Chapter 73

Just two seconds after Ji Fu eliminated Shen Qinglan, Wan Feng also eliminated the last student from Hanhai Academy.

The opponent was a star-level mecha soldier, and Wan Feng’s victory was particularly impressive.

These two cross-level eliminations directly resulted in the complete elimination of Hanhai Academy, making them the last place in this inter-school competition.

The viewers in the live broadcast room were going crazy when they realized what had happened.

“Wow… this year’s interstellar competition is just insane.”

It’s more than insane. Before today, many people hadn’t even considered the possibility that super star-level participants could be eliminated by someone from a lower level.

Moreover, the mecha that the opponent was piloting is currently ranked twelfth on the Heavenly Rankings.

“How did the admissions office for the Interstellar Academy get so lucky this year? They’re recruiting a bunch of monsters, especially that Ji Fu…”

“Honestly, her physical fitness and overall physique are far below that of a normal mecha soldier, yet she can still eliminate someone of a higher rank. That’s incredibly strong.”

“This is the first time in recent years that Hanhai Academy has had such an upset, getting wiped out in the third round. In the past, this kind of scenario only happened to the Interstellar Academy.”

The live stream chat was buzzing with excitement. News of Hanhai Academy’s unexpected defeat spread through various channels on the star network.

It was a hot topic across the entire network.

Alongside this, Ji Fu herself was also widely publicized.

Additionally, something happened that no one expected: the Heavenly Rankings were updated.

“Heavenly Rankings real-time update: Current rankings have changed in the following lists: Mecha Ranking, Mecha Soldier Ranking, and Mecha Master Ranking.”

Three major rankings were updated simultaneously, and all the changes were attributed to one person.

“Update details:

– Mecha Ranking: Ji Fu, Star+ Mecha ‘Moon Devourer’, twelfth place.

– Mecha Soldier Ranking: Ji Fu, thirty-ninth place.”

The first few significant changes were understandable. After all, Ji Fu had directly defeated a super star-level mecha in such an important exam.

But the last change was completely unexpected.

Under everyone’s watchful eyes, the Heavenly Rankings issued a major announcement across the entire interstellar network.

Typically, such major announcements only happen for changes within the top few positions on the rankings.

So far, all the top ten positions on the Mecha Master Ranking have been occupied exclusively by super star-level mecha masters.

Ji Fu’s ascent to the rankings brought about a monumental shift.

“Heavenly Rankings Mecha Master Ranking significant change: The ninth position will be replaced.”

“The ninth position on the Mecha Master Ranking is now occupied by Ji Fu from the Interstellar Academy.”

This announcement sent the entire star network into a frenzy.

“???”

“Directly to ninth?”

“Whoa, the Mecha Master Ranking hasn’t changed in years, and now it’s a big one!”

Moreover, looking at the ranking list, the people ranked ahead of Ji Fu are almost all long-established mecha masters.

These mecha masters are highly esteemed in the interstellar world and have notable works to their names.

For example, Zhou Xingyu’s ‘Rose’, Zhou Lu Hai’s ‘Fission’, and even the mechas of other top talents present at the event are mostly the creations of these top mecha masters.

As of now, the mecha masters from the three major military academies, including two from the Han family, Shen Qinglan, and Bai Yeming, are all super star-level but are ranked outside the top ten.

These young individuals in their twenties are still considered rookies in many people’s eyes.

Being a mecha master is a highly creative profession that requires a significant accumulation of experience.

It’s normal for young people to have lower rankings.

But who could have expected that Ji Fu would directly leapfrog everyone into the top ten?

“So the Heavenly Rankings directly recognized her as the top mecha master among the three major military academies?”

The Heavenly Rankings have their own set of rules, and the rankings are the result of comprehensive calculations, not just talent.

Even so, the assessment coefficient seems extremely high.

This sudden, significant news plunged the entire examination board into silence.

After the update on the Heavenly Rankings, no one even cared to look at the faces of the Hanhai Academy team, as everyone was in immense shock.

