Chapter 43

“Is this over?” Wu Haoxuan couldn’t believe it.

“Did you expect something else?” Yuan Hanshuang shrugged. “For a talented individual to be admitted to the Silver Star Academy, representing the cream of the crop among peers of the same level, not to mention that the opponents are of a lower level than us. If we can’t win, those talented individuals who failed the entrance exam will probably cry.”

In the underground fighting scene, those with low rankings are mostly self-taught, only encountering professionally trained experts after reaching higher levels. The Gold rank is still a long way from Diamond, and Yuan Hanshuang could easily surpass it even with her eyes closed, lacking any real technical skill.

Normally, encountering an opponent with such a lack of skill and falling behind by several levels would have made Yuan Hanshuang, who usually only thinks about making money to fill her stomach, extremely happy. However, in the current situation, it might not necessarily be a good thing.

On the fighting stage, Xuan Yuansheng was still shouting, “I haven’t even had a chance to enjoy myself, and it’s already over!”

“Yeah, I haven’t even drawn my second card yet!”

Unable to use his second skill, Wu Haoxuan also started talking nonsense with his eyes closed, “My luck is off the charts today. If I draw, it’s definitely going to be an SSR. They don’t even give me a chance to show off, sigh.”

Yuan Hanshuang: “.”

You’re just making it up. Do you think I don’t know? Even if you draw ten times, you might not get an SSR.

She put her hands in her pockets and quietly turned around.

“Let’s go, onto the next match.”

Unlike the optimism on the faces of others, Yuan Hanshuang’s eyes held a sense of gravity.

After a team battle, too much had been exposed.

Let’s wait a little longer, Yuan Hanshuang thought.

Some things are better experienced firsthand rather than being pointed out directly, to test one’s mettle.

Soon, after waiting for a few minutes, they were matched with new opponents.

Unfortunately, this time the opponents showed no improvement, still at the Gold rank. To be honest, opponents at this rank posed no challenge at all, it was like a walk in the park.

As expected, the situation was exactly the same as the previous match, and the team quickly ended the game within ten minutes.

Following that were the third, fourth, and fifth matches.

After winning five matches in a row, the underground system also took notice of this team, which had maintained a 100% win rate since its establishment, and recommended it to new viewers on the live broadcast screen.

The five consecutive wins directly elevated Xia Mengrou and Xuan Yuansheng’s badges from bronze to silver.

Receiving the upgraded badges, Xia Mengrou felt a bit dazed, “This is my first time playing in a team match. It didn’t feel as scary as I imagined, it was quite fun.”

“Of course! Our team is invincible. We achieved such results on our first cooperation!” Xuan Yuansheng exclaimed.

Looking at the steadily increasing amount of money, Wu Haoxuan was ecstatic, “Five consecutive wins, incredible! I think we can crush the Imperial Military Academy next week!”

Even the usually composed Ke Junda started to boast, “I think so too!”

If he was like this, others were even more boastful, except for Gu Dong, who always maintained his usual expressionless demeanor.

Xuan Yuansheng had always been a high-spirited character.

In these few rounds, he was absolutely fierce on the field, with a strong desire to attack, “Let’s go, onto the next match!”

As they entered the matchmaking queue, Wu Haoxuan smacked his lips, “Now, after entering the matchmaking queue, Wu Haoxuan smacked his lips and said, “Now that our team is all above Silver, we won’t be matched with Iron-level teams next, will we?”

“What’s the big deal about Iron level?” Xuan Yuansheng was ecstatic. “Iron level is just stable at Tier Four. In our team, three main attackers are at Tier Four, and there’s even one at the peak of Tier Four. You also have a passive skill, Ke Junda just needs to protect Xia Mengrou, and there’s no pressure in the back row. We can output with confidence and wreak havoc.”

Yuan Hanshuang once again: “.”

The familiar words couldn’t help but remind people of someone’s arrogance before a sword fight, boasting about teaching her boxing. Sometimes, confidence is a good thing, but too much of it, like Xuan Yuansheng now, just makes him look like he’s asking for trouble.

At least for now, Yuan Hanshuang secretly hoped to encounter a stronger opponent soon, to expose the fatal weaknesses of their makeshift team that had been evident since the first match.

Exposing the problem now is better than being completely overwhelmed by the Imperial Military Academy in the competition.

Perhaps hearing Yuan Hanshuang’s prayer, the light screen flashed.

“Ding, matched with Iron team [Ah Yes Team], both teams please proceed to the fighting stage!”

Wu Haoxuan: “Hey, they really are an Iron team.”

Xuan Yuansheng had a characteristic trait; he was not arrogant, but he often led the entire team astray. For example, now, the whole team was extremely inflated, thinking it would be a piece of cake to challenge an Iron-level team.

This ability would be useful in commanding large-scale war battles, but when it came to leading a small team…

The group arrived at the fighting stage.

After their upgrade, the fighting stage had transformed from a simple arena into a dreamy upgraded version. The surroundings were expanded using spatial expansion technology, realistically displaying the audience stands, with people bustling and whispering above.

Of course, these spectators couldn’t be present at the scene. After the underground fighting arena was recommended to the live broadcast room, anyone with the underground app could directly watch the fights. With the use of environmental simulation, the atmosphere was further enhanced.

