"Lu Luwei..."

"Lu Luwei?"

"She’s actually here."

"I heard she hasn’t been to the Battle Arena in months."

"I wonder what she’s been up to. She must have improved a lot."

"I can’t believe a 2 silver coin ticket lets me see Lu Luwei fight. This was totally worth it!"

Lu Cang recognized the face as well.

After all, her image was everywhere in the City in the Circle; there were even fan posters for Lu Luwei.

It was like she was some kind of city-wide idol.

Lu Luwei glanced at her opponent.

The name of this room was "Level 4 Full Element Mage, Demonstrating Mage Strategies and Playstyles."

This Mage had quite a large audience in his arena. His combat strategies were very clear, and many Mages would come to his arena to watch and learn.

Lu Luwei selected "Ready."

[Preparation Complete]

Once Lu Luwei was ready, the Mage opposite her was clearly nervous.

But he still chose to begin.

[3... 2... 1... Battle Start]

BOOM!

A Tier Two Earth Fire Technique.

’It seems this Mage has mastered quite a few No Chanting Magic spells.’

However, Lu Luwei took just one step and was already out of the Earth Fire Technique’s range.

She aimed the bow in her hands at the Mage and simply drew it back.

The Mage was still casting the Wind Blowing Technique, trying to block Lu Luwei’s impending attack!

BOOM!

And yet—

A thick, massive pillar of light erupted from Lu Luwei’s longbow! It instantly pierced the entire field, slamming into the boundary of the arena!

The intense light made it impossible to open one’s eyes!

When all the light had dissipated, all that could be seen was the earth, billowing with dust and smoke, and a deep crater as if it had been plowed by ten thousand oxen!

A curved chasm had been blasted into the ground.

’Such high destructive power.’

’And... that pillar of light arrived in an instant, giving no time to react at all.’

Lu Cang’s pupils contracted.

’This is completely different from any Archer I’ve seen before.’

’Can she compare to Kai Jia?’

Lu Cang couldn’t help but compare her to Kai Jia in his mind.

Lu Cang felt a tyrannical Perception sweep over him, and in the next moment, his gaze met hers.

The spectator stands of the arena were completely integrated with the arena itself.

However, they were protected by the War God’s Restrictions, so the battle within couldn’t possibly harm the audience...

At this very moment.

The two locked eyes.

She actually revealed a cold smile.

She opened her mouth and mouthed the words, "Lu Cang, is it? I finally found you."

"Don’t lose before you run into me."

Lu Cang tugged at his magic robe.

’This person... her perception is truly terrifying.’

’I’m wearing a magic robe that conceals perception, yet she was still able to find me.’

Lu Cang didn’t respond. Instead, he turned and left the spectator stands.

...

After leaving the Gate of the Spectator,

Lu Cang immediately used Flesh Reshaping to change his appearance, put on a set of simple, unadorned clothes, and adopted the face of a middle-aged man.

He walked outside the arena.

He took out a whistle and blew it. Soon, a white dove with jade-green wings flew over.

Lu Cang attached the ring to its claw.

Immediately after, the dove was seen to accelerate, darting forward, and instantly vanished from sight into space.

A World Dove. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

It was this world’s method for long-distance information delivery.

Besides this, there were also ’thought altars’ for long-distance communication.

However, those required both parties to make an appointment and stand on their respective altars to converse over vast distances.

This was because there had been a major regression in Space Spell.

As a result, the only things that could now accurately teleport across long distances were a few creatures born with this innate bloodline ability.

The World Dove was one of them.

Five documents were sent to the Life Church, and of course, Lu Cang had already memorized their contents.

’Lu Luwei...’

’No wonder she received such a high evaluation from Iz.’

Lu Cang checked the items and equipment on his person.

’Should I find a way to poison her?’

’An Archer probably doesn’t have much ability to counteract poison.’

’Or maybe I could try to steal her bow?’

’That seems a bit low... If I got caught, I’d never hear the end of it, and it would ruin my reputation.’

’Besides, a weapon carried so closely would be very difficult to steal.’

