Chapter 37: Falling Cherry Blossoms, The Dharma System of the Gu Emperor

Yeyu was in a completely disadvantageous position at this moment. If he were hit by the next attack from "Sunset Sky," his health would undoubtedly drop to zero.

Compared to active skills that remain active to provide sustained damage bonuses, or the "Innate Qi" currently visible that offers a short-term boost to attack attributes, temporary damage-boosting skills naturally have cooldowns that exceed their duration. However, the power of such temporary buffs is significantly higher—often vastly superior—to those of persistent active skills.

Because Sunset Sky’s combat style was entirely built around combo chains designed to suppress Yeyu, Yeyu calculated that the effectiveness of this style scaled with the length of the combo. He could even sense that Sunset Sky, a spear-wielding player, possessed skills in his custom talent tree specifically designed to grant higher bonuses for longer combos.

Sunset Sky was even willing to expend high amounts of resources to keep Yeyu suspended in mid-air to sustain the combo. It was clear that under these conditions, Sunset Sky’s attributes had been amplified to an extreme degree. Combined with the earlier "Innate Qi," it was obvious that if the next attack landed, defeat was inevitable.

"I wanted to observe this spear-wielder a bit longer, but it seems there's no time left."

Watching the scene unfold, Yeyu felt a trace of helplessness. Suddenly, the surroundings seemed to slow down; everything before him appeared to come to a standstill. Due to the arena's fair-play system, the attributes of both sides were balanced, and in terms of base attributes, Yeyu’s own bonuses were even slightly superior.

Yeyu activated his "Overclocking State." The moment this feature triggered, he released his internal energy, forming a translucent barrier that collided head-on with the incoming attack.

Boom!

Ultimately, Yeyu managed to withstand Sunset Sky's onslaught, though the sheer impact force sent him skidding backward.

"I didn't expect you to keep struggling."

Sunset Sky frowned slightly and said in a deep voice. Yeyu was still suffering from slow-inducing negative effects, yet he didn't slide back far before skillfully using the momentum of the status effect to steady his footing.

The distance between them was short. Sunset Sky lunged forward instantly, his body shooting like a bolt toward Yeyu’s position. He thrust his spear with a tight grip, the weapon flashing like silver light emerging from a cage—as if a single strike could claim a life.

Yeyu suddenly felt a sharp, conical pressure targeting his chest. A gust of energy pierced his body, and he felt the "Innate Qi" burst through his back.

Boom!

Sunset Sky let out a low roar, his left hand forming a palm strike aimed directly at Yeyu’s face, gathering terrifying force in his palm. The combination of spear and palm was certain to be lethal.

"Heh, I was waiting for this move."

Yeyu’s lips curled into a smirk. He knew that to improve his combat skills, he needed to experience life-or-death battles, and this was the most effective way to do so.

In his "Overclocking State," time flowed slower, allowing Yeyu to perceive more details. He tilted his head and shifted his body slightly, dodging the spear strike. He raised his right hand, slapping the elbow joint of Sunset Sky’s left arm, rendering both the spear thrust and the palm strike useless.

Yeyu then moved behind Sunset Sky. His left hand, which had been charging a skill, struck Sunset Sky’s left leg. Purple light shimmered like a blade, landing with the force of a cleaver.

Sunset Sky let out a stifled grunt, suppressing his pain. A clear, bleeding gash was visible on his leg, with blood steadily flowing out.

After landing, Sunset Sky lost his balance and fell to one knee. Yeyu stepped forward to help him up, but simultaneously pressed a hand firmly onto Sunset Sky’s right shoulder, purple light swirling in his palm to prevent any sudden counterattack.

Sunset Sky felt a sense of resignation. Though he felt a flicker of defiance, losing to a player from a beginner server felt quite humiliating.

Still, he had to face reality. Seeing Sunset Sky choose to surrender, Yeyu withdrew his offensive stance, bowed humbly to his opponent, and said, "I accept your concession."

Sunset Sky stood up slowly, his expression still dazed. He looked at Yeyu, unable to speak, his heart filled with more shock than shame.

He was stunned that a String-class player’s maneuvering could reach such a level. Without having fought one, he never realized how powerful they could be—especially in close-quarters combat, where Yeyu had countered so fluidly. Most players would have simply given up.

"You are truly impressive."

In the stands, a rugged man with his arms crossed stood next to a woman in a black robe, looking bored. Hearing the man’s praise, the woman said little; hidden behind her veil, it was impossible to tell if she was smiling or expressionless.

"Though your praise is a bit strained, it’s still surprising to hear it from you. After all, this is just a match in the Indomitable Silver tier."

The man glanced at the woman, his dark eyes twinkling with amusement, clearly satisfied by the performance of the String-class player.

