The moment this speculation appeared, the entire thread exploded.
[Totally possible! Qin Beast is practicing a Top-grade Acupoint Opening Technique, which is way harder and takes much longer! He’s been enrolled for forty years, so it’s perfectly normal if it takes him another seventy or eighty years to advance to the fifth level!]
[Holy shit, by that logic, Zhou Run won’t be competing next time. Doesn’t that mean the ruler of the Fourth Level Division is about to change from a Zhou to a Qin?]
[Oh, come on! It’s bad enough that Zhou Run has been a Lai Zi for decades, but this guy, Qin Beast, is practicing a Top-grade Acupoint Opening Technique! The average promotion time is a hundred years! He’s only been at it for forty years, which means he’s going to be a ’Lai Zi’ in the Fourth Level Division for at least another sixty or seventy years?!]
[I’m sick of this! First one Lai Zi leaves, and now another one shows up! Is the Canaan Newcomer Cup championship prize really that easy to fleece? Give the newcomers a break!]
For a while, the forums were buzzing with discussion.
In the eyes of the vast majority, although Qin Feng was powerful, he still stood no chance against an old monster like Zhou Run, who had already cultivated a Top-grade Acupoint Opening Technique to the Great Perfection stage and reached a life force index of 3600.
Most people were inclined to believe that Qin Feng had returned this time merely to fight for second place. Afterward, he would take over Zhou Run’s "post" and become the next "Great Lai Zi" entrenched in the Fourth Level Division, driving countless newcomers to despair.
...
While the outside world’s forums were in an uproar over Qin Feng’s appearance, up on the high platform, in the domain reserved for true powerhouses, the atmosphere was a stark contrast to the previous lighthearted ease.
Dozens of Stellar-level instructors and seven or eight Star System-level Powerhouses were now sitting bolt upright with solemn expressions. They were as quiet and focused as schoolchildren listening to a lecture, each staring straight ahead.
The entire instructors’ seating area was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
They didn’t dare to speak a word. All communication was conducted through invisible, clandestine fluctuations of Mental Power in each other’s minds.
This was all because that living legend, Squad Leader Zhou Xiong, was watching the matches on the battle platforms below with rapt attention and great interest.
At that moment, a secret conversation was taking place within the mental network of a few instructors who were in on the secret.
A Stellar-level instructor sent out a wave of Mental Power: ’Lv Lan, Yue Hong... Is Squad Leader Zhou Xiong... here for that kid, Qin Feng?’
This wave of Mental Power instantly reached the mental perceptions of Yu Han, Lv Lan, Yue Hong, and Mu Lin.
They were all privy to the secret, having either personally witnessed Qin Feng’s entrance exam or been hinted at by Yu Han during the year Qin Feng won the Newcomer Cup.
They all knew that Qin Feng bore the great secret of being the "Emperor’s Chosen."
The red-haired female instructor, Yue Hong, replied: ’Some things are not for people of our level to discuss freely.’
Mu Lin, the old man with the wine gourd, also chuckled, his Mental Power filled with amusement: ’I’m actually quite curious. I haven’t seen this little monster in decades. I wonder how much he’s grown.’
Yu Han was the calmest of all. He simply sent out a faint Intent: ’Let’s just watch and see.’
The attitude of these big shots immediately scared the other informed Stellar-level instructors into silence, and they didn’t dare ask another question.
As for the instructors who were completely in the dark, such as Zai Jing, the head of the Disciplinary Hall, and most of the other Stellar-level instructors, they were currently baffled and confused.
Even Zai Jing’s face, usually as frosty as ten-thousand-year-old ice, showed a rare trace of confusion.
His Mental Power reached out directly to Yu Han: ’Yu Han, what’s going on? Why would His Excellency, Squad Leader Zhou Xiong, be so interested in a mere Fourth Level Division?’
’No idea.’
Yu Han’s mental wave was as calm as an ancient well, revealing nothing.
Zai Jing then turned to Lv Lan, Yue Hong, Mu Lin, and the others.
’Don’t know.’
’Haven’t a clue.’
’Drinking, just drinking.’
All he received were airtight, maddeningly calm replies.
This made Zai Jing and the other instructors who didn’t know the truth all the more curious and suspicious.
They keenly sensed that behind this seemingly ordinary Newcomer Cup, there seemed to be a secret that even they were not qualified to know.
-----------------
When the Canaan Newcomer Cup’s qualifying rounds entered the fourth round, the atmosphere of the entire arena grew even more intense.
Those who could stand out from the millions of participants and pass three consecutive rounds were all either elites among the new students or experienced veterans.
On every battle platform, incredibly fierce fights were unfolding. The sparks from colliding weapons flared up one after another in a dazzling, spectacular display.
However, on the battle platform where Qin Feng was, the scene was a completely different story.
In the fourth round, his opponent was a veteran student with a life force index of 570 who had mastered a Control Realm Killing Technique.
This veteran had clearly learned from the mistakes of the previous contestants. The moment the match began, he pushed his defenses to their absolute limit while simultaneously retreating rapidly, trying to create distance and find an opening.
But it was all in vain.
It was, yet again, an instant kill in a single move.
In the fifth round, his opponent was a ranged attacker skilled with throwing knives. The trajectories of his knives were tricky, and they were coated with a corrosive, toxic Spiritual Energy.
When the match began, dozens of throwing knives transformed into a downpour of dark green death, blanketing the sky as they descended.
Qin Feng didn’t even look. He just brandished his Long Spear, forming an impenetrable barrier.
The moment they struck the barrier, all the throwing knives were sent flying as if they had hit the most solid of alloy walls, failing to stir even the slightest ripple.
Immediately after, Qin Feng’s figure vanished from his spot.