Chapter 111 – The Floating Pavilion 空中楼阁

At nine in the morning, sunlight streamed through the cafeteria's huge glass windows and the smell of breakfast filled the air.

Lin Yuan and the other four sat around a table. Their trays held various foods, yet no one was focused on eating. Instead, they engaged in a heated discussion about today's opponents.

"Tianshen Team 3... Xu Xingchen's team," Shen Haotian mumbled, taking a bite of his steamed bun.

"Xu Xingchen?" Gu Changfeng raised an eyebrow. "Isn't he the guy who applied to repeat a year because of poor assessment results?"

"Yeah." Chu Yao nodded, twirling the spoon in her hand. "His assessment last year revolved around Wuxia Showdown XYZ. Word has it that he struggled to command his familiar character during the event, leading to a poor performance. What's really strange is that all traces of the final exam that year are gone."

"Couldn't control his usual character?" Lin Yuan was about to take a sip of soy milk. His hand froze, and his eyes instinctively darted towards Hua Ruobing.

Hua Ruobing was peeling an egg, head bowed. She seemed not to have heard, her expression calm and composed.

"Seems... similar to what Hua Ruobing experienced before," Gu Changfeng muttered. Then, he jokingly turned to Hua Ruobing. "Hey, you're not going to repeat a year too, are you?"

Hua Ruobing's fingers froze briefly. Then she chuckled, "No." Her tone was flat, like she was stating something trivial.

The group didn't dwell on it. After all, the upcoming match was their top priority.

The assessment kicked off at one in the afternoon.

Lin Yuan and his four teammates stood at the teleportation point. The light screen in front of them displayed the map information for this match: "The Floating Pavilion."

"This place..." Shen Haotian frowned, eyeing the map on the screen. "I heard it's a battlefield with extreme elevation differences."

The map on the screen showed a vast complex of floating pavilions. It consisted of dozens of pavilions of varying heights, long corridors, and floating bridges. The overall structure was intricate, like a maze. Even though a majority of platforms featured guardrails, plenty of regions were unprotected. Any inadvertent fall would trigger a "fall penalty."

Special Map Rules:

Fall Penalty: When fighting in dangerous areas, if a player falls, half of their character's maximum health will be deducted immediately. The character will respawn on the first floor of the pavilion after five seconds.

Direct Elimination for Low Health: If a player's health is already below half when they fall, the character will die instantly and be ruled out.

Three Dangerous Areas:

"Ladder Corridor": A long, narrow corridor linking the main and secondary pavilions. Without guardrails, it's easy to get knocked down during battles.

"Ethereal Platform": Located at the top of the entire map. Despite excellent visibility, the ground is extremely slippery with no protective measures. Any knock - back skill could cause a fall.

"Floating Cloud Bridge": A damaged stone bridge suspended in the air. Parts of the bridge deck have collapsed. It's easy to fall when stepping on the edges.

"This map is much more challenging than the grassland last time..." Chu Yao stared at the screen, deep in thought. "We must be careful not to be lured into dangerous areas by our opponents."

"The opponents must know this too," Hua Ruobing said softly. "Could they... use these areas as traps instead?"

Hearing this, Lin Yuan's lips curved slightly. "Then it'll come down to who can better utilize this terrain."

In the winner-group assessment showdown, Yunmeng Team 2 and Tianshen Team 3 stood ready. The battle was seconds away from starting!

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早上9点,食堂的晨光透过巨大的玻璃窗洒落,早餐的香气弥漫在空气中.

林远五人围坐在一张餐桌旁,手里的餐盘里各自摆着不同的食物,但没人真正专心吃饭,反而是围绕着今天的对手展开了激烈的讨论.

"天神3队... 许星辰的队伍." 沈昊天咬了一口包子,含糊不清地说道.

"许星辰?" 顾长风挑了挑眉,"就是那个因为考核成绩不理想,申请重读一年的家伙?"

"对." 楚瑶点头,轻轻转动着手中的勺子,"他去年的考核也是"武侠决战XYZ",听说当时他在比赛中操控不了自己熟悉的角色,导致成绩不佳.奇怪的是,当时的最后一场考试,记录全没了."

"操控不了熟悉的角色?" 林远正准备喝口豆浆,听到这句话时动作一顿,目光不自觉地瞥向华若冰.

华若冰正低头专注地剥着鸡蛋,仿佛没有听到这句话,神色平静得没有一丝波澜.

"怎么感觉...和华若冰之前遇到的事情一样啊?" 顾长风嘀咕了一句,随即开玩笑似的看向华若冰,"喂,不会你也要重读一年吧?"

华若冰手指顿了一下,随即轻笑了一声:"不会."

她的语气淡淡的,像是在陈述一个无关紧要的事实.

众人也没有再深究,毕竟比赛才是当前最重要的事情.

下午1点,考核正式开始.

林远五人站在传送点,面前的光幕显示出本场比赛的地图信息,「空中楼阁」.

"这地方..." 沈昊天看着光幕上的地图,眉头微皱, "听说是个高低差极大的战场."

光幕上的地图展示了一座凌空而建的巨大楼阁群,由数十座高低不一的楼台,长廊和浮桥组成,整体结构错综复杂,宛如迷宫.大部分平台之间都有护栏,但仍有许多区域是开放式的,一旦不慎跌落,就会被判定为 "坠落惩罚" .

地图特殊规则:

坠落惩罚:在危险区域战斗时,一旦跌落,将会直接扣除角色血量上限的一半,五秒后角色会在楼阁1层复活.

血量不足直接淘汰:如果坠落时血量已经低于一半,则角色会直接死亡,被判定出局.

三个危险区域:

"天梯回廊" :连接主楼阁和副楼阁的一条长廊,没有护栏,空间狭窄,战斗时极易被击落.

"飘渺台" :位于整个地图的最上层,虽然视野极佳,但地面极为光滑,没有防护措施,任何击退技能都可能导致坠落.

"流云桥" :一座悬浮在空中的破损石桥,部分桥面已经崩塌,踩在边缘部分容易掉落.

"这地图比上次的草原难多了..." 楚瑶凝视着光幕,沉思道, "我们必须小心别被对方引导到危险区域."

"对手应该也知道这点." 华若冰轻声道,"他们会不会...反而用这些地方作为陷阱?"

林远闻言,嘴角微微上扬:"那就看谁更能利用这片地形了."

胜者组考核,云梦2队 VS 天神3队,战斗即将开始!