[Reboot Volume] Chapter 217: The Waltz of the Sword

Mo Xing kept running across the arena, pursued relentlessly by the berserker and the archer opposite him.

“Piercing Arrow!”

The archer unleashed two streaks of blue-white arrows. Mo Xing hurriedly cast “Pillar of Cold Water,” but the water pillar, unable to freeze into ice, could not withstand the sharp arrows. One struck directly into Mo Xing’s shoulder.

Just as Mo Xing was about to collapse, a beam of azure light enveloped him—it was the healer’s “Healing Touch”!

Mo Xing immediately got back up and continued running. Surrounded by five assailants, only three of them had any chance of escape. Twice, Li Xiangcao was nearly knocked out, but each time, Liu Shuguang—the chubby but reliable teammate—saved her at the last moment. Unfortunately, as a support healer, he could only run and heal.

“Plan B! Target the healer!”

A command cut through the smoke, and both the berserker and the archer turned to charge at Liu Shuguang.

Mo Xing forced a bitter smile. Unlike his own team’s silence before the match, the opposing side had made full use of the half-hour preparation, communicating effectively and formulating tactics—a team now forged with leadership.

So what!

Mo Xing turned and ran toward Liu Shuguang, brandishing his staff to gather water elements.

“Blade of Cold Water!”

The pillar of water shot forth swiftly, freezing into ice beneath their feet, halting their advance.

Mo Xing watched as the two froze in place.

This... was the Ice Blade!

He had done it!

Suddenly, a gust of cold wind blew from behind. Mo Xing spun around to see the heavily armored knight silently emerging, spear charging with power.

“Wind Spike!”

Mo Xing had no time to dodge. At the critical moment, Li Xiangcao swiftly spun down from the air, using her twin blades to block the attack.

“Hands off my idol!” Li Xiangcao shouted fiercely.

Mo Xing was surprised—such intensity from such a young girl!

A whoosh sounded in his ear, a light flashing behind him.

Danger!

Mo Xing immediately shielded Li Xiangcao, but then was struck by a cannonball himself. They collapsed together.

Smoke engulfed the entire arena; the big screen was blanked out.

“I... idol,” Li Xiangcao trembled, looking up at Mo Xing cradling her protectively.

“I told you, don’t call me idol! What kind of useless idol would I be?” Mo Xing forced a wry smile. “I don’t even know where my staff flew off to.”

In the audience:

“That healer was taken out too.”

“Ah, how can two fight five?”

“Right? Just forfeit already!”

“Mo Xing isn’t as amazing as the news said.”

“Wasn’t he level zero at the start? Haha!”

“Probably just used connections to clear his name.”

“But in real combat, he showed his true colors.”

“Stop talking nonsense! Ha!”

Beside the arena:

The referee frowned, eyeing the smoke-covered stage. Two mentors approached.

“Referee, just call the match,” said Teacher Tianqi. “No need to continue.”

“Agreed, the scores are nearly finalized,” Teacher Longlian nodded. “No sense in letting the students drag it out; it’s time to end.”

“Alright, I’ll announce the result,” the referee said, picking up the megaphone.

On the arena floor:

“Mo Xing,” Li Xiangcao suddenly said, “you can’t give up like this!”

“Huh?” Mo Xing looked at her serious expression.

“Listen carefully,” Li Xiangcao smiled, “you can hear the cheers from outside.”

Listen carefully?

Mo Xing quieted, and indeed, he heard cheers outside—wave after wave, like the ocean crashing on the shore, growing louder:

“Mo Xing, keep it up!”

“Mo Xing, don’t give up!”

“Mo Xing, we believe in you!”

Were these the fans’ cheers?

Mo Xing’s heart jolted. He hadn’t expected so many to be rooting for him.

“You might not know, but many classmates registered with Dragon God’s Power at low levels. When they felt down, seeing your triumphant comeback gave us new strength,” Li Xiangcao smiled.

“You’re our star. As long as you shine in the night sky, we feel at ease. So please—”

“Keep shining in the darkness!”

“Keep... keep shining in the darkness,” Mo Xing faltered for a moment.

Right! Everyone was counting on him! Hoping he’d pass the trial. Why should he give up? Senior Mianhua brought him breakfast, Senior Caihong accompanied him to the arena, Teacher Longlian gave him review materials, Teacher Tianqi’s last class was so carefully taught, fans drew strength from him, Mr. Shen helped train him...

And... Shiyan...

He shared an inexplicable bond with them all. For their sake, and for his own, he could not simply surrender!

“Thank you all…”

Li Xiangcao saw tears streaming down Mo Xing’s face—warm tears!

“Haha, I can’t be that pathetic,” Mo Xing wiped them away. “Hand me the swords!”

“Swords?”

Li Xiangcao pointed to the twin blades nearby.

