Popularity is everything; I play a super genius

"How can Su Shi be so weak?!" Huo Mu exclaimed instinctively upon witnessing this scene.

Isn't this guy quite the star lately?

They've already started to be "co-referred to" each other as the number one genius in the City of Fire, along with Saki!

In fact, many people say something like "Southern Su Shi, Northern Qi Ji", putting Su Shi ahead of Qi Ji.

As a result, this is it?

You can't lose!

If we lose, and lose so humiliatingly, it will lower the status of Saki-chan as well!

"It's not that Su Shi is weak, it's that the Isolde family's Charles is too strong... Three perfectly matched fragments of legend, even if Su Shi has inlaid mythology, he still doesn't have an advantage..."

Although myth fragments can adapt to any lineage, the bonuses will ultimately be reduced if the lineage is not compatible.

In the end, it's not much different from the three legends that are perfectly matched.

Moreover, it's important to understand that the true value of a myth fragment lies not in its numerical value, but in its origin imprint and the infinite possibilities it possesses!

She understood all this in an instant, so she couldn't help but speak up for Su Shi and say a fair word.

After all, we can't apply Saki's high standards to others.

This is unfair to them.

Because Saki is unique, anyone else pales in comparison.

As soon as the words fell, Bai Lili spoke softly from the side:

"Well, I did the math too, and it seems like I really don't have enough wins..."

Just as Liuli said, they have been eliminated.

"Once this match ends, the two teams from Kalentia that have already advanced will immediately be teleported to the third stage."

"If Su Shi's team is also eliminated by Xia Er, then regardless of whether we win or lose this match, we won't have enough wins to reach three, and we've already lost..."

"How could this happen?" Huo Mu was stunned on the spot.

Even though he didn't fully understand at first, he gradually came to understand as everyone explained.

However, there was one thing he just couldn't understand:

"How come so many teams were all eliminated at once?"

Even if they fought to the point of spiritual disintegration and elimination in every match, at least one team would win in each pairing...

“It’s an item card,” Ruri told everyone. “Dorothy used [Enemy Hundred] and [Brawl].

【Enemy Hundreds】: Can challenge an unlimited number of teams simultaneously.

【Brawl】: Can force the battle mode to be changed to the ultimate free-for-all.

Her mind worked quickly, and upon hearing this, she immediately realized the oddity of the situation:

No, that's not right!

Like us, Dorothy chose to land on the East Island as her first objective.

Of the top five students in Dongdao, Liuli and Sushi each took a spot.

That means they only have three item cards!

But now, they're using more than three props! That doesn't make any sense!

"I think it's probably because Sybil distributed the prop cards to them."

Liuli sighed softly.

She hadn't expected that Karentia's group could devise such a plan in such a short time, based on the items they had acquired, making perfect use of every single card.

The City of Fire team was completely unprepared for this, and therefore, they were unable to even mount a counterattack.

"You can give your own item cards to other teams? Isn't that illegal team formation?!" Huo Mu clenched his fists in frustration after hearing this.

He would accept defeat if he lost because of a lack of skill.

But now, Saki is about to awaken his echo and return as the king. They will soon be able to take back everything that the City of Fire has lost!

But you said to him—

It's over?

Regardless of whether they win or lose, or how the game goes, the final is no longer relevant to them.

Unacceptable!

How can he possibly accept this?!

Just as the four boys were feeling downcast after this blow, they suddenly saw something on the arena—

Hibel's "When It Is Gone" shone with a blinding light.

That sudden burst of light not only attracted the attention of the four little ones, but also drew everyone's gaze!

……

Outside the stadium, the crowd gasped in surprise—

"Look, the arena!"

"What is that?!"

"Could it be... that there's still a possibility of change?"

In the live stream chat, comments were popping up in rapid succession.

"Wait! There's a noise on the stage!"

"It's a prison!"

"It's coming out! It's coming out!"

……

Everyone saw the light that emanated from the "Time of No Return".

