[Archived Link 4: "(Insider Info) The One True Reason Qin Beast’s Body Could Overload the Testing Pod! He Sold His Ass to a Starry Sky Giant Beast! I Have a Friend Who’s a Legit Starry Sky Giant Beast, and It Knows Qin Beast... (Just kidding, don’t come for me.)"]
[Archived Link 5: "(An Inspiring Example) You See His Glory, But You Don’t See His Sweat! Qin Beast, the Seclusion Maniac! Only When You Can Endure the Seventh Layer of Solitude Can You Become a True Expert! Enrolled at Seventeen, Went into Insane Seclusion for Forty Years—I Ask You, Who Here Can Do That?!"]
[Archived Link 6: "..."]
...
One by one, posts that were full of clickbait yet incredibly detailed were made public.
When the curious new students skeptically clicked on these links, especially the high-definition, full-length recording of the duel between Qin Feng and Zhou Run...
The entire freshman class was utterly silenced.
In that moment, their worldview, their pride, their very understanding of the word "genius"—was completely and utterly shattered!
"Forty years to master the ’Great Sun Acupoint Opening Method’?! Is this a joke?! The average cultivation time for a Top-grade Acupoint Opening Technique is around 100 years! How did he manage to cut that time by more than half?!"
"My god... A seclusion maniac... That’s terrifying! I’ve only been here for half a year, and forget going into seclusion, I can’t even calm down enough to practice the ’Great Sun Visualization Method’ once all the way through! I’m always getting antsy, always thinking about going out to do missions or practicing combat techniques in the arena... But he managed to stay in seclusion in his dorm for decades... Is... is he even human?!"
"Quick! Go watch the combat recording! Holy shit! That spear technique is insane! So fluid, yet unbelievably ferocious! That senior, Zhou Run, he’s a 3600-point expert, right? And he was completely suppressed from start to finish, unable to fight back at all! Is that the power of Qin Beast?!"
The forums exploded with discussion.
On this day, the name "Qin Feng," along with his legendary moniker "Qin Beast," conquered the minds of all the freshmen with an unprecedented, overwhelming force.
Just as the freshmen were still reeling, lost in endless shock at Qin Feng’s inhuman cultivation speed and combat prowess, unable to pull themselves away...
A user with the ID "Retired Lai Zi" suddenly posted a new comment on the forum.
This comment didn’t join in on the hype for Qin Feng. Instead, in an extremely calm, almost educational tone, it attempted to pull the frenzied, sidetracked discussion back to the core topic: "the true value of reaching the 100th floor of Canaan Tower."
"My fellow students, don’t be so quick to be shocked. Before we discuss how monstrous Qin Feng is, I think it’s necessary for us to first establish a unified, objective standard for the word ’powerful.’"
This user ID, along with its feignedly profound tone, immediately caught the attention of countless students.
"First, I’ll post a video recording here."
As soon as he said that, a high-definition, professionally edited combat video was unceremoniously dropped into the thread.
The video’s title was dripping with personal style.
[Video: "Lai Zi’s Path to Defending His Crown! Zhou Run vs. Zheng Dong, Zhou Run Snatches the Fourth Level Division Championship Again, and Still Refuses to Leave!"]
The video opened to a familiar sight: the combat platform for the finals of the Newcomer’s Cup, Fourth Level Division.
And on one side of the platform was none other than the "Old Lai Zi" who had looked so "pathetic" at the hands of Qin Feng—Zhou Run!
His opponent was a man named Zheng Dong, another top expert who was also renowned in the Fourth Level Division.
The battle began!
This time, Zhou Run was no longer the "victim" who had been on the defensive, taking a beating the entire time.
He had transformed into a truly terrifying "aggressor"!
[Both combatants have life force indices of 3000+ and have reached the Control Realm in their combat techniques.]
In the corner of the video, a line of cold data clearly stated the strength of both fighters.
However, the battle was no fierce struggle between evenly matched opponents.
Zhou Run, longsword in hand, was like a silver bolt of lightning. From the very first second of the fight, he seized complete control of the battle’s rhythm with an unparalleled, powerful pressure!
His Swordsmanship was cunning and vicious, yet it possessed a free-flowing ease, as if he were lifting a great weight effortlessly.
Every thrust was perfectly placed, sealing off all of his opponent’s escape routes.
Zheng Dong, an expert who also had a life force index of 3000+ and had also mastered a Control Realm combat technique, seemed so clumsy and powerless before Zhou Run.
He was like a toddler who had just learned to walk, facing a Martial Arts Grandmaster in his prime.
His every attack was anticipated by Zhou Run in advance.
His every defense was easily pierced by Zhou Run.
The entire battle lasted less than a minute.
In the end, Zhou Run concluded the duel with a graceful, free-flowing, and seemingly effortless "Clouds Rolling and Unrolling," his sword lightly stopping just before Zheng Dong’s vital point.
When the recording finished playing,
the entire forum—especially the freshmen who had just finished watching the "Qin Feng vs. Zhou Run" battle—once again fell into a deathly silence.
What followed was an even more violent eruption of astonishment, laced with endless shock!