newbobooks Chapter 59 Final 3
Chapter 59 Final 3
Li Chenglong returned to the podium, took a sip of water, and said, "We need to find an absolutely neutral referee for the next match." Yun Lan rolled her eyes at Li Chenglong: "Then who do you suggest?" Li Chenglong nodded, glanced at Yang Liu who was asking Zheng Aiguo for a knife, and said, "Let Yang Liu go." Because the damage to the venue was indeed very serious, even with more than a dozen earth-type ability users repairing it, it still took more than twenty minutes. It was already 19:50 p.m., but fortunately it was almost May and the weather wasn't cold.
As Yun Qian announced the start of the second match, Yang Liu walked to the center of the arena and declared, "I hereby declare the second semi-final match officially open." The battle was about to erupt between Qi Guoan, a level 5 earth-type ability user, and Zhao Rui, a level 5 strength-type ability user. Yun Qian spoke slowly from the viewing platform: "Zhao Rui is the fourth level 5 user in Dawn City. He was already level 5 when we attacked the Apocalypse Base, and later joined us. He has a wealth of both Martial Power Tower reserves and combat experience. Uncle Qi, on the other hand, leveled up almost simultaneously with Wu Gang and Zheng Aiguo, so he might not have an advantage in terms of Martial Power Tower reserves."
Li Chenglong nodded: "This is what I said before. If two people are relatively close in strength, then their individual combat experience and combat skills become especially important. That's why I've always strictly required both superhumans and non-superhumans to improve their individual combat skills and not to relax just because they've become superhumans."
Qi Guoan and Zhao Rui initially engaged in close combat. Having served as a squad leader for many years, Qi Guoan possessed far superior combat experience and fighting skills compared to Zhao Rui, who quickly began to show signs of weakness. Qi Guoan pressed his advantage, seemingly about to knock Zhao Rui out of the arena. Sensing impending doom, Zhao Rui shouted, "Gigantify!" Instantly, her body transformed into a 3-meter-tall giant, radiating a red glow. This was a skill possessed by all strength-based ability users, and Qi Guoan knew that once a strength-based user activated this skill, both their defense and attack power would increase dramatically for a short period.
However, growing to such a gigantic size also has a disadvantage: agility decreases. Qi Guoan immediately distanced himself from Zhao Rui. Zhao Rui laughed, "I read Naruto yesterday and learned a new technique. Watch my human tank!" Zhao Rui shrunk into a sphere, transforming into a giant ball of flesh, and charged towards Qi Guoan. In his spherical form, Zhao Rui's speed, defense, and attack power were all at their peak. Qi Guoan secretly chuckled, calmly standing there, waiting for Zhao Rui to roll over. Once Zhao Rui pinpointed Qi Guoan's location, he charged directly at him. Just as they were about to collide, Qi Guoan slammed his hands on the ground: "Rise!" The ground in front of him rose up, forming a semi-U-shape. Zhao Rui, rushing too fast, couldn't brake in time and flew out of the arena, crashing into a section of the stands, creating a large crater. Fortunately, some spectators, seeing the danger, immediately fled the area; otherwise, they would have been crushed to death by Zhao Rui's massive body.
Yang Liu was surprised that the match lasted less than three minutes. Seeing Zhao Rui rush out of the arena, she immediately said, "Zhao Rui has fallen out of the ring; Qi Guoan advances." Qi Guoan is fifty-four years old this year, the second oldest superhuman among all participants in the martial arts tournament. He fought his way through the competition to reach the finals, perfectly embodying the spirit of an old horse still eager to gallop a thousand miles, a hero whose ambition remains undiminished even in his twilight years. All the spectators stood up to applaud and cheer for him. Qi Guoan raised his right fist, exuding confidence. Qin Fangyu, watching the match, wiped away tears and also happily applauded Qi Guoan.
Yun Qian then spoke into the microphone: "To ensure fairness, the final will be held in twenty minutes. During this time, both contestants can use crystals to restore their abilities. The final is limited to 20 minutes, and the use of melee weapons is permitted." Zhao Rui walked up to Qi Guoan and said, "Uncle Qi, you're truly a veteran who can outmaneuver two opponents. I accept my defeat wholeheartedly." Qi Guoan patted Zhao Rui on the shoulder: "You were quite good too, but you still need to hone your skills when you get back. Ask your battalion commander and Captain Li for advice when you have time." Zhao Rui nodded, not wanting to disturb Qi Guoan's recovery any longer, and walked away.
