Chapter 351: What Were You Pretending For?
But probably no one would believe that the two academies had never once played a proper scrimmage against each other.
It wasn’t until the finals that they learned what kind of ability the Council Academy had hidden as their main carry. And only now did the other side finally realize just what kind of trump card Xu Zhi was.
“They actually dare to challenge us directly?”
Tongzhou let out a scoff, finding the opponent rather overconfident.
So what if their main carry had a [Moth] attribute?
He didn’t believe they could beat his team.
Besides, he still held a grudge—he hadn’t forgotten how the Council Academy had arranged a scrimmage only to back out at the last minute and send in substitutes, wasting everyone’s time.
“No matter what they’re thinking, don’t let your guard down.”
“This round, Qiu Hou rests. Tongzhou, you’re up.”
Qiu Hou’s [Initiation] attribute was more easily disrupted when facing a stronger [Moth], preventing him from performing at full capacity. Tongzhou, on the other hand, was straightforward and stubborn. As a [Forge], he had stronger resistance—or rather, he was slower to be affected, making him less susceptible to [Moth] interference.
“Got it!”
Tongzhou grinned from ear to ear. With Xu Zhi around, he rarely got to play in high-intensity matches. Now that he finally had the chance, he was determined to seize it.
“Director Xi, can we put Ji Muge in for this match? Let Senior Su Ran rest too.”
Xu Zhi suddenly spoke up.
Xi Min looked at her in surprise and didn’t agree immediately. “Why?”
Xu Zhi raised her wrist, revealing the black Xiao Yi. “I’m not affected by [Moth], and I can help my teammates stay clear-headed. I want to fight a crushing battle.”
In simple terms, she could use her “word spirit” ability to increase her teammates’ resistance to [Moth]. Combined with Xiao Yi, they could field six offensive positions and bulldoze straight through the match.
“You’re confident?” Xi Min confirmed.
“Of course.” Xu Zhi nodded, raising a finger. “With Xiao Yi and me together, we can kill their main carry within one minute.”
“And the rest of you?” Xi Min looked to the others.
But the team, long accustomed to following Xu Zhi’s lead, had no objections.
Ji Muge, in particular, nodded eagerly.
“Alright. If you all agree, we’ll do it. But you’ll bear the consequences if it fails.”
Xi Min gave her approval.
Tongzhou let out an excited shout—he’d been itching to take down the Council Academy for a long time!
A match like this—if they could crush the opponent head-on—it would be incredibly satisfying.
“Hmph, they looked down on us, wouldn’t even bother with a scrimmage. Let’s teach them a proper lesson!”
Several teammates nodded lightly.
“A rare intra-city match! Does LianTu City City Academy have some hidden confidence? Right now, Lian City Academy’s lineup looks very hard to break through.”
The commentators speculated before the match.
“Lingzhou Academy won’t settle for sixth—they’ll at least challenge second place. And Lingzhou City Academy probably won’t challenge Lingzhou Academy, since both sides know each other well. But what’s going on with LianTu City?”
“Could it be that LianTu City City Academy is still hiding something?!”
[Still hiding what?]
[Maybe a plane ticket home after they lose.]
[Honestly, if they fail this challenge, that’ll be awkward.]
[In an internal match, shouldn’t both sides already know each other’s strength? Win and you become legendary—lose and…]
Before the match even started, the discussion had already exploded.
After all, no one expected that these two teams from the same city were actually so unfamiliar with each other.
“Oh! Lian City Academy has adjusted their lineup—Qiu Hou of the [Initiation] attribute is out, and Tongzhou of the [Forge] attribute is in.”
“That’s a solid substitution. [Initiation] is more sensitive to extraordinary effects, and since the opponent’s main carry is [Moth], [Forge] is indeed a better choice.”
“But why replace a higher-level [Heart] with a substitute [Heart]? What’s the reasoning there?”
“Looking at past data, the substitute [Heart] has a very unique ability. She doesn’t specialize in healing at all—she’s an offensive type. That means LianTu City has no support role whatsoever now, and only Xu Zhi remains as a kind of auxiliary!”
“Xu Zhi can also be considered an offensive unit. Lian City Academy is going for a full crushing strategy! And they’re using this lineup in an internal match—this shows incredible confidence!”
“The match begins—let’s see how both sides perform!”
At the very moment the match started, Xu Zhi released Xiao Yi without hesitation.
The black snake, perfectly attuned to her will, needed no verbal command and shot straight toward Chu Minghe.
