Volume 3: Global Vanguard & The Advanced Pinnacle
Chapter 216
Opening of the Semifinal of the Century
The brilliant dawn cast a layer of magnificent gold over the entire Bay of St. Mark.
Waves of turquoise seawater lapped rhythmically against the pristine white marble breakwaters, reflecting the early morning sunlight of Southern Europe. But today, the atmosphere in the floating city of Venice lacked even a shred of its usual tranquility. Instead, a suffocating, churning pressure hung in the air, resembling a gigantic volcanic crater on the verge of erupting with magma right in the middle of the open sea.
The Venice Ocean Coliseum—the architectural marvel of magic floating upon the surface of the sea—swung open all of its colossal arched gates today.
More than 120,000 seats across the elliptical tiered stands were packed completely solid since the predawn hours. The roaring cheers, the sound of magical vuvuzelas, and battle drums from hundreds of nations blended together, forming a majestic, subterranean sonic wave that shook the entire gulf.
Within the VIP honorary seating area, the atmosphere radiated absolute luxury and noble prestige.
Hundreds of deep red velvet chairs trimmed with pure gold thread were filled to capacity by the supreme figures of the global magical realm. In the central row, high-ranking council members of the Holy Judgment Temple wore sparkling ceremonial robes; beside them sat the dignified elders of the Lightning Twin Towers and the delegation of the European Magic Association holding towering scepters embedded with magic stones emitting a deep violet halo.
Most notably, occupying a vast swath of the western stands was the noble delegation of the British Empire.
Hundreds of dukes, earls, and ancient magical families of the foggy isle had gathered in full force, every single one attired in formal royal dress, their chest badges cast in pure gold and tiger-eye stone. The corners of their lips maintained a composed smile, yet their eyes brimmed with the deeply ingrained arrogance of a magical empire that had reigned over the pinnacle of the world for centuries. In their eyes, the British team’s presence in the semifinals was not a surprise, but a matter of course for a monarch arriving to reclaim the crown that rightfully belonged to him.
“Just look at those Easterners over there,” a silver-haired lord from the Lancaster family softly raised his crystal wine glass, his low voice carrying a trace of covert mockery: “A rookie team that barely squeezed through the group stage thanks to a few lucky strategies. Today, under the royal light of Prince Arthur, they will understand the gap between a centuries-old empire and a rising upstart.”
Soft, approving chuckles immediately rippled around him.
Yet, in stark contrast to the complacency of the Western nobility, on the other hemisphere of the globe, the entire nation of Shenzhou was entering a sleepless morning.
From the bustling boulevards of the capital, the financial hub of Shanghai, to distant coastal cities, hundreds of millions of people held their breath as they watched the small screens. Thousands of giant LED screens in central plazas broadcasted live feeds of every frame from Venice. University lecture halls, military barracks, and quiet street corners alike were draped in the red flag with five golden stars.
For the first time in the history of participating in the planet’s supreme tournament, a generation of young mages from Shenzhou had trampled every doubt, tearing apart the steel fortress of the German team to proudly step into the world’s top four! Today’s battle was the resounding declaration of an ancient civilization after millennia of sedimentation, now rising to confront the Western overlord head-on!
“BOOM! BOOM! BOOM...!”
At exactly eight-thirty, twelve magical cannons positioned on the offshore watchtowers roared in unison!
Clusters of five-colored magical fireworks soared thousands of yards into the high sky, bursting into the shape of a gigantic laurel crown casting its reflection down upon the sea surface.
The loudspeakers of the international referee echoed across the space:
“Respected guests and fans around the world! The first semifinal of the World Youth Mage Tournament officially begins!”
“Entering the arena from the Southern gate: The defending runner-up team—THE BRITISH EMPIRE!”
“ROAAAAAAR!”
A roar erupted from the Western stands like a crashing wave!
The dark granite archway swung wide open. Five imposing figures strode out onto the floating battle bridge.
They wore snow-white battle robes inlaid with exquisite pure gold, their backs draped in deep red velvet cloaks embroidered with the Royal Three Lions crest using glittering magic-gold thread. Every step they took exuded a noble, kingly aura and absolute arrogance.
Leading the charge was Captain Arthur—hailed across the Old Continent with the moniker “Prince of Light.”
Arthur possessed flowing, golden-blond hair and exquisitely chiseled facial features like a sculpture. His azure-blue eyes carried a condescending gaze sweeping across the stands like an emperor touring his dominion. In his right hand, a short silver scepter inlaid with a dazzling Holy Light magic stone continuously emitted pure energy waves, causing the surrounding space to warp under the influence of light and spatial order.
