A Supremely High Barrier (continued)

However, Linked Mountains University did just that, with an extremely flamboyant attitude, Si Ming unsurprisingly received many resentful stares.

"Damn it, that's too much! He took the bowl away while we were eating the meat and drinking the soup. If I weren't outmatched, I would have fought him."

"The key is that we can't beat them. They have the right to be arrogant. There's nothing we can do. In martial arts, strength speaks volumes. Whoever is stronger has the loudest voice."

"I admit I'm not as skilled as him, but I just can't Qi Ingestion, I just don't like him, is that wrong?"

Of course, those feeling resentful are the strong teams or seeded teams that have a chance to get a number plate, while the weak teams that see themselves as just there to accompany the princes are gloating. Anyway, even without Linked Mountains University, they still wouldn't get a number plate. Now that the "princes" are just as unlucky as they are, they actually feel like they've gained something.

Besides Si Ming, Si Jingyu unsurprisingly attracted more attention. After all, most of the people present were men, and everyone preferred to look at beautiful women. Moreover, Si Jingyu had been the one to handle most of the previous tests, so she left a deeper impression.

"Who exactly is this girl? She's skilled in using someone else's strength against them, her True Qi is vicious and hard to suppress, and she's even Spirit Transformation Grandmaster. How come I've never heard of her before?"

"She claims to be a maid? What a load of rubbish! I've never heard of a Spirit Transformation Grandmaster wanting to be someone's servant!"

"Wei Mengchen is also Spirit Transformation, but I don't think he can necessarily defeat this girl. When I sparred with Wei Mengchen, I could at least last ten moves, but when I met this girl, I couldn't even withstand three moves. Her True Qi is too strange. I'm afraid of being able to use her strength against her from a distance, and I'm afraid of being able to penetrate her in close combat. I simply don't know where to start."

"This is interesting. Originally, Earth Emperor University produced a Spirit Transformation, and they were riding high, seemingly poised to win the championship this year. But now Linked Mountains University also has Spirit Transformation. As the saying goes, when two tigers fight, one will surely be injured. Maybe we can pick up the bargain."

"That's nothing interesting. In my opinion, the most interesting thing would be having a beautiful Nascent Spirit Transformation as my maid. I wouldn't trade that for a martial arts championship. From then on, my maid would do whatever I needed to do, and when there was nothing else... hehehehe."

Ultimately, out of consideration for the other party's presence, they dared not speak out, but having gone this far, those who understood understood. The group of boys smiled knowingly in unison, and their resentment towards Si Ming intensified—regardless of whether this girl was truly a maid or not, since she claimed to be a maid in public, she was clearly willing to accept this identity.

"Damn, now that you mention it, I'm really envious and jealous!"

"Heaven owes me a Spirit Transformation cultivator!"

Bathed in envious gazes, Si Ming felt exceptionally pleased. He loved seeing them grit their teeth in anger, yet utterly helpless against him.

Standing nearby, Meng Meng quietly approached Secret Voice Transmission, "Your maid said she wouldn't participate in the Martial Dao League, is that true?"

"Real."

"That's good, that's good," Meng Meng breathed a sigh of relief, then praised, "This is the attitude Spirit Transformation Grandmaster should have. They've already achieved great success, why bother participating in this little competition? Winning is only natural, and if they suffer an unexpected defeat, they'll be ridiculed. It's just a thankless task."

Si Ming reminded him, "Don't forget, we also have Murong Qing from our school; she's definitely going to participate in the competition."

"... I suddenly have this illusion that advancing to the Nascent Spirit Transformation seems really easy," Meng Meng his head, adjusting his mood. "Oh well, I've already got my number plate; if anyone's going to be unlucky, it'll be someone else first."

Of the seven number plates in total, five were in Si Ming's hands, and the remaining two were obtained by Heavenly Black University and International Union Academy respectively. It was probably because their representatives had already experienced Si Jingyu's strength and subconsciously kept their distance, thus escaping disaster. They survived to the end by relying on their lightness skills and hiding.

A moment later, the Earth Emperor University reached a conclusion. The person in charge hurriedly came to discuss with Si Ming and proposed a solution: Si Ming could randomly choose one of the five number plates, and the rest would be discarded. Teams that did not receive a number plate would be randomly drawn. In other words, there would only be four seeded teams in this league.

"I disagree. I finally got five cards, and you're telling me the extra four are useless and I have to give up my loot. Would you agree to that?" Si Ming sneered. He wasn't some college student without social experience who would give up his rightful rights just because he was fooled.

