Chapter 216

The others also heard Su Bei’s words. Jiang Tianming and the rest saw several opponents displaying surprised expressions and realized something was amiss.

Originally, Endless Ability Academy had been dominating Houde Ability Academy. However, judging from their opponents’ expressions and Su Bei’s earlier conversation with the support, they realized things weren’t that simple.

“Su Bei, is there a problem?” Jiang Tianming asked with a frown, fending off an opponent who attacked again.

Su Bei glanced at the opponents, who had all begun retreating. He understood immediately. “We’re going to be eliminated, most of us.”

He had just exposed the opponents’ scheme, so the students of Houde Ability Academy would definitely not be able to delay any longer and would immediately execute their plan.

“How is that possible?” Ai Baozhu’s eyes widened in surprise, her face etched with disbelief. Weren’t they in a huge advantageous position? How could they be eliminated?

She wasn’t the only one surprised; Jiang Tianming and the others, as well as the audience, were also very surprised. What they said on the stage was amplified and broadcast, so the audience could all hear what Su Bei was saying.

But just like Ai Baozhu, everyone else also thought Endless Ability Academy clearly held the advantageous position, so how could they suddenly be eliminated? Some people thought Su Bei was just trying to create a sensation, while more people watched patiently, anticipating a reversal.

“You guessed correctly, but what of it?” The opponent’s control-type Ability user had already walked to the edge of the stage. He smiled, spread his arms, and leaned back, “Everyone come down with us!”

As he fell off the stage, Lan Subing inexplicably appeared below the stage with him. Her face was full of bewilderment as she looked around, her confusion evident.

Jiang Tianming was still the smartest. His gaze swept across the opponents, then settled firmly on the support. “Did you do this?”

Seeing the support’s slightly changed expression, Jiang Tianming confirmed his guess. Once he confirmed who was behind it, some things became easy to figure out. “Synced Link… you linked us all together, so if you go down, we go down too?”

Although it was a question, he had used a definite tone.

The support didn’t deny it. In fact, he also wanted to take this opportunity to make a name for himself. Otherwise, if he just pulled off a flashy move and the audience didn’t know, wouldn’t it be a huge waste?

So he patiently explained: “You guessed correctly. My ability allows anyone I touch to gradually form a Synced Link, and our special-type Ability user’s ability allows me to link two people at once. That means we only need four people to link all five of you. In the end, we’ll still have one person left on the stage. You’ve actually already lost. Do you want to forfeit directly to save time, or are you stubborn enough to let us take you down?”

So that was their strategy. No wonder Houde Ability Academy was so confident in the comic. This strategy would succeed against any other team. But unfortunately, their opponent happened to be Endless Ability Academy, which had the protagonist’s group. This doomed them to failure.

Su Bei wasn’t sure about other things, but he knew that Jiang Tianming possessed the ability to be immune to others’ abilities. This meant the opponent’s support’s Synced Link wouldn’t work on him at all. So, the ones left on the stage in the end would be the opponent’s offense-type and their own Jiang Tianming. No wonder both their Destiny Compasses pointed normally.

Normally, that would be the case. But who let himself be present? If he had to adjust five people’s Destiny Compasses, especially the Major Destiny Pointers on the Destiny Compasses that would appear in the comic, the Mental Energy consumption would be immense. One hour would not be enough time for him to recover his Mental Energy. So he would definitely not be able to participate in the next team battle.

But if he only needed to adjust one person’s Major Destiny Pointer, that would be an easy task for him. Su Bei, smiling, adjusted the opponent’s offense-type’s Minor Destiny Pointer to the far right. Then he adjusted his Major Destiny Pointer to the “exit” position, just like everyone else.

After all this was done, he casually said, “I can see through your plan, and you still think I can’t do anything about you? Aren’t you underestimating me a little?”

As soon as he said this, the people from Houde Ability Academy all showed wary expressions. Their academy had never been able to fully investigate Su Bei’s ability. They only knew it was a Destiny-type and could manipulate gears.

In the previous match, he practically didn’t make a move the whole time. He only instantly eliminated the support when they made their move at the end, and also exposed their scheme. These two points alone were enough to make them wary.

Now Su Bei said he had a way to disrupt their plan. Even though the others didn’t believe it, and from the opponents’ perspective, they couldn’t think of any method, a premonition in their hearts told them Su Bei was probably telling the truth.

In stark contrast to their feelings were Jiang Tianming and his group. Su Bei never spoke without a reason. If he said he had a way, then he truly had a way.

Si Zhaohua couldn’t help but laugh. He felt that if the support hadn’t made a move against Su Bei, Su Bei might not have acted. But since the opponent made the first move, Su Bei definitely wouldn’t just wait to be defeated.

