Chapter 160

Chapter 160 Chapter 160 The referee glared at Lan Subing’s opponents: “You two, come with me.” Two-on-one was embarrassing enough, and losing so easily? Outsiders might think they were Endless Ability Academy moles hyping her. Not scolding these overconfident students would betray the school’s education. The blue-haired girl descended gracefully, her prowess parting the crowd, eyes full of admiration. But the elegant Lan Subing was inwardly uncalm, struggling to stay composed. Focused on the match, she hadn’t noticed the crowd. Now, under scrutiny, her social anxiety flared. “Help, why are there so many people? The match is over—why aren’t they leaving? Why are they staring? Is something on my face? Will I trip? I’m gonna faint...” Her mind raced, but her face stayed impassive. Reaching familiar classmates, she exhaled subtly, hiding behind Jiang Tianming. Seeing her, Jiang Tianming smiled: “Let’s go back.” Knowing her anxiety, they nodded, heading back. Thankfully, the crowd didn’t follow, just discussed and watched them leave. In a restaurant’s private room, Ai Baozhu asked curiously: “So, what were their Abilities?” With no outsiders, Lan Subing relaxed, smiling: “Support’s [Effect Halved], Attack’s [Charged Crescent Slash].” The group understood. No wonder she dared to fight two—the Support’s Ability was useless against her, and the Attack’s was nullified by sealing. After third period, Jiang Tianming rushed in, pulling Su Bei out. Si Zhaohua followed. At a quiet corridor corner, Jiang Tianming shared: “Wu Mingbai’s missing. Su Bei, can you prophesy anything? I asked Feng Lan, but no reply.” “How’d you hear?” Su Bei raised a brow, surprised Jiang Tianming got the news first, besides him. But it made sense—protagonist, and close to Wu Mingbai. Jiang Tianming answered: “Zhao Xiaoyu told me. He went to buy supplies, messaged the teacher about family trouble, took leave, then vanished.” Zhao Xiaoyu hadn’t ratted him out. Su Bei’s eyes flashed with amusement. Her smarts and tact were why he asked her. Calmly eyeing the anxious Jiang Tianming, he said: “For my intel, what’s your offer?” Jiang Tianming wasn’t surprised. Su Bei was like that—helping for free would be shocking. But he hadn’t prepared an offer, rushing to the class prophets after the news. Thinking, he said: “In the resource Different Space, I’ll give you everything I get.” With strangers, he’d hedge, tying rewards to intel value. But with Su Bei, he didn’t need caution. Though cold and drama-loving, Su Bei was reliable on big matters. Satisfied, Su Bei nodded, recalling what he knew, picking shareable info: “Wu Mingbai was taken for uncovering a conspiracy at the Ability User Job Base.” He knew more—when and where Wu Mingbai was taken, the conspiracy, the three investigated, Black Flash’s role. But this was easiest to share. Other details were hard to explain via prophecy and less useful to Jiang Tianming. Jiang Tianming frowned: “Conspiracy? What kind?” “Ask those at the Job Base,” Su Bei shrugged, not elaborating. He trusted the four would recall their recent actions upon hearing this. Getting the hint, Jiang Tianming thanked him and left to ask Zhao Xiaoyu. Si Zhaohua sighed: “Didn’t expect that there. Teachers are probably handling it, right?” “Maybe?” Su Bei was indifferent. In shonen manga, official groups rarely acted in time. Their manga was decent—officials helped post-event. In others, not hindering them was already a win. They resumed class. Unable to help, they, including Ai Baozhu, could only wait anxiously. That evening, the five ate together. Jiang Tianming announced: “Subing and I are taking leave to check the Ability User Job Base. Teacher’s approved and will join.” This meant no teacher at Alpha Ability Academy, so Su Bei’s group had to behave—there was no one to cover if trouble arose. But Meng Huai’s presence disrupted Black Flash’s plan. Their task for Su Bei was to ensure Ye Lin left for a day on the seventh day. Other key staff would be removed too. Without teachers, students couldn’t resist Black Flash. Meng Huai’s presence broke their scheme. As Su Bei told Principal Wu Di, Wu Mingbai’s group would be fine. It was the fifth day of the study tour. Jiang Tianming would arrive tonight, investigate tomorrow, and Black Flash would act the day after—perfect timing. Su Bei understood the next manga update wouldn’t involve him. Good—he wasn’t keen on plot involvement. Even a main plot didn’t matter; he’d learn via manga. “I’ll go too,” Si Zhaohua said, unwilling to miss events, especially involving friends. Jiang Tianming shook his head, analyzing: “No. There's only five exchange students, and two leaving is already too much. Another, and teachers won’t agree.” True—exchange students symbolized inter-school friendship. Half leaving, plus teachers, looked bad, even with cause. “Fine,” Si Zhaohua conceded, patting his shoulder. “Go. Keep us posted. My family has people at the Job Base.” The next two days, Su Bei’s group attended classes at Alpha. Jiang Tianming’s class monitor deskmate, Kayla, sought Su Bei, asking where he went. Leaving hastily, only teachers were informed. Kayla, asking them, was told of family issues, so she asked Su Bei. He didn’t elaborate: “He’ll be back in a few days.” A plot point remained here—he couldn’t stay at the Job Base. Kayla didn’t press, leaving. As she left, Elvis spoke: “I’m challenging Si Zhaohua tomorrow.” Su Bei raised a brow: “You’ve gauged his strength?” Without certainty, Elvis wouldn’t act. Confident, he wasn’t reckless outside games. He’d only challenge if expecting a draw or win. Elvis nodded: “If he’s only shown what I’ve seen, he’s not my match.” Si Zhaohua was strong—feathers’ damage and wing defense were potent, plus flight