Chapter 72

As soon as Fission landed, Zhou Lu Hai activated defense mode, raising the turrets, and fired high-caliber cruising cannons, directly blocking all of Shen Qinglan’s attacks.

“Are you okay?” Zhou Lu Hai asked.

Ji Fu timed the cooling period perfectly and took the weapon out of the cooling liquid.

In the sunlight, the gray-white long-handled giant axe glimmered with a dazzling mechanical sheen.

This superstar-level weapon was approximately 3.75 meters long and weighed 57 kilograms.

Just in terms of weight and size, it was far heavier and larger than ordinary mech heavy weapons.

But as a weapon for a wearable mech, it was absolutely heavyweight.

Previously, when Ji Fu was not using a mech, she was dragging the weapon with mechanical assistance.

The materials used to forge the weapon came from all the mechanical components of the Half-Howling Jing Tian Ape. Ji Fu also incorporated several star-level materials and broken dwarf gilded metal.

Additionally, she added a special potion she had refined at the end.

Ji Fu, piloting Jiaoyue, wielded the weapon, and its weight and size were exactly as she had anticipated, perfectly matching Jiaoyue.

However, the two superstar-level opponents focused more on Zhou Lu Hai’s Fission mech.

Fang Yu’an smirked, “So the mech is indeed in his hands.”

“Just as well, I’ve been wanting to see the difference between Fission and my own Baihong, both being superstar-level mechs.”

Fang Yuan’s ultra-star mecha, Bai Hong, ranked sixteenth on the Tianbang list.

Though it couldn’t compare to mechas like Rose and Fission, it was still considered above average among existing ultra-star mechas.

Fang Yuan, piloting Bai Hong, immediately targeted Fission, unleashing multiple turrets aimed at its head.

Zhou Lu Hai’s eyes darkened.

Shen Qinglan’s mecha ranked higher on the Tianbang list than Fang Yuan’s, and Shen Qinglan himself was a mecha master with undoubtedly many hidden cards.

He intended to draw Shen Qinglan into the battle, but when he looked up, he saw that Ji Fu had already charged forward with Yan Yan.

She calmly said, “You handle Fang Yuan.”

It was clear that Shen Qinglan was coming for her, and she had no intention of dodging.

“As for Wan Feng…”

Wan Feng said softly, “Leave Hanhai’s star-grade mecha to me.”

“Alright.”

Multiple mechas activated simultaneously, and the scene became extraordinarily chaotic.

In previous joint exams, such a grand spectacle wouldn’t be seen until the final test.

Let alone the simultaneous activation of the eighth, twelfth, and sixteenth-ranked ultra-star mechas.

Everyone watching the live stream was extremely excited.

But the most attention-grabbing scene was Ji Fu’s side.

She piloted the speeding Jiao Yue, and Yan Yan, upgraded to Star+, transformed mid-air, its body crashing down towards Shen Qinglan’s head.

[Star+ unmanned mecha, target concealed]

Shen Qinglan’s eyes darkened. In just a few days, Ji Fu had upgraded this unmanned mecha by an entire grade.

The strong interference system equipped on Yan Yan was very aggressive, and the systems on Shen Qinglan’s mecha couldn’t detect its operational trajectory.

But in the face of absolute power, strong interference was of limited use.

Yan Yan disappeared for half a second, and Shen Qinglan immediately activated an indiscriminate bombardment cannon.

With a total of four cannons, it conducted all-around shooting, filling the sky and ground with firelight.

Under the bombardment, Yan Yan had to slow down to evade, but still got grazed by the cannon fire, exposing its operational trajectory.

Shen Qinglan grabbed out of thin air, pulling the concealed Yan Yan from the air.

With a significant power gap, the Star+ mecha’s high-speed movements seemed slow within the ultra-star mecha’s scan range.

With minimal effort, Shen Qinglan caught the evasive unmanned mecha.

Yan Yan went full berserk, turning and firing at the massive mecha. At the same time, high-frequency flashes appeared in Shen Qinglan’s vision.

[Strobe attack, current frequency: 2.5Hz]

A white mecha was flashing towards him at extreme speed.

[Mecha has activated full defense]

Shen Qinglan activated panoramic scanning, calculating Ji Fu’s route, while quickly throwing a punch.

Boom—

The punch grazed Yan Yan’s turret, smashing into its body and shattering the unmanned mecha’s defense system.

