Chapter 77

When Mu Chenxing returned to his school’s seating area, the gymnasium remained quiet.

His own classmates, however, were thrilled. They kept clapping, cheering, and whistling, with several crowding over to high-five and bump fists with him.

His team was used to it by now, but the other schools watching grew even more silent.

Not only were they excited—even the teachers in the designated spectator zone were pumped. Several dark-skinned, towering Alphas waved their arms and bellowed, utterly ignoring any pretense of teacherly decorum. They stood out sharply amid the crowd of silent educators.

The massive Holo-Screen flashed the results one after another.

Mu Chenxing spotted his school’s name and quickly signaled everyone to quiet down. “Teacher Zhang and the others are still competing. Don’t cause a ruckus.”

The Alphas sat back down, though the Omegas remained buzzing with excitement.

The two who had lost started reviewing their matches, muttering under their breath:

“I was still too tense. I didn’t seize that first-second initiative.”

“Same here. If we’d moved a bit faster, we could’ve steadied ourselves. Their opponents didn’t seem that strong.”

The ones who hadn’t competed yet were brimming with confidence now, rubbing their fists, eager to fight as they prepared to head down.

In this first Preliminary Selection round, their zone had only one Military Academy team. The other schools had plenty of Omegas and Betas, but those entering the arena were almost all Alphas.

These Alphas weren’t from the Military Academy, so most weren’t as skilled as his school’s Alphas. Still, as juniors and seniors past their Heat Periods, their strength and speed far outstripped ordinary Omegas.

But for Mu Chenxing, who had already challenged Mecha Department Alphas, beating them was even easier than thrashing Xu Zhicheng back in his freshman year.

The two defeated Omegas simply lacked targeted training, plus the innate physical differences, nerves, and inexperience had led to their quick losses.

If they came back next year, they’d surely score well.

What a shame.

Before heading out, Fu Mingyuan and the other leaders had spoken with him. They didn’t have high expectations for this batch of Omegas—just needed them to show up and make an appearance. Winning a few extra matches would be ideal, gaining experience for the organizers and regions, forcing better accommodations for Omega participants.

So even if Mu Chenxing made it to the finals himself, he hoped the Omegas he’d brought would get in a few more fights—at least to broaden their horizons.

In no time, this round of matches wrapped up.

The previously hushed gymnasium buzzed again, though plenty of eyes flicked toward their school.

The big screen lit up with the next batch of competitors, and those whose wristbands pinged stood up.

This time, it was Li Duoduo and another Omega, Xiao Xiao.

Li Duoduo was the strongest all-around among their cohort of Omegas, while Xiao Xiao boasted the highest speed and burst power. Though weaker in straight-up fights, he could win with agility.

Mu Chenxing said, “That move of mine earlier probably spooked a lot of people. Your opponents will be tense. Don’t bother with preemptive strikes—they’ll charge first. You just start by…”

He leaned in, whispering instructions.

Li Duoduo’s expression turned a bit odd.

Xiao Xiao, however, lit up with excitement. “Got it!”

After a few quick words, Mu Chenxing clapped them both on the back. “Go on, good luck!”

The surrounding classmates clapped. “Duoduo, fight on! Xiao Xiao, fight on!”

The two Omegas were still a little nervous, holding hands as they headed down with the other Alphas competing.

Their positions were fairly close—just diagonally offset by one spot.

With two more Omegas entering the arena, the gymnasium’s buzz faded once more.

Everyone held their breath, eyes glued.

All competitors in position. Countdown to start.

…3, 2, 1—

Li Duoduo’s opponent lunged immediately. Li Duoduo dodged with a flash, sprinting away.

Xiao Xiao bolted with his elbows tucked, screaming, “Help—!”

The shriek made the sprinting Li Duoduo stumble, nearly falling. His teammates in the stands gasped in shock.

But this was Li Duoduo.

He grabbed the incoming Alpha’s fist like a handrail, yanking himself up while pulling the guy forward into a stumble. Seizing the momentum, Li Duoduo unleashed a flurry of punches into the Alpha’s back, sending him staggering out of bounds.

The Alpha: “…Fuck.”

Had he been sneak-attacked? Sort of?!

The Military Academy students erupted in cheers again. “Duoduo’s mighty! Duoduo’s mighty!!”

The Alpha, indignant: “Protest! Sneak attack! I demand a rematch!”

Li Duoduo stared at him like he was an idiot. “It’s just us two in this match—me attacking you is a sneak attack? How’d you even get into university?”

The Alpha: “…”

Li Duoduo ignored him and turned to check on Xiao Xiao.

Xiao Xiao was still running in circles, elbows in, fists up, screaming nonstop. Every time the Alpha closed in, he’d duck and twist like a slippery fish, dodging away. The Alpha yelled in frustration, “This is a match—what’re you running for?!”

Xiao Xiao: “Aaaah, I’m scared, don’t hit me—”

The Alpha, knowing full well he was under everyone’s gaze, fumed. “If you’re scared, why enter the competition?!”

“Help, heeelp~~~”

“Xiao Xiao, time’s running out,” Li Duoduo called out, exasperated.

“Hel—Gotcha!”

