Chapter 188: Jiang Jingwei Versus Zhao Chenghuang

Zhang Yuanqing scrolled through the post.

【The matches begin at eleven o'clock sharp. Scenarios will be randomized. All contestants, please adjust your condition and prepare accordingly.】

The comment section below exploded instantly.

Crossing Pawn! Zhang Yuanqing stared at the Round-of-16 bracket and winced. Just a few days ago, he'd been saying this guy specialized in perception and would be a tricky opponent. He never expected to draw him this early.

Still, when his eyes landed on the matchup of Jiang Jingwei versus Zhao Chenghuang, he suddenly felt his own luck wasn't so bad after all. Little Qingyang was tough to deal with, sure, but at least there were ways to counter him. That beat going up against one of the top three monsters.

Poor Jingwei. Zhang Yuanqing offered a few seconds of silent mourning in her honor, then scrolled through the comments beneath the post to see what the official Walkers thought.

⤷ Princess Consort: Here's my prediction. Only two matchups pit top-ten fighters against each other. Jiang Jingwei is definitely no match for Zhao Chenghuang, so she's probably out of the running for the top eight. As for Yuanshi Tianzun versus Crossing Pawn, Tianzun has the better odds. The other top-ten contestants drew opponents ranked outside the top ten, so they should be fine.

⤷ Long Road Ahead: Today's main events are definitely those two matchups. Jiang Jingwei will have a hard time against Zhao Chenghuang. The gap is just too wide. But calling Yuanshi Tianzun versus Crossing Pawn this early is premature. The matches don't start until eleven, which is three hours from now. That's basically an open invitation for contestants to start preparing items and countermeasures.

⤷ Betel Nut and Cigarettes, Infinite Power: Yuanshi Tianzun pretty much showed all his cards in the Maoshan Warlock fight. Crossing Pawn, on the other hand, won his earlier matches with ease. That puts Yuanshi Tianzun at a disadvantage in terms of intel. If I were Crossing Pawn, I'd already be borrowing items. As long as they're no more than two levels above your own, there's no limit on quantity.

⤷ Call Me Queen: But using items comes with a cost. You can't just borrow a mountain of them. If I were Crossing Pawn, I'd borrow one item with strong ranged firepower, or something that specifically counters Yuanshi Tianzun's summons. @Yuanshi Tianzun

Queen had a point. Zhang Yuanqing sat down at his desk, spread open a notebook, and began drafting a plan to deal with Little Qingyang. He started by listing his own strengths and weaknesses, then put himself in Crossing Pawn's shoes and began to strategize.

With my perception specialization, I excel at both close quarters combat and marksmanship, so I'm not afraid of the Nocturnal Specter sneaking up on me while invisible. In fact, that plays right into my hands. The problem is Yuanshi Tianzun has that pistol item with firepower far beyond just ordinary bullets.

Moreover, as a Scout, my defenses are lacking. If he uses the yin corpse to tie me down while his main body goes into Night Wandering and takes potshots from a distance, I would be in serious trouble. Therefore, I need to shore up my defense or healing.

Yuanshi Tianzun's yin corpse has powerful close combat abilities, but that's not much of a threat to me. His spirit servant, though—that's the tricky part. I need something to counter it.

In his notebook, Zhang Yuanqing wrote: Recovery or defensive item. Item to counter spirit servant.

He switched back to his own perspective. Against an opponent like Crossing Pawn, close combat puts me at a disadvantage. It's too easy for him to cause an upset. If I try to shoot from range and he has a defensive item, the Burst Pistol's threat drops drastically. There is one surefire way to win: bring out the Red Dancing Shoes. The downsides being, one, I'd have to do that embarrassing dance in front of a massive audience, and two, I'll be revealing my trump card way too early.

He mulled it over, then suddenly had an idea. I can request items from White Tiger Guard's guild warehouse. It's a guild perk. Why not make use of it?

He saw nothing wrong with relying on items. Throughout human history, the story of warfare had always been of the evolution of weapons from stone to bronze, bronze to iron, and onward to the development of firearms and modern weapons. Ever since humanity came into existence, it has always used tools to amplify its strength.

Spirit Realm Walkers were no different. Every class had a ceiling, no matter how strong the Walker, but items were abundant. The right combination could result in countless tactical possibilities.

Items played a critical role, at least at the Transcendent tier. At the Saint tier, however, available items dwindled sharply and their costs skyrocketed. Aside from a few exceptionally wealthy Walkers, most Saints couldn't wield more than three items at a time.