Walking right beside Arthur was Eileen—a true princess of the British royal family, possessing a haughty, elegant beauty with porcelain skin and deep ocean-blue eyes, wielding two fluctuating elemental attributes: Spiritual and Water.
Behind them were Richard, who wielded the violent Lightning Element of the royal guards with broad shoulders and hawk-like piercing eyes; William, the graceful Wind Element master whose speed rivaled a streak of lightning; and Charles, the Light Healing mage carrying a holy jade-inlaid scepter.
The British Empire team stood in a straight line on the southern half of the arena, radiating an overwhelming aura resembling an unshakeable fortress of solid gold.
“And next... Entering the arena from the Northern gate: The Eastern team—SHENZHOU!”
As the loudspeaker fell silent, the entire northern stand and millions of expatriates present at the scene instantly erupted into roaring cheers:
“SHENZHOU! CHAMPIONS! SHENZHOU! UNDEFEATED!”
The northern gate slowly opened.
The five members of the Shenzhou team stepped out beneath the brilliant sunlight. There were no flashy cloaks, no ostentatious pure gold jewelry or noble crests. They wore pitch-black combat uniforms trimmed with deep golden threads embroidered with winding divine dragon motifs. Simple, neat, but exuding a sedimented, razor-sharp killing intent like an ancient blade just unsheathed!
Lin Feng strode at the very front.
He wore a black jacket with two collar buttons undone, his posture straight as a spear planted between heaven and earth. After a night of fully absorbing the Soul Essence of the Eight-Desolation Giant Whale, Lin Feng’s aura had reached the Half-Step Advanced Perfection state. All of his terrifying pressure was completely restrained deep within his Dantian, making him look like a treasured sword resting silently in its scabbard, emitting not a fraction of magical ripples. Yet, anyone who looked straight into his deep black eyes could feel the stillness of the deep sea abyss before a raging storm!
Flanking him were Ye Lingtian with a solid, mountain-like build, his forearms wearing a pair of ancient rock wrist-guards; Han Yue in blue-snow robes, the chilling aura radiating around her turning the damp mist on the arena floor into snowflakes the moment it touched the heels of her boots; Ye Qingyuan, graceful and ethereal, her high-tied long hair gently swaying with the emerald wind swirling around her wrists; and Xie Zhaoyuan, a faint, shifting figure lurking within the shadows.
When the two teams halted at the central boundary, Arthur and Lin Feng’s gazes met mid-air.
The air on the floating arena seemed to instantly freeze!
The corners of Arthur’s lips twitched upward into an arrogant smile. He raised his chin, speaking in the flawless English of the royal nobility, his voice cutting through the amplification magic to echo across the surroundings:
“Captain Lin Feng, I concede that you’ve had an impressive journey. But the Eastern game of chance ends here. Before the royal light of the British Empire, all your efforts are merely the antics of fools who have never seen the light of civilization.”
Arthur’s condescending, blatantly provocative words caused tens of thousands of Western spectators in the stands to laugh with amusement, unceasing whistles of encouragement ringing out.
Facing such arrogance, Lin Feng’s expression did not waver in the slightest. He slowly slid one hand into his pocket, his dark eyes locking straight onto Arthur’s proud blue pupils, speaking in a calm yet thunderous tone echoing like a bronze bell across a valley:
“Save the redundant words to argue with the media after the match. The magic arena speaks with strength, not with family crests embroidered on cloaks.”
Arthur’s pupils constricted slightly, the smile on his lips vanishing, replaced by a sharp chill blanketing his handsome face.
At that exact moment, the chief referee—a Forbidden Mage from the International Magic Federation—descended from mid-air to ten meters above the water surface. The gigantic floating magical hourglass in the middle of the arena began to shed its final glowing grains of sand.
“Both teams, take your positions!”
“Prepare...”
“MATCH BEGINS!”
“BANG!”
The moment the starting command dropped, Arthur didn’t hesitate for even half a second!
He wanted to crush the resilience of the Shenzhou team from the very first second, to show the entire world the absolute power of the British royal family!
The silver scepter in Arthur’s hand swung violently toward the high sky, a string of archaic syllables thundering from his chest:
“Holy Light Domain—ROYAL LIGHT REALM!”
“RUMBLE... RUMBLE... RUMBLE!”
The sky above the Ocean Coliseum violently shook instantly!