"Heh, you’re happy to hear my praise, aren't you? Even if it is just the Indomitable Silver tier, there are many skilled players here. The fact that he could remain calm and accurately identify the lethal weakness of a combo-heavy spear-wielder is undoubtedly surprising. Furthermore, he figured it out early on but used it as an opportunity to hone his own skills."

After hearing the man’s analysis, the woman blinked in surprise, looking up at him, speechless for a long time.

"Shall we keep watching?" the woman asked.

"Let’s watch."

…

On the other side of the audience, exclamations erupted. They simply could not believe that a String-class player could defeat a spear-wielder who had already landed a combo.

"This result is completely unexpected. Who would have thought a String-class player could take down a Spear-class, especially after being caught in such a long combo?"

"This String player is a beast. And he’s from a beginner server?"

"That's insane!"

In reality, the base attributes of physical and magical classes were balanced. No single path held an inherent advantage. Even if agility provided a slight edge, it wasn't enough to read the entire flow of battle based on reaction time alone.

Yeyu had led Sunset Sky into a delusion: that Yeyu had given up on resisting and was letting Sunset Sky land his lethal blows. But from the start, Yeyu had been testing his own limits, intentionally putting himself in a suppressed position. In truth, Sunset Sky had been outplayed by Yeyu from the very beginning.

Yeyu could feel his brain in an extremely hyper-excited state. His heart beat faster and more powerfully with every thud, sending hot blood surging through his body. He tried to suppress the excitement and return to a state of calm, but it was in vain. That intense, surging battle intent erupted from his heart like a fountain, bursting with a momentum that seemed to unleash everything he had missed during his time away from the game.

"Next."

Yeyu took a deep breath and spoke.

Sunset Sky’s expression was awkward, but he was convinced of his defeat. His opponent’s talent was undeniable; if he wasn't someone who had entered the beginner server through special means, he was simply a player of immense natural ability.

Soon, the final opponent stepped onto the stage: a magical-class player.

Yeyu’s health was at 73%, and his mana at 79%—just enough to handle the current match. Since his opponent was a pure mage, and Yeyu wanted to experience what a level 80 mage was capable of—especially with custom talent trees and the first class advancement at level 60—he wanted to experience it firsthand.

A moment later, Yeyu froze. The mage was a female character designed to look like a small girl. Her real gender was verified by an icon, but she was dressed as a child, her face heavily made up, wearing an expression of intense dissatisfaction.

ID: "Falling Snow Cherry Blossom"

"Winning and losing is normal. Why are you so unhappy?"

Yeyu remained calm, a gentle smile on his face as he asked. But when he finished speaking, his smile twitched—he was shocked by the girl's response.

"Is that so? In that case, when you lose in a moment, you'll see why I have this expression."

Falling Snow Cherry Blossom’s expression was mocking and disdainful. Yeyu didn't realize she was actually scolding her own teammates for being too weak.

She began waving her staff, ice-blue light flickering on the crystal at its tip, casting a dazzling glow over the entire arena.

"Insect Magic: Soul-Erasing Qi-Draining Gu."

Suddenly, Yeyu was enveloped in an eerie green light, and the "Weakened" and "Slow" status effects appeared on him.

"Insect Magic: Cloud-Body Steel-Spirit Gu."

Yeyu smiled at the negative effects on his body. He didn't dodge, choosing to stand his ground and absorb the impact.

This attack dropped Yeyu’s health to 63%—a full 10% reduction. Even with balanced attributes, the damage was remarkably high.

"So it’s a combo-based attack style."

Yeyu narrowed his eyes, sensing her pattern. He looked at the girl in the distance and smiled: "The next attacks will likely carry negative status effects, won't they? And they all seem to have a marking effect?"

Upon hearing this, Falling Snow Cherry Blossom’s expression flashed with surprise. A player from a level 60 server who hadn't even undergone his first class advancement was able to discern her combat style? This was unexpected.

"Have you given up? Standing there waiting for me to kill you?"

Though she spoke, she didn't stop her movements, waving her staff once more.

"Insect Magic: Heaven-Turning Gu Seal."

A massive seal appeared in the air, descending upon Yeyu’s position as if it could flip the world upside down.

"Hmm? No casting delay? Has she already created skills in her custom talent tree to reduce casting time?"

Seeing the instantaneous skill, Yeyu was startled. He had some knowledge of this skill.

Mages who walked the path of the Gu Emperor were known for "Heaven-Turning Gu Seal." If hit, the target would suffer sustained damage that gradually increased, and the skill provided damage bonuses to the next three subsequent attacks.

Yeyu instinctively summoned his ancient zither. His hands swept across the strings, and purple light flared, forming a stunning barrier that enveloped him in a defensive stance to face the descending seal.