The arena competition was in full swing.
Relying on her increasingly refined spear techniques and the shameless tactic of occasionally shielding and healing herself, Lin Qingyue cleanly and decisively won two more matches.
A Fire Mage and a Ranger had both fallen to her strategy, which combined power, skill, and terrifying endurance.
"Arena 3, Zone A: Lin Qingyue versus Xu Bingbing!" the referee's voice boomed.
Hearing the name, Lin Qingyue's steps faltered slightly, her heart sinking.
Xu Bingbing.
The top student from Yicheng No. 1 High School, a Level 23 Ice Mage.
This girl was renowned among Yicheng's college entrance exam candidates—not for her devastating attack power, but for her nearly impenetrable defense and crowd control.
She was a living textbook on "How to Build an Absolute Defense."
A thoroughbred "Iron Turtle" mage.
A troublesome opponent.
Lin Qingyue wasn't afraid of burst damage or blitzkrieg tactics. Her only weakness was this type of slow, grinding opponent who rendered her strength useless.
Her Millelith Spear Techniques were powerful and heavy, but the Priest class inherently lacked strong armor-piercing or instant burst skills.
Against such a high-defense class, her attack efficiency would be drastically reduced.
As for the Priest's innate Smite?
Its damage was so pathetic it wouldn't even scratch a same-level target.
Stepping onto the arena, Lin Qingyue found a short-haired girl with black-framed glasses and a calm expression already waiting.
A visible white frost swirled around her, lowering the air temperature by several degrees.
She watched Lin Qingyue approach empty-handed and calmly adjusted her glasses.
"Lin Qingyue, I've reviewed your match recordings."
"Your staff techniques are exquisite, and your strength surpasses the typical Priest class."
"However, I've completely seen through your weakness."
Xu Bingbing's gaze pierced through her lenses, carrying the calm certainty of a top student analyzing a flawed exam question.
"Your attack power is insufficient to break through a true defensive system."
"Against an opponent like me, your offense is like a wave crashing against an iceberg—seemingly fierce, but ultimately futile."
"If you can't break my defense, everything you do is meaningless."
Lin Qingyue raised an eyebrow.
This girl's analysis is spot-on.
A playful smile touched her lips. With a thought, the outrageously girly pink staff materialized in her hand.
"Wanna test that?"
The referee's whistle blew
The moment the whistle blew, Xu Bingbing's spell was already complete!
A layer of crystal-clear Ice Armor, shimmering with magical runes, enveloped her entire body!
Simultaneously, she tapped her staff lightly, and several Ice Cones radiating chilling killing intent tore through the air, shooting straight at Lin Qingyue!
Lin Qingyue didn't dodge or evade. Holding the staff with both hands, she spun it like a wheel!
Clang! Clang! Clang!
A continuous stream of crisp impacts rang out.
The rapidly spinning staff precisely deflected every single ice cone, shattering them all into a shower of ice crystals.
However, a bone-chilling cold frantically spread up the staff, causing half of Lin Qingyue's body to go numb and her movements to falter for a split second.
As expected, she's tough!
Lin Qingyue pushed off with her feet, her body shooting forward like an arrow from a bow. The staff's tip aimed straight for Xu Bingbing's throat, attempting to close the distance!
But Xu Bingbing's combat experience was terrifyingly sharp. She tapped her staff on the ground.
BOOM!
A wide, thick ice wall erupted from the ground, precisely blocking Lin Qingyue's advance!
Going around would mean losing the initiative!
Lin Qingyue's pupils contracted. Twisting at the waist, she channeled all her strength into the staff!
The staff struck the ice wall like a dragon's fang!
BANG!
Ice shards flew everywhere!
The ice wall groaned under the strain, cracks spreading like lightning, but it didn't shatter on the spot.
This momentary delay was all Xu Bingbing needed. She calmly retreated, once again creating an absolutely safe distance.
Immediately after, a second wave of Ice Cone Spells, mixed with the area-of-effect slowing Frost Aura, swept over Lin Qingyue like a tidal wave.
The battle instantly fell into Xu Bingbing's tempo.
Lin Qingyue couldn't break through, and Xu Bingbing's attacks couldn't harm her for the time being.
But everyone could see that Lin Qingyue's stamina was draining rapidly. Every swing of her staff to block, every forced advance, was being steadily worn down by her opponent's crowd control skills.
Xu Bingbing, on the other hand, remained poised and composed, as if everything was under her complete control.
At this rate, I'm guaranteed to lose...
Lin Qingyue clenched her jaw, sweat trickling down her temples.
