Chapter 53: Seizing Control of the Rank Advancement Match

"Wang Zheng, what happened to you? It's such a pity you couldn't attend the training session!" said Zhang Shan.

Wang Zheng shrugged his shoulders helplessly. "I couldn't help it. My body's fatigue caught up with me. This happens for a couple days every month."

Everyone around him stared blankly before laughing out loud. "If you can laugh at this, something is definitely up."

"Hehe, Brother Shan, Brother Zheng has already gotten a girlfriend. Everyone is looking at him in envy," said Chen Xiu.

"F*ck, it's no wonder he is our dormitory leader. He is always one step ahead of us. Who is it? Could it be Ye Zisu?" asked Zhang Shan. Meng Tian was training with them after all, so it could not have been her.

"It's not Ye Zisu. The new girl is even prettier than her. Her beauty is indescribable. I have never met such a beautiful and graceful girl before," said Chen Xiu as he gestured excitedly.

"Is it true? Surely you are exaggerating? Nevertheless, congratulations to Brother Zheng!"

Zhang Shan's demeanor had changed considerably after his special training program had ended. It could be said that while an individual may be gifted with many talents, it is up to the individual to decide what suits him or her the most.

With time, one would have to slowly change. As with Zhang Shan, he had felt this change, and despite his childhood dream of pursuing a career in the Natural Sciences, he was conflicted as he now also wanted to develop himself in the Military Science Department.

He possessed an extremely logical mind and spatial awareness. This was extremely useful for swift decision making during a battle scenario.

Most importantly, the battlefield gave Zhang Shan a feeling which he would never experience in the field of physics.

On the other hand, Zhang Shan felt that Wang Zheng's situation was truly a pity. The special training was an exceptional opportunity which Wang Zheng failed to capitalize on. However, Wang Zheng possessed even greater talent in the field of physics, and perhaps this was actually the silver lining in the cloud.

Yet Wang Zheng was not at all depressed, as he had Aina by his side. Aina helped bring color to Wang Zheng's life. There simply wasn't enough time each day. In addition to his dating life, Wang Zheng continued to train. Despite numerous attempts to call out Bonehead, his mentor never showed. Wang Zheng could only continue with activities that he himself had come up with.

The Primal Regression technique had reached a bottleneck and no progress had been made for some time. However, he still couldn't relax. He could only continue to cultivate his inner strength and not go against the tide.

When Meng Tian got back and received news of Wang Zheng getting a girlfriend, she seemed very calm. It was as though she didn't care. Even during her MMA training sessions, she continued to train normally. Furthermore, when she talked, it was only about training. It was as if she could not care less about Wang Zheng's dating life.

The Art Society's modelling activity only happened once a week. The vast majority of the time, Wang Zheng spent his time with Aina. The two of them seemed to never run out of conversational topics. Wang Zheng would silently sit next to Aina and listen to the world of the Aslan Empire and its culture.

It was truly an elite world. Life had developed in the best way possible, but Aina felt that in the process of all this, its people had forgotten about the beauty of life. However, Aslan was the place that all the people of the Milky Way Galaxy aspired to live in.

Wang Zheng often talked about the interesting things that happened to him. His early life only comprised of the spirit stick his dad used to hit him with. Following which, he met the Old Merchant. Now that he thought about it, the Old Merchant still possessed other tricks. Aina truly admired the Old Merchant. A seemingly simple book store owner possessed such vast knowledge; crouching tigers and hidden dragons truly did exist among the common populace. One should never look down on them.

Although stories of Wang Zheng and Tyrant Su's awkward times were Aina's favorite, when the two of them spoke too enthusiastically, they would often mutter gibberish only understood by the two of them. Wang Zheng as a result still did not understand why Aina would fall in love with him.

More or less everyone who knew them did not understand either.

Aina gradually assimilated into Ares College's school life. She was very clear that she had to forget her identity as the Princess in order to better enjoy her student life. This was not something a normal girl could do; however, Aina wasn't a normal girl.

