Chapter 279: Divine Character Tournament (2)
Outside.
Everyone was confused. The two colors remained the same as it was. It was as though the two were evenly matched.
But if one looked closer, one would notice that Su Yu's expression was as calm as ever while Hu Zongji was starting to sweat. Clearly, this fight was much more exhausting for him than Su Yu.
"What's happening?"
"Evenly matched?"
"Su Yu should have a slight upper hand, but it's not too obvious..."
The crowd started talking among themselves. One minute, two minutes...
Finally, Hu Zongji started shaking.
After the previous matches that had ended almost instantly, the minutes Su Yu and Hu Zongji were taking caused everyone to grow both impatient and confused. Just why were the two colors still evenly spread among the ball?
...
In front of the crowd, Liu Hong's eyes flickered.
After a while, he seemed to have realized something as he cursed inwardly that Su Yu was truly too shameless. That idiotic Hu Zongji was probably fighting against illusions.
Su Yu had most likely generated an illusory opponent for Hu Zongji to fight before standing aside to enjoy the show. Otherwise, there was no way to explain what was happening.
"He's toying with his opponent."
Liu Hong was speechless. If Su Yu could do that, he might as well speedily defeat this opponent. That kid was definitely not weak. Hu Zongji probably had no way of seeing through the illusions created by a second tier character.
Su Yu only needed to exhaust some of his willpower to maintain the illusion while Hu Zongji would probably exhaust much more willpower fighting illusions.
...
And Liu Hong's guess was right.
Inside the grotto.
With his arms crossed and a smile on his face, Su Yu was watching leisurely as Hu Zongji was madly doing battle with thin air not far away. After a while, he shook his head.
So this fellow was...so weak.
He had thought that his illusions were weak. After all, Zheng Yunhui had been able to instantly break through his illusions. Even his second tier illusions weren't able to fool Zheng Yunhui for long. But look at Hu Zongji. Even after so long, he was still fighting the air vigorously.
"This idiot has been slandering me behind my back. Should I take my revenge on him?"
But soon, Su Yu smiled. He told himself that he was not such a petty person. Thus, the vision before Hu Zongji's eyes blurred before Su Yu reappeared before his eyes. The previous Su Yu who was filled with wounds had been replaced by a Su Yu who was as good as new.
Hu Zongji blanked out momentarily.
Su Yu opened his mouth only to be reminded that he couldn't talk inside this grotto. Thus, he used his willpower and wrote something in front of him: "It has been five minutes, Brother Hu. My apologies, but I must win. Don't worry, I won't let your defeat look too bad..."
Hu Zongji was slightly stunned, but immediately after, rage bubbled out of his heart. What did that signify? Did Su Yu think that he would win just because he wanted to win? That thought had just crossed his mind when a massive bolt of lightning appeared above him.
Boom!
Even though there was no sound in the grotto, he could still imagine the rumbling thunder when the massive bolt of lightning struck. His willpower body instantly crumbled apart.
...
Outside.
Instantly, the ball was covered in gold.
Hu Zongji raised his pale face to look at Su Yu.
Meanwhile, Su Yu had an apologetic look as he gave Hu Zongji a slight bow. When Hu Zongji noticed that Su Yu did not look one bit tired, his expression changed. And when he recalled what Su Yu said inside the grotto, his face turned ugly.
Was the gap between them so big? Su Yu had not even used much of his strength in the fight? So were all the injuries Su Yu had sustained from all those swords something he had deliberately allowed to happen? So that Hu Zongji would not lose too badly?
Even up until this moment, he was still unaware that the wounded Su Yu was merely an illusion. Instead, he concluded that Su Yu was intentionally allowing his attacks to hit. He felt both humiliated and helpless. Was the gap between them really so big?
When he recalled how he had been calling Su Yu a fake high-high student, how he had talked bad about Su Yu's physical cultivation, willpower strength, and Divine Characters...a sense of shame welled up within him.
If Su Yu was a fake high-high student, what was him? And Su Yu had even gone through the effort of extending their fight for five minutes so that his defeat wouldn't look too bad.
The more Hu Zongji thought about it, the more shameful he felt. With his head lowered, he cupped his hands at Su Yu and bitterly said, "Thank you for showing me leniency, Brother Su. I am not your match."
