Chapter 143

Chapter 143 When Wu Jin emerged, alone, with no call for the next group, the waiting crowd panicked. Jiang Tianming asked urgently: “What happened? Where’s your opponent?” “She’ll come out soon,” Wu Jin blinked, processing, then added: “I won.” The result was both surprising and expected. Wu Jin’s opponent was Class A, with a strong ability. By his usual performance, he’d likely lose. But he won, and quickly, aligning with Su Bei and Zhao Xiaoyu’s reactions—he had a secret. His typical ability pegged him as D Class at best, yet he beat a Class A. He’d hidden deeply. Once his opponent appeared, they’d learn how. Unexpectedly, Zhang Helan didn’t reveal Wu Jin’s ability, emerging confused: “Wu Jin, what did you do? Why don’t I remember anything? Can your ability cause amnesia?” She accepted her loss—losing to S Class wasn’t shameful. Her memory gap proved Wu Jin’s ability was extraordinary. A darker possibility was the academy erasing her memory to favor Wu Jin, but she dismissed it. If true, it’d unravel at the three-school competition, harming the academy. Risking the school’s reputation for one student? Even if the principal agreed, the board wouldn’t. Wu Jin shook his head, signaling he wouldn’t explain, staying silent. Not socially anxious, but with bangs down, he avoided talk, aiming for low presence. Feeling known and unknown eyes on him, he wanted Zhang Helan gone for peace. Unfamiliar with him, she misread his shake as dismissive, getting annoyed: “What do you—” Before she finished, Su Bei appeared, arm around Wu Jin’s shoulder: “It’s a secret.” From others, “secret” might seem flippant, but from Su Bei, it felt genuine—not because he seemed honest, but his purple eyes held many secrets. Unlike Wu Jin, Su Bei was famous first-year, positively so. Seeing him, Zhang Helan dropped her doubts: “Fine, I won’t ask. But Su Bei, which track did you pick?” “Special track,” Su Bei replied politely, guiding Wu Jin to their group. Zhang Helan didn’t press, watching them leave, then venting to her friends. As Su Bei and Wu Jin rejoined, the group left to watch others’ exams. Jiang Tianming had left during Wu Jin’s match to prepare for his. “Jiang’s group or Si Zhaohua’s first?” Lan Subing asked, noting that both attack and control tracks tested around the same time. Wu Mingbai, who’d checked, said: “Si Zhaohua’s group starts first, so they’re waiting there.” Their imminent exams explained their absence from others’ tests. At the venue, Qi Huang was testing, the second of the four attack-track S Class members. Mu Tieren had finished a round. Hearing this, everyone asked about him. Since school started, Mu Tieren’s physical strength had surged, now S Class' top. Even Meng Huai said Mu Tieren’s strength could challenge him slightly, showing its magnitude. Oddly, Su Bei knew Mu Tieren’s boost came during a winter break High-Level Different Space trip. Before, except for a final exam outburst, he was average. Notably, his group was the last of three to enter a Different Space, delayed because Mu Tieren had “family matters.” Su Bei suspected he’d done something at home to gain such strength. But what? Back to the exam, Mu Tieren won effortlessly. Sometimes brute force trumped skill. His opponent’s staff work was masterful and painful, but Mu Tieren ignored it, closing in for close combat. With his current physique, even Su Bei could only outmaneuver him technically, let alone others. Against a Class B opponent, he won easily. But the next round might not be, as lacking special abilities was a disadvantage among Ability Users. Mu Tieren knew this, smiling openly: “No worries. If I lose to Si Zhaohua or Qi Huang, that’s a win.” Both S Class, losing to them wouldn’t shame S Class. He omitted Ling You—her ability’s delay meant she’d fall fast to Mu Tieren’s blows, unable to use it. If Mu Tieren gave up, Si Zhaohua and Qi Huang would advance, almost certainly. Si Zhaohua agreed: “Great, looking forward to facing you. This time, I won’t lose like in combat class.” Combat class banned abilities to focus on technique—otherwise, abilities