"But even if you get more cards, it won't make a difference, will it?"

"Who says it's useless? Our Linked Mountains University can find more players, form five teams, one number for each team, and create a Five-Color Team combination. Wouldn't that solve the problem?"

Earth Emperor University fears this kind of request the most. The person in charge hurriedly said, "You know this is impossible. The number of participants allocated to each state is fixed. Even if we were willing to give you a number, Linked Mountains University couldn't possibly get that many participants, and you would definitely be disqualified from the competition."

"It's fine if it's canceled. I can just leave these numbers blank. I can throw away my stuff like trash, but I can't let you take it for nothing. In the end, it's because your Earth Emperor University didn't get the competition rules right, which created a loophole. If anyone's to be held responsible, it's your responsibility, not for a law-abiding player like me to bear the burden."

If things escalate, it will be the Earth Emperor University that loses face, since they are the organizers. Therefore, Si Ming spoke with confidence and was not afraid of the other party turning against him. Power can force the weak to submit, but it cannot force a strong person like him.

The person in charge understood the unspoken message: "We can't let it be taken for nothing," meaning they would agree to take it as long as the requirements were met.

So he immediately put on a pitiful expression and pleaded, "What conditions would it take for you to agree?"

Si Ming, "Don't play the victim. I won't make things difficult for you. As long as your school agrees to send a student I designate to spar with me, I will agree to your conditions."

The condition was unexpected, but also unexpectedly simple, so the person in charge readily agreed, "No problem, student, you tell me, who do you want to spar with, Wei Mengchen?"

"I've fought countless Spirit Transformation Grandmaster, I'm not interested in them at all. I don't know that student's name, but he's very unique. After hearing my description, you should know who he is."

"Although after our first encounter I felt that a battle between us was inevitable, I didn't expect it to come so soon."

Standing before Si Ming was none other than the boy who had used the maid as a model for his painting. His sickly pale face held a helpless expression of having seen through the ways of the world, and he seemed reluctant to fight, yet his eyes shone with an eager passion, making him appear quite contradictory.

Si Ming laughed and said, "I'm just an impatient person. I don't want to put things off until tomorrow if they can be resolved today."

"I'm the opposite. If I can finish at the last minute, I'll never finish half a minute early," the boy coughed twice, then continued, "But since you're so kind, I can't refuse. Let me introduce myself first. My surname is Shan, and my given name is Gu. My nickname... well, I don't really have one. Everyone's used to calling me 'weirdo,' and I'm used to that."

Representatives from other schools whispered among themselves, asking who this person was, but no one could answer. Even most of the students from Earth Emperor University did not recognize him. Only a few recognized Shan Gu, but they only had impressions of him as "eccentric," "aloof," and "speaking in a way that was hard to understand." They had no idea about his cultivation level or his achievements in martial arts.

The more this was the case, the more curious people became. After all, they had either witnessed Si Ming's strength firsthand or learned about it from others, and the opponent Si Ming had specifically challenged couldn't be weak, so it couldn't be just to bully novices, could it?

Si Ming, "Nicknames are fine as long as others understand who they're referring to and the person in question doesn't object. My name is Si Ming, and my nickname is 'Mad Ink.' I'm very interested in your martial arts and its origins. If you're willing to talk about it, then it's okay if we don't fight."

"Oh, I thought you wanted to know the origin of maid outfits, and that's why you wanted to fight me for the sake of the noble cause of being voluptuous versus flat-chested."

"Haha, that's part of the reason, isn't it?"

"In that case, I can only say that 'only the victor has the right to know everything.' After all, you certainly wouldn't want to tell an outsider about a martial arts adventure."

"Yes, that's why I'm here to make friends through martial arts and connect with people through fists. Once we become friends, we're no longer outsiders."

Shan Gu smiled and raised his hand, saying, "Please enlighten me."

"Attention!"

Si Ming Mingpian pointed to the sky, unleashing a Sword-Ray of sword light from his fingertip. Like a bright moon in the sky, it was crystal clear and dazzling. Instantly, a gale swept up and the air currents swirled violently. A tornado was formed around him, and the Sword-Ray emitted Sword Qi outwards. It combined with the wind force and transformed into invisible blades of energy, constantly tearing and slashing in the storm, producing a piercing sound of metal clashing. Even from dozens of meters away, it made people's faces sting.

Those who came to watch the match, if not all top-tier experts, were at least first-rate. Therefore, upon seeing the depth of this move, their expressions changed.

"Holy crap, no way! That was an extreme move right off the bat! That's too fierce!"