The sun seemed blocked by a gigantic golden magical vortex spanning five hundred meters in diameter. From the core of the vortex, thousands of blindingly bright golden pillars of light struck straight down onto the arena and the surrounding water surface, resembling divine swords from heaven plunging into the heart of the sea!
Royal Light Realm—the exclusive Holy Light Domain of the British royal bloodline!
The very moment the golden light enveloped the entire arena, the Fire, Ice, Earth, and Lightning elements in the air were instantly scorched, weakening by nearly thirty percent! Conversely, upon the five members of the British Empire team, their gold-inlaid battle robes and royal magical artifacts were nourished by the light, instantly bursting forth with brilliant halos, their overall combat power skyrocketing by more than fifty percent!
“Good heavens! Complete Magic Domain of Lord Arthur!”
The international commentator yelled excitedly into the mic: “Unexpectedly, right on the very first strike, the Prince of Light has unleashed the Royal Light Realm! The Team Shenzhou has completely fallen into the death zone of the Holy Light! All of their ordinary elemental magic has been severely weakened!”
In the VIP stands, the British nobles began raising their glasses with triumphant smiles. Throughout the history of the tournaments, no opponent had ever managed to hold out for more than ten minutes inside Arthur’s Royal Light Realm!
But the suppression by the British Empire did not stop there!
The instant the Domain formed, Eileen lightly tapped her slender finger into the void. An invisible, bewitching wave of spiritual power pierced through space, shooting straight toward the five members of Shenzhou:
“Spiritual Manipulation—MIRROR OF ILLUSIONS!”
“WHOOSH!”
The space surrounding the Shenzhou formation twisted strangely. Before their eyes, the images of the five British team members suddenly split into dozens of shifting illusions hard to distinguish, their positions and distances completely inverted. The sound of waves and howling wind in their ears was also manipulated by the spiritual waves, creating ultra-realistic hallucinations that disoriented the senses of those struck!
“Finish them off!” Richard laughed savagely.
Seizing the moment the opponents were held back by the spiritual illusions, Richard and William immediately coordinated their assault with the terrifying fluency of the imperial military:
“Wind Blade—HOWLING WIND FANG!”
William waved both hands, the cyan wind under the enhancement of the Holy Light Domain turning into a roaring gale like a wild beast. Hundreds of sharp golden wind blades tore through the air, flying in intricate curved arcs to savagely assault Shenzhou’s right flank!
Simultaneously, Richard stamped hard onto the floor, his Lightning Element arm-guards erupting with dazzling lightning:
“Furious Lightning—IMPERIAL DYNASTY LIGHTNING!”
Wind borrowed the momentum of thunder, thunder rode upon the wake of wind!
Golden bolts of lightning tightly coiled around William’s wind-blade vortex, forming a massive wind-lightning python over thirty meters long that roared as it tore apart the sea-foam stone flooring, lunging straight toward Ye Lingtian and Han Yue with terrifying speed!
Triple combo offensive: Domain Suppression, Spiritual Disruption, and backup Wind-Lightning kill-strike!
The entire process took place in a mere three seconds since the starting whistle blew! The speed of execution and brutality of the British Empire left the entire audience breathless. A preemptive strike leaving the opponent no chance to retaliate whatsoever!
The giant screen zoomed in on the faces of the five Shenzhou team members standing amidst the encirclement of golden light and spiritual illusions. Millions of Shenzhou hearts tightened in anguish.
Yet, reality was entirely contrary to what the opponents imagined!
Eileen’s Spiritual Manipulation wave had just touched Lin Feng’s sea of consciousness when the Archaic Dragon Talisman on his chest gently vibrated an invisible beat. The supreme archaic aura resembled a towering divine mountain, instantly crushing and pulverizing Eileen’s entire spiritual wave into ashes! For someone possessing spiritual power at the Half-Step Advanced level and protected by an archaic divine artifact like Lin Feng, this sort of spiritual parlor trick was nothing more than showing off one’s clumsiness before an expert!
He saw right through all the illusory phantoms, accurately locking onto the true position of the incoming wind-lightning python!
“Wake up!”
Lin Feng shouted softly! His shout carried mental-shaking magical energy, sounding like a giant temple bell ringing in the ears of his four teammates, instantly shattering the illusory fog in their minds!
Han Yue, Ye Qingyuan, Ye Lingtian, and Xie Zhaoyuan snapped awake in unison, their expressions returning to sharp, icy focus!
“Qingyuan break the wind, Lingtian raise the wall, Han Yue seal the water surface!” Lin Feng’s command rang out crisply and decisively like a blade severing iron!
