Chapter 53: You Can't Win

At 7:30 in the evening, the night breeze felt slightly cool.

Inside Class Two of Tianhai No. 2 High School, everyone was engaged in evening self-study within their classrooms.

In the virtual chamber, all fifty students of the elite class along with martial arts teacher Zhang Cheng had already arrived.

Ten virtual pods, plus a newly installed one, totaled eleven virtual pods resting quietly.

A massive screen projected in the center displayed an empty, completely white, small-scale arena.

Amidst a flurry of noise, Zhang Cheng crossed his arms and swept his gaze over the ten individuals, including Li Zhou and Lin Qi, before speaking slowly:

"The exchange match is about to begin. After logging into the Crimson Realm, everyone should enter the Tianhai official website and find the link for the Martial Arts Exchange Match."

With that, he was the first to step into the brand-new virtual pod.

The remaining ten also entered their respective virtual pods one by one, and so did Lin Qi.

Logging into the Crimson Realm, he searched the Tianhai official website within his personal space panel to find the link for the martial arts exchange match, and clicked to enter.

"Whoosh!"

The next moment, the space around him shifted and transformed. Lin Qi's entire body was pulled away and teleported to a different zone.

When he steadied his mind and looked around, he found himself already seated in the spectator stands, with Jiang Tao sitting in the seat beside him.

Ahead of him lay a circular white arena reminiscent of ancient Roman architecture.

"Is this the venue for the martial arts exchange match? I never imagined we could connect online." Jiang Tao looked around in wonder, craning his neck.

"The people from Songbai High School are here!"

Zhu Yuqi suddenly spoke up while gazing forward.

As everyone looked over, eleven figures materialized out of thin air in the opposing spectator stands.

Seven males and three females, accompanied by a male teacher.

The males either possessed tall, robust physiques or an aura of sharp, exposed edge; the females were either tall and fierce-looking or lively, and they all cast proud, arrogant glances over.

Neither side spoke, silently observing each other with caution as a tense atmosphere permeated the air.

"Eh?"

Yet, on Lin Qi's side, he caught sight of an acquaintance—Fast Sword!

This was an expert he had matched with yesterday in the Crimson Realm, someone who wielded a swift sword and left a faint impression on him.

He had never expected that the other party would actually be a student of Songbai High School, and was now even competing in the exchange match.

"Could everyone at Songbai High School be at his level of strength?"

This caused Lin Qi to involuntarily doubt the combat capability and level of Songbai High School.

Zhang Cheng stepped onto the arena and met with the opposing school's teacher.

The opposing team leader was a middle-aged man with a hooked nose, a lean and tough build, and a gloomy disposition, exuding an aura that was equally formidable.

"Hello!"

The two shook hands cordially and introduced themselves.

"Tianhai No. 2 High School, Zhang Cheng!"

"Songbai High School, Cao Bin!"

"I hope that in this exchange match, friendship comes first and competition second, and that everyone gains something from it."

"Naturally!"

Both men wore smiling faces, creating a harmonious and pleasant atmosphere.

After parting ways and turning back to return to the spectator stands, Cao Bin's expression instantly shifted into a sneer:

"Tianhai No. 2 High School, let them witness the true strength of Songbai so they will never forget today's match for the rest of the month."

"What kind of tier are they to even be qualified to have a martial arts exchange with Songbai?"

"Understood, Teacher Cao!" Several individuals wore cruel smiles.

On the other side—

After Zhang Cheng returned, his smile vanished instantly in a change as swift as Sichuan face-changing, and he stated through gritted teeth:

"You guys are representing No. 2 High School this time, and representing the entire Tianhai City."

"No matter what, you must fight with your lives to win."

"Don't worry, Teacher Zhang, I'll make them witness something that blows their minds."

Jiang Tao rubbed his hands together, wearing a confident smile.

"That's right, maybe we'll just win six matches straight off and the rest of them won't even need to fight."

Someone issued a confident declaration.

Zhang Cheng nodded, choosing not to dampen everyone's spirits, but instead looked toward the arena platform with deep internal concern.

After all, Songbai High School was a tier-two school in Bailu City. Speaking honestly in terms of overall strength, their No. 2 High School was inferior to the opponent.

Whether they could win or not, he had no bottom line in his heart and could only depend on the students themselves.

[Rules of the Martial Arts Exchange Match]

[Students from both schools will take the stage according to the roster, and the school with the most winning matches wins the victory!]

[Will the first contestant please take the stage!]

A smart female voice resounded in the air. Lin Qi narrowed his eyes, preparing to take the field.

According to the rules and the roster order, proceeding from weakest to strongest, he was ranked tenth, meaning he would take the stage first.

"Brother Qi, can you win?"

Jiang Tao asked with a solemn expression.

"I can!" Lin Qi nodded.

