Chapter 264: Who Says Only Those Standing in the Light Are Heroes

The wall flickered, and the third strike arrived quickly. It was clear that Huo Ying was already injured; he absolutely could not withstand this strike. The disparity in strength between the two was vast, but being able to reach this point—while technically beyond scrutiny—meant that in terms of physical fortitude and willpower, Huo Ying was no weakling.

The silver steel pillar for the third strike pushed out; the speed was not very fast, but this time it was a steady advance.

Lv Gang did not dare to be careless. He stepped out heavily, his entire body's strength pouring out, his terrifying Burning Will fully unleashed. He resisted it head-on, and all those who still harbored a sliver of luck in their hearts, wanting to challenge the North Caro team in the Mid-Season Tournament, were silenced.

Yet even so, Lv Gang still could not stop the steel pillar. This was a terrifying mechanical force driving the advance, intended to push the person out of the circle. Of course, it was evident he was controlling the rhythm, confident that while standing inside the circle, he would not get injured just because of a test.

Huo Ying also rushed up, not caring in the slightest about his hands. In truth, his opponent had already vanished from his eyes, but his resistance was clearly far weaker than Lv Gang's. Lv Gang had already slowed the steel pillar's advance, while Huo Ying, his voice already hoarse, could do almost nothing. The steel pillar was pushing him out bit by bit; there was no saving this.

Boom, boom, boom...

Huo Ying suddenly slammed his chest against the steel pillar three times in succession, but this was no different from an egg hitting a rock. It did indeed slow the speed a little, but the price was too heavy; blood seeped directly from his ears and nose.

This had already exceeded the limit; the entire arena was deathly silent.

Huo Ying hugged the steel pillar for dear life. His ribs were already broken, and his body was retreating bit by bit, but his legs were still exerting force. His teeth were grinding and clicking, but it was useless.

His legs had already reached the edge, while Lv Gang was still a space ahead of him, very stable.

Suddenly, the baring-his-teeth Huo Ying smiled again. His legs held firm, and the steel pillar actually retreated a little. Huo Ying's pupils had lost their color, only to be flooded with blood in the next second. Instantly, the powerful strength of the awakened Golden Zone poured into his entire body, and accompanied by a roar like a wild beast, he moved step by step, stubbornly pushing the steel pillar back seven or eight centimeters.

Everyone who saw this scene was dumbfounded, because at this moment, Huo Ying had already lost consciousness; he was exerting force entirely by instinct.

Suddenly, the steel pillar stopped. After pausing for two seconds, it slowly began to retract. Time was up.

The third stage ended.

Huo Ying remained standing there in his original posture. "Pass. Draw." Lu Donglei's voice was very powerful.

He did not know how strong Li Wu was, but as a Team Leader, being able to lead such team members meant he wouldn't be bad!

As soon as Lu Donglei's voice fell, Li Hao had appeared beside Huo Ying before anyone knew it. Medical personnel also rushed over, but were blocked by Li Hao reaching out a hand.

Li Hao, supporting Huo Ying, held the posture for more than ten seconds before Huo Ying's stiff body slowly collapsed. The doctor hurriedly took over, looking at Li Hao with eyes full of resentment. "What are you doing? Delaying treatment will cause trouble."

"Ah, sorry, apologies, apologies. It's fine now, please," Li Wu hurriedly said, bowing.

The doctor hurriedly administered an emergency injection and then carried Huo Ying away.

Suddenly, everyone realized that things were not that simple; the Tianjing Martial Arts team was not as vulnerable as they had imagined.

The third item arrived.

Zuo Xiaotang took the stage, and everyone's gaze focused on this little fatty.

"Hey, little fatty, don't pee your pants!" someone in the crowd shouted. People pick on the softest targets, but there was no response.

This was what Huo Ying had fought for.

Zuo Xiaotang did not turn his head, and his expression did not change. He was about to face the anchor of the North Caro team, Vice Captain Victoria, the long-time number one in EMP, a former member of the Tianqi Youth Class, and the strongest Sniper.

The two arrived in the arena, calibrated the Huwei M2 in their hands, and put on their goggles. The entire arena remained very quiet.

Dignity is earned by oneself, not given by others.

Inside the goggles, Zuo Xiaotang closed his eyes.

The first row of flying discs flew out. Bang, bang, bang, bang~

The Huwei M2s in both their hands exploded with sound simultaneously, but before anyone could react,

all the flying discs on Zuo Xiaotang's side had already been shot down, and two seconds later, Victoria finished shooting, though both were perfect scores.

The entire arena was deathly silent, staring dumbfounded at the little fatty who seemed like a waste of space.

He had actually performed a full-line predictive suppression rapid-fire. This kind of confidence, precision, and feel was simply like a machine. And hadn't he not awakened the Golden Zone? How did he achieve such precise locking???

The second round of flying discs flew out, their trajectories chaotic, and there was even variable speed. Zuo Xiaotang didn't wait for the discs to fully take flight; the M2 in his hand clicked rapidly, and almost as soon as a disc poked its head out, it was completely blown away.

On the other side, Victoria was very steady, firing with precision; not a single disc escaped.

It was still a draw, but in terms of level, the shooting technique Zuo Xiaotang currently displayed was unprecedented.

