Dazed from the throw, Li Hao lay on the ground, momentarily stunned, his mind grappling with lifes three big questions.
Suddenly, he saw Gu Zhen foot looming larger and snapped back to reality, rolling clumsily to dodge the attack.
But Gu Zhen wouldn't let such a prime opportunity slip. He relentlessly pressed the attack on the grounded Li Hao, giving him no chance to recover.
The students below watched in shock as Li Hao was suppressed by Gu Zhen.
They had expected this to be a quick and easy fight, but now it seemed there might be some unexpected twists.
Pushed back and nearing the edge of the arena, Li Hao realized the danger. He slammed his palm onto the ground.
The next moment, several sharp earthen spears erupted from the ground near him, thrusting straight toward Gu Zhen.
Xie Yanwen, watching from the sidelines, prepared to intervene immediately.
In her view, Gu Zhen had chased too closely, forgetting Li Hao superpower. With Li Hao suddenly using it, Gu Zhen might not react in time.
The moment Li Hao hand hit the ground, he sensed it. Drawing on his superior reaction speed, he leapt back just in time, the stone spears pierced the air where he had just stood.
Li Hao seized the chance to scramble to his feet and steady himself.
Gu Zhen let out a small sigh of regret. He hadn't managed to end the match right then and there—but it wasn't a major setback.
Li Hao eyed him warily. His earlier carelessness had nearly cost him the match, and he vowed not to underestimate Gu Zhen again or conserve star power any longer.
If he kept holding back, he felt he'd lose to Gu Zhen.
Gritting his teeth, Li Hao made his move. His fists turned a dense, earthy brown. With a swift lunge, he appeared to go for another close-range attack.
Gu Zhen, however, stood still, assuming a stance and waiting for Li Hao to come.
At that moment, Li Hao abruptly stopped, pressing both hands to the ground and frantically channeling star power.
The next second, a stone hand emerged from the ground near Gu Zhen feet, grabbing at his ankle.
Earth-elemental star skill: Tomb Hand
This was Li Hao trump card. If he could trap Gu Zhen with Tomb Hand and follow up with Earth Thorn, he'd secure the victory.
He had planned to save it for later opponents, but he hadn't expected to reveal it here.
But at that moment, Gu Zhen figure vanished from the spot.
A shadow suddenly appeared in front of Li Hao, delivering a powerful whip kick toward him.
Just then, a thin water membrane appeared around Li Hao, shielding him.
Gu Zhen forceful kick struck the membrane, but it only caused slight ripples.
Dozens of hard, sharp earthen spears burst from the rocks behind where Gu Zhen had just been, aimed straight at his previous position.
If he had still been there, he would've undoubtedly lost his combat ability under that attack.
Only then did Li Hao realize what had happened. He collapsed to the ground, staring blankly at Gu Zhen in front of him.
"Match over. Winner: Gu Yi," Xie Yanwen promptly announced.
The water membrane had been her doing, blocking Gu Zhen attack.
Hearing the announcement, Gu Zhen turned and stepped off the platform.
If someone suddenly stopped charging and planted both hands on the ground, it didn't take a genius to realize they were about to unleash a star skill.
And even if Li Hao didn't use it—Gu Zhen Instant step kick would have sealed the deal anyway.
The students below stared a Gu Zhen in astonishment. They hadn't expected an upset—Li Hao, whom they'd favored, had actually lost to Gu Zhen.
After a moment of silence, Li Hao came to his senses and stepped off the platform.
He hadn't expected Gu Zhen to be so proficient in Instant Step—to the point where it was almost instant.
I underestimated him.
Not only had he lost, but he'd also been forced to reveal his trump card.
Li Hao sighed and shook his head bitterly.
I just didn't work hard enough… otherwise, how could I lose to someone like Gu Zhen?
Gu Zhen, meanwhile, noticed the other three platforms were still mid-fight.
He wandered over to watch but quickly lost interest. It was just a bunch of "rookie fights," clumsy back-and-forths with minimal star skills usage.
At most, they used their superpower to attack, and their mastery of star skills was less polished than Li Hao.
Seeing nothing noteworthy, he found a spot to sit and ease the soreness in his calves. More matches awaited, and he needed to recover to peak condition beforehand.
Fortunately, with his Dual Star Core, he had twice the star energy of others—and a faster recovery rate too.
While others could only regain a trickle of energy, Gu Zhen was already back to half strength.
About two hours later, the first round finally concluded.
To ensure fairness, the school provided a half-hour break between rounds.
Gu Zhen had long since recovered and was now mentally simulating the Iron Fist skills within his spiritual sea, refining the movements even further.
The rest period flew by.
Second round—begin.
Eight names appeared on the arena display.
Arena 1: Zhou Xin vs. Lu Guang
Arena 2: Peng Jing vs. Liu Yiyi
Arena 3: …
Arena 4: …
He scanned the list—his name wasn't there. So he turned his attention to Arena 1, where a crowd of over thirty had already gathered.
That was because Zhou Xin, the student with the strongest superpower in Class 7, was competing on arena 1.
In the first round, Zhou Xin opponent had been very weak, so no one had seen his true strength.
But now, Zhou Xin opponent was Lu Guang, who had an E-rank Flame Burst Ring superpower.
No one thought Zhou Xin would lose, but they didn't expect him to win easily either. They figured this match would force Zhou Xin to show some of his strength.
Under the crowds eager gazes, Xie Yanwen announced the start of the match.
Zhou Xin stepped forward in a sleeveless black vest, barefoot, eyes full of disdain as he looked at Lu Guang. The moment the signal was given, Zhou Xin charged straight in.
Seeing Zhou Xin rush straight at him, Lu Guang remained calm. He clasped his hands together, and five fist-sized fireballs appeared, orbiting around him.
Fire-type star skill: Fireball
Under Lu Guang control, all five orange-red fireballs shot straight toward Zhou Xin.
But Zhou Xin didn't care. He shielded his head with both arms, activated his superpower, and his body grew taller and bulkier.
He transformed from a 1.8-meter-tall guy into a 2-meter-tall muscular behemoth.
Dense, earthen-yellow scales even appeared on his hands.
This was the core power of the Transformation-type Superpowers—consuming star energy to temporarily enhance physical attributes.
And this wasn't even Zhou Xin full transformation.
If he went all out, he'd be twice as massive