574 Chapter 574: The Final Opponen

Zheng Ying Shou smacked him across the head.

"What do you mean by 'intermediate'?" he snapped, annoyed. "We don't use such terminology here! Are you mixing our universe up with Versatile Mage?"

"So what if it is?" Wang Chui Niu retorted. "All Chinese webnovels are rip-offs of each other! Have you ever read Chinese webnovels? Read 10 different books of the same genre, and you'll find out that they are all identical to each other. Whether it's a person who travels to an apocalyptic future, or urban cultivation stories, or generic cultivation stories, or CEO stories or whatever, their narratives are all the same! It's always about the whole world trying to kill the main character for no reason other than because he's the main character or she's the female lead, and he or she goes around slapping people's faces because he or she can. Originality is dead. Perhaps we are being more blatant about it, but if you want to accuse us of plagiarism, you should go and look at all the other Chinese webnovels that are essentially copies of each other."

Everyone stared at him for a moment, realizing that he was perhaps still depressed after the whole ordeal with his Skeletal Vulture. Perhaps he was so psychologically shocked that he ended up sounding like a madman (though he was just breaking the fourth wall), so they decided to just let it go and return their attention to the present.

"If even Hei Cang Feng is no match for Richard, then who is?" Hai Da Pang asked.

"We might just do it!" Kanon Fodder cheered, tears leaking from his eyes.

While my classmates engaged in nonsensical dialogue, my Celestial Guardians were going on a rampage and eliminating more opponents. Yi Ya was kept busy by the unceasing flow of casualties, her team tirelessly casting healing spell after healing spell. I felt sorry for her, but I didn't stop. Not when I was so close to my goal.

I couldn't stop, not just because of pride but also to make a statement. Anyone who insulted me or looked down on me, I wanted to demonstrate to them once and for all that they were mistaken. Well, I guess this was the famous face-slapping trope? Not that I intended to actually slap anyone, but it was infuriating to get called trash over and over again for no reason other than because I was the protagonist and therefore everyone had a bone to pick with me.

Glancing up at the holographic screen above, a smile crossed my lips. I had finally defeated 148 people, which brought our totally tally up to 195. Five more opponents to go.

The fucker had it easy. I was the one fighting all this time. There were bruises and cuts on my body from stray spells, and I was heaving from exhaustion because I was expending an exponential amount of mana to maintain the existence of my high-level Celestial Guardians. I probably couldn't maintain them for another thirty or so minutes. I was nearing my limits.

I really had to get this bullshit demonstration match done and over with.

"Holy fuck!" Hai Da Pang exclaimed in delight, clenching his fist. "We're actually going to win all of the resources from the other departments! I can't believe that Richard is carrying us all by himself!"

"Don't be delusional," Wang Chui Niu snapped sourly, his arms folded. "We'll only be receiving the resources that have been allocated to us in the first place. All of the resources that Richard won will be given to him alone. Get your facts right before you start celebrating prematurely."

"Yeah," Zheng Ying Shou said with a conciliatory smile, even as Hai Da Pang sagged gloomily at the revelation.

The next group – four mages working in concert – was also no match for the Scorched Earth spell from Vermillion Phoeni and Golden Kirin. I had the both of them turn the ground into molten lava, which swallowed up the group of screaming mages. Zhang had to use quite a powerful telekinetic spell to yank the poor dudes out of the molten lava and toss them over to Yi Ya and the healing team.

Simply put, they were in such bad shape that it hurt just to look at them. I might have gone overboard, but at this point, I couldn't care less. I was so exhausted that I wanted the whole thing to end already. Bending over, I placed my hands on my thighs and struggled to catch my breath. My vision was swimming and I was feeling heady. This was a clear sign of mana deficiency and spiritual exhaustion. I was nearing my limits.

However, I was so close. Just one more match! One more!

Glancing up again, I saw the figures displayed across the huge holographic screen. I had finally defeated 152 people, which brought our total tally to 199 people. That was incredible.

"Impressive!"

Dean Xiao stood up and applauded. He inclined his head in my direction and smiled.

"Richard has defeated 199 people so far, and he's just one person away from reaching the target and claiming the resources from all the other departments! However, before you challenge him, allow me to offer a piece of advice."

Everyone went quiet and listened with bated breath, watching the bald dean speak. He continued affably.

"There is no longer any point in trying to wear him out through attrition or human waves. Richard has proven beyond a doubt that quality is better than quantity. Therefore, unless you are confident in your own abilities as a mage and think you can fight evenly with him, then you probably shouldn't challenge him. Having courage to confront impossible odds is indeed commendable, but do not confuse it with recklessness. Don't challenge him for the sake of challenging him or you will risk losing everything."

While he spoke, there was a murmur in the crowd. Among the spectators, a single chubby fella slammed his fist against his seat.

"Damn it!" Xing Er Song cursed. "It's my fault for going in too early and not bothering to fight him!"