At this moment, a roaring sound erupted. The shooting range was filled with explosions, causing the ears to completely lose their judgment. At the same time, the noisy, clattering sounds clamored against Zuo Xiaotang and Victoria. Whether or not they possessed the Golden Zone didn't matter anymore; their brains would be buzzing from the booming noise.

And at this moment, twelve flying discs flew out in a scattered manner. Zuo Xiaotang struck first again, his M2 firing with the precise, rhythmic clicking of a ruthless machine: pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa...

Like an artistic, fluid, and precise barrage, he popped all the flying discs. The moment the last disc was popped, a small flying disc was ejected at high speed; before it could even gain speed, it was popped by Zuo Xiaotang with a single shot.

On the other side, Victoria also made precise judgments. The explosive, brain-rattling noise did not have a major impact on him, but there was still some interference, so his accuracy was a bit risky, but he still completed it. After all, his Zone, technique, and experience were all top-tier.

It was just that compared to Zuo Xiaotang on the other side, he was a bit inferior—though only when compared to Zuo Xiaotang.

This kind of God Marksman was unheard of.

The third match ended; it was still a draw.

If in the second stage, Lv Gang performed better and crushed Huo Ying, then in this stage, it was Zuo Xiaotang who performed better and crushed Victoria.

No matter how famous Victoria was, at least in this test, he was completely blown away by Zuo Xiaotang. His feel was stronger, his confidence was greater, his mentality was steadier, and his anti-interference ability could be called invincible.

"Well shot, Zuoge!" Ma Laoshi couldn't hold it in anymore and roared wildly, waving his arms toward the North Caro team's direction.

Don't talk about mere noise; Zuoge is someone who could fall asleep even when facing Giant Insects!

Weren't you guys quite arrogant? Why are you wilting now? Keep barking for me!

After three small rounds, the North Caro team was only leading by one point. And the two rounds that were considered a sure thing, which also involved the two key figures of this dispute, had actually produced the willpower and ability most craved in the Mid-Season Tournament.

Pa~ pa-pa~~~

The one clapping was Lu Donglei. From the start of the training camp until now, Huo Ying's performance was the best. I only saw the bloodiness and the will to win of a Warrior in him; this deserves applause!

Those who cannot be reborn from the jaws of death do not deserve to win.

Ma Long shouted the loudest and clapped the hardest. The Warriors on the left gave enthusiastic applause, while those on the right could only follow along with a sparse, perfunctory effort.

How should I put it? There was plenty of courage but insufficient strength, yet one has to admit that this person managed to survive a desperate situation and stubbornly fought for a draw.

Lu Donglei swept his gaze across. Although dissatisfied, he didn't say anything. There are some things that cannot change one's viewpoint in one or two tries. What they didn't understand was that in the match against NUP, everyone needed to achieve this level to have a chance at victory, because at that time, they would be the weaker side.

It's just that they are obsessed with their own strength and current achievements, completely unable to hear or see the real situation outside. This limitation must be broken.

"Right now, the North Caro team leads one to zero. Next is the singles match between Chao Qinglong and Li Hao. Don't think this point is useless; it means that as long as Chao Qinglong draws, he wins," Lu Donglei said in a deep voice. In future battles, any small advantage might eventually change the course of the war.

In this battle, the Tianjing Martial Arts team had no way out; they had to defeat Chao Qinglong to continue staying in the Mid-Season Tournament.

The Warriors on the right

Most of them looked relaxed; in fact, the absence of Curtis was not a bad thing for most people. Curtis and his Dome Royal Team were just lackeys for the North Caro tournament; they had strength, but were also quite annoying, always claiming to be second, ordering this person and that person around, and making that so-called Supernova Organization the same way, insisting on having a ranking to highlight themselves.

Now it was finally quiet, and there was one more spot available.

On the left, Aofei and the others were also very relaxed; from beginning to end, they still believed Li Hao was stronger, especially Aofei and Luo Bi, whose smug habits were coming out again as he winked and made faces at the opposite side.

"Luo Bi, what are you smugly showing off for? The fight hasn't even started yet!" Perkins said; he did not fear Luo Bi, as this guy Luo Bi was at most just Burning Will.

"Ha, Perkins, you're scared; when Chao Qinglong kneels in a moment, I'll see what you do. You seem to have forgotten the Second Brother's methods; when we settle scores after the harvest, if he wants to deal with you, it's a matter of minutes," Luo Bi said, baring his teeth and pointing at Perkins.

Perkins's expression froze, "Bullshit, this is a Mid-Season Tournament match, what does it have to do with me!" Luo Bi laughed loudly, and Perkins shrank his head; although he had confidence in Chao Qinglong... it seemed he didn't have that much confidence after all.

Damn it, why did he have to wade into these muddy waters? How did it end up in a one-on-one? This shouldn't be; where was the calculation wrong?

"General, is there a larger arena?" Chao Qinglong asked expressionlessly, not surprised by this result.

Lu Donglei nodded; although he felt this arena was big enough, he did not ask any more questions.

Chao Qinglong had waited for so many years and had accumulated enough confidence and strength, but he had never unified the USE. Without being able to act as a complete leader, internal friction would occur during the S Tournament, and some would even be unwilling to exhaust their opponents; these potential details would also affect their fortune, ultimately leading to the success of Mars and the Moon.

Earth only needs one king.