Finding people—Arthur was a professional at it.
After following the clues to find the Green Skeleton's lair in Star Luo City, Arthur had Gu Yue go over and wipe them all out.
Moreover, since he wasn't from the Tang Sect, the credit for stopping the Rank-seven soul guidance shells could be partially attributed to Gu Yue, given her claim that he was a powerful expert she had invited.
According to the rules of the Battle Soul Hall, the Ranks were white, yellow, purple, and black.
A Black Rank Fighter had to at least be a Three-Word Battle Armor Master, a Purple Rank Fighter was a Two-Word Battle Armor Master, and a Yellow Rank Fighter was a One-Word Battle Armor Master.
This operation was enough to make an exception and promote Gu Yue to a Purple Rank Fighter.
Furthermore, it would be a significant highlight on her resume for future promotions.
After all, in the entire younger generation of the Tang Sect, no one else could be found who could single-handedly wipe out a terrorist organization's stronghold protected by a Spirit Saint with Two-Word Battle Armor while only possessing the cultivation of one-word battle armor... A few days passed.
Over the past few days, Arthur had been vigorously reviewing mecha-related knowledge; he had obtained a mecha from Mu Ye.
He planned to play around with it during the competition.
At this moment, a streak of light shot through the air above the competition stage.
Dressed in a pale yellow outfit and possessing an elegant, composed posture, she was the host and guest commentator for this competition, Fanger.
Amidst the thunderous applause, Fanger's gaze swept across the waiting area, her smile radiant: "Without further ado, let's see which two powerful experts will be the first to take the stage in today's opening match!"
"Next, let us welcome our first contestant. He hails from Shrek Academy and is one of the favorites to win this tournament—Arthur!"
In an instant, the cheers from the audience came to a screeching halt, replaced by a mountain-shaking, tsunami-like wave of boos.
Arthur had grown used to it over the last few days; that was how away games were. Before winning the championship, the audience's attitude would remain stubborn.
"And now, let us welcome one of the most outstanding geniuses from the Star Luo Royal Academy, hailed as the Star Luo Rising Star—Sima Xian..."
Unlike Arthur's entrance, Fanger's introduction of Sima Xian was long-winded and verbose.
"Sima Xian, huh..." Arthur remembered him; he was quite the unlucky fellow.
Sima Xian had originally gone to apply for admission to Monster Academy.
However, Long Yue had beaten him up, stolen his tuition money, and even mocked him.
Because of that, Sima Xian missed the registration and had no choice but to go to the Star Luo Royal Academy.
"Let the match begin!"
Fanger's commentary was rapid-fire: "Contestant Sima Xian has donned his battle armor immediately. It seems Contestant Arthur is putting a lot of pressure on him."
"And what about our Contestant Arthur? He's making some strange gestures—is it one of his spirit abilities..."
Before her words could land, a dark-gold streak of light suddenly lit up the arena. Amidst a roar, a mecha stood steadily behind Arthur.
After completing his useless transformation sequence and fulfilling the sense of ceremony, Arthur entered the mecha's cockpit.
"He... Oh, my God!"
Fanger's voice suddenly spiked, filled with unbelievable shock, and she nearly dropped her microphone: "A black-rank mecha! Arthur has summoned a black-rank mecha—he's actually a black-rank mecha pilot!"
This exclamation instantly drowned out the boos from the crowd.
Whether it was the Star Luo citizens in the stands or the contestants in the waiting area, everyone's eyes widened. They stared fixedly at the black-rank mecha, their faces filled with disbelief.
Most importantly, this mecha was incredibly cool.
In the waiting area, Tang Wulin's eyes were glued to the scene. He couldn't help but poke Xie Xie beside him: "Look, look! Brother Arthur's mecha is just too cool! It's a hundred times better-looking than any mecha I've ever seen!"
Xie Xie rolled his eyes but couldn't help nodding: "It is cool. But what's the use of being cool? We'll have to see its Actual Combat performance later."
Despite his words, his gaze was fixed on the dark-gold mecha, his eyes full of envy.
This was something Arthur had specifically requested from Mu Ye; strength didn't matter as much as looking cool. Consequently, this mecha's performance was far weaker than other black-rank mechas.
But Arthur didn't care; looking cool was all that mattered.
Opposite him, Sima Xian's aggressive posture froze instantly.
A black-rank mecha was already equivalent to Two-Word Battle Armor. How was he supposed to fight that?
"Black-Rank... How is that possible?" Sima Xian muttered, his voice failing him. His face turned pale; it seemed his match was about to end here.
Fanger snapped back to her senses. Looking at the mecha with sparkling eyes, she added rapidly: "Ladies and gentlemen! This black-rank mecha not only has an astounding Rank, but its appearance is also a work of art! The smooth lines, the unique dark-gold patterns—it's clearly the work of a master!"
"However," she pivoted, "I also know a bit about mechas. From the external design of this mecha, it's clear the creator focused too much on aesthetics."
Fanger's finger pointed at the enlarged mecha details on the screen, her speech still rapid: "Look at the curvature of the shoulder plates and the complex dark-gold patterns on the body. While the visual effect is maximized, in Actual Combat, this might increase the loss in Soul Power conduction and even become a Breakthrough point for enemy attacks!"
"Sima Xian's battle armor is more practical; there's still a chance."
As soon as she said this, the audience erupted.
"So that's it! I was wondering why it was so cool; turns out it's just for show!"
"Go, Sima Xian! He has battle armor; he'll definitely win!"
"Those Shrek guys are just all flash and no substance, coming up with all this fancy nonsense!"
The Shrek side was furious.
To think they dared to belittle their great Lord Arthur.
Na'er angrily rolled up her sleeves and started walking: "I'm going to go kill that commentator."
Xu Xiaoyan and the others quickly held her back: "Sister Na'er, forget it, forget it. It's not worth it."
...Sima Xian looked at the imposing mecha in front of him. After taking a deep breath, he charged anyway.
The first and second spirit rings on his body flashed one after another.
His body continuously grew larger as he sprinted, a long tail trailing behind him, and two giant bull horns sprouted from his head.
"Contestant Sima Xian has already attacked! But Arthur hasn't made a move. What is he waiting for? Speaking of which, he hasn't moved since entering the mecha. Could he be trying to give his opponent a handicap?"
Sitting in the cockpit, Arthur had no interest in the clamor outside; he was staring at the control instruments with a headache.
"This one is for walking, this one for running... and jumping..."
He was still holding a manual for comparison, occasionally tilting his head to study the data stream flickering on the screen, looking entirely like a novice fumbling through things.
Xia Xi had hopped out at some point, her little face serious as she cried out: "Awoo, awoo!"
She seemed to be discussing things with Arthur in earnest, her little paws pointing at the blue buttons on the control panel one moment and tugging at the manual in Arthur's hand the next, her round eyes full of solemnity.
Arthur gave a couple of perfunctory grunts, his fingertips still tapping randomly on the buttons as his brow furrowed deeper: "What you're pointing at is drawn like some crazy gibberish in the manual. Who could understand this?"
"Forget it, I'll just leave it to my Intuition and luck!"
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