[This gap is too large, even Star+ full defense can’t withstand a single hit. Ji Fu’s mecha is only star-grade; facing him head-on, there’s little chance of victory]

Even with ultra-star weapons, they need to be effectively utilized.

Shen Qinglan’s reaction speed and the destructive power of the ultra-star level were too strong.

Even Yan Yan’s agile model couldn’t gain any advantage, and Ji Fu’s wearable mecha was even more fragile than the unmanned one.

Crack.

A faint noise, but Shen Qinglan’s mecha immediately displayed a prompt: [3.2 meters above the right shoulder, abnormal fluctuation]

As soon as the prompt appeared, Shen Qinglan looked up to see Ji Fu wielding a gray-white giant axe, slashing down.

Rumble—

As the mecha leaped and slashed, the world echoed with a deafening roar.

[Warning! Ultra-star heavy weapon!]

Shen Qinglan’s expression changed slightly.

He looked up to see the mechanical giant axe tearing through the sky, creating a space-ripping shockwave.

Everything in the shockwave’s path was reduced to rubble.

It was indeed the power of an ultra-star weapon.

But how did Ji Fu get an ultra-star weapon?

And it even adapted to her mecha.

The shockwave swept over violently, but Shen Qinglan didn’t retreat. As the shockwave approached, he deployed a shield.

An ultra-star+ mechanical shield.

As soon as the shield was raised, Shen Qinglan simultaneously deployed a heavy weapon.

Qinglong Xuanji Cannon.

The cannon was entwined by a coiling azure dragon, with its mouth aligning with the cannon’s muzzle. The dragon wrapped around the long cannon, looking fierce.

Ji Fu’s Jiaoyue displayed a prompt: [Qinglong Xuanji Cannon, ultra-star+ weapon]

Half of Shen Qinglan’s mecha’s high ranking was due to this weapon.

The Qinglong Xuanji Cannon was crafted by an ultra-star+ mecha master, and the dragon entwining it was made from the tendons of the top-tier ultra-star+ beast, Tun Yun.

Ji Fu looked up to see the giant mecha raising the long cannon.

Without hesitation, she activated mecha berserk mode.

Her talent values in the bottom right corner skyrocketed as she initiated full-area strobing, using near-berserk mechanical force to burst away.

The mecha control panel flashed red.

Jiaoyue issued three high-risk alerts in succession.

The Qinglong Xuanji Cannon’s heavy artillery exploded behind her.

In that instant, everything around the impact zone was obliterated, an overwhelming sense of suffocation surged.

Ji Fu narrowly avoided the attack while in a berserk state.

However, Jiaoyue was hit by the intense shockwave and began to crack.

Crack.

With a crisp sound, the body of the white Jiaoyue fractured and was instantly rendered useless.

This was just from the aftershock; the mecha and its defense mode shattered into pieces without a direct hit.

Fortunately, the mecha’s core and system were fast, assembling the black Jiaoyue the moment the white one was damaged.

But as soon as the mecha was rebuilt, a second barrage came down.

From the scene alone, Ji Fu found it extremely difficult to defend, let alone counterattack.

Moreover, she wasn’t a true mecha soldier; such relentless operations drained her energy rapidly.

Just one shot from the Qinglong Xuanji Cannon had already left her panting.

No matter how many Jiaoyue models she had, they couldn’t withstand this kind of consumption.

Continuing to engage would soon lead to her defeat.

Yet Shen Qinglan showed no intention of stopping or slowing his assault.

With a cold glance at those below, he activated the full-scale annihilation mode of the Qinglong Xuanji Cannon.

This mode continuously released long cannon fire without any pause, lasting for five minutes.

Even ultra-star-grade beasts couldn’t withstand such intense roasting.

However, compared to regular long cannons, this mode consumed more energy and ammunition, and the Qinglong Xuanji Cannon would temporarily shut down from overheating after five minutes.

But even so, it was the most effective way to track and eliminate strong enemies.

Since he had taken action, Shen Qinglan aimed to leave no retreat for his opponent.

He activated berserk mode, unlocked the safety of the Qinglong Xuanji Cannon, and completed three verifications.

Then, raising his hand, he released a scorching, twisted flame cannon from the azure long cannon.

The berserk flame cannon emitted a fierce screech, extending its range to pour fire down on Ji Fu’s head.

Surrounded by the roaring flames, Ji Fu suddenly stopped moving.

