Feeling the searing heat assaulting his face, Lei Su attempted to block with the aura from Bulwark of the War God. However, he couldn't use it again so soon after blocking an attack. As for his other defensive skills, there was no time.
Nie Yan's attack came at the most opportune time. Lei Su's reaction was a beat too late. He simply had no time to block the Cut Throat. The sharp blade of Zennarde's Sword came down on his throat, ruthlessly slicing open a large wound.
−9,895
Lei Su lost all his remaining health.
THUD! Lei Su collapsed to the ground.
"It's over." Nie Yan sheathed Zennarde's Sword. He was quite pleased with his last Cut Throat.
The spectators didn't find this outcome surprising at all. From the beginning of the match to the end, Lei Su was always on the backfoot. Nie Yan's speed was simply too oppressive. However, they still deeply admired Lei Su. There were definitely no more than five players in the entire Viridian Empire who could push Nie Yan this far.
Everyone was dumbstruck. This was the strength of a Shadow Dancer and Sword Saint! Many players replayed the video of the match at half or quarter speed, watching everything back in slow motion. From one shot to the next, the video was analyzed. What was impossible to see live became crystal clear in the replays. Nie Yan and Lei Su's grasps of skill cooldowns and reaction speeds were especially impeccable.
After playing the match back countless times over, only then did everyone understand just what a Shadow Dancer represented-the absolute pinnacle of speed! As a Sword Saint, Lei Su's attacks were by no means slow. However, he couldn't hold a candle to Nie Yan. He was abused like a punching bag while his health was slowly shaved away. Even if he had unrivalled defense and health, he would still eventually succumb to the endless barrage of attacks.
In terms of class matchups, a Sword Saint could easily suppress a Shadow Dancer. But in the face of Nie Yan's devillish speed, Lei Su was completely helpless to retaliate.
"The forums say Magisters beat Sword Saints, Sword Saints beat Shadow Dancers, and Shadow Dancers beat Magisters-sort of like a roshambo relationship. But how come, after watching the match between Nirvana Flame and Lei Su, I feel like Shadow Dancers can completely suppress Sword Saints? What can you even do against that ludicrous speed?" a player analyzed in a speechless manner.
"Pfft... Did you already forget who Lei Su was facing? Just because Nirvana Flame can beat Lei Su using that kind of method doesn't mean others can. I'm betting ordinary Shadow Dancers would have the floor wiped with them."
The player thought for a moment. This made sense. With such high health and defense, a Shadow Dancer would generally never take action against a Sword Saint in the wilderness. Because to them, Sword Saints were too tough to chew. Even if they mounted the perfect ambush, taking down a Sword Saint generally wasn't possible. Their only advantage was their powerful fleeing ability, allowing them to not lose even if they couldn't win. In other words, the match wasn't fair to begin with. Lei Su had an innate advantage. However, Nie Yan was simply too powerful. He used his high stats to overcome this class disadvantage.
Though Lei Su had lost, the fearsome destructive power of a Sword Saint remained engraved deeply in the minds of the players. At present, three classes had appeared among the Master Class players, Sword Saint, Magister, and Shadow Dancer. Each one was supremely powerful, sparking the imaginations of countless players. If they could successfully class advance, even if they couldn't become as amazing as Nie Yan or Lei Su, they would still stand at the apex among ordinary players. Master Classes were definitely the symbol of the strong.
Everyone fervently discussed Master Classes, all of them talking about wanting to reach Level 100 and tackling their class advancement quests. They had no idea how difficult it was. Even Asskickers United's top elites, despite possessing amazing equipment, Nie Yan couldn't guarantee every one of them would succeed. Luck played an important factor too. Out of hundreds of thousands of players, maybe one or two would have a chance of reaching Master Class.
Nonetheless, after this match, the title of Master Class became highly coveted.
After a while, Lei Su revived.
Lei Su looked a bit dejected. "I lost and pretty handedly too. Even if we go for a rematch, I think the result would still be the same."
"Mhmm, yeah. Time to fulfill your end of our agreement," Nie Yan said with a faint smile. Lei Su had agreed to join Asskickers United if he lost.
Nirvana Flame has sent you a request to join Asskickers United. Do you wish to accept?
Lei Su has joined Asskickers United.