At the same time, Chu Xiaoyue, Tongzhou, Shu Yushan, and Ji Muge all charged forward.
Together with Xu Zhi and Xiao Yi, it was essentially six offensive players surging forward in a direct assault.
With the [Eye of Secret], plus a slight “cheat” of her own—having a [Moth] pathway within her body—Xu Zhi’s resistance to [Moth] had reached a level where she wouldn’t be easily affected. Even though Chu Minghe’s ability was special and powerful, unfortunately for her—
She was facing Xu Zhi.
“Oh! We can see that Xu Zhi has revealed another extraordinary ability she’s never used before!”
“That black snake is one of her abilities! It’s already been verified by the tournament—it’s not a contracted creature!”
“It’s too fast! The naked eye can barely track it before it reaches the opponent!”
“It’s growing larger! A single tail sweep has completely disrupted LianTu City City Academy’s formation!”
[Oh my god…]
[Are you kidding me? A freshman, a long-lived one, with three abilities—and all of them this useful?!]
[That snake is insane. Who said Xu Zhi lacked direct offensive methods? There it is!]
[That one strike almost wiped out their support—how are they supposed to fight now?]
[Everyone’s been hiding their strength—but the one hiding the most was this freshman.]
After breaking the enemy formation, Xiao Yi focused entirely on chasing Chu Minghe. The massive snake body made it difficult for her to dodge—and she soon realized something shocking:
Her [Moth] ability couldn’t control the snake.
Was this a joke? How high was its resistance?
What she didn’t realize was that it wasn’t Xiao Yi’s own resistance—it was because its master was a far stronger [Moth], boosting its resistance enormously.
Even if Chu Minghe could evade Xiao Yi, she couldn’t escape Xu Zhi.
In terms of coordination, Xu Zhi and her familiar were unmatched. Under their combined assault, Chu Minghe realized in despair that she barely had any room to use her abilities.
Their raw physical power alone was enough to crush her.
And Xu Zhi’s [Lamp] attribute made her immune to confusion.
As for physical combat—
She was just a fragile [Moth].
There was no way she could stand against them head-on.
For the first time, Chu Minghe felt a trace of resentment toward her teachers.
They had told her Lian City Academy wasn’t worth taking seriously—that they shouldn’t reveal their strength. That was why they hadn’t taken the scrimmage seriously.
If they had known this would happen…
But regret meant nothing now.
And so, the audience—who had been eagerly anticipating this match—watched as the finals stage produced yet another brutal one-sided slaughter.
It was one of the shortest matches in finals history.
There was little exchange of abilities—just flesh and blood colliding. Lian City Academy moved like ruthless killing machines, crushing their opponents relentlessly.
The opposing team tried to resist—
But it made little difference.
Without a support role, LianTu City fought like unleashed wild hounds—willing to tear off a piece of the enemy even while injured.
Savage. Relentless.
[Was this always their style???]
[Ten-year fan here—absolutely not. They used to be elegant.]
[Then what happened now???]
[…Pretty sure it’s because of that freshman.]
[The team’s style now is exactly like her.]
[They’ve been completely influenced.]
[Team style follows the core. Whoever the core is determines the entire team’s temperament.]
[So we were all wrong—the core isn’t Chu Xiaoyue, it’s Xu Zhi?!]
[What the hell—since when is a freshman the core of a team?!]
[Not gonna lie, this style is insanely satisfying to watch!]
[But also kind of terrifying…]
[Yeah…]
Like a tireless monster, endlessly hunting its prey.
The prey could only struggle helplessly, unable to escape the pain.
But the pain didn’t last long—
Because death came quickly.
“LianTu City City Academy can’t hold on any longer!”
“It’s been less than a minute! Their main carry, Chu Minghe, is already severely injured!”
“Xu Zhi isn’t letting her go! Another strike to the neck!”
“Chu Minghe is down!”
“No one expected that the first to fall would be LianTu City City Academy’s main carry!!!”
“Even with four teammates covering her, she couldn’t escape Xu Zhi’s pursuit!”
Amid the commentators’ roaring voices, the match—so eagerly anticipated—ended in a crushing landslide.
And among the observing teams, a chill spread.
“If we went up… could we do better?” someone whispered.
The captain shook his head immediately. “Don’t even think about it. We’d just get crushed even worse.”
The player shuddered, then looked at Lian City Academy on stage as if they were monsters.
What the hell…
If you’re this strong—
What were you pretending for all this time?!
