Chapter 522: Turning the tide?

Wow, Teacher Lin is so amazing!

He's incredibly strong, living up to Teacher Lin!

Really impressive.

As their conversation voices came from the screen, the venue burst into exclamations.

Compared to the students, the teachers were more reserved, not speaking out, but their widened eyes told of their inner surprise.

To be honest, Wang Jie lasting this long is already not bad; if it were them going up, they'd probably get hit when Lin Ziwei fired three or four ice spikes.

As for that ice wall that appeared later, its speed was too fast; they could hardly dodge it, basically crashing straight into it— they couldn't even imagine that scene.

"This is the first match; there are two more to come. I wonder if Teacher Wang can turn the tide," a male teacher whispered to the person beside him.

"I think it's hopeless; Teacher Lin's mastery of the water element is too high— even at level 10, her speed is far above others'. Not just one match, even if there were three more, the result would be the same."

"Yeah, anyone can see that, but I still hope Teacher Wang can seize the chance and win a match."

At that moment, the two figures disappeared from the screen; the words 'mid‑break' appeared in the center, and below there was a 90‑second countdown.

Once this period ends, the second battle will begin.

Inside the virtual cabin, Wang Jie closed his eyes, recalling the previous scenes in his mind.

He actually knew very well that the result of the next round would be no different from the previous one, but what if?

If he somehow found a weakness in the upcoming battle and defeated Lin Ziwei, it wouldn't be impossible.

That way, he could drag the match to the third round—the final—so even if he lost, it wouldn't be too embarrassing.

To outright admit defeat would be absolutely impossible, let alone with so many school leaders present; even facing the students alone, it wouldn't do.

In another cabin, Lin Ziwei was also resting with her eyes closed.

Compared to Wang Jie, she was much more relaxed; as long as she didn't get careless going forward, the former had no chance to beat her, not even a chance to get close.

Soon, the 90‑second countdown ended, and the two reappeared on the screen, just as before.

The countdown hit three‑two‑one, and at the moment it ended, Wang Jie surged forward.

This time, he changed his tactics, deciding to strike first.

Lin Ziwei remained calm, raising her hand to fire two ice spikes, both of which Wang Jie dodged perfectly.

From this one can see that the latter hadn't pushed his speed to the limit, still holding back, likely to prevent a repeat of the previous scene.

Thinking this, Lin Ziwei curled her lips into a smile; since that was the case, she would adopt a kite‑flying tactic.

Ice spikes flew from her hands one after another, each a bit faster than before.

At first Wang Jie could still dodge them, but later he couldn't avoid them, only able to smash the ice spikes with his longsword; afterward, the ice‑spike attacks grew denser, and his body was sliced, blood trickling out.

Meanwhile, the distance between him and Lin Ziwei kept growing.

"This is the helplessness of a Force Warrior."

Seeing this, someone in the school leaders' section sighed, saying the situation on the field was obvious even to the students.

"Yeah, a Force Warrior who follows the physical‑body path finds it hard to offset the short‑reach disadvantage when facing an energy‑path or Spiritual Thought Master opponent, unlike upon reaching Grandmaster level, where one can channel internal force through specific acupoints to gain a burst of power."

"Not bad, but this is the Academy Grand Competition; there's nothing we can do. If we really held a Grandmaster Grand Competition, the difficulty would be too high and there wouldn't be enough participants."

Yeah.

Others also nodded in agreement.

The purpose of holding the Grand Competition is still to let the students watch and gain some inspiration; if it were at Grandmaster level, the match would be over before they knew what happened.

Just then, the battle on the field was also drawing to a close.

Wang Jie was now covered in wounds, continuously gasping for breath.

He knew that if he kept dragging it out, losing the match was a foregone conclusion, so he launched two charges, but in vain—they were repelled and he suffered serious injuries.

Gazing at the white figure not far away, he sighed, "Teacher Lin, I concede this match."

The venue fell silent; most people weren't surprised by the result.

They could see that Wang Jie had given his all; even with everything he had, he couldn't win, so what's the point of not conceding?

Soon, the two walked out of the virtual storage; Wang Jie gave Lin Ziwei a wry smile, and she comforted him: "Teacher Wang, don't take it to heart—I just had the advantage of longer reach."

Teacher Lin, you're being too modest— it's just that my skill is inferior. They said this as they stepped down from the stage.

At the same time, the second group came up.

Compared to the first group, the second group's members were roughly equal in strength, and they were all Spiritual Thought Masters, which added considerable suspense to the match.

As soon as the countdown ended, the screen rang with a clinking collision sound.

Both sides controlled psychic weapons, launching attacks while also blocking the incoming psychic weapons of the opponent.

Back and forth, it was intensely fierce.

Jiang Cheng looked a bit bored.

The two each controlled a fair number of psychic weapons— five each, certainly not few— but judging by their proficiency, they were still a bit lacking; when the psychic weapons attacked, their movements were noticeably clumsy.

If it were him up there, even without merging the five psychic weapons into one, he could shatter each of the opponent's weapons one by one and thus win.

On the field, both Spiritual Thought Masters had acquired many wounds; just then, one teacher seized the opportunity, pierced the opponent's throat with a psychic weapon, and won the match.

After a while, it was finally Jiang Cheng's turn to go on stage.

Zou Ping also appeared alongside him; from the look on his face, the pressure was indeed considerable.

Not long after, two figures appeared on the screen.

Teacher Jiang, please instruct me.

Zou Ping spoke first, his eyes full of fighting spirit.

He knew his chances of winning this match were slim, but how would he know unless he tried?

Teacher Zou, please instruct me.

Jiang Cheng nodded.

The countdown ended.

Zou Ping immediately grabbed his knife and rushed forward.

The lesson from the previous match is right before our eyes; if we let Jiang Cheng continue to be worn down, his fate will be no different from Wang Jie's in the first match.

However, in the next second, something happened that no one present, including him, could have anticipated!

(End of chapter)