The aloof and handsome Li Yongguan frowned at Su Ze, feeling rather reluctant.
Su Ze was a freshman who had just enrolled this year. âSparring with a freshman? Isnât that just picking on him?â
However, what Pei Wuhua said was perfectly reasonable, so he couldnât easily refuse. Besides, he was a man of few words and couldnât be bothered to argue, so he simply nodded in agreement.
Su Ze and Li Yongguan stepped onto the fighting ring.
"You can make the first move," Li Yongguan said coldly.
He felt it was a case of a senior picking on a freshman and didnât want to take an unfair advantage, so he gave Su Ze the opportunity to attack first.
âLooks like this Mr. Li is a man of principle. Too bad for him...â Su Ze had no intention of holding back. He had to display a certain level of strength to convince Pei Wuhua to let him join the team competition.
He unleashed his Gravity Chain, pulling Li Yongguan toward him.
He didnât channel electricity into the Gravity Chain. He wanted to let the senior keep a shred of dignity. After all, it was just a friendly spar between classmates; he had no desire to fry the guy to a crisp.
Li Yongguan was caught by surprise, but he didnât panic. Instead, he used the momentum to launch a charge at Su Ze.
It seemed he had also mastered a Charge Skill similar to Rhino Charge.
However, his Charge Skill was clearly different from Rhino Charge; it carried immense destructive power.
The main purpose of Rhino Charge is to close the distance with an enemy while protecting the user. Li Yongguanâs Charge Skill, however, was meant to shatter his opponentâs bones on impact.
Clearly, Li Yongguan, like his father Li Fayi, was a melee-type evolver.
âBring it on. Charge me. Letâs see if you can even budge a skeleton harder than Super Alloy. Letâs see who ends up in pain!â
Su Ze made no move to defend or dodge, simply puffing out his chest and letting Li Yongguan crash into him.
THUD!
After a dull thud, Su Ze stood his ground, not having moved back even a single millimeter.
Li Yongguan, on the other hand, felt his vision go black. It was as if he had slammed into a Super Alloy wall, the impact leaving him dizzy and feeling like his entire skeleton was about to shatter.
âIs this guy made of iron?â
Su Ze just smiled at Li Yongguan, not taking the opportunity to counterattack.
Down below, Pei Wuhuaâs eyes narrowed as he saw what was happening. Li Yongguan had used a Tier-2, S-rank charge skill, yet when it hit Su Ze, the boy didnât budge. Instead, it was Li Yongguan who was wincing in pain.
âDid he use a defensive skill? Or are Su Zeâs bones just that hard?â
âIâm not sure. Iâll have to watch a little longer.â
But based on that one exchange alone, Pei Wuhuaâs estimation of Su Zeâs strength had already skyrocketed.
Li Yongguan snapped back to his senses, his expression stiffening. A blush of shame crept onto his face, but he struggled to maintain his usual deadpan expression as he threw a punch at Su Ze.
The punch was wreathed in a special power, imbuing it with a "Shatter" effect that was incredibly effective against hard objects.
Su Ze still didnât use any skills, simply raising an arm to block.
Li Yongguanâs full-power punch struck Su Zeâs arm. The accompanying "Shatter" effect made Su Zeâs arm ache, but it was only a momentary pain that merely scraped his skin.
Before a single drop of blood could even well up, the wound was closed by his powerful Self-Healing Ability.
"How is that possible!" Li Yongguan uttered, a rare four-word sentence from him.
He had every reason to be shocked. His skill, with its Shatter effect, had failed to do any real damage to Su Zeâs arm. What did that mean?
It meant Su Zeâs physical durability had already exceeded the maximum threshold of his Shatter effect!
âThatâs the physical durability of the Butterfly Stage!â
"Iâve lost."
He pulled back his fist decisively, turned, and leaped off the ring.
Even though Su Ze hadnât attacked him once and he wasnât injured, his pride wouldnât allow him to continue hopping around the ring like a monkey, trying to tickle his opponent.
âI canât even break his defense. Thereâs no point in fighting anymore.â
Down below, Pei Wuhua appeared calm, but inwardly he was stunned. That last exchange confirmed it: Su Zeâs body was just that durable; he hadnât been using any kind of defensive skill.
Moreover, Su Zeâs physical durability wasnât just strongâit was monstrously so!
That was the physical durability of a Butterfly Stage evolver.
âDid this kid do nothing but strengthen his body? Are all the skills he absorbed just for enhancing his constitution?â
âBut even so, this level of durability is just absurd. His defense has probably reached the Butterfly Stage, but his speed and power must still be lacking...â Pei Wuhua guessed inwardly.
But with that defensive capability alone, he was already practically invincible among those in the Cocoon Stage.
Pei Wuhua made up his mind. He absolutely had to have Su Ze represent Dongli University in the team competition!
With a tank like that on the front line, he would play an enormous role even if all he did was soak up enemy fire.
âPerhaps with Su Ze joining,â Pei Wuhua thought with growing anticipation, âwe might actually place in the top three in this yearâs team competition.â
Just then, the other eight candidates for the team began to file into the training hall.
Su Ze quickly hopped down from the ring and greeted the others. They all formed a line, waiting for Pei Wuhua to speak.
Pei Wuhua began, "Now that everyoneâs here, letâs finalize the roster for the team competition."
