The undead have descended upon the world? I possess a sword that can cleave the heavens once more!

Those present were all level five or higher ability users, so their keen senses went without saying.

The hall was quiet for a moment, then erupted into chaos.

"Seventh rank? Did I hear that right?" Someone's eyes widened, and their voice changed.

"A seventh-tier monster under the age of twenty-five? What kind of monster is that?" another voice chimed in, its tone carrying a sense of despair, as if asking, "Is this game even playable anymore?"

"No way, a seventh-tier cultivator under twenty-five years old, raised on high-grade energy stones every day?"

"How are we supposed to play like this? The number one spot in the rankings is already gone." A handsome young man shrugged, his face saying, "I choose to give up."

"I thought that at twenty-four years old, a sixth-rank D-level cultivator, arriving just in time for the preliminaries, I was already invincible." A young man with a small braid covered his face. "But it turns out, seventh-rank? Is this even human?"

"Damn, she's so good-looking and so strong, how are others supposed to live?"

It's unclear who said that, but several people around nodded silently.

At this point, some people also noticed something was wrong.

"Wait, LH-36... this number..." A man wearing glasses and a black trench coat pushed up his glasses and frowned.

"Hiss—that's not the report..." The person next to him gasped, as if he had remembered something.

"A direct confrontation with a Corpse God... then this seventh rank doesn't seem incomprehensible, in fact, it's even a bit low?" The speaker himself found it unbelievable, and his voice grew softer and softer.

"So that's why she has white hair..." Someone hesitated, their eyes becoming complicated.

Whispers rose and fell, and the once eager gazes now held a different meaning.

Some eyes burned with excitement, some were filled with curiosity, some gasped and silently looked away, and some wore a complicated expression, lost in thought.

Wu You ignored the voices and just looked at Gongsun Baizhan opposite him, his hand on the hilt of the eight-colored crystal longsword.

Gongsun Baizhan took a deep breath.

He did not surrender immediately.

He slowly drew his longsword. It was a pure black sword with a faint black light flashing across its blade.

Wu You had seen this special material called Black Light Stone in the information from the investigation platform: weapons made from it can increase the speed of energy flow in the user's body and slightly enhance the user's strength.

Holding the black-glowing longsword, Gongsun Baizhan's eyes regained focus.

It's one thing to be unable to win, but it's quite another to surrender without a fight.

Moreover, if he doesn't dare to challenge stronger opponents even under such safe conditions, how will he have the courage to draw his sword when he encounters a stronger zombie?

He gripped the sword with one hand, the tip pointing diagonally at the ground, and said in a steady voice, "Alright. Although it may seem presumptuous of me, I still welcome your guidance."

Wu You nodded slightly, a hint of approval in his eyes: The strong draw their swords against the even stronger!

However, Wu You still did not draw his sword.

It wasn't that I was being disrespectful; I just didn't want to discourage them too much. Besides, his real opponents were never these colleagues.

Then, Gongsun Baizhan made his move.

A chilling aura emanated from him, and at the same time, a layer of ice appeared on Wu You's legs.

At the same time, he was very fast, and the swordsmanship he used was tricky.

Even if Wu You were to evaluate it, the timing, angle, and force of this sword strike would all be considered quite good.

Then his sword stopped.

Wu You pinched the sword tip between two fingers. Those slender, fair, and otherworldly fingers, with just a gentle pinch, kept the black sword completely still.

Gongsun Baizhan pulled hard, but the sword seemed to be welded to Wu You's fingers, without even trembling.

Timing? Angle? Speed?

The absolute difference in strength meant that nothing was in doubt.

Wu Yousong opened his fingers.

Gongsun Baizhan staggered back two steps, steadied himself, glanced down at his sword, and then looked up at Wu You.

He remained silent for a moment, then sheathed his sword and calmly said, "I concede."

There was no resentment, no frustration.

Wu You nodded in return, saying, "Thank you for your kind offer."

As the two stepped off the stage, the whispers in the hall gradually subsided.

Wu You returned to his seat, closed his eyes again, and continued to study the Seven Tribulations Sword Chapter in his mind.

The qualifying rounds are ongoing.

Wu You occasionally opened his eyes and looked at the arena in the middle.

A beautiful girl with long blue hair and blue eyes walked onto the stage and said in a calm tone, "Ling Shuang, number JL-37, fifth rank."

The young man opposite her was burly and imposing, like a wall, and his voice was deep: "Lu Chenzhou, ID SH-23, Rank 6."

After giving their numbers, the two immediately began to move without any probing.

Ling Shuang's abilities are similar to Gongsun Baizhan's, also being ice-attribute, but she leans more towards ranged attacks.

With a wave of her hand, dozens of ice spikes condensed in front of her, each as thick as an arm, its tips gleaming coldly. The ice spikes poured out like a torrential rain, enveloping Lu Chenzhou completely.

The ice spikes exploded on the ground, and a thick layer of frost formed on the surface of the ring, causing the air temperature to drop several degrees.

Although Lu Chenzhou was of a higher rank, he did not underestimate the overwhelming attack.

A pale golden light barrier unfolded in front of him, blocking all the ice spikes. The ice spikes crashed into the light barrier and shattered into ice crystals, which refracted into tiny sparks of light under the light barrier, like a small hailstorm.