Huang Peilan reacted the fastest, her expression complex: “A multi-transformable, composite reorganizable mecha that combines the advantages of both unmanned and controlled mechas.”

“In the Heavenly Rankings assessment coefficient, its innovativeness is nearly maxed out.” After a brief pause, she added softly, “And her super star-level heavy weapon.”

A super star-level weapon that could render the super star+ Qinglong Xuanji Cannon half useless.

It’s no wonder the Heavenly Rankings gave such an assessment.

However…

Huang Peilan lowered her gaze, hiding her emotions.

For some reason, Ji Fu’s name was absent from the mechanical rankings.

The others felt increasingly complex emotions upon hearing her words.

“This is the biggest reform in the Mecha Master Ranking in recent years.” Even Zhou Xing was silent for a long time before reacting. “She’s only 21 years old.”

Given her age, her future is virtually limitless.

“Don’t forget, she’s also a top-tier apothecary,” Fang family’s representative said leisurely. “She combines the roles of mecha master, mecha soldier, and apothecary.”

“Who knows where she’ll end up working in the future?”

These words sparked various thoughts among the audience.

Powerful mecha soldiers are common, but formidable mecha masters are rare. Ji Fu, with her exceptional abilities, ranking directly on the Mecha Master Ranking, is undoubtedly the top talent in the three major military academies.

Not only the examiners, but even those in the same exam venue were greatly impacted.

The super star-level combat fluctuations were too significant. As soon as Ji Fu started fighting, Zhou Xingyu noticed it.

Regardless of who got eliminated, it would be beneficial for them.

So he didn’t intervene.

But he didn’t expect such an outcome.

Heavenly Ranking, ninth place.

Zhou Xingyu raised his gaze and looked at Han Siyi, who was not far away.

If he remembered correctly, just before the joint exam, Han Siyi had created a super star-level mecha, which had a particularly ingenious design. This had significantly boosted her ranking on the Heavenly Rankings.

She jumped from beyond the top fifty to twenty-seventh place on the Mecha Master Ranking.

She became the top in the three major military academies, even surpassing her peers, Shen Qinglan and Bai Yeming.

Shen Qinglan’s rank had been hovering around thirty, and Bai Yeming’s rank was even lower.

The mechas they currently used were actually crafted by renowned masters.

However, since they were also mecha masters themselves, they made some adjustments based on their own needs and were proficient in handling super star-level materials, allowing them to replace parts on their own.

Han Siyi was considered the strongest mecha master among her generation.

But now, out of nowhere, Ji Fu appeared, leaping straight to the ninth place.

Zhou Xingyu’s eyes darkened.

This was still limited by her talent.

Once her talent truly advanced to the super star level, her rank would certainly rise, and it seemed she could leap into the top five.

This kind of ability…

“…Are you still going to continue watching?!” Fang Yuan’s voice came through the earpiece, interrupting Zhou Xingyu’s thoughts.

Fang Yuan was retreating in his mecha, his face extremely grim, with traces of blood at the corners of his mouth.

He was breathing heavily, and the control panel in front of him was fully red.

Fang Yuan’s face was ugly as he pressed the communication button and said coldly, “Is your cousin really just super star level?”

His lower ranking compared to Shen Qinglan didn’t mean he was weaker than Shen Qinglan.

Shen Qinglan was a mecha master with many heavy weapons and the Qinglong Mystique Cannon at her disposal. When they clashed head-on, Shen Qinglan often couldn’t beat him.

But earlier, when he faced Zhou Lu Hai, he initially had the upper hand.

When the Fission glided in space and unleashed the Zhou family’s Wenxu Fist, Fang Yuan began to lose ground.

This fist technique was excessively powerful and unreasonable.

It was both fast and fierce.

After taking a few punches, Fang Yuan’s mecha was forced into emergency mode.

If it weren’t for the superior stealth mode of his mecha, he would have already been eliminated like Shen Qinglan.

