The War God's strategy for defeating opponents surely wasn't limited to just illusions.
But even with illusions alone, Gu Ya was led astray. If not for his cheat-like skills, Gu Ya would have never seen through them.
Facing the War God's words, Gu Ya had no choice but to comply.
Yue Ying steadily raised a beam sword and aimed it precisely and swiftly at the outer armor of the old mech's cockpit.
The old mech casually lifted its sword, deflecting Gu Ya's attack.
"Use the move you used to defeat White Wolf, hit me," the War God said calmly.
Yue Ying rapidly retreated over ten meters, preparing for a charge.
Simultaneously, Gu Ya activated full mental concentration, his eyes fixed on a weakness on the old mech's body, and operated swiftly.
[Piercing Thorn of Pure Essence]!
Just as the sword's edge was about to strike the old mech, it merely raised a leg and swiftly kicked Yue Ying's right waist, causing Yue Ying to instantly lose balance. The sword's edge grazed past its right arm, leaving the mecha undamaged.
"See?" the War God said indifferently. "Comprehend the essence of this kick. When you achieve that, you can truly be called a War God-level mecha master."
"Do you still want to fight?"
Gu Ya pondered for a long time and then slowly said, "I won't fight anymore."
The War God's kick was too profound. It seemed to strike the mecha, but it truly hit Gu Ya's heart.
It struck Gu Ya into submission. There was no need to activate all skills. With the War God's strength, Gu Ya probably wouldn't even know how he lost.
The path of a mecha master still had a long way to go. Fortunately, he had a great mentor.
Gu Ya slowly reduced the thrust from his thrusters, the engine's exhaust flames weakening. Yue Ying gently descended to the ground and shut down its engines.
The old mecha also landed on the ground. In front of Yue Ying, it appeared so small and crude.
"War God, I have two final questions I'd like to ask you," Gu Ya asked earnestly.
"Your mecha can catch a beam sword barehanded, and its armor can withstand the power of a beam sword. Is it because of attack resonance material?"
The War God chuckled and said, "If such a thing existed in this world, everyone wouldn't have to fight. They could all sit at the negotiating table and drink tea and chat."
"But..." Gu Ya became even more confused.
"Everyone can catch a falling dagger barehanded and block attacks with their armor. However... the method is too difficult to master," the War God said faintly.
Gu Ya's desire to learn surged instantly, and he pleaded, "Please impart your wisdom!"
"Why should I? Heh. Figure it out yourself. Alright, last question."
"I'll owe you," Gu Ya said calmly.
The War God exclaimed, "Are you playing with me, kid?"
No, it was just that the author was called away by his superior to assign tasks while writing, and he forgot what he wanted to ask upon returning.
Ah, I remember now!
"Please tell me, if I continue to concentrate on practicing basic movements, practicing them fifty thousand or even a hundred thousand times, can I become as strong as you?" Gu Ya asked steadily.
The War God laughed heartily twice and said, "Even if you practice it a hundred million times, what good is it? Will you fight yourself? You're not building a skyscraper into the ground!"
"Fundamentals are indeed important, but actual combat is the key to solidifying them. Fight more, comprehend more, and then, survive."
"Understood," Gu Ya said softly.
The Yue Ying mecha bowed slightly to the dwarf mecha, a gesture of thanks for the War God's guidance.
"Hey! Old man! You guys have been chattering away. Are we fighting or not! If not, let's go for a drink!" Sha Xin shouted loudly from atop the Tai Hu mecha.
She was a sturdy girl, around twenty years old, with a broad frame and a short buzz cut, a square face. If not for her voice, one wouldn't have guessed she was a girl.
"Hahaha!" The War God laughed heartily and emerged from the dwarf mecha.
At that moment, a tall, dark brown mecha flew rapidly from the sky. It was a full 20 meters tall, and its tonnage was also larger than a typical medium-sized mecha.
After the dark brown mecha landed steadily, a tall, thin man emerged from the cockpit and said calmly to the War God, "Master, I've brought your mecha for you."
The War God stretched his shoulders and neck as he walked towards the dark brown mecha, complaining, "The higher-ups are really stingy, making an old man like me pilot a broken-down mecha. Hey! Little girl, come with me. We'll get drunk tonight, hahaha!"
"Alright! Here I come!" Sha Xin excitedly leaped directly from the Tai Hu mecha, which was over ten meters high. With a "bang!", she landed in a horse stance, her feet hitting the ground heavily, kicking up a cloud of dust. She immediately turned and sprinted towards the War God.
