This is too hilarious!

51. A lose-lose situation?

"Holy crap! A nightmare artifact?!"

"Wow, that's so cool! What kind of artifact is that? A robot mask?"

"Handsome? How can you tell... the wiring is showing."

"What do you know? That's how it's supposed to feel! It's full of story..."

……

In the stands, the senior students who hadn't left yet exclaimed in surprise, feeling that their trip today was definitely worthwhile, as they had actually witnessed such a scene!

They weren't worried. After all, although Nightmare Artifacts were different from Dream Artifacts, they were purely artifacts evolved from ghost stories and had obvious side effects... but there was no need to demonize them too much.

Is there anything in this world that comes without a price?

The price of practicing martial arts is not small!

The school even used "room bags" to hold private martial arts tournaments!

As a portable shelter-type nightmare artifact, the "House Bag" will subtly strengthen people's desire and obsession with "private property" whether they own it or borrow it occasionally.

But even without this subtle influence, would people sleep on the streets or under bridges on a regular basis?

A person's life, from birth to death, is essentially a process in which their cognition is constantly shaped and distorted.

It's just that once you get involved in ghost stories, the situation becomes more serious.

But in the first year of high school... to be honest, it's a bit too early to use Nightmare Artifacts in combat.

Even if one has already condensed their inner energy during this period, their personal willpower may not necessarily be very strong.

If not handled properly, it could evolve into a lifelong obsession or hobby... and even if one reaches a certain higher level in the future, one will no longer be able to transform into a dream device after death!

All his efforts will ultimately benefit the Nightmare Artifact; he is too deeply influenced and gradually becomes its slave...

Just like those "strange tales of mortgage slaves" struggling to move forward with the burden of their mortgages, unable to even straighten their backs...

However, despite the severe side effects, Tian Qiyuan's Nightmare Artifact clearly possesses a certain level of combat capability.

Being able to release attacks as electric currents, even penetrating the entire arena without any loss of power, can almost be considered as having 'infinite attack range'!

Although he violated the rules of the fight and his assessment results are likely invalid, well... that guy named Bai Hui is doomed to lose too, right?

The fact that Tian Qiyuan could produce a Nightmare Artifact shows just how wealthy his family is. Although Nightmare Artifacts don't require certain qualifications to purchase like Dream Artifacts, they are still quite expensive. Take the 'Room Bag' for example; this thing initially only has a 10-square-meter single room, and the starting price is 200,000!

If Bai Hui loses this time, even if his ranking counts and he is still likely to be in the top three of the grade, it may leave a shadow in his heart, which will be extremely detrimental to his martial arts cultivation...

Some of the onlookers, based on their own savings, roughly estimated the value of Tian Qiyuan's nightmare artifact, and the family background it revealed to some extent... Some of the upperclassmen couldn't help but curse inwardly—

"Just because you're rich doesn't mean you can be superior!"

"To forge iron, one must be strong oneself!"

"Junior Bai Hui, even though you can't beat him, your senior will still cheer you on! Giving him two punches won't be a loss!"

"This is too difficult..."

One of the senior students shook his head: "That guy's attack range is too large, and it's electric...it probably has a significant paralyzing effect..."

Even if he just stands still and throws punches and kicks, Junior Bai Hui has to dodge over a much wider area, resulting in a completely disproportionate amount of physical exertion... If Junior Bai Hui doubts himself, then his mental fortitude will gradually weaken...

Not to mention, that guy's Nightmare Artifact seems to be able to amplify speed; even Teacher Wu couldn't stop it just now..."

As soon as these words were spoken, many senior students immediately transformed into "rational observers" and "pure bystanders," analyzing the situation from an "objective" perspective.

In short, Bai Hui is doomed to lose this battle!

I just don't know how to lose it yet...

If one admits defeat, it will inevitably damage one's morale and affect one's future martial arts training.

If Bai Hui suffers a crushing defeat after a hard-fought battle, it could even leave him with severe psychological trauma, causing him to subconsciously recall this battle when facing "rich people" in the future, making him timid and inferior...

Therefore, the use of weapons, let alone dream devices, is discouraged in high school fights...

Regardless of winning or losing, the outcome could be a "lose-lose" situation.

If the one who wields the Nightmare Weapon wins, he will most likely develop a habit of relying on external objects. In the future, his inner demons will be tempered by external objects. Even if he does not become a pseudo-human or a lost soul, he will basically have no chance of dreaming after death.

His opponents will likely believe that relying on external forces is more effective than their own hard work and cultivation, thus going astray...

Without considering the opinions of onlookers, at least the two sides in the conflict will definitely be affected.

And this impact is likely to stay with them for life!

……

While the senior students were chatting, only the frantic Tian Qiyuan and the seemingly calm Bai Hui remained in the room.

After Wu Peng realized that he could not control Tian Qiyuan without using force, the other first-year high school students used their strobe lights to move everyone to the stands.

They overheard the discussions among the senior students and had given up all hope for Bai Hui's outcome in this battle.

Yu Zong could no longer pretend to be unconscious, so he turned around and looked around. After looking around, he couldn't find his younger sister and couldn't help but be a little surprised.

Could Xiaolian have... just left?!

Suddenly, Yu Zong felt a pang of heartache... It was so painful, even more painful than when Bai Hui had just knocked him away with his Crushing Fist!

Meanwhile, He Qing seized the opportunity to chat with the senior students around her, using Bai Hui's current situation as a 'textbook' to discuss and learn from them.

Sun Shuo curled his lip and said, "He got off easy, running into a sore loser like Tian Qiyuan... Even if he loses this match, the school will most likely take this into account and give him some consolation points..."

They only played two cross-class matches, and if you include the consolation points, they should probably be in the top three...

It's a pity I didn't get a chance to face him this time...

"?"

Yu Zongzheng, annoyed that his sister had left, raised an eyebrow upon hearing this: "What do you mean by 'probably only making the top three'? Bai Hui's strength is not weak. Even without any consolation points, he's definitely in the top three of our year!"

"You should be happy, right?" Sun Shuo crossed his arms and said, "Because of this accident, Bai Hui won't have to fight anymore, so it won't be too shameful for you to lose to him."

"Hmph, I thought that as the second person in our year to condense the Heart Qi, he was really that strong..."

"What do you mean?" Yu Zong frowned. "You look down on me?"

"If you can be affected by Bai Hui's chaotic and disordered bone-clanging, you're not much stronger."

"?"

Upon hearing this, Yu Zong felt a surge of anger.

His younger sister had just stormed off in a fit of anger, which put him in a bad mood.

Now that there's an outlet for my frustrations, there's no reason to miss it.

"Looks like you're pretty good. Perfect, I didn't get enough of a fight just now!"

"What are you going to do?" Sun Shuo was taken aback.

"What for?" Yu Zong clenched his fist and sneered, "To fuck you!"

He rushed to Sun Shuo and hoisted him up in his arms—

"Elbow! Come inside with me!"

Yu Zong carried Sun Shuo directly into a "house bag" that Wu Peng had collected.

……

He Qing glanced at the two departing figures, then turned back and asked:

"Senior, so in your opinion, Bai Hui really has no chance of winning?"

"How can we win? That's a Nightmare Artifact with combat effects!"

The senior student, who was being questioned by He Qing, shook her head slightly: "What a pity. I was originally thinking of asking that junior student Bai Hui after the assessment if he wanted to practice the Heartbeat Formation Technique with me..."

He Qing: "...?"

She remained silent for a moment, ultimately offering no comment on the matter, and turned to look at the duel in the arena.

Then, her eyes widened slightly—

Bai Hui seems to have the upper hand?

……