After finishing the meal, Wang Lan upgraded Phantom Tracer to Gold level. In that moment, Wang Lan truly felt like she'd traded a peashooter for a cannon.

It was now Jiang Xinyu's turn to take the stage. Xu Ruo and Jiang Xinyu seemed like fated opposites, almost mirror images of each other. Jiang Xinyu's Ice Attribute was perfectly countered by Xu Ruo's Flame Attribute. Coincidentally, their fighting styles and combat philosophies were also strikingly similar.

From beginning to end, Jiang Xinyu struggled to break free from the disadvantage of elemental suppression. Xu Ruo, naturally, would not let Jiang Xinyu succeed. They exchanged stratagems, both overt and covert, but ultimately, Jiang Xinyu could not defy destiny, and her Ice Attribute finally succumbed to the Flame Attribute.

Ice and Flame Attributes naturally counter each other, with the latter dominating the former in the early stages. However, this situation can change in the later stages. If an Ice Attribute Star Martial Warrior could comprehend Aurora, the tide would turn.

Aurora is the ultimate esoteric art of the Ice Attribute Star Martial Warriors, known as Rapid Freezing Light or sometimes Absolute Zero. An Ice Attribute Star Martial Warrior who has grasped Aurora is a nightmare on the battlefield, unmatched even by a Flame Attribute Star Martial Warrior who has mastered the Fusion Esoteric Art.

But now, Jiang Xinyu was still far from comprehending Aurora.

The fight was thoroughly exhilarating. Its flawless displays of brilliance and tactical deployment, from breadth to depth, left no room for criticism. Almost all the evaluating teachers nodded continuously in approval. Eventually, they both received an 'excellent' rating.

This evaluation wasn't from a semester-end report but a ranking among the one hundred thirty contestants in the Provincial Tournament. Even among the elite of the province, they were both exceptionally outstanding.

Jiang Xinyu returned to her seat, her expression calm.

"I'm sorry," Wang Lan said with deep remorse to Jiang Xinyu.

"You don't need to apologize. Defeating Xu Ruo while she was injured would have been a disgrace to me. Knowing me as you do, do you think I would accept that? I'm happy to have had the chance to fight Xu Ruo with all my might."

"But... the Four Great Star Martial Academies."

"If the Four Great Academies are recruiting this year, the top three will definitely get in. But that doesn't mean there's no chance for those ranked lower. Besides, although I lost outside the top eight, I'm determined to take ninth place."

After hearing Jiang Xinyu's words, Wang Lan finally felt at ease. She extended her hand and placed it on Jiang Xinyu's injured shoulder to start healing her. After the Top Eight Championship Battle ended, if time allowed, the ninth to sixteenth place rankings would also be determined.

This duel would also be fiercely contested, as two top-ten positions were at stake.

After Jiang Xinyu's defeat, the leaders from Suzhou No. 1 Middle School showed not a hint of regret on their faces. It wasn't that they were indifferent to Jiang Xinyu; rather, they were already content with how far the Suzhou City team had come.

Even if all of Suzhou City's participants were eliminated in the fourth round, they would have found it acceptable. Moreover, Wang Lan had already secured a spot in the top eight.

Reaching the top eight in the Provincial Tournament was a feat Suzhou City hadn't achieved in a long time. In the past few tournaments, their best results were eleventh or twelfth. Those four major cities were simply too dominant, securing at least two spots in the top ten, sometimes three, almost monopolizing the top ranks. The fact that Wang Lan had managed to wrestle a top-eight spot from Zhang Yu made the Head of Academics swell with pride!

After Jiang Xinyu's match concluded, it was showtime for the representatives of the Four Great Cities. It was a clash of titans, with each battle showcasing a quality no less than Wang Lan's match.

Soon, the last competitor from Suzhou City, Mu Shaoyun, stepped onto the stage to face off against the team captain from Chang City.

Everyone thought it would be a battle between equals, but the outcome was unexpected. The team captain from Chang City had almost no chance to fight back against Mu Shaoyun. He was defeated even before he could demonstrate his real strength.

Having two advance to the top eight filled the Suzhou City officials with joy, kindling ambitions they hadn't even dared to entertain before.

With two in the top eight, wasn't aiming for one in the top four reasonable? And if one made the top four, wasn't vying for champion or runner-up also possible? That seemed only fair...

After the fourth round of competition concluded, the battles for the ninth to sixteenth rankings followed immediately. All competitors in this ranking contest had already fought once today, and many carried injuries.

Even after treatment from healing-specialized Star Martial Warriors, their injuries hadn't fully healed so quickly. It was easy to imagine the significant advantage Jiang Xinyu had, being completely healed by Wang Lan.

Almost effortlessly, she cut through her opponents like a hot knife through butter and clinched the coveted ninth position.

Making the top ten greatly increased their chances of being scouted by the Four Great Star Martial Academies.

The day's competitions thus came to an end, and Wang Lan and the others gathered again in the penthouse suite to analyze the strengths of the top eight. Nearly all top-eight contestants had had their utmost limits revealed throughout these four rounds of combat.

However, one person remained an enigma.

"At this point, anyone could be an opponent. I don't know much about Mu Shaoyun. You guys have interacted with him more, so what do you think?" Wang Lan asked, sprawled on the sofa.

"It doesn't make sense! Mu Shaoyun is impressive, sure, but he shouldn't be *this* dominant!" Xu Xiangwen was the first to exclaim in amazement.

