Chapter 480: A Glimmer of Hope

Inside and outside the arena, all the spectators were nearly conquered by Xilian and his Sea Dragon. At this moment, multiple pieces of information regarding Xilian were dominating the trending searches. A perfect man—handsome, wealthy, a great Warrior, and even a scientist—paired with that handsome face, he instantly conquered countless young girls.

The people in the contestant area were also deterred by this powerful strength. "Davari-shi," honestly, Maxis, Basta, and Chao Qinglong really hadn't realized it. He was very strong back in the day, but Davari-shi was unwilling to show it and rarely made a move. They only knew he was strong, but didn't know he had become strong to this extent. The only thing that hadn't changed was his stutter of many years.

Anlita, Klein, and Davari-shi—the three great generals under the Sun God—could take on other teams single-handedly if you just picked any one of them.

The other Big Dipper Seven Stars, such as Laika, were all stunned. Dita was even more bewildered than the rest. What was this? How could he be this powerful?

She had thought that with effort and some time, she could catch up. Now she... wanted to change her major. Perhaps the Starship Department was more suitable for her. This was too despairing; how could one catch up to this?

And the key was, there were so many of them?

In literature, there is no first place; in martial arts, there is no second place. This suppression was too strong, leaving no chance at all.

"Your Li Hao is out of luck. It's such a pity; he's handsome, can fight, and has the temperament of a commander, but the future belongs to Xilian," Dita said with emotion. "I really need to seriously consider changing my major next year."

"This is nothing strange, after all, it's the bloodline of Meraphis." As she spoke, Su Yu deliberately glanced at A Youyou to see if she had any reaction. That rumor—it was impossible for her not to have heard of it.

A Youyou just smiled slightly. "This situation should be within Senior's plan. I think he should be prepared."

Dita couldn't help but curl her lip. Since she was little, she couldn't stand A Youyou being so smug. "I have that kind of preparation too: lying flat."

"Sister Dita, be mature." A Youyou blinked and teased, "You are different from him."

"Oh, this little girl, humph. I want to see how he turns this around!" From Dita's rational and professional perspective, it was over. Of course, there was also a bit of regret for a runner-up. Even if it was a very hard-won runner-up, in the eyes of the Daliven Family, it was worthless. Not to mention there was a glorious protagonist like Xilian standing there. For A Youyou to want to resist, it was truly... difficult.

It wasn't just Dita who felt this way; the Tianjing crowd had similar thoughts. The era ruled by Xilian had returned, stronger and more terrifying than before. Now, without the checks and balances of Nangong Yuhang, his strength was even more prominent.

"From now on, we'll all have to live at the mercy of Xilian," Gangtaisai Butan said with a bitter smile.

"It's not over yet!" Yintai Dumeila had always disliked Xilian's aristocratic style that was ingrained in his bones. "I actually think this is the true beginning."

"The times are different. Sea Dragon's resources and team will make Sea Dragon stronger and stronger, while there are too many things restricting Tianjing Martial Arts. Unless Li Ge changes teams, though with his personality, that's probably not very likely."

The expressions of the Mars contestants were also not very good. They still preferred the Warring States era. The competition between Earth and the Moon was the space for Mars to continuously grow; this was the core of Mars growing in the cracks. Now that the Moon wanted to unify the world, Mars' room for upward mobility would be gone. Earth might even give up competing with the Moon and turn to suppress them instead. The big picture was like this, and it was the same in the major Martian military academies. The three-legged balance had always been the driving force for Mars to continuously improve, and what Xilian had always wanted to do was establish absolute hegemony and dominance. In every aspect, he was forming a full-range dimensionality reduction strike against contestants of the same level.

"Li Ge, you have to hold on!"

"Hold? How to hold?"

"I feel like it would only be possible if Chao Qinglong and the others formed a team together."

"Or maybe we should just form a joint team with Mars and Titan in the future."

The corners of Chao Qinglong, Maxis, and Basta's mouths were also a bit bitter. As a Moon Person, Maxis wasn't much better off. Days without Xilian were undoubtedly "free" for a powerhouse like him. With Xilian's sudden emergence, it was very likely that there would only be one voice in the Moon's military academy world from now on. What was harder to deal with was that Xilian was not Victor. Xilian's shrewdness and the resources he controlled were simply not something they could compare to.

"Theoretically, there is still a chance," Basta said with a bitter smile. He was also someone who understood Xilian, but including himself, they all felt that even if Xilian made a comeback, his sharp edge would be gone, and the times were different too. It seemed they had thought too simply; from the very beginning, they weren't thinking about the problem on the same plane.

Xilian's comeback was not rushed. He built momentum in other areas, waiting until the key node of a three-peat—when the timing, location, people, and fortune were all together—to arrive here.

Chao Qinglong shrugged helplessly and looked at everyone. "I will carefully consider joining Tianjing Martial Arts next year."