Even at the Transcendent tier, items are precious. It's just that the official organizations are filthy rich. Borrowing from your superiors and colleagues and scraping together a few items is effortless. Freelance practitioners and independent organizations don't have that luxury.

With that thought, Zhang Yuanqing opened White Tiger Guard's guild warehouse and submitted a request to the guild leader to browse the attributes of available items.

【Ding! Fu Qingyang has granted you partial access.】

Partial access? Meaning only Transcendent-tier items? Zhang Yuanqing eagerly began scrolling through the warehouse inventory.

Fifteen minutes later, he'd settled on one item and submitted a request to the guild leader.

【Ding! Request approved. Please check your inventory for the item.】

Zhang Yuanqing opened his inventory and withdrew it. It was a mirror carved from blue crystal, small and delicate, and cool to the touch. Rippling patterns like water waves shimmered across its surface.

【Name: Mirror Flower, Water Moon】

【Type: Mirror】

【Functions: Clone, Water Purification】

【Description: A mirror sculpted from the essence of water. Purifies water. Gazing into the mirror's surface for more than three seconds summons a mirror clone that copies all of the user's skills. Duration: 10 minutes.】

【Note: Poor sense of direction, uncoordinated limbs. Isn't that kind of adorable?】

Originally, Zhang Yuanqing had wanted to pick an item that generated a water mist to blind Crossing Pawn's perception. But Scouts were also known as True Eyes, and a Transcendent-tier water mist might not be enough to block a Scout's line of sight. Thus, he chose this cloning item instead, to pile more pressure onto Crossing Pawn. Keeping track of one person was much easier than keeping track of three.

Time slipped away. At eleven o'clock, a chime rang in his ears.

【In 30 seconds you will enter the Spirit Realm. Your designated dungeon is "Lava Pool," No. 1233.】

【Difficulty: B】

【Type: Multiplayer】

【Main Quest: Endure the searing heat of flames and defeat the lava monsters.】

【Note: Non-Spirit Realm items may not be brought inside.】

***

Zhang Yuanqing entered the dungeon with his yin corpse. Above him stretched an azure sky filled with clouds that were frozen and motionless.

He stood at the rim of a volcanic crater. The scorching air reeked of sulfur, and every gust of mountain wind carried a wall of heat.

Two meters below, molten magma churned and bubbled. Stone pillars roughly half a meter in diameter jutted out from the lava, each protruding about a meter above the surface.

He swept his gaze around the crater. This has to be a Fire Sage-exclusive dungeon. The quest is dead simple: withstand the flames and kill the monsters underneath the lava. That's classic Fire Sage territory, straightforward and brainless.

This time he didn't bother looking for Guan Ya. The space was simply too open. The crater stretched nearly a hundred meters across, and was large enough to hold thousands. Members of the official organizations were scattered across the rim in small clusters.

A Scout's eyesight is better than mine. If Guan Ya wants to find me, she'll come over. And if she doesn't come over, I'm cutting ties...

He was mid-thought when a red-haired youth leapt down into the magma pool, landed square on a stone pillar and announced the rules in a ringing voice.

"The flames erupt once every twenty seconds. The monsters under the magma surface once a minute."

"Now. First pair, enter."

The voice rolled and echoed. Under the watching crowd, the Earth God and Yangtze Wave Rider dropped into the magma pool together.

Yangtze Wave Rider was a soft-featured young man, decent-looking and gentle around the brows and eyes. At a glance he thought that this fellow was actually quite feminine.

He looked at the Earth God across from him and sighed. "Old-timer, drawing you was already rotten enough luck. Now I randomed into a Fire Sage dungeon on top of it. Ugh, how unlucky can I get. Guess I'll just treat it as coming to play."

As a Water Ghost, landing in a place like this was miserable. His control over water was basically useless so he'd had to rely on raw physical strength alone.

Random scenarios worked like that. All he could say was that his luck sucked.

"What's wrong with a Fire Sage dungeon? Fire Sages eat your rice or something?" somebody up top jeered.

The Earth God chuckled with a cigar clamped in his teeth. "A Fire Sage dungeon's pretty comfy, actually."

In the five elemental phases, fire feeds earth. Thus one who possessed earth elemental powers gained a boost to their powers.

Off in his corner the red-haired youth called out, "Begin!"

There was no suspense to this one. Yangtze Wave Rider lasted all of twenty seconds. On the first magma eruption, while he was busy fending off the scalding heat, the Earth God shrugged off the effects of the environment, quickly closing the distance and before one knew it, his fist was pressed against Yangtze Wave Rider’s forehead. Yangtze Wave Rider conceded on the spot.

