So what if you cheat?

Morning Breeze did indeed encounter military district players in the arena, not by chance, but because Lin Shanshan had brought them over specifically to cause trouble for him. What surprised Morning Breeze most was that he knew both of these military district players. One of them, in real life, was named Yu Qingyun, and his game ID was Ascending Clouds. He was tall and muscular, his barbarian physique making him look like a walking wall of muscle, exceptionally skilled at close combat, and in the game, he played a berserker warrior.

The other was Yu Qingyun’s friend, Xi Tianpeng, whose game ID was Soaring High. Unlike Yu Qingyun, he was tall and lean, but equally strong, specializing in long-range sniping, and played an elven hunter in the game.

Both were military district players, with Yu Qingyun possessing the “Gravity Control” ability, making him a formidable military psychic. Many of the Cobra Organization’s assassins had fallen to his hand, one of whom was even among the four top psychic assassins of the organization. Morning Breeze had fought him once in real life; close combat was hopeless, and even with his own “Metal Control” ability, he had no clear advantage against Yu Qingyun’s gravity powers. In the end, Morning Breeze was forced to flee in defeat.

Morning Breeze’s fighting skills were quite advanced; though his physical condition hadn’t returned to its former peak, his technique and experience were exceptional. In the game, there were no physical limitations, so Morning Breeze felt confident against Yu Qingyun. After all, game dueling was different from actual combat.

In-game bodies couldn’t react as quickly as trained real-life bodies—unless a player’s race offered enhancements, physical differences were merely a matter of race. What players relied on was their own technique and experience. Furthermore, the game introduced obstacles to real combat, such as skill mechanics and reduced pain.

“Duan Morning Breeze, my cousin and his friend are both military district players. You’re absolutely no match for them.” Lin Shanshan gave little introduction; she had issued a challenge to Morning Breeze: if he lost, he must leave Frost Snow Studio immediately. With no other way to drive him out, she had finally resorted to bringing her military district cousin.

“In my eyes, everyone is an ordinary player! There are similarities between gaming and real combat, but they’re not absolute. In games, equipment and skills matter. With my current gear and abilities, beating him is simple.” Morning Breeze glanced over Yu Qingyun’s equipment—which at best was refined gear, and the berserker’s most important two weapons were blue-grade. Among regular players, he was strong; but to Morning Breeze, Yu Qingyun was lacking.

“If this were real life, you wouldn’t even qualify to speak to me!” Yu Qingyun scoffed at Morning Breeze’s prowess in a mere game. What’s so special about being good at gaming? He switched to a new set of gear: a silver flash defense set, a dark gold two-handed axe, and a golden two-handed axe, instantly raising his gear level.

“Oh? Not qualified to speak to you? If not for Lin Shanshan, you wouldn’t even qualify to stand in the same arena as me in this game!” Morning Breeze knew Yu Qingyun was arrogant—a powerful man with military background had every reason to be so.

“Don’t cry until you see the coffin! Let’s start!” In the game, it was the first time Yu Qingyun had encountered someone so brazen before him. If he didn’t teach Morning Breeze a lesson, the guy would really think himself the top player.

They entered the arena, choosing the simplest stone slab battleground. Now their gear was nearly equal; in fact, Morning Breeze’s defensive equipment was a grade lower, as his armor was all blue-grade, while Yu Qingyun’s was silver flash and a full set.

Charge!

Both switched to shields and charged at each other, colliding and then retreating three steps. Morning Breeze was not the first to strike; Yu Qingyun, wielding his two-handed axe, attacked. The axe’s slow swing was due to its weight, but once raised, its descent was swift—especially since Yu Qingyun’s ability was gravity control, accelerating the axe’s fall.

Morning Breeze sidestepped, pivoted on his right foot to move to Yu Qingyun’s left, and smashed his shield from the opposite direction onto Yu Qingyun’s head. He was using a move he’d picked up from a duel with Martial Maniac—“Yield and Counterattack.” Morning Breeze found it extremely useful, allowing him to avoid a foe’s aggressive burst and retaliate simultaneously.

Yu Qingyun, caught off guard by Morning Breeze’s sudden maneuver, took a shield bash. He didn’t immediately turn to attack, instead stepping back to reassess before launching another strike.

Thunder Stomp!

Morning Breeze stomped hard, sending bolts of lightning across an eight-meter radius. This was an evolved version of Thunder Strike, slowing enemies and stunning them for 0.1 seconds—perfect for interrupting spell-casting in close combat. Yu Qingyun used Thunder Strike as well, but his version dealt less damage, had a weaker slowing effect, and lacked the stun.

Battle Roar!

Stealth!

Seeing Yu Qingyun roar and buff himself with increased strength, Morning Breeze immediately vanished from his sight. Battle Roar not only boosted strength but also granted 20 rage. Since Yu Qingyun wanted a rapid showdown, Morning Breeze refused to oblige, staying hidden until Yu Qingyun’s rage dissipated.

Momentum! In the arena, one must dominate with momentum, especially against an equally strong opponent. Yu Qingyun felt his strength wasted against Morning Breeze, exactly as Morning Breeze intended.

Intercept!