Unlike before, she didn’t dodge in a berserk manner, watching as her mecha was shattered by heavy artillery.

She didn’t even activate berserk mode.

From her perspective, she saw an apocalyptic scene, countless explosive flame cannons falling, ready to engulf her in the blazing inferno.

[Why isn’t she moving?]

[What the hell, if she doesn’t dodge, she’ll be seriously injured if not dead!]

The live stream chat was flooded with comments, and even the examiners were shocked by the scene.

Just when everyone thought she had given up, Ji Fu deployed Zhan Yue again.

Zhan Yue was the ultra-star weapon she had made earlier. When the Qinglong Xuanji Cannon had been chasing her, she had temporarily put Zhan Yue away.

The weapon was too large to hold while evading.

Now, she took out Zhan Yue, not to attack, but to transform it under everyone’s gaze.

Transforming wasn’t exactly the right word; she folded the massive mechanical axe of Zhan Yue.

The long axe folded into a smooth umbrella-like surface, covering her head.

Countless falling flames exploded on Zhan Yue.

The gray-white weapon turned red under the fierce flame cannon attack.

But strangely, the Qinglong Xuanji Cannon’s powerful penetrating attack, which incinerated everything else, couldn’t reduce Zhan Yue to fragments.

The transformed Zhan Yue, with its umbrella-like surface, shielded Ji Fu entirely, creating a barrier between her and the fiery world.

This barrier not only blocked the falling flame cannon but also absorbed the surrounding suffocating flames, protecting Ji Fu completely.

[???]

The live stream viewers were dumbfounded.

The examiners were in an uproar.

“What’s going on?”

“It doesn’t make sense; the Qinglong Xuanji Cannon can incinerate weapons of the same level to ashes. How can Ji Fu’s weapon, just ultra-star grade, be impenetrable?”

“How is it possible it can’t penetrate?”

Yet, that was the reality.

Not only couldn’t it penetrate, but as Zhan Yue immersed in the flames, a prompt appeared on Ji Fu’s control panel.

[Weapon tempering in progress, tempering progress: 57%]

Everyone who saw this prompt was stunned.

Tempering!?

Was she using the Qinglong Xuanji Cannon to temper her weapon!?

For a moment, everyone was astounded by Ji Fu’s audacity.

They expected her to be eliminated or to evade and join Zhou Lu Hai in fighting Shen Qinglan.

No one expected her to temper her giant axe on the spot using her opponent’s weapon.

Such a bizarre event hadn’t been seen in a hundred years!

And most astonishingly, even ultra-star-grade beasts like the half-roaring Jing Tian Ape couldn’t withstand such intense roasting if it were alive.

Yet Ji Fu managed.

She had added something to Zhan Yue that made it stand firm in the fire.

The tempering progress was rapidly increasing, her progress bar skyrocketing as if turbocharged.

Not only the viewers were shocked.

As soon as Zhan Yue appeared, Shen Qinglan’s panel began flashing with urgent alerts.

[Cannot penetrate! Cannot penetrate!]

The Qinglong Xuanji Cannon, an exceptional weapon acquired by the Shen family at great expense and effort, had never encountered such a situation since coming into Shen Qinglan’s possession.

Shen Qinglan’s face changed dramatically as he quickly moved the Qinglong Xuanji Cannon aside.

The full-scale annihilation mode continued, not yet reaching its five-minute limit.

The cannon couldn’t be shut down temporarily. Amid the rolling heatwaves and distorted space, Shen Qinglan looked up to see Ji Fu’s form.

His expression turned extremely grim.

He immediately drew his mecha’s backup heavy weapon, a top-tier quantum lightsaber. As he grasped the long sword, he raised it to strike.

Unexpectedly, Ji Fu’s progress was stuck at 98%. As the heatwaves dissipated, Jiao Yue ascended.

The flaming mecha that Shen Qinglan had previously struck down had somehow activated strong interference, maneuvering in front of Jiao Yue.

[Activate Mecha Combination]

Mecha combination.

From the beginning, Ji Fu never intended to defeat Shen Qinglan using Jiao Yue or the flaming mecha alone.

She understood the power of ultra-star-grade mechas and the vast gap between them.

She hadn’t initiated the combination earlier because Zhan Yue needed one last step of tempering.

She had mentioned that before entering the joint exam, she had researched all of Shen Qinglan’s information.

She also knew he possessed the Qinglong Xuanji Cannon.

