A burning hot slash hit my Obsidian Dragonscale Armor and dealt 2894 damage. There were only a handful of warriors in China who could hit me for over 2000 damage with physical attacks, and Painting Of My Country was one of them. His hidden class really was incredibly powerful.

Inside the party channel, I said, “Beiming Xue, attack with me in three seconds!”

“Got it!”

I shuffled my feet and moved behind Painting Of My Country in one beautiful zigzag. Then, I executed a quick Pardon + Ice Ray combo!

MISS!

4904!

I followed up with a basic attack and dropped him to low health. Before he could heal himself, Beiming Xue’s double shot hit him like thunder!

Bang bang!

The bloody arrows plunged into the warrior’s chest and caused two huge damage numbers to rise above his head. I didn’t even need to look to know that he was dead.

However, a Dragon’s Roar and Ice Dragon Roar hit my head at the same time and turned my veins ice cold. As I thought, the enemy mages were trying to kill me!

3785!

3042!

I glanced to the side and saw In the Name of the War God tanking a blow from Li Chengfeng to rush me as well. He stabbed his spear straight at my arm.

“Heh!”

Chuckling, I turned my body sideways and with a mighty kick to his arm. At the same time, I slashed him right across the throat.

7894!

Great, a critical hit!

The magic knight was shocked by the sudden turn of events. Before he could do anything else, Li Chengfeng arrived and ended his life in one strike!

The two mages and the priest were the only ones left. Clearly, they hadn’t expected my Magic Resist to be high enough to withstand two spells from them, not to mention that Murong Mingyue’s healing output was just incredible. Somehow, she was able to keep my health above 75% despite the bombardment. It was such a frustrating failure that I could already imagine them throwing up blood!

The rest of the fight was simple. Without their fighters to cover for them, the two mages were no better than walking targets. They were incapable of dealing with Beiming Xue’s ranged attacks, and we managed to kill them all without losing anyone.

We did a lot better this time, and I could feel that our coordination and tactics had entered a new level. I was able to utilize my high Magic Resist to waste the enemy mages’ firepower and find an opening to kill the enemy warriors. We also managed to maintain a good party formation throughout the battle. Our backline was never disrupted, and as long as Beiming Xue and Murong Mingyue weren’t threatened, it was heaven for us and hell for our opponents!

……

Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls entered the semifinals with a 2-0 score!

Everyone was excited when victory was ours. He Yi even turned around and gave me a hug. She was the happiest one out of all of us because it had been her dream to make Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls a strong guild for a long time now. In the past, she dared not even dream of winning a local tournament, let alone entering the semifinals of a national tournament. But we were in the semifinals now, just two steps away from becoming a national champion. How could she not be excited?

We were greeted by a thunderous applause when we walked out of the battle room. However, when we walked down the short stairs, I noticed that Lin Yixin was shooting me grudgeful looks for some reason. She… can’t be jealous of He Yi, is she?

I didn’t know how to describe my feelings at the time. I sat down not far away from her seat and looked at her, but I didn’t know what to say at all.

Lin Yixin was also staring at me. A couple of seconds later, she typed on her phone and sent me a message. There was only one word on it. "Bastard…"

I pursed my lips and looked away, too ashamed of myself and afraid to look at her. I tried to talk to Li Chengfeng, only to catch him staring at Candlelight Shadow with a hint of anger for some reason.

"Chengfeng? What’s wrong?" I asked.

"Oh, it’s… it’s nothing…" Normally, it looked like nothing could faze the guy. This was the first time I saw an ill expression on his face.

I knew that he was hiding something, but I chose not to question him about it. If he didn’t wish to tell me, then so be it. I wouldn’t be so callous as to pry out his secret.

……

A victor had emerged from Group A, and it was none other than Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls. Since we were the first guild to enter the semifinals, our fans were so excited they were on the verge of going berserk. In fact, many of them were present at the spectator’s seat right now. Our fanbase was mostly centered at the Yangtze Delta, and I could spot a lot of Shanghai university students among the crowd. They were fans who skipped their classes and came all the way here to support us.

It was time for the Group B matches to begin.

The first match was between Candle Dragon and Riverside Pavilion. Although Riverside Pavilion was pretty strong, they were still no match for Candle Dragon at all. Candlelight Shadow didn’t even need to do much because his four War Gods had done all the work for him. God’s Dance and Transient Smoke and Clouds especially were like living grim reapers who murdered anyone they pointed their weapons at. There weren’t many people who could withstand their overwhelming firepower at all.

Just like us, Candle Dragon scored a clean 2-0 score over their opponents. With this win, Candle Dragon officially entered the quarterfinals!

The second match was Purple Lily versus Othershore Flower, and the number one mage of China, Luo River God of the Capital, showed everyone the true power of the Mage class once more. Othershore Flower’s experts were like whipped bitches before her devastating magic, and Purple Lily claimed a perfect victory and entered the quarterfinals as well. Now, Candle Dragon versus Purple Lily would duke it out and decide who would enter the semifinals!

"Enemies always live in a small world, it seems…" He Yi chuckled. "Purple Lily and Candle Dragon already fought like cats and dogs at Wind City, and Luo River God of the Capital even swore that she would never come to a compromise with Candlelight Shadow. Who would’ve thought that they would’ve to duke it out in Who Will Rise as well? Is this what people call fate?"