Ten minutes later the red-haired youth announced, "Second pair onto the stage."

As the words fell, a tongue of flame spat from a bursting bubble somewhere in the magma pool and curled together into the shape of a red-haired girl.

She stood on a stone pillar, arms crossed, chin up, grinning through bared teeth, cocky and carefree all at once.

This kid feels absolutely zero pressure facing the number one. Zhang Yuanqing thought.

He was still thinking this when he heard footsteps getting closer. He turned to see Guan Ya approaching.

The open-minded lady had once again donned her black stockings, fitted skirt, and white blouse ensemble, the quintessential office goddess look. It was worth noting she had lost to "Golden Armor" in the previous round.

Guan Ya's rifle was a devastating weapon at the Transcendent tier, but its power level made it ineligible for use. Moreover, Golden Armor was an Earth Wraith. Her hand to hand skills were impressive, but she simply hadn't been able to break through his defenses.

Zhang Yuanqing smiled with satisfaction. "You came?"

Guan Ya studied him, eyes narrowing playfully. "What, are you pleased?"

She didn't wait for an answer before deftly changing the subject. "This round is going to be exciting. Lava Pool is a Fire Sage's home turf. Jingwei can push the Fire Sage class to its absolute limits here, and Zhao Chenghuang won't have an easy time."

Zhang Yuanqing raised an eyebrow. "You think Jingwei can win?"

If she actually pulled it off, she'd be the undisputed dark horse of the tournament.

Guan Ya shook her head. "Hard to say. But one thing's certain: if Zhao Chenghuang wants to beat Jingwei here, he'll have to bring out his yin corpse at a minimum. Watch carefully and study his fighting habits. As for how many trump cards he reveals, that depends on how far Jingwei can push him."

In the earlier elimination rounds, Zhao Chenghuang hadn't even bothered using his Level 4 yin corpse.

Zhang Yuanqing nodded, watching the carefree, fearless Jiang Jingwei in the arena below, and sighed. "Sometimes I really envy Fire Sages. Pure of thought, and free of pressure."

As he spoke, two figures leaped down into the crater. Zhao Chenghuang wore an all-black outfit and a cold expression to match, a natural arrogance etched between his brows.

The other figure was shirtless with black trousers. Its muscles were like cast steel, bulging and rock solid, and its eyes were savage and brutish, devoid of intelligence.

Around the crater's rim, the murmuring of the crowd surged into a noisy buzz.

Of the Round-of-16 matches, the biggest draws were Jiang Jingwei versus Zhao Chenghuang and Yuanshi Tianzun versus Crossing Pawn.

"Begin!"

Jiang Jingwei had been itching to go. She immediately threw her arms wide and thrust them skyward.

In an instant, globes of fire forged from molten lava rose from the pool, floating lazily into position around Zhao Chenghuang.

Snap!

She snapped her fingers with flair, sending a fireball screaming toward her opponent.

Zhao Chenghuang didn't flinch. His yin corpse moved to protect its master on instinct, stepping into the fireball's trajectory. One palm shot out, its fingers closing around the approaching fireball and giving it a casual squeeze.

Boom!

The fireball detonated. Lava streamed down the yin corpse's hand, but the extreme heat did not harm it in the slightest.

Through the billowing flames, Jiang Jingwei materialized with a sharp battle cry, sending her fire-wreathed fist smashing into the yin corpse.

The corpse's own fist ignited to meet hers, and their fists collided.

The impact was like a massive explosion of C4. The lava beneath their feet was blown downward before surging back up in a blazing tidal wave.

The yin corpse stumbled back a step. Jiang Jingwei, her teeth bared in a grimace, was sent flying backward.

Zhao Chenghuang raised an eyebrow. His yin corpse had been forged from a Level 4 Fire Sage, but this girl's brute strength was astonishing.

"Wow, you're strong," Jiang Jingwei said to the yin corpse. "I can't beat you."

She shook out her arms and turned to Zhao Chenghuang. "So I'll just beat him instead!"

A fireball detonated several meters behind Zhao Chenghuang. Jiang Jingwei materialized from it via Fire Walk, her slender waist coiled with explosive force as she lashed out with a spinning kick.

Crack!

Zhao Chenghuang raised his arms to guard, but the sheer power behind the kick launched him airborne, sending him leaping to a neighboring stone pillar.

The yin corpse instantly whirled to rescue its master, lunging at Jiang Jingwei.

