Chapter 453: Neither the Defeated Lose, Nor the Victors Win

Amidst the blazing firelight, Chan Rong's magic power seemed to boil within him, transforming into waves of radiant, mist-like martial arts energy that surged outwards.

Within his Sea of Consciousness, his will rose like a radiant sun, dispelling all negative emotions from his heart.

As soon as he finished speaking, Chan Rong's eyes, glowing with incandescent fire, were already fixed on Wanfa's construction site.

After watching the match between the Wanfa team and the Jinhe team through the Spirit Realm last time, Chan Rong had examined the players in Wanfa University's current team and determined that Li Zhen and Xiao Qingxuan were the most noteworthy individuals in that group.

Upon returning, Chan Rong had people investigate the Wanfa students he had observed, and found that it was exactly as he had expected!

"Xiao Qingxuan's background is unclear, but owing tens of thousands of spirit coins definitely makes him noteworthy!"

"Li Zhen has a unique mastery over terrestrial fiend energy. While he may not be able to influence the outcome of a battle, he can reduce my lifespan and deduct from my medical insurance, so his proximity must be avoided!"

However, one person was a slight surprise to Chan Rong: Zhang Yu!

"I can't believe Zhang Yu managed to get a military certificate in his third year! He's also a somewhat well-known student at Wanfa University!"

"But as a third-year student, it's impossible for him to have mastered Wanfa's Seven Civil Engineering Absolutes, meaning he definitely can't use the Sky Kunlun Mountain-Moving Divine Power!"

"If this person wants to compete with me, he'll need several more years to mature!"

"Although the subsequent investigation had some unexpected findings, my initial judgment at the time was correct..."

Various thoughts flashed through his mind as fierce desolation energy surged around Chan Rong, and wisps of smoke were already rising from the battlefield below!

Large expanses of mud and sand spontaneously combusted without fire, exhibiting various molten forms due to the high temperatures!

With his cultivation in the Myriad Forms of the Great Sun, Chan Rong was confident that even if he stood still, merely activating the martial arts of the Myriad Forms of the Great Sun would be enough to defeat his opponents!

Under the continuously rising temperatures, the opponents would struggle to even perform basic construction!

But just then, a figure leaped out!

"Zhang Yu!"

"Is there anything else you want to try?"

Chan Rong's gaze sharpened as he watched the figure soaring into the sky, and he immediately prepared himself.

Although he rationally judged that he could not lose this battle, he also had an emotional side that respected all opponents, and he would not give them any chance to cause him economic losses!

Zhang Yu let out a long laugh and said, "What an impressive military-grade cultivation technique! I never expected to encounter such a powerful enemy in my first battle against a Top Ten-ranked opponent!"

But the next moment, Chan Rong realized his opponent was moving farther and farther away, and in the blink of an eye, was about to run off the field!

At the same time, Zhang Yu declared proudly, "I bestow upon you my first defeat in the inter-school league."

"When I master the Sky Kunlun Mountain-Moving Divine Power, I'll come back and fight you again!"

Chan Rong sneered, thinking, "It seems my judgment was correct. Unless Mo Shangjin returns, Wanfa won't be able to achieve anything significant this year!"

On the other side, Su Yanyang watched this scene, secretly praising, "Good, he truly deserves to be someone who earned a military certificate. To be the first to surrender, he really shows responsibility."

Just as he was about to let out a long cry and leave the field, he saw Xiao Yunji on the side, already withdrawing like lightning, shouting, "Vajra University, the strength of both sides in today's battle is unequal. We look forward to a fair match with you next time!"

At the same time, Xiao Yunji looked at Zhang Yu's retreating back, thinking, "While we were still struggling and hesitating, he had already taken the first step without hesitation! Zhang Yu might be one of the few responsible people in the Civil Engineering Department!"

Immediately after, Li Zhen started later but arrived earlier, surpassing Xiao Yunji in a flash and rushing towards the edge of the field, laughing, "Only a fool would fight you if you use military-grade power right from the start!"

Watching his teammates accelerate their retreat one by one, Su Yanyang quickly followed, thinking to himself, "These guys are all so quick to react. They must have been prepared to retreat all along!"

In the Spirit Realm network!

A student spectating from Vajra University said, "Are they surrendering without even fighting now? Wanfa is finished."

Li Zhen: "What's your ranking at Vajra University? How many competitions have you participated in? Does your understanding of competitions surpass ours?"

Yu Xinghan, also spectating, said, "Anyone not ranked in the top 100 of their department shouldn't speak!"

Gongshu Jin said, "Exactly. Encountering military-grade power and escaping without taking a single hit is a victory!"

Ying Xin: "To not be constrained by trivial things like self-esteem or dignity, to lead teammates in preserving their immortal dao potential, and to be the first to surrender on the field – isn't this the primary victory of this battle?"

Shi Yunxiang: "All of you, learn well. If you're in civil engineering and don't know when to make a run for it, you'll be stuck doing grunt work your whole life!"

On the other side, watching Zhang Yu, who was the first to retreat, Mo Shangjin nodded, "Good. When a decision needs to be made, make it. When it's time to run, run. Your performance in this match did not disappoint me!"

Mo Shangjin lamented, "In this world, one must avoid fighting stronger opponents and constantly fight weaker ones!"

"A true strong person constantly accumulates experience in trouncing weaker opponents. Only fighting the weak, not the strong, is the true law of the strong!"

"Your performance today was perfectly correct. If anyone doesn't understand you, it's because they are useless themselves and lack a true heart of a strong person. You don't need to pay them any mind!"