I smiled. "I don’t know. All I know is that this match is going to be awesome to watch!"

"Yeah!"

On the stage, Candlelight Shadow and his gang of CGL Hall of Famers entered the battle room in high spirits. Not only did it look like they were well prepared for the battle against Purple Lily, Candlelight Shadow was full of confidence—no, he didn’t even consider Purple Lily or the number one mage of China to be a threat at all. Frankly, I would like a shot at his punchable face myself, and if Luo River God of the Capital’s earlier claim were to be believed, my chance would be arriving very soon.

Both party formations were displayed on the big screen. There were 10 players in total, but 7 of them were CGL Hall of Famers. If this didn’t count as a battle of titans, I don’t know what was!

Purple Lily

Luo River God of the Capital LV-107 Mage

Moonkiss LV-104 Spirit Killer

Familiar Scent LV-105 Magic Knight

Moonlight Beneath a Rock LV-105 Warrior

Pretty Little Fish LV-104 Priest

VS

Candle Dragon

Candlelight Shadow LV-108 Warrior

Tempest Shadow LV-106 Magic Knight

Blue Sky Scar LV-106 Warrior

God’s Dance LV-107 Mage

Transient Smoke and Clouds LV-105 Archer

Both sides had pretty high levels, and they were definitely experts who hid their trump cards well. There was no way this match was going to be boring!

On the screen, Luo River God of the Capital uttered through gritted teeth. "Bunch of scum!"

Candlelight Shadow snorted but didn’t answer. As the gaming representative of China, he was used to keeping his silence.

……

The moment the match began, Candlelight Shadow rushed his opponents with lightning speed. Dancing like a butterfly. He swung his sword in a spiraling fashion three times in a row and knocked back Familiar Scent, Moonkiss and Moonlight Beneath a Rock in one go. Who would’ve thought that he would dismantle the enemy’s formation so easily?

Tempest Shadow and Blue Sky Scar also charged their enemies while shouting, "Kill!"

Wearing a serious expression on her face, Luo River God of the Capital waved her Thunder Scepter slightly and hit Tempest Shadow’s face with a deadly Ice Thrust!

4983!

Her magic attack was seriously insane. Not even Tempest Shadow, a powerful magic knight, could withstand the attack!

Blue Sky Scar let out a growl and fired a circular sword aura from his sword. It was his signature move, the Origin Energy Slash!

Tempest Shadow also joined in on the attack and executed his own skill. The mage was dead for sure if she carelessly took the hit.

However, Luo River God of the Capital smiled slightly before flashing to a different position. At the same time, she raised her Thunder Scepter and cast Fire God Purgatory + Dragon’s Roar!

Candlelight Shadow shouted in surprise, "Blue Sky Scar, dodge!"

Unfortunately, it was already too late!

3984!

7459!

The devastating magic attack obliterated Blue Sky Scar as the growling magic knight collapsed in a heap. Luo River God of the Capital scored first blood over Candle Dragon.

However, Transient Smoke and Clouds was also shooting at Pretty Little Fish and forcing the girl back. Before she could do anything else, God’s Dance followed up with her own Dragon’s Roar!

"Uuuu…"

Pretty Little Fish groaned and died as well.

On the other side, Moonkiss managed to parry Candlelight Shadow’s devastating assault, but was sent skidding across the sandy ground because of their Strength difference. However, she opted to plunge her dagger into the ground to slow herself down before dashing toward Transient Smoke and Clouds in a burst of speed. Her dagger passed through his side like a venomous snake!

3782!

The archer was stunned immediately, and a Blade Vortex later he was actually one-shot by Moonkiss!

Furious, God’s Dance stomped the ground with one foot and summoned a freezing air around her. Once Moonkiss was frozen, God’s Dance easily hit her for almost 5000 damage with a Dragon’s Roar!

But Moonkiss wasn’t about to give up just yet. She drank a health potion to heal herself and broke free of the ice. Then, she tossed out a fluorescent powder and vanished into thin air.

God’s Dance watched her surroundings closely before summoning an Arctic Rain without warning. However, she still failed to hit Moonkiss and force her out of stealth mode. God’s Dance immediately whispered in the party channel, "Watch out, Candlelight Shadow! Moonkiss is stealthing!"

Meanwhile, the man in question was slowly pulling his sword out of Moonlight Under a Rock’s chest and crouching to avoid a slash to his neck at the same time. He then launched a kick at his attacker and sent Familiar Scent stumbling backward. Unfortunately, the beautiful magic knight was no match for Candlelight Shadow in terms of skill or reaction speed at all.

While all this was ongoing, Tempest Shadow was still chasing after Luo River God of the Capital. However, the mage simply smiled and killed him easily with a couple of Ice Arrows.

It was a bloody battle. Both sides had lost over half their numbers in the blink of an eye.

After that, God’s Dance and Luo River God of the Capital started blasting one another and capturing everyone’s attention. Moonkiss managed to keep Candlelight Shadow busy for almost half a minute and even successfully ambushed him once. However, she failed to one-shot him and gave him the chance to recover himself. This time, Candlelight Shadow saw through her second ambush and killed her where she stood...

Luo River God of the Capital complained when she saw Candlelight Shadow walking toward her with two-thirds of his HP still intact. "Sigh, looks like this is a loss again, dammit…"