Rain began to fall softly from the night sky. The smoke on the arena slowly dissipated. Mo Xing stood, picking up the twin swords.

“I will keep shining!”

...

“Give up struggling; you’ve lost,” said the red team’s healer—who had commanded the entire strategy.

“Such a boring match, total domination,” the red team’s berserker shrugged. “Go home and sleep.”

“This Mo Xing isn’t that strong,” the red team’s armored knight smirked. “Still, someone in the crowd is cheering for him.”

“Heh, worshipped a bit too much,” the red team’s archer sneered. “Too bad he still lost to us.”

The red team’s gunslinger said nothing but noticed someone emerging from the smoke, holding two swords.

...

“There are so many people in the audience cheering for him?” The referee raised the megaphone, about to announce the match’s end, but was stunned by the sounds outside.

“Referee, hold on. Situation’s changed,” Teacher Tianqi frowned, watching the radiant blue light on the arena.

“He’s finally here,” Teacher Longlian smiled.

...

“You fangirls are crazy! Your Mo Xing already lost, what are you cheering for?” A few people in the crowd shouted at the fans holding glowboards.

“You don’t know anything! Mo Xing is our beacon of hope; he won’t give up easily!” the fans retorted vehemently.

“Everyone, stop fighting! Look at the big screen!”

“It’s Mo Xing! He’s standing up!”

...

“Danger! Fall back and defend!”

The gunslinger shouted. Just as others regained their senses, two blue lights flashed past them, crossing paths.

Mo Xing, wielding twin swords, appeared before the archer. The archer hurriedly retreated, but a strange force flung him off the stage.

“What’s going on?” everyone gasped.

“Plan A! Surround Mo Xing!” the healer commanded again, and three others rushed in.

A glimmer of blue-purple light flickered in Mo Xing’s eyes. He raised his swords and whispered:

“Grip of Cold Water!”

The Dragon God’s Power inside him manifested as enormous water-element claws, swiftly pulling the distant healer to his side. The others froze in shock.

“Save me!” the healer cried.

“As the saying goes, capture the leader first!” Mo Xing commanded the water claws to hurl the healer off the arena.

Mo Xing’s mind was clear. His power was immense now; no need to harm them, just knock them all off the stage. By the rules, that counted as victory.

“He’s an elemental mage, right? Why does he have spells from a spellblade?” the berserker roared.

“Never mind that!” The gunslinger gathered energy at his cannon’s mouth and unleashed “Focused Beam”!

Focused Beam was a gunslinger’s attack skill, concentrating a high-energy laser at the opponent. Though damage was low, it caused blindness. If it struck Mo Xing, the three could unleash a fierce assault.

Mo Xing smiled, leapt into the air, spinning his twin swords, the surrounding air swirling with him.

“Cold Water: Spiral Storm!”

He spun past the Focused Beam’s attack, then dropped sharply before the gunslinger, slashing upward with his blades to lift him midair.

Focused Beam was a straight-line attack, easy to dodge with agility. Gunslingers were usually slow to cast and move, leaving brief windows for counterattack. Mo Xing had read this in books; now he understood it fully in battle.

“Iron Shield!”

The gunslinger gathered gold elements, forming a half-transparent metallic sphere around himself.

“Now!” the gunslinger shouted.

“Counterstorm!”

The armored knight appeared behind him, spear and shield in hand, wind elements swirling around.

Mo Xing smiled, sidestepping and casting “Grip of Cold Water,” grabbing the metal sphere midair and flinging it at the armored knight. The knight was slammed off the arena.

The crowd erupted in cheers.

“Oh my! That’s incredible!”

“The tide just turned!”

“Mo Xing is amazing!”

“I’m becoming a fan!”

“This isn’t a total stomp anymore!”

Mo Xing waved his swords with a faint smile.

The opposing berserker dropped to his knees, eyes wide with shock.

“Idol, you’re incredible!” Li Xiangcao ran over, chirping like a little sparrow.

“Referee, you can announce the result now!” Teacher Tianqi patted the referee on the shoulder.

“Alright… alright, I will,” the referee sighed, picking up the megaphone. Having overseen many matches, this was the first time seeing a two-versus-five team victory.

“Stand up, no need to kneel,” Mo Xing extended his hand. “A real man’s knees are worth their weight in gold.”

“Heh.”

The berserker smiled, pulling a small bottle filled with capsules from his pocket, twisting the cap open.

“What are you doing?” Mo Xing frowned.

“I want to win! I want power! I will stay in this fight!” The berserker swallowed all the capsules at once, black smoke immediately swirling around him.

“What’s happening?” Li Xiangcao sensed something was wrong, clutching Mo Xing’s clothes tightly.

“Get away from him! He took banned drugs!” Teacher Longlian shouted from the sidelines.

“I will crush you all!”

The berserker let out a beastly roar, his eyes turning black as he lunged toward Mo Xing and Li Xiangcao.