The half-hour break wasn't long. The contestants chatted and joked with each other for a while, and that was about it.
The soothing music that had been playing to relax the contestants also came to a halt.
"The arena match to advance from the top 64 to the top 32 is about to begin. Next up is the draw ceremony!"
The competition official on stage announced the proceedings accurately as the referees entered one by one.
The competition had essentially entered its final heated stage, and everyone was naturally extremely focused.
"Ever since I drew first place at the very beginning, I have to go first in every match now. It's still a bit frustrating..."
Lin Ran sighed.
Luo Qingyan shook her head and chuckled:
"It's not so bad, though..."
"After all, going first means you can rest early and then slack off later."
Lin Ran shot Luo Qingyan a glare:
"That's because you don't plan to go, so you can slack off..."
"For a hardworking soul like me, it's better to play a waiting game."
With that, Lin Ran stopped bickering with Luo Qingyan and decisively stepped forward, grabbing his draw from the air.
His opponent was... the Red Leaf Country's main team!
The team leader was that Dual Blade Berserker, Vasily!
Excellent...
He'd heard through the grapevine that this kid also had quite a few complaints about him!
Now he'd given him the chance for revenge.
Lin Ran thought as he glanced at Vasily.
Vasily, upon seeing that his opponent was Lin Ran, seemed extremely excited. He clenched his fists tightly, his face contorted, muttering to himself, unaware of what he was thinking.
"Compared to the truly powerful veterans, this guy is probably a bit lacking..."
"But his fighting style is incredibly fierce, and his team members are also very capable."
"Overall, he's much stronger than someone like Jin Taiguang."
Luo Qingyan quickly shared the intelligence with Lin Ran when he returned.
Lin Ran nodded:
"Understood..."
"He excels at fierce combat, you say?"
"In that case, isn't it enough if I'm even more ferocious than him?" 138 Reading Network
"And he calls himself 'Dual Blade Berserker'... what an arrogant title!"
"I absolutely must rip off his mask and slap him in the face! Let's see if this guy can continue to be so arrogant!"
Luo Qingyan rolled her eyes:
"As expected of you..."
Meanwhile, Vasily had already impatiently walked to the center of their team's formation and began picking and choosing among his team members, strategizing their lineup.
His hesitant expression indicated that Vasily likely didn't intend to be the first to fight.
Lin Ran's side had fewer concerns. Since there were only two of them, no matter how they strategized, they couldn't achieve much. So, Lin Ran simply stood confidently, letting Vasily handle his arrangements.
After deep consideration, Vasily decided to first test Lin Ran's strength and sent an ordinary team member from their side:
"Go, Fabian! I believe in you!"
With that, he pushed the young man named Fabian onto the stage without further ado.
Upon seeing Lin Ran on stage, Fabian took several deep breaths to calm his nervousness and fear.
He had clearly seen Lin Ran's power from above. Fabian didn't believe he possessed the strength to defeat Lin Ran.
His purpose in coming up was to wear Lin Ran down and gain more information for the team.
If that was all, he really didn't need to be so nervous, as there was no pressure and he could fight freely.
But the main issue was that Lin Ran had previously killed Turing! He had killed someone in the arena!
What if he became the next unlucky one...
Fabian sighed bitterly, his face filled with reluctance.
Lin Ran, assuming he was afraid of suffering, smiled and said:
"Don't worry, sweetie... I'm very quick!"
"If you cooperate, you won't feel any pain..."
"Of course, if you're foolish enough to struggle desperately, you'll have to suffer a bit."
When Fabian heard this, he almost cried.
Lin Ran's words were clearly a blatant hint that he wanted to kill him!
If possible, Fabian wished he could forfeit right now...
But if he forfeited directly, would Vasily let him off?
The guys from the Lighthouse Country had already gone ahead to scout, and their fate was miserable...
If he stayed on the stage, there might be a slim chance of survival.
Damn it! No more thinking! Let's do this!
Seeing the countdown on stage reach its final moments, Fabian gritted his teeth and chose to accept his fate.
*Boom!*
Seeing that he was facing a minor opponent, Lin Ran intended to finish the fight quickly. He leaped forward towards Fabian with a point-toed 'Shave'.
Fabian immediately braced himself like facing a great enemy and activated his talent—a vague, indescribable foam that, upon breaking, would produce various elemental reactions with different effects.
However, this thing didn't pose any significant hindrance to Lin Ran.
"Almighty Push!"
Lin Ran's casually launched "Shinra Tensei" repelled all the foam and effortlessly brought him right in front of Fabian.
"Kid, what are you still staring at? It's time to go!"
In the blink of an eye, Lin Ran, who had appeared behind Fabian, smiled and placed his palm on Fabian's shoulder.
Fabian jolted as if he had seen a ghost.
Wasn't this guy just in his foam formation? How did he suddenly appear behind him?!
But before he could react, Lin Ran moved again, pushing his hand onto Fabian's back.
"Almighty Push!"
This second "Shinra Tensei," released at close range, directly propelled Fabian outwards, launching him high into the air.
It wasn't over yet. Lin Ran made his extended hand into a claw shape and aimed at the airborne Fabian.
"Universal Pull!"
This gravitational pull reversed Fabian's flight path, yanking him back from the air.
But before Fabian had fully descended, Lin Ran seemed to change his mind, retracting his claw into a palm and releasing another outward thrust.
"Almighty Push!"
And so, the pitiable Fabian was once again unceremoniously sent flying into the sky...