Lightning-type E-rank? My Space-time-type S-rank can't be hidden anymore!

Several local bigwigs from Donghai City in the main stands also noticed that something was wrong.

Zhou Boyuan, the president of the Superpowered Individuals Association, stopped stroking his beard, a glint of light flashing in his cloudy old eyes.

Han Tieshan, the deputy commander of the city's defense forces, sat up straight, his right hand unconsciously resting on the hilt of his sword at his waist.

Su Zhen's face was the most unpleasant.

His fingers gripped the chair armrests tightly, his knuckles turning white.

Zhao Lie leaned closer and asked in a low voice, "Brother Su, didn't you say that kid was an F-rank?"

Su Zhen did not answer.

Because he didn't know how to answer.

F-rank? Can an F-rank have this kind of aura?

However, the record of the Awakening Day cannot be wrong—the Awakening Stone clearly shows that it is an F-rank lightning type.

Everyone in Donghai City knows about this.

unless......

A thought that even he himself couldn't believe popped into Su Zhen's mind.

Unless this kid raised his F-level ability to E-level in just ten days after his awakening day.

Moreover, there are too few superhumans capable of evolving!

Impossible. Absolutely impossible.

Improving one's ability level is more than ten times harder than breaking through a realm; many ability users spend their entire lives without ever being able to raise their ability level by one.

Ten days? From F to E? Are you kidding me?

While everyone was lost in their own thoughts, the black-haired boy walked to the center of the arena.

He stopped about twenty meters away from Su Qingyue.

Then he gripped the shaft behind his back and took the battle-worn spear from its handle, the butt of which fell to the ground.

"boom--"

A dull thud.

The entire room fell silent.

The black-haired boy raised his head, his gaze passing over the arena and landing on Su Zhen in the main stands.

His voice wasn't loud, but it carried clearly throughout the entire arena.

"I have arrived as promised in ten days."

Each word was like a nail driven into the ground.

"Let's settle our old scores today."

As soon as he finished speaking, an invisible aura suddenly emanated from him.

That wasn't the pressure of a superpower—his lightning-type superpower was only at level E, far from reaching the level of pressure.

It was something purer, a killing intent forged from countless life-or-death battles.

The ordinary spectators in the stands felt a tightness in their chests, as if something was pressing down on them.

Those who are truly skilled perceive it even more clearly.

Qin Ruolan suddenly stood up.

Ye Lin's pupils contracted slightly.

Lei Meng's hand unconsciously clenched into a fist.

Gu Cheng finally took the cigarette out of his mouth.

The teachers from the four universities simultaneously put aside their previous spectator mentality.

They originally thought today's match would be a crushing defeat—an S-rank Ice type versus an F-rank Thunder type—and the result was a foregone conclusion.

They came here only for Su Qingyue; that F-rank kid was just an extra.

But now it seems this competition is about to get interesting.

Su Zhen slowly stood up.

As the head of the Su family and the initiator of this competition, he had to say something.

This is the rule, and it's also about propriety.

"Gentlemen—" He cleared his throat, his voice ringing out loudly in the quiet arena.

"Today is a day of agreement between the Su family and the Lin family. Ten days ago, Lin Yuan and Qingyue made a duel agreement, the winner—"

"Bang!"

A loud bang interrupted him.

Lin Yuan slammed his spear into the ground again, this time with more than twice the force of the previous strike.

The gun barrel struck the ground, sending shards of stone flying. A visible shockwave emanated from him, spreading outwards and kicking up a cloud of dust.

"Stop talking nonsense."

The black-haired boy raised his head, his gaze resolute.

"Let's get started."

Su Zhen's lips twitched.

In front of the teachers of the four top universities, and in front of all the prominent figures in Donghai City, he was interrupted like this by an eighteen-year-old boy.

This is practically a slap in the face to him.

But he was, after all, the head of the Su family, and he still had the ability to maintain his composure.

He took a deep breath, suppressed his surging emotions, and put on a proper smile again.

"Since my dear nephew is in such a hurry," he said, slowly sitting back down, his voice carrying a hint of barely perceptible coldness.

"Then let's begin."

The words fell.

In the center of the arena, two gazes collided in the air.

Su Qingyue looked at the black-haired boy opposite her.

He has changed a lot in the ten days I haven't seen him.

My skin is a bit darker, from the sun on the wasteland.

The lines on my face are more defined, sculpted by the wind and rain of the past ten days.

The spear on his back bore countless battle marks, each one seemingly telling a silent story of what he had experienced over the past ten days.

But those eyes didn't change.

Just like ten days ago—calm and composed.

"Lin Yuan," she said softly, her voice carrying a complex emotion, "you've come."

Lin Yuan looked at her, a slight smile playing on his lips.

"I am coming."

Su Qingyue was silent for a moment, then stretched out her right hand.

A beam of icy blue light shone in her palm.

After the light faded, a long sword appeared in her hand.

The sword is long and slender, its entire body as clear as ice crystals. The hilt is shaped like an ice phoenix with outstretched wings, protecting the hand holding the sword.

It was created by Su Qingyue using source power, and it only has the power of a low-level first rank.

A pale blue halo flowed across the sword, and with each movement of the halo, tiny ice crystals drifted down from the sword.

S-rank ice-type ability - Ice Phoenix.

Six rounds of tempering.

First-order triplet.

Su Qingyue's sword-wielding posture was very standard, clearly indicating that she had received rigorous swordsmanship training.

The sword tip points diagonally to the ground, the body is slightly turned to the side, and the left hand lightly presses the sword gesture on the right wrist—this is the starting stance of the Su family's ancestral sword technique.

"I won't hold back," she said.

"Just what I wanted." Lin Yuan held his spear horizontally in front of him, the tip pointing straight ahead.

His starting stance was completely unpretentious.

There were no family-inherited techniques, no trace of guidance from a master, only the most comfortable posture that he figured out on his own after killing demons in the wasteland for ten days.

Stand with your feet parallel, knees slightly bent, and lower your center of gravity.

Hold the gun with both hands, right hand in front and left hand behind, the shaft close to the forearm, and the tip of the gun level with the line of sight.

Simple. Direct. No unnecessary steps.

Qin Ruolan frowned even more deeply.

She noticed.

This kid's marksmanship has no teacher—or rather, his "master" is the monsters he killed in the wasteland.

Every move and technique is honed in actual combat; there's no fancy trickery involved. Everything is designed to defeat the opponent as quickly, ruthlessly, and effectively as possible.

That kind of marksmanship is unattractive.

But it must be deadly.

The air in the arena seemed to freeze.

Everyone held their breath, waiting for the moment the competition would begin.

The morning light poured down from the edge of the arena, illuminating the two weapons.

A sword, its surface shimmering with ice crystals, is exquisitely beautiful.

A spear, riddled with wounds, exuding a chilling killing intent.

Su Qingyue was the first to move.

She lightly touched the ground with her toes, and her whole body transformed into a white blur as she darted forward.

The Ice Phoenix Sword in his hand drew an arc of icy blue light, and wherever the sword's edge passed, the moisture in the air instantly condensed into tiny ice crystals.

The first strike is a straight thrust.

With a simple sword strike, but enhanced by an S-rank ice-type ability, a visible ice spike condensed at the tip of the sword, piercing towards Lin Yuan's chest with a piercing sound.

Lin Yuan did not back down.

He twirled the spear in his hand, then flicked the tip upwards.

Lightning exploded at the tip of the spear.

"boom--"