Chapter 308: Defeat (1)
Top 100 ring.
The ring was currently empty. Everyone knew that a big show was going to unfold soon, so nobody was interested in getting into the ring now and being reduced into the opening show of the coming fight.
There was still an empty spot left in the top 100, and many people wished to be the one to take it. However, nobody was willing to get into the ring and embarrass themselves.
Meanwhile, Zheng Yunhui was looking extremely helpless. He was supposed to be the main character today. Damn it! Su Yu had completely snatched all the attention. And that was not even the worst of it.
Standing nearby, Su Yu was being subjected to a completely different treatment from the crowd than him.
"Junior Brother Su Yu, how old are you this year?"
"Junior Brother, is Nanyuan fun?"
"Little Brother, why are you so strong?"
"Little Yu, can you defeat Liu He later? If you can't just surrender. It's not embarrassing at all. After all, Liu He is one year your senior."
"..."
Quite a lot of people were being driven mad by envy. Su Yu was surrounded by girls. Why couldn't those girls pay some attention to them as well? They would be more than happy to spend some time with these girls.
Some of the top 100 students were also feeling greatly envious. Su Yu was only 99th in the ranking! What were these girls doing?
Meanwhile, Su Yu was being assaulted by a storm of perfumes, to the point he had to resist the urge to sneeze. Inwardly, he kept reminding himself that every single one of these girls were trying to obstruct his path of cultivation. He had to firm his heart against them.
He didn't even have enough time to cultivate. If he had to spend some of his time on women, how was he supposed to keep cultivating? He had a much better use of his time.
Despite his thoughts, he continued maintaining the gentle smile on his face that was as comfortable to look at as a gentle breeze.
"Senior Sister, I'm 18 this year. Nanyuan is pretty good, but the source qi there is quite lacking."
"Senior Brother Liu He might be strong, but I'm not afraid of him."
With a warm smile, Su Yu said, "On my first day in the academy, I told myself to bravely climb upward. If I do not have the courage to face geniuses, how am I supposed to grow? Even if I end up defeated, this would only serve as my motivation."
"Yu, you're so brave!"
A decently good looking senior sister had a tender look on her face as she said, "Little Yu, it doesn't matter if you lose. Be careful and don't hurt yourself. Don't let your emotions control your actions. If you're not a match, remember to surrender promptly."
Su Yu smiled, "I hope to win. I think...I am actually quite strong."
"Teehee..."
The girls around him couldn't help but laugh. He was too adorable. And he was very friendly.
Every single one of the top 100 students was incomparably arrogant. Trying to approach one of them felt the same as trying to approach a porcupine. In fact, most of the top 100 students treated the regular students like air.
How about Su Yu?
He would patiently answer every question asked. He was like an adorable boy that was extremely fun to be with.
Inwardly, Su Yu was feeling extremely helpless. He kept reminding himself that he was a good and honest man. He was young and honest. And...could these people stand further away from him? He was finding the attack of the perfumes more and more unbearable. He was really on the verge of sneezing.
Liu He! Just where was Liu He? He would rather fight an intense match with Liu He than spend another moment here. The only thing they could do was ask him all sorts of pointless questions.
Looking at the envious expressions of the other students, he was rendered speechless. If these people were so jealous, they should come and replace him. He would be more than willing to accommodate that. While he was thinking, a clamor erupted further away from him.
The girls around Su Yu started stepping back. While doing so, they continued reminding him softly, "Little Yu, if you find yourself not a match, don't force yourself!"
Su Yu was relieved. Thank the heavens for Liu He. He was finally here.
Yes. Liu He had arrived. As Liu He strode forward, he noticed Su Yu who was being surrounded by a bunch of girls. He snorted. Nobody knew if that was a snort of envy or disdain.
He couldn't even be bothered to say anything to Su Yu. When he was about a dozen meters away from the ring, he leaped forward and landed inside the ring. A spear appeared in his hand.
Pointing the spear at Su Yu, he said, "I accept your challenge. Su Yu, you did well. I thought I would need to wait until next year before you can enter the top 100. I did not expect to meet you here so early. Get in the ring!"
With that roar, his presence soared.
The aura of a peak ninth-stage Great Strength cultivator erupted as his acupoints lit up. At the same time, his willpower spread out, covering the entire ring and its immediate surroundings.
He was very strong. In terms of physical cultivation, he had reached the peak of the Great Strength Realm. In terms of willpower cultivation, he had surpassed 90 percent, placing him at the peak of the Mental Tempering Stage. It was no wonder he was ranked 84th in the ranking.
Liu He had not been in the academy for long. He was only one year Su Yu's senior. To reach this level in only one year, he needed both talent and ability. Even the cultural weapon in his hand was a top-tier yellow-grade weapon. It had 36 golden veins on it. This was a much more powerful weapon than Yang Sha's weapon.
