Chapter 1 When the Killing Intent Arrives

The moment Dāngjīn Chuān Yì transformed into white light and returned to the login space, the Warring States team, including Dāngjīn Chuān Yì himself, were in a state of utter bewilderment, except for Zhītián Ài, who was still squatting in the corner drawing circles.

They remained silent in this strange atmosphere for about ten seconds…

Ten seconds later, Dāngjīn Chuān Yì seemed to suddenly understand something. His expression changed drastically, his face turned pale, and he broke out in a cold sweat again.

Seeing this, Sàsà Mù Míng, who had also just recovered, asked, "So… what's going on? How exactly did you die?"

"I…" Dāngjīn Chuān Yì's voice trembled, "I activated the [Killing Intent Fluctuation Sealing Scroll]…"

"What?" Wǔtián Zhì almost jumped up when he heard those eight words. "You actually used up the secret weapon?"

"Hold on, hold on…" Sàsà Mù waved his hand, signaling Wǔtián not to get worked up yet. "Dāngjīn…" He then looked at Dāngjīn Chuān Yì, his expression grave, and continued, "I completely understand your mentality for using the scroll. To be honest… it's definitely worth using this item on Bì Lǎoshī, but the problem is…" He glanced at the battlefield again, "Why did you still die even after using the scroll?"

"Hoo…" Dāngjīn Chuān Yì took a deep breath, seemingly trying to suppress the fear in his heart, but his voice still trembled. "The principle of that scroll… don't you all know it?"

As soon as he said this, the faces of the Warring States team members changed.

They had naturally all read the item description of that secret weapon. And they had all seen the scene on the field just now—Bì Lǎoshī simply walked up to Dāngjīn Chuān Yì at a leisurely pace, raised a hand, and threw a seemingly ordinary straight punch. As a result, the moment Dāngjīn was hit by the fist, a burst of purple-black energy suddenly appeared and devoured him completely.

"So that means…" Sàsà Mù Míng thought for a few seconds and said, "Just as his fist was about to hit you, you activated the [Killing Intent Fluctuation Sealing Scroll], but… the released 'Killing Intent Fluctuation' devoured you instead?"

"Ah… that's right." Dāngjīn Chuān Yì replied weakly.

"How is that possible?" Shàngshān Rén questioned, "Could it be that the killing intent and aura released by Bì Lǎoshī when attacking you were not as strong as yours, who were passively counterattacking?"

"Hmm… that's indeed unreasonable…" Sàsà Mù Míng also muttered thoughtfully, "Even if Bì Lǎoshī somehow foresaw Dāngjīn's intentions in advance and knew the effect of the scroll, in order to use the scroll's power to kill Dāngjīn… he would have to 'almost completely abandon killing intent and greatly restrain his aura when attacking'…" Sàsà Mù shook his head. "Impossible… I can't do it anyway."

Hearing this, Míngzhì Xìn also added, "I can deliberately restrain my killing intent… but in a life-or-death battle, to get close to the enemy and lower my own qi even lower than my opponent's… it's like sticking your hand into a blender that's connected to a power source… even if I force myself mentally, my fighting instincts won't allow my body to do that."

"Could it be…" At this moment, the straightforward Shàngshān Rén said something very dangerous, "...is it because Bì Lǎoshī's combat power is extremely low, so the killing intent and aura when he attacks are not as strong as Dāngjīn's, who is preparing to use an item to counterattack?"

Silence descended once again after the words fell.

"Pfft…" A few seconds later, Wǔtián Zhì was the first to laugh. "Rén-chan, has your sword training made you stupid? The kind of person you're talking about must have a hidden score below fifty, right? I'm afraid you can't find even one such person among all the players participating in S3, okay?"

"That's right, we're talking about a unfathomable monster on the same level as Guǐ Xiāo." Míngzhì Xìn echoed, "The guess that 'combat power is extremely low' is too outrageous."

"Hmm… that's true." Shàngshān Rén nodded. Although she was a very serious person in everything, she was very easily persuaded.

"Then…" Just at this moment, Yīdá Chéng, who had been standing on the side coldly observing without saying a word, suddenly interjected loudly, "There's only one possibility…" He paused and looked at Dāngjīn Chuān Yì. "I don't mean to offend you, Senior, but… judging from Dāngjīn-san's face, he should already know the truth."

"Ah…" Dāngjīn Chuān Yì's face was ashen as he said in a deep voice, "Actually, the matter is very simple…" He raised his head and glanced at his teammates, asking a question that didn't need an answer, "Do you have 'killing intent' when you step on an ant?"

As soon as he said this, everyone suddenly understood.

But what followed was an indescribable fear.

"Similarly…" Dāngjīn then looked at Míngzhì Xìn, "When you step on an ant, you don't feel like you're 'sticking your hand into a blender that's connected to a power source', right?"