countered most Abilities. Su Bei knew Si Zhaohua was developing a stronger skill, unsure when it’d emerge. But Elvis was unfazed. His Ability countered most. Unless one-shotted, time regression healed all wounds. Flight? He had a solution. Su Bei didn’t comment, saying casually: “Good luck. Save me a good spot.” The next day after school, they went to the arena. Su Bei didn’t leak the challenge, so Si Zhaohua was surprised but eager, accepting readily. Su Bei followed, trailed by a crowd of informed students. Honestly, a week at Alpha showed its stark difference from Endless Ability Academy. At their school, student arena fights weren’t this sensational. Class S fights, past initial buzz, drew few spectators. They fought privately to avoid crowds. Here, students loved watching and fighting openly. Beyond Elvis, Su Bei heard of five local arena fights, each drawing onlookers. Curiosity led him to watch two. The first was decent, both showing professional skill. The second... Class D-level, barely using Abilities, missing when used, relying on brawling. It felt personal. Yet, even that drew excited crowds. At Endless, someone would’ve reported it. The match neared. Su Bei refocused, eyeing the arena. Following closely, he stood front-row. His fame kept classmates at a distance, maximizing his view. “Elvis' second exchange student challenge? Is he fighting all of them?” “Maybe. Classic him—impressive.” Su Bei admitted they nailed it. Elvis hadn’t planned to fight Lan Subing, but after her Ability reveal, he added her, aiming to fight all. Self-inflicted trouble, Su Bei thought, shaking his head, looking at the arena. Si Zhaohua and Elvis chose the same wooden stake map as Su Bei’s fight. Si Zhaohua, learning from Su Bei, planned to jump stakes to negate control if restricted. But Elvis, wiser from last time, didn’t give Si Zhaohua a chance to use his Ability or climb, applying time regression to reset him if he tried. He hadn’t done this to Su Bei because [Destiny Gear]’s effects were invisible, its Compass pointers only visible to Su Bei. After study, Su Bei could adjust pointers with Mental Energy alone, making his Ability undetectable. Si Zhaohua’s [Angel] was flashy—big wings, glowing white, maximum presence, zero stealth, easy to counter. Unfazed, Si Zhaohua thought briefly, then kept activating his Ability. Its Mental Energy cost was far less than Elvis' regression to stop it. Persisting, Elvis would tire first. But Elvis wasn’t dumb. Testing Si Zhaohua’s reaction, he rushed for close combat, his main attack. By compressing time to stack attack frequency, damage was high. Under Elvis' self-buff and enemy debuff, Si Zhaohua couldn’t match him. Even Su Bei struggled here—how could Si Zhaohua? Under the black-and-white-haired boy’s onslaught, Si Zhaohua was pushed back, defenseless. Below, Su Bei saw Elvis' all-out attack, aiming for a quick win. Ai Baozhu clenched her fists: “What now? This Ability feels unbeatable. Will Zhaohua lose?” “There’s a way, but finding it’s another matter,” Su Bei said, eyeing the arena. “Or if Si Zhaohua lasts long enough, Elvis' Mental Energy won’t hold.” Hence the aggressive assault. But Si Zhaohua couldn’t last long. A critical hit or incapacitation meant referee-declared defeat. Ai Baozhu, combat-savvy, saw this, pursed her lips, and said firmly: “Zhaohua will find a way.” He didn’t disappoint. As the crowd thought the fight was decided, his eyes lit up. Abandoning defense, he attacked Elvis. Forcing Elvis to defend and use his Ability, Si Zhaohua swiftly activated his, flying high. Su Bei, puzzled, then realized: “Elvis can’t use more than three Abilities at once.” Against Su Bei, Elvis used three: boosting attack, slowing Su Bei, and regressing to avoid injury. Against Si Zhaohua, he added a fourth: regressing to stop Ability use. Knowing [Angel], Elvis knew letting it activate would be tough to counter. Si Zhaohua forced Elvis to use three Abilities, creating an opening to activate his own, too late for short regressions to stop. Long regressions cost a lot of Mental Energy, leaving Elvis unable to sustain multiple Abilities. Si Zhaohua outplayed him. One airborne, one grounded, with Elvis lacking ranged attacks, it was a draw. It hinged on Si Zhaohua’s ultimate—success meant victory, failure a draw. Sadly, he failed. As noted, his ultimate’s long wind-up, learned from a Skill Book, was hard to adjust despite efforts. He fired feathers at Elvis' eyes, disrupting sight. But Elvis, dodging, grasped his intent, regressing Si Zhaohua to cancel the ultimate. Unlike Ability activation, the ultimate was a one-shot skill with no cost if uninterrupted. But interrupted, it couldn’t restart. The draw sparked uproar. A second draw showed Endless Ability Academy’s student quality. Normally, a top student drawing with another school’s wasn’t shameful—just equal strength. But Elvis wasn’t just a top student—he was Alpha’s undisputed strongest. The five sent abroad weren’t purely strength-based; aesthetics mattered too. It was their school’s vibe—martial and beauty-loving. Elvis was an outlier, sent here due to family ties to the principal and promised perks. Post-match, both looked grim. Elvis thought he’d win, not expecting Si Zhaohua to spot his flaw. Si Zhaohua was upset—Su Bei had warned his ultimate might fail. Despite countermeasures, he couldn’t use it, leading to a draw. Both recognized flaws from the fight. Though unhappy, they weren’t lost; their next goals clarified. As they descended, Su Bei looked at Ai Baozhu: “With Jiang Tianming and Lan Subing gone, you’re next.” Ai Baozhu’s face changed—she hadn’t considered this: “No way, I’m Defense Track!” “He can defend too,” Su Bei shrugged. To Su Bei, Elvis' strongest asset was defense.