The people from Houde Ability Academy exchanged glances. After a moment, the support, who was also their commander, waved his hand and made the final decision: “Proceed with the original plan.”

Whether Su Bei was bluffing them or not, they had no other way out now. It was evident from how Endless Ability Academy had dominated them earlier that this team was not their academy’s strongest force. It was just that this team was better suited to the support’s ability. In other words, it was a specialized strategy team, and they could only execute this strategy; otherwise, there was no possibility of winning.

Receiving the command, the special-type Ability user jumped off the stage, taking Ai Baozhu down with him. Next was the opponent’s defense-type player. He took Si Zhaohua down.

The last one to jump off was the opposing support. Normally, he should take Su Bei and Jiang Tianming down together, leaving only Houde Ability Academy’s offense-type Ability user on the stage.

As he was about to jump off the stage, Su Bei had a carefree smile on his face. He casually launched a gear at the offense-type opponent. At the same time, he used the instant-cast ability he had obtained from a skill book to activate the pointer.

Then, he was sent off the stage along with the opposing support’s movement.

Just now, while adjusting the opponent’s Destiny Compass, he had used a newly acquired ability, which he called Advanced Screening, to foresee what would happen after adjusting the offense-type Ability user’s Major Destiny Pointer to the “exit” position.

Su Bei saw a gear sending the opponent off the stage. So, naturally, he had to launch a gear according to destiny’s guidance.

This was an ordinary gear. Logically, it couldn’t even cause any damage to the opponent. But the opposing offense-type Ability user was already extremely nervous because of Su Bei’s earlier words, fearing that any oversight on his part would lead to a complete loss. So, regarding the gear shot at him, he treated it as a formidable enemy, repeatedly retreating a few steps to try and dodge it.

The person originally standing behind him was the support. He had initially stood in front to protect the support, allowing him to jump down safely. But now, with this retreat, and the support already having jumped down with Su Bei, the offense-type player couldn’t dodge in time and retreated directly to the edge of the stage, teetering on the brink of falling.

For Ability users with extremely strong physical control like them, stabilizing their bodies wasn’t a difficult task. However, before he could stand firm, the gear Su Bei had just launched arrived in front of the opponent, becoming the final straw that broke the camel’s back.

“Bang!” The offense-type Ability user fell backward off the stage.

Only Jiang Tianming was left on the stage.

All of this happened in less than two seconds. Everyone was stunned. The referee was the first to react, quickly announcing the match results: “Match over! Endless Ability Academy wins!”

It wasn’t until the referee finished speaking that the entire venue erupted in an uproar. Whispers about the match that had just ended were everywhere. Such a dramatic match was undoubtedly highly entertaining and sparked immense interest from everyone.

Even Jiang Tianming, who inexplicably remained on stage at the end, didn’t garner much attention. Everyone’s attention was focused entirely on Su Bei. Everyone knew that Su Bei’s contribution to the final outcome was indispensable, but they couldn’t figure out how he had done it.

“I… how did I get off the stage?” The opposing offense-type player had a look of frustration. Then he suddenly looked up at Su Bei. “Did you do that?”

Su Bei tapped his temple. He had a smug look, as if questioning the other’s intelligence. “Unless I’ve lost my memory, you were pushed off the stage by my gear.”

“That’s not what I meant…” The opponent first tried to explain but quickly realized. “Don’t play dumb here! I’m asking if you engineered me inexplicably being sent off the stage by your gear!”

The more he thought about it, the more something felt wrong. This matter was too coincidental. Just as he retreated, the support fell, causing him to subconsciously relax his body when he felt the support behind him, and he lost his balance when the other person fell. And just as he was about to regain his balance, the gear gave him a push.

Everything was perfectly coincidental, interlocking seamlessly. If any part had been off by even a few tenths of a second, he wouldn’t have fallen.

Recalling Su Bei’s earlier words, he couldn’t help but suspect that all of this was Su Bei’s design, and that he had used some unknown ability to make those coincidences happen.

Facing his interrogation, Su Bei spread his hands. “Destiny is just that comical, isn’t it?”

Thinking of the comical way he was forced off the stage by a tiny gear, the opponent’s mindset collapsed. “Comical my foot! You’re the one behind this!”

The people from Houde Ability Academy quickly calmed him down. They didn’t want him to cause any trouble at the last minute. They were already dead last, a foregone conclusion. If they were then banned from the competition for fighting, they would truly lose all face and dignity.

“I have one more question.” Before they left as a group, the opposing support raised his hand and looked at Jiang Tianming with confusion. “Why were you still able to stay on the stage?”

