The opening ceremony was at 10:00 AM the next day. Li Xiao and Song Jin got up early to head back to the competition base. Before leaving, Li Xiao gave Li Ji an inhibitor collar.

Li Ji took a look: “I have one.”

“This one has been modified; the results are better,” Li Xiao said, looking at Old Liu. “Help me keep an eye on him. He must wear this before departing.”

Old Liu looked at Li Ji, feeling conflicted, but nodded and agreed. Once Li Xiao and Song Jin left, Li Ji picked up the collar on the table, his gaze sweeping over the probe area.

Old Liu: “Should I send it for inspection?”

“No need.” Li Ji took off the one he was wearing around his neck and replaced it with this one.

The probes of an inhibitor collar make direct contact with the gland, a common method for assassins. As long as one coated the probes with poison, tampered with the settings, or increased the current output, it could take a person down instantly. Seeing Li Ji put it on just like that, Old Liu’s eyes flashed; he thought to himself that His Majesty really valued the Second Highness highly. His Majesty was on guard against everyone, but remained completely unreserved toward his younger brother.

At the Mech Competition Base, the backstage area was full of busy staff members, and the students were preparing for their entrance. Seeing Li Xiao and the others arrive, Jiang Hao handed over two separately stored sets of clothes: “These are the team uniforms.”

For this league, the military academy had specially customized uniforms for each participating student. The materials were much more refined than their usual training gear, and the style leaned toward mech pilot uniforms, though they were clearly more decorative than practical.

Qian Can stood in front of a mirror, striking poses, and nodded with satisfaction: “Not bad. It displays 20% of my handsomeness. Lele, hurry up and take a few photos for me.”

Qin Le took photos and videos from different angles: “I wouldn’t know otherwise; I’d think you were participating in some exhibition match.”

Qian Can chuckled: “Winning or losing doesn’t matter; as long as I’m handsome, that’s all that counts.”

Gao Jia changed into his clothes and walked over: “The military academy is rarely this attentive. This time is entirely thanks to the Second Highness.”

Qian Can: “That’s right. Brother Li and my brother are the protagonists today.”

Li Xiao checked the clothes, handed the set with Song Jin’s name on it to him, unbuckled the metal clips on his own combat harness, and casually reminded them: “The occasion is special today. Check your personal equipment before going on the field.”

Song Jin took off his military uniform and threw it into the locker: “Don’t just focus on looking cool and then drop the ball at a critical moment, embarrassing Shengya.”

Qian Can, who was nearly named, said: “……”

The implication was clear. Qin Le and Jiang Hao confirmed the status of their personal terminals and public networks again, checking the status of their inhibitor collars while straightening their collars.

Not long after, Yan Qing arrived in a hurry, looking at Li Xiao and the others who had just finished changing: “Are you all ready?”

Li Xiao nodded: “Ready.”

Yan Qing waved to the six of them: “We’re going on field soon, come with me to assemble!”

There were only six first-year students. They followed Yan Qing as he strode across the preparation area to the hall outside the mech hangar, where many military academy students were already lined up. Once everyone was present, the instructor in charge, Instructor Cheng, reiterated the rules of this league once more.

“This time, we are using a multi-school melee format. You cannot attack your own team members. Individual scores will be judged based on the time spent in the arena, combat performance, and kill count. Everyone’s spawn location is random, so you might be separated. Try to find teammates as much as possible, especially first and second years, to avoid being eliminated instantly. Third-year students should look after their juniors if conditions permit…”

After Instructor Cheng finished, Yan Qing added: “I’ll emphasize this one last time: an electromagnetic interference field has been activated above the arena. Once a competition mech exceeds an altitude of 100 meters, it will stop functioning normally. Simultaneously, the repatriation program will be triggered, forcing you back to a designated area, and you will be automatically eliminated. Everyone must pay extra attention.”

The bell rang, and everyone became alert. Instructor Cheng looked around at all the students from the three grade levels, his resonant voice echoing through the entire hall: “Handle it well and take the victory!”

All students responded in unison: “Understood!”

In the area where the competition was held, six huge floating observation towers were suspended in a hexagonal shape above the arena. In the center of the hexagon stood a taller observation deck. Six chains connected the six tower peaks, each hung with decorative copper bells; a gust of wind would trigger the mechanism, emitting a dull chime.

Half an hour before the start, all spectators entered one after another, and after five strict security checks, they were sent into their respective observation towers. On the six huge virtual screens in mid-air, the official competition livestream was displayed, with a group of young streamers enthusiastically discussing the behind-the-scenes details of the league, warming up for the upcoming match.

