’His efficiency at absorbing the Spiritual Energy from the Medicinal Liquid is twice mine.’
Shi Potian leaned against the edge of the bathtub, muttering to himself.
’Absorption is just the first step. After absorption, there’s utilization and conversion. His efficiency at converting that energy into his life force index is probably much higher than mine, too.’
A deep sense of powerlessness, mixed with a wry smile, appeared on his face.
’He’s simply a freak.’
His original plan was to raise his life force index by 1.0 point every ten days. At that rate, another three or four months of hard training would get his life force index to 20.0, the minimum standard for promotion to the third year.
But what about Qin Feng?
He was twice as fast.
He might only need two months, or even less time, to reach 20.0.
Most importantly, while that freak was madly strengthening his body, his progress in combat arts was also outrageously fast.
’A Demon...’
Shi Potian heaved a long sigh, got up from the bathtub, dressed, and left the bathroom.
...
「In the cafeteria.」
Qin Feng, Shi Potian, and Qian Duoduo—the trio from dorm 402—were gathered together again.
"Sigh, you two are getting more and more freakish."
Qian Duoduo mumbled indistinctly while wolfing down his food, "I’m training my ass off, and my life force index just now hit 9.0. I’ll probably reach 10.0 by the end of the month and apply for promotion to the second year. To do that, I’ve completely given up on my combat arts."
He looked at Qin Feng and Shi Potian, his eyes full of envy.
Just then, all three of their wrist terminals chimed with a crisp notification.
An announcement from the Dean’s Office popped up, impossible to ignore.
[Qiming First Martial Arts High School - Dean’s Office Announcement]
[Subject]: Registration Notice for the 2337 Qimingxing Inter-School League
[Date]: Begins in ten days. The competition is expected to last for seven days.
[Eligibility]: All currently enrolled students of this school.
[Registration]: Interested participants must submit an application to their respective homeroom teacher within three days. No late entries.
[Note]: The Inter-School League concerns the school’s honor. We hope all students will register enthusiastically, strive to be the best, and bring glory to our school!
"It’s here!" Qian Duoduo’s eyes lit up.
Without a moment’s hesitation, all three opened a private chat with their homeroom teacher, typed out a message, and sent their application.
[Qin Feng]: Teacher Lin Yue, I am applying to register for the Inter-School League.
[Shi Potian]: Teacher, I’m applying to register.
[Qian Duoduo]: Teacher! I want to register! Count me in!
Almost simultaneously, all three received an automated "Received" reply from their teacher.
"Hehe, I made it just in time."
Qian Duoduo wore an excited expression. "Even though I’m just going to be cannon fodder and experience the atmosphere of a top-tier competition, just thinking about facing off against the geniuses from all over Qimingxing is thrilling!"
Shi Potian’s expression was calm, but a fighting spirit burned in his eyes. "My goal is the top ten."
"What about you, Old Qin?"
Qian Duoduo looked at Qin Feng.
"Me too," Qin Feng replied.
"Tch."
Qian Duoduo and Shi Potian simultaneously gave him the middle finger. "Aren’t you going for first place?"
Hearing Shi Potian and Qian Duoduo’s teasing, Qin Feng shook his head helplessly.
"Qimingxing is full of crouching tigers and hidden dragons; no one can guarantee they’ll take first place. I don’t know anything about the geniuses from the other schools. Who knows what kind of monsters are out there."
This wasn’t humility, but a fact.
Qiming First Martial Arts High School operated under a completely closed-off management style, almost like an information bubble.
The school’s focus was entirely on pushing students to their limits and cultivating them. Information about the outside world, especially about competitors, had almost zero circulation.
The students’ time was completely filled with cultivation, actual combat, and ranked matches. They had neither the energy nor the channels to find out what kind of legendary figures the geniuses from the other six top Martial Arts High Schools were.
"That’s true."
Shi Potian nodded in deep agreement.
Qian Duoduo seemed to have some inside information and spoke up. "I heard that for our year’s high school entrance exams, out of the top ten candidates in all of Qimingxing, only two applied to our Qiming First High School, and their ranks weren’t even in the top five. Supposedly, the top five’s scores were in a league of their own."
Those who could get into Qiming First High School were already one-in-ten-thousand geniuses.
And those monsters, even more demonic than them, had all gone to other schools.
"So, you see,"
Qin Feng smiled, finishing every last bite of the nutritional meal on his plate. "I’ll just set a small goal for now: aim for the top ten. As long as I can get the grade point reward, I’m good."
After lunch, the three of them went their separate ways.
Qin Feng didn’t rest for a moment, heading straight back to the public Martial Arts Dojo in the Class A Area.
He skillfully opened the Subspace Network terminal.
His consciousness sank into the Subspace Network. He selected the private domain, and the familiar dark gold interface of the Qiming High School Private Domain soon appeared before his eyes.
He glanced at his personal data.
[ID]: Qin Feng
[Private Domain Points]: -280
[Record]: 34 Wins / 420 Losses
For the past ten days, he had spent almost all his afternoons immersed in here.
His wins increased slowly, but his losses mounted even faster.
Every time he encountered a senior student, he had yet to score a single victory.
His points had long since turned into a glaring negative number.
’Let’s continue.’
Without any hesitation, he pressed the [Start Matching] button.
A stream of data flashed before his eyes, and a few seconds later, a match was found.
Light and shadow coalesced, and he appeared on a barren gobi desert battlefield.
When he got a clear look at the well-built young man opposite him holding two short batons, Qin Feng’s eyes narrowed slightly.
It was Sun He.
His first opponent after being promoted to the second year, ten days ago.
Sun He had clearly recognized him too, a playful smile appearing on his face.
He didn’t immediately assume an attack stance. Instead, he raised his hand and gave Qin Feng a friendly wave.
Qin Feng nodded slightly in return.
The next second, the horn signaling the start of the battle blew.
Sun He’s aura changed abruptly.
His entire body was like a cheetah poised to strike. His legs bent slightly, and then he exploded with force, the ground beneath his feet instantly blasting open a shallow crater.
He transformed into a blurry afterimage, hurtling toward Qin Feng at a speed that far surpassed his own.
It was the same incomparably ferocious assault!
Qin Feng’s pupils contracted suddenly, but unlike ten days ago, he didn’t choose to retreat.
He took a deep breath, his feet rooting themselves to the ground like an iron tree. He held his three-meter Long Spear horizontally in front of him, assuming a stable defensive stance.
CLANG!
Sun He’s first short baton, carrying the force of a thunderbolt, smashed violently against the shaft of Qin Feng’s spear.
An immense force slammed into him, shaking Qin Feng’s entire body and sending him sliding back half a meter. The muscles in his arms instantly tensed to their limit.
’So heavy!’
’But I blocked it!’
Before he could even catch his breath, Sun He’s second short baton had already flicked up like a viper from an extremely tricky low angle, aiming straight for his abdomen.
Qin Feng’s eyes narrowed. He put force into his waist, and the butt of his spear swung down like a scorpion’s tail.
CLANG!
Another resounding clang echoed.
Sun He’s attack was parried with precision.
"Interesting."
Sun He chuckled lightly, his assault growing even more ferocious.
His dual short batons seemed to transform into two bolts of indestructible lightning in his hands. Sometimes they were as fierce as hammers, other times as nimble as whips. They launched a torrential onslaught from all directions—up, down, left, and right—aiming for every vital point on Qin Feng’s body.
For a moment, the only sound across the entire gobi battlefield was a dense, rapid-fire clanging of metal, like rain drumming on banana leaves.