Chapter 329: The Founder

"Impossible, Brother Wu is not that kind of person." Wuzang shook his head; A Youyou had even visited when she was on the Moon.

"Nonsense, of course I know that, but feelings aren't something that can be shifted by willpower, especially when the other person is Arths. You don't know, when I was on the Moon, I didn't even dare to look too much. Arths is a goddess; she is simply not someone ordinary people like us can get close to. Looking from afar is fine, but getting close is a disaster. This is absolutely my experience speaking!" Ma Long said.

Wuzang was a bit stunned. If it was Arths, then there really was no way to argue. Wuzang also had to admit her charm. If it were just about singing, that would be one thing—after all, there are people who are tone-deaf or who don't 'get' her style, and aesthetic appreciation is a matter of personal taste. But the moment Arths put on her military uniform and became serious, even Wuzang felt that there seemed to be nothing in this world that could stop her.

"I don't think so."

"Look, even you are hesitating. Hao Ge had the opportunity to spend time with Arths when he was on the Moon. It's very easy to be attracted to someone with such immense and powerful charm. Sigh, not everyone has strong willpower like me," Ma Long said with a sigh.

"I still don't think so. It's probably just a fan."

"I hope so," Daomalong said. "Anyone else would be fine, but Arths is truly a no-go. Honestly, a goddess like her has sky-high standards, and she has the capital to have them. Falling for someone like that will have no result; it's better to just be a fan."

When there was half an hour left before the end of the competition, Arths stood up and pressed the completion button in the top right corner of the screen. Amidst everyone's astonishment, she finished the test early and walked out of the hall.

Arths handed in her paper early???

It went straight to the top of the trending searches. The difficulty of this year's Starship S Tournament was extremely high. After the morning session finished, industry insiders already had their evaluations: the commander's exam would only get harder, not easier. In such a situation, Arths, who was competing for the first time, actually finished early???

What was going on?

Couldn't do it?

Or couldn't sit still anymore?

Regardless, her choice was too reckless. Even if she finished, couldn't she check it over? Just to show off by finishing early?

Many steady conservatives emerged, criticizing Arths's behavior as too rash.

After Arths, other contestants also stood up one after another. As peers, after the morning session, these people had already re-evaluated Arths's strength. Before Arths, Tianjing Martial Arts was probably ranked around seventh or eighth, but now that she had suddenly entered the top three, it only meant that a variable had been added, and that variable was Arths. Everyone present knew what level the other team members of Tianjing were at.

In the afternoon, during the battle of the top experts, there was no such thing as error correction or checking for them. Making judgments had to be precise. In actual combat, who would give you time to correct errors? Accuracy, decisiveness, and speed were mandatory. They just weren't as fast as Arths.

The 16 top Starship Commanders from the Solar System all finished within the allotted time, and each of them was calm and composed. For a Mecha Warrior, passion and impulse are needed, but for a commander, such emotions cannot exist. Even if they do, they must be suppressed deep in the heart. Calmness is the top priority; what they shoulder is a massive team.

All commanders and team members did not leave. They were waiting for the results to come out. The computer was processing at high speed, so it wouldn't take too long.

The team members at the scene were very nervous, especially those from Tianjing Martial Arts. Inside Tianxing Academy, the crowd was surging, and everyone was holding their breath in anticipation. The students of Tianjing Martial Arts knew very well that Arths had passed the selection. Moon People are very intense about chasing stars, but they are also the most rational among the Four Great Federations; they keep things separate. It was just that Arths had endured undue pressure before the competition, which could really cause interference. Moreover, there were experts everywhere, and Tianjing Martial Arts really didn't have that kind of foundation; they were terrified that Arths might fluctuate.

Starting from sixteenth place, names began to appear on the big screen one by one.

Tenth place—Chain Armed, Lanerduo.

Sixth place—North Caro, Sai'anliang.

Fifth place—Fire God Academy, Yezhongnan.

Fourth place—Langwu Academy, Guolida.

Up to this point, Tianjing Martial Arts had not appeared, which meant Arths had broken into the top three. Tianjing Martial Arts was already completely boiling over. Top three was already a victory. The students suppressed the urge to celebrate, held back their emotions, and held their breath waiting for the final ranking.

Likewise, all of Arths's fans were also waiting for the final scores to appear, because the remaining two opponents were two-time S Tournament champions, especially Anluo Dan of Galaxy, who was the Challenger and ruler of starships.

Third place—Eternal Academy, Ace Gelan!

Suddenly, Eternal Academy looked dejected, and the team members were very disappointed. Ace himself had been aiming for first place; how could he only be third?

At the scene, Dita was also incredibly nervous. This girl, no way, she's that fierce? She knew that A Youyou had loved interstellar travel since she was very young and only started liking music later, but what did this have to do with starships? How could she be so powerful?

Everyone held their breath. At this moment, first and second place would be decided between the Dan Emperor and Arths. The Dan Emperor had ruled the starship field for two years; he was a true hegemon, and Galaxy was uniquely strong. Everyone was very confident.

The big screen finally displayed second place.

Second place—Galaxy Academy, Anluo Dan????

P? P?

At this moment, everyone was dumbfounded. The contestants standing at the scene looked at the Tianjing Martial Arts side in disbelief.

And Arths still had a calm expression, her eyes full of that confidence and arrogance, as if she were saying to the whole world: Why didn't you believe in me?

First place: Tianjing Martial Arts, Arths!

An instant explosion; Tianjing Martial Arts had fallen into a boiling ocean. They had created a miracle, their god-like A-Bao!

No, please address her as Empress now!