Gu Ya was shocked.
He wasn't surprised by Sha Xin's audacity to jump from such a height and land unharmed.
He was shocked that this dwarf mecha wasn't the War God's exclusive ride!
From his words, it seemed that the higher-ups had specifically assigned him a broken-down mecha.
How profound was his strength? To pilot such a low-tier mecha and handle two quasi-War God-level mecha masters so effortlessly!
Gu Ya suddenly felt that the road ahead was very long! What did the end of the mecha master's path look like?
...
As soon as he returned to his accommodation, a secret communication came through Gu Ya's wristband.
For the past few days, to maintain the secrecy of the matches, all contestants' personal wristbands had been confiscated.
His current wristband was a specially made single, secret communication channel wristband, capable of only receiving combat information.
[Due to Gu Ya, the contestant, voluntarily shutting down his engines during the match, he is considered to have forfeited the match. Therefore, Gu Ya, the contestant, cannot be promoted to Xianxia War God. This is hereby notified.]
Now, whenever Gu Ya saw the word "War God," he felt like he had fallen into a vast abyss, lost and helpless. The road ahead was still so long!
It wasn't that he lacked the strength to defeat other contestants; he couldn't defeat himself.
In the end, he still had to rely on himself.
Without regret, there would be no memories, and thus no impetus to continue moving forward.
Immediately after, another message arrived on his wristband:
[New rankings for Xianxia War Gods are hereby announced. Please read quickly. No records are allowed to be kept. Time limit: five minutes.]
This message simply listed the names and titles of the War Gods ranked first to thirty-sixth.
Furthermore, all information for the top nine ranked War Gods was presented as question marks.
War Gods, as the greatest weapons for defeating enemies in the Xianxia Kingdom, possessed power even exceeding any man-made superweapon.
Especially those ranked higher, they were all like mobile nuclear bombs, and their information definitely needed to be kept secret.
Gu Ya discovered that the last newly promoted War God was Sha Xin, who piloted Tai Hu, with the title: Thousand Wine Tiger.
Wang Shang Meng and Hong Yan's names were also listed.
Hong Yan's ranking had moved up by one place, currently at sixteenth.
Wang Shang Meng, as he had said, was ranked in the middle to lower tier, currently at twenty-fourth.
Gu Ya dropped his wristband and lay heavily on the bed, gazing at the ceiling, countless thoughts flooding his mind.
"It's the same as before. Since I'm not dead yet, I'll keep going."
...
A few days later, Gu Ya returned to the academy.
He was here to say goodbye.
As soon as he entered the classroom, he was greeted by thunderous applause and envious, excited gazes from teachers and students.
"Gu Ya, even though you weren't rated as a War God, we all saw your matches! They were very exciting."
"Don't be discouraged! You're very strong! If not for the final match against Xianxia's number one War God, Tai Hu definitely wouldn't have been able to defeat you!"
"Yeah, Gu Ya, you're already very strong. Unlike me, I was eliminated in the first round." The boy who was also selected as a candidate said with relief.
"Speaking of which, it's really tough on the higher-ups! Making the number one War God fight in the final match, anyone would lose!"
The encouragement from his classmates made Gu Ya a little embarrassed, but he was happy deep down.
Thinking that in a short while, he would be leaving this place entirely to pursue new knowledge in other cities, he felt a pang of reluctance.
He had only stayed in this class for three months; the following three months were for solo training.
And during these three months, he hadn't interacted much with his classmates. He had trained alone and then gone to the scrapyard to repair mechas.
The only person he was somewhat close to, Fang Fei, was a woman who was always ready to tease him.
However, it was enough. After all, they were classmates.
With tears welling up in his eyes, Gu Ya nodded to his classmates and turned to leave the classroom.
Returning to the dormitory, he slung his already prepared bag over his shoulder and hurried to the academy's hangar.
Two days later was the midterm examination for the Dong Yong Gu Zhi Lan Academy. He was going to Zhuo Yuan City to specialize in mecha repair.
Even for the path of a mecha master, Gu Ya was still far from mastering it.
It could be imagined that the path of a mecha mechanic was equally profound, much like the path of a magician in the world of wizards.
However, the two paths Gu Ya was treading were truly like the paths of a knight and a mage.
No wonder mecha mechanics were hailed as the most difficult profession.
Imagine, dual cultivation of the body and spirit. That would likely be an astonishing profession in the wizarding world as well!
Gu Ya's mind was filled with countless thoughts. As soon as he arrived at the hangar,
He heard someone call out to him from behind.