Suzhou City had fought its way to this point, and everyone at Suzhou No.1 Middle School Star Martial Academy was extremely elated. Amid the celebrations, Wang Lan, the only one who had made it to the semifinals, became all the more precious.

The guidance director, who was a bit drunk, patted Wang Lan's shoulders with great affection. Despite the festive celebrations, Mu Shaoyun, who had secured fifth place for the school, was absent.

Theoretically, after the competition ends, players who no longer have matches can leave the hotel and go home. But so far, only Mu Shaoyun had left early.

That night was silent. Yet, in that silence, the sports hall underwent a silent transformation. Experts from the Tianjian Bureau quietly entered the sports hall to set up defenses.

"TAP TAP TAP—" The door was knocked, interrupting Wang Lan and his two companions as they were having a midnight snack. Xu Xiangwen walked to the door, puzzled.

"Who is it?"

"Room check," a clear and icy female voice sounded from outside the door. It bore a hint of Jiang Xinyu's voice but was definitely not hers.

Xu Xiangwen instantly became excited, peering through the peephole to see two twins dressed in security uniforms, both strikingly beautiful.

"Uh..." The fire in Xu Xiangwen's chest was instantly extinguished as he opened the door and stood at attention, "Captain Zhang, good evening."

It was Zhang Yeqiu and Zhang Xiaoxue who had come.

Upon entering the room, Zhang Yeqiu surveyed the three. "Just the three of you here?"

"Yeah. What's going on? The Tianjian Bureau is doing room checks now?"

"We've cleared out all the security and staff, so their duties naturally fall to us now. Also, starting today, be a bit nicer to the cleaning ladies coming to clean the rooms. They're our colleagues."

"Got it. By the way, how's the progress on that case? Did you find anything?"

"Nothing! We can be certain that it was Wang Mingling himself who took action. Besides him, no one could have killed Xuan Lin in such a short span of time. And surely he has been hidden away by some force. It is like looking for a needle in a haystack in the vast area of Suzhou City."

"So the bureau plans to draw the snake out of the hole? I was wondering why Eld Di was released today."

"Captain Wang Lan, please watch your words. What do you mean 'released'? That's called 'inviting'!"

"That's not right, shouldn't it be called 'offering'?" Xu Xiangwen quipped.

"OK! You're right. So, we're 'offering' Eld Di?"

"Now, the entire venue is staffed by people from the Tianjian Bureau, with the exception of the team leaders, competitors, and leaders from Suzhou City. Current speculation suggests that Wang Mingling might have infiltrated the venue and possessed someone. It's just unknown whether he has been 'invited' out by us yet."

"If it were so easy to 'invite' him out, he wouldn't have been troubling the United Nations for so many years."

"Regardless, the Tianjian Bureau has made all the necessary preparations and will guard Eld Di every step of the way. As long as we keep an eye on Eld Di, Wang Mingling, no matter where he hides, will show himself."

"Alright then! Be extra careful."

After sending away Zhang Yeqiu and her sister, they moved on to the next room belonging to Jiang Xinyu and Xie Sisi.

"What... were you talking about?" Gong Feiyu asked hesitantly after closing the door again.

"Someone wants to disrupt the Provincial Martial Arts Tournament. It's that simple – the Tianjian Bureau is providing protection throughout the event."

"Oh!"

Time quickly moved on to 8 a.m., the moment of another thrilling lottery draw. No, rather, the draw for the semifinal matchups.

Tomorrow would be the last day of the Provincial Martial Arts Tournament, with the semifinals in the morning and the finals in the afternoon. At the same time, the battles for third and fourth place would take place. It seemed like there would only be four competitors, but the schedule was packed tight.

Soon, the much-anticipated semifinal matchups were announced, and to everyone's surprise, Wang Lan was the first to compete. His heart instantly leaped to his throat.

In the next second, the image on the left appeared: a handsome and sunny smile, as stunning as Wang Lan's.

"Damn, Xiao Zi!"

"What the hell? They're wrapping up the finals in the semifinals? With only four people left, couldn't the organizers be a bit more perceptive? It's clear who the top two are, yet they have to clash in the semifinals?"

Xu Xiangwen, along with countless viewers watching on TV, shared the same complaint. Even if they were not Star Martial Warriors, it was evident that at this stage of the competition, the top-ranked contestants were known.

Wang Lan, Xiao Zi, Mu Shaoyun—although not ranked in any particular order, the top three were definitely among them. But what was the outcome? Amidst the tigers' clash, the defeated Mu Shaoyun could only scoop up fifth place.

And now, Wang Lan was about to battle Xiao Zi, with only one of them doomed to fall to third place. The runner-up position had been nabbed by someone clearly weaker than them—didn't that just seem irritating?

But even if this question were posed aloud, no one would answer. Each year's Provincial Martial Arts Tournament was just like this. Luck was also a part of strength. Every year, there would be those fortunate enough to slip through to the higher ranks. If objections to such matchups were raised, what then should be said about those who advanced by a bye?

In the Provincial Martial Arts Tournaments, though there might be one or two lucky enough to scrape through, there would absolutely not be any strong talent with good performance slipping through the net. Why did the major Star Martial Academies specifically send observers to the scene if not to avoid students with great strength and excellent performance from unluckily facing tougher opponents?