The final inspiration she gained from the giant tree was to coat Zhan Yue with Bixi Grass potion.

Bixi Grass is an S-class alien plant.

During previous training, there was an abundance on a certain planet.

This plant’s most notable characteristic is its resistance to fire.

Ji Fu mixed 25% of Broken Dwarf Gilded into the Bixi Herbal Medicine.

This allowed Zhan Yue to be tempered to the highest level within the Qinglong Xuanji Cannon, remaining fire-resistant.

With the final step of Zhan Yue’s tempering completed, she activated the mecha combination.

Her mecha combination wasn’t in the traditional sense but involved reassembling all existing parts of Jiao Yue and the flaming mecha into a new mecha.

Amidst the intense roaring, the flaming mecha first transformed into a cockpit, covering Ji Fu’s body, then reassembled with all the components of Jiao Yue.

Within 0.5 seconds of Shen Qinglan drawing his sword, it reconfigured into a brand new heavy mecha.

[Star+ Mecha Devouring Moon Assembled]

Ji Fu sat in the cockpit, raising her hand to control Devouring Moon, gripping the mechanical long axe Zhan Yue, which had transformed again. The transformed Zhan Yue extended to seven meters, matching Devouring Moon’s size.

She wielded the transformed Zhan Yue, the ultra-star-grade weapon now a silvery mechanical axe. As she gently swung it, the axe head contacted the lingering flames of the Qinglong Xuanji Cannon.

Snap, crackle.

A massive spark exploded upon impact.

The mecha’s panel displayed: [Tempering Complete]

The next moment, Ji Fu, wielding Zhan Yue, faced Shen Qinglan’s striking lightsaber head-on.

Zhan Yue, transformed into a silver mechanical axe, cut through the air with an unprecedented screech, slicing Shen Qinglan’s backup quantum lightsaber into two.

Crack.

The severed weapon sparked, illuminating Shen Qinglan’s grim face.

The mecha Shen Qinglan was piloting displayed an alert from Zhan Yue after clashing with Ji Fu.

[Ultra-star-grade weapon Zhan Yue]

The weapon hadn’t upgraded, but the fully tempered giant axe now belonged to a completely different class.

His quantum lightsaber, also an ultra-star-grade weapon, was severed in one strike.

Shen Qinglan, enraged, discarded the lightsaber and once again raised the still-flaming Qinglong Xuanji Cannon, activating the berserk mode of his mecha.

With extreme speed, he charged at Devouring Moon.

Simultaneously, the cannons surrounding him activated.

The explosive mechanical force penetrated everything, crashing down.

However, all the firepower from the Qinglong Xuanji Cannon was blocked by Zhan Yue.

The fire-resistant characteristic made this weapon a direct counter to the Qinglong Xuanji Cannon.

The long axe spread wide, blocking all incoming fire.

Ji Fu piloted Devouring Moon.

After the white Jiao Yue was shattered, the reassembled Devouring Moon was entirely black, except for the large metallic silver wings on its back.

Devouring Moon stood in mid-air, its mechanical wings unfolding with a swift motion.

As they unfolded, numerous cannons lit up on the mechanical wings.

Click.

All the cannons were activated, hanging in the sky like a dazzling galaxy.

Boom, boom, boom.

The entire world’s starry sky seemed to descend.

[Meteor Descent Activated]

Star+ all-encompassing weapon, the heavy weapon of Devouring Moon.

Meteor Descent.

Under the bright sky, the silver cannons rained down like falling stars, roaring as they engulfed everything below.

Shen Qinglan’s ultra-star-grade giant shield rose again.

But amidst the falling meteors, it was riddled with countless holes.

Boom, boom, boom!!!

In front of everyone, Meteor Descent showcased the supreme destructive power of a Star+ weapon.

Piercing through the ultra-star-grade giant shield, it exploded in front of Shen Qinglan.

Bang!

The world was filled with shattered fragments.

Even the highest level couldn’t avoid the impact of these falling meteors.

For the first time, Shen Qinglan’s control panel displayed a red alert.

He looked up at the figure floating above, his expression violent.

He put away the Qinglong Xuanji Cannon, which had finally stopped, and activated his mecha’s counterattack.

The surrounding turrets rose again, but this time they didn’t fire ordinary ammunition; instead, they unleashed ultra-star-grade rune darts.

These were mecha projectiles, each capable of penetrating a sky full of bullets, causing those bullets to explode mid-air.