Yunlan leaned against Li Chenglong's chest: "It's already pretty good that my dad made it to the finals, considering his age. Although I said he was in the top three, I secretly expected him to be in the top eight at most. After all, youth has its advantages." Li Chenglong pinched Yunlan's nose, making her sit up straight: "After becoming a superhuman, age isn't such a big factor anymore. Look at Uncle Qi, he doesn't look like he's fifty-four at all, he looks like a warrior in his thirties in his prime." Yunlan thought for a moment: "That's true. My dad said that after becoming a superhuman, his gray hair has decreased a lot, and his wrinkles have gradually disappeared. Could it be that superhumans can make people young again?" Qin Fangyu, who was behind them, also laughed and said: "I also feel younger after becoming a superhuman, and I found that my period has actually returned."
Yunlan was greatly shocked. Li Chenglong nodded: "Currently, we haven't started real research on superhumans. The only information we have is provided by the mysterious person. Once we are stable, we will set up a scientific team to start researching superhumans and crystals, and see if we can enable more of our people to become superhumans in the future."
Meanwhile, atop the main building of Linhai University, a woman in a black cloak was also watching the battle. She wore a dragon and phoenix ring on the middle finger of both her left and right hands, which emitted a faint glow. Her left hand was fiddling with her long blue hair, her ample breasts accentuated by her tight-fitting combat suit, but a black hat and veil obscured her face. The woman chuckled softly, then with a wave of her left hand, a rift opened in space, and she transformed into a streak of light and flashed inside.
Li Chenglong was chatting with Yunlan and a few others when he suddenly sensed an energy fluctuation. He immediately used his True Dragon Eye to look towards the main building, but found nothing. Yunlan looked in the same direction and asked, puzzled, "Was there something there?" Li Chenglong shook his head: "It must be my imagination. I just sensed a spatial fluctuation that was very similar to that level 6 warrior zombie. But it's gone now."
Time flew by, and Li Xue arrived at the center of the arena to serve as the referee for this match. Li Chenglong, watching the two preparing for the match, said, "This match shouldn't be too slow. Both of you are close to your peak condition now. With similar individual skill levels, special abilities become more important." Li Xue first activated her ability: "Stamina Recovery," completely restoring the two's stamina to full. Wu Gang, watching from the stands, remarked, "Li Xue truly deserves her title as the strongest support in Dawn City. If she joined our First Battalion, our strength would increase by at least 30%." Wang Yousheng, standing nearby, laughed and said, "That's unlikely. Captain Li is currently having her focus on assisting Academician An Qingyuan in his research on the zombie virus and protective agents."
While the two were talking, the match began immediately. Zheng Aiguo didn't want a protracted battle, as the longer it went, the more unpredictable things would become. He went all out from the start, activating both his earth and strength abilities. Qi Guoan, being a pure earth-type ability user, was indeed at a disadvantage in terms of his abilities. Although he also used his earth-type abilities to defend himself, he was being hit more and more frequently as time went on. Ten minutes later, Qi Guoan, panting heavily, shook his head and said, "I'm not playing anymore. Although I don't consider myself someone who gives up easily, I really can't win this time. I concede."
Zheng Aiguo then shook Qi Guoan's hand, saying, "Uncle Qi, thank you for your kind offer." Seeing that the two had already decided the winner, Li Xue announced loudly, "The martial arts tournament is over! The champion is Zheng Aiguo, the battalion commander of the Second Battalion!" Everyone present stood up and applauded. At this point, all the rankings were revealed. In the same series of competitions, the loser with the longest time ranked higher. For example, in the same semi-final match, Wu Gang and Zheng Aiguo fought for almost twenty minutes before a winner was decided, while Zhao Rui lost in just a few minutes. Therefore, Wu Gang ranked third, and Zhao Rui ranked fourth.
Without further ado, Li Chenglong began distributing the rewards. The first place winner received the level 6 samurai zombie katana, the second place winner received five green crystals, the third place winner received three green crystals, the fourth place winner received two, and the fifth place winner received one. In addition, the top five winners each received three psionic persimmons. The rewards for the sixth to tenth place winners, and the eleventh to one hundredth place winners, were also distributed in sequence.
