As the battle concluded, Lü Yue instantly became the center of attention.
The captains of the observing domain combat squads practically had stars in their eyes.
Although the participants in the Freshman Championship were all newcomers, every single one of them was an elite of their respective academy's combat divisions, with many having immense future potential.
Lü Yue's performance had clearly captured their attention.
Being seasoned front-line warriors, the captains could immediately discern that Lü Yue had mastered the exceptionally challenging art of Sword Momentum.
In their eyes, Lü Yue had already become a hot commodity.
Among the participating students, many were top-tier talents with backgrounds in domain combat squads, like the Xia family brothers and Yan Yue. But a cultivator like Lü Yue, who had achieved mastery in Sword Momentum, was one of a kind.
The audience buzzed with excitement, now eager to see how Lü Yue would fare in the upcoming matches.
"Lü Yue, that was top-tier showing off! Full marks from me!" Lin Ran teased as Lü Yue approached the group.
Lü Yue, with a calm expression, shook his head and replied, "I never show off."
Immediately, a chorus of mock boos erupted around them.
"Keep it up! Keep showing off! Next round, go all in!" Feng Qi said with a wide grin.
Hearing this, Lü Yue hesitated before nodding slightly. "I'll… try my best."
At that moment, the broadcast announced the next match, drawing everyone's attention back to the arena.
The upcoming match was from Group C, pitting Future Academy's Combat Class Six against Victory Academy's combat team.
Victory Academy had only entered one team in the competition, but all 60 of its members were among the cream of the crop. The class was widely regarded as this year's favorite to win the championship.
From the start, Victory Academy's team demonstrated unparalleled teamwork. Their performance was nothing short of a crushing victory.
Particularly noteworthy was their team captain, a bespectacled and otherwise unremarkable student.
Despite being a spiritual cultivator, he charged alongside his teammates, weaving through the battlefield with fluid ease. While facing off against three tank-class warriors, he remained composed, evading their strikes and drawing spiritual talismans with a flick of his fingers. Each talisman he unleashed incapacitated an opponent instantly.
The battle ended in less than ten minutes, with Victory Academy's combat team securing the Group C victory by an overwhelming margin.
This was followed by matches from Groups D, E, and F.
Group D featured an internal competition between Star City Academy's classes, with Class Six emerging victorious.
Though Star City Academy's combat division wasn't particularly renowned, the match received an enthusiastic response from the audience, who applauded the winning team warmly.
The standout match of this round was Group F's battle.
Winterfell Academy's Combat Class One showcased their infamous "reckless warrior" style.
As the number one seed and the favorite to win the championship, Winterfell's Combat Class One fielded an entire team of physically dominant, melee-oriented fighters—without a single spiritual cultivator.
The match began with their captain leading a charge straight into Old Day Academy's battle formation. Using brute force, they effortlessly tore through their opponents, knocking them down one by one in a violent display of power.
Winterfell Academy's other distinguishing feature was their ruthlessness.
Their attacks were so ferocious that several of Old Day Academy's students were knocked unconscious and left unable to stand.
With the top six teams decided, the tournament entered its midday break.
During this time, the busiest people were the medical teams stationed outside the arena, continuously transporting injured participants for emergency treatment.
Those with minor injuries were sent to Victory Academy's recovery pods for physical repair and rejuvenation, ensuring they could return to the competition in the afternoon.
After lunch, Feng Qi led his students back to the preparation area beside the arena.
By this time, the seating areas on both sides of the arena were packed with Victory Academy students, with even the aisles crowded by onlookers eager to watch the matches.
The home-field advantage was palpable. When Victory Academy's combat team arrived at the preparation area, they were greeted with thunderous applause and cheers that shook the entire arena.
"Qi-ge, if we actually beat Victory Academy's team here, do you think we'd get mobbed?" Lin Ran whispered, leaning toward Feng Qi.
Feng Qi responded with a nonchalant smile, "You can stay behind and hold them off while we run."
"I'll protect you all," Mu Qing declared, raising a fist with a serious expression.
"Please don't, Mu Qing-jie. Your punches are scarier than a mob. I'd rather get beaten up than be accused of murder," Lin Ran quickly conceded, waving his hands in mock surrender.
Half an hour later, the referee appeared, and the broadcast announced the next match.
"Winterfell Academy Combat Class Three, please proceed to the stage for preparation."
"Star City Academy Combat Class Three, please proceed to the stage for preparation."
Feng Qi looked at Lü Yue and the others as they stood up.
"Give it your all."
"Don't worry, Qi-ge, we'll win for sure," Xu Hongyun replied with a determined expression.
Moments later, the two teams stepped onto the stage.
The referee quickly reiterated the rules before stepping off the arena.
Both teams moved to their respective sides of the stage as the signal gun fired, marking the start of the battle.
Having witnessed Lü Yue's overwhelming display in the previous round, Winterfell Academy's Combat Class Three had prepared extensively to counter him. Their frontline fighters immediately formed a human wall, intending to block his sword qi.
