Jiang Hao looked at Su Qingning standing in front of him, then at Zhao Wuji across from them, who looked like an enraged Vajra.
He sighed softly to himself.
Jiang Hao had only wanted to train in peace, steadily improve his strength, and get into a good Martial Arts University when the Martial Arts Exam came around!
He had absolutely no desire to get caught up in the grudges and entanglements between top geniuses, or to stick his neck out.
But there was no helping it.
The tree longed for stillness, but the wind would not relent.
Trouble always found its way to his door.
As for his relationship with this Su Big School Flower?
That was nowhere near being a thing!
This was pure, undeserved calamity!
But.
Jiang Hao raised his head. In his eyes, calm as a deep pool, a blade-cold glint gradually gathered.
He didn't want trouble!
That didn't mean he was afraid of it!
The other guy had already pointed at his nose and cursed him to his face.
If he cowered like a turtle and let the other guy humiliate him,
not only would he look down on himself,
but it would tarnish his Martial Dao Heart!
Not for Su Qingning.
For himself!
Did they really think he was just some B-Class freshman with no backing, newly promoted from the Ordinary Class, someone they could toy with and bully as they pleased?
Jiang Hao took a deep breath and steadied his breathing.
He strode forward two or three steps!
And stood in front of Su Qingning!
Su Qingning stared in astonishment at Jiang Hao, who now stood before her, facing Zhao Wuji head-on!
She had never expected Jiang Hao to step forward and face the storm himself.
Jiang Hao paid no heed to Su Qingning's surprise.
He faced Zhao Wuji, his spine ramrod straight, like an unrivaled spear that would rather break than bend as it thrust into the sky!
"Zhao Wuji, right?"
Jiang Hao's voice was calm and clear, without the slightest tremor. It rang through the deathly still Training Hall and reached every person's ears.
"I accept your challenge."
The moment those words left his mouth, the whole place erupted!
It was like someone had splashed cold water into a boiling pot of oil!
Everyone stared at Jiang Hao as if he were crazy!
He accepted?
He actually dared to accept?!
That was Zhao Wuji!
The ruthless third-ranked student in the Key Class!
A physical freak with a Blood Qi Intensity of 12.0!
However,
Jiang Hao hadn't finished speaking. He gazed calmly at Zhao Wuji and continued:
"But you know the gap between us."
"You have a Blood Qi Intensity of 12.0, and you've spent two years honing your skills in the Key Class, with countless resources at your disposal."
"I'm only at 9.5, and I just joined the Key Class today. If we fight now, even if you win, Zhao Wuji, it won't exactly look good for you when word gets around, will it?"
Jiang Hao's words struck right at the heart of the matter.
"So I have two conditions. You can choose either one."
"First, give me one month."
"After a month, I'll fight you fair and square."
"Second."
"If you want to fight right now, that's fine."
"But you have to suppress your Blood Qi Intensity to match mine: 9.5!"
"What do you say?"
Not only had Jiang Hao accepted the challenge, he had turned the tables and laid down his own rules in front of everyone!
The whole place went completely wild!
The chatter surged like a rising tide!
"Jiang Hao's lost it! He's definitely lost it!"
"One month?"
"What does he think he can do in a month? Catch up with Zhao Wuji's enormous 2.5-point Blood Qi gap?!"
"And suppressing his Blood Qi? That's even more ridiculous!"
"Senior Zhao Wuji has a Blood Qi Intensity of 12.0, and he follows the Extreme Physical Body Flow!"
"His body, bones, and meridians have long been tempered day and night by high-intensity Blood Qi. They're as hard as iron!"
"Even if he suppresses his total Blood Qi to 9.5, his physical defense, recovery, and explosive power will still be more than ten times greater than those of an ordinary Martial Artist at 9.5!"
"Not to mention, Senior Zhao Wuji has mastered a Great Success Martial Skill known for its ferocity: Shattering Rock Fist!"
"If he unleashes his full power, even a powerhouse with a Blood Qi Intensity of 13.0 will have to avoid his edge!"
"Jiang Hao's digging his own grave! No matter which condition he picks, he's doomed to lose!"
