The Arena Begins
The mech arena rules were simple: from the participating students of the Empire and the Federation, one was randomly chosen to be the arena master. The arena master would then pick a challenger from the opposing side to duel. If the arena master won, they kept the position and continued challenging the next opponent; if they lost, the victor took over as the new arena master, and the matches went on.
“The record for holding the arena is thirteen consecutive wins, set by a Moye student back when General Shengshu was still the academy’s principal,” Yun Zhongxiao remarked, watching Jia Tu rattle off the Sky Network arena's impressive historical stats.
“I hope this year’s students will make new history,” he added, offering encouragement to the Imperial students.
On the fighting stage, Jia Tu finally finished his spiel, and Sky Network began the random selection for the first arena master.
The images of Federation and Empire students flashed across the stage one by one, finally settling on an A+ psychic power student from Dongwen Academy in the Federation.
She was the first arena master of the day, and before the eyes of the crowd, she promptly chose her opponent: Yun Yao.
“I’m also A+, why didn’t she pick me?” Xu Xizhen muttered beside Xu Lingqu.
“I bet they’ll get to you soon enough,” Jin said, stretching lazily. In the mech arena, masters naturally preferred to challenge those they deemed weaker than themselves or on par with them. Since the first master was A+, that set the tone for the early part of the day—all fights would be among that power bracket.
It was precisely because the training mechs Chen Dao and Chi Ren were so overpowered that no one could realistically challenge above their level, which was why Yun Zhongxiao had earnestly warned everyone not to attempt to overturn the mech’s class system within the arena.
A simple example: Jinfang Taibai, with his average physical build, versus the freakish powerhouse Xu Xizhen—in a real-life fistfight, a hundred Jinfang Taibais couldn’t take down Xu Xizhen, but in the arena, if Jinfang Taibai piloted Chi Ren and she piloted Obsidian, he would win.
Psychic power levels mattered so much only because interstellar weapons like mechs and starships demanded them. Without those machines, psychic power would be just a minor physical advantage rather than the all-consuming determinant of human worth it was now.
In reality, those with S+ psychic power who could directly pilot Chen Dao or Chi Ren were considered the true rulers of the interstellar world.
That was why the number of S-level students in the arena was crucial—it essentially dictated the final outcome.
And so, arena masters below S level were only chosen as opponents when the other side had almost no one else left to pick, and they would hand the match over to the S-level students. The S-level students, for their part, generally defaulted to picking opponents of their own rank.
That was when the arena truly reached its climax.
But before the S-level students started swinging replica Chen Dao and Chi Ren at each other, the arena was still plenty entertaining. Take right now, for example: Yun Yao and the Federation student—one piloting the A- Hundred Flowers’ Bane, the other the A-grade Silver Muse—put on a gorgeous bloodbath to kick off the arena.
Once Yun Yao entered the stage, she tried to summon Hundred Flowers’ Bane’s primary weapon, which—as Yun Zhongxiao had said—was the hardest part. She made several unsuccessful attempts and was forced to start by playing a game of cat and mouse with the Federation student.
The two giant mechs engaged in a chase, zipping back and forth across the vast arena. Yun Yao’s speed was impressive, but with no cover anywhere, she still took several hits.
Her mech’s integrity kept dropping, nearing the loss threshold, until finally she managed to summon the primary weapon. The petals clinging to Hundred Flowers’ Bane gathered together and reshaped into a longsword. Gritting her teeth, Yun Yao spun and drove the blade into the Federation student’s shoulder.
The power of Hundred Flowers’ Bane’s primary weapon was indeed exceptional—that single strike crippled the Silver Muse’s right arm, sending its integrity soaring upward.
But the Federation student wasn’t going down without a fight. Even as Yun Yao struggled to swing that blow, she jammed Silver Muse’s weapon—a silver lance—straight into Hundred Flowers’ Bane’s thigh.
At the same time, Silver Muse unfurled its primary weapon—a pair of white wings—and vaulted into the air, firing a particle cannon down at Yun Yao. Yun Yao managed to block the first blast with her sword, but she couldn’t muster the strength for the ones that followed.
The verdict came quickly.
The Federation student held the arena. Yun Yao was ruled the loser.
“A shame, but Yun Yao did decently—at least this master won’t survive against the next opponent,” Jin said, playing commentator beside Xu Lingqu.
The Federation student’s mech was heavily damaged, and after such a long fight, she had no energy left to activate the Silver Muse’s primary weapon again. Neither the mech nor her body was in shape to win another round, no matter who she chose next.
Both sides were allotted two opportunities per match to swap out mechs, and those were essentially reserved for the S-level students.
Still, the Federation student picked another A+ Empire student as her next opponent.
Jin rubbed his chin. “Something’s off.”
Xu Lingqu glanced at him. “What’s off?”
“I thought they’d definitely pick you first. You’re the only B-rank here—from their perspective, you’re the easiest target. Why didn’t they choose you?” Jin had been sure Xu Lingqu would be called out first.
Xu Lingqu was strong, but in the arena, everyone assumed her psychic power was B-rank, making her the bottom of the food chain. Normally, she should have been up first.
“I know why,” said Jiang You from Dolanston, who had been eavesdropping and decided to chime in. “One, they all agree it would be bullying to pick her. Two—she’s become the mascot.” On both the Empire and Federation sides, there was loud support for protecting Xu Lingqu, the mascot of this arena.
In the eyes of the Empire and Federation audiences, Xu Lingqu—the dreaded demon king of the team battles—had suddenly become a harmless mascot in the arena, thanks to her paper-documented B-rank psychic power.
Even the Federation viewers, who had been grinding their teeth in hatred of her, now couldn’t bear to see her taken out.
[For some reason, just thinking about Xu Lingqu being B-rank makes her seem so cute kkkk]
[Whoever made the Empire’s roster? Whatever, Xu Lingqu standing there still serves as decoration—I mean, morale booster—so that’s nice.]
[I feel like Xu Lingqu will be saved until last on the Empire side.]
[No way—Jia Xianglan has been glaring at her all match. If he gets a turn as master, he’s definitely going after her…]