After Turning Into A Little Skeleton, I Got Contracted By A Goddess

The Art of Language

Although he was betrayed by his teammates, Zhang Mian didn't show any panicked expression, as if he had already expected this to happen.

He was not flustered at all. His figure suddenly transformed into a black mist which directly drifted into the crowd with the wind.

"Oh, no wonder I haven't seen his ability. So he's able to do this."

Zhou Mingrui instantly understood. Immediately after, bolts of lightning suddenly appeared in his surroundings, quickly condensing into an electric net that enveloped him.

"What a boring trick,"

Zhou Mingrui commented indifferently as he closed his fingers together to form a strike with his palm. He swung it from top to bottom and slashed out an energy blade.

The electric net was silently split into two, turning into tiny electric snakes that dissipated in the air.

But at that exact moment, a pool of black shadow suddenly appeared beneath Zhou Mingrui's feet.

"What?"

In that instant, Zhou Mingrui realized that he had fallen into Zhang Mian's trap the moment he charged into the enemy's formation.

"This is interesting. He has already predicted my choices."

Zhou Mingrui narrowed his eyes as the phantom energy in his body surged. He was prepared to break free from the restraints of the black shadow beneath his feet.

However, the next moment, he frowned. He couldn't lift his leg.

"?"

Zhou Mingrui let out a soft 'huh'. Exerting his strength again, he realized that the black shadow beneath him was extremely resilient. He was unable to break free of it within a short time.

As if sensing something, Zhou Mingrui looked up and realized that the students, originally huddled together, had all scattered. All sorts of attacks and control skills were thrown at Zhou Mingrui from different directions.

"They're trying to stall for time," Yan Wuyue, who was watching the battle, suddenly said.

"What do you mean?" Zhao Anqi asked.

"Although that Zhang Mian has predicted Zhou Mingrui's movements and habits, the fundamental difference in strength between the both of them still prevents him from being able to defeat Zhou Mingrui head-on. His only choice is to use his trump card to restrict Zhou Mingrui and stall for time until the end of the match."

"In that case, once the number of people increases, Zhao Mian will have a better chance of getting a higher ranking later on." Xiao Shengyun said.

"Ah, why? He obviously can't beat him, but he still can't beat him in the arena, right?" Zhao Anqi still couldn't understand.

Yan Wuyue laughed and said, "This isn't a life and death competition. The point of the competition is to provide an opportunity for students to display their abilities. To Zhao Mian, perhaps winning or losing isn't the most important. What's important is the opportunity and platform to display his abilities."

"Although Zhang Mian is not as strong as Zhou Mingrui and I, he has his strength in other areas too, which will need time and more matches to show off to the observers."

"There's also another potential purpose for his actions now. I reckon that after the elimination round, the next team competition will happen immediately after, without giving us any time to rest."

"Under such circumstances, the more Zhou Mingrui's stamina is depleted, the higher Zhao Mian's chances of obtaining the final victory."

"From the very beginning, all his thoughts, conversations, and commands were for himself. Everyone present, including himself, was a chess piece in his grand plan."

Zhao Anqi pursed her lips. "He's as scheming as a bottomless pit. I hate people like him the most. Isn't it tiring to live like that?"

"No," Yan Wuyue said with a smile, "it's precisely because there are such people that you don't have to worry about some things."

The two of them came from different positions, so they had different perspectives about such people.

With Yan Wuyue's former status, a subordinate like Zhao Mian could save her a lot of brain cells and even make up for many of her personal shortcomings.

To the human race, they would rather have more of such people.

Zhou Mingrui was naturally aware of this as well, but he was not enraged. Instead, he used his phantom energy to cover his entire body and defend against the incoming attacks as much as possible.

After releasing a large number of skills, the students also temporarily paused their attacks. After all, they did not have unlimited energy to release such large scale skills all the time.

"Have you had enough?"

Zhou Mingrui sneered, "You guys were used as tools to drain my energy. Do you feel good wasting your own energy for no reason?"

Upon hearing this, some students suddenly realized something and their expressions became very complicated.

"If the next match were to begin directly after this, with your current energy storage, what do you think are your chances of winning?"

Zhou Mingrui continued his psychological warfare. "That fellow has already gone into hiding. You guys have been attacking relentlessly me all this time. Has anyone seen me sustain any injuries?"

Shrugging, Zhou Mingrui looked around at the students.

"This isn't a battle of life and death, and it's not a competition where you have to get first place. Everyone just needs to show off your abilities. That guy has just destroyed your chance at that."

"So what if you defeat me? You've used up all your energy. Aren't you the best stepping stones for those who were slacking off or hiding all this time?"

"If we continue this, I can get rid of more than half of your people. Can't you see who will benefit in the end?"

"I personally think that what you guys should do now is to find those who are not putting in any effort, instead of fighting against me with no guarantee that you'll even injure me."

Upon hearing this, all the students looked at Zhou Mingrui in a different light. They instinctively turned to look at the person beside them.

....

"Hahaha, how exciting! This year's freshmen tournament is the most exciting I've ever seen."

"The one named Zhang Mian is extremely scheming, and Yan Wuyue's group is unparalleled in combat strength. I thought this summoned spirit was good enough already, but I truly didn't expect him to give us such a surprise in the end."

"That's right. this is really interesting. The situation has been completely reversed."

"And from the very beginning, they predicted that the next team competition will be right after this. That's pretty impressive."

"There are quite a few top-notch students this year. The students from the previous years can't compare to them at all."

"Yeah, I'm going to pee now."

"F*ck, old Wang, You're too much. But me too, I'm also in a hurry to pee."

...

"How about this, I can stop right now and promise not to attack you before the end of the match, but you can't attack me either. How about it?"

"Or you can try coming at me again. Although I can't guarantee that I can crush all of you, at least half of you will not qualify for the next competition."

"The choice is in your hands now."

Zhou Mingrui's words were like the last straw for many of the students.

Many of them couldn't help but stopped what they were doing. Looking at each other, they began to be wary of people outside of their own team.

At the same time, with a loud bang, the black shadow beneath Zhou Mingrui's feet finally could not withstand his pressure and broke away.

Seeing Zhou Mingrui break free from his restraints, those people immediately looked over again. They were obviously nervous and afraid that he would attack suddenly.

However, Zhou Mingrui simply waved his hand and turned to walk back to his team. He did not make a move.

Seeing this, the students finally quieted down.

But then, they looked at the different teams beside them.