It was evident that there were too many spectators for this match. They were still a rookie team, and having a three-digit viewership for a game was already impressive, but now there were at least five digits in the audience.

Yuan Hanshuang paid attention and found that they were indeed there for the opposing team.

“Ah Yes Team matched with a rookie team? Five matches with a 100% win rate, wow!”

“Look, there are two diamonds in the team, probably boosting the matchmaking.”

“Two diamonds at Tier Four? Quite rare. There’s also a Tier Four beginner. Could it be that they reached diamond by boosting in team matches?”

“We, Ah Yes Team, are the boosting killers! If we win this match, we should advance to diamond in the next one. Let’s go, let’s quickly crush this despicable boosting team!”

Hearing the audience’s discussion, Yuan Hanshuang was delighted.

As expected, as soon as they entered the stage, six burly men from the opposing team jumped out, all at Tier Four, and to top it off, they raised their arms during the countdown, showing off their bulging muscles.

Seeing Ah Yes Team’s classic opening move, the audience erupted in excitement.

“Go! Ah Yes Team, the burly men squad, crush them!”

“Let’s go, Ah Yes Team, the burly men squad, crush them!”

The atmosphere was electric as the match was about to begin.

“Take down the shameless boosting group, it’s everyone’s responsibility!”

“Today, my friends, I’ve placed a bet on you. You must win brilliantly and beautifully.”

“Oh, this.” Xuan Yuansheng pondered, “Should we also come up with an opening move next time?”

Xia Mengrou was the first to object sharply, “No way! It’s too lacking in elegance!”

“We don’t necessarily have to copy their pose,” Xuan Yuansheng suggested. “We could do a hands-on-chest, chin up, look ahead, wow, I’ve imagined it, that scene would definitely be cool!”

Seeing that none of them had any sense of crisis and were still chatting and joking around, Yuan Hanshuang felt a twinge of anxiety.

As expected, without hesitation, Ah Yes Team launched a fierce attack right from the start.

At the first encounter, Xuan Yuansheng’s confident smile turned into a frown, “Six melee fighters?!”

That’s right, the burly men squad on the opposing team was not the ideal team composition.

They didn’t follow the traditional team formation, but instead went all out with six melee fighters. What’s even more outrageous is that these six melee fighters showed no sportsmanship at all. After the match began, they all activated their skills and charged in with their fists swinging.

Seeing another team falling into the trap, the audience burst into laughter, “Haha, another team that didn’t do their homework, starting off with a head-on collision.”

“This is hilarious, a regular team composition engaging in direct combat with six melee fighters, aren’t they asking for trouble?”

Fortunately, although Xuan Yuansheng was confident, he hadn’t completely lost his sanity, “Everyone, fall back!”

It was evident that the internal issues within the team had not been resolved, leading to a lingering sluggishness in the first match. If in the first round, they had managed to overpower their opponents with exceptional skill, compensating for this slight misstep. However, when facing a well-trained and exceptionally coordinated team, this flaw would be greatly magnified, and the opponents would seize upon it and break through.

“Protect the backline!”

In the rush, Yuan Hanshuang only managed to say a sentence before facing a Tier Four advanced opponent.

“A Tier Four beginner in Diamond?”

This opponent had clearly also been through numerous battles and did not underestimate her due to the two-level difference. Instead, they were cautious because she was only a Tier Four beginner and had already reached the rank of Diamond as a fighter.

Honestly, dealing with a Tier Four advanced opponent was challenging for Yuan Hanshuang, but not entirely impossible. In the 1v1 matches she played to advance to Diamond, most of her opponents were at the peak of Tier Four, and she had lost several times before barely climbing to Diamond.

Coincidentally, Yuan Hanshuang was using the match to hone the team’s skills and was not in a hurry to determine the outcome with her opponent.

On the other side, Xuan Yuansheng also faced a Tier Four opponent.

Both melee fighters engaged with a Tier Four opponent, leaving four other melee fighters charging towards the backline defended by Ke Junda.

Seeing this, Wu Haoxuan, in a panic, quickly used an N-card on the opposing team. Unfortunately, his N-card could only weaken one person’s strength. Not only did he fail to address the three burly men, but he also inadvertently exposed his passive ability and was swiftly eliminated without a word.

With an S-level mimicry, Xuan Yuansheng’s individual combat capability was naturally outstanding. However, after swiftly dealing with his own opponent, he turned around to find that their backline had completely collapsed.

The following events need not be elaborated upon.

After dealing with the backline, Ah Yes Team turned to handle the melee fighters.

Despite Xuan Yuansheng’s genius, he couldn’t single-handedly battle three opponents of equal or higher level.

After a fierce onslaught, the Silver Star Reapers harvested a complete defeat of the entire team.

Upon the announcement of the result, the team members, contrary to their previous inflated demeanor, hung their heads in disappointment.

Only Yuan Hanshuang breathed a sigh of relief in her heart, “Let’s go, let’s have a post-match debriefing on our failure.”

If they had continued winning, given their earlier frivolous attitude, they probably wouldn’t have been receptive. Now, after losing, feeling dejected, they were more likely to reflect.

As they descended from the fighting stage, Yuan Hanshuang heard a meaningful voice from above, “In six matches, you didn’t give it your all in a single one.”

Turning around, the tall and lean assassin quietly gazed ahead, as if the words just spoken were a figment of her imagination.

She smiled, “Touché.”

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