Zhou Xingyu paused: “He’s still relatively inexperienced in mecha combat. You should think about why you couldn’t beat him.”

Fang Yuan sneered, unwilling to admit he had underestimated his opponent today, and said coldly, “Aren’t you going to help?”

His tone was very unfriendly, but Zhou Xingyu didn’t mind. Instead, he called out, “Xiao Bai.”

Bai Yeming, not far away, paused for two seconds before pressing the communication button: “Yes.”

Since the second round of the joint exam, Bai Yeming had been acting solo, and his tone was rather indifferent.

Zhou Xingyu remained composed and said slowly, “Let’s go and break up the fight.”

Despite saying they would break up the fight, they immediately logged into their mechas.

Above Examination Room No. 3, Rose and an ice-blue mecha appeared in front of everyone at an extremely high speed.

Zhou Lu Hai was piloting Fission, and each punch he threw was like thunder, a terrifying display of close-range mecha combat.

Upon seeing the super star-level mecha notification, Zhou Lu Hai paused, standing mid-air, facing the two people in front of him.

The Fission displayed a notification: 【Super Star+ Mecha Rose, Super Star+ Mecha Taihe】

After a brief pause, the bullet screen exploded with questions.

“Did I see it wrong? Two Super Star+?”

“No mistake… Bai Yeming wasn’t using this mecha in the previous rounds.”

In the previous rounds, Bai Yeming had been piloting a pure white super star-level mecha.

The appearance of the Super Star+ Taihe was vastly different.

With Taihe’s debut, Bai Yeming’s badge was updated.

“Imperial Academy Bai Yeming, Talent: Super Star+”

This indicated that Bai Yeming had been a Super Star+ talent from the start, but like Zhou Lu Hai, he hadn’t revealed his true talent right away.

The scene instantly froze.

Like Ji Fu and Zhou Lu Hai, Bai Yeming was also a freshman at the Imperial Academy. The surname Bai was rare, so many people were not very familiar with him.

Wan Feng, nearby, looked slightly grim.

Bai Yeming switching mechas put them at a great disadvantage.

The Imperial Academy had two Super Star+ mechas right off the bat.

On their side…

Ji Fu, with half a bag of milk in her mouth, landed with a thud.

The previous battle had drained all her strength.

Before eliminating Shen Qinglan, she had taken three hits from cannon shells.

The defense system of the Moon Eater’s had collapsed, and the mecha was severely damaged.

After struggling to pilot the mecha to the ground, it split apart.

The components from the Bright Moon were heavily damaged, while Yan Yan, though in better condition, had its right arm damaged from Shen Qinglan’s heavy blow.

After landing and ensuring Ji Fu’s safety, Yan Yan reverted to its mechanical dog form.

“…What do we do now? Ji Fu has no combat capability left, Wan Feng’s talent is too low, and although Zhou Lu Hai is strong, he’s up against two Super Star+ mechas, which is really tough.”

That wasn’t the worst part. Some noticed that the mecha Bai Yeming was using had no ranking on the Heavenly Rankings.

This indicated that it was a brand-new mecha that hadn’t seen combat yet.

Only after at least one battle, when the optical brain has loaded the data, will the ranking of this mecha appear.

This means that Bai Yeming didn’t necessarily hide his strength before. It’s likely that the Taihe mecha wasn’t completed at that time.

“This is a brand new mecha with no records,” Wan Feng said with a frown. “In this situation, making a move is not in our favor.”

In the opposing team, there was also the mecha master Han Siyi, making it a four-on-one situation.

Zhou Lu Hai’s eyes darkened; he was just a step away from destroying Fang Yuan’s mecha.

Both hailing from the three great families, Fang Yuan seemed very familiar with the Wenxu Fist technique, able to skillfully dodge Zhou Lu Hai’s initial punches.

It wasn’t until Zhou Lu Hai disrupted his sequence and delivered a series of heavy blows that he gained the upper hand.

His gaze shifted momentarily to the mecha behind Rose and Taihe.