A large number of rune darts shot out, directly halting the Meteor Descent assault.

Under such conditions, Shen Qinglan rapidly approached Ji Fu, with mecha scimitars mounted on both arms.

Using the powerful ultra-star-grade mechanical force, he raised his hand to slash at Ji Fu’s neck.

The scimitars tore through the sky, emitting a buzzing, explosive sound.

As he moved, black grappling hooks shot out from both sides of his mecha, locking Ji Fu’s mechanical wings with a bang, intending to use brute force to rip off Devouring Moon’s wings.

Unexpectedly, as he got closer, he saw starlight flashing on Devouring Moon’s side.

The four main turrets of Meteor Descent were all embedded in Devouring Moon’s body.

Shen Qinglan’s hooks locked him and Ji Fu together, and as he tried to rely on sheer mechanical power to eliminate Ji Fu, he got too close.

The four turrets, covered by the black mecha shell and using sliding projectiles, triggered an alert on Shen Qinglan’s mecha as Ji Fu activated them.

Shen Qinglan’s face changed dramatically; he immediately detached the hooks, activated the highest level of defense, and attempted to dodge backward.

But fast as he was, Ji Fu’s instant-launch turrets were faster.

Boom!!!

In an earth-shattering explosion, the mecha piloted by Shen Qinglan was blasted with two large holes by the powerful cannons of Meteor Descent.

Despite his best efforts to evade, he only avoided two of the shots, with the remaining two penetrating his mecha.

His control panel displayed a critical emergency alert.

Shen Qinglan’s face turned pale. Even at this stage, he refused to give up.

Despite his mecha being heavily damaged and his condition poor, he launched three giant missiles from the right side of his mecha.

When he was about to launch the fourth, he stopped.

The emergency missiles in his mecha, starting from the fourth one, were pollution cruise missiles.

After the third exam, few things were banned in the testing grounds, but pollution cruise missiles were at the top of the list.

This missile was created by a maverick mechanic, using high-risk pollutants from the black hole consumption zone.

Every year, the Legion expends considerable effort dealing with pollutants, and the black hole consumption zone strictly prohibits the outflow of such hazardous materials.

If this pollution cruise missile were launched today, the consequences would be far more severe than anything the Shen family currently faced.

Despite his fury, Shen Qinglan retained a sliver of sanity, knowing this weapon could not be used in a live broadcast.

He knew it, and Ji Fu knew it too.

During his moment of hesitation, Ji Fu, enduring the intense impact of the three missile explosions, activated berserk mode. With her innate values skyrocketing and her vital signs declining, she wielded Zhan Yue and slashed at Shen Qinglan’s missile bay.

As the berserk mechanical axe approached, Shen Qinglan had no way to avoid it.

His face turned ashen, and he could only turn his body, letting Ji Fu’s axe strike his chest.

Crack, snap.

The mecha fractured, sparking violently.

Ji Fu’s lips curled slightly. Under the watchful eyes of countless spectators, she raised her hand and slashed at Shen Qinglan’s weapon bay again!

After being injured by Meteor Descent, Shen Qinglan’s reaction speed had dropped to its lowest. His chest was already split open by her first strike, leaving him teetering on the brink.

Even in this state, he could only forcefully twist his body, letting Ji Fu’s second strike hit another part of his body.

The long axe embedded itself in his right shoulder, and Ji Fu used all her strength, dragging it down heavily…

Crack, crack, crack.

The mecha under the long axe broke apart, emitting a piercing noise.

Ji Fu raised her gaze, coldly staring at the man before her.

He thought Ji Fu intended to explode the pollution cruise missile, but she never had such a plan.

If the pollution cruise missile detonated, the surrounding star systems would be uninhabitable for hundreds of years, breeding countless alien beasts and plants.

Ji Fu wanted him to be cautious about this weapon, forcing him to endure her assault.

Didn’t the aristocratic families consider this consequence when they engaged in such activities?

Under the gaze of everyone, Ji Fu raised her hand and delivered a third slash.

This strike cut through the entire cross-section of his mecha, from his right shoulder down to his right leg, shattering his mecha’s engine.

In the deathly silence of the arena.

The notification sounded: [Shen Qinglan of Hanhai Academy, eliminated]

Simultaneously, two other notifications rang out: [Han Xi of Hanhai Academy, eliminated]

[All members of Hanhai Academy, eliminated]