Being passively worn down would only lead to her being exhausted and defeated!
I have to break this stalemate!
Her gaze locked onto the shimmering Ice Armor on Xu Bingbing's body, her mind racing faster than ever before.
Priests don't have armor-breaking skills, but the essence of the Millelith Spear Techniques lies in Precision! In Breaking Points!
Every defensive spell has nodes where energy flows. If I can get close enough to find one, I might be able to shatter her defense in a single strike!
But how do I find it?
She instinctively glanced at the Venti Trial Card in her System interface but immediately dismissed the thought.
It's not worth revealing my ultimate trump card for a single arena match!
The audience below began to buzz with discussion.
"Just as Xu Bingbing predicted. Faced with a turtle shell defense, Lin Qingyue is completely helpless."
"Her attacks are too one-dimensional. She's just spamming basic attacks with that pink staff."
"She's a Priest, after all. The fact that she can fight like this is already insane. You can't expect her to be good at everything, can you?"
In the audience, Lin Xiyue's face flushed red with anxiety, and she stomped her foot in frustration.
"Sis! Stop trying to brute force it! Find a way to get close!"
On the stage, Xu Bingbing seemed confident of her victory. While maintaining a barrage of Ice Cones, she began chanting an even more powerful spell.
The chilling aura around her surged violently as white frost energy gathered madly above her head!
It was the prelude to the wide-area destructive skill—[Blizzard]!
She intended to use this move to completely seal off Lin Qingyue's remaining movement space and end the match!
A piercingly cold wind howled, and the air temperature plummeted to freezing!
Lin Qingyue's movements were already growing stiff. If she didn't act now, she would truly lose her chance!
All paths of retreat were cut off!
Then... I'll find life in death!
A crazed, desperate resolve flashed in Lin Qingyue's eyes.
She abandoned all futile attempts to block, allowing several Ice Cones to pierce her while she raised her hands in front of her chest—
Power Word: Shield!
A dense, platinum-gold light instantly enveloped her, forming a sturdy barrier!
Thud! Thud!
The Ice Cones struck the shield, merely creating a couple of ripples.
She had traded the shield's duration to forcefully create an uninterrupted opportunity to close the distance!
But what happens after she gets close?
Just as everyone expected her to repeat her previous tactic—a brute-force assault—Lin Qingyue made a move no one could comprehend.
Instead of charging, she raised her pink staff high, allowing the sacred light of Power Word: Shield to refract through the pink crystal at its tip!
What happens when light passes through ice crystals?
To everyone's astonishment, the refracted beam shone upon Xu Bingbing's Ice Armor, revealing the intricate network of mana flowing within for a fraction of a second!
Now!
Lin Qingyue focused all her mental energy, and the world seemed to slow down in her eyes.
She found it!
The core mana node that sustained the entire armor!
In the instant Xu Bingbing's pupils constricted in shock at this unbelievable sight, Lin Qingyue moved!
No charging, no wasted motion—just the simplest, swiftest sequence: step, twist, thrust
Her pink staff streaked through the air in a barely visible line, thrusting with pinpoint accuracy at the newly exposed point of light!
"Break!"
Her sharp cry echoed throughout the arena!
The staff's tip slammed into the mana node!
There was no earth-shattering explosion.
Just a single crack, like shattering glass.
Xu Bingbing's supposedly indestructible Ice Armor spiderwebbed with cracks from the point of impact, spreading across her entire body in an instant. Then, with a crash, it completely disintegrated into a shower of glittering ice crystals!
One strike, defense shattered!
The entire arena fell into dead silence!
All the jeers and murmurs from the crowd died instantly. Everyone stared, dumbfounded, as if witnessing a miracle.
A Priest used Holy Light as a searchlight to shatter an Ice Mage's vaunted iron-clad defense with a single staff strike?!
What kind of unorthodox tactic was this?!
Just as Lin Qingyue landed the blow and prepared to press her advantage—
Bwoom—!
A deep, rhythmic guitar riff erupted without warning, blasting across the entire arena
The melody was wild and rebellious, carrying a death-defying resolve to break free from all restraints. It instantly electrified the air!
[Melody Beyond the Strings has begun to play for you!]
The system notification exploded in her mind.
!!!
Lin Qingyue froze, her mind going completely blank.
Are you kidding me?!
The very first time it triggers, it has to be this dramatic?
And on a stage with thousands watching?!
Almost at the exact moment the BGM began, a soft light enveloped Lin Qingyue!
Her simple white Priest's robes were instantly consumed by a sudden torrent of black light!
As the light flowed and shifted, her attire transformed in a flash