At this moment, Lu Luwei would never have guessed.

The Root Mage who had defeated Kai Jia was currently contemplating all sorts of filthy, underhanded ideas to achieve victory.

Something like "warrior’s honor" was optional for Lu Cang.

He could have it when needed and completely discard it when not.

Achieving victory through intelligence in a clever and easy way was Lu Cang’s principle. And to him, poisoning an opponent before a fight was just a part of that intelligence.

’Seems like none of these options are very convenient...’

The competition was also about to begin.

In every direction around the Battle Arena, a brand-new, enormous portal had appeared.

「Gate of the War God」

「Battle! Battle! Complete the Supreme Battle!」

’Sigh, what a battle-crazed lunatic.’

’Too bad I didn’t ask him how he became the War God last time.’

Lu Cang walked toward one of the portals.

Passing through it, he felt his eligibility for the tournament being verified. Once the verification was complete, he entered the battlefield.

The field was an ancient city.

Its structure was a bit like the City in the Circle, but it was mostly composed of ruined buildings.

No...

Lu Cang floated high into the air. He looked out into the distance but couldn’t see the battlefield’s edge.

He didn’t know where this place was, but it felt like a real location that existed somewhere in the world.

Lu Cang tried flying into the distance.

He flew for about ten minutes but couldn’t find the limit of this battlefield.

[Event - The War God Cup is about to begin]

[Your opponent has entered the battlefield]

[Both sides have completed battle preparations. The battle will begin in 10 seconds]

SWOOSH!

He felt a special spatial fluctuation wash over him, and in the next second, he reappeared back in the city.

’A spatial teleportation...’

Lu Cang savored the sensation that had just flashed over him.

This was his first time coming into contact with the Rules of Space, and it felt very unique.

Lu Cang’s extremely high Spirituality could sense many pairs of eyes watching him... The War God Cup had a large audience.

And his opponent was standing opposite him.

Lu Cang hadn’t seen her name on the leaderboards. Her name was An Ka, and she looked like a female Mage.

Because she was wearing a magic robe.

But the style seemed a bit special; this magic robe looked more streamlined and revealed her snow-white thighs.

An Ka was also a little surprised to see Lu Cang.

[Countdown - 10]

"You’re a Level 3 Mage too?"

"Which city are you from?"

Lu Cang: "The Lorren Capital."

"And you?"

The match hadn’t started yet, so Lu Cang planned to fish for some information. He had also conveniently studied the book *Reading the Room* last night.

Now he knew how to detect lies through subtle facial expressions and could also hide his own emotions more meticulously.

"From Lorren... How nice, to be born in a kingdom of Magic."

"I’m from Ruijia. Sel City."

’She probably isn’t lying. If she is, then she’s very good at hiding it.’

’The Ruijia Kingdom... that’s the kingdom currently at war with Lorren, right?’

’I hear it’s a nation that venerates Combat Skills, and that their Assassin and Warrior professions are very strong.’

’War and the Fire Moon... I heard both kingdoms profited from this war, but I wonder how the common people fared.’

[Countdown - 7]

An Ka asked again, "Are you also just here to travel and experience Level 4 combat?"

"No, I’m here to take first place."

Lu Cang had made himself slightly taller and was wearing a mask, so now others would only see him as a somewhat short Mage, not as a child.

As for his title, Lu Cang had unequipped it.

"First place... That’s some big talk."

[Countdown - 3]

An Ka twirled the magic staff in her hand. Her staff was surprisingly long, thin, and sharp, like a war spear.

"Let me be clear, even though I’m from Ruijia... I’m not some weak Mage."

Lu Cang nodded. "Mm, actually, I’m not that weak either."

A flash of annoyance went through An Ka’s mind.

’His tone is completely flat. He’s not taking my words to heart at all.’

’This Lorren Mage must be looking down on me, a Ruijia Mage.’

’I’ll listen to your regrets after I knock you to the ground.’

’It’s time you Lorren People witnessed... the power of the Dual Cultivation of Battle Technique!’