"Like Xinyu, Mu Shaoyun awoke his Star Martial Warrior Inborn Talent at the age of eight. His Inborn Talent was a strange Devouring-type. It seems he can devour a person's stamina. When he first awakened his talent, he hospitalized seven of his classmates.

The results of the medical examination showed they were all suffering from extreme exhaustion due to overexertion, and testimonies from the other students indicated that Mu Shaoyun only touched them. As a result, Mu Shaoyun was suspended from school for two months before returning. Since then, he never again displayed such power."

"What's terrifying is that even up to now, Mu Shaoyun still hasn't revealed that ability. If that incident hadn't been officially recorded, we might have assumed Mu Shaoyun no longer possessed that Inborn Talent of the Bloodline.

This type of Inborn Talent of the Bloodline isn't in the database, and as Mu Shaoyun isn't from a Star Martial family, it's unknown if he has even developed this Inborn Talent of the Bloodline. Leaving that aside, Mu Shaoyun's strength remains unfathomable."

"To date, he has displayed Earth Attribute, Wind Attribute, Flame Attribute, and Water Attribute Star Martial Skills. This means he has at least four types of attribute talents."

"His close-quarters combat skills are practically perfect. However, I've sparred with him before, and his combat prowess was on par with mine," Jiang Xinyu said quietly.

"During this period of practicing combat through real battles, my combat prowess has at least doubled compared to before. I originally thought that I had far surpassed Mu Shaoyun. However, the combat ability he's displaying now feels utterly unfathomable to me.

Either he has always been hiding his strength, or he's had some fortuitous encounter that allowed him to progress much faster than me. Wang Lan, which do you think it is?"

"I'm thinking, how could someone possibly be such a genius? His talent is actually comparable to mine?"

This shameless remark instantly quieted the room.

"Regardless, Mu Shaoyun will be Lanzi's most formidable rival. The only thing to hope for now is that the draw doesn't pit you two against each other," Xu Xiangwen said.

"Wang Lan, I've been thinking, if Mu Shaoyun had always been this strong, why would he hide his true power during his three years at school?" Jiang Xinyu asked Wang Lan thoughtfully.

"This... might have something to do with his background," Wang Lan said uncertainly, stroking her chin. "His background isn't particularly positive. Honestly, if it weren't for the investigation proving Mu Shaoyun was innocent, he wouldn't have been allowed to appear at the Provincial Tournament."

As everyone was discussing, the television began broadcasting the draw for the quarterfinal matches.

Of the remaining eight contestants, Jin City held three spots, Tong City two, Chang City one, and Suzhou City two. The first drawn match was an internal clash between two contestants from Jin City.

Jin City's team captain, Xiao Zi, was pitted against Jin City's Xu Ruo.

"How brutal!" Xu Xiangwen couldn't help but sigh the moment the matchup appeared. Although internal battles were inevitable at this stage, Xu Ruo, who had just scraped a hard-won victory against Jiang Xinyu, hadn't even had time to celebrate before having to face her own team captain.

Xiao Zi, the team captain from Jin City, possessed five Star Martial Attributes, and his Star Power was extraordinary. His Star Power wasn't just exceptionally strong; it was on a whole different order of magnitude, almost inhumanly vast.

When he first awakened his Star Martial talent, the Star Power he unleashed nearly collapsed the classroom. After testing, its density reached the peak Star Shine Stage. When breaking through to the Star Shine Stage, his Star Power's density already far surpassed the Star Cloud Stage.

If not for the fact that qualitative advancements in Star Martial levels can't be offset by sheer quantity, Xiao Zi's Star Power might be approaching the Star Sea Stage. This seemingly bottomless well of Star Power once led Xiao Zi to make a famous declaration:

"Don't ask how much Star Power I have; I've never experienced the feeling of it running out. I, too, want to know my Star Power limit. But even when I faint from exhaustion, my Star Power still shows no sign of depletion."

What a monster. I have no intention of challenging his Star Power limits. Let Hu Feifei deal with that later.

Soon, the next group's drawing began, and Mu Shaoyun's portrait was the first to appear. The next second, the screen froze. Wang Lan was stunned. Then her eyes fixed on Xu Xiangwen, who was looking utterly bewildered beside her.

"This... this... it's not my fault, right?"

"Oh, so it's my fault now?" Wang Lan retorted irritably. "It's that jinx mouth of yours!"

And when the second group's match-up was drawn, it wasn't just Wang Lan who had something to say; the internet absolutely exploded.

"Is this the top eight showdown? Might as well call it the Civil War Tournament! The first match: two from Jin City. The second match: two from Suzhou City. What's next, the third match with two from Tong City?"

"'Do they have to be this brutal? I strongly suggest they split the groups! I want to see Xu Ru thrash the Suzhou City team!'"

"'Exactly! If they split them, our great Jin City will sweep the top three!'"

"'Who gave you the guts to make such shameless claims, risking your tongue? Xu Ruo thrash the Wolf King? You clearly don't know how ferocious my Wolf Bro is!'"

"'Since his debut, Wolf Bro has been undefeated, unmatched!'"

"'That's right! My Wolf Bro is at the Star Cloud Stage now! Back when he was at the Star Shine Stage, he thrashed a whole bunch of Star Cloud Stage cultivators. Now that he's at the Star Cloud Stage, won't he demolish anyone at the Galaxy Stage?'"

"'Hey, hey, snap out of it! That's going way overboard!'"

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