Basta and Maxis shook their heads with bitter smiles. They also knew that Chao Qinglong was just joking. North Caro wouldn't agree, and at his position, he really couldn't do it. It wasn't to say the relationship wasn't good; after all, this wasn't the past anymore. If it really reached that point, Xilian would truly be glorious.

In the Tianjing Martial Arts operation room, after a period of rest, Zhou Naiyi had recovered slightly, but her mood had also hit rock bottom. Before the match, Li Hao had pointed out the key to the Bullet Jump, but in the end, they still fell short. She knew how important this match was. Even a draw would have been a salvation. Now, Tianjing Martial Arts wasn't just standing on the edge of a cliff; they had already fallen off, with only one hand still clinging to the edge.

"I'm sorry." Finally, Zhou Naiyi's eyes turned red. She couldn't take it anymore. This was only her second S Tournament. She had seen how much everyone had paid along the way. As a Mobile Suit pilot, standing on the dream-like final stage—a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity—she had lost the key match.

Although Tan Ziyuan and Sheng Man had red eyes, they held it back, but Lu Lingxiao couldn't hold on. Bean-sized tears poured down, but she covered her mouth, not wanting to make a sound.

Cheng Konghai was seriously injured; he found it difficult even to speak. At this moment, he was also silent. He hated himself for being unable to defeat Klein. Wuzang was also silent; perhaps he should have had the best chance, but Li Xiangshan was more resolute and better prepared than him. As for Zuo Xiaotang, he was still in a daze. Although the conflict of his Second Personality had ended, he still needed to recover himself.

The atmosphere in the Tianjing Martial Arts operation room dropped to freezing point. Suddenly, a voice rang out. "Hey, hey, what is everyone doing? The match isn't over yet. Our Team Leader hasn't gone up yet. A theoretical chance is still a chance! Let's take it down first!" Huo Ying said loudly. In terms of atmosphere, he had always been top-tier, and it really wasn't an act.

Everyone looked at Huo Ying. Huo Ying looked strange. "What's wrong with you guys? Isn't this how we've come all the way here? As long as we haven't lost, we have to keep fighting!"

"But... it's already impossible..." Lu Lingxiao sobbed.

"What do you mean impossible? If it were impossible, the referee would have announced the end of the match. If it's not over, we have to fight!" Huo Ying pounded his chest. "What a glorious battlefield this is! Being able to step onto such a battlefield is the desire of countless people. What is there to be depressed about!"

How he longed to be able to participate. More pathetic than failure was watching the dream battlefield right before one's eyes but being unable to participate. But he hadn't given up, nor did he regret it. He had done everything he could and was willing to accept any result.

"Where is Hao Ge?" Huo Ying asked.

"He seems to have gone to the restroom."

Usually, going to the restroom at a time like this meant being nervous. Along the way, Li Hao had been too calm, which was the source of everyone's confidence and reliance. But he was nervous facing this situation. Actually, the one under the most pressure was him. Entering the S Tournament, except for the first opponent who was relatively weak, he had to risk his life in every match afterward, struggling to win. Others only had to consider one match, but he had to shoulder the entire event.

Li Hao walked back. As soon as he entered the door, everyone's eyes were fixed on him. Li Hao was startled and looked at his hands. "Oh, I forgot to wash my hands."

As he said this, he turned to go back, then looked back. "Is it not funny? You guys are too humorless. What's wrong with Naiyi? Did you bully the Class Monitor!"

"How could we? Everyone is a bit depressed. Hao Ge, tell them the method to win the championship." Huo Ying asked directly. He didn't have so many twists and turns. The championship was right at their fingertips; no one would believe it if he said he didn't want it.

"Take down Xilian, then win the team battle, and that's it. Either we are the champions, or we aren't. We have a fifty-fifty chance either way," Li Hao laughed.

Everyone was bewildered. "Cough, cough, Hao Ge, even so, we only have three points. If we draw with Sea Dragon, then there will be a tie-breaker. The tie-breaker is a random draw for both sides..." Ma Long smiled bitterly. He was of no use at all. In a team battle of this level, going up wasn't even enough to fill the gaps between their teeth. He had deeply felt the deep waters of Mecha. He would go back and honestly stay in his Starship Department and absolutely not move.

"Ah, really? I remember there are bonus points in the team battle. For example, if someone consecutively defeats five opponents, they can get 0.5 points. Has this rule been canceled?" Li Hao was stunned. If that were the case, it would be really difficult.

"There is this rule; it hasn't been canceled," Tan Ziyuan said.

"Oh, you scared me. That's fine then. Remember not to steal kills during the team battle. I'll teach someone a lesson first," Li Hao laughed. After finishing, he waved his hand and walked toward the battlefield, leaving behind the people in the operation room who were still processing this.

"Is he serious?"

"Cough, cough, Ziyuan, is there really such a rule?"

"Yes, I've read the complete rules. It only activates after entering the top four. No one in the history of the S Tournament has ever completed it," Tan Ziyuan said with a bitter smile.

It felt like it wasn't any better than playing a tie-breaker...

(End of chapter)