At the same time, the pure white mask covered in cracks suddenly seemed to be lifted up by an invisible hand, slowly rising into the air and suspending itself.

The next instant, light burst forth from the cracks in the mask—

The left half flows with crimson, while the right half shimmers with golden light.

Two rays of light spread along the same mask, eventually converging at the center of the forehead.

At the moment of convergence, a hand reached out from the "Time of No Return".

With long, slender fingers and distinct knuckles, he steadily caught the suspended mask.

The moment the fingertips touched the mask, all the cracks lit up at the same time, and the dazzling light spread along the lines like an electric current, only to recede completely in an instant.

Immediately afterwards, a tall, slender figure stepped out from the [Time of No Return].

He was surrounded by a lingering black and white mist.

He stopped.

The light mist slowly descended, like a curtain falling at the end of a performance, revealing a face without a mask.

At this moment, the face that [the Lie Bearer] had sculpted for nine long years was finally exposed to everyone's gaze without reservation.

It was a face so perfect it seemed unreal.

The outline is sharp and flawless.

At the corners of the eyes and the ends of the eyebrows, fine, silvery-white crystals covered the skin like a thin layer of frost.

His left eye had a faint crimson light swirling in its pupil.

His right eye had a golden glow settling in its pupil.

Like two red and gold watch faces, embedded deep within the iris.

He tilted his head slightly, his gaze calmly sweeping across the entire arena before finally settling on Sibel.

The black and white dial's phantom image flashed behind him, like a door being pushed open and then closed, leaving only a faint trace in the air.

Saki, return from the time of non-existence!

……

Outside the stadium, the audience was shocked by this scene.

They thought that Saki was doomed to defeat, but to their surprise, he survived the strongest echo from Hybel.

Moreover, he did it in such a stunningly handsome way!

"Wait, handsome, who are you?!"

"He...is it Saki?"

"Holy crap! Are you crazy?! If your face under the mask is so handsome, why are you wearing one?!"

"Why are you all only looking at his face! The fact that he emerged unscathed from Hybel's 'Time of No Return' is what's more noteworthy!"

"So, what he said earlier about not having a response was a lie after all! How could he possibly break free from Hibel's response if he didn't have one?"

At this moment, the number of comments in the live stream also reached its highest point of the day:

"Holy crap! It's here!"

"The true face of Lao Ji makes its debut!!!"

"handsome!!!"

"Godlike modeling!!!"

"Brothers, let's lick it!"

"It startled me! When I saw Lao Ji's face, I thought I was looking in a mirror!"

"Waaaaah, I'm unfollowing! Her persona is ruined! What happened to the mask being her true self?!"

"The sense of immersion is even stronger after the mask is removed!!!"

……

On the field.

Beside the ring.

Bai Lili looked at Qi Ji, who stepped out from the "Time of No Return".

Seeing that the other person was not wearing a mask and had revealed their true face, my heart skipped a beat.

Having grown accustomed to living as the fiancée of the Thousand Faces family, she instinctively wanted to turn her flushed, burning cheeks away...

With such a handsome guy like Saki, she felt like she was cheating on him every time she looked at him!

However, the next moment, Bai Lili suddenly remembered—

No, I've already been jilted...

My mood darkened for a moment, but then a sense of almost vengeful exhilaration arose!

Now that she's no longer bound by the engagement, she can look at him openly without any problem, right?

So, for the first time, she mustered her courage and stared intently at the figure on the ring.

It's as if they're making up for all the things they didn't dare to watch or weren't able to watch before, all at once.

This was the first time Ruri had seen the face beneath Saki's mask.

The girl stood there, stunned.

She had heard many people say that Saki's face under the mask was handsome.

However, Liuli secretly hoped more than once that those were just false rumors.

She had secretly prayed that Saki's face would be more ordinary.

The kind of face that you can't spot in a crowd is the best.

This way, fewer superficial women will get close to them.

Ruri felt that Saki's greatest charm had nothing to do with his face.