would negate skill. This let Mu Tieren dominate. His physical enhancement was a passive skill, always active. Fighting with it on while others couldn’t use abilities was unfair. Ability training happened in practice—Different Spaces or government missions—naturally honing skills. Meng Huai rarely held ability arena matches. This made sense—ability fights risked injuries, requiring medical care, which Meng Huai avoided by skipping them. Su Bei guessed this; Meng Huai denied it. Seeing Qi Huang emerge, Su Bei realized this arc focused on S Class internal clashes, with other classes as fodder. As he thought this, Zhao Xiaoyu, chatting with others, dropped a bomb: “Whoa! Attack track’s got a real dark horse!” “What dark horse?” Lan Subing asked. “Which class?” “Class B. Her ability evolved recently!” Zhao Xiaoyu’s face was shocked. “Her original ability was [Copy Skill], limited to copying a developed ability skill, so she was Class B. But it evolved...” “Into copying full abilities?” Mu Tieren guessed. Ability evolution typically enhanced range or strength, related to the original. Zhao Xiaoyu’s shift from [Laughter] to [Happiness] was a rare mutation. Zhao Xiaoyu shook her head gravely: “No, [Mirror Copy]. She can copy an entire enemy, making them fight themselves. Only one at a time, but you get it—in an arena, that’s enough.” “What about her?” Wu Mingbai asked. “Can she attack while using it?” If so, it’d be overpowered—copying an enemy evens the odds, and her attacks tip the scale. “No,” Zhao Xiaoyu said, relieving them. “She vanishes, maybe as the mirror? I’m not sure, but copying an enemy is strong enough.” Jiang Tianming spotted a flaw: “But how does she win?” In multi-person real-world fights, this ability had more play, but in a one-on-one arena, it’d at best tie. The copied enemy couldn’t beat their mirror, nor could the mirror beat them. Zhao Xiaoyu had the answer: “She’s the mirror, so the copy doesn’t drain her stamina. She lets the mirror and enemy exhaust each other, then cancels her ability and finishes them.” Everyone gasped. Too strong—one-on-one invincible, team battles could replicate the enemy’s strongest. Su Bei gave Si Zhaohua’s group a pitying look. This Class B girl could’ve joined special or attack tracks. Special’s test didn’t suit her, but attack was perfect. The attack-track S Class members brainstormed counters, while non-attackers discussed. “Is the mirror identical to the original?” Lan Subing frowned. “No chance one-on-one.” “What mirror copy?” Jiang Tianming’s voice came from afar. They looked up—control-track members descended. “You finished a round?” Wu Mingbai said, surprised. He’d come here thinking Si Zhaohua’s group would finish first. Jiang Tianming shook his head: “No, two people argued, unconvinced. Examiners are mediating, so we came to check on you.” “What? A fight?” Lan Subing’s eyes widened. “And you left?” Ai Baozhu was shocked: “You skipped that drama? Others, fine, but Mo Xiaotian?” Among control-track’s three, Jiang Tianming was calm, uninterested in gossip. Zhou Renjie enjoyed others’ misfortune but only for foes, disdaining strangers’ drama. So, Ai Baozhu singled out Mo Xiaotian, who loved lively crowds. Mo Xiaotian scratched his head, grinning: “Drama’s fun, but friends matter more!” “Nice words,” Ai Baozhu paused, then huffed, dropping it. Wu Mingbai briefed Jiang Tianming on Zhao Xiaoyu’s dark horse. “Such an ability?” Jiang Tianming mourned for attack-track while pondering counters. Mo Xiaotian looked regretful: “What? Attack track’s that cool? I should’ve joined! I wanna fight her!” Qi Huang glanced at him: “Got a plan to beat her?” “Nope,” Mo Xiaotian shook his head honestly. “But I’d figure it out fighting!” He had a point—solutions often emerged in battle. Knowing the enemy’s ability didn’t guarantee a plan. That was combat’s charm—unthinkable foes could fall to a sudden spark. “I’m curious if her copy only gets surface strength or hidden abilities too,” Jiang Tianming said. “Surface is manageable, but hidden...” Wu Mingbai finished: “Her real value’s off