As soon as this question was asked, everyone remembered this point. Right, Su Bei taking someone down was Su Bei’s business. But Jiang Tianming being able to stay on the stage was another matter entirely. He was clearly linked by the support, so why didn’t he fall with the support?

Even Su Bei had fallen off. So Jiang Tianming staying behind certainly wasn’t Su Bei’s doing. It could only be his own ability. But as far as they knew, Jiang Tianming didn’t have such an ability!

“Maybe I wasn’t linked?” Jiang Tianming naturally wouldn’t expose his hidden ability. He also feigned an innocent guess, just like Wu Mingbai and Mo Xiaotian usually did.

Houde Ability Academy’s support naturally couldn’t believe his nonsense. He knew his own ability; there was absolutely no way it wouldn’t have linked.

Although he knew the other person was lying, he had no intention of pressing further. Firstly, Jiang Tianming had no obligation to answer him. Since he chose to lie, it meant he didn’t want to answer. In that case, there was no point in asking further.

Secondly, having lost two team matches in a row, their competition journey was already over. Since the matches were over, there was no point in probing for the opponent’s ability now; it would only benefit Skydome Ability Academy.

However, on another note, the results of the Tri-School Competition were actually already out. Even if Skydome Ability Academy won the final team battle, their score would definitely not surpass Endless Ability Academy’s.

Nevertheless, the final match still had to be played. Winning a team battle was also a display of strength.

Bidding farewell to the students of Houde Ability Academy, they returned to the lounge. As soon as they pushed open the door, Mo Xiaotian enthusiastically gave Su Bei a big hug. “That was amazing! I knew you’d have a plan! You actually managed to eliminate the last person they left behind directly? I never would have thought!”

Su Bei grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and forcibly peeled him off himself. “Go on, go on, don’t cling to me.”

Mo Xiaotian wasn’t angry at being disliked. He spread the affection evenly, going to hug Jiang Tianming next. “Tianming, you were amazing too! How did you manage not to be taken down by Synced Link?”

The others were also curious about this question. At that time, after learning about Houde Ability Academy’s plan, they originally thought the best outcome would be a draw. They never expected that Jiang Tianming would still be left on stage in the end, leading to Houde Ability Academy being directly eliminated by their own plan.

“Aren’t I a multi-ability user? This is one of my abilities.” Jiang Tianming was less guarded with his friends. Seeing that everyone was curious about the question, he told them the answer.

However, he wasn’t completely naive or foolishly sweet. Although he told everyone the reason, he didn’t say too much. The ability to be immune to other abilities was extremely useful at critical moments, but once people knew about it, it would be difficult to utilize effectively. So he had only told Wu Mingbai and Lan Subing about this, as they were people he trusted 100%.

However, on another note, it seemed there was one more person who knew about this ability of his. Jiang Tianming glanced at Su Bei, then quickly looked away. How to put it with Su Bei… it felt like he knew all their secrets, so hiding anything from him seemed pointless.

As they were talking, Meng Huai walked into the lounge. “Although victory is already secured, we still can’t be careless in the final match. According to our investigation, Skydome Ability Academy will not change their tactics. If we still fail knowing their tactics, hah!”

After a cold laugh, he looked at Ai Baozhu and Si Zhaohua, whose faces were slightly pale. Both of them had expended a lot of Mental Energy in the previous team battle. A mere hour probably wouldn’t be enough for them to recover to peak condition.

After thinking for a moment, he said bluntly, “Ai Baozhu, Si Zhaohua, you two won’t be participating in the next match. We’ll replace you with… Wu Mingbai and Mo Xiaotian.”

The two of them also knew that they had expended a lot of Mental Energy. Going up for the next match might make them a burden due to insufficient Mental Energy. So, although somewhat unwilling, they nodded, complying with their teacher’s wishes.

Wu Mingbai and Mo Xiaotian both showed excited expressions. They could finally participate! Heaven knew how frustrated they had been, not getting a chance to play earlier.

“Teacher, I guess I won’t be playing either, right?” Suddenly, Su Bei raised his hand and spoke. He glanced at Wu Jin, “We should give other classmates a chance to play too, shouldn’t we?”

Hearing this, Meng Huai’s eyebrows immediately shot up. How could he not see through Su Bei’s little scheme? But before he could say anything, Wu Jin, uncharacteristically quick, replied: “No need.”

He didn’t need Su Bei’s consideration at all. Once he went on stage, he would inevitably have to show his face. His childhood experiences made him clearly aware of the consequences of showing his face. It would definitely bring endless trouble, no matter what. Therefore, if possible, Wu Jin even hoped he wouldn’t get a chance to participate in the entire competition.

