Chapter 332: Sudden Upheaval
Minjiang City Academy had made it this far for a reason.
The instant Qiu Hou’s extraordinary ability activated, Minjiang’s support—who had not appeared in the 1v1 stage—immediately unleashed his own power.
A faint sound of wind swept across the arena.
Xu Zhi felt her vision blur for a split second, as if a gale had forced her eyes shut. The world before her became indistinct.
She immediately realized—it was the opponent’s ability.
Yet her [Eyes of Peering Secrets] remained open. Though the scene looked hazy, she could still clearly “see” the extraordinary energy flowing through everyone on the field.
And she saw Minjiang’s main carry charging straight toward Qiu Hou.
Unlike Xigong City Academy, they had no intention of dealing with her—the “useless” one—first.
They were going straight for Qiu Hou.
“Qiu Hou, danger!” Xu Zhi called out.
Long accustomed to what each of Xu Zhi’s commands meant in battle, Qiu Hou and Su Ran reacted instantly. Realizing someone was cutting in on him, Qiu Hou retreated several steps, positioning himself between Su Ran and Xu Zhi to ensure immediate support.
His vision was still blurred. He could barely track the opponent.
Qiu Hou’s [Seal] could only target one extraordinary at a time. Its tyrannical effect came with harsh conditions. Even now, he didn’t choose to withdraw the seal to instead block the vision-distorting ability.
That was trust.
Trust in his teammates—and discipline in executing orders.
If necessary, Xu Zhi would have told him to withdraw it. She hadn’t.
Which meant the danger didn’t warrant altering their offensive plan.
Everything seemed normal on the surface.
Minjiang’s support was indeed formidable. He was a rare [Moth]-attribute extraordinary. His power didn’t merely interfere with vision—it distorted the opponent’s five senses.
However, his level wasn’t high enough yet. For now, he could only affect one sense at a time—though it worked on multiple targets simultaneously. Even that alone was powerful.
His second ability disrupted a target’s perception of distance.
Using both abilities together, he and his teammates barely managed to save their heavily wounded [Heart] player from Chu Xiaoyue’s assault.
But even so, that Heart was gravely injured.
Meanwhile, thanks to his own vigilance, Su Ran’s assistance, and Xu Zhi’s warning, Qiu Hou repelled the enemy’s main carry at only a light cost.
Light injury in exchange for heavy injury.
At first glance, a profitable trade.
But not really—Minjiang had two [Heart] players.
“It seems Minjiang’s support is quite troublesome. Perhaps they should eliminate him first?” a commentator speculated.
“Not easy. Minjiang has two Heart players. Combined with that support’s defensive utility, killing him would be extremely difficult.”
“Lian City’s support can raise resistance to interference, but not fully dispel it. Purification isn’t her specialty. Continuously eating debuffs isn’t sustainable. They’ll need either full removal—or to apply debuffs in return.”
Almost as if responding—
Chu Xiaoyue, having just retreated, gently tapped the tip of her longsword to the ground.
Her silver-white pupils flickered, snowflake-like patterns flashing briefly within.
Crystals bloomed from where the blade touched.
They spread—rapidly.
Within a single second, frost covered the entire arena.
A chill visibly filled the air.
This was a Domain-type ability.
Overpowered.
It was the reason Xu Zhi occasionally called Chu Xiaoyue a “beast.”
Domains could not be broken by external force.
The only way to end one was to defeat the caster—or overwhelm it with a stronger domain. But domain abilities were exceedingly rare.
Even someone several minor levels stronger had to obey this rule—unless they were an entire major life rank above the caster, in which case raw power could shatter it.
Otherwise?
Defeat the user.
Chu Xiaoyue’s Domain was tailor-made.
Within it allies gained increased speed and enhanced perception. Chu Xiaoyue herself sensed everything within its bounds and gained nearly a 10% all-stat boost.
Enemies, slowed movement, reduced perception, continuous energy drain to resist frost invasion and energy depletion meant freezing.
There were other ways to break Minjiang’s formation.
