With Zhang Ye’s support, Group Two, who were already struggling, quickly fell into an absolute disadvantage. In less than ten minutes, they were completely wiped out.
Ultimately, Group One claimed the championship.
Each member of the champion team was rewarded with five high-grade magic crystals. The runners-up received three each, the third-place team received two each, and the remaining five groups received only one each.
Zhang Ye wasn't actually all that interested in magic crystals.
Magic crystals were more suitable for cultivation than magic cores because the mana within them was more easily absorbed by the human body. This meant they had a higher absorption rate, and the higher the grade of the crystal, the better the cultivation effect.
However, this was redundant for Zhang Ye. Whether it was magic crystals or magic cores, he had an extremely high absorption rate for both.
Others might only have a ten percent absorption rate for magic cores and twenty percent for magic crystals.
But Zhang Ye had an absorption rate that was infinitely close to one hundred percent for both!
Since the output of magic cores was higher than that of magic crystals, it was actually more efficient for Zhang Ye to absorb cores. After all, he had a whole ring full of magic cores, whereas he only had a handful of magic crystals so far.
Most importantly, magic crystals... didn't taste good!
Magic cores came in all sorts of flavors and were quite delicious, becoming even more so at higher tiers. Magic crystals, on the other hand, were the exact opposite. They tasted like dirt. The higher the grade, the milder the taste. High-grade magic crystals were almost flavorless, likely because they contained fewer impurities.
So in Zhang Ye’s eyes, magic crystals couldn't compare to magic cores.
Isn't lychee flavor sweet?
“Can I trade these for magic cores?” Zhang Ye looked at the five high-grade magic crystals in his hand and then at Leona with a hopeful expression.
Leona couldn't help but laugh.
Others would give anything to trade magic cores for magic crystals, yet this guy wanted to do the opposite.
However, Leona also knew how special Zhang Ye was. She nodded and tossed out ten Tier Nine magic cores. “Here.”
Zhang Ye caught them with a look of joy. “Thank you, Mentor Nana!”
Afterward, Leona pointed out the mistakes each student had made during the battle.
“Kaya, as a Patterned Leopard beastkin, how could you miss a sneak attack from behind?” Leona looked at Kaya and said, “And must you shout at the top of your lungs before a strike to let them know you’re coming?”
Kaya’s ears drooped, a look of grievance on her face. “Mentor Leona... I was wrong.”
Then Leona turned her gaze toward Connor. Connor’s back tightened instantly, feeling as if they were being stared down by a lion, sending shivers down their spine.
Leona nodded slowly and said, “Underestimating your opponent at the start was your biggest mistake. Overestimating the enemy and underestimating yourself—that is something you should remember. Little Ye has already taught you the rest, so I won’t say more.”
Connor was stunned, then looked at Zhang Ye with a gaze full of gratitude.
Next came Leona’s instruction for the rest of the students. Her style was dominant and decisive; she could often spot a student’s mistake with a single glance and correct it. After this battle, many students realized their own shortcomings.
Finally, Leona came to stand before Nan.
However, this time, Leona did not instruct Nan the way she had the others.
Her fiery brows furrowed slightly, and everyone could feel the atmosphere becoming tense.
At this moment, Leona gave off the feeling of a fierce beast on the verge of exploding in rage.
“Why did you leave the field without permission?” Leona asked coldly. “You clearly still had the strength to fight.”
Nan looked at her expressionlessly. “I didn’t want to. I couldn't beat him.”
“Is that your reason for abandoning your teammates?” Leona’s voice was icy.
Nan froze, his brow twitching slightly.
“Because you knew you couldn't win, you abandoned your teammates and left without permission.”
“On a battlefield, that makes you a deserter!”
Leona walked right up to Nan. Standing at 185 centimeters, she loomed over the 175-centimeter-tall Nan.
In this moment, Leona’s fiery hair flared up like a lion’s mane, radiating a terrifying aura.
Feeling the pressure on his body, Nan gritted his teeth and did not back down. He looked directly into her beast-like red eyes and said, “Is it only a good soldier who charges forward even when they know they’ll die?”
“Besides, this isn't a battlefield!”
Upon hearing this, Leona suddenly burst into laughter, but it wasn't a hearty or carefree laugh. It was filled with... mockery.