Ten minutes before the start, the streamers received a message from the backstage and shouted excitedly into their cameras: “Ahhhh—! His Majesty’s imperial convoy has arrived at the arena! Oh my god, His Majesty really came!!!”

All six screens simultaneously switched to the area above the competition grounds.

The King’s imperial vehicle, escorted by the army, drove majestically across the arena and landed at the side of the observation deck. All the observation towers erupted in deafening screams.

On the screen, Li Ji, dressed in full regalia, stepped out of the vehicle. He had shed the sluggish look from being beaten the night before, restoring his usual image of a cold and elegant monarch. Regardless of Li Ji’s governing ability, his face alone was enough to capture the affection of the vast majority of young people.

The host waiting on the observation deck excitedly described the scene, his rapid speech and excited expression fully contagious. Before the competition had even begun, both the livestream viewers and the live audience were already in a state of soaring adrenaline.

Li Ji entered the observation area accompanied by a group of local officials and sat down. From here, he could overlook the entire arena, and there were also many virtual screens around that would capture and display all the brilliant moments.

Old Liu had just set down the tea cup when the bell rang. On the livestream screen, the streamer introduced the participating players from the top mech colleges as they appeared. Following the introduction, the players from each college emerged from their respective preparation halls and headed to the mech hangars for final preparations.

After introducing nine colleges, the streamer’s voice suddenly rose: “Finally, it’s our highly anticipated First Military Academy students! Everyone’s favorite Second Highness and the Consort are here too! Don’t blink, you must record this! Let’s welcome them with applause—!”

The atmosphere at the scene reached its peak. Li Ji couldn’t spare the time to listen to the officials, focusing intently on the screen, tapping his fingers on the armrest twice. Old Liu understood and silently turned on his terminal camera to record.

The screen flickered, and the tall, heavy metal doors of the No. 1 preparation hall slowly opened. The tall and long-legged military students walked out slowly, wearing the same team uniforms. Every one of them stood tall, eyes fixed ahead like warriors about to head to the battlefield.

The dull chiming of the bells sounded like war drums, falling into everyone’s heart, filling the scene with a solemn and quiet atmosphere. Because of their status and their position as the “visual anchors,” Li Xiao and Song Jin were arranged to walk at the very front of the team.

Although their posture was straight, every move they made exuded a calm and composed ease. Among a group of high-spirited military students, they remained the absolute focus of everyone’s attention.

A gust of wind blew by. Song Jin looked up inadvertently, and the camera happened to capture it, cutting to a close-up. Everyone in front of their screens was struck by this look, subconsciously holding their breath, their hearts pounding wildly.

After a brief silence, a wave of enthusiastic screams rebounded from the observation towers. The sound from the towers was transmitted to the arena through the audio system; it was truly too piercing. Song Jin instinctively looked at Li Xiao, afraid that he would be uncomfortable due to his sensitivity to sound. Li Xiao noticed and gave him a reassuring look, indicating he was fine.

However, this ordinary scene appeared exceptionally ambiguous under the organizer’s close-up camera. The moment the two locked eyes, the screams from the observation towers rose once more.

Li Xiao/Song Jin: “…?”

This year’s audience is really enthusiastic.

The military students behind them: “…”

Following the Highnesses is so stressful, wuwu.

Livestream comments:

“Are they here for a competition or a wedding?”

“Just joined, saw this screen full of pink bubbles and thought I was in the wrong livestream.”

“The look the Highness gives Song Jin is too doting, I’m obsessed, wuwu.”

“With the Highness’s face, who would want to watch some competition?”

“Hate the Shengya people, except Song Jin.”

“Can’t imagine how good-looking their children will be.”

On the main observation deck, a group of officials spouted endless flattery, but Li Ji’s cold reaction left them completely baffled. Whether the relationship between these two royal brothers was good or not was truly a mystery.

After entering the hangar, all the players found their mechs based on the guidance. Taking advantage of the time before the start, Li Xiao let 09 perform a comprehensive check on his mech.

09: [Aside from the fact that the system comes with many competition-specific programs, there are no hardware issues.]

At exactly 10:00 AM, all the mechs flew out of their hangars and headed to their respective starting points based on system prompts. This field was built to imitate a forest. Li Xiao’s position was at the foot of a mountain in the northern part of the map. Once the control program was lifted, he activated his mech and headed toward the central area closest to the observation deck.

