CHAPTER 76: CHAPTER 76 DOES YOUR FACE HURT?

"You asking me?" Wang Qianfeng, digging at his ear, glanced at He Mingxue with contempt written all over his face.

"Wasn’t the Flame Sword something you taught him? You have the gall to ask me?"

"..."

He Mingxue was choked for words and couldn’t come up with a retort.

The moment Wang Lan’s blade severed the chains, Jin Cheng’s expression finally changed. He hurriedly manipulated the Tungsten Iron wall, raising it to shield himself.

To Wang Lan, this move seemed like a classic blunder. The best defense is offense. Facing my advance, Jin Cheng chose to retreat instead of launching another attack to push me back? The moment Jin Cheng made that choice, he was doomed to lose. How could I miss such a golden opportunity?

With a flicker of his movement technique, Wang Lan instantly closed the distance to Jin Cheng’s Tungsten Iron wall, fiercely thrusting his Flame Sword into it.

"Damn it!" Wang Qianfeng shot up in alarm. How could Wang Lan be so stupid? Jin Cheng isn’t encased in Tungsten Iron; that thrust won’t reach him! Instead, Jin Cheng can counter-attack in an instant. Jin Cheng made a mistake letting Wang Lan get close, but Wang Lan just made an even dumber mistake! Utterly, incredibly stupid!

Jin Cheng was thinking the exact same thing. Seeing the Flame Sword pierce the Tungsten Iron, yet still remain a considerable distance from his body, Jin Cheng smirked. He’d seen people court death before, but never quite like this...

"AH—!"

But just as Jin Cheng placed his hand on the Tungsten Iron, a piercing scream erupted.

The Tungsten Iron was still the same pitch-black, but its temperature had already soared above 200 degrees Celsius.

This scene left everyone utterly perplexed, from the judges on the platform and the host of Star Martial Warriors backstage, to the competition host by the ringside.

"What’s going on here?"

"I get it now."

"The thermal conductivity of Tungsten Iron is over five times that of steel. Although it has a high melting point and isn’t easily melted, it can be heated to such a high temperature that Jin Cheng wouldn’t even be able to touch it. Now I understand what ’Fire Overcomes Metal’ truly means. It’s not just about one method; metal’s inherent thermal conductivity is high. If you heat the metal, even a Gold Attribute Star Martial Warrior hiding inside a metal shell would just be popped like popcorn by a Fire Attribute Star Martial Warrior."

After the bespectacled student finished his explanation, the surrounding spectators showed signs of enlightenment. The young man gently pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. That’s the brilliance of a science student for you.

BOOM—

Wang Lan kicked the Tungsten Iron away and strode toward Jin Cheng.

His Flame Sword, now gripped in both hands, emitted an intimidating cyan fire. As Wang Lan closed in, fear flickered in Jin Cheng’s eyes.

He knew Wang Lan’s close-combat prowess. Jin Cheng had repeatedly watched Wang Lan’s videos and knew that in terms of practical combat skills, he was no match. And Wang Lan was a Fire Attribute Star Martial Warrior who specialized in the Flame Sword. Once Wang Lan got close, defeat was certain. He’d considered activating his Gold Attribute armor, but after what happened with the heated Tungsten Iron, he instantly realized that even if he encased himself in an iron ball, he’d still be roasted by the flames. To withstand such fiery temperatures, he’d need to achieve Elementalization of his body. But... if Jin Cheng possessed that kind of power, why would he even be in this Star Martial Art competition?

"I... I... concede!"

Before Wang Lan even made a move, Jin Cheng suddenly conceded. Not only was Wang Lan baffled by this, but the host was also somewhat at a loss.

"Um... Contestant Jin Cheng, what did you just say? You... concede?"

"Yes, I concede. My attribute is countered by his. I can’t win anyway, so I concede!"

"Cut it out!"

"Acting all high and mighty one second, then chickening out the next. Could you be any more predictable?"

