The playground of Notting College was now teeming with people, the noise almost piercing the heavens.
Wang Teng and Xiao Wu stood in the middle of the crowd, in charge of presiding over the tournament.
Wang Sheng had taken their place to complete the daily cleaning duties that came with being work-study students: sweeping the garden on the south side.
Wang Teng first stepped up onto a slightly elevated earthen platform and read out the competition rules in a loud voice: a three-person group melee, with the last gyro still spinning declared the winner and advancing to the next round; the losers eliminated; and the final champion winning the entire prize pool made up of all registration fees.
After the rules were announced, a few senior students helped carry a specially made, oversized battle disk—more than two meters in diameter—to the center of the field.
This battle disk had higher edges and a more complex surface, custom-made by Wang Teng just the day before specifically for multiplayer matches.
Xiao Wu, serving as both referee and “muscle,” stood imposingly beside the battle disk.
Wang Teng, meanwhile, set up a square table not far from the disk.
On the table was spread a striking white cloth, with a large, bold character for “bet” painted in bright red in the center.
The table also held simple registration boards for placing bets and a small wooden box for collecting money.
That’s right—Wang Teng was today’s “house” for the tournament.
“The first Notting College Ultimate Gyro Tournament now begins!”
Wang Teng cleared his throat and shouted at the top of his lungs: “Group one, please step forward!”
“The three students’ gyros are: Explosive Strike Tiger, Aurora Armor, and Crimson Flame Divine Bird!”
“Three contestants, please come over here first and pay your ten copper soul coin registration fee!”
The three named students, amid the heckling of their companions, walked out nervously yet excitedly and paid their fees.
Then, Wang Teng rapped on the table again and yelled: “Taking bets!
Taking bets now!”
“Everyone, if you have a favorite contestant, come place your wagers here!”
“Odds will be updated in real time; bets are final once placed!”
“A rare opportunity—if you miss it, you’ll have to wait for the next round!”
Wang Teng’s voice was extremely provocative.
So, as soon as he finished speaking, some wealthier students immediately crowded around.
Eagerly, they pulled out copper soul coins, and even silver soul coins, betting on their favored contestants.
“I’m betting on Explosive Strike Tiger to win—this is for the three of us.”
Xiao Chenyu, flanked by two hangers-on, also came up to Wang Teng and slammed three silver soul coins heavily onto the table.
“No problem!”
Wang Teng picked up the three silver soul coins, smiling.
At this point, the sidelines were a chaotic medley of shouts, arguments, and the jingling of coins, the atmosphere instantly reaching a fever pitch.
Xiao Wu, seeing both sides ready, raised her arm high and then swung it down sharply.
“First match, three-way melee: Begin!”
“Launch!”
All three contestants pulled their launcher cords almost simultaneously.
Red, blue, and green streaks of light, spinning with a whoosh, shot into the center of the massive battle disk.
“Clang!
Screeeech—!”
A sharp metallic crash and a piercing grinding noise suddenly exploded.
Sparks flew at the point where the gyros collided!
The first Notting College Gyro Tournament had officially kicked off its first match amid the fervent noise and passionate clashes.
From the dense crowd surrounding the playground, a thunderous cheer erupted.
Countless eyes were locked onto the spinning, colliding metal gyros.
The gyro tournament hosted by Wang Teng—or more accurately, this gambling competition under the guise of gyro battles—proceeded very smoothly.
Since the registration fee was only ten copper soul coins, virtually all the students in the college couldn’t help but participate.
Moreover, those actually placing bets were mostly well-off students from wealthier families with plenty of pocket money.
Therefore, the influence of this gambling event was reasonably contained and didn’t attract premature attention from the faculty.
And so, the gyro tournament continued day after day.
With three-person matches and six matches per day, plus the intervening qualifiers and elimination rounds, the entire tournament actually lasted a full twenty days before finally reaching its conclusion.
Today was the twentieth day.
And also the final match of the entire tournament: the Finals.
At the center of the playground, flanking the battle disk, stood a boy and a girl.
The boy was sixth-year student Xiao Chenyu; the girl was Xiao Wu, a new student this year who had already made a name for herself.
Wang Teng stood beside the battle disk as the referee, while the task of hosting the gambling and collecting bets was taken over by his elder brother, Wang Sheng.
“The Finals—begin—now!”
Wang Teng announced loudly, his hand swinging down.
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Two gyros shot out from the left and right, charging fiercely into the battle disk and colliding with a heavy impact!
