Showdown at the Stadium

On the boundless, vast silver alloy ground, there was only one structure—the arena!

Swish! Swish!

A yellow-skinned youth and a white youth appeared out of thin air on the arena, none other than Luo Feng and William.

“Please select your weapons and combat suit.” A grand voice echoed throughout the world. At the same time, a vast array of weapons and equipment appeared before Luo Feng, identical to his previous experience outside the trial tower. Luo Feng expertly chose the Blood Shadow Battle Blade, the Hexagonal Shield, and a combat suit that fit his body.

Both quickly donned their gear.

“Oh?” Luo Feng’s gaze fell upon a pillar in the arena, where text suddenly appeared—

“Name: William Edison

Gender: Male

Status: Elite Training Camp Official Student

Battle Power Amplitude: Medium”

After reading William’s, Luo Feng turned to look at the pillar beside him. It was almost identical to William’s description, except for the name, and the only other difference was that his ‘Battle Power Amplitude’ was ‘Beginner Tier’.

“Please select a battle scenario.” The voice of the virtual space sounded again.

Eight map scenarios appeared before both Luo Feng and William.

“You choose,” William said with a slight smile, “lest you lose and still complain.”

“Then… the Stadium it is,” Luo Feng casually selected the battle scenario.

“The Stadium?” William looked surprised, scrutinizing the Huaxia youth before him. Was his opponent truly confident, or merely overconfident?

Rumble~~~~ The world trembled, and the scenery around Luo Feng and William shifted. Instantly, they appeared inside a massive stadium. The stadium floor was wide open, completely devoid of obstacles. Surrounding the field were grandstands capable of seating tens of thousands of spectators.

Swish! Swish! Swish! Blinding lights illuminated the entire stadium, yet within it, there were only Luo Feng and William.

“Battle, begin!” An electronic voice echoed through the stadium.

William, holding a round shield in one hand and a longsword in the other, confidently looked at Luo Feng. “Luo Feng, I gave you the chance to choose a scenario that favored you, yet you picked this unobstructed Stadium! I’ll show you the true difference between a veteran of the Elite Training Camp and a newcomer like you!”

“Bring it on,” Luo Feng’s eyes narrowed slightly.

This would be his first opponent within the training camp.

William’s lips curved into a slight smirk. His figure lunged forward, instantly covering nearly fifty meters. The tip of his longsword was like a beam of light, creating ripples in the air as it thrust directly towards Luo Feng’s brow. At the same time, Luo Feng took a step back, swinging his blade like lightning!

“Hiss!” William’s longsword tilted slightly, grazing Luo Feng’s Blood Shadow Battle Blade.

Then, hugging the edge of Luo Feng’s blade, he executed a horizontal slash, aiming for Luo Feng’s neck!

Whoosh! Luo Feng retreated rapidly, simultaneously blocking with the Hexagonal Shield in his left hand.

“Swish!” The longsword, mid-slash, instantly arced with exquisite precision, tracing the edge of Luo Feng’s Hexagonal Shield and striking towards his right hand.

Rapid retreat! Luo Feng almost instantly fell back over a hundred meters, leaping directly onto the grandstands.

“What, scared?” William laughed heartily, a round shield in one hand and a longsword in the other, as he strolled towards Luo Feng. “Luo Feng, you might think your strength is impressive among ordinary warriors, but none of the veteran students in the Elite Training Camp are as simple as you imagine.”

“This time, losing 5 billion, consider it tuition fee paid.”

Luo Feng looked down at his right hand. There was a white mark on his forearm guard, and a wound on his upper arm, from which blood was already seeping. Fortunately, the wound wasn't deep.

“His sword speed isn’t particularly fast, yet in that brief moment, I was completely suppressed? His consecutive moves were flawless, like a natural flow, one attack after another.” Beads of sweat involuntarily formed on Luo Feng’s forehead as his eyes narrowed. “I can only suppress him with speed!”

William remained remarkably calm, like a gentleman attending a cocktail party.

“Swordplay and blade techniques, speed alone isn’t enough. You need to achieve a flowing, seamless execution, where various attack methods come naturally, forming combination techniques!” William smiled. “Since entering the Elite Training Camp, I’ve practiced swordplay for over five hours every day! I only rest when my arms ache beyond endurance.”

“You’re still far from being able to defeat me!” William exerted force with his foot.

Whoosh! He shot directly towards the grandstands.

“Hmph!” Luo Feng’s eyes snapped open. The speed of his Blood Shadow Battle Blade surged to its peak, with layers of hidden force integrating into it. Whoosh~~ It was like a dazzling cold light, or a flash of lightning, carrying an unrivaled momentum and heart-stopping speed, cleaving directly down upon the approaching William!

Fast! This move was defined by one word—speed!

“Boom~~” Clang, clang, clang, clang… A series of crisp sounds rang out as William’s longsword, like a willow branch, clashed with Luo Feng’s Blood Shadow Battle Blade. William himself then retreated rapidly. Hiss! A terrifying crack immediately appeared in the grandstand ahead, and shattered tiles and debris exploded outwards in all directions, striking some of the plastic seats.

“A fast blade, but your blade technique foundation is truly mediocre,” William laughed heartily, then jumped back onto the grandstands.