He then turned around and walked back to the crowd, looking bleak and disheartened.
Su Yu did not say anything and returned to the crowd as well. He approached Hu Zongji and waited until the next match began before asking, "Brother Hu, you're not angry at me, right? In truth, your Divine Character is very strong. But I feel like you spread your attacks too much. Have you considered concentrating your attacks more? Having countless swords look very good, but if I'm being honest, creating so many swords only serves to spread yourself thin. Those swords can't hurt me since they are too weak individually."
Hu Zongji awkwardly asked, "Is that the case?"
"Yeah." Su Yu seriously said, "If you had only used one sword, even if the sword couldn't last too long, it would probably be able to deal me serious injuries and force me to withdraw my Divine Characters. But during our match, you only got weaker the longer the fight dragged on. I could clearly feel your attacks weakening toward the end."
Hu Zongji nodded with a pensive look and said, "True. My elder brother and granduncle told me the same. But since they can't see my Divine Character, I never took their advice seriously. Brother Su..."
"Just call me Su Yu. We have known each other for a while. In fact, we met before even entering the academy. Fate clearly intends to bring us together. But it's a pity that our relationship deteriorated after entering the academy.
"At that time, you even invited me to join the Tianshui Club. Fortunately, I didn't join. Otherwise...sigh. With my identity as a member of the multiple character faction, you would probably suffer the blame for recruiting someone as troublesome as me."
Hu Zongji smiled awkwardly and said, "You're probably right. I wasn't aware of that back then. I was even angry that you refused my kind offer. But now that I think about it, it's actually quite funny. If you had accepted my invitation, I would have probably regretted it."
The more he spoke, the more awkward he felt. He lowered his voice and said, "Su Yu, I would like to apologize for what I did in the past. In truth, after the previous monthly exam, I understood that you are definitely deserving of being a high-high student. I was merely finding it hard to accept. After all, Nanyuan is such a poor city...cough, cough. Excuse me..."
"It's fine." Su Yu smiled, "It's normal. Even in Nanyuan, I would think that I am better than those living in the outskirts of the city. Even if someone truly amazing appears from the outskirts, I would probably think that I am still better. This is a completely normal mindset."
"Su Yu." Hu Zongji said, "You didn't have to hold back during the match. I heard others comparing you against the previous participants like Xia Chan. They said that you...anyway, I believe you are definitely no weaker than those people."
Su Yu gently said, "It's fine. We are old acquaintances so I naturally needed to give you a special treatment. It doesn't matter what they think about me. I won't lose anything. I'll wait until I meet someone from the single character faction. At that time, I'll show them what fury means. I will also use that opportunity to show others how strong you are for being able to last five minutes against me."
Instead of feeling humiliated, Hu Zongji felt excited upon hearing those words, "Then I'll have to keep my eyes peeled. I was planning to leave, but now, I'll stay and wait. Hopefully, your next opponent is from the single character faction. This time, don't hold back and crush that opponent. I believe you're very strong."
Su Yu nodded.
...
Meanwhile, Liu Hong had an odd look in his eyes.
Damn it!
What was this kid trying to do?
He was a student from Nanyuan, a member of the multiple character faction, someone everyone should hate. Yet he was actually doing so well in the academy?
Even now, the intermediate class students were still calling Su Yu their class monitor. Meanwhile, their actual new class monitor was being addressed by his name.
As for the senior class, the ex enemies of this fellow were probably going to turn into his sworn brothers soon. Even that stupid student of his was already viewing Su Yu as a brother. Just what was up with all that?
Xia Huyou, Wu Lan, Zheng Yunhui, Hu Zongji, Lin Yao...
The people who should have been his enemies were now so friendly with him that they might as well be brothers. Liu Hong rubbed his temple. Was this fellow trying to become the king of social connections?
Hu Zongji and the others were truly worthless. After being defeated by Su Yu, for some reason, they all felt grateful toward him. What was wrong with them?
Liu Hong was completely speechless. Meanwhile, Wu Qi was also paying close attention to Su Yu. After a while, she asked, "If you're him, what would you do next?"
Liu Hong blurted, "Displaying both ruthlessness and gentleness at the same time."