After finding out Lei Su had joined the guild, the players of Asskickers United were overcome with excitement. He had undoubtedly proved his strength in his match against Nie Yan. Him joining meant the guild had another peak expert. Also as a Warrior, he stood on equal footing with Bladelight and Smoke Stub. They were overjoyed. A rising tide lifts all boats. As members of Asskickers United, the guild's growth was naturally their growth as well. This was definitely something worth celebrating over.
Before long, news of Lei Su joining Asskickers United spread out to the outside as well. This was a world-shaking development. A fresh tide of experts put in their applications to enter the guild. After all, Asskickers United had it all; both a powerful growth potential and backing. As for how far a colossus like them would go or what they would be like in the future, no one really knew. Those who previously decided not to join Asskickers United also started reconsidering. If they waited until Asskickers United had united the entire Viridian Empire to join, it would be too late. Most large guilds highly valued seniority; new members would have to work twice as hard to obtain a spot among the veterans. It didn't matter how strong they were, only those who went through the fire together and came out on top received the best treatment.
Lei Su's entry into Asskickers United had set off a whole new wave of players looking to join the guild.
After settling some guild affairs on his side, Nie Yan started chatting with Lei Su. Since both of them were from the Top Military Academy and had heard of each other's names before, they had no trouble interacting and seemed destined to become friends.
Many Warriors from the guild came over to give their greetings, welcoming Lei Su into the guild. At the same time, they also asked him to give them a few pointers.
Seeing the Asskickers United players happily chatting with Lei Su, Nie Yan quietly withdrew from the crowd. It appeared he wasn't needed here anymore. Just as he was about to take his leave, his notification bar flashed.
Lei Su sent Nie Yan a private message.「Besides challenging you, I also came here today to invite you to join Heavenly Kings. Are you interested?」
Heavenly Kings? Nie Yan's eyes trembled. Looking over at Lei Su in the distance, his expression changed. He had no idea at all that Lei Su was part of Heavenly Kings.
At the start of the school year, Nie Yan had learned from his father what kind of existence Heavenly Kings was. Whether in the political, military, or business sphere, their influence ran deep. If he could join them, it would be of enormous benefit to World Bloc. His father repeatedly told him that if he had a chance to join them, he definitely had to accept no matter what, and to just open his mouth if he needed anything. Given how serious his father was, he naturally kept these words in mind.
Since Nie Yan now had the chance to join Heavenly Kings, he definitely couldn't let it slip by!
「Can I have a meeting with your higher-ups first?」Nie Yan asked. He was extremely careful with his words. Heavenly Kings definitely couldn't be offended. If Lei Su was a member and he could join through Lei Su's referral, he could naturally wish for nothing more. However, he also didn't want to appear too eager or impatient, for fear of something backfiring.
Seeing that Nie Yan was interested, Lei Su replied, "Of course you can. Our higher-ups have already been expecting you for a long time."
After watching the videos of Nie Yan fighting and his match with Nie Yan today, Lei Su felt a lot of admiration for Nie Yan. He couldn't be happier if Nie Yan joined Heavenly Kings. So, he didn't think too much when answering.
Lei Su's words gave Nie Yan a piece of information. It appeared Heavenly Kings had been eyeing him from the start. That meant his chances of joining were even higher.
「Are there any requirements or restrictions for joining?」Nie Yan asked. Generally, these types of secret clubs had strict sets of rules. Nie Yan didn't want to be restrained too greatly. So, he wanted to weigh the pros and cons first. If joining Heavenly Kings was beneficial to him, he would definitely be happy to join. However, if it wasn't of any help to him and he would be restricted instead, it wasn't really worth it.
After talking about the origins of Heavenly Kings, Lei Su said,「Our club doesn't require much of our members. You can freely join, and you can also request to leave. But while you're a member of the club, as long as it doesn't pose any harm to your interests, we're all supposed to cooperate together and support each other.」
Lei Su's words dispelled some of the misgivings in Nie Yan's heart. It seemed Heavenly Kings was fairly open-minded. It was simply an organization for students to meet up and help each other. The key point was that every member of the club held astonishing influence and authority.
Nie Yan didn't know which part of him had attracted the attention of those people. But since they had invited him, that meant he was a valuable asset in their eyes.
「If you're willing to join Heavenly Kings, you can call me up after you log off. I'll send you my number.」
「Alright, thank you.」Nie Yan nodded.
Seeing Nie Yan agree, Lei Su faintly smiled. Ever since he joined Heavenly Kings, he had never seen a single person refuse their invite. Nie Yan being willing to join was only to be expected.「I hope we'll have many happy days ahead of us.」