Chapter 571: Twelve-Winged Angel! Su Yu's Defeat!

The commentator's voice echoed in his ears, and under the staff's guidance, Xu Jingming returned to the preparation area.

"What a wonderful match! Congratulations on advancing to the finals."

The moment he returned, Su Yu rose from his seat, clapping and smiling.

The blonde woman Catherine on the other side still wore that same placid, unmoved expression.

"You do your best too — try to turn the finals into an internal showdown for our Great Xia."

Xu Jingming replied with a smile.

"Haha, definitely, definitely!" Su Yu laughed heartily.

Yet his gaze instinctively swept toward Catherine's direction.

Like him, Catherine had also been personally trained by America's top-tier powerhouse.

Her strength was formidable, and as for the upcoming semifinals — who would win, who would lose — he wasn't sure of the final outcome either.

"Alright, then I'll head up to the arena first."

With a wave of his hand, Su Yu picked up a battle saber and walked toward the left-side entrance to the arena.

Catherine likewise rose and headed toward the right-side passage.

Perhaps it was a trick of the eye, but Xu Jingming felt that as Catherine stood up,

her gaze seemed to lightly sweep this way, as if confirming something......

"Mr. Xu, your finals match will continue in one hour.

Would you like to wait in the preparation area, or be teleported back to the spectator seats?"

An attendant who had been standing by at all times stepped forward and asked respectfully.

Although battles in the virtual world don't actually consume one's real-world abilities,

a single fight still causes a certain degree of mental fatigue.

Therefore, the crucial finals only begin one hour after the semifinals end,

giving the contestants time to recover and rest.

"Teleport me back to the spectator seats," Xu Jingming replied.

After Su Yu and Catherine left, Xu Jingming was the only one left in the preparation area — staying here any longer served no purpose.

"Understood." The attendant nodded and waved his right hand.

The next moment,

Xu Jingming vanished on the spot, suddenly teleporting into an empty seat beside Song Qiuyun in the spectator stands.

"Jingming, you're back?" Song Qiuyun and Jiang Chuxuan showed pleasantly surprised expressions.

"I was the only one left in the preparation area — rather than wait there, I might as well come back to the stands."

Xu Jingming replied with a smile.

"Holy crap! It's Lei Di!"

"I can see Lei Di here! This is amazing — paying ten times the price for this seat was totally worth it!"

"Lei Di, can I have your electronic autograph?"

"......"

The entire stadium was identical to reality, and people in adjacent seats could see one another.

So when Xu Jingming teleported back, the spectators in the surrounding seats erupted in excitement.

Xu Jingming could only helplessly activate Do Not Disturb mode to block out the voices of the surrounding audience.

All he could hear was the sound coming from the holographic projection.

"Judging by this hype, Jingming, once you step outside from now on, you'll get treated like a celebrity."

Song Qiuyun said with a giggle.

"I'd rather not — it's too much trouble." Xu Jingming shook his head.

Nobody likes being gawked at like a monkey in a zoo wherever they go.

"True, but once the buzz from the Global Exchange Tournament dies down, things should get much better."

Jiang Chuxuan said with a beaming smile.

During the Genius Tournament, whether in the virtual world or the real one, promotional clips could be seen everywhere.

Xu Jingming's appearance was firmly imprinted in people's minds — impossible to forget even if they wanted to.

But once the Genius Tournament ended and the promotional videos disappeared, Xu Jingming would most likely be quickly forgotten.

Even if someone did run into him outside, at most they'd get that vague feeling of "this person looks somehow familiar."

"Mm." Xu Jingming nodded and turned his gaze to the holographic projection above the stadium.

Su Yu and Catherine had already taken the stage, about to begin this round of the semifinals.

Su Yu wielded a battle saber one and a half meters long, extremely slender.

Its shape resembled a Tang saber, its entire body gleaming with a cold light.

Catherine's weapon, on the other hand, was an ornate, holy longsword.

"Jingming, between Catherine and Su Yu, who do you think has the higher chance of winning?"

Song Qiuyun asked curiously.

"Too little information — can't judge." Xu Jingming shook his head.

Like him, in their previous battles Su Yu and Catherine had basically never revealed their true strength, steamrolling and one-shotting their way through.

Therefore,

he had no idea just how strong the two of them actually were, or what trump cards they were hiding.

"I see, then we can only watch how the fight unfolds."

Song Qiuyun nodded thoughtfully and turned her attention to the holographic projection.

"Both sides, prepare!"

"3... 2... 1... Match begins!"

On the arena,

The moment the match was announced, the commentator's figure vanished.

Su Yu and Catherine simultaneously activated their abilities, and waves of air surged outward!

They were both SS-rank: Su Yu, the Yin Candle Dragon; Catherine, the Holy Angel.

After activating his ability, Su Yu's body swelled slightly, becoming leaner and longer.

His right arm transformed into a dragon arm, the dragon claw firmly gripping the long blade.

His eyes turned pale gold, the Candle Dragon pupils sweeping with the overwhelming aura of ancient wilderness.

On the other side, Catherine grew three pairs of pure white wings behind her.

A milky-white halo floated above her head, just like a true angel!

It was her light-element weapon, only brought out after reaching the semifinals.

Hum—

Endless searing light erupted from her, pouring toward Su Yu.

Yet when the light entered Su Yu's hundred-meter range, it vanished completely.

As if some invisible barrier had swallowed the light.

"In myth, the Yin Candle Dragon possesses invulnerability to all arts."

"It seems Su Yu's SS-rank ability has a similar effect."

Xu Jingming's gaze flickered.

Of course,

Su Yu could not truly achieve invulnerability to all arts—he could merely block weaker abilities.

After activating their abilities, both sides launched their attacks simultaneously.

The battle rapidly escalated into a frenzy, holy light and blood qi ravaging the entire arena.

Both unleashed their ultimate techniques, hurling high-tier combat arts at each other.

Every casual clash exploded with terrifying energy fluctuations.

This was entirely beyond the power they had previously shown!

"Saint! Saint!"

"Su Yu! Su Yu!"

"......"

The crowd's cheers and shouts filled the entire stadium, stirring blood and passion.

The two fought for over three minutes, yet still could not determine a winner.

"Their strength is evenly matched, slightly stronger than me in Thunder Extreme State."

"But weaker than me in Thunder Storm State."

In the audience seats, Xu Jingming silently estimated the power gap between himself, Su Yu, and Catherine.

If their strength was only this much, then in the upcoming finals, he could say he was certain to win!

Just as he thought this, a sudden change erupted on the arena!

Catherine's body erupted in brilliant golden light; her three pairs of wings instantly doubled to six pairs!

Whoosh—

Twelve pure white wings flapped, and Catherine's aura surged more than twice its previous strength!

"What? You still have another card?" Su Yu's face turned pale.

He had already used all his cards—he had no stronger power left.

"Su Yu, I admit you are strong, but unfortunately, you still fall short of me.

I will shatter your Great Xia dream of claiming first and second place! Holy Light Slash!"

A hollow, sacred voice rang out as Catherine, with twelve wings behind her, slashed with her sword.

A blinding blade of light pierced heaven and earth—in an instant, it pierced and shredded Su Yu!