# 87
**Chapter 87 – Cheating**
“Chief… who do you think will win?”
Underground, more than twenty instructors were huddled in front of a single screen, eyes unblinking.
Before Yuan Gang could answer, another instructor said, “Isn’t it obvious? Lin Qiye might be a god’s agent, but he’s still a rookie. He can’t win.”
“Not necessarily. Honestly, Wang Mian’s God’s Ruins is ridiculously strong—but only once his realm is high enough. At the Zhan Realm, the power he can bring out is way too limited. Add to that the fact that Mandarin Arrow is sealed, and his chances against Lin Qiye are basically fifty-fifty.”
“Exactly. If we swapped Wang Mian for that Athena agent from the [Phoenix] squad, Lin Qiye probably wouldn’t last five moves… that girl’s a humanoid tyrannosaurus. A gap in raw strength isn’t something speed can cover.”
“So… what if Lin Qiye actually wins?” one instructor muttered. “Do we really end the training early like the Chief said?”
“…If that happens, the higher-ups will probably have our brains splattered on the wall.”
Yuan Gang stared silently at the battlefield. “Let’s watch. Until one of them wins, it’s too early to say anything.”
…
“Go all-out, huh…”
Hearing Lin Qiye’s words, admiration flickered in Wang Mian’s eyes. He nodded slightly.
“Good.”
Clang—!
Their blades clashed, and at the same time the temporal God’s Ruins unfurled again.
Lin Qiye drew a deep breath, pushing his mental state to its peak. If nothing went wrong, this exchange would decide everything.
Mandarin Arrow’s edge sliced the air with a faint hum. Lin Qiye instinctively raised his blade to meet it—
Right then, invisible ripples surged behind Wang Mian’s mask. A crushing divine pressure erupted from his eyes and slammed into Lin Qiye’s mind.
Lin Qiye had used the Seraph’s might to awe countless people, but being on the receiving end was a first. The instant the temporal god’s pressure detonated, his own pupils shrank!
Two dazzling golden flames blazed in his eyes like molten furnaces, radiating terrifying divine power.
Mid-air, two gazes collided.
A violent gale exploded between them; divine might swept the entire field with the two at its center.
“Damn, they just glared at each other and wind started blowing!” Baili Pangpang exclaimed.
Tianping stared unblinkingly. “Right now… it’s the gods behind them fighting.”
Seraphic authority and temporal authority clashed brutally for several seconds. Blood vessels webbed both boys’ eyes—they weren’t contesting their own power anymore, but the divine force inside them!
Boom—!
A soft thud. Wang Mian grunted and half-stepped back.
At the same moment, the temporal God’s Ruins around him shattered inch by inch!
Lin Qiye’s eyes flashed. He strode forward—
And slashed!
This time Wang Mian had no chance to parry.
The pale-blue edge skimmed the mask, splitting the engraved “王” clean in two!
Crack—!
Wang Mian’s mask… broke.
Beneath it appeared a calm, delicate face looking at Lin Qiye in resignation.
Every spectator sprang to their feet with a collective gasp.
Including the instructors in front of the screen—hearts thudding, stomachs dropping.
“Sorry…”
Wang Mian murmured, eyes locked on Lin Qiye.
Ripples spread again.
God’s Ruins—deployed!
The airborne shards of the mask flew backward, reassembling on Wang Mian’s face. His tilting body straightened; the crowd that had stood up sat back down in identical poses, confusion in their eyes.
Lin Qiye’s body was yanked backward; Straight Blade returned along its path, the fracture on the mask healing, everything reset to the instant before the slash…
Lin Qiye’s eyes bulged, shock written across them.
Time had reversed—three seconds.
Back when their divine pressures were still locked, before the outcome, before the mask had split.
Everyone around seemed to have forgotten, still cheering—only Lin Qiye remembered.
Well, the instructors glued to the screen remembered too.
“He… he actually cleaved Wang Mian’s mask?!!”
“Holy crap!”
“Thank god Wang Mian rewound it—otherwise we’d be toast!”
“But time reversal at the Zhan Realm?!”
“No… he unsealed his realm for a second. In that instant he at least reached River Realm.”
“Then we lost, right?!”
“Ahem—right now the mask isn’t broken, so we didn’t lose.”
“But he cheated by unlocking his realm!”
“A scholar’s move can’t be called cheating. You really want the training to end here?”
“…”
The instructors erupted in argument. Yuan Gang stood, glanced at his watch.
“It’s nine o’clock. Duel over.”
“Chief, so who—”
Yuan Gang met his gaze. “The training must continue. Not for our pride… for these kids’ futures.”
“Yes, sir.”
…
Surface.
Lin Qiye looked from his blade to Wang Mian, finally catching on.
“You cheated…”
“Shhh!!!”
Wang Mian raised a finger to his lips, leaned in, and whispered:
“Lin Qiye… I admit, I lost to you just now. But this rookie training has to happen. You get me?”
Lin Qiye’s expression turned odd.
“You want me to pretend I didn’t win? Act like nothing happened?”
“That’s the idea.” Wang Mian nodded. “But don’t worry—the instructors saw everything. After this, you can claim victory and squeeze… some compensation out of them.”
Lin Qiye raised a brow. “I have principles.”
“I’m guessing a fifty-thousand-yuan red packet is doable.”
“…My principles…”
“They might even throw in a forbidden artifact for protection.”
“Ahem, my…”
“Tell you what—I’ll owe you a favor.” Wang Mian looked him in the eye. “As captain of the Mask Squad, I owe you one.”
“Deal!”