Newbie Guardians

Chapter 17 Ancient Books

Back in her dormitory, Huang Xin took a hot shower while reflecting on her grandfather's instructions: before participating in the trials, she must figure out her strengths; she must get an acceptance letter from the Folklore Academy; and she must diligently study the ancient books in the second-floor study. She had already accomplished the first two; now only the last remained. However, those ancient books were extremely obscure and difficult to understand. Even after reading them so many times, she only remembered a small portion. Even if she could recite them perfectly, what use would it be? Yet, her grandfather had repeatedly emphasized that those things would be of great use.

Back in his room, Huang Xin continued to carefully peruse the book, and soon fell asleep on the table.

For the next two months, Huang Shen lived a new life of going back and forth between three points: attending theoretical classes in the classroom in the morning, fighting with scarecrows in the training ground in the afternoon, and reading ancient books to fall asleep at night. The effect of reading ancient books was even better than that of sleeping pills.

Time flies, and the semester is almost over. As is customary, the college will soon hold final exams. The rules vary each year, but this year's rules are:

Each class will first be grouped by department, and then a lottery will be held to group them according to the number order. Each group will have five people, and each group will prioritize combining people from different departments. This test focuses on teamwork, especially cooperation between people from different professions.

With the addition of Huang Xin and two other new students, the class had exactly fifty students, divided into ten groups. Huang Xin, not being from a particular department, sadly became the last one added to the group, filling in any group with fewer than five members. After some deliberation, Huang Xin was assigned to the elite group, whose members included his ice-cold deskmate Mu Lingshan, his roommate Jin Jun, the lightning-elemental Cheng Ziyu, and the wind-elemental Liu Hanqin. Mu Lingshan and Jin Jun were both top students in the class, and with the two magic-based damage dealers, the group was a bit too strong. Huang Xin's addition, this "burden," balanced the strength gap between the groups.

This assessment will first determine the first-place team in each class, then they will compete against thirty-one other classes to determine the final champion team. The champion team will receive extremely generous rewards, including abundant cultivation resources and a set of equipment. Of course, these rewards have absolutely nothing to do with Huang Xin, since he has no aptitude whatsoever and is unable to cultivate.

After the group was formed, the person sitting next to him didn't care at all who their group members were, and Jin Jun didn't mind Huang Xin joining them either, since he was his little brother. The other two, however, had a lot of complaints and were quite disgusted with the "burden."

The intra-class competition went smoothly. Huang Xin's group won four consecutive matches without any suspense and won first place. It was basically Jin Jun and the two magic-based players who showed their skills, with Mu Lingshan providing support, and Huang Xin won without lifting a finger.

Tomorrow morning we'll be competing against the top student from another class. Huang Xin asked Jin Jun to give him some final special training. It's clear that he really wants to do something for the group.

The two arrived at the training ground. Jin Jun first asked Huang Xin to demonstrate the results of his efforts over the past two months. Huang Xin stepped forward, skillfully drawing two short swords. His hands appeared to move little, but the swords were constantly twirling in his palms, switching between a regular grip and an inverted grip, clearly showing he had put in a lot of practice. Immediately afterward, Huang Xin charged at the scarecrow, launching attacks on vital areas such as the head, heart, and abdomen, each strike aimed to kill, displaying considerable power.

Jin Jun shook his head. It was too slow, especially the process of rushing towards the scarecrow. In his eyes, it was as slow as a snail's pace. After a moment's thought, he decided to let him try the metal-type assault skill.

Jin Jun told Huang Xin to step aside, took a long spear from his inventory, and casually slung it over his shoulder, appearing extremely relaxed. Then, with a roar, he pushed off the ground with his hind legs and charged towards the scarecrow. At the same time, he gripped the spear with both arms, the tip pointing forward, and with a bang, pierced the scarecrow through. From charging forward fifteen meters to completing the kill, it took less than two seconds.

Jin Jun sheathed his weapon and began to explain in detail.

"This is a metal-type assault skill. Utilizing the advantage of a long weapon, it creates a powerful deterrent effect on the enemy, forcing them to dodge. It's usually used to interrupt an opponent's powerful attack. The technique for generating power through the legs is to first relax the whole body and focus the energy in the dantian (lower abdomen). When launching the assault, the rear leg should slam into the ground, requiring extremely strong explosive power. Therefore, you should use as much energy as possible from the dantian for this leg push. When channeling energy into the dantian, concentrate all your thoughts on that area. When the rear leg pushes out, all the energy from the dantian should rush to the soles of the feet. Only in this way can you generate maximum propulsion and increase the assault speed several times over."

Huang Xin carefully took notes and practiced slowly. After mastering the key points, he repeatedly practiced breathing exercises, kicking, charging, and launching attacks until 2 a.m. before finally stopping, still feeling unsatisfied. The two returned to their respective rooms and fell asleep immediately.

The next day, the school announced the competition rules and list of participants, as follows:

The first round determined the top 16 teams. The eliminated teams withdrew from the competition and received the top 32 prize.

The second round determined the top eight teams. The eliminated teams withdrew from the competition and received the prize for the top sixteen.

The third round determined the top four teams. The eliminated teams withdrew from the competition and received the top eight prizes.

The fourth round will determine the teams that will advance to the finals, while the eliminated teams will continue to compete.

The fifth round will determine the third and fourth place winners, who will receive corresponding rewards.

The sixth round will determine the champion and runner-up, who will then receive corresponding rewards.

The winning team receives an additional chance to win a set item from each class through a random draw. Note that a set consists of two or more specific pieces of equipment. For example, the Vulcan set comprises five pieces: Vulcan Gauntlets, Vulcan Armor, Vulcan Belt, Vulcan Leggings, and Vulcan Boots. Collecting and equipping the entire set grants powerful additional attributes. Equipping two pieces increases critical hit rate by 15%, three pieces by 15%, four pieces by 15%, and five pieces by 15%, plus the ability to resurrect once every 24 hours.

After reading the rules, Huang Xin finally understood what the set meant, especially the "Rebirth" attribute after collecting the entire Vulcan set. He had to do everything in his power to help the team win the championship. His grandfather's words echoed in his mind again, "You must figure out what your strengths are." Besides being brave, what other strengths did he have? The experience of his last dream flashed through his mind; he was clearly weak, yet he had scared away the alpha wolf and successfully rescued the snowman mother and daughter. The strategy he used was—bluffing! Huang Xin seemed to have grasped some key information and couldn't help but mutter to himself, "bluffing...bluffing..."

"Huang Xin! The competition has started, let's go!" Jin Jun's calm, emotionless voice rang out. Huang Xin pulled herself out of her chaotic thoughts and followed Jin Jun to the arena.

Today, sixteen matches are being played simultaneously. Huang Xin's team is facing off against the elite team from Class 21. Their lineup consists of an Earth-type tank, a Wood-type ranged attacker, a Fire-type melee DPS, a Lightning-type ranged controller, and a Water-type healer. This lineup has virtually no weaknesses, and Huang Xin's Lightning and Wind-type teammates are feeling immense pressure. After all, it's four against one, and their chances of winning are slim!