“Understood!”
Without a single redundant motion, Shenzhou’s counter-offensive defense immediately operated with absolute precision!
Ye Qingyuan stepped half a step forward, the wind-spirit feather on her wrist glowing brilliantly. Her jade hands rotated in a Tai Chi trajectory, the soft yet incredibly resilient emerald wind instantly sweeping horizontally:
“Wind Wall—COUNTER-CURRENT WIND VORTEX!”
Ye Qingyuan’s counter-current wind did not collide head-on with William’s wind blades, but skillfully threaded into the vortex’s core, bending the trajectory of hundreds of wind blades to deflect straight out toward the sea!
At the same time, Ye Lingtian let out a thunderous roar! His stone-armored hands slammed straight down onto the arena floor:
“Rock Demon—NINE-FOLD ROCK WALL!”
“RUMBLE! RUMBLE! RUMBLE! RUMBLE...!”
The stone floor shook violently! Nine pitch-black basalt rock walls, each over half a meter thick, rose consecutively from the deep sea, forming an incomparably sturdy bow-shaped defensive fortress!
“BOOOOM!”
Richard and William’s Wind-Lightning python savagely crashed into the Nine-Fold Rock Wall! Flying rubble scattered everywhere, golden lightning crazily gnawed at the stone face, shattering the first, second, and sixth walls in succession! But by the seventh rock wall, the entire power of the wind-lightning combined strike was completely exhausted, dissipating into dying sparks in the air!
Perfect interception!
The 120,000 spectators in the stands gasped in unison! The seemingly foolproof combined lightning strike of the British team was neatly neutralized by the Shenzhou team!
The smile on Richard’s face instantly stiffened. Eileen’s pupils contracted slightly, a surge of overwhelming astonishment rising in her heart: Her spiritual magic... was broken in less than a second?!
“A bunch of trash!”
Arthur coldly cursed. He realized the probing attack had failed, and he could no longer stand idly by!
“Swish!”
Arthur’s figure suddenly blurred, turning into a streak of light afterimage!
Space Element—Instantaneous Teleportation!
In the blink of an eye, Arthur traversed a distance of over fifty meters, tearing through space to appear right atop the ninth rock wall of Ye Lingtian!
Looking down from above, Arthur descended like a god. The silver scepter in his hand condensed all the magical energy of the Holy Light Domain, transforming into a brilliant three-meter-long spear of light radiating terrifying heat capable of melting even hardened steel:
“Spear of Holy Judgment—OBLITERATION!”
The spear of light carrying destructive pressure tore through the air, roaring as it stabbed straight down toward the top of Lin Feng’s head at a speed the naked eye could not catch!
“Go to hell!” Arthur roared, his eyes revealing undisguised ruthlessness!
The whole arena held its breath! The distance was too close, the speed too fast! Not a single Intermediate Mage could manage to erect a shield in time against a close-quarters strike carrying Arthur’s Space and Holy Light magic!
Yet, facing the plunging spear of destruction just inches away, Lin Feng stood motionless.
He didn’t retreat half a step.
He only slowly raised his head. Within the depths of his deep black eyes, 343 Lightning Element star-nodes suddenly erupted in unison with earth-shattering roars!
The corners of Lin Feng’s lips curled into an arrogant, icy smile:
“Want to use Holy Light to crush me?”
Lin Feng’s right hand abruptly withdrew from his pocket, his five fingers clenching into a tight fist!
“CRACK... BOOM!”
This wasn’t ordinary purple lightning!
From within Lin Feng’s fist, a streak of pitch-black purple lightning, thick like black ink and carrying a violent destructive aura never before seen in this world, burst forth, tearing the golden light of the Royal Light Realm into tens of thousands of fragments!
“You miscalculated, Arthur!”
Lin Feng punched straight forward to meet the tip of the Holy Light spear!
“CRACKLE... BOOOOM!”
Two supreme forces collided violently right mid-air! Eardrum-shattering explosions echoed across the bay of Venice, the magical shockwave blowing away all the seawater surrounding the arena into ten-meter-high walls of waves!
The stone floor beneath Lin Feng’s feet cracked in a spiderweb pattern, yet his figure still stood tall like an indestructible spear between heaven and earth! Conversely, Arthur’s proud Holy Light spear under the pitch-black lightning fist let out a pitiful groan, beginning to exhibit terrifying fractures!
The semifinal of the century, the battle of two civilizations, officially erupted to its absolute peak!