Fang Yuan’s mecha shell was already battered, with a fracture on the left shoulder.

Fang Yuan’s eyes were grim, and he could taste blood with each breath.

Since joining the joint exam, this was the most severe injury he had sustained.

He took a deep breath and pressed the communication button: “You heard the Heavenly Ranking announcement earlier, right?”

“Now is the best chance to eliminate them.”

No matter how strong Ji Fu was, she couldn’t conjure a new mecha out of thin air at this moment.

As long as they eliminated Zhou Lu Hai, the joint exam would basically be in the bag for the Imperial Military Academy.

Bai Yeming paused, then mocked, “Since Young Master Fang is so confident, why don’t you do it yourself?”

Fang Yuan’s face immediately turned especially sour.

He had never thought highly of Bai Yeming and didn’t expect to need his help today.

Han Siyi interrupted, “I checked the data Fang Yuan sent back. Zhou Lu Hai’s explosive power is indeed overwhelming.”

She sent the data to Bai Yeming’s mecha: “He’s right. Now is indeed the best chance to eliminate them.”

She looked up to see Zhou Xingyu beside her, staring at Ji Fu lying on the mechanical dog in the distance.

With the Moon broken, Ji Fu was unable to pilot a mecha.

After the intense battle, she looked exhausted, sipping on a bag of milk.

She was indeed in poor condition.

Zhou Xingyu lightly tapped the control panel, and Rose displayed Ji Fu’s physical data.

Severely depleted stamina, but her vital signs were stable and improving.

His eyes deepened, and after a moment of contemplation, he said, “There are still two rounds in the joint exam.”

Bai Yeming’s gaze fell on Rose.

“We must consider whether Ji Fu might advance to the super star level in the remaining two rounds.”

At these words, everyone fell silent.

Fang Yuan’s expression turned ugly: “Are you saying she could advance to super star level?”

“It’s not impossible.”

“Before today, no one thought she could reach star level either,” Zhou Xingyu lightly tapped the control panel.

In fact, after learning about Ji Fu’s mecha master abilities, he had considered recruiting her.

But he quickly dismissed the idea.

Their positions were naturally opposed, and Ji Fu’s personality didn’t seem like one that would abandon the Interstellar Academy to join the Empire.

If she had such an inclination, she would have done so after the third joint exam area restrictions were lifted.

Fighting Shen Qinglan alone was much more difficult than cooperating with them, wasn’t it?

Moreover, Ji Fu had an advantage. Before Zhou Xingyu fully recovered, if she approached him, he wouldn’t refuse.

But she didn’t, making recruitment almost impossible.

Since she couldn’t be an ally, such a dangerous individual should indeed be eliminated as soon as possible.

Zhou Xingyu made up his mind and said directly, “Move out.”

“Eliminate all three of them at once.”

Bai Yeming hesitated briefly. He actually admired Ji Fu somewhat.

But unfortunately, they were not teammates this time.

The two super star+ mechas ascended simultaneously, their roaring engines echoing throughout the test site.

Ji Fu slowly raised her head. She didn’t look at the two mechas but instead turned to glance at the horizon.

She was slightly injured, and her voice was soft, yet it reached Zhou Lu Hai and Wan Feng clearly.

“Ignore Bai Yeming. Directly attack Zhou Xingyu. His recovery is very limited.” Ji Fu pulled out a can of sweet milk from her backpack, tilted her head, and took a sip.

She continued, “Wan Feng, team up with Yan Yan to ambush Fang Yuan and force Bai Yeming to turn back.”

No one noticed that after the two mechas landed, she had lain on Yan Yan, linking her optical brain to Yan Yan’s system to initiate full-body repairs.

During the brief seconds Zhou Xingyu and Bai Yeming discussed, she poured Dwarf Gilt onto Yan Yan.

Dwarf Gilt was convenient because it required no fuss; just pour it on, and it would repair.

The display in front of her showed all of Yan Yan’s data.

