Accelerate, Accelerate

A perfect opportunity. This was the exact moment Yu Xian had been waiting for. Bullet Time! In a flash, Yu Xian materialized beside Shenshang Chai as the surrounding currents of water condensed into a razor-sharp azure blade. With a single slash, Shenshang Chai's body was cleaved clean in two. Right at that instant, Shenshang Chai's skill took effect, and his severed arm flew back into place. Yet the moment his consciousness returned, an agonizing pain tore through him. *No.* *I still have a chance.* Shenshang Chai activated Time Reversal once again, but Yu Xian followed up immediately with another slash—this time aiming straight for his head. The next instant, Shenshang Chai's bifurcated body knit itself back together. But as soon as he regained the ability to think, he realized his neck had been severed. Just as he prepared to trigger Time Reversal yet again— Yu Xian acted a step faster, activating his skill: Body Manipulation Art! In an instant, Shenshang Chai lost all control over his physical form. He could only watch helplessly as Yu Xian's blade descended again and again. Finally, Shenshang Chai collapsed, his body dissolving into white light. Yu Xian was left standing alone in the arena, azure blade in hand, greeted by thunderous cheers from the countless spectators in the stands. True combat was just like this. After prolonged probing and testing, victory and defeat were decided within a matter of seconds. Having an abundance of skills did not necessarily make someone powerful; it merely meant they had fewer obvious weaknesses. The crux always lay in seizing the right moment. With nothing more than Water Control, a single mastered trick had been enough for Yu Xian to bring down Shenshang Chai. Next came the harvest. [Longbow Summon: Consumes physical stamina and mental energy to summon a longbow capable of firing infinite arrows. The power of the arrows depends on the user's mental resilience.] [Mirror World: Consumes mental energy to enter a mirror world, allowing the user to appear unexpectedly and attack targets.] Seeing the new skills added to his repertoire, Yu Xian's face fell with disappointment. In truth, what he had wanted most were Shenshang Chai's class skills—especially Time Amber. He had coveted that skill desperately. The tournament carried on. Every player matched against Yu Xian promptly chose to surrender. The forums exploded. Previously, people had fiercely debated whether Yu Xian or Shenshang Chai was stronger. Now, the debate was settled; the verdict was in. Footage of the match had been uploaded to the forums mere seconds after it ended. Countless viewers flocked to share their opinions after watching the recording. Second floor: *Shenshang Chai really was a fraud. Without time stop, he's totally useless.* Third floor: *A Shenshang Chai without time stop? Honestly, I feel like I could take on a hundred of him.* Fourth floor: *I strongly suspect Yu Xian is cheating. How is his class so absurdly strong? Could it be a hidden class?* Fifth floor: *Heh, someone's jealous. Yu Xian's class is Order Guardian. I played that class last time, but my mechanical skill was worlds apart from his. Just reshaping Forward Shield into different forms is something ordinary players can't even pull off. Strong players are just strong, end of story.* Sixth floor: *Spot on. And Eight Hundred Deathsworn—have any of you ever seen someone pick their classes? Whenever I cast it, the deathsworn summoned are completely random, but Yu Xian can designate specific classes! When he fought Shi Bao, he summoned a whole army of ninjas. My eyes nearly popped out of my head.* Seventh floor: *Bullet Time too—it's utterly perverse. It's clearly a passive skill, yet Yu Xian somehow managed to use it like an active one. Whatever, I'm completely sold on his skill level.* Eighth floor: *Surely no one disputes that Yu Xian is the number one powerhouse in Zhen Realm now, right?* Ninth floor: *Yu Xian was already number one to begin with. He cleared the realm last time. Has anyone else sitting here ever cleared it?* ... ... When one became strong enough, everyone around them turned into good people. Over the following period, as the tournament continued, Yu Xian keenly noticed a dramatic shift in how other players treated him. People were vastly more polite, and some even began actively flattering him. For instance, whenever Yu Xian and Zhang Buyao went out to eat, they would discover upon asking for the bill that another player had already covered it for them. Whenever they walked down the street, gazes would inevitably fall upon them, and the moment they looked back, every face would instantly break into an amicable smile. Three months finally passed. The tournament drew to a close. Without any surprises, Yu Xian comfortably secured first place, while Shenshang Chai took second. As the champion, Yu Xian received extraordinarily lavish rewards. First, his level shot straight up from Level 15 to Level 50. On top of that, he was awarded various enhancement gems and a massive sum of money. Once the event concluded, Yu Xian and Zhang Buyao returned to their routine of hunting monsters and grinding levels. Even so, the aftereffects of the tournament lingered. Whenever Yu Xian went out to farm, other players would voluntarily step aside and yield the best grinding spots to him. ... ... Ten years later, Silver City. This Silver City was not the Silver City of Earth, but rather the one situated within Zhen Realm. Yu Xian and Zhang Buyao walked out of the city gates. Yu Xian turned to Zhang Buyao and asked, "Are you ready?" "Don't worry, I won't hold back. Even if they used to be my students," Zhang Buyao replied, nodding solemnly. By now, both of them had reached Level 66. This was largely because Yu Xian had taken the initiative to party up with Zhang Buyao, funneling a substantial share of experience her way. Otherwise, given Yu Xian's monster-slaying efficiency, he would have hit Level 80 long ago. Now that their levels met the threshold, it was time to deal with Zhang Buyao's former students. Yu Xian activated his skill, conjuring a light shield beneath his feet, and flew off toward their destination. Zhang Buyao stepped onto a flying sword and followed close behind. Two hours later, the two descended back to the ground. After making their way through a dense jungle, they arrived before a sheer cliff. At the base of the cliff sat an enormous humanoid monster, motionless, dark miasma continuously wafting from its body. Seeing the creature, Zhang Buyao gasped in shock. "That's... Pangpang?" "Yeah," Yu Xian nodded. Zhang Pangpang was one of Zhang Buyao's former students. For unknown reasons, after degenerating into a demon, he developed an obsession with fat. To amass more adipose tissue, he gorged himself relentlessly. When Yu Xian had first tracked him down, he had been nothing short of a colossal sphere. Back then, Zhang Pangpang had even attempted to eat Yu Xian, only to be effortlessly suppressed and ultimately cast into Zhen Realm to become a monster. "Can you let him speak to me?" Zhang Buyao asked after a moment of silence. Yu Xian nodded. "Of course. Go ahead. This is your battle." "All right." Nodding, Zhang Buyao leapt directly off the cliff. Zhang Pangpang, who had been sitting frozen in agony, slowly opened his eyes as he sensed someone approaching. Upon seeing that the visitor was his former teacher, his massive frame shuddered faintly. Then, he spoke: "Teacher!" "Don't call me Teacher. Tell me—why did you do this?" Zhang Buyao demanded angrily, staring him straight in the eye. Zhang Pangpang looked back at her and replied, "Teacher, because this is my true self. This is who I am, and this is who I always wanted to be. Can't you understand that?" "You're insane!" Zhang Buyao said, staring at him in utter disbelief.