He had barely flown far before encountering three mechs from the same team. The mechs corresponding to each college had different colored lights; the military academy’s was crimson, while these three were orange-yellow. In addition, the pilots’ names and schools would be displayed on virtual screens above the mechs.

Li Xiao saw that they were names he didn’t recognize and ignored them, flying ahead. However, since his name was hanging above his head, the three players thought: If we don’t go up and spar with him, wouldn’t that show a lack of respect for the Second Highness?

One of the main competition screens cut to a close-up of Li Xiao. The streamer’s speech speed was comparable to a machine gun, rapid-firing the background info of the three players.

“The Second Highness encountered third-years from Longteng College right out of the gate! Note this Zhang Zhi; he is a top-ten ranked player in Longteng College! The Second Highness wants to pretend he didn’t see them and sneak past… his sneak attempt failed!”

“The three of them have cornered the Second Highness! Zhang Zhi starts with a spinning dive, slashing at the Second Highness’s head! Will the Second Highness be eliminated right out of the gate?! … The Second Highness reduces pressure on his thrusters and uses a Z-shaped maneuver to successfully evade! The other two players are also coming, watch out!”

In the observation towers, the audience could hear the streamer’s commentary. Once they heard that Zhang Zhi was a top-ten player, their hearts went into their throats. No way, no way? If the Second Highness gets eliminated right out of the gate, what are they going to watch?

But Li Xiao didn’t know their strength, nor did he have any interest in dueling. He evaded the two players attacking simultaneously and cranked his thrusters to the max.

Streamer: “Wow! The Second Highness dodges the pincer attack and flashes behind Zhang Zhi. He’s about to launch a counterattack—! … He, he slipped away! He actually slipped away!”

On the field, the three of them were stunned, chasing after Li Xiao in unison. The livestream comments were filled with “Hahahaha.”

“The Second Highness’s escaping technique is so superb, you are really… I’m dying of laughter.”

“Such a good opportunity and he didn’t counterattack? Is he rushing to find his wife?”

“Li Xiao: Max-level peace lover; hates fighting more than anything.”

“Zhang Zhi and the others are chasing him so anxiously, hahahaha.”

The closer he got to the center of the field, the higher the density of enemies. Soon, Li Xiao was being followed by a group, but he remained indifferent, wandering everywhere with absolutely no intention of counterattacking. When the group behind them saw that they couldn’t hit the Second Highness, they decided that killing the people on the sidelines would also work. As a result, before Li Xiao even made a move, the group behind them had already started fighting amongst themselves.

Streamer: “A melee of 54 people from seven schools! The Second Highness has been drowned out! … The Second Highness has flown out like nothing happened! Is this top-tier tactical prowess? Let the enemies attack each other; he watches from the sidelines and reaps the benefits. As expected of the Second Highness!”

Livestream comments:

“Li Xiao: I simply didn’t want to fight.”

“The importance of over-analyzing, hahahaha.”

“After this circle the Second Highness flew, wouldn’t everyone have fought each other to mutual destruction?”

Streamer: “The Second Highness is blocked! Let’s see if he will demonstrate new running techniques this time! Hu Xian, one of the top five players from Feiyue College, is attacking! A 1080° side-spin仰角 (ascending angle) push-cut of A-grade difficulty. The Second Highness can only ascend to dodge, but he’s blocked from above—this move won’t be easy to dodge!”

“The Second Highness has drawn his blade! He’s blocked Hu Xian’s killer blow head-on!”

“The Second Highness has pushed aside Hu Xian’s long sword. Hmm? The angle of the blade conversion is wonderful. He cut across Hu Xian’s head sensor area, and Hu Xian is eliminated!!!”

On the field, Li Xiao flew out of the encirclement after finishing off Hu Xian. His flight arc was smooth and beautiful, unhurried and steady as can be. A wave of intense cheers erupted in the observation towers. On the highest observation deck, Li Ji watched the slow-motion replay and the way everyone in the towers was excitedly screaming; he was in a great mood. The officials on the side, seeing that their flattery was being ignored, started watching the competition seriously and began exclaiming.

“Is the Second Highness actually this strong?”

“He was selected from the military academy; how could he not be strong?”

“I thought he was just drifting—to think he could easily finish off a top-five player?!”

“The Consort’s side is fighting fiercely!”

Hearing this, Li Ji looked at the other screen. Song Jin was on the far west side of the map, and his style was completely different from Li Xiao’s “lure enemies but don’t kill” approach. He was unstoppable—slaughtering anyone who stood in his way—until no one dared to approach him. As soon as he charged into a crowd, they scattered like birds and beasts.

