Newbie Guardians

Chapter 18 Defeat

After the match began, Jin Jun, as the team's only melee fighter, took on the role of a semi-tank, facing a true earth-type tank. He was relentlessly harassed, while the opposing lightning and archer, supported by the fire-type melee fighter, delivered fluid damage, establishing an overwhelming momentum from the start. Suddenly, the fire-type mage raised his right hand, conjuring a football-sized fireball on his gauntlet, and slammed it towards the lightning mage Cheng Ziyu. Then, he vanished, instantly reappearing at the fireball's location. This was the fire warrior's teleportation skill—Flame Leap—utilizing his own flames. Although the movement distance was only seven or eight meters, it still caused significant trouble for a fragile class like a mage. Cheng Ziyu was forced to use a defensive skill: a teleport to create distance, simultaneously unleashing five bolts of lightning that paralyzed the fire-type mage. The wind mage Liu Hanqin seized the opportunity, but his small whirlwind was just forming when it was struck by the opposing lightning mage, the paralysis interrupting his skill, and the whirlwind vanished. Just as Cheng Ziyu was about to unleash another powerful attack on the temporarily incapacitated fire-type mage, *whoosh! whoosh!* Three arrows hurtled towards her, forcing her to stop chanting and dodge to the side. However, the archer had already locked onto her, and the arrows flew incessantly, forcing her to dodge repeatedly, leaving her in a sorry state. She could only use her teleportation skill as soon as it was off cooldown, followed by a paralysis skill to control the melee fire-type attacker, making her fight extremely frustrating. Just as Huang Xin was about to rush to her aid, a cold voice rang out...

"Stand back!"

Huang Shen felt a chill run down her spine, knowing that her deskmate was about to unleash a powerful attack, so she quickly took a few steps back and moved away from the battlefield.

A long and rapid incantation sounded, and three seconds later, an area with a diameter of seven or eight square meters appeared on the ground of the opposing camp. Then, a dense barrage of ice spikes fell wildly. Thirty seconds later, the ice spikes stopped, and three ice sculptures stood on the field, representing the opposing team's lightning-type, archer, and healer. The entire arena was silent for three seconds, and then thunderous applause erupted. Mu Lingshan had decided the outcome with a single move!

Back in his dormitory, Huang Xin opened the ancient book as usual, read for less than an hour, and then fell asleep again.

"Xin'er! How about you study with Grandpa? If you do well, you'll get candy!"

"Great! Xin'er loves reading with Grandpa the most!"

"Concentrate your mind at Baihui (GV20) and gather your Qi in Dantian (lower abdomen)."

"The Qi cavity returns to its origin, and the Yin Valley shelters the wind."

"The Taixi River is crystal clear, and its springs gush forth with waves."

...

A chill ran through him, and Huang Xin opened his eyes. It was only a little past ten o'clock. He stretched, lay back down on the bed, but couldn't fall asleep. He remembered how, as a child, his greatest anticipation was reading ancient texts with his grandfather. Every time his grandfather read a line, he would repeat after him, and he'd get candy each time. Day after day, until he was seven and started having nightmares about it every night, his grandfather stopped making him read. Counting the time, from age three to seven, almost four years, he'd read it no less than a thousand times, yet it still felt so unfamiliar and difficult to remember! What could be the reason? Was it because so much time had passed and he'd forgotten everything? But three years old is the best time for memory; his grandfather must have had a reason for making him read. He needed to think carefully—what crucial information had he overlooked?

After thinking for a long time and still having no clue, Huang Xin returned to his desk, opened the ancient book again, and found the content he had been reciting with his grandfather in his dream. Translated into modern language, it roughly means:

First, relax your mind. Then, begin by concentrating your energy from the top of your head, hands, and feet, gathering it all in your dantian. Next, guide your intention to your arms, feet, and eyes. Huang Xin repeatedly read this passage, combining it with last night's special training. Perhaps, mastering this energy-gathering technique could accelerate his attack speed. If he could use it even more skillfully, concentrating all his energy in one hand at the moment of the attack would multiply the attack's intensity.

Huang Shen sat cross-legged on the bed, eyes slightly closed, and began breathing exercises according to the method in the book. Gradually, a tingling sensation, like being bitten by ants, appeared all over his body, growing stronger as time went on. He sat there in this mysterious, half-asleep state until dawn. He felt refreshed and relaxed. A faint, ethereal energy had appeared in his dantian; he tried to guide it to the soles of his feet, but couldn't quite grasp it. Huang Shen was a little discouraged, but then he thought, "Such a strong energy sensation on the first night is already quite good." This self-consolation gave him renewed confidence.

Today was the second match. The opponent was Class 17 of the second grade, composed of Gold, Fire, Wind, Lightning, and Water types. In the end, Mu Lingshan's Ice Spike skill froze the Gold and Fire types again. Jin Jun's surprise attack crippled the opponent's Water type healer, forcing the opponent's Wind and Lightning types to concede, winning the match and successfully advancing to the quarterfinals. Huang Xin remained far behind, doing nothing.

On the third day, they faced Class 31 of the second year, composed of Earth, Wood, Wind, Lightning, and Water elementalists. Since Huang Xin's team had won two consecutive matches, the opposing team had already studied their tactics. From the start, they spread out, with a Water elemental healer supporting the Earth elemental tank, and three ranged attackers splitting up to deal damage. The battle was extremely close, but in the end, Mu Lingshan used her Raging Wave skill to suppress the Wind and Magic elementalists. Cheng Ziyu seized an opportunity to control the Wood elementalist, and Liu Hanqin used a Whirlwind to severely damage the Wood elementalist, then successively defeated the Wind and Lightning elementalists. The remaining tank and healer had no choice but to concede defeat, and Huang Xin's team successfully advanced to the semi-finals.

On the fourth day, their opponents were Class 8 of the second year, with a lineup of Gold, Fire, Wind, Lightning, and Water types. In this battle, both sides were evenly matched. The opponent's Wind type was extremely strong, simultaneously countering Huang Shen's group's Lightning and Wind types. Jin Jun was exceptionally brave, single-handedly holding off the opponent's Gold and Fire types. To interrupt the opponent's Wind type skills, Huang Shen attempted a charge, but just before getting close, the opponent's Wind Wings skill instantly created distance, knocking him back twenty or thirty meters by a Storm skill. He struggled several times but couldn't get back up. Mu Lingshan was simultaneously fighting Lightning and Water types. To avoid being interrupted by the Lightning type, she could only repeatedly use basic skills with faster casting speeds: Heal, Water Shield, and Water Ball. Even so, she still overwhelmed her opponents. This stalemate lasted for over ten minutes. Mu Lingshan defeated the Lightning and Water types, the opponent's Wind type defeated Cheng Ziyu and Liu Hanqin, and Jin Jun defeated the opponent's Gold type, engaging in a fierce battle with the Fire type. Facing the wind-type opponent, Mu Lingshan felt significantly less pressure. With her opponent no longer using lightning, she had a chance to unleash her ultimate move. She first cast a continuous healing spell on Jin Jun, then gave herself a water shield. She then repeatedly used water balls and giant waves to force the wind-type opponent to use their defensive skill, Wind Wings. Seizing the opportunity, she first unleashed an ice spike attack from behind, followed by a raging torrent, pushing the wind-type opponent into the ice spike's attack range, successfully turning them into an ice sculpture. Huang Xin's team won again, advancing to the final championship. When Cheng Ziyu and Liu Hanqin saw Huang Xin lying on the ground, their eyes were filled with disdain. This guy was either hiding in the back or utterly vulnerable; teaming up with him was incredibly unlucky.