the arena.” Copying hidden abilities would make her an intelligence asset, exposing secrets like a demon mirror. Who wouldn’t fear that? Jiang Tianming’s guess sent chills down Su Bei’s spine. His secrets were many—full exposure would be terrifying. But he calmed himself—it couldn’t be the latter. Not just him—everyone here had secrets. The author might not care about him but would protect the protagonist. Jiang Tianming’s ability exposed this way would be laughable. Still, surface copying raised questions—what counted? Used abilities? Known ones? Zhao Xiaoyu didn’t know. They sighed, hoping for a solution. Losing to a dark horse wasn’t shameful, but leaving S Class was. Jiang Tianming returned, catching his exam. Control’s test mirrored support’s—identical teams dueling, winner advancing. Su Bei didn’t know details, only that Jiang Tianming’s opponent and examiner looked odd upon emerging. The opponent was dazed, as if witnessing something incredible, refusing to speak, slumping in a chair, waving off questions. The examiner’s face mixed three parts shock, five joy, two confusion, eyeing Jiang Tianming before coughing and announcing the next match. Su Bei raised a brow. Jiang Tianming had shown other abilities, but how he’d fooled the examiner was unclear. Seeing him, Lan Subing asked: “How’d it go? No issues?” Seemingly about results, insiders knew she meant fooling the teacher and confidentiality. Jiang Tianming nodded: “All smooth.” “Great!” Lan Subing’s eyes lit up. “Lunchtime's soon—still testing?” “No, since this round’s done, we can rest until 2 p.m., ” Jiang Tianming said, looking at Si Zhaohua. “You still testing?” “No,” Si Zhaohua replied, or they wouldn’t be here. “But we’re waiting for Renjie. We’ll eat after he’s done.” Zhou Renjie had just gone in, after Jiang Tianming. Mo Xiaotian hadn’t tested either. Jiang Tianming nodded: “Let’s wait for Mo Xiaotian, then eat together.” “Huh?” Mo Xiaotian blinked, then pumped his fist. “I’ll finish fast, no waiting needed!” While waiting, they resumed discussing the attack-track dark horse. Qi Huang started: “Ling You, if you and your mirror both got your virus, would you die together?” Ling You shook her head firmly. As they expected a delay tactic, she said coldly: “I’m immune to my virus, so we’d fight to mutual destruction.” Everyone: “...” “So there's no way to win?” Qi Huang said despairingly. “I think—my ability can’t beat a copy.” She couldn’t imagine victory, unwilling to lose to herself. Mu Tieren analyzed: “In real fights, she can’t copy our items. But in item-banned arenas...” After a pause: “Maybe use terrain? Even identical physiques and minds can’t always fight mid-field.” Eyes lit up—Mu Tieren offered a new angle. Terrain was exploitable. They held the initiative. The mirror, draining the original’s stamina, had to attack, letting the original pick defensible terrain. But exams and future matches might lack such terrain, often just empty arenas. Mu Tieren’s idea, while valid, wasn’t practical here. “Jiang Tianming, got a plan?” Li Shu, ensuring Jiang Tianming’s presence, drew eyes to him. Jiang Tianming, deep in thought, answered, “I’d check if she knows all my abilities. If she does... I’d hunt down her true body. Even if she’s just a mirror, she has to exist somewhere, right?” Right—find the caster! They realized no one had considered this. She’d hide well, but she couldn’t vanish. Finding her was a breakthrough, potentially nullifying her ability. Mo Xiaotian exclaimed: “Wow! Now I really wanna fight her! Fighting and hide-and-seek? Too fun!” After sharing, Jiang Tianming asked Li Shu: “What about you? Any different ideas?” He’d answered, but held a grudge—Li Shu’s question was to stump him. He’d return the favor, stressing “different” to block copying. “I’d use [Illusion],” Li Shu said, prepared, or he wouldn’t have provoked. “Unlike Ling You’s [Plague], my illusions affect me. If I trap the arena in an illusion first, even another me might not find me.” Knowing he’d lose, Feng Lan, spectating, asked Su Bei: “And you? How’d you handle this opponent?”