Both Xiao Chenyu and Xiao Wu were using the deluxe version of the “Explosive Strike Tiger” gyro.
However, after twenty days of continuous modifications and enhancements, their gyros were vastly different from the original versions Wang Teng had sold.
Xiao Chenyu’s gyro was bluish-green overall, with a sharp tip and a menacing attack ring—clearly heavily reinforced for offensive power.
Xiao Wu’s gyro, on the other hand, was entirely pink, spinning with a faint, lingering afterimage; she had put considerable effort into speed and balance.
Bang!
Clang—!
At the center of the battle disk, the two offensive gyros clashed relentlessly, ricocheting and colliding again, the metallic ringing unending, sparks occasionally flying.
“Go for it!”
“Boss Xiao, attack!”
“Sister Wu is the strongest!
Knock him flying!”
The surrounding crowd burst into waves of cheers, the excitement nearly turning the playground upside down.
To ensure the outcome of this match maximized his own profits, Wang Teng watched every change on the field intently.
At this moment, Xiao Chenyu’s gyro seemed to be spinning just a fraction faster than Xiao Wu’s.
“It’s time…”
Wang Teng murmured to himself, then looked up toward Wang Sheng across the battle disk.
The brothers locked eyes; all was understood without words.
“Everyone, pay attention!”
“This match is about to be decided!”
“Let’s all…”
Wang Sheng immediately caught on and raised his voice, drawing the attention of everyone around him.
At the same time, Wang Teng quietly channeled his soul power, releasing his martial soul without a sound.
A silvery-white, explosive gyro materialized silently beside his foot, slowly revolving around Wang Teng.
On the surface, nothing seemed to have happened.
But in reality, Wang Teng had already caused an extremely subtle interference on the two gyros through his martial soul.
Before long, a delicate shift occurred in the balance on the field.
Xiao Wu’s gyro, which had been somewhat unsteady, suddenly seemed to be infused with a clever force, its trajectory veering askew as it wobbled into Xiao Chenyu’s gyro.
“Haha, Xiao Wu, looks like you’re about to lose!”
Seeing this, Xiao Chenyu felt victory was in his grasp and couldn’t help laughing confidently.
But in the next instant—
Clang—!
A particularly crisp collision rang out, and Xiao Chenyu’s gyro suddenly disintegrated at the moment of contact!
Crash!
Gyro parts scattered all over, and Xiao Chenyu’s gyro was out.
Xiao Wu’s gyro, though also teetering on the edge, continued spinning on the battle disk for several more rounds before finally coming to a slow stop.
“I won!
Yes—!”
Xiao Wu leaped up, raising her hands in victory.
Meanwhile, Wang Sheng, busy collecting money and keeping the books, couldn’t help but clench his fist and cheer softly, a grin spreading across his face.
“The winner has emerged!
The champion of this Gyro Tournament is… Xiao Wu!”
As the referee, Wang Teng immediately announced the final result.
At the same time, when no one was paying attention, Wang Teng promptly withdrew his martial soul.
“Woo—!”
“We won!!”
The surrounding crowd exploded in deafening cheers and whistles, the scene boiling over.
But the joyful atmosphere didn’t last long.
Among the crowd, the students who had placed heavy bets on Xiao Chenyu gradually wore grim expressions.
“Boss Xiao, weren’t you swearing up and down that you’d definitely win?
What now?”
“Damn it!
I staked my entire allowance for half a year on you, and now it’s all gone!
How are you going to compensate me?”
“Me too!
Xiao, you have to take responsibility for this money!”
The angry accusations all turned toward Xiao Chenyu.
Xiao Chenyu himself had also bet a large sum and was now completely broke; facing the crowd’s pressure, he grew both anxious and irritated.
“Compensate?
Compensate with what?
Didn’t I lose all my money too?
Besides, did I force you to place your bets?”
Xiao Chenyu tried to defend himself, but the furious crowd wouldn’t listen.
“Xiao Chenyu, you bastard!
You cost us money and still dare to act so tough?”
“Bang!”
Someone threw the first punch, suddenly slamming into Xiao Chenyu’s right cheek.
“You dare hit me?
I’ll fight you!”
Xiao Chenyu clutched his cheek, crying out in pain, then charged forward with bloodshot eyes, grappling with his attacker.
No one expected Xiao Chenyu’s faction to erupt in infighting first.
Even Wang Teng, the organizer, hadn’t foreseen this.
At most, he had only anticipated the possibility of being caught cheating and getting mobbed—he never imagined Xiao Chenyu and his crew would start fighting among themselves first.
