Forty-two.

Yuan Hanshuang submitted a 6v6 team duel. According to the matching rules of the fighting arena, the tier gap between two dueling teams cannot be too large, and they should be matched based on a unified tier, otherwise it would be unfair.

However, the internal tier disparity within their six-person squad was stark, featuring two bottom-tier Bronze fighters, two Silver fighters, and two Diamond fighters, making the situation extremely awkward.

Conventionally, teams matched in such 6v6 formats under these conditions would be at a disadvantage.

Fortunately, the Black Street system was not malicious enough to match them with a team entirely composed of Diamond fighters. After flashing a few times, a Gold-level team popped up.

"Please have the Silver Star Grim Reaper Reaping Squad proceed immediately to the fighting stage. Please have the Silver Star Grim Reaper Reaping Squad proceed immediately to the fighting stage."

As they took the stage, Yuan Hanshuang said in a relaxed tone, "We are really lucky this time. Probably because we have two newly registered members that dragged down our matchmaking score, we got matched with a Gold team."

Generally speaking, team matches have higher tier requirements than individual matches.

A stable Diamond ranking team is almost entirely composed of Tier 5 members. If they were matched according to Diamond standards, they wouldn't stand a chance, especially since Tier 5 is not only a major tier leap but also widely recognized as the watershed for Awakeners.

On the other hand, Gold-level teams are generally stable around Tier 3, making them very manageable.

Sure enough, upon taking the stage, the opposing side had five Tier 3 fighters and only one early-stage Tier 4.

"They only have one Tier 4, while we have three. Looks like we're going to slaughter some newbies this round." Thinking about training in the Black Street and earning money upon winning, Wu Haoxuan beamed with joy. "Charge, charge, charge!"

Even Xuan Yuanzheng, who was somewhat nervous initially, relaxed his brows slightly.

Although he had taken over command authority earlier, the truth was that this was his first time commanding in actual combat, so he inevitably feared making mistakes.

Compared to their increasingly relaxed mood, the opposing Awakeners had their hearts leaping into their throats.

"Boss, what is going on? We are a Gold team, how did we get matched with Diamonds?"

One of the support-class members completely lost his mind. "And the opponents have three Tier 4s, including a peak Tier 4. How are we supposed to fight this?"

"They must have brought in someone to drag down their average score, I spit on them!"

The boss spat and cursed, "Diamond tier bullies coming to pick on us Gold-tier peasants. Despicable and shameless!"

Not just him, but the sparse few spectators watching the battle also began to criticize: "What is this? Why is the combat power on both sides so disparate?"

"Did someone manipulate their score? Quick, report them, report them."

Score manipulation was a hidden cheating mechanism in the fighting arena. Because the higher the tier, the harder the fights become, the points lost from a single defeat are heart-wrenching. Therefore, some high-tier fighters devised a method where they intentionally team up with low-tier fighters for matchmaking. This way, the matched opponents are weaker than before, making it easier to climb the ranks.

Naturally, such behavior was looked down upon throughout the entire fighting arena.

"Oh no."

Yuan Hanshuang hadn't anticipated this. "If their report goes through, we might get banned for a week."

"No need to worry." Gu Dong stood in his spot, habitually flexing his wrists. "Given the alliance between the Gu family and the Black Tower, even if we are reported, the backend management wouldn't dare to ban us."

Yuan Hanshuang: "..."

Is this the joy of having powerful backing?

She didn't speak, silently summoning her mimicry resonance, and then looked at her teammates.

She had already seen the mimicry forms of Wu Haoxuan, Ke Jiunda, and Xuan Yuanzheng, but she had never seen the other two, so she couldn't help but feel curious.

Xia Mengrou's Phantom Dream Butterfly lived up to its name, entirely pink in color, with patterns on its butterfly wings full of dreamy flair. After resonance, two antennae sprouted from the top of her head, making her look quite adorable.

Gu Dong, meanwhile, had a pair of silver-white eagle wings sprouting from his back, his slender finger joints transforming into sharp claw shapes, and a cold, stern aura surrounded him entirely.

The higher the mimicry grade, the more mimicry traits manifested on the body. Xia Mengrou only possessed an A-grade mimicry and could not yet resonate with the wings of the Phantom Dream Butterfly. Of course, even if she had resonated the wings, neither she nor Gu Dong would be able to use them, because only by breaking through to Tier 5 and materializing their true mimicry form could one truly utilize flight capabilities.

After getting into position, the group rearranged their formation.

Traditional formations always placed defense-class fighters at the very front, but Xuan Yuanzheng and Yuan Hanshuang were both powerful close-combatants who specialized in getting right up in the enemy's face and didn't need much protection. Therefore, after discussing it, they decided to position themselves on the front-left and front-right wings respectively, placing Wu Haoxuan and Xia Mengrou in the rearmost row, with Ke Jiunda protecting the two of them.

"Wait, I have one more question," Xia Mengrou whispered. "Should we hold back our strength a bit during the match? Wouldn't it be hard to explain if we accidentally beat people to death?"

Yuan Hanshuang smiled softly. "It's fine, the Black Street Fighting Arena uses holographic duels. You might think they look like real people, but in reality, they are merely projected holographic phantoms from another fighting arena. After all, with so many matched teams every day, how could they all be in the same venue fighting you? Go all out, you won't get hurt."

A certain walking Imperial legal code standing nearby pricked up his ears, heard this, and nodded in satisfaction.

"Three, two, one, match start!"

The moment the countdown hit zero, Gu Dong vanished from the spot like a phantom.

Xuan Yuanzheng stubbornly scanned the fighting arena a circle, completely failing to spot this person's figure.