The damaged areas were mostly repaired, not to perfection, but usable.

“Fang Yuan is severely injured, his speed and reaction time at their lowest,” she added. “But he likely still has some cards up his sleeve.”

“So the goal is not to defeat but to delay.”

“3 minutes and 27 seconds, can you do it?” She glanced at the optical brain, providing a precise time.

“Yes,” Zhou Lu Hai and Wan Feng responded simultaneously.

【Why such a specific time? Is she planning to repair the Moon Devourer?】

【Impossible, the Moon Devourer seems too damaged to repair in such a short time.】

However, their doubts were soon answered by Zhou Xingyu.

Pressing the communication button, Zhou Xingyu said in a deep voice, “In three minutes, a wormhole will devour this area. Focus fire on Zhou Lu Hai and Ji Fu to eliminate them quickly.”

He paused for a moment and glanced at his own data.

Vital signs at 63%, recovery is quite limited.

“Since landing, Ji Fu hasn’t entered her mecha. She might have another mecha with her.”

“If we can’t eliminate everyone before the wormhole engulfs us, lock onto the three of them to ensure they remain within our sight during the wormhole event.”

The third round of the joint exam was challenging not only because of the removal of area restrictions but also due to the impending wormhole.

During their training, members of the three major military schools had experienced the effects of wormholes.

Everyone would be randomly teleported away.

The duration was quite long, and Zhou Xingyu calculated that if they separated from Ji Fu and her team, it would be impossible to eliminate them before the wormhole event ended.

The wormhole would last long enough for Ji Fu to repair the Moon Devourer.

He didn’t want any more unexpected outcomes.

Bai Yeming immediately controlled his mecha to ascend. Taihe shot up rapidly, releasing a heavy gravity cannon, and as the shell fired, it created a violent tearing force.

Boom!

The cannonball hit like a falling meteorite, heading straight for the fissure.

But as the cannonball fired, Zhou Lu Hai, moving at extreme speed, closed in on Zhou Xingyu.

They were cousins and understood each other well. Zhou Lu Hai knew Zhou Xingyu’s weaknesses.

So, as he dashed forward, he launched himself into the air and delivered a heavy punch, tearing through the void towards Zhou Xingyu’s rear flank.

Zhou Xingyu’s most severe injury was on his rear flank.

Ji Fu had a diagram of Zhou Xingyu’s injuries, which she had somehow made and shared with Zhou Lu Hai.

Zhou Lu Hai heard her say, “Aim for his injured spots.”

He paused, chuckled lightly, and despite his smile, put all his strength into the punch.

As his fist grazed past Zhou Xingyu’s side, the explosive sound was nerve-wracking.

Zhou Xingyu’s face darkened. As he expected, Zhou Lu Hai knew his injuries, and their strategy was to exploit them.

“Ignore me, eliminate Ji Fu!”

Taihe’s golden cannon targeted Ji Fu from a great distance.

【Locked on by a super-star level mecha】, the optical brain beeped.

Ji Fu had entered her mecha.

It was the Moon, barely pieced together after damage, with a completely broken defense system, offering minimal protection against Bai Yeming’s attack.

However, before Taihe’s giant light cannon could fire, a distant explosion was heard.

Fang Yuan, stationed nearby, was attacked.

He was severely injured. In Yan Yan’s mecha mode, Ji Fu moved incredibly fast, wielding two curved blades aimed directly at his engine.

“BAI YEMING!” Fang Yuan roared furiously, simultaneously launching his ion cannon.

Bai Yeming frowned but did not move.

“ARE YOU DEAD?!”

Bai Yeming’s face grew darker.

“Xiao Bai, Fang Yuan can’t be eliminated,” Han Siyi urged.

Bai Yeming paused and eventually shifted his cannon’s target.

“Get lost,” he said coldly.

As he spoke, the super-star+ cosmic light cannon shot through the sky like a massive golden fireball, targeting Fang Yuan.

Boom!

The golden fireball incinerated everything in its path.