Like Ye Zisu, Yan Xiaosu, who often got extremely nervous around Aina, also discovered that Aina was blending in and trying to live a normal life while enjoying her time with Wang Zheng.

This caused Yan Xiaosu to feel utmost reverence for Wang Zheng. Wang Zheng was a true man. No! A god of men!

Even if Tyrant Su had always looked up to Wang Zheng, his respect had made Wang Zheng extremely happy.

These two single brothers had finally gotten attached. This year, the two of them would not need to drink by the lakeside as single men any longer.

At Brothers Net Café.

Wang Zheng had to hone his CT skills every weekend. In addition, Aina loved the way Wang Zheng looked when he battled. In Aina's words, at that point in time, Wang Zheng looked exceedingly cool and amazing.

Our dear Student Wang also had his own selfish motives. Honestly, he was more concerned about the rewards he would gain from winning. More importantly, a VIP room allowed a couple their privacy. There were too many students around, and if someone were to notice Aina and him doing scandalous things, his reputation would be ruined.

Alas, even our dear Student Wang felt that he was spoiled. However, after thinking about it, this was a result of his ability!

Yan Xiaosu also brought An Mei along. Student Yan wanted to demonstrate his skills in front of An Mei. With Rainbow's help, Tyrant Su had finally managed to attain a bronze rank in competitive play. That shiny insignia had improved Tyrant Su's reputation. He was now rushing towards the next rank, silver. Eventually, he hoped to achieve a gold rank, and he would do anything to obtain it so that he could meet his own standards.

Yan Xiaosu and Wang Zheng both had the same thoughts in mind. Lovers needed a private space! Thus, Yan Xiaosu held An Mei's small hands as he led her to a private room. He was truly obstructed.

A relationship between males and females is very mysterious. If a couple cannot progress at a point where mutual feelings are at an all-time high, it will only result in a friendship. Looking at it from another angle, such an outcome would be very pathetic.

Yan Xiaosu was confident that Wang Zheng had the same aim in mind. Otherwise, why would a noob-stomping elder run here? Boss was truly being a boss. Regardless of what he did, he would always plan things ahead.

Although, after saying all this, once they entered the battle, Wang Zheng would be extremely attentive. He wasn't like the others; if he didn't perform well, he would have to pay a price.

Bonehead's training did not allow for any failure. He could not remember the countless times he had been punished and electrocuted! Any more and he would have become an electrical conductor.

"Do you know who your opponent will be this time?" Aina asked curiously.

It was impossible for a member of Aslan to not be interested in military matters. In Aslan, every member of society had to go through two rounds of military training. Short of extraordinary circumstances, military training was typically unavoidable. As such, members of the royal family also had to undergo military training. As a result, Aslan possessed the ability to rally the entire country to arms and possessed an extremely skilled population.

Even a game like CT was played to the highest standards in Aslan.

1 versus 1 or 5 versus 5?

Wang Zheng looked at Aina and she blinked her eyes. "Let's make things difficult for you. How about 5 versus 5?"

Wang Zheng smiled as he selected the 5 versus 5 option. "And if I win win, what will my prize be?"

Aina cheekily winked at Wang Zheng. "Let's see how things go."

Dear Student Wang looked as though he had been splashed with chicken blood. He would have to perform well this time.

Entering Matchmaking.

In the discussion forum, numerous individuals were currently waiting. 5 versus 5. Every player in the server had heard of Skeleton. In fact, Skeleton was no longer a nameless and reputationless newbie. Now that he was famous, the moment he appeared, he would be the focus of the enemies. How would he fight?

There were just too many variables. With Skeleton's current win rate, he would likely be placed into an extremely high-skilled match. The Wargod No. 1's disadvantage in group fights would become evident.

"Welcome, everyone, to today's 5 versus 5 group match. I am Young Deer."

"Hello, everyone. I am Bubbly Foam, and I will be commentating with Young Deer for today's match. I have always looked up to Skeleton, and I can't believe that my first time commenting one of his matches will be for a 5v5 group battle!"