The match had already begun, and he needed to quickly arrange everyone's actions without time to worry about where Gu Dong had run off to: "Wu Haoxuan, use your skill first."

At the start of every match, the ones who moved first were never the offensive players from either side, but rather the support-class Awakeners. Especially since Wu Haoxuan's skill involved drawing random cards, his very first draw upon entering the arena became exceptionally crucial.

Xuan Yuanzheng had already decided that if this guy could pull an SSR in one stroke, taking advantage of the level gap between the two squads, he could directly lead the team in launching a fierce, carpet-bombing assault to quickly end the match.

"Alrighty, this little mouse is going to draw!"

Wu Haoxuan took off his top hat and stood at attention.

A moment later, holding his magic wand, he looked at the cards inside the top hat: "Boss Xuan, it's an N card."

Xuan Yuanzheng, whose heart was filled with anticipation: "..."

"Never mind, it's fine if the first draw has bad luck." He had no choice but to abandon the idea of a fierce assault. "Gu Dong, Gu Dong, take Wu Haoxuan to go apply debuffs to the enemy!"

However, after shouting a few times in a row, the assassin's figure was nowhere to be seen.

Annoyed yet helpless, Xuan Yuanzheng could only say, "You just stay put in the back row and don't move until the next round of draws."

Although Wu Haoxuan's passive skill was useful, in order to suppress his own presence, he couldn't move or speak, and had to stand still like a game of red light, green light.

Regardless, he was at least a free-range support who didn't require much worry for ten minutes.

Unable to rely on Wu Haoxuan, Xuan Yuanzheng could only arrange the close-combatants.

However, before he could say anything, the opposite side had already attacked.

"Engage first! Ke Jiunda, focus on protecting the back row!"

Xuan Yuanzheng hurriedly gave the instruction and rushed over to meet the enemy.

This was precisely where the lack of team coordination manifested, making the overall response half a beat slower.

The opponents clearly had a fixed five-person roster and had played many matches together, knowing each other's intentions well. Faced with such a disparate level gap, they immediately decided to concentrate their firepower to eliminate one opponent first.

There were only three Tier 4s in total: one had vanished, and the Gold Wild Lion emitted an extremely strong sense of oppression, clearly indicating a high mimicry grade. With no other choice, the opponents had to set their sights on Yuan Hanshuang, who looked like the softest persimmon.

Yuan Hanshuang, who was being targeted: ?

Her combat experience could be said to surpass everyone present. With just a single exchange, she realized she was being targeted and immediately retreated: "Ke Jiunda!"

Ke Jiunda, who had great coordination with the leader, didn't even need to think, immediately activating his Vajra Shield to step forward.

A barrage of fierce attacks and skills rained down head-on. If not for the shield, Ke Jiunda felt he might have been kicked off the stage right on the spot.

Before retreating from the crowd, Yuan Hanshuang didn't forget to use Eagle Claw Capturing Snake, directly grabbing the collar of an agile-type enemy who failed to retreat in time, and hurling him toward her own side: "Catch him!"

Xuan Yuanzheng didn't have time to regret his slow reaction earlier. He quickly deployed Pounce, using Gold Tear to directly send away this holographic projection who was only at mid-Tier 3.

"Holy shit, Boss, the damage from that golden lion mimicry is simply too high!"

The opposing team shivered in terror. "Even though little Bro was only mid-Tier 3 and almost a whole major tier behind, being sent away in just two skills is way too absurd. How are we supposed to fight this?"

The boss shivered along with him: "And this is only an early-stage Tier 4. They still have a peak Tier 4 Diamond who knows where he went. What kind of sins did we commit to run into this bunch of score-manipulating freaks on the opposite side!"

"Wuwuwu what should we do, it takes three minutes before we can surrender and concede!"

On the stage, the situation was too tense for them to think carefully, but the audience off-stage saw it crystal clear.

"The mimicry grade of that golden lion itself must be very high."

"Right, being able to dish out that level of offensive intensity at early-stage Tier 4 is almost comparable to advanced grades."

"Looking at their team name with the words 'Silver Star', could they be college students?"

"I think it's possible. Students from advanced academies, no wonder they fight the opponents like cutting vegetables."

"Are Silver Star students nowadays this shameless? They're already this strong and still manipulating scores. Time to report them!"

Having successfully eliminated someone, Xuan Yuanzheng's beast pupils opened slightly—a signal of beastly excitement. He let out a lion roar toward the heavens, confronting the opponent's only Tier 4 head-on, completely going berserk in battle.

Yuan Hanshuang stopped in her tracks, frowning as she looked at the back of the big golden-furred lion.

Their team's advantage was obvious, and the last shred of nervousness in Xia Mengrou's heart vanished completely.

"Taste this young lady's hypnotic powder!"

She released a pale pink wind blade, clumsily beating back an opponent who attempted to sneak up to her, then cupped her hands together in front of her chest, grabbing a handful of hypnotic powder and scattering it head-on toward the opponent.

"Ah—achoo!"

That unlucky opponent sneezed violently on the spot, and the suddenly plummeting speed allowed Yuan Hanshuang to seize the opportunity, closing in for a ruthless beatdown.

Seeing their teammates being utterly dismantled, the last remaining support panicked. Just as he wanted to apply another buffing ability, he suddenly felt a chill on the back of his neck.

The assassin's slender, ghost-like figure appeared behind him, extending sharp claws and gently hooking them like a grim reaper, effortlessly slitting the opponent's throat.

Wu Haoxuan stood in his original spot, staring longingly at his top hat, wishing he could pull a card a second time.

Before a few minutes had even passed, when he looked up again, all the opponents had already been dealt with.

"Match over, congratulations to the Silver Star Grim Reaper Reaping Squad!"

Wu Haoxuan: ???