I gain permanent defense when attacked; even gods and demons can't hurt me.

As night falls, the lights are on.

As the host, the Shanghai university did not lose its manners despite losing the game.

That night.

The prestigious Shanghai University hosted a lavish banquet in its most luxurious Pearl Banquet Hall to entertain faculty and students from both universities.

Inside the enormous banquet hall, everything was resplendent in gold and jade, and long dining tables were laden with all sorts of seafood delicacies.

"Come on, Captain Lin, try this!"

"This is our Shanghai specialty, bluefin tuna, just shipped from Shenzhen!"

Despite being thoroughly defeated on the field, the students from Shanghai's universities displayed exceptionally high manners at the dinner table.

Guo Lin, holding a wine glass, led Lei Ming and the others to the table at the War Academy to offer a toast.

"Captain Lin, thank you for showing leniency today."

Guo Lin looked at Lin Yuan, who was enjoying his meal, with a complicated expression.

He knew very well that if Lin Yuan had used his counter-attack ability today, it was hard to say whether they would be able to stand here drinking right now.

Because the life-protecting array on the arena only guarantees that they will not die, but if their health points are only a little bit, they are in a state of near death.

In this situation, it's not enough to simply have a healer restore your health to full. There will be a series of problems, such as severe bleeding and dizziness. These are all signs of underestimating the enemy.

After all, this is the real world, not a real game. It's impossible for you to have the same mental state as when you have full health when you only have one drop of blood left!

Unless you have extremely high mental resistance and can temporarily withstand this feeling of "death".

Lin Yuan swallowed the steak in his mouth, wiped his mouth, and clinked glasses: "You're too kind. Friendship comes first, competition second."

On the other side of the banquet hall.

The atmosphere at the table at the Imperial University was somewhat subtle.

As Qin Tian cut his steak, his every move exuded the air of a noble family.

But there seemed to be an invisible barrier around him, separating him from the lively atmosphere.

His gaze would occasionally drift towards the table at the War Academy.

To be precise, it drifted towards Ji Qingyue, who happened to be serving food to Lin Yuan.

"snort."

Qin Tian's knife and fork scraped heavily across the plate, making a jarring sound.

Seeing this, Zhao Meng immediately understood and lowered his voice, saying, "Young Master Qin, don't rush."

"If we draw the War Academy as our opponent tomorrow, you can personally trample Lin Yuan under your feet right in front of Goddess Ji!"

"In time, she will naturally know who her true love is!"

Qin Tian took a sip of red wine, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

He slowly swirled the wine glass in his hand, gazing at the scarlet liquid within, and murmured softly:

"Lin Yuan, the Unbreakable Barrier, is that it?"

"Tomorrow, I will make your fortress... completely crumble!"

Compared to the fervent atmosphere at the Shanghai Academy, the atmosphere at the War Academy table was exceptionally relaxed and pleasant.

Lin Yuan was cutting a Wellington steak on his plate.

Just now, he felt a strong, targeted gaze. Even from more than ten meters away, the feeling of being pricked by needles was still clear.

Lin Yuan turned his head slightly and exchanged a glance with Qin Tian from the Imperial Capital Academy.

[Current emotions: jealousy, anger, intense fighting spirit.]

[Source of hostility: Ji Qingyue.]

[Note: This target harbors an extremely strong possessive desire towards Ji Qingyue.]

It views its host as its number one rival in love.

"Oh"

Lin Yuan withdrew his gaze, a playful smile curving his lips.

It turned out to be the case.

Beautiful women are a source of trouble.

Lin Yuan wiped his mouth, then casually glanced at Ji Qingyue and Chu Tianxing beside him, and asked, "Qingyue, Old Chu, you two are both from the capital. How much do you know about that Dragon Tamer named Qin Tian?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Kuo, who was struggling with an Australian lobster, immediately perked up his ears.

Chu Tianxing put down his wine glass, his expression becoming slightly more serious: "The Qin family, if we're talking about the ranking of the aristocratic families in the capital, our Chu family, the Ji family, and the Qin family are basically on the same level."

"They all belong to one of the five most prestigious families in the capital."

Chu Tianxing paused for a moment, then continued, "For scions of prominent families like ours, the social circle is actually quite small."

"When we were little, as soon as we reached a certain age, our elders would take us to various banquets so that we could get to know each other and become familiar with each other."

"After all, we'll be working in the capital from now on, and we'll run into each other all the time."

At this point, Chu Tianxing glanced at Lin Yuan and said with some emotion, "To be honest, if I had stayed in the capital to develop, with the support of my family's resources, my promotion speed would have been much faster than at the War Academy."

"But I don't want that."

"I want to forge my own path, rather than live in the shadow of my parents."

"That's why I chose to come to the War Academy instead of the Imperial Capital Academy."

Lin Yuan nodded, expressing his understanding of Chu Tianxing's choice.

True strength is forged in the wilderness, not nurtured in a greenhouse.

Then, Lin Yuan turned his gaze to Ji Qingyue.

Ji Qingyue nodded gently: "Chu Tianxing is right, Qin Tian and I... went to the same high school."

"We know each other, but we're not very close."

At this point, a barely perceptible hint of helplessness flashed across Ji Qingyue's cool and beautiful face:

"Um"

He confessed his feelings to me during my senior year of high school, but I rejected him.

Wow!!

Zhao Kuo, Xia Chen, and even Su Qing, who had been quiet all the time, all gathered around.

Each of them had "eating melon seeds" written all over their faces.

"You refused?"

"I knew that kid's gaze towards the captain was weird!"

Zhao Kuo rubbed his hands together excitedly: "This is a huge scandal involving a wealthy family! And then? And then?"

Chu Tianxing was obviously aware of this past event, and added from the side, "I've heard from the elders in my family that the Qin family seemed to have intended to form a marriage alliance with the Ji family for a period of time."

"After all, the two families are well-matched. If they join forces, their influence in the capital will be even greater."

"However, the matter was eventually dropped."

Ji Qingyue nodded, her tone calm: "Because I refused very firmly. Although my parents hope for the prosperity of the family, they respect my wishes even more."

"So privately, my father personally rejected the Qin family's proposal."

Upon hearing this, everyone suddenly realized what was going on.

Zhao Kuo, a mischievous grin on his face, looked Lin Yuan and Ji Qingyue up and down. "Tsk tsk tsk... No wonder! Captain, didn't you notice?"

"The way Qin Tian looked at you just now, he practically wanted to devour you alive!"

"He definitely sees you as his biggest rival in love!"

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