Take Jiang Xinyu, for example. After achieving her final rank, many Star Martial Academies had already phoned her. Although most of them were thinking that if Jiang Xinyu had a lapse of judgment and agreed, wouldn't that be picking up a huge bargain? But there were also top-tier academies like Jin City Star Warrior Academy, Huadong Star Martial Arts Academy, and Shenlong Military Star Martial Arts Academy that had extended olive branches to Jiang Xinyu.

For the moment, Jiang Xinyu had not given a definitive response. She was waiting for the admissions from the top four Star Martial Academies.

The top four Star Martial Academies would issue direct admission notices to students fulfilling their entrance requirements seven days after the end of the Provincial Martial Arts Tournament. With Jiang Xinyu ranking in the top ten of the province and her exemplary performance on the field, the chances of her being accepted into the top four were high.

Anyway, Jiang Xinyu had already calculated that whichever of the top four was willing to take her, she would go there. If she failed to catch the eye of the top four, then she would attend Jin City Star Warrior Academy. In terms of the scale of the school and training students, Jin City Star Warrior Academy came the closest to the top four.

As the second most developed province in Jade Country and the one with the most generous investment in education, Jin City Star Warrior Academy virtually had whatever it asked for. In recent years, they even vowed to make the top four into the top five.

That's a bit off-topic, but when this match schedule was announced, it meant that Zhang Hao and Qiu Tianci, who were originally stopped in the semifinals, still had a chance to reach for the runner-up. There was obviously no need to draw for the remaining two matchups, as they were directly arranged.

Perhaps feeling that Wang Lan's battle against Xiao Zi should be saved for the climax, the order of appearance was swapped, placing their confrontation as the second match. This, of course, Zhang Hao and Qiu Tianci had no complaints about.

With the match schedule drawn, the TV channel nonchalantly switched its broadcast to a television drama series starting in the eight o'clock prime time slot. This projected an air of utter detachment, as if to say, "Argue all you want; if you can shake my resolve even one bit, I'll admit defeat."

The night passed in silence. For some, it was an excruciating ordeal, but for others, it was a mere blink of an eye.

Early the next day, after breakfast, the group arrived at the competition venue. At nine o'clock in the morning, amid stirring music, the first match of the Provincial Martial Arts Tournament semifinals was about to begin.

If Zhang Hao and Qiu Tianci's strengths were placed in any previous tournament, they would be hot contenders for the championship, even holding an eighty percent chance of winning it. But they were unlucky this time, finding themselves in a tournament of deities clashing.

As they took to the field, the applause was sparse and sporadic.

Both men approached the arena with expressionless faces, solemnly staring at one another. Watching them, a glint flickered in Wang Lan's eyes.

Weird... It's only been one day since I saw them, but why does their momentum seem different?

"Different? How so?" Jiang Xinyu asked perplexedly, lifting her head.

Can't quite put my finger on it, but it feels... even though this match should be more relaxed, why does it feel as though a death squad is marching to battle? Perhaps realizing his explanation was problematic, Wang Lan made an analogy, "It's like facing an exam for which the answers have been memorized, yet it's laden with the heaviness of a make-or-break retest."

"Lanzi, just say it's supposed to be a happy occasion but it's being conducted like a funeral!"

"With their strength, neither had hope for the runner-up, but at least one would move on, so there's no way they would exhibit such a dismal aura."

"Sorry, I didn't notice it."

"TWEET—"

The referee's whistle sounded, and immediately both men's bodies moved. From Wang Lan's perspective, their fighting styles were standard. Their strength was not beneath Jiang Xinyu's, but Wang Lan felt Jiang Xinyu had a better chance of winning in an actual fight.

Within the first three seconds of the match starting, both had unleashed their Star Martial Skills twice against each other.

Since both sides had comparable strength, neither gained an edge in this exchange of skills. This scene had all the observing teachers furrowing their brows.

Having witnessed the high-quality bouts of Wang Lan and others, to then see the clash between these two was almost unbearable. But logically, these two should not be wrong in their by-the-book performance, which seemed no worse—and potentially even better—than that of most first-year students of their own academies.

Yet for some reason, it was simply intolerable.

Many teachers couldn't help but think: if it were Wang Lan and Xiao Zi, would they have exchanged blows at the very start? What tactics would they employ? How would they strategize before acting?

But such growth accompanies real combat experience, and they are after all still students. Even at the Star Cloud Stage, how much real combat experience can a student possess? A methodical approach to combat is reasonable. If they were that polished, even surpassing their teachers, then what's the point of having teachers? Why even bother with college?

Even with such self-explanations and self-reassurances, many teachers remained with tightly knit brows that refused to relax. The gap... Like a chasm, so stark and pronounced, it was blatantly apparent.

Zhang Hao and Qiu Tianci had very close attributes, and since neither was a single-attribute Star Martial Warrior, there was no scenario of Star Martial Attributes overpowering one another. Therefore, a continuous barrage of Star Martial Skills ensued as they relentlessly attacked back and forth.

Tactical errors were committed multiple times by both men. Either one, if facing Wang Lan or Xiao Zi, would be finished within five minutes.

In the past, Wang Lan and those at the Star Cloud Stage had a difference in level, but the Wang Lan who had broken through to the Star Cloud Stage had already leaped out of its bounds. Within the Star Cloud Stage, except for crafty veterans like Xu Shiyun, the rest, Wang Lan could call rubbish.

Finally, the seemingly intense—but in the eyes of discerning teachers, mistake-ridden—battle of attrition ended as both appeared to have nearly depleted their Star Power. Zhang Hao was the first to draw his saber and charge at Qiu Tianci.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.