Chapter 96: Team Opponent

Chapter 96: [Rival in the Group]

Following the start of the group stage, Level B and B+ espers had become scarce, numbering fewer than ten in total, while the remaining participants were all Level A. These B-level espers were essentially unable to advance. Yet two universally acknowledged exceptions stood out: one was Xia Zheng, the B-level esper bearing a Dragon-grade evaluation, and the other was Lian of B+ rank.

Lian had entered the main competition via a special external card, yet scarcely anyone questioned his capabilities. Upon joining the military, he had proven himself outstanding and exceptional, only to vanish mysteriously for roughly half a year. Rumors held that he had traveled to the outskirts of Yongye City in the Southern Border for rigorous training. Such conditioning was brutally harsh, a near-certain death, but survivors who returned emerged with explosive growth in strength. Lian was one of those fortunate returnees.

After Xia Zheng had perused the materials before him, he committed their contents to memory. Following the meal, he dispatched Nalan Sheng to bed and then retired to the study to collate the documents. Simultaneously, he searched the networks, committing the salient traits of the three opponents to record.

The first opponent was identified as Zhao Cun. Twenty-seven years old, male, A+ level esper, specializing in full-attribute reinforcement with mastery of assassination and concealment. His signature technique, “Shadow Kill,” permitted him to vanish within a target’s shadow, rendering detection nearly impossible. “This individual has long served as a mercenary, active along the borders where he has slain countless foes.” Upon reading this, Xia Zheng immediately contacted Shen Tu Wanhua, only to receive a male voice in reply.

The caller recognized the inquiry and stated without hesitation, “Is this Mr. Xia Zheng?” “Indeed. Who am I speaking with, and why does Chairman Shen Tu’s telephone reside in your possession?” Xia Zheng inquired curiously, half-suspecting some misfortune had befallen her.

The man discerned the misunderstanding at once and replied, “Mr. Xia, you misconstrue my meaning. I am York, Wanhua’s husband. My grandfather has been recently hospitalized with illness, compelling Wanhua to remain bedside. She had requested that if you require assistance, I stand ready to offer complete cooperation.”

“Oh, so it is Mr. York. My apologies for the misunderstanding.” Xia Zheng realized for the first time that Shen Tu Wanhua was married; she had never introduced her husband in their dealings.

He then asked, “What ails the old master Shen Tu? He seemed well not long ago.”

York answered, “Nothing of consequence, merely familial concerns weighing upon me. Grandfather has stabilized and faces no serious threat.”

Observing York’s reluctance to elaborate on such matters, Xia Zheng refrained from pressing further, recognizing the matter as private to the Shen Tu household. Yet in his estimation, the dispute likely stemmed from renewed friction among the four brothers’ factions, exhausting the patriarch to the point of hospitalization.

For such domestic tribulations, Xia Zheng could offer little beyond expressed concern. Familiarity with York was absent, so he ended the call without voicing his request. Shen Tu Yue and Shen Tu Wanhua had extended him profound favors, and Xia Zheng remained ever grateful. He would endeavor to repay them in kind, yet he harbored no desire to entangle himself in clan intrigues.

Unable to unearth further details on Zhao Cun, Xia Zheng set the matter aside and turned to the next opponent.

The second contestant was distinctive, hailing from the military and specifically the navy as a female captain who was not of human descent. Like Meng Hu, she belonged to the subhuman category, more precisely the sea race.

The Blue Federation boasted not only robust national power but an exceptionally formidable military apparatus, established for over two centuries at the zenith of its strength. The surrounding geopolitical climate appeared to have the four seas submitting and the eight wildernesses quailing. Border forces dared not challenge the Federation openly, confining themselves to covert provocations that rarely achieved greatness.

Should the blood race not have been siphoning considerable military resources in the south, the Federation’s territorial expanse might have expanded even further.

The navy division ranked second only to the army in capability, incorporating a contingent of subhuman warriors. Ladina, the captain in question, exemplified this cadre. A bona fide A-level esper of the innate natural system, she commanded the forces of sea waves and tides. Her prowess magnified markedly in maritime, great-river, or oceanic settings.

Xia Zheng consulted online records on Ladina. In the military’s public archives, her photograph depicted a head of distinctive long, wavy hair resembling green seaweed, her skin tone a subdued green that evaded notice. Her features mirrored human norms, presenting an elegant exotic allure, while her ample form filled the Federation Navy uniform to its limits. The records listed her age as over two hundred years—far younger than Meng Hu’s nine centuries.

“An innate water-system controller whose strength defies dismissal,” Xia Zheng noted, “and only two years in the military yet elevated to captain, she must have accumulated numerous merits.” He extracted and summarized the pertinent data.

Beyond her elemental mastery lay one further element warranting attention: her weapon, an ancestral heirloom passed through generations—the Sea Emperor Spear. Tens of thousands of years prior, Ladina’s lineage had constituted the sea race’s royal house, only to wane into commoner status. The sea race formed a complex ethnic mosaic, self-identifying as Federation citizens much like others. Nevertheless, oceanic development within the Federation remained limited, with many mysterious waters obstructed and assailed by enigmatic powers. The navy operated in isolation, lacking substantial reinforcement save upon the military’s recapture of Yongye City.

Although Ladina’s family had degenerated into commoners, the royal emblematic weapon—the Sea Emperor Spear—persisted. This artifact approached the status of an ancient divine relic, its efficacy sealed by sea-race mysteries and accessible solely through bloodline to Ladina’s lineage. The spear vastly augmented her natural elemental gifts. Yet over the centuries its power had eroded, leaving it a renowned yet diminished god, lest no one else could oppose her.

Xia Zheng gathered further accounts of the Sea Emperor Spear, finding the majority of references to be mythic rather than substantive. Suspicions arose that the weapon might be exaggerated, though none could substantiate or refute it.

“Evidently the opponents in this group stage prove formidable,” Xia Zheng sighed, having foreseen no ease in the contest yet astonished to discover he had entered a death circle. Even absent the third foe, overcoming the first two would prove arduous.

Undeterred, he voiced his reflection and proceeded to the final contestant.

The last participant was straightforward: an ordinary esper hunter of A-level capability named Arnold Martin. Yet upon learning of his presidency at Fallen Wing, Xia Zheng felt an unwelcome premonition.

He therefore scoured online data and news on both the organization and Arnold, confirming his prior suspicions. Arnold Martin was precisely the elder brother of the wolf-man esper Dean Martin he had slain earlier. Having overheard an ambush on company associates, Xia Zheng pursued the assailants; they were subsequently annihilated by a careless wolf-man who, in turn, fell to Xia Zheng’s counterstrike. From the fallen foe he had acquired the Soul Refining Technique.

“Truly the world teems with wonders beyond expectation.” Xia Zheng could only lament the inscrutable hand of fate.

Like his brother, Arnold Martin was a superhuman wolf-man esper whose abilities might not surpass the prior two yet rendered him no lightweight. “Super speed, super strength, super defense, lightning counters, second-stage berserk…” Xia Zheng compiled these essentials while stifling yawns, then wrapped the compilation.

It was already past three in the morning. He rose, bathed, and returned to bed, drawing the sleeping Nalan Sheng into his arms until slumber claimed him as well.

In dreams his form once more radiated light, sustained for a full hour before fading. Nalan Sheng appeared similarly affected, her body flickering, yet Xia Zheng’s luminescence pulsed with vibrant life while hers gleamed with keenness and resolve.