Boom! A fireball exploded two meters to Zhao Chenghuang's side. Jiang Jingwei appeared and plunged her hand into the lava pool, dragging out a whip of molten magma.

She cracked it with everything she had.

Zhao Chenghuang leaped somewhat hastily to a pillar on his left. The whip struck the lava's surface, sending up a spray of incandescent magma.

Hiss, hiss...

Droplets of lava spattered across him, burning holes through his clothing and leaving him looking rather worse for wear. Before he could catch his breath, Jiang Jingwei's third wave of attacks was already upon him.

Up on the crater rim, Zhang Yuanqing watched Jiang Jingwei use the fireballs suspended in midair as teleportation anchors, executing Fire Walk again and again, hounding Zhao Chenghuang into a corner. Meanwhile, the yin corpse lunged after her repeatedly, only to watch helplessly as she dissolved into flame and vanished.

"Smart strategy," he murmured. "This way, she effectively avoids fighting two-on-one. But it's burning through her stamina fast. Zhao Chenghuang looks like he's struggling, but he dodges her attacks every time. His energy expenditure is minimal. He's deliberately draining Jingwei's stamina. The counterattack is coming soon."

Right on cue, Jiang Jingwei abandoned her Fire Walk pursuit of Zhao Chenghuang. Instead she charged at the yin corpse like a young leopard, ducking under its straight punch, seizing its arm, and wrenching hard, trying to drag it down into the lava pool.

Her logic was crystal clear: divide and conquer. If she couldn't take out Zhao Chenghuang, she'd take out the yin corpse.

The corpse had been a Fire Sage in life and possessed formidable fire resistance, but it had lost most of its Fire Sage skills. Jiang Jingwei was confident she could destroy it beneath the lava, and Zhao Chenghuang, a Nocturnal Specter, couldn't possibly dive into the pool after them.

Suddenly and without warning, a crushing weight settled onto her shoulders. Her breathing turned ragged, and her limbs went soft and weak.

The yin corpse seized the opening. It shattered the stone pillar underfoot as it launched itself at her like a cannonball. Blazing fists hammered down on Jiang Jingwei one after another, sending out dull shockwaves.

Jiang Jingwei looked like a boxer pinned against the ropes, her arms raised in a desperate guard, absorbing blow after savage blow. Several times she tried to ignite a Fire Walk to escape, but the flames barely sparked to life before they were smashed apart.

Her face slowly drained of color, and she was growing visibly pale. Still, her eyes grew fiercer and wilder, rage accumulating drop by furious drop.

Outside the arena, only Nocturnal Specters could see it: a vengeful spirit with black lips and white pupils crouched on Jiang Jingwei's shoulder, draining her vital energy.

Non-Nocturnal Specter Walkers could only guess that Zhao Chenghuang had deployed a spirit servant.

Zhang Yuanqing looked on without blinking. That spirit servant has the same ability as that small vengeful spirit from the Temple of the Three Paths Mountain Goddess. It's an upgraded version. Zhao Chenghuang probably has more than one spirit servant. The question is whether Jingwei can force him to reveal more of his hand.

Thus far, Jingwei's attacks had been ferocious, but she hadn't truly forced Zhao Chenghuang to fight seriously.

Crack!

At last, under the yin corpse's relentless barrage, the sharp sound of bone cracking emanated from Jiang Jingwei's forearm.

At that very moment, Zhao Chenghuang vanished.

The spectators around the crater held their breath, eyes locked on the arena below. The meaning was clear. The top-ranked genius had bided his time, and now, he was finally unleashing his Nocturnal Specter abilities. He was finally making his move.

The next second, a thunderous boom shook the crater. Scalding lava erupted upward, shooting three or four meters into the air. The volcano itself had erupted.

Just two or three meters away from Jiang Jingwei, Zhao Chenghuang stumbled out of Night Wandering, his body sheathed in a hazy yellow aura that parted the cascading lava around him.

At the same time, Jiang Jingwei's fury hit its breaking point. Riding the surge of erupting magma, she unleashed everything she had.

Her slender frame erupted with a force more violent than the volcanic blast itself. Every strand of red hair stood on end. Deep within her eyes, flames seemed to burn.

Zhang Yuanqing heard Guan Ya gasp beside him. "Berserker?"

From every corner of the crater, near and far, similar cries of shock rippled through the crowd.

Berserker? The signature skill of Saint-tier Fire Sages?

Zhang Yuanqing froze for a moment, then felt a surge of excitement. Now they'd finally get to see Zhao Chenghuang's real cards.