Zhang Yu waved his hand, modestly saying, "It's nothing. I just wanted to ensure that for the subsequent inter-school league, my teammates wouldn't suffer losses here. I had to lead them to complete a strategic transfer and achieve a strategic victory!"

Zhang Yu thought to himself that he would be able to learn the Sky Kunlun Mountain-Moving Divine Power in a short while. If he were to fight a military-grade expert to the death now, wouldn't that be foolish?!

"Heh heh, you're absolutely right!"

Mo Shangjin turned his head, looking at the "sun" slowly receding in the sky, and smiled slightly, "If the people from Vajra University encounter us in the loser's bracket later, they will understand that they were the real losers of this battle, and we were the winners!"

"Because they failed to inflict significant losses upon us in this battle, that will be the ultimate reason for their defeat this year, and one of the reasons for our victory!"

Just as Zhang Yu successfully led his teammates in completing their strategic transfer!

In the spectator stands of the Spirit Realm network, Wan Gouxuan from Immortal Soldier University calmly said, "Mo Shangjin didn't even appear in this battle against Vajra University. It seems his injuries are indeed severe!"

After speaking, he sighed, "What a pity. Wanfa University has now fallen into the loser's bracket. It seems I won't be able to meet them now!"

Recalling how his entire team was caught off guard by Mo Shangjin last year, severely injured, and how each of his teammates had their medical insurance maxed out right before his eyes, a strong glint of hatred flashed in Wan Gouxuan's eyes!

At the same time, another voice came from beside Wan Gouxuan, "You're not the only one who wants to fight Wanfa, who wants to fight Mo Shangjin!"

"Mo Shangjin has injured so many people on the field over the past few years. Who wouldn't want to take advantage of his injury to finish him off upon hearing the news?"

Wan Gouxuan turned his head to look at the Spirit Realm projection beside him and said, "Xiang Shan, you really came!"

The Spirit Realm projection that appeared before Wan Gouxuan was none other than Xiang Shan, the top civil engineering student from Sky Demon University, and the military-grade expert who won first place in the last competition!

Xiang Shan looked at the changes on the field, thinking, "It's just as Teacher Tianxiang said. Although this Zhang Yu obtained a military certificate, without a few years of cultivation, he won't be able to master military-grade cultivation techniques... For now, he's nothing to worry about!"

Thinking of this, Xiang Shan smiled slightly and said, "It seems now that if Mo Shangjin doesn't show up at all, then after falling into the loser's bracket, Wanfa University will eventually be completely eliminated by teams like your Immortal Soldier University or Vajra University, won't they?"

Wan Gouxuan's eyes narrowed slightly upon hearing Xiang Shan's words, and he sneered, "Are you implying that your Sky Demon University will definitely eliminate us in the upcoming matches?"

Xiang Shan said indifferently, "Don't you think so?"

"As is well known, our demon race possesses the advantage of low 'demon rights.' Among the so-called tens of billions of demons, only one hundred million are demon descendants; the remaining ninety-nine billion are merely animals!"

"This is a massive advantage in the field of civil engineering, and it ensures Sky Demon University's dominant position on construction sites!"

Xiang Shan casually looked at Wan Gouxuan and continued, "This is a structural flaw of your human race. If you want to defeat us, first ensure your lower-level cultivators can afford to consume humans every meal!"

Wan Gouxuan was so infuriated by these words that he laughed, "You damn... what do you know? It's precisely because of this that Sky Demon University can't catch up to us in high-end immortal dao technology. Do you think the advantage of low demon power cost will last forever?"

"Once highly intelligent spiritual artifacts are successfully mass-produced..."

Xiang Shan waved his hand dismissively and said, "Talk about it when it's successful! Didn't it just cause trouble at Hehuan University recently? And even joined a cult!"

"It's much more peaceful when our Sky Demon University only uses soul cultivation and no artifact spirits!"

Wan Gouxuan retorted angrily, "This is just the growing pains of immortal dao technological advancement..."

Xiang Shan curled his lip, "If I were you, I wouldn't worry about such grand issues. Those are matters for Soul Transformation cultivators to concern themselves with!"

"Compared to that, it's better to worry more about whether the lower classes can afford to consume humans, or about Chan Rong from Vajra University. I think he still poses a significant threat to your Immortal Soldier University..."

As he spoke, Xiang Shan's figure flickered, and he vanished without a trace!

Wan Gouxuan looked in the direction where the other person disappeared, gave a cold snort, and also disconnected his spirit link.

Meanwhile, although this battle achieved strategic success, Su Yanyang and others were still worried about what to do if they encountered the same situation again!

In the competition chat group!

Su Yanyang: "We're heading into the loser's bracket now. What if we encounter military-grade power again?"

Xiao Yunji: "Mo, how much longer are you going to stay down?"

Mo Shangjin: "If everyone is willing to crowdfund some healing fees, I can still recover faster!"

Xiao Yunji: "Zhang Yu, can you master the Sky Kunlun Mountain-Moving Divine Power before the league ends?"

Su Yanyang: "It would add a military-grade combatant and help us achieve results in the competition. Why is the department still dragging its feet, waiting until next year for you to learn the last of the Seven Absolutes?"

Zhang Yu: "Don't say that. The department has its own difficulties. Everything has to follow a process!"

Just as Zhang Yu glanced through the messages in the competition chat group, he saw a message from Director Gao!

Director Gao: "Excellent work in this battle!"

Director Gao: "After the news of entering the loser's bracket spread, True Monarch Qiyun put pressure on them, so Director Lin will definitely not make things difficult for you regarding the Seven Civil Engineering skills now!"

Director Gao: "And the progress has also sped up. On the 1st of next month, the first day of the new year, you'll be able to learn the Seventh Absolute!"