Su Yu exhaled softly and leaped into the ring as well. His clothes were as white as snow, fluttering to the breeze. The girls around the ring couldn't help but to gasp in admiration at the sight of that. What a graceful junior brother.
Liu He's eyes turned frosty as he said, "Su Yu, there is no grudge between us. But when I first joined the academy last year, Bai Feng claimed that I am unworthy of being his student. I don't mind not having him as a teacher, but I can't tolerate someone else using me as a stepping stone.
"Before you have even entered the academy, people are already comparing the two of us because you are Bai Feng's student. Su Yu, do you think you're worthy of being mentioned alongside me?"
Su Yu smiled, "I guess we'll have to determine that in a fight. I never intended to have myself compared against you. If you're unhappy about that, why have you not looked for the ones spreading the rumors instead of making things difficult for a new student like me on the first day of school?"
Su Yu indifferently said, "Since my teacher is the one looking down on you, you should look for my teacher and prove yourself. If you're incapable of that, just swallow your grievances. But instead, you came after me. Perhaps...you thought that I'm the only person you can bully among all the people that have offended you?"
Liu He's expression changed.
Su Yu smiled, "I guess it's only human nature to look for excuses for their weakness. You were the one who had provoked me first, not the other way around. Why are you making it sound like this is my fault? Me? Using you as a stepping stone? Do I even need to do that?"
Liu He focused on Su Yu.
The anger in his eyes had dissipated somewhat. But his tone was still frosty as he said, "You're right. But at this point, there is no sense in talking about all that. Su Yu, since you wish to climb the top 100, then it is only a matter of time before we meet regardless of our history."
Su Yu nodded with a smile, "That's right. People like us only participate in these spars and challenges for the sake of growth. It is honestly pointless to talk about anything else. You are different from Huang Qifeng. That shameless rat had intentionally hidden his cultivation level to injure my senior sister. I won't waste my time talking about growth with someone like him. Scum like him only belong under our feet."
Those words greatly pleased Liu He.
He roared with laughter and said, "Exactly! Interesting. As for Huang Qifeng..."
But he didn't dare to finish his sentence so he swallowed the rest of his words. He only sneered and said nothing else.
In the crowd, Huang Qifeng's eyes turned cold.
But Liu He did not even spare him a glance. In truth, he was not afraid of Huang Qifeng. He had his elder brother and a teacher backing him in the academy. His teacher was a ninth-stage Cloudbreach cultivator. Sure, Zheng Yuming was stronger, but his teacher was still an important individual in the single character faction.
Furthermore, his elder brother's teacher was also still alive. That person had merely entered deep seclusion, but he was not dead yet.
The two stopped talking.
Zhao Ming looked at the two and smiled, "Anything else to say? If not, well, you know the rules. Su Yu, if you win, you will be the one ranked 84th. Liu He, if you lose, you will drop to the 99th rank. You will need to climb the ranking from the very bottom again.
"Additionally, if Su Yu loses, he will need to pay 10 merit points to Liu He. That is the rules of these challenge matches. If he wins, he can continue his challenge or stop here. He will be immune from further challenges for three days."
After saying all the rules, Zhao Ming looked at the two again and said, "Match start."
Instantly, the spear shot forward. It was akin to a charging dragon. Murderous source qi erupted and the spear stabbed straight at Su Yu's acupoint.
Su Yu stomped his foot on the ground and moved aside to avoid the stab.
"Die!"
A roar rang out and immediately, Su Yu felt something heavy striking his sea of willpower.
"Die! Die! Die!"
A devil seemed to have appeared in his mind. The devil was constantly roaring at him, destabilizing his sea of willpower.
Divine Character!
A devil race Divine Character!
Su Yu instantly reached that conclusion. Liu He was using all his strength the moment the fight began, attacking with a martial technique and a Divine Character without any hesitation.
"Die!"
"Kill!" Su Yu's own Divine Character erupted, unleashing a wave of killing intent and blasted the illusory devils in his mind.
At that point, the spear was already right in front of him. The domineering spear qi stabbed right into Su Yu's acupoint. His acupoint shook.
Rumble!
Su Yu's body lit up as his source qi surged and blasted the spear qi away. Then, he slapped the spear to the side. Liu He reacted immediately and spun the spear right back toward Su Yu.
Whoosh!
A sharp whistle rang out from the sheer speed of the spear. At the same time, the die character activated again and echoed in Su Yu's sea of willpower, affecting his state of mind and causing him to turn agitated.
His mental state had been affected. Someone with a weaker willpower would have suffered even more, to the point they wouldn't be able to use any Divine Character anymore.
With a roar, Su Yu summoned his cultural weapon. A loud rumble and a crack of lightning accompanied the weapon. The weapon descended. With a loud boom, the saber clashed with the spear, sending Liu He several steps back. Liu He's expression changed when he felt the strength behind that slash.