Applause also rang out at the scene. Even the staff and judges were very surprised. This was the contestant who finished half an hour early, it was Arths, and she was the youngest in the entire venue. Yes, this was also a question many people questioned before the competition: while New Humans absorb and digest knowledge quickly and have better starship operation, 18 years old is the peak; there needs to be a balance, and Arths was too young and lacked experience.

Facing countless gazes, Arths saluted the camera. The competition was not over yet.

This was a crazy Starship S Tournament. The genius teenager Arths, who appeared out of nowhere, used her strength to make everyone shut up. She was no longer just the Arths who was pretty and could only sing!

The Empress was born.

The first day of the competition ended. In terms of overall scores, Galaxy was still ranked first, Tianjing Martial Arts followed closely in second, and third was Eternal Academy.

Although Arths won first place in the commander content test, this weight was relatively small in the overall picture. Tomorrow was the main event; practice produces truth, and just being good at exams was not enough.

Galaxy Academy and Eternal Academy were hegemon-level in this aspect. Of course, even for those who were harsh on Arths, reaching this point today was satisfying enough. For tomorrow's competition, she just needed to show her style.

This was definitely a carnival day for Arths's fans. On this day, the number of Arths's fans increased at the speed of a spaceship. As a singer, there were limitations, and to a large extent, it was also because of her unparalleled beauty, but now her performance in starships had directly raised her to another dimension.

A-Bao for everyone.

Although it had nothing to do with Tianjing Martial Arts, it didn't stop Ma Long and the others from being smug. Having a photo with Arths, they rode the wave of popularity again, especially Zuo Xiaotang; as the only fan with a group photo, that status was truly awesome.

Zuo Xiaotang wanted to treat everyone to a meal, and of course, everyone wanted to give him this chance to show off. Zuoge was also generous, spending a whole month's living expenses at once. How would he live later?

Pfft, not important, just riding the wave is enough.

While eating, Li Hao was also very happy. He didn't know whether he should congratulate A Youyou, and he was afraid of disturbing her, so he finally decided to send a message.

"Aiyouyou, not bad, keep it up tomorrow, maybe you can win the championship!"

After sending the message, Li Hao also happily dragged a chicken leg from Zuo Xiaotang's plate. "How did my leg run over to your side?"

"My leg is also yours, Hao Ge. You eat so much every day, where does it all go?" Ma Long laughed.

Ding-dong.

"Senior, please be more confident, remove the 'maybe'. I am here to win the championship."

Li Hao couldn't help but laugh. Full of confidence, really good. The A Youyou he knew had always been like this, full of passion and confidence in everything...

"Stop laughing. You and A Youyou have been in love for a while, how come you are still like... at the beginning?" Ma Long stuttered. He didn't mean to peek, he just glanced over and seemed to see the words 'win the championship'.

"We are in an interstellar relationship, can't compare to you," Li Hao said with a smile as he closed his Skycom.

"Oh, is A Youyou participating in a dance competition?" Ma Long laughed.

"I don't know, probably not," Li Hao said casually, "Come on, Zuoge, you eat more vegetables, give the meat to me."

Ma Long's heart was thumping, thumping, thumping—could it really be?

That's impossible, right?

"Ma Long, what's wrong with you?" Wuzang asked curiously.

"Ah, nothing, just thinking about other things, let's eat, let's eat."

Ma Long was a bit distracted throughout the meal; he suspected he was being too sensitive, but... if he carefully pieced it all together.

A Youyou's first visit to Tianjing was quite special; she studied Tianjing classical culture, but she could alarm the principal, including going to Udyr's side, and in the face of any situation, A Youyou showed not the slightest bit of stage fright. Then at the airport upon her return, that formation was definitely not something an ordinary rich person could have—a private starship, and then going to Kepler... That's right, Hao Ge mentioned it once, but what kind of place is Kepler? It's not a place just anyone can go to, and at the same time, another person went to Kepler, and that was Arths... which means the two were on the same starship at the time.

Imagining it, although their temperaments were not quite the same, their figures were too similar. A Youyou doesn't have Starry Eyes, but one can wear contact lenses!

At Hailong Academy, Arths chose Tianjing Martial Arts the very first chance she got, nominally saying she wanted to learn about Earth's style, but was it really like that?

Everyone thought it was because Li Hao and Dita were relatively familiar with each other, but was it just because of that?

There was also one biggest problem, which was that after Li Hao was alone with Arths, he actually didn't have much of a reaction. If that were the case, it should only mean he wasn't interested in Arths, but he had clearly been very attentive these past few days, and the way he looked at her was problematic—that was the look of someone in love; he couldn't be wrong about that.

This only pointed to one problem: he was deliberately hiding something.

Just now he actually said he was chatting with A Youyou, and his eyes didn't change at all compared to when he looked at Arths. If one could maintain such a gaze toward two different girls, that would be a veteran of the love game, but he could be certain that this guy was not.

He had clearly just seen her win the championship, but Hao Ge said she didn't participate in a dance competition. No, wait, A Youyou is also from Tianxing Martial Arts...

A bolt from the blue.

Although there were many incredible aspects, when numerous coincidences come together, is it not an inevitability?

A Youyou and Arths being the same person was already approaching ninety-nine percent certainty.

"Ma Long, Ma Long, Ma Laoshi, stop looking, that girl has already passed by a long time ago." Zuo Xiaotang nudged Ma Long. He wasn't even eating, just staring blankly; everyone thought he was staring at the beautiful legs that had just walked by.

Of course, the others had looked too; men, after all, no matter the age, their interests remain unchanged until death.

Ma Long touched his face, his gaze a bit dull, seemingly doubting his life, "That, don't call me Laoshi anymore, I might have run into the grandmaster."