”
A lazy voice rang out.
Lu Ren turned his head to look.
Sitting on the judge’s stand was a man in his thirties with messy hair, obvious dark circles under his eyes, and an overall aura of someone who had given up on life.
Xuan Ziwen.
A Level 8 Soul Engineer from Mingde Hall, and one of the top spirit tool researchers in the Sun Moon Empire.
At this moment, his face clearly read “I don’t want to be here,” and the look he gave Lu Ren was filled with undisguised impatience.
He had been forcibly dragged here by Hall Master Jing Hongchen to be the judge, under the pretext of “helping this old man take a good look at what’s so special about this kid.”
What’s there to see?
A fourteen-year-old brat, how strong could he possibly be?
A waste of time.
Areas had already been marked on the Trial Ground, with the two waiting areas separated by one hundred and fifty meters.
This was the space for Soul Engineers to perform.
Xia Xuanchen turned and walked away, his steps light, his blood boiling.
Lu Ren was different; he walked backwards slowly with his hands in his pockets, looking like he was out for a stroll.
Seeing this, Xuan Ziwen’s brows furrowed even tighter.
The moment both sides stepped into the waiting area, he shouted:
“The match begins!”
Hearing the sound, Xia Xuanchen instinctively turned around to face Lu Ren.
This was a human instinct, but this simple turn and pause cost him two full seconds.
Two seconds was enough for a Soul Engineer to complete the entire process of aiming, charging, and firing.
But Lu Ren did nothing.
He even yawned, standing lazily in place, looking listless.
Xuan Ziwen’s brows knitted into a ” river” shape.
He hated this kind of arrogant guy.
He had inadvertently given Xia Xuanchen a two-second approach window just now, but Lu Ren didn’t appreciate it at all.
This kind of arrogance would kill him sooner or later.
Xuan Ziwen shook his head and withdrew his gaze.
He really couldn’t understand why the Hall Master specifically wanted him to observe this guy up close to see what was so special.
Now it seemed he was just an ordinary person.
But just as Xuan Ziwen was thinking, he heard the sound of metal being shredded.
Xuan Ziwen raised his head abruptly, subconsciously looking at the tournament stage.
He saw that the several spirit tools Xia Xuanchen had just pulled out—Spirit ray guns and defensive shields—had all been shattered in half at the same instant!
The cuts were smooth and neat, as if sliced by something extremely sharp.
What was happening?
Xuan Ziwen’s pupils suddenly contracted.
He looked sharply at Lu Ren, only to find that Lu Ren was still standing there, hands still in his pockets, having done nothing.
“Th-this, how is that possible?!”
Xia Xuanchen looked down at his spirit tools that had been shattered in half, his mind going blank.
He hadn’t seen what happened at all.
Where did those invisible slashes come from?
If they had been aimed at him…
I’m afraid he would be dead by now!
A chill shot from his spine straight to the back of his head.
But the next second, Xia Xuanchen gritted his teeth.
No, I can’t just admit defeat like this!
He raised his arms, and with two “clangs,” two pitch-black metal cannon barrels covered his forearms.
These weren’t ordinary spirit tool cannons; they were special spirit tools that encased his arms, firing 30% faster than handheld ones and twice as accurate.
Two balls of different colored light shot out instantly.
The left cannon emitted a yellow light ball: a spirit tool Shock Cannon.
The right cannon emitted a red light ball: a single-target directional high-explosive shell.
One on the left, one on the right, heading straight for Lu Ren!
The entire venue held its breath seeing this.
That was a high-explosive shell!
Even a Spirit Emperor-level powerhouse would not feel good if hit directly.
A Level 5 spirit tool shield wouldn’t be able to block the high temperature and intense heat it generated instantly.
Yet Lu Ren didn’t even look at the two projectiles, yawning again.
So boring.
The red light ball arrived first.
Just as it was about to hit Lu Ren, the invisible slash appeared again.
The angle was tricky, the force precise, like an invisible racket, directly “deflecting” that high-explosive shell away.
“BOOM!!”
Dozens of meters behind Lu Ren, a ball of orange-red light suddenly erupted.
The violent explosion shook the entire Trial Ground, and a small mushroom cloud slowly rose.
“Deflected, it deflected it?!”
The entire venue was silent for three full seconds.
In the stands, everyone’s mouths hung open in an ‘O’ shape.
Xia Xuanchen froze in place, his brain completely crashing.
Deflected a high-explosive spirit tool shell…?
What kind of move is this?
As for the other spirit tool Shock Cannon blast, Lu Ren used the same move, directly deflecting it with a slash.
Then, without giving Xia Xuanchen time to react, he raised his hand and lightly swiped to the side.
A slash appeared out of thin air, slamming directly into Xia Xuanchen’s chest.
“Bang!”
Xia Xuanchen flew backward, crashing outside the waiting area, sliding several meters before coming to a stop.
He clutched his chest, struggled twice, but couldn’t get up.
But there were no wounds on his body.
The force of the slash was just right; it knocked him out of bounds without hurting him.
Lu Ren withdrew his hand and turned to look at Xuan Ziwen on the judge’s stand, his tone flat:
“It’s time to announce it.”
Xuan Ziwen opened his mouth.
His brain was still processing everything he had just seen.
Lu Ren stood still, didn’t even take his hands out of his pockets, and shredded all the spirit tools on Xia Xuanchen’s body.
Then he deflected two spirit tool projectiles, and followed up by waving his hand and knocking the person out of bounds.
He didn’t use a single Spirit Ability the whole time.
He didn’t even activate his Spirit.
What kind of combat style is this?
“…Lu Ren, wins.”
Xuan Ziwen’s voice was somewhat dry.
The moment his voice fell, the entire venue instantly exploded.
“What just happened?
How did he deflect the projectile?”
“I didn’t see anything, are his attacks invisible?”
“The spirit tools were shredded; those were Level 4 spirit tools!”
“He didn’t even activate his Spirit, and from start to finish, he didn’t take his hands out of his pockets!”
“This guy…
what kind of monster is he?”
In the stands, Xiao Hongchen straightened his back.
He put down his crossed legs, and his posture of arms crossed over his chest changed to leaning forward, supporting himself on the armrests.
His eyes were fixed on the lazy youth in the center of the field, his pupils slightly contracted.
“How is this possible…”
He muttered, his voice carrying a hint of shock he hadn’t even realized himself.
“Deflected a high-explosive spirit tool shell directly?”