Stepping on the plastic seats of the grandstands, William swept towards him like a whirlwind.

“I admit, your swordplay mastery is higher than my blade technique mastery. However… brute force overcomes finesse! You’re too slow!” The moment William charged close, Luo Feng’s speed fully erupted! In terms of pure speed, Luo Feng was definitely fifty percent faster than William! This was no longer the same level.

Clearly, in terms of explosive power, William was far inferior to Luo Feng.

“Whoosh!” “Whoosh!” The two humans, both moving at speeds exceeding a hundred meters per second, transformed completely into two phantoms. One black phantom, in particular, was noticeably faster than the other, and each movement produced a sharp whistling sound that tore through the air, even creating visible blade-generated air currents!

One strike, then another! And another! Luo Feng relied on his superior speed, seizing every opportunity to strike, and immediately evading when none presented itself. Then, another strike!

After all, when it came to the true mastery of blade and sword techniques, Luo Feng realized he was indeed far behind William.

“FUCK!” William roared in anger. “You… you, if you have the guts, fight me head-on in close combat!” William was so enraged he resorted to English, clearly beside himself… Luo Feng’s fighting style was insidious; he simply relied on his superior speed, fast blade, and immense power to bully his opponent! He refused to engage in a direct confrontation.

“Head-on combat?” “Alright!” “I’ll humor you!” Luo Feng’s voice echoed through the stadium. Originally, Luo Feng had just delivered a strike to William’s left side.

Suddenly—Luo Feng took three consecutive steps. These ghost-like steps allowed him to evade William’s fierce sword strike, leaving William utterly astonished. “How is that possible?” He only felt a phantom blur past, and William knew something was wrong, for Luo Feng had vanished from his sight.

Thwack! A flash of blade light swept across William’s neck, and his head flew into the air. “Pfft!” Blood spurted skyward. William’s body collapsed limply, his blood staining the already broken plastic chairs on the ground.

“Challenge, Luo Feng wins!” An electronic voice echoed throughout the stadium. The entire stadium blurred, then vanished completely.

On the silver alloy ground, in the empty arena. Both Luo Feng and William stood.

“Impossible.” William stared intently at Luo Feng. “I can’t lose! I was selected for the Elite Training Camp, and I’ve trained rigorously here for a year. During this year, I’ve diligently practiced swordplay, body mechanics, and more almost every day. My strength has improved significantly since I first arrived, so how could I possibly lose to a newcomer like you?”

“A loss is a loss!” Luo Feng stated.

William clenched his fists.

If it were a casual spar, losing wouldn’t matter, but this time had attracted many students. Losing now meant, first, a loss of face, and second… a huge sum of money! 5 billion Huaxia coins—William’s heart ached at losing such a massive amount.

“You’ve already lost.” Luo Feng looked at William before him, unable to help but praise him. “I admit, in terms of mastery of blade and sword techniques, you are indeed far superior to me.”

Far superior indeed! Luo Feng’s speed and strength vastly surpassed his opponent’s, yet he couldn’t win! It was because his blade technique was truly rudimentary. In the past, Luo Feng had always considered his blade technique quite good, especially when combined with the acceleration from his ‘psychic energy,’ which allowed him to dominate in the wilderness. But compared to a talent like William… his blade technique simply couldn’t measure up to William’s swordplay!

William’s swordplay was like flowing water, one move seamlessly following another, like waves crashing one after another, directly forcing Luo Feng to retreat!

Fortunately, at the last moment, Luo Feng finally unleashed a movement technique that had touched the ‘threshold of perfection’! His speed already suppressed his opponent, and with his ghost-like footwork, he naturally defeated him in one move!

“I suppressed my opponent in both speed and strength, yet I still couldn’t win. In the end, I had to rely on ghost-like footwork!” Although Luo Feng had won, he was still not entirely satisfied with himself.

“I lost!” William gritted his teeth. If he knew Luo Feng was still dissatisfied despite winning, he would probably be even more furious.

…In the Ninth Floor Hall of the Ninefold Tower. Young men and women of various skin tones from all corners of Earth—some bald, some with small braids, some terrifyingly large, others quite slender—this group of talented warriors from around the world were all waiting and discussing.

“That Luo Feng will surely learn how vast the difference is between a newcomer and a veteran!”

“Wouldn’t losing 1 billion have been enough? Why insist on 5 billion?”

“If they want to give us money, why shouldn’t we take it?”

Some young men and women from the European Union chatted and laughed, while students from other parts of Earth also conversed. However, it was clear that most people here believed William would win. After all, in battles between veterans and newcomers, veterans almost always emerged victorious. Only in rare instances did a newcomer win.

“Challenge, Luo Feng wins!” An electronic voice echoed through the hall, reverberating within.

Silence. Everyone in the entire hall fell quiet.

“What?!” The group of young men and women from the European Union all widened their eyes.

“Oh, my God!” A group of white and black youths from America were also greatly astonished.

“Over 40 billion rubles, won by that Luo Feng?” The young men and women from Soviet Russia couldn’t help but exclaim in awe.

From then on, another instance of a newcomer defeating a veteran, fresh into the training camp, was added to the camp’s history.

Luo Feng defeated William.

“Click!” The challenge room door opened. A grim-faced William and Luo Feng, holding his phone, walked out together.