Chapter 346: Xiao Xu’s Annoyance
Chu Xiaoyue didn’t need reminding—she could judge everything through the feedback of her domain. It was only the rear line that required a bit more attention.
Xu Zhi split her focus, bringing her blade down in a single strike against the opponent’s raised giant axe.
The clash of weapons produced a sharp, grating screech. Xu Zhi’s grip on her blade was steady, her stance far from casual. With a downward twist of her wrist, the force she exerted pressed the arm of the [Forge]-attribute opponent slightly downward.
“…What a heavy strike.”
He was inwardly shocked, wondering whether Xu Zhi had used some kind of extraordinary enhancement.
Was it support from her teammates?
Or another one of her own abilities?
He never once considered that this might be Xu Zhi’s own strength.
After all, even a genius like Jiang Qing couldn’t possess such pure physical power as a [Lamp]-attribute.
A trace of disdain flickered in his eyes. He raised the giant axe with both hands. The intricate patterns on the axe shaft—made of extraordinary material—lit up as energy surged into it. Then he brought it down in a single cleaving strike, the wind howling sharply with its descent!
Xu Zhi saw the activation of his ability. She knew he had used it—its effect was simple: precision.
It reminded her of that “Archbishop.” His heavy strikes were unavoidable. She had suffered greatly because of that, every bone in her body once crushed to powder.
Compared to that Archbishop, the opponent before her seemed far greener.
But she herself was no longer who she used to be, so Xu Zhi didn’t lower her guard. Switching to a two-handed grip, she made no attempt to dodge.
Since it was hard to evade—then she simply wouldn’t.
“Bang!”
The violent collision drew everyone’s attention. Xu Zhi’s knuckles turned pale from the force she applied, yet the anticipated scene—this seemingly frail freshman being split in two—never came.
Her slender blade held firm, blocking the massive axe descending from above. Sparks scattered across her cheek, briefly illuminating her pale gray eyes. Her legs bent slightly, dispersing the impact and force so that her body barely wavered. She had taken the full-powered blow head-on.
“Incredible!!”
The commentator shouted.
“Never before has anyone taken Jian Fei’s full-force strike and remained completely unmoved! And now it’s happening—on a freshman!”
“Was it assistance from her teammates?”
Even Jian Fei himself found it hard to accept. But Xu Zhi gave him no time to recover. The blade bracing his axe suddenly withdrew, and her figure flickered like a ghost, appearing instantly at his side.
“So fast! How can Xu Zhi be this fast?! Jian Fei didn’t even react—this is bad!”
But just as she raised her blade to strike, a slash of “light” halted her movement.
With a clang, her blade was stopped—despite not touching any tangible object.
“Tch.”
Irritation flashed through Xu Zhi’s eyes. This was the troublesome part of domain-type abilities—everything within the domain was laid bare to Jiang Qing. Even while entangled with Chu Xiaoyue, she could spare attention to assist her teammates.
But facing Chu Xiaoyue, even the slightest distraction was dangerous.
Ice pierced through Jiang Qing’s arm. President Chu’s usually calm expression shifted slightly.
“You still have the mind to care about your teammates? Seems my ability isn’t enough to make you go all out.”
Jiang Qing felt a hint of unease upon hearing that. Chu Xiaoyue’s aggression was simply too overwhelming. With her teammates’ support, she shouldn’t have been so tied down—but having one of her skills sealed did irritate her.
The teammate assigned to deal with Qiu Hou had been intercepted by Shu Yushan. Jian Fei was locked in combat with that unexpectedly formidable freshman. Jiang Qing herself couldn’t free her hands for the moment, and their healer and support naturally couldn’t charge into the enemy ranks.
Jiang Qing narrowed her golden eyes slightly. This battle had already gone beyond what the instructors had anticipated. The biggest variable… was that freshman.
No one had expected her to stand against Jian Fei without falling behind. Yet Jiang Qing had a strange feeling—
Her potential didn’t stop there.
A flash crossed her vision—Jian Fei having half his palm sliced off by that freshman.
Jiang Qing had no intention of letting her teammates be injured first. She stepped back decisively and, before Chu Xiaoyue could catch up, closed her golden eyes.
In that instant, Xu Zhi sensed something wrong. She abandoned her attack and turned toward Jiang Qing. Through the [Eye of Secret], she saw the surging [Lamp]-attribute energy around her and immediately shouted to her teammates:
“Protect yourselves!”
The next moment, golden threads filled the arena in chaotic patterns, like taut steel wires. They pierced through everyone present, forming a dense web that enveloped the battlefield. No corner was spared.
They were merely strands of “light”—but no one would treat them as mere light now.
“It’s here! Jiang Qing’s devastating AOE attack, developed in combination with her domain ability!”
As the commentator spoke excitedly, without warning, the golden threads suddenly snapped.
Xu Zhi seemed to hear the sound of a fine guqin crashing to the ground, its strings breaking one by one—followed by intense pain, like steel needles piercing into her body.
If visible to the naked eye, one would see that every point where the “light” pierced Xu Zhi—inside and out—formed hollow gaps, as if truly punctured. Her body was riddled with tiny holes, as though powerful bullets had passed through her skin and flesh, exiting from the other side.
Chu Xiaoyue and Su Ran were covered in a thin layer of ice. The light shattered the ice but failed to harm them. Qiu Hou disrupted the surrounding extraordinary energy and barely avoided vital damage, sustaining only minor injuries. Shu Yushan spun his spear, its shaft forming a phantom-like barrier.
Only Xu Zhi took the attack head-on.
“Generally speaking, Jiang Qing uses this move to create openings rather than to kill. Although it’s a high-damage AOE, there are many ways to evade it. But this freshman from Lian City didn’t take any evasive action?!”
“Her teammates didn’t assist her either—she appears to be severely injured!”
As the commentator spoke in astonishment, the broadcast camera focused on Xu Zhi.
The glasses that had long rested on her nose suddenly shattered—destroyed by the “light.” Her beautiful gray eyes, previously hidden behind them, were revealed to the audience. Whether due to Jiang Qing’s domain sunlight or something else, a faint golden glow shimmered within them.
Perhaps by coincidence, all her injuries were on her limbs and torso. Blood flowed from the horrifying puncture wounds. Xu Zhi assessed her condition, then said:
“So this is another way to attack. I’ve learned something.”
“Though the power’s a bit lacking.”
As her words fell, the extraordinary energy clinging to her wounds—burning them and preventing healing—quietly dissipated. The ghastly holes across her body began to close at a visible rate.
Despite the damage to her limbs and torso, she could still lift her blade, cleanly and decisively blocking Jian Fei’s opportunistic strike.
“How are you still able to move?!”
Jian Fei couldn’t understand. Based on her injuries, the muscles and bones in her limbs should have been completely pierced through. With such wounds, she shouldn’t be able to react this quickly, let alone block with such steady strength.
Xu Zhi didn’t even glance at him as she parried, as if his question wasn’t worth answering. Yet Jian Fei genuinely couldn’t comprehend it. Even for extraordinary beings, such penetrating injuries to bones and muscles should make fluid movement and force application impossible.
Unless one was a battle-hardened monster, someone who had endured countless injuries and could precisely control every state of their body.
He didn’t believe Xu Zhi was that kind of person.
Xu Zhi, however, simply stared silently at her shattered glasses on the ground. Then she lifted her head, showing the strongest emotion she had displayed since stepping onto the stage:
“That was careless. I’ve worn glasses for so long, I forgot I still had them on my face.”
“These glasses… I bought them on debt.”
She sounded both annoyed—and a little irritated.
