The campus clamor was eventually replaced by the deeper shockwave from the bombshell news of the "big three’s" early graduation. But Qin Feng, the eye of the storm, had already thrown himself back into his tedious and disciplined training.
However, just a few days later, he encountered a new problem—one he had never considered before.
Private Martial Arts Room B-17.
Qin Feng was shirtless, practicing the Advanced Imperial Body Refining Technique.
His one hundred and twenty-seven movements were fluid and seamless, incomparably precise. Every detail was simply perfect.
His powerful physique allowed him to easily perform various hyperextended, beyond-the-limit twists and stretches.
But his face held a trace of resignation.
After an hour of extreme training, not a single drop of sweat had formed on his forehead.
Inside his body, although Spiritual Energy surged and power churned, that familiar soreness of torn muscle fibers and bones pushed to their absolute limit was gone.
His body was too strong.
This Advanced Imperial Body Refining Technique could no longer provide him with any effective stimulation.
It was like asking a world-class weightlifting champion to lift a fifty-kilogram barbell. No matter how many times he did it, it would only ever be a warm-up, never achieving the effect of a real "workout."
If Qin Feng wanted to keep improving, he needed a Cultivation Method for a Level 4 Martial Artist.
He switched to his Long Spear and began practicing his killing techniques.
Fierce Owl Chasing Shadow!
A flash of spear light, a fusion of all light and shadow, flickered through the Martial Arts Room and vanished, striking the central red dot of the test target with absolute precision.
Not even a single mark was left on the bullseye, as if nothing had happened at all.
But Qin Feng knew that in that instant, the target’s core had been utterly annihilated.
His spearmanship, his fist techniques, had both reached the Realm of Control.
But that was the extent of it.
To truly create a complete killing technique from scratch, he would need to fill his arsenal with a large number of techniques that had reached the Realm of Control. Two was far from enough.
And now, in all of Qiming First High School, he couldn’t find a single opponent who could put enough pressure on him.
’I wonder what the training for a Level 4 Martial Artist is actually like.’
Qin Feng put away his Long Spear.
’Teacher Lin Yue said it has to do with "opening the apertures," which is related to Mental Power. But as for how to open them, or what method to use, I have no idea.’
He was suddenly struck by the feeling that he had nothing to do.
’The Body Refining Technique has minimal effect. My killing techniques have hit a wall. Meditation is just a step-by-step process that can’t be rushed.’
This feeling of "it’s lonely at the top" made him feel a long-forgotten... boredom.
’My real training, I’m afraid, will have to wait until after I earn the title of "Qiming General Star" and officially graduate.’
’In that case... I’ll just focus on preparing for the Qiming Inter-School League.’
Qin Feng sighed.
He casually opened the private network and matched for two fights.
After seeing his ID, his opponents struggled for about ten seconds before decisively choosing to surrender.
Frustrated, Qin Feng closed the private network.
He thought for a moment, sent a message to Qian Duoduo, then got up, left the Martial Arts Room, and headed for the cafeteria.
When it came to information, Qian Duoduo was without a doubt the most well-connected person in the entire school.
Qin Feng planned to ask him for information on the top experts from the other schools.
...
In the cafeteria, it was the same table by the window.
Qin Feng, Qian Duoduo, and Shi Potian were gathered together once again.
In front of each of them was a lavish B-grade Energy Meal.
"Old Qin, you’re a rare sight! I thought you were going into seclusion for another week or two."
Qian Duoduo said indistinctly, stuffing a piece of steak into his mouth.
"My training has hit a wall."
Qin Feng said concisely, "I’m bored, so I wanted to ask you for details about the upcoming Qiming Inter-School League."
"Ha! You’ve definitely come to the right person for that!"
At the mention of "gathering information," Qian Duoduo instantly perked up.
He put down his knife and fork, wiped his mouth, cleared his throat, and looked for all the world like a storyteller about to begin his tale.
He brought up his wrist terminal and projected a huge light screen onto the table, filled with all sorts of text and images.
"Ahem, first up, the rules for the upperclassman individual tournament, which is what we care about most."
"The rules are more or less the same as the freshman tournament we were in last year. It’s a 1v1 arena-style elimination tournament. You fight your way up until the final champion is decided—the ’Qiming General Star’."
"However, there is one major difference."
Qian Duoduo pointed to a line of small text on the light screen and emphasized, "And that is, the number of participants is much, much larger than in the freshman tournament!"
"The freshman tournament is basically only for the ’Seven Great Martial Arts High Schools,’ the top seven on Planet Qiming. But the upperclassman tournament is open to all Martial Arts High Schools on the entire planet! That includes the second-rate and third-rate schools. As long as their students have a vitality index of 30.0, they’re qualified to sign up."
"Oh?"
Qin Feng’s interest was piqued. "So, are there any particularly strong opponents from the other schools?"
"Strong ones? Of course there are!"
Qian Duoduo immediately pulled up a dozen or so photos and profiles of students in different school uniforms on the light screen.
"Look, this one. From Golden Dragon Martial High School, ’Golden Dragon’ Chen Tian. Vitality index 30.25. Perfection in the ’Overlord Spear,’ Perfection in the ’Six Harmonies Fist’."
"This one, the top student of Dubhe Martial High School, ’Dubhe Sword’ Liu Feixu. Vitality index 30.18. Perfection in the ’Falling Snow Sword’."