Translator: CinderTL
The entire competition arena fell into complete silence.
Every spectator in the stands stared wide-eyed, their gazes fixed on the arena.
"Who won?"
"What happened?"
"That battle was terrifying!" The freshmen were both awestruck and intensely curious.
The shockwaves from the clash had been so intense that even the audience felt their hearts pounding.
Even from dozens of meters away, it felt like facing a colossal tidal wave!
This only heightened their anticipation for the final outcome.
On the arena floor, the terrifying energy gradually dissipated, and the blinding white light faded.
Jiang Ye and Shen Changxi stood revealed, half their bodies blasted apart, both suffering catastrophic injuries.
"Huff~" In the next moment, both figures simultaneously turned ethereal.
Jiang Ye wins.
A message flashed across the massive screen above the arena.
"Jiang Ye won?"
"The instant Shen Changxi unleashed Moonfall, Jiang Ye activated his Cosmic Secret Art. They were both nearly obliterated at the same moment."
"No, Jiang Ye moved a fraction of a second faster. That's why the victory was awarded to him!"
"Unbelievable! How could this be the outcome?"
The teachers in the Projection Space erupted in uproar.
While the students might not have clearly seen the battle, the teachers had witnessed every detail.
After Shen Changxi exhausted all her trump cards, Jiang Ye, against all odds, managed to take her down with him in a mutual annihilation!
Calculations showed Jiang Ye's death occurring slightly later than Shen Changxi's.
Therefore, Jiang Ye was declared the victor!
"He won?" Zhu Honglie stared in disbelief.
He had completely given up hope.
But this result?
"Jiang Ye's final move..." Chen Yuntian frowned deeply. "Has his Cosmic Secret Art already reached Small Success?"
The other teachers immediately realized the implications.
"Is that Jiang Ye's earth-rank Cosmic Secret Art?"
"He's already achieved Small Success?"
"And he's mastered two ultimate moves!"
"Isn't this supposed to be Primitive innate talent? How could he cultivate faster than someone with dao bone?" The teachers were utterly astonished.
An earth-rank Cosmic Secret Art!
Its difficulty far surpassed Shen Changxi's yellow tier Cosmic Secret Art.
How could Jiang Ye achieve Small Success so quickly? Was he cheating?
"Logically, even if Jiang Ye closed the distance, Shen Changxi should have been able to react perfectly," Chen Yuntian said. "But Jiang Ye's final strike unleashed power comparable to Shen Changxi's Moonfall. There's only one explanation: his Cosmic Secret Art has reached Small Success!"
"Indeed," Elder Bai nodded. "The sheer force of Jiang Ye's final move left Shen Changxi utterly defenseless."
"Otherwise, even after using her ultimate move and with the Divine Speed enhancement, she wouldn't have been completely unable to retaliate."
Shen Changxi's martial dao foundation was exceptionally profound. Even after unleashing her ultimate move, she should have retained considerable combat prowess. Yet, during the battle, she exerted every ounce of her strength and still couldn't block Jiang Ye's kick. Otherwise, they wouldn't have ended in a mutual kill.
"Ultimately, her lack of combat experience and impatience proved her undoing," Elder Bai shook his head. "If she had unleashed her ultimate move later, in her full strength, she could have withstood Jiang Ye's strike. Alas..."
Zhu Honglie, hearing this, retorted, "Elder Bai, are you implying Jiang Ye is weaker than her?"
"Hahaha." Elder Bai shook his head and chuckled. "Jiang Ye's ability to fight Shen Changxi to such a standstill already proves his capabilities. Why would he need my praise?"
"Don't you agree?" He glanced at the other teachers.
Including Chen Yuntian, everyone nodded in agreement.
They had witnessed the rise of a genius with Primitive innate talent!
Jiang Ye's abilities were now beyond question.
After this battle, he was destined to soar!
Whoosh! The audience stands erupted into a frenzy.
No one had imagined that Jiang Ye would actually win the finals!
"What's going on?"
"Shen Changxi's ultimate move couldn't defeat Jiang Ye?"
The freshmen erupted in uproar.
Swish! Jiang Ye returned to the audience stands.
"Jiang Ye!"
"Brother Jiang!" Lin Yushu, Xu Haoran, and the others swarmed around him.
Their faces were etched with shock.
The battle's energy had been terrifying, nearly reaching the level of a second breakthrough.
Even those watching from the stands felt their hearts pound.
It was unimaginable that Jiang Ye had actually defeated Shen Changxi in such a terrifying battle!
"I won?" Jiang Ye glanced at the large screen ahead, his expression calm.
He had given it his all.
This outcome was exactly as he had anticipated.
At that moment, Liu Wanxiao hurried over.
"Jiang Ye, did you just block Shen Changxi's ultimate move?" Liu Wanxiao asked, his face filled with disbelief.
"No," Jiang Ye replied, shaking his head.
"Then how...?" Liu Wanxiao looked puzzled.
If Jiang Ye hadn't blocked the move, why had the system declared him the victor?
"Because at the last moment, I also landed a critical blow on Shen Changxi," Jiang Ye explained with a smile. "We were both critically injured almost simultaneously, but I was a fraction of a second later."
Currently, Jiang Ye lacked the ability to directly withstand the Moonfall technique.
Therefore, his only option was to unleash his strongest attack the instant Shen Changxi initiated her ultimate move.
"I see," Liu Wanxiao said, his expression even more astonished.
To be able to force a mutual destruction against Shen Changxi's ultimate move?