His eyes narrowed and he glared at me hatefully.

"Otherwise…even if I have to use up all of my spirit equipment and mystical gear, I will do everything within my power to beat him!"

And whose fault was that? Hah! Serve you right, you dumbass. Acting cool and showing off, only to fall flat on your face when you realize it was too late. Trying to make my life difficult, eh? Seemed like he was regretting it now.

"That said, I'm sure there are still talented mages among you who definitely possess the strength to challenge Richard." Dean Xiao smiled knowingly. "So if you don't mind stepping up…"

"I will."

There was a collective gasp as the gazes of all the spectators in the stadium turned to settle upon Lilith Porter. She was standing up in the VIP box, a hand on her hip. Beside her, her grandfather looked at her in approval, a smile on his face.

"That person…" Zhao Zi Jun's eyes widened in recognition.

"It's her!" Hei Cang Feng said, looking relieved.

Descending the stairs, Lilith Porter proceeded down to the battle cage, raising her other hand coolly.

"I wish to challenge him."

"Lilith Porter! It's Lilith Porter! The goddess of Vermillion is going in!"

"We might stand a chance after all!"

"Amazing! A battle between the very best…!"

"I heard they had a duel before…sometime last year, was it? Now it's a rematch!"

"The goddess must want revenge for her loss last year then."

"Isn���t she also a summoner? Will she be summoning her Hellfire Bear to deal with Richard's Soul Beasts?"

"Of course she will! A summoner versus summoner! Even though she chose to major in the fire element instead of the summoning department, there's no rules that says she's not allowed to use summoning magic!"

"This battle will be quite the treat!"

There was a loud chatter among the spectators as Lilith Porter strolled into the cage and walked into the arena before turning to face me. I watched her quietly for a while, even as my Celestial Guardians tensed and waited for my order. However, I held them back.

"It's been a while, hasn't it?" I asked, trying to hide my exhaustion but failing to do so. Lilith met my gaze evenly, her eyes as frosty as ever. I could sense the immense strength coiling within her lithe body. No doubt she had leveled up over the past year. I knew she was pretty strong and I didn't want to fight her if I could help it.

"Yeah. Are you ready for a rematch?"

"Not really, but…let's do this. But first…" I took a deep breath and held both my hands up. "I'll wait for you."

"Hmm?" Lilith's brow wrinkled in confusion. "Wait for me? What do you mean?"

"Your Hellfire Bear," I replied wearily. "I will wait for you to summon it."

"How kind of you," she said sarcastically. Now it was my turn to frown.

"Kind? Consider it a professional courtesy." I jabbed my thumb at my Celestial Guardians. "We summoners were allowed to summon our Soul Beasts before the match. It allowed us an advantage. I am extending that gesture to you, a fellow summoner. Otherwise it'll be unfair."

"Unfair, you say?" Lilith smirked and raised her hand. A gust of ferocious wind blew violently around her palm before transforming into a massive storm. Cold fury filled her eyes. "Don't underestimate me. I don't need you to offer me any sort of advantage or courtesy! I can beat you even without my Hellfire Bear! Let's start the fight!"

I watched a massive tornado swirl around her, whirling rapidly with fearsome power. My Celestial Guardians scattered and I retreated, instinctively knowing that if I get sucked into that whirlwind, I would lose consciousness. I no longer had the stamina or durability to endure such a ferocious blow, especially after the consecutive battles against 152 other people.

At that moment, I understood why Lilith was mad at me. She was aware of my beleaguered and battered condition, aware that I had been stretched to my very limits and exhausted after so many matches. Yet here I was, offering her an advantage and a chance to summon her trump card. She probably read that as arrogance. Or maybe she was just angry that I didn't consider my own battered state.

Whatever the case, I backed away from the tornado, refusing to allow it to devour me. I needed to stay as far away from it as possible.

Still, I was impressed. From what I remembered, Lilith was a fire mage. Yet now she was casting wind magic. That was impressive. It also reminded me of some other Lily from another story, who used her wind element to enhance the power of her Inferno Bear or something. Wang Chui Niu was right, all Chinese webnovel authors were just ripping off each other, all right. Ugh…

"Did you think I was only limited to fire magic?" Lilith asked with a smirk before hurling a wind blade at me, which I dodged. Above, Vermillion Phoenix launched his fiery feathers at her. At the same time, Golden Kirin bombarded her with earth spikes from below, but she blew all of the projectiles away with her impenetrable tornado. "I have been diversifying my skill set. Of course, it hasn't been easy – trying to master two different elements at the same time instead of focusing on one…only the most talented of mages are capable of pulling it off."

She then incinerated a burst of vines from Green Dragon with a fire spell, as well as melting the icicles that Black Tortoise fired at her. White Tiger's lightning bolts crackled and sizzled, but they were kept at bay by her tornado.

Lilith then smiled cunningly and swung her hand, expanding her whirlwind to engulf all five of my Celestial Guardians at a go.