God of Illusions

Hu Xian’er’s words stunned everyone there, her opponents on the ring and everyone else alike. There were only two reasons she would say something like that: either something was giving her the confidence to say it or she was probably not thinking right. The latter seemed quite unlikely to be true.

“Thistles and Thorns is useless against you?” Luo Han caught onto a probable reason for Hu Xian’er’s action; however, she was still in disbelief even as the words left her mouth. If that was truly the case, there was no point in continuing the fight. They would never be her match.

“Yes. To be precise, Thistles and Thorns and all abilities with status effects are useless against me. My second puppet is the Claws of Torment, a puppet that is a direct counter against annoying abilities like Thistles and Thorns.” Hu Xian’er spoke forthrightly with no intention of hiding anything. 

At times, revealing one’s trump card was not an act of exposing one’s secret. It could be a method of completely shattering the confidence of one’s opponents, to make them afraid before the fight itself.

That was what Hu Xian’er was doing. After she revealed her ability, Duan Tianya and Luo Han both fell into despair.

They were not her match, and their only hope of outlasting Hu Xian’er was now nothing but a joke. What in the world could they still do?

“If you do not intend to continue the fight, I suggest that you directly surrender. You won’t have to suffer as much doing that,” Hu Xian’er said coldly as she slowly raised her right hand. A violet radiance flickered on her hand; she seemed ready to attack at any moment.

“Thank you for your good intentions. However, surrendering is something I will never do,” said Duan Tianya with his teeth clenched tightly. A resolute expression appeared on his face as he continued, “Although I might still not be your match doing what I am about to do, I still want to give it a try.”

Duan Tianya slowly raised his sword, and the sword started shining with a dazzling white radiance. The white radiance spread quickly and covered his entire body. In the blink of an eye, Duan Tianya transformed into a person of light.

“Sa-sacred Brilliant Physique?”

That was spoken by a trembling old man sitting among the spectators. Many people had the same reaction, the only difference being the degree of astonishment they were feeling. One of them was Lei Shan.

“This is a surprise. The brat Duan Yin is actually willing to send his son with the Sacred Brilliant Physique into the academy. The new students of this batch are indeed no pushovers.” Sitting on the seat of honor, Lei Shan had a satisfied smile on his face.

“Principal, you have truly misunderstood the whole situation. When Tianya first mentioned that he wanted to leave the mercenary group to study at the academy, he almost got his leg broken by Duan Yin. Ultimately, Duan Yin failed to convince his son to listen to him,” explained a middle-aged man with a huge beard who was also sitting in one of the VIP seats. From his expression, it was clear that he held a lot of respect for Lei Shan.

“Oh, so that means I have gotten a treasure completely by accident?” Lei Shan said with a laugh, the joy he was feeling clear for all to see.

“Principal, are you short of treasures this year? The students that fought in the previous matches are all people who would be in hot demand by the various organizations and factions after their graduation,” said a delicate looking person.

“This is no laughing matter. I can already see that the new students of this batch are all people who will have impressive accomplishments. I’m afraid things will get troublesome for their seniors like us,” said a different person. All these people who were qualified to sit beside Lei Shan in the seats of honor were the elite graduates of Starnet Academy.

The term “elite graduate” was not one that would be used lightly. For example, the middle-aged man with a big beard who had spoken earlier was in fact the commander of the Divine Light Mercenary Group. This was an identity that could shake empires. 

The platform containing the seats of honor was filled with people of similar stature, and about twenty or thirty of them were currently on the platform. This was why the Starnet Academy had been able to name their academy after the continent. This was why countless people would try to enter the academy every year. This was also why nobody had ever dared offend the academy. 

As the saying goes, pull one hair and the entire body moves.

Being an enemy of Starnet Academy was the equivalent of being an enemy of the entire continent. Nobody would do something that stupid.

Naturally, the spectators were not paying attention to the lineup of powerhouses sitting on the VIP seats. They were instead paying all their attention on the ring. Hu Xian’er and Duan Tianya had already gone through several dozen exchanges. Slowly but surely, the prowess of the Sacred Brilliant Physique was revealed.

Apart from an increase in defense and offense, Duan Tianya had also obtained an ability that would be the source of envy for many after he activated his Sacred Brilliant Physique. This ability was unlimited regeneration.

Regardless of how badly he was injured, so long as he still had origin energy, he would be able to quickly regenerate from his injury. This regeneration ability was no weaker than Luo Han’s Revival. 

Nevertheless, Duan Tianya was still taught a lesson by harsh reality. What he did was no different than trying to break a stone with an egg. Regardless of how fast he could regenerate from his injuries, he was nothing but target practice for Hu Xian’er.

Each of their exchanges would end with double the rate of exhaustion on Duan Tianya’s origin energy, as he had to use his origin energy to both fight Hu Xian’er and to regenerate from the resulting injury.

The miserable condition of Duan Tianya allowed the spectators to obtain a better understanding of Hu Xian’er’s strength. She was way too powerful. Everyone agreed that Hu Xian’er was so powerful it was unfair. How could a human be so powerful?

Little did they know, Hu Xian’er was indeed not a human. The battle progressed intensely, and Luo Xi who everyone had been optimistic about was reduced to a mere spectator. She was completely helpless, and this continued until Duan Tianya collapsed onto the ground without any origin energy left to keep his Sacred Brilliant Physique active.

“Rev—” Luo Han tried to heal Duan Tianya by reflex after he collapsed. He, however, stopped her.

“Don’t bother. We won’t be able to defeat her…,” Duan Tianya said with his teeth clenched. This was very distressing for him to admit.

Duan Tianya practically grew up showered by praises, a person lauded as the chosen child of the heavens with his talent in puppet control, his Sacred Brilliant Physique, and his identity as the commander’s son. His life was a glorious one, and defeat was something he had never tasted before.

This was why he had decided to join the Starnet Academy. He felt that if he continued staying with the Divine Light Mercenary Group, he would no longer grow as a person. Yet when the setback he had been waiting to experience finally arrived, the damage it dealt to his confidence felt suffocating.

So this is how defeat feels…

“You are very strong. If you had not gotten me as your opponent, you would have been strong enough to last until the end of the tournament.”

Hu Xian’er did something she rarely did: offering her praise. Of course, this was the only words of praise Duan Tianya got. Her following words were so infuriating Duan Tianya nearly coughed up blood in anger.

“Of course, you don’t have to bother setting me as your goal. I am an opponent you can never hope to defeat. As for this match, just surrender.”

When she finished speaking, Hu Xian’er transformed back into her human form. She had absolute confidence in herself.