...
Wu Qi smiled, "I understand. People like Hu Zongji can be roped in and turned into his friend. People he can't rope in will be instantly crushed to demonstrate his strength. That way, Hu Zongji will be filled with gratitude toward him while his enemies will fear him more. Is that what you mean?"
Liu Hong laughed dryly, "That was only a random guess."
"No, I believe that's exactly what he has in mind." Wu Qi said, "Definitely. Because both of you are the same type of people. Let’s give him a chance. Among the new students of the single character faction, Lin Yao is the perfect opponent for him. Arrange for him to meet Lin Yao next..."
Liu Hong coughed. That wouldn't work. After all...Lin Yao had already defected to Su Yu's side.
"No, let Zheng Hong go." Liu Hong smiled, "He's aiming to crush his opponent, right? But it would be too boring to let his plan go smoothly. Let Zheng Hong fight him and foil his plan. His reputation would be completely ruined."
After all, Su Yu had spent five minutes defeating Hu Zongji. If he was defeated by Zheng Hong next, everyone would believe that Su Yu was too weak.
Yes. Why should Liu Hong let the kid's plan go through? Damn that kid for imitating him all the time! How shameless! Liu Hong decided to teach Su Yu a lesson and let the kid experience the cruelty of the society.
Wu Qi said, "Zheng Hong? That is one of the eight freaks. If he ends up losing, Su Yu would further solidify his standing. Are you sure?"
"Losing?"
Liu Hong thought about it and decided that he didn't care enough.
After all, if Su Yu could snatch victory and prove his strength, Liu Hong would become even more valuable to the single character faction. And if Su Yu suffered a defeat, others would look down on him even more, giving him more space to grow peacefully. That would also benefit Liu Hong in the long run. He wouldn't lose anything no matter what.
At that thought, Liu Hong smiled and stopped talking. As for manipulating the matches, well, if he couldn't even accomplish something like that, he might as well retire and stop cultivating. That was a simple task.
As for the other researchers present, so what if they noticed what he was doing? Nobody would create trouble for him for the sake of something so trivial. This was never supposed to be a major tournament of the academy. And if a student was strong enough, it wouldn't matter which opponent the student faced.
While he was thinking about all that, Zheng Hong stepped forth. Numerous students exclaimed in surprise. At the same time, Zheng Hong's opponent revealed himself. It was Lin Yao.
Liu Hong covered his face. It was over for Lin Yao. Was this fate's way of helping Su Yu even more?
Lin Yao was not weak. He was a high-high student with 70 percent willpower. Of all the students present, he was definitely strong enough to rank in the top 50. However...he only lasted five seconds.
Zheng Hong opened his eyes indifferently while Lin Yao looked at Zheng Hong with shock, his face pale. Zheng Hong was too strong. He had been defeated instantly.
In the crowd, the other students were also greatly shocked. This was even faster than Xia Chan's fight against Qi Chong. Thus, it was very clear how strong Zheng Hong was.
Everyone knew that Lin Yao wasn't a weakling. Even during the previous monthly examination, he had done decently. His reputation had only dropped recently due to the incident involving Su Yu, but nobody denied that he was a talented and strong student.
...
Liu Hong was completely speechless.
The student allocations of the first round were completely random.
And since his student had suffered such a terrible defeat in Zheng Hong's hands, should he still arrange for Su Yu to meet Zheng Hong?
If Su Yu really ended up winning, he would rise further with Zheng Hong as his stepping stone. No, even Liu Hong himself would be affected as his student had been instantly defeated by Zheng Hong. Thus, Su Yu's victory over Zheng Hong would only make his student look even weaker.
"Can Su Yu win?"
Liu Hong was unsure. A second tier Divine Character was impressive, but Zheng Hong was not to be underestimated. And nobody knew how many Divine Characters Zheng Hong had.
"Forget it."
Liu Hong decided to throw caution to the wind. He wouldn't be too badly affected regardless of the result.
"If Su Yu really ends up winning, would my dumb student worship him even more?"
Suddenly, that possibility crossed Liu Hong's mind. His expression changed again. Damn it! That was very likely to happen! His idiotic student might even think that Su Yu had defeated Zheng Hong to avenge him!