Only when entering a certain area could the team channel be activated. Song Jin’s flight speed didn’t slow down in the slightest. His long sword flipped, reaping heads as he flew toward the central area. On the leaderboard, Song Jin hung at the top with a significant lead, though his point growth rate had begun to slow down. The players from other teams began to intentionally avoid him. Firstly, Song Jin was too strong, and secondly, his points were too high; if they kept feeding them to him, no one would be able to catch up.

Streamer: “Consort Song Jin is unstoppable; he’s already rushed to the edge of the level-four front line! Is this combat strength for real? Who else can stop him? Dulan, the third-year chief of Longteng?”

Another streamer: “I think it’s doubtful. Dulan is an offensive-defensive type player, and the Consort is an offensive type. If these two meet, Dulan will be at a disadvantage. The only person who can fight the Consort is probably the Second Highness, whose running skills are maxed out, hahahaha…”

Livestream comments:

“Li Xiao: Who are you saying has to run?”

“Li Xiao: Lure more small monsters to gift to the wife.”

“They are all moving to the center. I’m eating up this ‘running toward each other’ vibe, hahahaha.”

Competition Base Control Center.

A staff member wearing a uniform sat in front of the console, monitoring the operation of the base. His terminal suddenly vibrated. His heart jumped, and he scanned his surroundings vigilantly. Seeing that no one was paying attention to him, he carefully swiped it open.

[Act.]

The two simple words made his heart beat like a drum; his fingertips trembled in panic. He took two deep breaths, opened the virtual keyboard, and entered a string of code. As he tapped the final character, his scalp tightened, and he subconsciously looked at the surveillance screen.

However, ten seconds passed, and everything remained as usual. The competition on the field was still raging, and there was no movement from the observation deck or the observation towers. The alpha was incredulous, thinking he had been too nervous and entered the wrong command. He checked it twice more to confirm there was no error. Cold sweat poured down his back, and his vision began to blur.

How could this be? The command was correct, but there was no explosion?!

At the same time, Li Xiao heard 09’s prompt.

09: [Detected someone in the background entering the command to activate the bomb. I have already locked onto this person.]

Li Xiao: [Are there any other anomalies?]

09: [Not for the moment.]

At the same time, at the Military Headquarters on Imperial Capital Star.

Meng Jian sat in his office. The documents in front of him had been spread out for a long time, but he was unsettled and couldn’t read a single word. A knock on the door sounded suddenly, and he looked up abruptly. The adjutant hurried to the desk, his tone urgent: “Sir, the bomb failed!”

Meng Jian’s brows jumped: “It wasn’t discovered, right?”

Adjutant: “It was definitely not discovered, but I don’t know what happened—the activation command in the background failed.”

Meng Jian’s face sank. He actually had a feeling of of course it happened. No matter how meticulous the arrangements, once they touched upon Li Xiao, they were bound to fail. Why is this?!

“Switch to the backup plan; proceed with the operation!” Meng Jian crushed a walnut in his palm, his eyes fierce. “I want to see if he is truly invincible.”

Adjutant: “Yes!”

On the field, Li Xiao and Song Jin finally entered the maximum allowed range for the team channel, successfully connecting. Through the mech monitors, they could see each other from a distance. Song Jin saw the dark mass of people behind Li Xiao and was puzzled: “What are you doing with so many minions?”

Li Xiao: “They are here to kill me.”

Song Jin: “…”

The livestream broadcasted the conversation between the two after they connected, and the streamers almost laughed themselves to death.

In the observation area, the atmosphere gradually relaxed as the competition progressed. Listening to the officials discussing the strength of Li Xiao and Song Jin, Li Ji feigned confusion and said: “Is this considered strong? I haven’t watched a mech competition in too long; I don’t quite understand it anymore.”

Officials: “…?!!!”

His Majesty finally reacted!

“Strong! They are truly strong!”

“Really! The player the Second Highness just finished off is a top student from a top mech college in the Zifu constellation!”

“Look at the Consort; he’s taking it with ease, he hasn’t even shown his full strength yet.”

The officials scrambled to praise them. Li Ji raised his eyebrows slightly, nodding as if it were a matter of no concern. Old Liu glanced at the faint smile at the corner of Li Ji’s mouth. His Majesty must be absolutely thrilled inside, right? Even his eyes are drifting with joy.