Worldwide Class Change: Minimal Effort, Maximum Reward!-Chapter 57, Challenge Accepted, Start to The Quarter finals

Chapter 57: Chapter 57, Challenge Accepted, Start to The Quarter finals

"If you’re going to face me..." Lin Yi’s voice carried across the arena, calm yet suffocating in its weight. "...then step down now."

For a single breath, silence gripped the entire stadium.

It was the kind of silence that felt heavy, unnatural, as if even the air itself had frozen in place. Thousands of students, instructors, and spectators sat there, eyes locked onto the lone figure standing in the arena, their minds struggling to process what they had just heard.

Then—

The arena erupted.

"What did he just say?!"

"He’s challenging Tang Yue?!"

"Has he lost his mind?!"

"No... no, I heard it too... he really said that!"

The crowd broke into waves of murmurs and exclamations, the noise rising like a storm crashing against the arena walls. Students leaned forward in their seats, some half-standing, others gripping the railings in disbelief, their eyes wide as they stared at the battlefield where Lin Yi stood unmoving.

Some laughed in shock, others frowned deeply, trying to make sense of the situation, while a few simply watched in silence, their expressions turning serious as they began to realize this wasn’t a joke.

Because Lin Yi didn’t look like someone who had lost his mind.

He stood there calmly, as if he had merely stated something obvious.

On the competitor platform, Tang Yue slowly lifted her head. Her gaze met Lin Yi’s—cold, sharp, and unyielding. For a brief moment, neither moved.

But the whispers began to spread again, louder than before.

"Wait... did you see his last match?"

"He crushed a Vanguard with one strike. Without a weapon."

"Can Tang Yue even handle that?"

Then, the tone of the murmurs began to shift—from shock to speculation, from disbelief to doubt.

"She hasn’t stepped down yet."

"...Is she hesitating? Afraid?"

"No way... but think about it. Lin Yi has been overwhelming everyone. A Laborer reaching this level... that’s not normal."

"Tang Yue is strong... but Lin Yi is a monster."

The words spread like wildfire. Even those who initially dismissed the idea now found themselves reconsidering. Because what they had just witnessed was not normal.

Tang Yue heard everything. Every whisper. Every doubt. Every comparison.

Her expression didn’t change, but her eyes turned colder. Slowly, she turned her head, her gaze sweeping across the section of the crowd where the loudest voices had come from.

A single glance—that was all it took.

The students who had been speaking felt a chill run down their spines. Their words died instantly. Their bodies stiffened. That gaze was not something they could withstand. Fear spread quietly; the murmurs stopped.

Tang Yue turned back toward the arena. Then, she moved.

A radiant flash of light burst beneath her feet. Her figure blurred, and in the next instant, she appeared on the battlefield, standing directly opposite Lin Yi.

The tension was suffocating. Tang Yue rested her bow lightly against her shoulder, her lips curving slightly.

"Lin Yi... you really don’t know when to stay quiet."

Lin Yi looked at her, unmoved. "I already said. I will make you kneel."

Tang Yue blinked, then laughed—softly at first, then louder. "Make me kneel? With you?" She lowered her bow, pointing it toward the ground. "Lin Yi... you’ve grown arrogant."

Lin Yi didn’t respond. He simply stood there, watching her with a gaze that revealed nothing. As the silence stretched, Tang Yue’s smile slowly faded, and her gaze sharpened. Inside her mind, her thoughts began to spiral, layer after layer peeling back as she truly began to look at him.

He’s calm... too calm. Even now, after calling me out in front of the entire arena, there’s no fluctuation in his breathing, no tension in his shoulders, no shift in stance. It’s not forced composure either; this is natural, instinctive. That’s not confidence... that’s certainty. No openings—or rather, no visible effort to guard anything—which means either he’s careless, or he doesn’t think I’m a threat. His speed is abnormal; that movement skill alone is already beyond normal, even for top hunters. And that strike... that one strike against Zhao Wei... a Vanguard’s defense shattered instantly, without a weapon, without effort. The impact. The force. The lack of resistance. If that lands on me directly, I won’t come out of it clean. Fine. Then I won’t let it land. Speed versus speed. Control versus precision. I am not inferior in technique; my arrow techniques, my timing, my battle awareness—those are things I have refined through countless fights. If I control the distance, force him into my rhythm, and disrupt his timing, I can win. I have to believe that, because anything else is unacceptable. Still... something feels off. Even now, it is as if everything happening here—me, the crowd, the pressure—none of it matters to him.

Her thoughts paused again, then shifted. Or perhaps...

She relaxed slightly. Her grip loosened and her aura softened. "Lin Yi," she said, her tone suddenly lighter. "Why so serious?" The shift was immediate, subtle, and deliberate. "Do we really have to take things this far?" She took a step forward.

"You’re strong," she admitted, her eyes meeting his. "Stronger than I expected. Maybe we just got off on the wrong foot."

The crowd murmured again. Was she backing down? Or was she testing him? Lin Yi didn’t move. He didn’t speak, and he didn’t react; he simply looked at her, calm and unshaken.

Tang Yue paused, then smiled faintly. "...Not even a reaction?" Her eyes darkened slightly. "So that’s how it is."

She straightened, and the softness vanished instantly, replaced by something colder, sharper, and more dangerous. As expected, that kind of person won’t be moved by words. Her bow lifted slightly as the air around her shifted. No more pretense. No more testing. Only intent remained.

She turned her head slightly toward the instructor. "Instructor." 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

The man looked at her. "Yes?"

Tang Yue’s gaze flickered briefly toward Lin Yi before returning forward. "Since he’s so eager to challenge me..." She paused, then spoke decisively. "There’s no need to wait. Set this match," she said, her eyes sharpening, "as the opening battle of the quarterfinals."

The arena froze. Then—it exploded. The instructor’s eyes widened slightly as the crowd roared with excitement. An early clash between two monsters: Lin Yi and Tang Yue.