This question… also didn't need an answer.

Seeing that no one was saying anything for a long time, Dāngjīn Chuān Yì continued, "That's what it is…

"No matter how you consider it… 'knowing the effects of our secret weapon in advance, guessing that the item is on me, and understanding my intention to use it'… these harsh multiple assumptions are not very realistic.

"Although I don't want to admit it, the opponent undoubtedly attacked me in a state of no killing intent, completely unaware of the [Killing Intent Fluctuation Sealing Scroll]."

"Wait, what about the 'aura'?" Míngzhì Xìn followed his teammate's train of thought and interjected, "Since he wasn't guarding against the power of the scroll, then at least his aura should have been stronger than yours."

"It's 'deliberate relaxation'." At this moment, Zhītián Ài, who was squatting in the corner, suddenly spoke. Although she didn't turn her head back and her tone still sounded very frustrated, she still answered her teammate's question, "Well… actually, 'deliberate relaxation' isn't accurate either. It's just a technique that's similar in principle to 'deliberate relaxation', but at a much higher level. I can only understand it roughly… but I can't do it like Bì Lǎoshī, who can use it with such ease."

"That is…" Míngzhì Xìn asked, "What kind of technique?"

Zhītián Ài paused for two seconds before saying, "Let me put it this way… you can imagine that in battle, except for those brief moments when the attack makes direct contact with the opponent, the consumption of qi is reduced to almost zero for all the remaining time."

"Wh… what?" Even the usually calm Míngzhì Xìn rarely showed a look of astonishment. "That kind of thing… even in theory…"

"That man… is different." Before she could finish speaking, Dāngjīn Chuān Yì interrupted with the tone of someone who had been there, done that. "His strength… seems to have reached another dimension. That transcendent strength… can no longer be measured by moves or equipment. Applying common sense and theory to him… is meaningless."

His words seemed to put a final conclusion to this discussion, and everyone stopped saying anything more about this defeat.

At this moment, the score of 2-0 and the great deterrence and frustration brought by Bì Lǎoshī had brought the Warring States team's morale to an all-time low.

However, the "Deputy General Battle"… was about to begin.

…………

[The match will begin in thirty seconds]

The break time passed in the blink of an eye. Accompanied by the system voice, the two players from the Warring States and Useless Alliance who were participating in the "Deputy General Battle" were simultaneously teleported to the battlefield.

The lineup for this match wasn't very surprising. It was within the expectations of the team members.

On the Warring States side, the one who took the field was Shàngshān Rén.

As in S2, Shàngshān Rén was wearing blue armor, a white shirt underneath, and her long, straight black hair was scattered to her waist, making her look heroic and valiant. The weapon she used was still the legendary fire-attribute ultra-long katana—the [Kujitaragi Sadamune], which was highly recognizable.

On the Useless Alliance side, the one who entered the arena was Qī Shā.

Everyone was probably very familiar with this fighting maniac. This time, because he was representing the Useless Alliance in the battle, he took off the Blade's battle robe and simply changed his look, wearing a thick black bodysuit that covered him from neck to toe.

This [Fang Battle Suit] was just a "fashion item", but its high price meant that it provided a significant bonus effect; especially for melee fighters, this fashion item was extremely practical…

The texture of the battle suit's surface was as solid and glossy as armor, but at the same time, it could closely fit the curves of the body and deform at will. After wrapping the player's head, hands, and feet in one piece, it not only reduced heat consumption but also physically avoided many "throwing techniques."

It could be said that this fashion item was at least as good as a fine-grade piece of equipment in terms of performance; if there was a drawback, it was that this "ring fighting special" outfit didn't come with shoes… but that wasn't a big deal, Qī Shā just wore his original shoes.

Of course, in the eyes of the vast majority of players, the biggest drawback of the [Fang Battle Suit] as a fashion item was… that it was ugly.

This fashion item, whose overall shape was roughly equivalent to a "thickened version of a full-black wetsuit with muscle contours", would look particularly wretched if it wasn't worn by someone who was agile and had well-defined muscles.

Fortunately, Qī Shā basically met the above requirements, and he himself didn't care much about his image… he wouldn't mind wearing classical wrestling clothes if he needed to.

[Five… four… three…]

Soon, the final five-second countdown began, and a fierce battle was about to break out.

The two who came to fight in the "Deputy General Battle" both belonged to the "direct" type of fighting style. Neither side had any intention of going around in circles, and they were focused on fighting head-on…

Therefore, during the thirty-second preparation time, both of them stood in place, eagerly waiting for the barrier to disappear.

Judging from their past records, it was hard to say who was stronger between the two…

Overall, this should be the most "normal" match so far between the two teams…