Cong Shuang had been able to stay composed at first.
Because in her mind, with such outstanding defense, such powerful control, and even a silence ability, his damage output probably wasn’t high.
As a magic-based class, Cong Shuang was relatively squishy.
But she figured she could at least hold out against that kind of class for a few seconds.
And that was even assuming she had defensive skills available—which she didn’t, since the silence had locked her out of casting them.
Unfortunately.
She was wrong!
In the next few seconds, Zhang Zheng seemed like a completely different person.
Yes, it was Earth magic, but his burst damage was terrifying!
Under his assault, Cong Shuang’s health plummeted rapidly!
The few seconds of silence quickly passed, and the moment she broke free, she still hadn’t lost.
But because her health had already dropped to a dangerous level.
Even though Cong Shuang reacted very quickly and tried to defend herself, she still couldn’t withstand Zhang Zheng’s subsequent attacks.
Her health soon hit the critical threshold, and the match was over.
Cong Shuang was completely stunned.
She had lost, just like that!
A class she hadn’t even taken seriously had so bluntly and thoroughly defeated her!
And although Cong Shuang had underestimated him, she had still been going all out, aiming for a quick finish.
Yet she hadn’t even managed to deal any damage to Zhang Zheng!
“The Heavenly Daughter, nothing more than this,” Zhang Zheng taunted.
Cong Shuang’s expression darkened.
Her instinct was to retort, but then she realized—even if they fought again, she probably still wouldn’t have any answer.
Class counter!
This was a class counter!
Zhang Zheng’s skill set and strategy were something Cong Shuang couldn’t currently figure out a good response to. And on top of that, this was her first time fighting an Earth Walker, so she had zero experience.
Losing was inevitable—her chances of winning had been incredibly slim from the start.
“Your goal is Lu Ran, and I can sort of understand that. Your class is indeed very strong. But Lu Ran is invincible—he doesn’t lose health. Even if your silence locks him down for a few seconds and stops him from attacking you, it won’t make a difference. After all, Zhao Xuan had a full ten seconds of all-out burst, and you’re going to end up the same as him,” Cong Shuang said thoughtfully.
“Is that so?” Zhang Zheng’s lips curled slightly as he shot back.
Cong Shuang paused.
Did that even need to be asked? Wasn’t it something everyone could plainly see?
“Have you ever considered that Lu Ran’s invincibility might come from the active skill of some special piece of equipment? If I silence him right off the bat, can he even activate that invincibility skill?” Zhang Zheng asked casually.
Cong Shuang suddenly realized something.
That was a possibility!
A class couldn’t possibly be invincible forever.
Lu Ran must have been doing something.
And that meant it could only be a special skill from some piece of equipment.
Because the Necromancer’s natural skill set didn’t have anything remotely close to such a broken, bug-like invincibility skill!
And if Zhang Zheng silenced him immediately, Lu Ran wouldn’t be able to activate his invincibility—wouldn’t he lose too?
After all.
Necromancers themselves were also relatively squishy.
“I know Lu Ran. Aren’t you worried I’ll tell him your strategy?” Cong Shuang pressed.
“Not at all. My speed is fast enough—at least much faster than his Blood Spear,” Zhang Zheng said with absolute confidence.
But Cong Shuang had a nagging feeling that Zhang Zheng was still hiding other tricks—at least some means specifically designed to deal with Lu Ran that he hadn’t revealed yet.
“I lost. I really can’t beat you. But defeating Lu Ran won’t be easy for you either. Take care of yourself.”
Leaving those words behind, Cong Shuang stepped off the stage.
That’s just how matches were.
It was a pity, and it was frustrating, but a loss was a loss—nothing more to it.
After all.
She hadn’t lost because of carelessness. Zhang Zheng’s class abilities were genuinely terrifying.
Zhang Zheng watched Cong Shuang’s retreating figure with a faint smile.
Of course he wasn’t worried about Cong Shuang talking to Lu Ran.
Because the real method he had prepared to deal with Lu Ran wasn’t even what he had shown today!
To put it another way.
For Lu Ran to beat him—or rather, for Lu Ran to avoid losing—he would have to be able to fly.
Everyone had been watching this match too.
And no one had expected this outcome!
“Cong Shuang… actually lost?”
“Who is this Zhang Zheng? Why haven’t we heard of him before?”
“He’s insanely strong, man! Defense, burst damage, control—all top-tier. What class is that?”
“Looking at the match list, it says Earth Walker. What kind of class is that?”
“A hidden class, and such a rare one. This guy’s a beast!”
“Never thought Cong Shuang would lose. I was hoping to see her fight Lu Ran.”
“Tsk tsk tsk… this is getting interesting. I wonder how Zhang Zheng will fare against Lu Ran?”
“No need to guess—Lu Ran’s definitely taking the championship! No one’s stopping him!”
…
At the same time.
The Cong family.
Even the Cong family couldn’t accept this result.
It was fine that Cong Shuang lost—they had expected her to lose to Lu Ran. But to lose to some class from a third-tier main city that they hadn’t even taken seriously?
Her tournament run had come to an end just like that.
Finally.
All three arena matches concluded.
The three winners, plus the one who got the bye, made up four people advancing to the afternoon semifinals and the final championship match!
And among those four.
The results were obvious—Lu Ran was naturally the biggest favorite. Right behind him was Zhang Zheng, the Earth Walker who had suddenly exploded with brilliant performance and personally taken down Cong Shuang!
After the matches ended, Lu Ran was heading out to eat.
He ran into Cong Shuang on the way.
“I need to talk to you. Let’s have lunch together,” Cong Shuang said to Lu Ran.
“Sure,” Lu Ran agreed without hesitation.
At the restaurant.
Cong Shuang got straight to the point: “I believe you can win your next match easily too, but that’s only if you don’t run into Zhang Zheng in the next round. If you don’t, you’ll still have to face him in the finals. This guy is strong!”
Only then did Lu Ran learn that Cong Shuang had actually lost her match.
Then.
Cong Shuang recounted the details of her match against Zhang Zheng.
“A silence skill?” Lu Ran was a bit surprised.
Back when they were studying various class materials at the academy, the instructors had made it clear that classes with silence abilities might be average in dungeon runs, but against other players, they had a massive advantage!
It was just that classes with such abilities were very rare.
Or rather, not just rare—they were practically unheard of!
And yet.
Here at the Hundred Cities League, one had actually appeared.
“So, if your invincibility comes from some skill, I suggest you activate it right away. Otherwise, you’ll have to face Zhang Zheng’s burst—and his burst is brutal. Without your invincibility active, there’s no way you can tank it.”
Cong Shuang warned him.
Finally.
As if remembering something, she added: “And I don’t know if I’m overthinking it, but that Zhang Zheng seemed to be hiding other methods to deal with you too. Just be careful in your matches—don’t let yourself get caught off guard.”
Lu Ran nodded seriously.
“Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind. I won’t get caught off guard.”
Because even Lu Ran himself couldn’t think of any reason he would lose.
