Chapter 327: Disassembly
Xu Zhi stood up from her seat, smoothed her school uniform, and picked up the long blade she had set aside earlier.
Weapons were allowed in the league—but spatial storage devices were forbidden on stage. Weapons also had to be evaluated to ensure they fell within approved strength limits. After all, the competition was meant to showcase students’ abilities, not their wealth.
Her gun fell into the prohibited category. Although Xu Zhi didn’t think it was particularly powerful, the tournament rules were strict. Only basic, low-functionality cold weapons could be used as support tools.
The moment she rose and followed her teammates out of the preparation area, a wave of cheers erupted from the audience.
A sudden thought crossed her mind:
How much of that applause was for her?
It felt strange.
When the Federation world had collapsed, even her most earth-shattering actions had few witnesses.
Yet here, she was merely heading into a match that meant little to her—and thousands were cheering, anticipating her appearance.
Of course, the two situations weren’t truly comparable. It was just a passing thought. The next second, her mind had already jumped elsewhere.
“What should we eat after the match?” Tong Zhou asked expectantly as they walked toward the stage.
The hotel prepared all sorts of exotic extraordinary creatures and plants as meals for contestants. Recently, Tong Zhou had become obsessed with the “blind box” extraordinary food set, eagerly anticipating what new dish he’d get each day.
Ji Muge rolled his eyes. “Senior, isn’t it a bit early to be thinking about that?”
You call the little devil arrogant big-city trash all day long—yet you’re not much better yourself!
“Too early?”
Tong Zhou leapt up the stage steps in a few strides, then looked at the five opponents approaching from the other side. He flashed a bright, sunny smile.
“Not at all. This match will be over very quickly. If I start thinking now, the timing’s perfect.”
Arrogant.
Unbelievably arrogant.
The opponents clearly heard him. The arena was large, but extraordinary users had sharp hearing. After Tong Zhou’s words, anger flickered across the faces of the five Xigong City Academy team members.
They knew there was a gap between them and Lian City—but that didn’t justify this humiliation.
“Talk less,” Shu Yushan sighed.
One by one, none of you are worry-free.
“We can see both teams are in position. The referee is counting down.”
At the commentary desk, Peak Bro’s voice brimmed with excitement.
“Three, two, one—match start!”
A sharp mechanical whistle pierced the air. The red holographic warning line in front of them vanished instantly.
In perfect unison, Tong Zhou, Shu Yushan, and Ji Muge shot forward like arrows, charging straight at the opposing five.
Xu Zhi did not activate [Secret-Peering Eye].
The arena’s surveillance system was extremely advanced. Even contestants’ extraordinary energy output could be precisely detected and displayed in real time for commentators. Convenient for analysis—but it eliminated all privacy.
If she used her ability, it wouldn’t take long for opponents to analyze it from her data and behavior.
Such was the downside of overly advanced extraordinary technology.
“We can see that this highly anticipated first-year is wielding a Tang saber. There’s nothing special about it—just a standard-issue blade. It seems her close-combat ability may not be outstanding.”
Anyone with strong melee capability usually had a customized weapon—like Tong Zhou’s mace, Ji Muge’s dual blades, or Shu Yushan’s spear.
Qiu Hou went even further—he brought no weapon at all, stepping onto the stage empty-handed.
As a [Qi] attribute user, his extraordinary ability was surprisingly combat-oriented. One of his powers could deconstruct an opponent’s coordination and tacit understanding—turning seamless teamwork into awkward dissonance, breaking synergistic abilities apart, even causing repulsion and internal conflict.
In the three-man frontal assault strategy, his support would be pivotal—potentially shattering the enemy’s defensive line in one stroke.
Standing in front of Xu Zhi, Qiu Hou raised his hands and formed a seal.
With a few smooth gestures, a purple rope suddenly dropped from between his clasped palms. At its center hung a complex knot radiating intense [Qi] attribute energy.
The instant Shu Yushan’s spear thrust toward the Xigong City Academy formation—
The knot hanging from Qiu Hou’s palm began to unravel on its own.
At that exact moment, Xigong City Academy’s carefully constructed defensive formation fell into chaos, inexplicably opening a gap directly in Shu Yushan’s path.
“Xigong City Academy has made a serious mistake!”
Peak Bro shouted. “According to real-time monitoring data, they seem to have been affected by the opponent’s extraordinary ability! An early error like this has completely broken their formation!”
“Shu Yushan is targeting Xigong City Academy’s support player! They’re not prioritizing the healer—what a bold decision!”
“Not only that, they didn’t even field their own healer for team battle! They’re clearly confident they can end this quickly!”
The live chat exploded:
[Arrogant big city team—not even bringing a healer!]
[Two substitutes and no healer? The confidence?!]
[Three-man charge straight into formation? Insane!]
[They’re completely disconnected from the backline. If Xigong City Academy holds steady and sends someone to flank, that support and decorative first-year would get demolished!]
Xigong City Academy’s team had clearly thought the same.
Their commander shouted and raised his weapon to block Shu Yushan’s spear. A faint glow of the [Forge] attribute flickered in his pupils.
Though he blocked the attack, his arm still emitted a sickening series of cracking sounds.
His eyes widened in shock as he looked up at Shu Yushan.
He had anticipated Shu Yushan’s ability—but it still pierced through his defense with ease. If he hadn’t preemptively activated his defensive skill, that single strike would have skewered his body and heart clean through.
On the surface, Shu Yushan had thrust only once.
But the commander distinctly felt as if countless spear tips had stabbed into him simultaneously—driving into bone, shattering it from within.
He couldn’t meet it head-on.
Yet Shu Yushan was relentless. The spear flashed again like lightning.
Ignoring the agony in his arm, the commander hurriedly blocked once more.
One man restraining Shu Yushan alone was barely manageable. But his teammates had their own tasks and couldn’t assist him yet.
He could only endure.
Standing in place and watching the battle unfold—
Xu Zhi suddenly sensed it.
Something…
Had locked onto her.