He knew he couldn't do it himself.
Neither his explosive speed nor his inherent strength would allow him to deliver a decisive blow to Shen Changxi in such a short time.
Jiang Ye's achievement was astonishing—truly astonishing!
"The top ten rankings for the Penglai University Class of 2326 Freshman Competition are as follows!"
"First place: Jiang Ye."
"Second place: Shen Changxi."
"Third place: Yun Qing'er."
"Fourth place: Liu Wanxiao."
A majestic voice echoed throughout the competition space.
After announcing the top ten, the large screen at the front displayed the full list of the top hundred competitors.
"Jiang Ye, first place!"
"Damn! That's incredible!"
"Unbelievable! I have no words. Jiang Ye truly deserves first place!" The freshmen erupted in cheers, as if witnessing history unfold.
Many had initially believed the competition was a foregone conclusion, with Shen Changxi guaranteed to win. Her ultimate move, Moonfall, alone seemed capable of overwhelming all other freshmen in this year's cohort.
In this situation, Jiang Ye's victory was truly unbelievable.
"The Freshman Competition has concluded."
"The competition space will close in three minutes. Please exit promptly."
The authoritative voice echoed once more.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
One by one, the figures in the audience seats began to fade into nothingness.
"Jiang Ye, congratulations!" Zhao Qingli gazed at him, her eyes tinged with envy.
She remembered when she had looked down on this poor boy. Who could have imagined that he would now claim first place in the East Sea Province's top university Freshman Competition?
"Jiang Ye, I'm heading back," Zhao Qingli said, offering a brief farewell before her form dissolved into nothingness.
Lin Yushu, Xu Haoran, Deng Yunfei, and the others waved goodbye as their figures vanished as well.
Just as Jiang Ye was about to leave, a voice called out from behind him.
"Jiang Ye."
He turned to see a girl with white hair and crimson eyes standing behind him, her aura aloof and otherworldly.
It was Shen Changxi.
"Has your Cosmic Secret Art reached Small Success?" Shen Changxi asked, her gaze fixed on him.
"Yes," Jiang Ye replied without hesitation.
Shen Changxi took a deep breath and said, "You... you're amazing! I admire you."
"I admire you too," Jiang Ye replied with a smile.
He didn't feel particularly proud of defeating her.
If not for the effect of beauty's inquiry, he likely would have lost.
His final strike had triggered the 50% critical damage bonus.
Without that, Jiang Ye might not have been able to severely injure Shen Changxi in a single blow.
"Honestly, I feel like I lost this match," Jiang Ye admitted candidly.
"Oh?" Shen Changxi suddenly smiled. "I feel like I lost too."
"What a coincidence," Jiang Ye chuckled.
Shen Changxi didn't say more, but looked at him and said, "Let's add each other on V and spar sometime."
"Sure," Jiang Ye replied, giving her his V number.
Meanwhile, at Penglai University, in a white-gold floating structure, Elder Bai, Zhu Honglie, Chen Yuntian, and a group of teachers were gathered around a table.
"Now, what do you all have to say?" Zhu Honglie asked, his face beaming with smugness as he scanned his colleagues.
"Where's the one who called Jiang Ye a Primitive? Speak up!"
"Answer me!" Zhu Honglie sneered.
The plump teacher sighed, his tone resigned. "You win. We were wrong. Are you satisfied now?"
"I can't agree with that," Chen Yuntian said coldly. "I was a staunch supporter of the Upper A-Tier Contract from the start."
The teachers exchanged uneasy glances.
It was true. Most of them had initially believed Jiang Ye didn't deserve an Upper A-Tier Contract.
Only Zhu Honglie and Chen Yuntian had vehemently opposed the consensus.
And now, reality had proven Jiang Ye was indeed worthy!
"Securing first place in the Freshman Competition with a Primitive innate talent is a feat worthy of being recorded in history."
"It seems I need to reconsider my biases against Primitive innate talents."
"Jiang Ye truly deserves the highest level of cultivation resources and the highest-risk training program," the senior officials nodded in agreement.
An Upper A-Tier Contract wasn't just about receiving the highest level of resource allocation.
More crucially, it meant access to the highest-risk training program!
Upper A-tier students would face extremely rigorous training, various dangerous combat missions, and frequent life-or-death trials.
The teachers had previously opposed Jiang Ye's Upper A-tier status, fearing he couldn't handle the pressure.
But now? Those concerns were gone.
"Elder Bai, can we finalize Jiang Ye's contract now?" Zhu Honglie, with his fiery red hair, asked the silver-haired elder at the head of the table.
"Heh."
"Old Zhu, you're as impatient as ever," Elder Bai chuckled, shaking his head.
Zhu Honglie glared. "It's not your student who's in a hurry!"
"Patience, my friend," Elder Bai said with a smile. "Let the publicity department promote this competition first. A B-tier student winning the Freshman Competition? That's huge news!"
"Jiang Ye's status will skyrocket."
"He's short on funds, isn't he? Soon, a windfall of wealth will come knocking on his door."
(End of the Chapter)
---
📖Read (𝗦𝗬𝗦𝗟𝗜𝗠𝗜𝗧) on the Site till Ch434. (274 Chapters Ahead)
💲Read upto Ch202 for ABSOLUTELY 𝙁𝙍𝙀𝙀! ℕ𝕠 𝕃𝕠𝕘𝕚𝕟
⚡15 Novels | 9.3k+ Chapters | 15.5M+ Words [𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐥.𝐜𝐨𝐦]