At the same time, their support team rapidly drew protective spells, erecting multiple spiritual energy barriers at the front of their formation.
"Lü Yue, can you handle this alone? If you can, we'll just sit back and watch," Hui Xu joked from the sideline.
"Let's see," Lü Yue replied simply.
He stepped forward, and the air around him began to distort as sword qi condensed.
With a wave of his hand, sharp, frigid sword qi surrounded him, crisscrossing in all directions and leaving deep grooves in the ground.
Seeing Lü Yue advancing alone, the members of Winterfell Academy's team grew visibly angry.
Though they knew Lü Yue was powerful, his solo approach felt like an insult to their abilities.
Five melee fighters stepped forward, aiming to engage Lü Yue in close combat and test his resilience under pressure.
However, before the five approaching Winterfell Academy students could get close to Lü Yue, a sharp pain shot through their foreheads.
Moments later, thin streams of blood began trickling down their faces.
"I held back. Step down. Just consider yourselves dead," Lü Yue said calmly.
"We're not dead!" one of the students shouted defiantly.
"Oh? Do you want me to truly finish the job?" Lü Yue asked, his voice carrying an icy edge.
"I…" The student hesitated, his defiance replaced with bitterness. After a brief pause, he lowered his head and retreated without another word.
Seeing their five teammates concede, the captain of Winterfell's Class Three scowled in frustration and let out an enraged roar.
The supporting members, who had already prepared their spell trajectories, immediately launched their attacks, guiding their magic toward Lü Yue with sharp precision.
Faced with the wave of incoming spells, Lü Yue remained unfazed.
With a simple flick of his wrist, he drew a strand of condensed Sword Intent from the surrounding sword energy. Pointing it skyward, the Sword Intent surged upward like a hurricane, shredding the incoming spells into fragments.
The battlefield was showered with a rain of multicolored spiritual energy shards, glittering like a surreal storm.
Lü Yue waved his hand again, sending the concentrated Sword Intent forward like a blazing arc of white light. The wave cleaved through the spiritual energy barriers protecting Winterfell Academy's formation, reducing them to nothing. The Sword Intent stopped just short of the neck of Winterfell's Class Three captain.
"If this were a battlefield, you'd already be dead," Lü Yue stated with chilling finality.
The captain froze, his face twisting into a bitter smile. Finally, he nodded and said, "We've lost."
The entire arena erupted into chaos. Applause thundered from the audience, drowning out all other sounds.
In this new world, where the strong were revered, Lü Yue's performance had won over every spectator in attendance.
Meanwhile, off to the side of the stage, Xu Hongyun wore a dejected expression.
"I really wanted to join the fight. Why do we feel like nothing more than Lü Yue's background props? We're completely useless," Xu lamented.
Hui Xu laughed and slung an arm around Xu Hongyun's shoulder. Pinching Xu's chubby cheeks, he said teasingly, "You're like a classic overdramatic teenager. Can't you be mature like me? If you can slack off, never work hard. If you can be a background character, never aim for the spotlight."
Xu Hongyun struggled free and retorted, "No way!"
The referee's voice echoed through the arena, officially announcing the result of the battle.
Lü Yue turned and walked off the stage, rejoining his team.
Watching this, Feng Qi and Lin Ran exchanged knowing smiles.
Lü Yue's strength was overwhelming—it was no exaggeration to call his performance a dimensional suppression.
With his current abilities, Lü Yue could easily be a core member of any top-tier domain combat squad. Competing in the Freshman Championship with such power was like watching an adult compete in a children's race.
At this moment, Lü Yue had become the focal point of everyone's attention.
Next was the second match of the C-D group. Victory Academy faced Star City Academy's Combat Class Six.
This match was over in the blink of an eye. Star City's Class Six couldn't muster any meaningful resistance against Victory Academy, and the battle ended in just five minutes.
The E-F group match followed.
Once again, Winterfell Academy's Combat Class One demonstrated their ferocious style of combat.
Several members of their opponent's team left the stage with bleeding head wounds, the brutality of the match shocking the audience.
"You guys from Winterfell are way too violent," Feng Qi said, turning to Lin Ran after witnessing the carnage.
Lin Ran shrugged, not appearing the least bit surprised. "That's just how it is. On our first day at the academy, our teachers taught us one principle: as a warrior, you must cultivate at least a hint of ruthlessness. Only a truly fierce fighter can withstand the harshness of reality and unleash their full strength. If you're softhearted, you don't belong in Winterfell Academy. This is a haven for beasts—only the fiercest among them can secure a place here."
Hearing this, Feng Qi was stunned.
It was no wonder Winterfell's training environment was notoriously harsh.
He suddenly remembered something a driver from Star City had once told him—that many Winterfell graduates had multiple girlfriends.
Turning to Lin Ran, Feng Qi asked curiously, "Aren't you like a campus idol at Winterfell? How many girlfriends do you have?"
Caught off guard, Lin Ran froze. "None. Why would you ask that?"