However, Su Bei wasn’t someone who cared much about others’ feelings. Or rather, his care was often not easily understood by others. The reason he wanted Wu Jin to participate was because Su Bei felt it was time for Wu Jin to show his face.

Just like Zhou Renjie before, when problems first appeared, if he had been exposed directly, it might have just been a reprimand. Later, it might have required him to lead a team to achieve merits. But by the time he was truly exposed, because too much time had passed, the final result was outright defection.

The comic was just like that. The longer it dragged on, the greater the readers’ expectations. Then any incident that occurred would naturally have to be bigger to match the readers’ expectations.

If Wu Jin never showed his face, then when he finally did, something major might happen. And given Wu Jin’s personality, that potential “major event” would hardly be something he would like.

Therefore, it was better to show his face now. After showing his face in public, the author wouldn’t have the opportunity to create any more plot based on his face.

Even though Wu Jin was unwilling, the opportunity Su Bei wanted to force upon others wasn’t so easily shaken off. He immediately argued, “Teacher, you know I’m not very good at self-preservation. My performance in the last match should have been enough to make opponents wary. If Huangfu Mingzhe insists on targeting me first, I probably won’t have much ability to resist, and then it’ll be a four-on-five situation.”

What he said was true. Their academy didn’t have a strong ‘everyone-must-be-protected’ Ability user like Zu Zong. The only one, Zhou Renjie, had already defected. In fact, even if he hadn’t defected, he wouldn’t be on the participant list.

Although Meng Huai didn’t believe Su Bei’s nonsense about “not having much ability to resist” at all, if Huangfu Mingzhe really wanted to target him, Su Bei’s ability would indeed be difficult to defend against.

Wu Jin, on the other hand, was different. Although on the surface he also had no self-preservation ability, no one knew how high the upper limit of the Succubus ability was. If Wu Jin could really control Huangfu Mingzhe, then they could win without a fight. So, letting Wu Jin participate was the best choice.

As he thought this, his gaze slowly fell upon Wu Jin.

Wu Jin: “…”

At this moment, he experienced the same collapse as Houde Ability Academy’s offense-type Ability user earlier. His usual reticence made it impossible for him to eloquently persuade Meng Huai like Su Bei could.

Su Bei, unfazed by Wu Jin’s resentful gaze, smiled calmly at him. “I believe you, Wu Jin, will definitely play your part! Good luck! I hope you get selected for tomorrow’s exhibition match too!”

Wu Jin: “…”

Could he kill Su Bei right now and get the organizers to disqualify him?

Meng Huai, unable to stand Su Bei’s smugness, helped Wu Jin fulfill half his wish. He flicked Su Bei’s forehead. Without waiting for him to cry out, he warned, “Show off again, and you’re in.”

Su Bei immediately became as quiet as a chicken.

Seeing him quiet down, Meng Huai then looked at the others. “For the final team match, the participants are Jiang Tianming, Lan Subing, Wu Mingbai, Mo Xiaotian, and Wu Jin. All right, now go tidy up and get some food. Come back early, and you can rest for a bit.”

After Meng Huai left, Wu Jin “drifted” in front of Su Bei like a ghost. His pair of grey eyes stared at him eerily; at this moment, silence was more potent than words.

The others also didn’t rush to eat. They all perked up their ears, secretly observing them.

Su Bei wasn’t ashamed in front of the teacher. Naturally, he wouldn’t be ashamed in front of the aggrieved party either. He met Wu Jin’s gaze squarely, with an air of righteous indignation despite being in the wrong. “What’s wrong?”

He dared to ask, “What’s wrong?” The people around him gasped at his shamelessness, and Wu Jin was so angry he almost couldn’t breathe. Knowing that moral condemnation would be useless against someone like Su Bei, Wu Jin could only ask, “Why do you insist on making me play?”

Since he asked, Su Bei didn’t pretend anymore. “This is a very suitable time.”

A suitable time? Wu Jin frowned, pondering the meaning of Su Bei’s words. If there was a suitable time, there must be an unsuitable time. But what was suitable or unsuitable about his showing his face?

Or rather, if he didn’t show his face now, what problems would arise if he showed it later?

Thinking of this, his expression suddenly changed. He opened his mouth, wanting to ask something else. But seeing Su Bei had already stood up and was preparing to go eat, clearly not intending to say more. He pursed his lips and silently followed beside Su Bei.

During lunch, Feng Lan and the other three who weren’t selected for the competition team also arrived. This was the first time in two days that these three, other than Zhao Xiaoyu, had met Su Bei and the others.