“Haha!
A fight!
Great, I’m in!
Hi-yah—!”
Xiao Wu had always loved stirring up trouble; far from panicking, she was thrilled, her eyes gleaming.
With a spirited shout, she charged into the brawl, swinging at anyone within reach without hesitation.
Those caught by stray punches dragged others in, and anger and chaos spread like wildfire.
Within moments, the entire playground center was in complete disarray.
At first, Wang Teng tried to intervene, but the melee spread far faster than he could have imagined.
“Get them!”
“He pushed me!”
“Fight him!”
Over two hundred students had gathered on the playground, and many already held grudges against one another.
Among them were long-standing tensions between regular students and work-study students.
So, under the cover of chaos, many took the chance to settle old scores, and the situation spiraled completely out of control.
“War Tiger, Possess!”
Seeing the situation turn bad, Wang Sheng immediately shouted, completing his martial soul possession as his body partially transformed into a tiger form.
He grabbed the wooden box full of gambling money and quickly retreated to Wang Teng’s side, asking anxiously: “Little brother, what do we do now?”
“First, get out of here!
Who knows if someone might take advantage of the chaos to snatch the money.”
Wang Teng stared grimly at the chaotic crowd ahead, frowning.
He knew this incident had blown up, and the faculty would inevitably intervene—it would be hard to run another gyro tournament after this.
So the box of bets in his arms was likely the last pot of money they could earn.
So the two brothers tightly guarded the box, struggling to push their way out of the crowd.
But the box was too heavy, and they were right in the middle of the chaos, making every step difficult.
Even with Wang Sheng, the former strongest among the work-study students, clearing the way, they were tossed around like a small boat in a storm.
“Wang Sheng!
It’s you!”
“Xiao Chenyu?
What are you doing here!”
Just their luck—Xiao Chenyu ran smack into them.
Xiao Chenyu’s face was bruised and swollen, with half a shoe print still stamped at the corner of his mouth—a complete mess.
Clearly, he had received plenty of “special attention” during the melee.
Xiao Chenyu, who usually offended many with his status, was now a prime target in the chaos.
At this moment, Xiao Chenyu was seething with pent-up anger and frustration; the moment he spotted Wang Sheng, and then glimpsed the wooden box Wang Teng was clutching, his eyes lit up.
“Give me back my money!”
He pointed straight at Wang Teng, shouting fiercely.
“You want my money?
Dream on!”
“Big brother, stop him!”
“Explosive Gyro, go!”
Wang Teng didn’t hesitate, telling Wang Sheng to act while simultaneously activating his martial soul.
The silvery-white gyro arced low and slammed hard into Xiao Chenyu’s foot.
“Sister Wu!
Xiao Chenyu is right here!
He doesn’t accept your win!”
At the same time, Wang Teng shouted toward Xiao Wu.
“Damn!
You’re a sly one!”
Xiao Chenyu hadn’t expected Wang Teng to be so cunning; he swore angrily, his foot smarting as his movement faltered.
“Bang!”
“Ow!
My foot!”
Seizing the gap, Wang Teng hugged the box tightly and frantically pushed toward the edge of the crowd.
“Don’t think you can get away!”
Gritting his teeth through the pain, Xiao Chenyu tried to give chase.
“Little brother, go!
I’ll hold him!”
Wang Sheng took a heavy step forward, his burly, half-tiger body blocking Xiao Chenyu’s path.
The two immediately started brawling.
Wang Sheng was no match for Xiao Chenyu, a one-ring Soul Master, but he didn’t need to win—he only needed to buy Wang Teng enough time to escape until Xiao Wu arrived.
By the time Xiao Chenyu finally fought off Wang Sheng and broke free, Wang Teng had already vanished into the chaotic crowd.
Even worse, Xiao Wu’s signature battle cry sounded from behind him.
“Take this!”
“First Soul Skill: Waist Bow!”
A pink silhouette leaped down from above, landing precisely on Xiao Chenyu’s shoulders, her long legs locking around his neck.
“Ahhh—!”
Xiao Chenyu’s scream echoed across the playground.
By now, Wang Teng had successfully squeezed out of the most chaotic area.
Without looking back, he lugged the heavy box and quickly ran to the edge of the playground.
Just then, the college faculty finally arrived, shouting commands and dispersing the students on the periphery.
But a mass brawl involving over two hundred people was not something that could be quelled with a few words.
The scene on the playground remained loud and wildly chaotic.