Who wants to become a god? Aren't you all forcing me?

#455 - Chapter 454: Defeat Me, Surpass Me

The minute hand passed twelve, and the hour hand reached eight, marking the official start of the擂台赛 (Lei Tai Competition).

On the west side of the spectator stands, the students were chattering amongst themselves.

"It's time, where is that idiot, Li Chenqiu?"

"Could he have overslept?"

"How can your brain circuits be so strange? He must be afraid to come!"

"If he doesn't come, wouldn't that be considered a direct forfeit...?"

Clang clang—

Suddenly, the sound of metal scraping and colliding came from the entrance. Everyone looked towards the sound and saw the iron gate, which had been open, slowly closing, eventually slamming shut with a 'bang'.

Immediately afterward, a light blue transparent barrier rose from the corners of the Binding Platform, completely enveloping it in an instant.

"What's going on?"

"I don't know, isn't this a 擂台赛 (Lei Tai Competition)?"

The students looked up with blank expressions. Before they could figure out what was happening, a deep and familiar voice came from the east side of the spectator stands.

"The 擂台赛 (Lei Tai Competition) officially begins. From now on, no one may enter or leave the Binding Platform at will until the 擂台赛 (Lei Tai Competition) is over."

It was the voice of Zhou Mo, the head of the Element Department.

Everyone turned their heads and noticed a group of older men and women sitting in the shadows of the south spectator stand.

Zhou Mo, who had spoken earlier, was sitting in the front, with Ying Yi and Li Bai also present, sitting next to him.

"That's... Director Zhou Mo!"

"The two people next to him seem to be... Director Li and Director Ying. Are the people sitting in the back other leaders of the academy?"

"When did they arrive? Why didn't we notice them?"

Under everyone's gaze, Zhou Mo slowly stood up, took a step, and flashed to the center of the square, facing west and shouting: "Everyone be quiet!"

His voice was as loud as a bell, suppressing the noise on the field.

"During the 擂台赛 (Lei Tai Competition), if you are not a participant, you may not leave the spectator stands. Violators will be expelled from the Binding Platform by me. Any objections?"

"No."

"Understood."

"No objections."

The crowd responded sparsely.

"Director Zhou!" A young man in a blue short-sleeved shirt stood up from the spectator stand and asked, "The 擂台赛 (Lei Tai Competition) has already begun, but Li Chenqiu has not yet arrived. Does this situation count as a forfeit?"

In an instant, everyone's eyes focused on Zhou Mo.

"He arrived a long time ago."

Zhou Mo replied indifferently, his sharp eagle-like gaze shooting into the spectator stands.

The next second, Li Chenqiu, who had been sitting, stood up and, under the shocked gaze of the people next to him, reached out and took off his mask.

"Ah???"

The short, fat young man sitting next to him was dumbfounded, his eyes wide and his mouth open, as if he had seen a ghost.

What's going on?

Li Chenqiu had been sitting next to him the whole time. Was this a joke!

Then the words he had cursed him with earlier, the things he had done...

In an instant, the short, fat young man's face turned white, his brain buzzing, and his heart automatically began playing the song "Anticipation."

He wasn't afraid of shouting slogans, but shouting slogans in front of the person himself was no different from dancing in a minefield. He was afraid!

The people who were afraid were not just the short, fat young man. The group of men and women who had wanted to take advantage of Li Chenqiu leaned to the left at the same time, revealing the same expression as the short, fat young man.

"This this this... how can this person look so much like Li Chenqiu?"

"It feels... like it might be him!"

"Then the words we just said..."

Discussing how to prank someone in front of the person himself, and even having the person give advice, this thrilling experience made them deeply realize what it meant to be chilled to the bone!

Big brother, if you came, just go on stage and wait. What are you doing sitting in the spectator stands? And you even wore a mask and changed your voice. Don't you know that this will scare people into having a heart attack!

Li Chenqiu ignored them, gently leaped, landed steadily on the square, nodded respectfully to Zhou Mo, and then turned to the direction of the other academy leaders, bowing slightly.

"The 擂台赛 (Lei Tai Competition) does not allow the use of profound artifacts. Everything can only rely on yourself. You have half an hour of rest time after each battle. Those are roughly the rules. Do you understand?" Zhou Mo asked.

Li Chenqiu nodded: "Understood."

"Okay." Zhou Mo responded casually, turned around and looked around, and shouted, "The champion is on stage, challengers can come up. Everyone only has one chance, and only one person is allowed on stage at a time."

After speaking, Zhou Mo swayed and stood at the edge of the square, leaving the stage to Li Chenqiu.

"Everyone, raise the banners and shout the slogans!"

"Li Skinflint, your good days are over, get out of Star Plucking!"

"Calamity of Autumn, looks like a human, but does inhuman things, expel Star Plucking, everyone..."

"Enough! What kind of decorum is this, shouting and making noise? Whoever shouts this broken slogan again, get out!" Zhou Mo scolded angrily.

As soon as these words came out, the students wilted like eggplants beaten by frost, and dared not shout loudly again.

Li Chenqiu smiled slightly, unhurriedly walked to the center of the field and stood still, shouting in a loud voice: "Only fragile people care about the voices of others. Even if you shout louder, you can't shake my determination to change Star Plucking.

There is only one way to change all of this, and that is to defeat me here, surpass me. I look forward to seeing this scene, but if there are no accidents, I should be standing here until twelve o'clock."

"You're faking it!"

"What a thing!"

"A mad dog gets hit with bricks, and a madman gets beaten up. Just wait, someone will come on stage soon and smash you to pieces!"

For a time, the spectator stands were filled with birdsong and fragrant flowers, and every Star Plucking student stretched their necks and opened their mouths to spit out fragrance.

"This kid is really arrogant!" Li Bai said with a smile but not a real smile.

Ying Yi, who was on the side, looked at Li Chenqiu with a hint of appreciation: "It's normal to be arrogant. If you want to subdue a group of people, you have to ignite the fire in their hearts, and then beat it back with your fists, so that they can be honest."

Li Bai turned his head with a slightly surprised expression: "You seem to be very confident in Li Chenqiu!"

Ying Yi said without turning his head: "You misunderstood, I just appreciate his behavior."

Li Bai glanced at Ying Yi with a strange look, then turned his head and stopped speaking.

On the field, Li Chenqiu stood calmly in place as he had said, without any emotional fluctuations due to the insults of the crowd.

"How arrogant! Just a clown showing off his power with a spirit artifact. I, Zhou Jiacheng of the Zhou family, will see how much strength you have left without a spirit artifact!"

A young man with narrow features and a tall, thin figure jumped out from the spectator stand, landed on the field with a "bang", and looked at Li Chenqiu with an arrogant expression.

"It's Zhou Jiacheng of the Zhou Consortium!"

"A Seven Forbidden Fated One, a B-grade Elementalist, a ruthless character!"