He quickly posted a pinned thread, bolded and in red.
Meanwhile, Feng Ruyun and the others beside Sun He were also quite interested in this Newcomer King who had shot to fame.
They exchanged a smile, opened their own terminals, and spread the news within their upperclassman circles.
In an instant, the entire private network of Qiming First High School erupted into a frenzy over this sudden duel.
Countless students, both new and old, flooded into the spectator room that Qian Duoduo had announced.
The number of spectators in the room skyrocketed at a terrifying rate.
1,000... 5,000... 10,000...
In just three short minutes, the number of spectators broke the 20,000 mark!
Since it was breakfast time, most students weren’t training. Nearly half of the school’s 40,000 to 50,000 students were instantly drawn in.
The public chat in the spectator channel was completely flooded with comments scrolling by like a waterfall.
The first-year students were the most emotional, clearly divided into two distinct factions.
"He’s here, he’s here! We finally get to see God Qin in action again! We have to support God Qin!"
"God Qin is invincible! He just won Newcomer King, his momentum is at its peak. He’ll definitely win!"
"That’s right! Even Lei Yi was no match for God Qin. Senior Sun He is strong, but he lost in the last upperclassman tournament. I’m betting on God Qin!"
These were Qin Feng’s die-hard fans, who had an almost blind faith in him.
But there was also a more level-headed, analytical faction.
"Don’t be so optimistic, you guys. After the tournament, Senior Sun He’s slaughter technique reached the Perfection Realm. His strength is already touching the top tier."
"Yeah, I looked up the stats. Before his injury, Senior Sun He’s Life Force Index was close to 18, while Junior Qin Feng was only around 14 during the finals. That gap is too big to bridge with skill alone."
"I think it’s a long shot, too. The Newcomer King is the king of the freshmen, but there’s still a gap between him and a true top-tier upperclassman. If Junior Qin Feng can last three minutes, it’ll count as a victory."
The upperclassmen’s chat, on the other hand, was far more unified and certain.
"That kid Sun He, using the Newcomer King for practice as soon as he’s healed. He’s got some nerve."
"The Newcomer King is impressive, but he’s still a bit too green to face the Heaven and Earth Staff at the Perfection level."
"There’s no suspense here. One has a slaughter technique at Great Success, the other at Perfection. Qin Feng uses a Long Spear, so he can use its length to his advantage and maneuver, but winning... that’ll be too difficult. Not to mention, in terms of physical strength, Sun He surpasses Qin Feng by a huge margin."
"Exactly, the hardware gap is obvious. There’s at least a 2-point difference in their Life Force Index and a whole major realm difference in their slaughter technique. How can he fight that? If Sun He loses, I’ll eat all my B-rank nutrient meal trays for this month!"
Amidst countless gazes of anticipation, doubt, and certainty, the arena’s countdown reached its end.
[Battle Start!]
「Scene change.」
A hundred-meter-diameter alloy ring materialized against the backdrop of a void-like, starry sky.
At opposite ends of the ring, two figures appeared simultaneously.
Sun He, clad in a set of dark blue light Battle Armor, held two half-meter-long alloy short staffs. His presence was as solid as a mountain, his gaze as sharp as a hawk’s.
A virtual panel flashed beside him.
[Name: Sun He]
[Life Force Index: 18.1]
[Slaughter Technique: Heaven and Earth Staff (Perfection)]
And opposite him, Qin Feng held a three-meter-long Alloy Long Spear, also wearing standard-issue light armor, his expression calm.
[Name: Qin Feng]
[Life Force Index: 16.5]
[Slaughter Technique: Thousand Army Spear (Great Success)]
As the countdown ticked away second by second, the audience couldn’t help but hold their breath.
3—2—1—0—!
On the ring, the battle was about to erupt!
The very instant the countdown ended, Sun He moved!
He stomped his foot, launching himself forward like a cannonball.
His speed was immense, leaving a trail of afterimages as the short staffs in his hands carved two vicious arcs through the air, aimed straight at Qin Feng’s center!
He intended to use his specialty—close-quarters pressure—to instantly shatter Qin Feng’s defense!
Faced with this thunderous assault, Qin Feng’s eyes didn’t waver in the slightest.
Instead of retreating, he advanced. He took a half step forward with his left foot, lowered his center of gravity, and the three-meter spear in his hand shot out like a venomous dragon leaving its cave. With a flick of the spear tip, he instantly created seven or eight spear shadows, precisely sealing off all of Sun He’s paths of attack.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
A rapid series of dense metallic collisions suddenly erupted on the ring.
Sun He’s dual staffs and Qin Feng’s spear tip clashed dozens of times within a fraction of a second.
With every clash, Sun He felt his assault being neutralized by a clever and tenacious force.
His opponent’s spear tip always appeared in the most awkward positions, tapping and then retreating, leaving him no outlet for the power he had built up.
"A little interesting!"
The battle intent in Sun He’s eyes grew stronger.
He changed his attack again. No longer aiming for a single killing blow, he instead whirled his dual staffs into an impenetrable screen of shadows, like a giant millstone grinding relentlessly toward Qin Feng!
The Heaven and Earth Staff, at the Perfection Realm, carried the power to split mountains and shatter rocks with every strike. The wind from the staffs howled, tearing through the air with a grating shriek.
This was pure suppression by force!
However, Qin Feng’s response surprised all the upperclassmen watching.
He didn’t choose to dodge and weave. Instead, he held his spear horizontally and assumed a steady defensive stance.
[Thousand Soldiers Guarding]!
His Long Spear seemed to transform into an iron wall encircling his body.
No matter what tricky angle Sun He’s staff shadows attacked from, the spear’s shaft would always be there a step ahead—parrying, blocking, redirecting, or guiding—to neutralize every single attack.
The entire ring turned into an ultimate showdown of offense versus defense.
Sun He was like a tireless siege beast, his dual staffs a blur as he tried to smash through that city wall.
And Qin Feng was like the city wall itself—unmoving as a mountain, indestructible.
"Not bad, not bad."
In the spectator channel, a third-year upperclassman praised them.
"Sun He’s Perfect Stick Technique is exquisite. Although Qin Feng’s is only a Great Success Spear Technique, he’s perfectly using the advantage of ’an inch longer, an inch stronger’ to keep Sun He from getting close. Not bad at all..."
On the ring, Sun He felt it more deeply than anyone.
’It was just like last time. I couldn’t break through Qin Feng’s defense at all; I could only try to break skill with force.’
’This time, Qin Feng’s defense is even more refined, and I still can only try to break skill with force!’
Sun He changed his strategy!
He stopped the pointless technical probes and poured all his strength into his dual staffs, smashing them toward Qin Feng’s Long Spear in the simplest, most brutal way possible!
Break skill with force!
He would use the absolute power advantage granted by his 18.1 Life Force Index to utterly crush his opponent’s defense!
CLANG—!
An unprecedentedly loud clang shook the entire ring, making it tremble slightly.
Sun He’s short staffs smashed solidly against the shaft of Qin Feng’s spear.
The scene he had anticipated—his opponent’s spear flying from his hands, his defense crumbling—did not happen.
Sun He only felt a terrifying explosive power, no less than his own and perhaps even more concentrated, transmitted back from the spear’s shaft. It made the webbing between his thumb and forefinger go numb and sent a violent tremor through his arms!
’What’s going on?!’
’My Life Force Index is clearly 1.6 points higher than his!’
’With the same equipment, my strength should be overwhelming!’
Shockwaves crashed through Sun He’s mind.