"Zero? Ugh, trash!" Feng Qi mimicked the driver's mocking tone, shaking his head in disdain.
Lin Ran: "…"
At this point, the top three teams were decided.
It was time for the next draw. Feng Qi stepped up as the representative to draw lots.
Unfortunately, Star City wasn't lucky enough to get a bye.
Their next opponent was Victory Academy.
Meanwhile, Winterfell Academy's musclebound team drew the bye.
Half an hour later, the broadcast announced the next match, and Lü Yue led his teammates onto the stage.
Before the battle began, Cai Guo applied several augmentation buffs on Lü Yue. Meanwhile, Xia Long and the others surrounded Yang Xiaoxin to provide protection, leaving Lü Yue to act as the sole offensive force.
When the signal gun fired, the battle commenced.
This time, the fight wasn't as easy as before.
Without unsheathing his sword, Lü Yue's every sweep of sword energy was immediately neutralized by the Victory Academy captain using spiritual talismans to immobilize the attack, while the rest of the team dispersed the residual energy.
However, the difficulty was relative. Once Lü Yue became serious, releasing dozens of sword energy waves in succession, the Victory Academy captain decisively chose to admit defeat.
When the referee declared the result of the match, the crowd erupted into thunderous applause and cheers. Yet, there were no signs of unrest.
After this battle, Feng Qi found himself filled with mixed emotions.
He realized that he had still underestimated Lü Yue's current combat prowess—this was Lü Yue holding back, not even unsheathing his sword.
His brilliance completely overshadowed his teammates, turning them into mere bystanders.
The happiest among them was undoubtedly Hui Xu, who was thoroughly content with not having to lift a finger. He wore the demeanor of someone leisurely biding his time.
The final match began after a one-hour break.
Before the decisive battle, medical staff attended to Lü Yue and his teammates, offering to delay the start of the match if necessary.
However, Lü Yue and his team immediately declined.
They had expended little energy throughout the competition and saw no need for additional recovery time.
When the two final teams stepped onto the stage, the arena erupted in deafening cheers.
The signal gun fired, marking the start of the championship battle.
Beyond the arena, the livestream chatrooms were abuzz with activity.
Lü Yue's performance had left viewers astounded. While marveling at his sheer power, they enthusiastically cast their popularity votes for him, crowning Lü Yue as the "Fan Favorite" of the Freshman Championship.
With three matches, Lü Yue had single-handedly carried Star City Academy's Combat Class Three into the finals, earning him the moniker "Godlike Teammate" among the online audience.
Lü Yue's name was now trending across all platforms.
Meanwhile, the domain combat squad captains in the audience were already preparing their recruitment pitches for Lü Yue.
The final match, as expected, was yet another solo performance by Lü Yue.
As the battle began, Winterfell Academy's Combat Class One once again opted for their signature "brute-force group charge" strategy.
They quickly closed the gap between themselves and Lü Yue, who was calmly walking forward.
Unexpectedly, not all members rushed toward Lü Yue. A portion of the team split off and headed straight for Hui Xu and the others.
Seeing this, Xu Hongyun clenched his fists in defiance, while Hui Xu turned pale as a ghost.
Winterfell's strategy was brutally simple:
If they couldn't defeat Lü Yue, they'd target his teammates, forcing them to surrender.
Once the teammates conceded, not even Lü Yue's overwhelming strength could salvage the situation.
Feng Qi watched this play unfold, stunned.
The scene that followed was nothing short of brutal.
Hui Xu and the other nine members were surrounded by Winterfell's burly warriors, enduring a relentless barrage of punches and kicks.
Watching this, Lü Yue could only intensify his efforts, unleashing sword energy to knock out the Winterfell students surrounding him one by one.
Meanwhile, to buy time for Lü Yue, Hui Xu and the others resorted to rolling across the ground, trying to evade the relentless onslaught.
Winterfell's students were careful not to inflict fatal injuries, but they specifically targeted painful areas, determined to wear them down until they gave up.
Barely able to speak through his swollen face, Xu Hongyun turned to his classmates and said hoarsely, "Brothers… We… can't drag Lü Yue down… Keep fighting!"
Inspired by his words, the others gritted their teeth and held their ground.
Among them, Hui Xu's voice rang out the loudest, echoing across the arena:
"Why are you grabbing there? I'll kill you for this!"
"Who's kicking my ass again? I curse your family's descendants to be born without XX!"
"Not the face, brothers! I make my living with this face!"
…
From arrogant insults to desperate pleas, Hui Xu's remarks both incited and entertained, drawing much of the enemy's focus toward him.
Finally, after a prolonged struggle, Lü Yue finished dispatching his opponents and came to their rescue, knocking out the remaining Winterfell fighters.
The referee announced the end of the championship match, and the crowd exploded into applause.
This victory for Combat Class Three could only be described as a "bitter win."
Looking at Hui Xu and the others being carried away on stretchers, their faces swollen and bruised beyond recognition, Feng Qi felt a wave of embarrassment wash over him.
That was truly brutal.