Chapter 92: The Sweeping Battle Begins

Chapter 92: Chapter 92: The Sweeping Battle Begins

Jeremy lowered his eyes slightly, his vision skimming over the flickering fluorescent numbers on the magic spirit card screen.

Nine-twenty at night.

Tomorrow morning, the true chain of death battles would officially raise its curtain.

The first elimination round operated on a random distribution matrix mechanism. Only upon stepping onto the arena would the opponent’s name be displayed by the system. This absolute anonymity neutralized all possibilities of laying out tactics targeting weaknesses, forcing participants to rely entirely on instincts and on-the-spot reflex skills.

The Anima department had a total of sixteen participating teams. To touch the throne of the internal department championship, a team was obligated to survive four rounds of death battles.

The timeframe set by the school board spanned five days.

Round one: 16 teams slaughtering to filter out 8 teams. Due to the large number of students, two days were needed to clear the arenas.

Round two: 8 advancing to 4. Similarly, consuming another two days.

Round three: 4 advancing to 2.

Round four: The 1-on-1 final match, deciding the king.

These last two decisive rounds would be compressed and held consecutively on the same day.

Speaking pragmatically, if they wanted to snatch the highest throne, his team had to sweep all four matches with total victories. Jeremy’s slender fingertips rhythmically tapped on the sofa armrest. He smirked, a sharp, cold glint darting through the depths of his eyes. Half a semester had passed, and it was unclear to what extent the magic power boundaries of those proud geniuses out there had been molded... He only hoped they weren’t so weak that they’d make him sleepy.

Jeremy decisively turned off the virtual screen, brushing aside all superfluous calculations, and closed his eyes to rest his mind.

## The first day of the competition.

Because the freshman evaluation was scheduled exactly one full week earlier than the five upperclassmen cohorts, all the seniors were currently enjoying their free time on break. This very discrepancy turned the massive spectator area of the Star Realm Arena into a cauldron, packed tight without a single empty seat.

Before the matches had officially beaten the drum, the atmosphere in the stands was already thick with noise, bustling to the point of tearing eardrums. Stacks of gold coins and merit points were thrown onto the betting tables, countless wagers judging who would step on the corpses of their own kind to claim the final victory.

Amidst the sky-high boiling noise, the figure holding the role of referee and host finally appeared.

The operator of this tournament was not human, but the bonded contract beast of the Anima Department’s Vice Principal. A spirit beast shaped exactly like a pure white cotton ball, dotted with a pair of small, sparkling wings on its back. Based on its identifying features, this was clearly a rare hybrid beast belonging to the Spirit Fox tribe.

The arena space and the series of strict forbidden rules were set up exactly the same as the evaluation at the beginning of the year. Right after the Spirit Fox used its childish voice to loudly finish reading the rulebook, the random draw matrix was immediately activated.

The massive crystal screen suspended in mid-air flashed incessantly with rows of blurry names. Exactly thirty seconds later, the wheel froze.

From the waiting area in a hidden corner, Jeremy nonchalantly looked up. Their fate truly always possessed a dramatic irony: His class’s Lunar Eclipse Team sat grandly right at the number one spot. The opening combat match for today’s entire tournament.

The Spirit Fox cotton ball flapped its wings, darting to hover right in the center of the arena. Sound-amplifying magic echoed across the stands: "The opening match! The Lunar Eclipse Team from Class 659 facing the Dawn Light Team from Class 612! Next, please allow the extraction of the public data for the members of both sides!"

Its adorable appearance combined with its clear voice successfully drew all the attention of the tens of thousands of young men and women boiling in the stands. The Spirit Fox cleared its throat slightly, and the matrix data immediately poured down onto the large screen.

[Dawn Light Team - Class 612.

Captain: Dell. Inscription: Holy Covenant No. 36 - Shadow Sword. Realm: Intermediate Stage, One-Star.

Core Member: Viya. Inscription: Holy Covenant No. 79 - Healing Lotus. Realm: Basic Stage, Eight-Star....]

As soon as the introduction ended, a barrage of whistles and exclamations of awe erupted, drawing countless admiring gazes glued to the Dawn Light formation.

"Truly worthy of possessing high-tier Holy Covenants! Just enrolled a mere five months and they’ve already pierced through the barrier, touching the Intermediate Stage mark!"

"One Intermediate Stage, one Basic Stage Eight-Star, the other three paving the way have also reached the seven-star threshold. The strength structure of this team is too perfect!"

Amidst the cheers, several gazes carrying mockery began to sweep toward the opposing team’s waiting area.

"If my brain isn’t waterlogged, then that Lunar Eclipse Team... seems to gather only people carrying bottom-tier Spirit Covenants, right?"

"You remembered perfectly! In the recent midterm practical combat assessment, they were even graciously gifted a big fat zero egg by the school board! Even if they farmed a perfect score on the theoretical exam, entering practical combat, they’ll just act as punching bags."

"Didn’t they voluntarily skip the midterm practical combat exam? I remember back during the freshman tournament at the beginning of the year, this team’s slaughtering methods were very brutal. Who knows how far their realms have crawled after hiding for the past few months."

"Where else could they crawl? Carrying those trash Inscriptions, the limits are glaringly obvious right there; no matter how hard they try, it’s just a futile struggle."

Under the streams of public opinion overflowing with contempt and judgment, the Spirit Fox maintained its professional smile, its clear voice continuing to announce the data of the Lunar Eclipse Team.

[Lunar Eclipse Team - Class 659.]

Captain: Jeremy. Inscription: Spirit Covenant No. 305. Realm: Basic Stage, Nine-Star.