But this was the simplest and most brutal.
After the Domain deployed, the tide turned decisively.
Xu Zhi didn’t even need to act.
The previously “even” battle became a crushing one-sided assault.
Wounds and blood multiplied across Minjiang’s members.
At first glance, nothing unusual.
But as Xu Zhi watched the blood flowing from them, she felt an intense sense of wrongness.
It was real blood. Fresh. Warm. Steaming.
Yet—
Something was off.
“Stop creating wounds. Go for instant kills!”
Xu Zhi ordered.
She couldn’t pinpoint the problem. Even [Eyes of Peering Secrets] detected nothing abnormal.
But she trusted her instincts.
Though confused, her teammates obeyed immediately. They stopped inflicting random injuries and instead sought decisive strikes.
However—
Minjiang’s Hearts were healing at full force.
So why was the blood flow increasing?
Their uniforms were soaked.
Each of them looked like a walking corpse bathed in crimson.
Even as they ran and resisted, it was as if the Hearts’ healing powers didn’t exist. Open wounds continued spilling blood until they were practically transformed into “blood figures.”
And then—
Xu Zhi saw it.
The churning blood seemed to establish a connection with their beating hearts.
At the brink of death, faces twisted in agony, something inside their chests pulsed irregularly.
Then—
Like a seed watered into germination.
Like hidden code triggered.
A tender red sprout “grew” from their hearts.
Thin red tendrils extended outward, using blood as conduits, spreading rapidly across their bodies.
“Fall back!” Xu Zhi shouted immediately.
The moment they heard the command, her teammates disengaged and retreated without hesitation.
No greed.
No delay.
Once beside her, they meant to ask what happened—but one look at her grave expression stopped them.
They followed her gaze.
And saw something chilling.
Minjiang’s members were completely covered in blood.
Not because of excessive cruelty from Lian City. They hadn’t deliberately drenched them.
Yet as the fresh, steaming blood glistened, for a split second it was as if static snow flickered before their eyes—
Like glimpsing a source of contamination.
Then, before countless spectators—
Blood began pouring from Minjiang’s members in torrents, as if inexhaustible.
Their mouths opened in agonized, desperate cries.
“…We didn’t torture them, right?” Qiu Hou muttered, his fox-like eyes narrowing.
“Withdraw the Domain,” Xu Zhi ordered.
The red tendrils were creeping toward their brains.
If they reached—
They would fall into corruption.
Into Believers of the Cup.
Once that happened, the league officials would intervene. The conspiracy would be exposed. Regulatory forces would breach Chu Xiaoyue’s Domain anyway.
Better to retract it now.
As the Domain dissipated, Minjiang’s members continued screaming.
Confusion filled their eyes.
They didn’t understand what was happening—only that something horrifying was unfolding within them.
This change was unprecedented.
Unplanned.
Not desired.
A strange power surged.
Because of the transformation?
They felt stronger.
Perhaps—if like this—they could win!
Maybe this change wasn’t so bad—
Wait.
No.
Not just the body.
Their thoughts were being stripped away.
The Minjiang members looked down at the blood churning at their feet—almost alive.
As students of Minjiang—the first city where the [Cup] had manifested—repeatedly warned about danger—
They realized what was happening.
But how?
They had never made contact with the Cup.
They were Minjiang’s hope.
They absolutely could not—here, at the league finals, before countless cameras and live broadcasts—
Become the Cup’s believers.
Agony and struggle twisted across their faces.
They tried to shout—but no words came.
They watched teammates being assimilated.
Their own thoughts growing hazy.
A sense of “belonging” and “recognition” surfaced in their minds.
Despair filled their expressions.
It was over.
They knew—
They could no longer reject the Cup.
A craving rose within.
No—
A rightful craving.
What awaited them might be elimination by league authorities.
And what awaited Minjiang City… might not be much better.
Who?
Who could conceal such a scheme from the league?
To orchestrate their public corruption with such perfect timing and secrecy—
This wasn’t mere knowledge of the Cup.
Someone—
Was colluding with it.