"Damn, I also thought you had no chance against Wolf, but I expected you’d at least struggle a bit! Did you have to fold so completely?"

The audience in the stands immediately began to jeer. They collectively made the same trash gesture Jin Cheng had used earlier, effectively returning the favor.

In Wang Qianfeng’s office, the atmosphere was deathly silent.

After a long while, He Mingxue let out a lengthy sigh. "Old Wang, does your face sting?"

"What do you mean, does my face sting?" Wang Qianfeng, panting heavily, glared murderously at He Mingxue.

"What else could it be? Who was it just now saying Wang Lan’s move was ’unfathomably stupid’? But to me, that move was ingenious. Countering a Gold Attribute Star Martial Warrior with the temperature of the flames—it’s amazing he thought of that. No wonder he’s a good student, applying his knowledge so flexibly."

"What the hell are you so smug about? You didn’t think of it either, did you?"

"I’ve used the principle before, just not in that specific situation. As for why I’m smug... Heh heh heh! The Flame Sword, I taught him that. It feels like Wang Lan’s Flame Sword is much better than his Star Cloud Sword Dance. Is it just my imagination? Strange..."

The match was over, and naturally, it was time for He Mingxue to leave. He stood up leisurely, stretched, and muttered smugly to himself.

Suddenly, he froze mid-step.

He Mingxue sensed an enraged beast behind him, emanating intense murderous intent.

"He Lao’er, you dare show off in front of me? Get your ass to the training grounds! Let me see what you’re really made of!"

"Are you being unreasonable now? Wang Lan’s skill with the Flame Sword proves it suits him. You think I’m like you, hoarding good Star Martial Skills and fobbing him off with that trash Star Cloud Sword Dance?"

"Trash Star Martial Skill? Are you kidding me? That’s a Star Martial Skill passed down in my family! I gave him my ultimate technique, and you call it trash? He Lao’er, don’t you dare run! I’ll chop you to pieces!"

Two figures burst through the window and raced wildly through the Tianjian Bureau headquarters.

"Contestant Jin Cheng has voluntarily conceded! Contestant Wolf successfully advances to the fifth round, securing a spot in the top seven! Let’s give a warm round of applause to Contestant Wolf! And let’s also applaud Contestant Jin Cheng for the exciting match he brought us!"

SHH—

"Successfully advanced to the fifth round. Reward: 3,000 experience points, 250 skill points."

As the host’s voice faded, the system’s notification echoed in Wang Lan’s mind. *You’re* the 250.

"Next, we will proceed to the final match of the fourth round."

The last match of the fourth round concluded quickly. In less than ten minutes, one contestant was defeated by their opponent’s overwhelming strength.

Once all the matches of the fourth round were concluded, it was time for the fifth-round draw. The prize money for the fifth round was 400,000. Whoever drew the bye to advance directly to the semi-finals would be incredibly lucky.

Soon, the results of the fourth-round draw were announced. A Star Martial Warrior named Xing Feng, a favorite for the championship, received the bye. Backstage, at least two Star Martial Warriors secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Next were the pairings for the upcoming three matches. Wang Lan was matched against an Earth Attribute Star Martial Warrior, while Hu Qing drew Chang Shuangyue. Even now, Wang Lan couldn’t gauge Chang Shuangyue’s true strength. So far, Chang Shuangyue had crushed nearly all his opponents. Hu Qing is going to have a tough fight ahead.

「Shortly after Wang Lan left, the TV and internet livestreams began broadcasting the start of his match against Jin Cheng.」

"Go, Wolf!"

"Take him down!"

"Exactly! Did you see the gesture he made at you backstage? If it were me, I wouldn’t have been able to stand it!"

"Whoa, what the heck is that thing he’s carrying?"

"Such a massive slab of iron? Is he planning to forge weapons right here on stage?"

"Who cares what he’s planning? An agile warrior against a heavily armored tank—it’s a surefire win no matter how you look at it."