The dainty Omega with elbows still tucked halted, dropped low, and threw a backhand punch.

Thud—a muffled impact straight to the pursuing Alpha’s gut. Then he darted behind for a kick.

The Alpha couldn’t react in time. He pitched forward in a tiger pounce, sprawling face-first.

Xiao Xiao: “Whoops, just short on power~!”

He rushed up quick and added another kick, sending the guy tumbling out of bounds.

The Alpha: “…”

“Done.” Xiao Xiao dusted his hands, glanced at the Holo-Screen to confirm the update, then jogged lightly over to Li Duoduo. “Let’s go~”

Cheers exploded from their section of the gymnasium. “Xiao Xiao’s mighty! Xiao Xiao’s badass!”

The teachers in the spectator zone jumped up, pumping fists. “Aaaah! Omega! Omega!”

Other teachers: “…”

Students from other schools: “…”

Li Duoduo and Xiao Xiao returned hand-in-hand, trailed by the other advancing Alphas, amid their classmates’ roaring cheers.

The Omegas bounced with excitement—even the two who’d lost were screaming:

“Aaaah, I knew you guys could do it!”

“Awesome! Our class is counting on you!”

“Aaaah, I’m so nervous—I wanna win too!”

The gymnasium’s buzz swelled again, louder than before. The Alphas glancing over weren’t mocking or sizing them up anymore; they were getting serious.

Mu Chenxing warned the remaining Omegas, “No more playing these little tricks later. Stay sharp.”

The Omegas nodded.

The matches rolled on, round after round.

Three minutes per bout, with 15-minute intervals for switching venues and competitors—the rotation flew by.

All 17 Omegas, including Mu Chenxing, finished their matches: 11 advanced, 6 eliminated.

Every Alpha advanced.

Of 178 Betas, only 12 were knocked out.

Thus, the first Preliminary Selection ended.

The second would be in two days.

They’d stay overnight at Zhengfa University again, heading out early tomorrow for the next zone and round.

Under the gaze of the other schools, they headed off cheerfully for a team dinner, then back to the temp dorms to wash up and rest.

His team stayed chill, but online, the complaints started.

“This year’s University Arena Competition turned into a comedy show.”

“Since when do Military Academies have Omegas competing?”

“What’s even the point of them joining?”

“You guys were there too, right? I was there—totally shocked.”

“Outrageous. Regular folks grind so hard for a shot, only to get grossed out like this.”

…

Mu Chenxing updated the group chat with the good news. Everyone cheered, congratulated, and hyped them up—no one mentioned the online noise.

He saw Xiao Xiao and the others already flooding the chat with boasts and personal recaps. Mu Chenxing closed the main group and opened the “O-Version Think Tank” small group.

“Any online buzz?” he asked.

Tong Xiao: “Some, but minimal. Ignore it.”

Shen Mingshu: “Just a few sour losers who lost their matches. Why bother?”

Xia Weizhen: “No pics or vids either. Stay chill.”

Tao Xirui: “They were probably too stunned to record. Next prelim might get some footage.”

Mu Chenxing: “Got it.”

“I’m not chill—I want them to post videos and pics.”

“With this year’s enrollment, Omega freshmen barely increased. The school, government, Military District—they’re all desperate, itching to drop promo reels themselves.”

Shen Mingshu: “You think they haven’t? They have—no one’s biting.”

Mu Chenxing: “…”

Big bro, your sharp tongue never changes.

Maybe that’s exactly what it’d be.

Shen Mingshu: “Worst case, you do it. You won’t get fazed, and you won’t say dumb shit.”

Shen Mingshu: “…You wouldn’t, right?”

Tong Xiao and the others caught on, skipping the second line to agree.

Mu Chenxing ignored the second line too. “Me?”

Not a bad idea?

He screenshotted and tattled to Zhang Yunli: Teacher Zhang, Principal Fu’s out of line. Wants me handling team management, image control, and promo ideas. I report the promo plan, and he cusses me out, calls me a nuisance.

Zhang Yunli: …Ignore him, he’s menopausal.

Zhang Yunli: You’re doing great. Tell me when you post on Douyin—I’ll get everyone to repost.

Mu Chenxing, satisfied: Teacher Zhang loves me best~~

Screenshot back to the “O-Version Think Tank”: Incoming massive promo wave.

Tong Xiao and crew: …

Shen Mingshu: Gotta be you, dragging profs into the muck!

Mu Chenxing: Strength in numbers—get classmates reposting too. Guaranteed to go viral!

Tong Xiao and crew: [Thumbs up]

…

Three days later, the second Preliminary Selection ended.

Of the 11 Omegas in round two, 8 advanced, 3 eliminated—72% advancement rate.

Alphas: 89%.

Betas: 52%.

In Douyin’s flood of thousands of posts per second, a fresh account quietly dropped a post:

@Milky Way Xingxing: University Arena Competition Round 2 Prelims, Omega team photo~

[Attached: Group photo of the 11 Omegas.]

Eight wristband Holo-Screens glowed with bold red: Passed.

The other three: Honorable Defeat.

Zero fans, zero follows. First post ever—zero reads, zero comments.

Half an hour later, reposts skyrocketed.