—87

All arena damage was reduced by 50%. Morning Breeze’s Intercept dealt modest damage, as Yu Qingyun reacted quickly, dodging sideways, and Morning Breeze’s execution wasn’t perfect, so the intended 2.5-second stun was shortened to one second.

Bloodlust!

Thunder Strike!

Morning Breeze had activated Battle Roar for extra rage, and Bloodlust gave him another 15 rage—enough for Thunder Strike. Thunder Strike, evolved from Heroic Strike, dealt single-target damage without triggering global cooldown, perfect for chaining after Bloodlust. Arena combat wasn’t like dungeon runs, with steady rage and skill rotations; here, the focus was on burst damage. Bloodlust plus Thunder Strike could inflict rapid damage.

Lightning Damage!

Morning Breeze’s attacks transformed into lightning damage, with Thunder Strike crackling across Yu Qingyun in a dazzling display!

After Morning Breeze’s burst, Yu Qingyun raised his axes, chopping down swiftly as Morning Breeze dodged aside. As Morning Breeze evaded, Yu Qingyun swept his axe upward; Morning Breeze barely avoided it by leaning back.

Yu Qingyun kicked out, catching Morning Breeze off guard—he couldn’t dodge in time and was sent stumbling. Before he could regain his footing, Yu Qingyun’s axes came crashing down.

Using kicks in the arena! Morning Breeze didn’t mind the weapon feint, but the kicks—Yu Qingyun’s tricks certainly worked, gradually shifting the advantage from Morning Breeze to him.

Bang...

Their weapons collided, and both threw in sneaky kicks; their knees met with a loud crack, and they both stepped back.

A true powerhouse! Morning Breeze had thought Yu Qingyun’s in-game skills weren’t impressive, but he was wrong. Yu Qingyun’s attacks were relentless, sometimes foregoing skills to increase speed. Clearly, seeing Morning Breeze’s weaker armor, he planned to whittle down his health with direct hits.

War Stomp!

Punch!

The barbarian’s War Stomp required 0.5 seconds to cast, stunning enemies within five meters for two seconds. Morning Breeze had anticipated this explosive skill; otherwise, Yu Qingyun couldn’t have inflicted much damage.

Shockwave!

—267

Shockwave’s damage was modest, but its main effect was a four-second stun. This time, the control succeeded, and Yu Qingyun stood frozen. Without hesitation, Morning Breeze activated Berserker’s Fury—gaining three Cleave opportunities, Recklessness, Skeleton Battle Banner, and Divine Descent, unleashing all his ultimate moves. God mode engaged.

—892

—1233

In one volley, he dealt over 2,000 damage, reducing Yu Qingyun’s health by more than half. Just as Morning Breeze was about to finish him off with another Cleave, he suddenly felt his hands and weapons grow impossibly heavy—he couldn’t even lift them to attack.

Gravity Control!

Few possessed alliance badges yet; apart from the innate racial trait for humans, there were few skills that could remove all control effects. Yu Qingyun knew well—if Morning Breeze managed another Cleave, he’d be dead. Unwilling to lose, he resorted to his psychic power.

Yu Qingyun had War Stomp for crowd control, Morning Breeze had Shockwave; both had Intimidating Shout for fear, but Berserker’s Fury could dispel it, leaving each with only one control skill. Yu Qingyun’s War Stomp had failed earlier, while Morning Breeze’s Shockwave succeeded—this had already decided the outcome. Their powerful weapons outpaced their defensive gear, so victory was a matter of fleeting moments.

Cheating!

Morning Breeze hadn’t expected Yu Qingyun to use his psychic ability at this critical moment. He could have used “Soul Split” to recover, but that would expose his own psychic identity, which he absolutely couldn’t risk. All Morning Breeze could do now was hope Yu Qingyun’s gravity control wouldn’t last long—at such intensity, it shouldn’t be sustainable for more than a short time.

3.4 seconds! After Yu Qingyun recovered from the stun, Morning Breeze finally felt the heaviness lift. But he had lost the chance to finish Yu Qingyun; both stepped back again. Morning Breeze still held the advantage—Shockwave’s cooldown was forty seconds, War Stomp’s was two minutes. If he could control Yu Qingyun next time, victory was assured. Yet Morning Breeze wondered if Yu Qingyun would use gravity control again.

“Clearly cheating! Military district psychic—he must’ve used a gravity-related power just now, right?” Shadow Behind had no psychic abilities, but as a professional, he knew a bit about them. He had sensed the increased gravity, though at a distance it was faint; but he’d heard of a military district player with gravity control, so he immediately suspected Yu Qingyun had cheated.

Using gravity powers while stunned was unlikely; he guessed Yu Qingyun, the military psychic, was indeed the culprit, so Yu Qingyun had clearly cheated.

“In the arena, there’s only victory and defeat—where’s the cheating?” Xi Tianpeng knew Shadow Behind, and since he mentioned gravity powers, he must know something about the military. As Yu Qingyun’s friend, he felt Yu Qingyun’s move wasn’t right, but loyalty trumped reason—he would always take his friend’s side.

“So what if you cheat? You’ll lose just the same!” Morning Breeze sneered, charging forward—this was the final clash!