Core Member: Evelyn. Inscription: Spirit Covenant No. 302. Realm: Intermediate Stage, Two-Star....]

"Now, please invite the competitors from both sides to officially step onto the arena!"

Just as the Spirit Fox’s final syllable dropped, all the heat in the massive stands was abruptly choked off. A deathly silence, suffocating to the point where one could clearly hear the wind blowing past the railings, enveloped the space.

It took ten seconds later, when the five youths wearing the dark red-trimmed uniforms of Class 659 took long strides onto the marble surface and completed the bowing ritual, for the crowd to truly snap out of their shock. And then, the stands shattered.

"What... what the hell is this? Is the data glitching?!"

"Three Intermediate Stages, two Basic Stage Nine-Stars?! Whose monster lineup is this?!"

"God as my witness! I clearly remember during the freshman tournament, that guy Jeremy was only lagging around the five or six-star threshold! Now he has hit the nine-star mark, preparing to break through to the Intermediate Stage?!"

"The academy’s entry Inscription inspection system must have short-circuited for sure! With such explosive strength, how could they be listed in the bottom-tier Spirit Covenant ranks!"

"Damn it... this leveling speed has completely crushed all rules of logic!"

The screaming, doubting voices from the stands absolutely could not pierce the eardrums of the five people standing on the arena.

The moment the starting whistle tore through the air, there was no space whatsoever for hesitation. Murderous intent erupted.

Jeremy tightened his knuckles; his destined Sacred Weapon erupted in silver light, instantly condensing into a massive scythe of death. He didn’t speak half a word of trash, directly unleashing his most brutal skill: "Undead Domain, open."

Pitch-black mist reeking of death surged, swallowing half the arena in the blink of an eye. Right within that mist, Phantom Clones bearing an appearance identical to Jeremy tore through space, carrying sky-high murderous intent as they lunged straight forward.

The strength of the Dawn Light Team was not weak at all, but to a pragmatist who always wanted to eliminate variables like Jeremy, fighting fast and destroying cleanly was the ultimate principle.

Jeremy launched his skill, simultaneously tilting his head slightly, throwing a razor-sharp glance at Evelyn.

Throughout the five months of being thrown into hellish training, what they achieved was not just their realms, but also a synchronization so deep that just a single blink was enough to synchronize their rhythm of slaughter.

Evelyn immediately caught the signal. Her blue eyes were flat and rippless; the Thanh Linh Longbow radiated a blinding blue-green light. Her first core skill [Parasite] and second skill [Sky-Rending Arrow] were drawn taut, fused, and released by her in a single breath.

*Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!*

Tens of thousands of magic arrows tore through space, exactly like a meteor shower carrying toxins and indestructible power pouring down onto the Dawn Light Team’s heads.

The enemy team member in charge of defense changed expression, hastily bracing both hands on the ground, roaring to summon the . A massive shield of light burst from the ground, attempting to block the rain of death arrows.

The only catch was, the magic power boundary between him and Evelyn differed by a full four and a half stars. Coupled with the frantic bombardment from Jeremy’s clones inside the Undead Domain continuously tearing at his blind spots, his defensive shield only lasted exactly three seconds before shattering into thousands of fragments. His entire body was forced to his knees on the floor, completely losing all power to resist.

Seeing the defensive formation crushed in a single breath, the Captain of the Dawn Light Team - Dell - gritted his teeth tightly. He instantly activated invisibility magic, his body blurring, slithering through the rain of arrows, intending to loop behind to assassinate Phoenix - the person standing alone in the back row.

Just as the Shadow Sword flashed a cold glint, before the heel of Dell’s shoe could even touch the hem of Phoenix’s cloak... a sound tearing through the wind, bone-chillingly cold down the spine, shrieked.

*Clang!*

The metal wire in the form of Fang of Abyss, crisscrossing sharp chain links, lunged forward like a thunderbolt, brutally wrapping tightly around Dell’s waist and both arms, squeezing so hard it caused him to cough up a mouthful of blood, revealing his true form in mid-air.

At the same time, the figure of the black-haired youth - the one inherently judged as the mage with the most fragile close-combat and defensive capabilities - had taken long strides to close the distance. The magic staff in Phoenix’s hand carried a freezing aura of death, resting accurately against the aorta on Dell’s neck.

Phoenix lifted his eyelids slightly. The profound pupils reflected the enemy’s pale face.

Without a single speck of panic or fluctuation, his voice was deep, eerily silent:

"Concede, or do you want me to crush you with my own hands?"

Dell’s breathing stagnated. Cold sweat poured out, drenching his forehead. He laboriously shifted his eyes toward his teammates: The main support mage had been sent flying off the arena by Leon’s crescent chakrams since who knows when. The defender and the other two were trapped, completely suppressed under Jeremy’s scythe and Evelyn’s binding arrows, lying flat on the ground unable to twitch.

As for himself, his bloodlines were having their magic power sealed by Fang of Abyss, the distance of life and death held by Phoenix’s staff. Even if he risked his life to forcibly break the binding chains, with this tragic situation, any effort to turn the tables was merely an illusion.

The muscles on Dell’s face twitched incessantly.

Unwillingness and resentment surged in his chest. He completely could not digest this cruel truth. Why could a lineup gathering only bottom-tier, trashy Inscriptions of society... possess a sweeping power so horrifying and explosive to this extent?!

The logic of the magic world had been trampled under their heels!

The blade of the staff exhaled a freezing aura rubbing against the skin of his neck. The fear of death finally defeated his pride. Dell squeezed his eyes shut, his arms hanging limp, biting his lower lip until it bled, hissing out each word with extreme difficulty and choked emotion:

"We... concede."