Chapter 20: The Winner is...?

With a flick of her hand, a longsword forged from shadow gathered in her palm. Just as she was about to attack, she suddenly realized that she couldn’t even move an inch!

"What in the world is this?!!" Lin Qingwan yelled out. She lowered her head and realized that her whole body was wrapped with invisible strands of thread.

"When did...?" she muttered, feeling a bit unbelievable. She tried to move her hands, but the thread wrapped around her in every direction. Her movement caused her longsword to slip from her hand and clattered onto the ground with a sharp metallic ring.

"If I haven’t mistaken, your ability has something to do with the element of darkness. Your speed seems fast because every time you dodge my thread, you were hiding in the shadows, and not because your speed itself was fast," Jiang Zihan said.

"But how were you able to...?"

"If you can make use of light, then why can’t I?" Jiang Zihan asked back.

He slowly opened his eyes and let out a soft smile. "I never thought that I could catch you with just a few strands of thread? But what about something more than that? Every time you dodge, you instinctively use the shadows to move, which makes you run all over the field during that time."

Lin Qingwan’s eyes widened. "So you were trying to make me step into your trap?"

Jiang Zihan raised his right hand and clenched it gently. The next second, the threads that were scattered across the field tightened simultaneously, just like a spiderweb.

"When did he set all those traps?" one of the students asked.

"No one noticed what he was doing this whole time?" another demanded.

The teacher narrowed his eyes and nodded lightly. "As expected of him. This student’s control over his ability is perfect. Lin Qingwan wasn’t able to completely dodge the threads at the very beginning; it was Jiang Zihan’s plan to miss every attack."

"Each thread was anchored at the position he had predicted. Every time Lin Qingwan dodged, he laid down a strand of thread, and once everything was ready, the strands of thread would wrap around Lin Qingwan like a net," the teacher continued to explain.

Lin Qingwan lowered her head. "...I lose."

The teacher glanced at her before announcing the winner.

After he did so, Jiang Zihan removed the thread, and Lin Qingwan fell down to the floor. She looked at him with a complicated expression. To be honest, she hadn’t thought of Jiang Zihan as an actual opponent at the beginning, because she had total confidence in her strength. However, the person that she never thought was a threat had defeated her.

But a loss was a loss, and she’ll accept it. She bent down to pick up her sword when a shadow fell over her. She lifted her head and realized that it was Jiang Zihan. He lent her a hand; she was stunned for a moment before placing her hand on it. "Thanks."

After Jiang Zihan returned to his seat, the next group was also announced by the same teacher.

"The second group, Chen Siyuan and Luo Qingchuan."

Since none of the participants were professional Hunters and hadn’t systematically learned how to use their abilities, the battles were simpler than Jiang Zihan thought. Each of the battles was over pretty fast, and before the sun sets, all the winners were announced.

"Now let me announce the groups for the second round. Shen Xing and Mo Shiyan are in group one. Chen Siyuan and Shen Huaian are in group two."

"Jiang Zihan receives a bye," the teacher said.

Hearing his name, Jiang Zihan instinctively looked toward Mo Shiyan. He never expected that he was the one who received a bye. But... does that mean that Mo Shiyan has to fight another round...?

Just at this time, one of the students stepped out, raising her hand. "Teacher, the participant who advances automatically... is that fair to the other participants?"

The teacher looked at her for a second before answering. "Luck is also part of one’s strength. If the person who receives a bye is yourself, would you still ask this question?"

That student wanted to say something when her companion tugged the corner of her shirt, shaking his head. She lowered her head and sat back up, no longer saying anything.

Then, the teacher looked away and commanded. "Shen Xing and Mo Shiyan, it’s your turn."

Mo Shiyan looked toward Jiang Zihan. As Jiang Zihan tilted his head, looking at him with confusion, he purposefully ruffled Jiang Zihan’s hair vigorously with his hand, causing his hairstyle to look like a bird’s nest.

Jiang Zihan: "!!!"

Before he was able to react, Mo Shiyan had already walked away.

His hands... felt so warm. He tentatively placed his hand on his hair, checking his hairstyle.

The battle was over faster than he had expected. In just a blink of an eye, the teacher had already announced Mo Shiyan as the winner.

The next second, Mo Shiyan’s shadow fell over him. Jiang Zihan let out a bright smile and was just able to congratulate him when he felt that there was something not right about his expression.

"Shiyan...?" He tentatively called out his name, but there was no response.

Suddenly, Mo Shiyan fell onto him; the weight of his entire body was pressing down on him.

"Shiyan...? Shiyan!!" Jiang Zihan called, reaching out to touch his forehead. Then he immediately moved away. It’s so hot.

He wanted to notify the teacher first, but saw that he had already announced the next pair to begin the match. Everyone was focused on the training field, and no one noticed what was happening over here. He stood there, wondering if he should wait until the match was over before doing anything, when he felt that Mo Shiyan’s body temperature was increasing. He no longer hesitated and rested Mo Shiyan’s arm over his shoulders, slowly carrying him to the school infirmary.