On the ground, Ji Fu suddenly looked up. She paused for a moment and then calmly instructed Wan Feng, “Retreat.”

Wan Feng halted, hearing her cool voice, “This mecha’s power is not inferior to Rose.”

The entire field fell silent.

Rose had been renowned for a long time, with few rivals other than those listed in the rankings.

But now Ji Fu said Taihe was on par with Rose?

Everyone’s expression changed.

Wan Feng immediately activated berserk mode and piloted his mecha to retreat without hesitation.

Boom!

A massive explosion erupted behind him. Despite Ji Fu’s timely warning, Wan Feng was still severely injured by the giant cannon’s shockwave during his berserk retreat.

During his descent, Yan Yan caught him.

Yan Yan shifted from unmanned mecha mode back to mechanical dog mode, taking Wan Feng along, and activated self-destructive berserk speed. Flames erupted from its four legs, burning its materials as it sped away.

They barely managed to put some distance between themselves and the enemy.

Behind them, Fang Yuan was also affected by the cannon and injured.

His expression turned extremely sour. “Did you do that on purpose?”

Bai Yeming coldly eyed him, smirking without a word.

The tension was palpable until Zhou Xingyu suddenly went berserk. “Quick, bind them all! The wormhole is coming!”

The wormhole arrived two minutes earlier than he had calculated.

At the same time, Ji Fu on the ground also received a wormhole invasion alert.

Her eyes flickered slightly.

It was almost exactly as she had calculated.

The fluctuations from the two super-star+ mechas were extremely intense, especially the golden cannon that Bai Yeming had just fired.

Its overwhelming power, combined with the explosion’s position just outside the stratosphere, had triggered the wormhole earlier than expected.

Wormholes devour the starry sky and are easily triggered by violent magnetic fields. Without the simultaneous force of the two super-star+ mechas, it might not have happened so quickly.

She looked up; the sky was pitch black, the stars dim, and a massive black hole was rolling towards them, plunging everyone into endless darkness.

As Zhou Xingyu spoke, he pulled the berserk mode closer to Zhou Lu Hai, while Bai Yeming sped towards Ji Fu at extreme speed.

Buzz, buzz, buzz.

The sound of the super-star+ mechas tearing through the sky was unsettling.

Yet, Ji Fu didn’t even attempt to dodge.

She simply raised her hand and pressed a button.

【Mechanical core activated】

With the activation prompt, Yan Yan, the mechanical dog, lit up its crimson eyes.

The mechanical core hanging from Yan Yan’s chest began to shake violently.

【Beep beep beep, detecting ultra-strong ultrasonic waves, please decelerate】 Bai Yeming’s mecha immediately issued a warning.

But it was already too late.

In the next moment, the mechanical core, made from the sound nucleus of a Half-Howling Jingtian Ape, unleashed a brutally violent ultrasonic signal upon everyone.

The sound waves rippled out like water, exploding across everyone’s bodies.

In an instant, the sound waves were turned up to their maximum frequency, and before anyone could react, they detonated wildly.

Within 0.5 seconds, everyone present was instantly caught in the star layer’s fissure.

In that split second, all the livestream feeds, and all the examinees disappeared from view.

Livestream viewers and exam supervisors: …

From the start, Ji Fu never intended to fight with this group from the Empire.

She was exhausted.

As soon as she calculated the wormhole’s spatial devouring, she began working on that mechanical core.

Did they really think it was just an unmanned mecha’s core?

No, it was a grand gift prepared for everyone.

Hadn’t the mastermind gone through great lengths to send her and Shi Xueying into the star layer’s fissure?

Now she was returning the favor.

Using the ultra-sonic waves of the Half-Howling Jingtian Ape, she forced all the super-star level participants, including herself and Wan Feng, into the star layer’s fissure.

And not just into the same one.

Oh, except for Bai Yeming and Fang Yuan. She specifically adjusted the frequency to send the two of them into the same star layer fissure.

Hmm… hope they have fun.