Chapter 109: Third Round

"It was a bit of a warm-up." After knocking out his opponent, Chen Mobai rotated his right hand. He hadn't hit anyone that hard in a long time, and it felt a little unfamiliar.

"Referee!" He sat down and prodded his opponent, who was sprawled on the ring. After confirming the opponent was unconscious, he called out to the referee who had just stepped off the stage less than a minute ago.

"The winner is Chen Mobai." The teacher was straightforward and immediately announced the winner.

Amidst the surrounding clamor, Chen Mobai stepped off the stage. Students from Fifth High School immediately rushed over. Seeing it firsthand was completely different from watching a video; he had defeated his opponent in just one minute again, leaving many amazed. Shi Jingjing had already uploaded the battle video she recorded. At the same time, she secretly placed a large bet on the odds website for Chen Mobai to advance to the fourth round.

"How are you so strong?" Song Zheng couldn't help but ask. He knew Chen Mobai's cultivation in spells might be slightly better than his own, but he had never imagined it was this formidable. He also knew the Water Control spell and had mastered a Flowing Water Barrier similar to the Water Yuan Shield. However, he admitted that his timing and coordination with talismans were far from Chen Mobai's masterful level. The latter had developed a complete system for combining spells and talismans, where the effect was not merely additive but multiplied.

"Perhaps it's just practice makes perfect." Chen Mobai thought for a moment, concluding it was his refinement from battling demonic beasts on Qingguang Island. Although many opponents in this competition had higher cultivation levels than him—not to mention the four Level 9 Qi Refinement cultivators, even classmates like Xu Yuan and Shi Jingjing were Level 8 Qi Refinement. Yet, Chen Mobai faced all of them with an inexplicable confidence. This kind of play-fighting competition felt like a dimensional collapse for him, a true warrior forged through life-or-death battles. Thus, no matter the opponent, Chen Mobai displayed a calm and confident demeanor, as if taking a stroll.

"It's my turn." At that moment, Cao Yaling spoke. Her second-round match was also in this arena. As a Level 8 Qi Refinement cultivator, she was considered one of the favored seeds, and her opponent was only Level 6. However, the battle surprised all her classmates; she won with great difficulty. Her opponent was also a martial artist, and combined with Cao Yaling's lack of proficiency in spell combat, she was initially suppressed. Nevertheless, she eventually used her Spirit Eyes to discern her opponent's weaknesses and exhausted him with superior spiritual power to claim victory.

"Chen Mobai, you absolutely have to make it past the fourth round." Shi Jingjing said this mysteriously during lunch.

"Huh? You didn't bet on me, did you?" Understanding her implication immediately, Chen Mobai glared at her while eating.

"Just a little bit."

"Didn't you say we couldn't bet?"

"I didn't bet on myself, and I bet on you to win."

Chen Mobai thought of the balance of over three thousand merit points in his card, and an idea flashed through his mind.

That evening, he called Qing Nü.

"Are you sure you want to bet like this?"

"It's a way to put a little pressure on myself."

"Alright then, this small amount of merit points isn't even enough for the ingredients for one dose of Qi Replenishing Spiritual Water anyway." Qing Nü saw the link Chen Mobai sent and the three thousand merit points he transferred to her, unaware that this was his entire current fortune. She obediently placed the entire bet on Chen Mobai winning the championship.

"Odds of 1:100, not bad."

"How much? Wasn't it 1:150 when I checked at noon?" Chen Mobai was momentarily stunned when he saw the screenshot Qing Nü sent. He immediately asked Shi Jingjing, who was an insider. She explained that the odds constantly change with the betting pool. After the video of Chen Mobai's morning match was uploaded, some gamblers saw potential in him and wanted to take a chance by betting on him to win the championship, which led to a drop in his odds. "The house always wins anyway."

"So that's how it is; I thought the odds were fixed." Chen Mobai understood after reading Shi Jingjing's long textual explanation.

"But don't bet on yourself! If you want to bet, you can transfer the merit points to me, and I'll place the bet for you." Shi Jingjing's words were different from before, but Chen Mobai didn't trust her.

"Don't worry, I'm just looking, not buying."

On the odds website, the four Level 9 Qi Refinement cultivators were still the most favored. Among them, Yan Feng had the lowest odds, at just 1:8. Due to his superior family background, gamblers generally expected him to possess powerful talismans that could decide matches. Next was Kong Feichen, followed by Gong Xiangyu, and finally, the gloomy Yang Jing. This was similar to Chen Mobai's own assessment; one could say the public's judgment was sharp. Beyond these four, the odds for other contestants were all above 50, with most people generally assuming the ultimate champion would emerge from this quartet.

However, as more matches took place, several unexpected situations arose. For instance, two Level 6 Qi Refinement cultivators defeating Level 7s in the first round caused many gamblers heavy losses. But by the second round, such upsets no longer occurred. Prepared late-stage Qi Refinement cultivators, even those not skilled in combat like Cao Yaling, all relied on their significantly stronger spiritual power to secure victories in the most stable manner. All Level 6 Qi Refinement cultivators were eliminated in this round. This included Mo Simin, but she was only upset for half a day, calmly accepting the outcome by the next morning. She then went with Chen Mobai to watch Yan Bingxuan's second round.

This match was also extremely close. Her opponent was a Level 7 Qi Refinement cultivator from Second High School. Yan Bingxuan used up all her talismans and only managed to narrowly defeat her opponent by relying on the powerful characteristics of her ice spirit power. However, Shi Jingjing was not so lucky in her next match. She encountered Hong Gang, a Level 8 Qi Refinement cultivator from Yuheng Private High School, who practiced a technique called the Adamant Body. Even though Shi Jingjing saw through his weak point, due to the difference in combat ability, she used up all her talismans and was ultimately defeated. After stepping off the stage, Shi Jingjing's eyes reddened, but with the comfort of Cao Yaling and other friends, she slowly recovered.

Her defeat cleared the way for Song Zheng, Xu Yuan, and Shi Yuanqing on the third day; none of them encountered formidable opponents like Hong Gang, and all easily advanced to the next round. Of course, apart from them, all other Fifth High School students were eliminated in the second round.

Meanwhile, Chen Mobai's profile on the odds website was updated in real-time to Level 7 Qi Refinement. After two matches, even the most unobservant person could discern his true cultivation level. All 70 students who entered the third round were late-stage Qi Refinement cultivators. The intensity of the spell combat instantly became completely different. Moreover, at this point, it was impossible to avoid inter-school matches. Xu Yuan and Cao Yaling were matched against each other. Yan Bingxuan had even worse luck; she was drawn against Yan Feng. Song Zheng was matched against a student named Xue Luan, who was from the same batch as Xu Yuan in military training and was considered the strongest, dubbed the "Student Soldier King." Shi Yuanqing was matched against Wu Xue, a Level 8 Qi Refinement cultivator and the second most talented student from First High School, only after Gong Xiangyu. Chen Mobai, however, had good luck; he was matched against an ordinary Level 7 Qi Refinement cultivator.