"There are six spots on the team. So far, Yangyang and Li Zhi have been confirmed. We are now adding Su Ze to that list, which means there are three spots left to be decided."
The moment Pei Wuhua said this, everyone among the ten candidatesâexcept for Su Ze himself and Li Yongguanâlooked surprised to varying degrees.
Yangyang and Li Zhi had been chosen because their skills were suited for team support. On what grounds was Su Ze also pre-selected?
He hadnât even trained with anyone for the past ten days. How could he possibly have synergy with the team?
A few of the students who desperately wanted to be on the team couldnât help but feel indignant.
They all knew that although it seemed like they were picking six people out of ten, in reality, there were only two spots truly up for grabs.
Yangyang and Li Zhi were guaranteed picks. Gu YueâEr and Li Yongguan were a clear cut above the others in terms of strength, so their spots were more or less guaranteed as well. That left the remaining six people to fight over just two spots.
Now, with another guaranteed spot given to Su Ze, five people would have to compete for a single remaining opening, making the competition even fiercer.
"Director, Su Ze hasnât trained with us at all these past few days. Shouldnât you observe our teamwork and chemistry before making a final decision?" someone voiced their doubt.
Everyone standing here was an elite from the masterâs class. They were all likely to become high-ranking figures in the Dongli Kingdom in the future. Highly valued by Dongli University and the entire Dongli Kingdom, they werenât the type to simply suffer injustice in silence.
Before Pei Wuhua could respond, the ever-taciturn Li Yongguan unexpectedly spoke up.
As concise as ever, he said, "Su Ze is stronger than me."
The students froze. They immediately recalled seeing Su Ze get down from the ring just as they arrived. âCould it be that Su Ze and Li Yongguan just had a match?â
Otherwise, with Li Yongguanâs pride, he would never so easily admit that someone else was stronger.
Instantly, the way everyone looked at Su Ze changed, a mixture of shock and skepticism in their eyes.
As for Gu YueâEr, beyond her shock, she felt a profound curiosity toward Su Ze. She had heard her grandfather mention his name quite a lot recently.
âJust what kind of prodigy is he,â she wondered, âto make my grandfather take special notice of him, and to make the impossibly proud Li Yongguan admit defeat?â
As fellow students of the masterâs class, they were all well aware of Li Yongguanâs strength. Since even he had personally attested to Su Zeâs power, they naturally had no further objections.
And so, no one else raised any objections about Su Ze taking one of the guaranteed spots.
What followed was a series of trials where the remaining seven candidates were grouped with the three confirmed members, including Su Ze, to be tested by Pei Wuhua.
Throughout this process, Su Ze followed Pei Wuhuaâs instructions, quietly serving as a tank at the front and absorbing all incoming fire.
He didnât reveal any more of his abilities just for the sake of showing off. He had already secured his spot on the team; there was no need to be flashy.
Even so, after a few mock battles, the others witnessed Su Zeâs monstrous defensive capabilities for themselves and finally understood why Pei Wuhua had given him a guaranteed spot.
In the end, the final team roster was decided. The six members were: Su Ze, Li Yongguan, Gu YueâEr, Yangyang, Li Zhi, and Luo Kai.
Yangyang was a cheerful, short-haired girl who specialized in healing skills.
Li Zhi was a scholarly-looking young man who excelled at crowd control.
Luo Kai, meanwhile, was a ranged-type evolver.
Once the team was finalized, Pei Wuhua offered a few words of encouragement, informed them of the departure time for the competition, and then took his leave.
The exchange tournament was scheduled to begin on the 20th of the month, so Su Ze and his team would be departing two days earlier, on the 18th.
The Six Nationsâ Top Academies Exchange Tournament was hosted on a rotating basis by the six participating schools. This time, it was the Peninsula Countryâs leading institution, Island University, that would be hosting.
Therefore, in a few days, Su Ze and the others would be taking a plane to the Peninsula Country.
The journey from the Dongli Kingdom to the Peninsula Country was a long one. They would have to cross both the Luofan Country and the Mu Country, and even fly over the Black Rock Mountain Range, which teemed with exotic beasts. The route was not without significant danger.
The Luofan Country and the Dongli Kingdom did not get along, and the Mu Country had always been in cahoots with Luofan.
Although the Six Nationsâ Top Academies Exchange Tournament was initiated by the Sovereign Country, meaning the Luofan Country and the Mu Country wouldnât dare pull any tricks during their transit and would certainly grant them passage, the Dongli Kingdom was still sending a Saint-level Overlord as an escort, just to be safe.
Barring any surprises, this escort would be the old president of Dongli University, Zhou Wenshan.
After all, the competitors were the top prodigies of Dongliâs younger generation. If any mishap were to befall them, the Dongli Kingdom would suffer a setback it couldnât recover from for at least two decades, creating a severe talent gap.
Su Ze left the training hall and returned to his villa.
He first enjoyed a delicious meal, took a shower, watched some TV, and then browsed the campus forums for a bit.
Lately, the forums were abuzz with discussions about the Six Nationsâ Top Academies Exchange Tournament.
Dongli Universityâs team roster had been announced, and Su Zeâs inclusion had sparked considerable debate.
After enjoying the online hype about him for a while, Su Ze felt pleased in both body and mind. Completely relaxed, he returned to his room to sleep.
Once he woke up and his condition was at its absolute peak, he could finally absorb the Iron-blooded Honey Badger Extract.