Jiang Tao broke into a smile: "I knew it!"

The next instant, Lin Qi vanished from his spot and reappeared in the arena.

[Student Lin Qi, you have thirty seconds of preparation time. Please select your weapon!]

Looking at the panel before him, Lin Qi chose the familiar large black spear without hesitation.

Simultaneously, in the Songbai High School section—

"Fan Yong, crush him in the first match and let him know the might of Songbai!"

Someone said.

Fan Yong possessed a square face and looked rather honest and thick-witted. At this moment, an excited smile broke across his face as he patted his chest: "Don't worry, leave it to me."

With that, he was also teleported onto the arena.

"Wait!"

Liang Kai had just wanted to speak, but Fan Yong had already taken the stage. He sighed, looking at Lin Qi on the field with a solemn gaze.

"They look far too much alike!"

Black combat attire, a black long spear, even the physique and bearing were identical, save for the absence of a black mask.

He looked precisely identical to the person who had defeated him yesterday.

"If it really is him, Brother Yong is going to be in trouble."

"However, Brother Yong's saber technique has already broken through to the second tier, so he should be able to win, right?"

Not far away, Cao Lin wore a sinister smile: "Fan Yong is extremely strong. If his combat blood-qi value and academic scores hadn't dragged him down, he wouldn't have been ranked tenth in the grade."

"With his second-tier saber technique, he can definitely secure a victory right off the bat and deal a heavy blow to the opponent's morale."

On the arena—

Fan Yong was dressed in black and red combat gear, brandishing a battle saber. His saber was long and broad, shaped like a horse-head saber.

He had a tall stature close to two meters, broad and thick shoulders, and thick, rounded arms, exuding an aura reminiscent of a massive boulder.

A grin split Fan Yong's honest face:

"Hey you from No. 2 High School, let you witness the saber technique of yours truly, Fan Yong."

Lin Qi calmly stated: "A clown jumping on a stage!"

"You really are courting death, bastard!" Irritation instantly surged in Fan Yong.

[The match is about to begin!]

[3, 2, 1...]

[The first match officially begins!]

"Boom!"

Fan Yong stomped heavily onto the ground, his body bursting forward like a rolling boulder. His massive saber sliced through the air, carrying the imposing momentum of a heavy mountain.

In an instant, Lin Qi charged forward simultaneously. His figure flashed as he strode ahead.

Wielding the spear with one hand until closing to a certain distance, he gripped the shaft tightly with both hands, the spear tip vibrating as he poured his strength into a ferocious thrust.

This time, Lin Qi launched the attack first.

Fan Yong smiled slightly, swinging his battle saber. His movements were steady and deliberate, rising like a mountain pulling itself up from the ground.

Holding the saber from bottom to top, he swung it in an extremely steady arc, forming a perfect defensive circle.

Immovable as a massive rock!

"Clang, clang~"

Lin Qi thrust out a dozen times in succession with astonishing arm strength, yet all of them were completely parried by the defensive circle formed by Fan Yong's swirling battle saber.

"You can never break through my defense!"

Fan Yong's blade danced, as steady as a monolith, remaining completely unshaken himself.

"Bang!"

"Bang, bang, bang~"

At the same time, his techniques were wide open yet rigorous, possessing boundless power. As he swung his saber, it whipped up gusts of wind, seemingly carrying thousands of pounds of force.

When the great spear collided with the battle saber, immense force rebounded back with each strike.

"Clang, clang~~"

Lin Qi executed several more successive strikes, all of which were blocked. Simultaneously, the rebounding force made both of his arms go numb.

Seeing this, Fan Yong wore a smug smile.

"I said it before, you can't break my defense!"

In the spectator stands, Jiang Tao's expression turned solemn.

"Oh no, Brother Qi is in trouble."

"This guy named Fan Yong is very strong. His saber technique has already broken through to the second tier, and Brother Qi can't breach his defense."

Having also practiced the *Heavy Mountain Saber Technique*, Jiang Tao knew this saber art inside and out.

Therefore, he could tell that Fan Yong's strength was formidable; even if he were the one up there, he wouldn't dare claim he could win.

"Lin Qi will probably lose the first match."

Yu镜 shook his head, voicing his perspective.

"It's just the beginning, yet you're already jumping to conclusions. What do you know?" Li Zhou retorted sharply.

Yu镜's face turned ashen. Just as he wanted to retort, Zhang Cheng interrupted:

"No one should rush to conclusions. The course of battle changes in a flash, and you must never make arbitrary judgments until the very last moment."

"The same holds true on the battlefield."

Zhang Cheng said in a deep voice.

The others nodded and continued watching the arena.

Zhang Cheng furrowed his brows. Though he had considerable confidence in Lin Qi, he still dared not guarantee that Lin Qi would win.

He could only keep watching...