Seeing that her ranged attacks had failed, Ling Shuang did not hesitate at all. She pressed forward, conjuring an ice crystal longsword in her hand, and engaged Lu Chenzhou in close combat.

The ice sword collided with the light barrier, producing a crisp sound, and each collision sent up a shower of ice crystal fragments.

Wu You nodded slightly: Torchbearers who have reached the fifth level basically have no weaknesses. Although this Ling Shuang is good at long-range coverage attacks, her close combat ability is also not weak. Her ice crystal longsword is sharp and precise, and every strike is aimed at the weakest point of energy flow on Lu Chenzhou's light barrier. The same goes for the electric attribute ability user named Mo Lin before. When fighting in close combat, electric arcs are attached to him, making him both offensive and defensive.

Ling Shuang's attack speed was extremely fast, one sword strike after another, giving Lu Chenzhou no chance to catch his breath.

But Lu Chenzhou's light barrier remained unbroken. He stood there like an impenetrable iron barrel, unmoved no matter how fiercely Ling Shuang attacked him.

But occasionally, during the gaps in Ling Shuang's attacks, he would counter with a punch that shone with golden light. Although the punch was not heavy, the angle was tricky, forcing Ling Shuang to defend.

The two remained locked in a stalemate for a moment.

The gap between the fifth and sixth tiers cannot be completely bridged by skill alone.

Ling Shuang's stamina began to decline first: the speed at which the ice crystal longsword condensed slowed down, and the density of her attacks became increasingly sparse. Meanwhile, Lu Chenzhou's light barrier remained stable, as if it would never run out of energy.

Finally, Ling Shuang was a fraction of a second too slow when she condensed her ice sword again. Lu Chenzhou seized this opening, closing in and stopping his fist in front of Ling Shuang's face, the wind from the punch blowing the stray hairs on her forehead.

Ling Shuang looked at the fist, dispersed the ice crystals in her hand, and admitted defeat.

"That Ling Shuang's ice attribute ability is actually quite strong, and it's quite useful when clearing out the zombie species." Wang Qi, who had somehow come over, commented with an unlit cigarette in his mouth, "However, when it comes to defensive abilities like Lu Chenzhou's, which are of a higher rank, she simply can't break through them."

Wu You nodded but did not reply.

He was only thinking about one thing: when could he go kill the zombies? He hadn't seen Jian Dian's warm reminder in a long time.

The ranking matches on the arena continued, one after another.

Wang Qi also chose his opponent and went up for a match.

His opponent was a fifth-tier water-attribute ability user, whose abilities were quite good, but Wang Qi's blue flame, which combined scorching heat and icy cold, was also formidable.

In the end, Wang Qi won by a narrow margin and advanced to the next round.

Some won, some lost; some fought fiercely, some lost convincingly.

But not a single person retreated without a fight, and not a single person complained.

Just as the first round of qualifying was about to end, a soft, sweet voice came over.

"Um, seventh-tier sister, may I sit here?"

Wu You suddenly opened his eyes.

A beautiful woman with long blue hair stood smiling beside him, looking at him.

It is Ling Shuang.

Upon hearing the word "sister," Wu You's brows immediately furrowed into a deep frown.

"elder sister?"

Ling Shuang was also taken aback for a moment, blinking her big eyes as if confirming something. Then she tilted her head slightly and tentatively changed her form of address: "Little sister?"

Wu You's blood pressure spiked instantly. Visible black lines appeared on his forehead.

"Is it possible that I'm a man?"

"what?"

Ling Shuang's mouth opened into a perfect "O" shape.

O_o?

Wu You's words left Ling Shuang speechless, her eyes wide with disbelief. She stood there, stunned, seemingly still processing what had just happened.

Then, her blue eyes moved from Wu You's face to Wu You's chest, and then back to his face.

After checking at least three times, an extremely complex expression appeared on that beautiful face: shock, confusion, disbelief, and a hint of... disappointment?

Several men in black trench coats who had been watching the fight on the stage also turned their heads in unison.

Their gazes lingered on Wu You's face for a few seconds, then simultaneously turned to Wu You's chest, before quickly shifting away.

After confirming several times that Wu You was a man, a deep disappointment flashed in Ling Shuang's eyes. Then she turned around dejectedly and walked away step by step, her back view looking rather bleak.

Wu You was speechless: What are you being so melancholy about?!

Just then, Wang Qi, who had just finished smoking outside, returned. He glanced at Ling Shuang's departing figure, then at Wu You's face, which was filled with "I'm very unhappy," and the corners of his mouth slowly curled up.

A brilliant idea is forming.

"Old Wu, what's going on with you?" He leaned closer, lowering his voice, his tone filled with amusement that seemed to enjoy watching a good show. "You've only just arrived, and you're already flirting with young girls?"

Wu You turned her head and looked at him expressionlessly.

Wang Qi felt uncomfortable under his cold gaze. He gave an awkward laugh, took the cigarette off his ear, twirled it between his fingers, and tactfully changed the subject: "Uh, well... the first round of ranking matches is almost over. I guess no one will dare to choose you as their opponent, Lao Wu, later."

Wu You withdrew his gaze and closed his eyes again.