“This isn't a battlefield?”
“Then let me ask you, where is the battlefield?!” Leona roared. “From the moment a person is born, this world is a battlefield!”
“Those who charge forward knowing they will die aren't necessarily good soldiers, but they are certainly martyrs!”
“They are thousands, millions of times better than a deserter!”
“Do you know why the human race enjoys such prosperity today?”
“It’s because they charged forward recklessly, even when they knew they would die!”
“It’s because they used their own flesh and blood to build the foundation beneath the human race’s feet that we have today!”
“What supported them was conviction!”
“What about you? Let me ask you, what is your conviction?!”
“Do you even have any?!”
Leona’s roar slammed into Nan’s heart like a heavy hammer, leaving him in a daze.
What is my conviction... Do I have conviction...
What... is conviction?
Seeing the confusion in Nan’s eyes, Leona snorted coldly.
“This was just a team battle between classmates, and yet you could abandon your teammates and leave. Who can guarantee that in a life-or-death moment, you won’t abandon the companions who trust you with their backs?”
Nan snapped out of it, stubbornly gritting his teeth. “I don’t need companions!”
“On what grounds do you say that?” Leona asked coldly.
“On the grounds that I can become strong! On the grounds that I can become stronger than everyone else!” Nan glared at Leona. “I’m enough on my own. I don’t need companions at all!”
“Is that so?” Leona chuckled.
In the next instant, a terrifying pressure suddenly descended. Leona’s killing intent was released like a tidal wave. Everyone felt it, feeling as if they had stepped into the territory of a ferocious beast. Their bodies went stiff, and they didn't even dare to breathe.
Is this the might of a Saint-tier...?
Nan’s face turned pale.
She wants to kill me?!
He could clearly feel that killing intent—a surging, undisguised intent to kill!
No reason needed; she just wanted to kill him!
Leona crossed her arms as flames gathered into a massive lion claw above her, which she then swung down toward Nan.
There was no mercy, no hesitation!
In that moment, Nan’s face was ashen.
He never expected Leona to suddenly attack him. The most critical part was that he found himself unable to move.
Under that terrifying killing intent and pressure, he couldn't even circulate his mana. His mind trembled, and his eyes saw nothing but the rapidly expanding lion claw.
He didn't even have the courage to face it!
Am I going to die...?
No... no...
No... hmm... actually, this might be fine too...
Just as Nan’s heart fell into a state of absolute silence, a figure suddenly appeared in front of him. “Big Nana!”
However, the momentum of Leona’s lion claw did not diminish.
Zhang Ye gritted his teeth and mobilized all his mana, condensing a blue flame lion claw that slammed into the massive one.
Boom!!!
The collision of red and blue flames exploded in the sky. Billowing heatwaves swept across the surroundings, blowing several students backward.
Nan stared at the figure standing in front of him, his eyes wide. A glimmer seemed to flash through his purple pupils.
Zhang Ye panted heavily.
Terrifying... Big Nana was too terrifying.
The [Hydrogen-Oxygen Enhanced · Blazing Lion Claw] he had released with all his might could definitely rival a Tier Ten spell, yet it couldn't even stop Big Nana’s single claw.
She hadn't even used Hydrogen-Oxygen Enhancement, yet the red lion claw had torn through the blue one like dead wood.
However, at the last moment, the red lion claw did not fall. Instead, it dissipated along with the blue flames, as if it had actually been blocked by Zhang Ye.
Zhang Ye knew that Leona had held back.
“You can’t even see what’s right in front of you, yet you dare to claim you can be stronger than everyone?” Leona’s cold voice rang out. “If you’re really so capable, why did Little Ye have to step in and block for you?”
“When you have no power, your grand ambitions are nothing more than a joke to the strong.”
“Whether to crush you or not is merely a matter of a single thought.”
“Without Little Ye, you would be dead right now.”
“Do you still dare to claim that you alone are enough?”
“No one can forever be ‘enough alone.’ No one can go without companions.”
“Whether you need them and whether you want them are two different things. I hope you understand that.”
Leona waved her hand. “I’m in a bad mood today. That’s it. Class dismissed early!”
With that, she transformed into a flaming meteor and vanished without a trace.
...
...
Rate on N.U.