Bubbly Foam was a famous beauty among commentators. This time she was specially invited by Young Deer. The two of them were the most well-known CT commentators.

"It is my honor to be able to work together with Bubbly Foam. Let us see what kind of surprises Skeleton will show us today. Will his Wargod No. 1 be able to create miracles in a group battle?" Young Deer was extremely calm today. After suffering time and time again, even a pig would learn from its past mistakes. He would first observe the situation before making a comment.

The beauty smiled as she asked, "Young Deer, I heard that you hold certain prejudices against Skeleton. Is that true?" With her oval face, her laughter showed her adorable dimples. It was no surprise why she was bursting with popularity.

Professional commentators not only received compensation for their work but possessed their own online shops. They earned quite a sum, even more than certain players.

Young Deer was also an old fox. He gave her a wry smile. "What do you think? Don't joke around. I am an extremely cautious person. This tightrope situation can easily be overturned. Especially since it's a group battle. The only thing I can do is wish good luck to the ones who will become Skeleton's teammates."

"Really? Let us wait and see. Everyone, right now what everyone is seeing is the Newbie Arena's Legendary Skeleton's group battle matchmaker."

The discussion forum immediately exploded with chatter. What kind of battle would this be?

The officials had already been riled up and were currently awaiting the results of the matchmaking.

Pretty Outstanding Guy, Silver Rank 3

I Am Not A Noob, Bronze Rank 4

Don't Run Loli, Silver Rank 5

Tom, Dick, and Harry, Bronze Rank 1

Wang Zheng's win rate was too high. After seeing Tom, Dick, and Harry's portrait light up, it could be seen that this was a rank advancement match. He was trying to rise from Bronze Rank 1 to Silver Rank 5.

On the enemy team, there were two silver ranks and three bronze ranks.

Tom, Dick, and Harry was extremely nervous. He had to win two out of his three placement matches to advance in rank. He had already lost one and won one. This match would be the culmination of his hard work for the weekend. When he saw two silver ranks, he felt extremely happy. Unfortunately, there happened to be a noob on his team. At that point, his heart sank.

Hang on... this ID seemed slightly familiar.

Wasn't this the player that was extremely popular right now?

"The enemies have appeared. The red and blue teams both have an individuals hoping to advance to silver rank. This will be a battle where the players will stake it all. We have seen Skeleton's personal skill, but will it stand up to the test of a group battle?"

Bubbly Foam smiled as she browsed through the opposing players' information.

"Group battles are completely different from solo fights. Most importantly, one has to coordinate and comply with his team."

Young Deer looked extremely calm, but deep down he was extremely happy. This time there was a chance. With the situation now, the opposing team would definitely focus their efforts on Skeleton. If he lost, it could be blamed on Skeleton. If they won, but Skeleton got destroyed, he could once again blame Skeleton. This time he had more than a 50% chance of success.

However, what was depressing to Young Deer was the fact that Skeleton's matchmade teammates were all extremely strong.

The highest ranked player was designated to become the team captain. Thus, the captain would be Pretty Outstanding Guy.

"Everyone, this is Little Brother's advancement match. Please help me out. Please put in your best effort!" Tom, Dick, and Harry said anxiously.

The advancement match was one which had to be seized by force. Relying on oneself was not enough; it required the strength of the team. Thus, he had to be more polite and sincere.

Pretty Outstanding Guy gave him a slight smile. "Relax, our team has two silver ranks, while the enemy team also possesses two. However, we have a secret weapon."

"My god, it's Skeleton. That's wonderful!" shouted I Am Not A Noob. He was clearly well-versed in the latest CT news and gossip.

The two silver ranks were extremely calm. Higher ranks not noticing lower ranks was typically quite normal. Regardless, they had definitely heard of Skeleton.

"I have an idea. I will take the top lane and block two of the enemies. Skeleton will take mid lane and fight one of them. I think that shouldn't be a problem. Loli and the other two will lie in ambush and quickly dispatch the enemy. After that, come and assist me. They will definitely be taken by surprise."