"Go, Brother Wolf!"

"Girl upstairs, don’t run away!"

When the match officially began, Jin Cheng’s fierce attacks instantly flooded the screen. In that moment, the entire stream of bullet comments vanished. For a full thirty seconds, there was dead silence. Then, suddenly, a torrent of comments erupted.

"Holy crap, that’s a tank? You’re telling me that’s a tank?"

"Yeah, it’s a tank, alright—a tank from the planet Cybertron!"

"Those ranged attacks are insane! Even a Mage would be crying."

"No wonder he dared to provoke Wolf, even knowing how strong Wolf is. Turns out he actually had some tricks up his sleeve."

"To prevent friendly fire, person above, please declare your allegiance! My thirty-meter blade is already halfway out of its sheath!"

"Tricks up his sleeve, my ass! If it weren’t for that coffin lid he’s carrying, Wolf could’ve toyed with him however he wanted!"

"You fanboys up there are exaggerating. Jin Cheng’s control over metal has to be world-class. I’ve never seen a Gold Attribute Star Martial Warrior manipulate metal with such flexibility."

"Jin Cheng is strong, and so is Wolf. Everyone, please exercise some restraint and send fewer comments; it’s disrupting our ability to watch the match."

"Then just turn off the damn comments if they bother you! And hey, you stop commenting too!"

Amidst the uproar, Wang Lan successfully closed in on Jin Cheng. A swift slash of his Flame Sword severed the chains. His fluid and graceful movement technique immediately drew howls from his female admirers.

"So handsome! How can anyone be *that* handsome? This old auntie can’t take it anymore!"

"Auntie, please maintain your dignity! If you really can’t, you can always send me a private message."

The more intense the battle, the more explosive the internet traffic became. Many keyboard warriors had already lost focus on the match itself; their primary source of excitement was engaging in sprawling online flame wars.

When Wang Lan brilliantly used the high temperature of his flames to counter Jin Cheng’s metal control, the comment section exploded with "666."

"This guy is definitely a top student."

"Definitely a science major."

"You idiot! Didn’t you learn about the thermal conductivity of Tungsten Iron in high school? Anyone who isn’t an elementary school kid should know this, right?"

"Oh, please! Like *you* could? In a situation like this, would *you* even remember your high school physics? Put you in that spot, and you probably couldn’t even do basic addition and subtraction!"

"Exactly! During such a high-intensity battle, the brain is entirely focused on movement and evasion. To even think of using thermal conductivity to win, Wolf must have been incredibly calm. My god, did Jin Cheng’s threat not faze him in the slightest?"

"Plus, Jin Cheng publicly gave him a thumbs-down! Wasn’t Wolf even a little bit angry? How could he stay so calm and pull off that incredible counter-play?"

"You’re all amateurs, so you wouldn’t understand. Maintaining absolute composure during combat is a fundamental requirement for any Star Martial Warrior on the battlefield. Those who can’t remain calm end up dead."

"What? Star Martial Warriors can die?!"

"What? Star Martial Warriors go to war?!"

"What? The world of Star Martial Warriors is that brutal?!"

This barrage of comments left some of the Star Martial Warrior keyboard warriors speechless with frustration. Have we been protecting the world *too* well, or something? Do these people really think human civilization is all sunshine and rainbows?

"There’s no such thing as a perfectly peaceful world or a completely tranquil era. You live in peace and prosperity because you were born in a powerful and stable nation. Try living in some smaller, weaker country and see if you’d even know if you’ll survive to see tomorrow!"

"Damn it! He folded instantly!"

"Damn! What happened to all that bravado when you gave him the thumbs-down? You’re just going to fold like that?"

"Jin Cheng, for this fight, I respected you as a true man. But after seeing that, I take it all back."

When the video broadcast reached the part where Jin Cheng didn’t even attempt a final struggle and just raised his hands in surrender, the online comment section absolutely erupted...