After all the rewards were distributed, Li Chenglong spoke into the microphone: "The first Dawn City Martial Arts and Skills Competition has now concluded. Ordinary residents of Dawn City, please leave the venue in an orderly manner as instructed by the security team. All Dawn Army soldiers and Dawn City leaders present, please remain." Ten minutes later, only relevant personnel remained. This time, Li Chenglong did not use a microphone but instead used his supernatural ability to transmit his voice to everyone's ears: "Tomorrow morning at 8:30, we will attack Xing'an District as planned. Please fight bravely. The person who ranks first in kills will receive this weapon."
As soon as he finished speaking, Li Chenglong took out the Demon-Slaying Bow from his storage space. He then said, "I won't go into the power of this bow. The person with the highest accumulated points by 6 PM tomorrow will receive it, but the points must be earned through their own efforts; cheating is not allowed. Yunlan and I will observe the entire battle, and we will not interfere unless an extremely powerful zombie or beast appears." Everyone present, except for Yunlan, was astonished. This bow was truly a divine artifact. Although it consumed a great deal of energy, if used properly, it made fighting opponents of higher levels a breeze.
Afterwards, everyone from each battalion returned home. Li Chenglong checked the time; it was already 9:30 PM. He and Yunlan hurried home. Back in his room, Yunlan was somewhat puzzled: "Why did you take out your Demon-Slaying Bow? Although you told me before, giving it away now still surprises me." Li Chenglong smiled: "Because when I leveled up to level 6, the system suddenly notified me that I had too many weapons, and one might be randomly taken away during the next level up. This surprised me greatly. But then I understood. You see, whether it was Sun Xiao, Lei Bao, or you and Li Xue, they all only had one weapon, but I had two. Also, there was the bow and arrow I got when I leveled up to level 5 in the hospital, but after I was injured and regressed to level 4, only the Demon-Slaying Bow remained; the other two prizes were gone."
Yunlan's eyes widened: "You mean the system malfunctioned and didn't reclaim the bow and arrow?" Li Chenglong nodded: "Yes, that should be it. Later, we both became SS-level Dragon-Phoenix Body Awakeners, and even the upgrade rewards changed, but this bow has always remained. Fortunately, this bow isn't a weapon bound to us like the Dragon Emperor Sword, Dragon-Phoenix Spear, or Azure Staff, which can be given to others. So I thought it would be better to give it away. Considering that the Demon-Slaying Bow requires a lot of supernatural power, I'll give it away directly as a reward, which will also make our supernatural power users stronger. However, this bow can't be upgraded anymore. It's currently level three, with a maximum of three arrows per day, but that's enough for them to use until level seven or eight without any problems."
After a while, Li Chenglong brought over a basin of hot water. Yun Lan was lying on the bed reading documents when she noticed him bringing the water. A little shyly, she said, "I was just saying it casually, you really want to wash my feet?" Li Chenglong said seriously, "I always keep my word. Come, let me help you sit on the sofa." Before Yun Lan could reply, Li Chenglong carried her to the sofa and then moved a small stool over to wash her feet. Yun Lan was deeply moved, her eyes reddening slightly. "To be honest," she said, "my mom never washed my feet when I was little because both my parents were in the military. They made me independent from a young age. So I went to school, cooked, and even bought my own clothes from a very young age." Li Chenglong gently kissed Yun Lan's forehead. "It's okay, it's okay, now you have me."
Afterwards, Yunlan and Li Chenglong went to the bathroom to take a shower. Yunlan then took out some documents and handed them to Li Chenglong: "This is the first draft of a booklet that Yunqian, Wu Gang, and I compiled. It details the abilities of various superhumans, as well as introductions to various zombies, zombie beasts, and strange beasts. There are also demonstrations and illustrations of various combat techniques, and finally, illustrations of some special plants. It's practically a mini encyclopedia of the apocalypse." Li Chenglong took it and carefully browsed the table of contents and the first few pages, saying happily, "It's really good. You've put a lot of thought into it. After we conquer Xing'an District and move, we'll start printing it and try to get a copy for everyone." The two chatted for a while longer, then went to bed early in preparation for tomorrow's battle.