No one thought Jiang Hao stood a chance.
In their eyes, he'd completely lost his head and was digging his own grave!
Zhao Wuji was stunned when he heard Jiang Hao's conditions. A flicker of surprise crossed his eyes.
Then he burst out laughing!
His laughter shook the chandeliers hanging from the Training Hall's ceiling!
"Hahahaha!"
"Good!"
"You've got some guts!"
Zhao Wuji's laughter abruptly stopped. He lowered his head and looked down at Jiang Hao with contempt, his lips curled in mockery.
"One month? I don't have the patience to wait for a weakling like you to slowly grow stronger before I crush you!"
"I choose the second one!"
"Suppress my Blood Qi!"
Zhao Wuji was brimming with confidence. He held out a thick finger and wagged it dismissively in front of Jiang Hao.
"Just suppressing my Blood Qi isn't enough to show what I can do against a piece of trash like you!"
"I'll add one more condition!"
"Tomorrow, I, Zhao Wuji, won't use a single Martial Skill!"
"I'll use only the most basic punches and kicks!"
"I'll crush you with nothing but Blood Qi and a physique at the same level as yours!"
"After you lose, you'll never go near Su again!"
With that,
Zhao Wuji glanced at Su Qingning, his eyes alight with the feverish anticipation of proving himself, then turned and strode away!
He needed to go back and get ready.
Although he'd made it sound easy, he wasn't actually an idiot.
Even a lion used all its strength to catch a rabbit.
He would adjust his condition and face Jiang Hao tomorrow at his best, crushing the ignorant brat to dust in front of his goddess!
Jiang Hao watched Zhao Wuji's retreating figure, as imposing as an iron tower, and his eyes grew unfathomably deep.
"No Martial Skills, huh..."
"Heh, you asked for it."
Jiang Hao chuckled inwardly!
If Zhao Wuji suppressed his Blood Qi but still went all-out, and added that Great Success Martial Skill, Shattering Rock Fist, to the mix, Jiang Hao might well have been in a very difficult position right now!
But he was crippling his own strength by promising not to use Martial Skills?
Then things might not go the way he expected!
Most importantly!
Jiang Hao's Tidal Wave was already on the verge of breaking through!
After watching Zhao Wuji leave, Jiang Hao paid no attention to the gloating looks or the people eager to watch the show around him. He didn't say much to Su Qingning either.
He merely nodded to her.
Then he turned around, slung his backpack over his shoulders, and left the Key Class Teaching Building.
Home!
Prepare for battle!
When he got home,
Jiang Hao didn't slack off for even a moment.
After dinner,
in the courtyard,
Jiang Hao held the familiar "Mop Spear," which he had polished until it was completely smooth.
Beneath the bright moonlight,
his shadow stretched long across the ground, firm and unwavering.
He practiced the Tidal Wave Spear Technique again and again, tireless.
Every thrust sent a muffled boom through the air, shaking the leaves around him!
Jiang Hao searched for that sensation: the feeling of force building within him, surging like sea waves, each wave driving the one before it onward!
"The First Wave is the foundation. Force rises from the ground, flows through the whole body, and gathers at a single point."
"The Second Wave is the layering!"
"Before the old force has run out, new force is already born!"
"Two forces merge in an instant in my hand, then erupt with multiplied power!"
Jiang Hao recalled the essence of the Tidal Wave Spear Technique. His muscles trembled and his meridians bulged, as if a surging river were rushing through his body.
His clothes were already drenched with sweat, which dripped from the ends of his hair.
But he didn't stop.
His eyes only grew brighter!
"Again!"
"Break through for me!"
He didn't know how many times he had practiced it.
Then, in the dead of night, as the moon reached its zenith,
a flash of inspiration suddenly struck Jiang Hao. As he thrust out the first spear, when his old force was nearing its peak but had not yet dispersed, he abruptly summoned strength again from his waist and abdomen!
An even more surging wave of Blood Energy burst into his arm like an enraged dragon, merging perfectly with the old force!
"Boom!"
At that moment!
As Jiang Hao thrust out the wooden pole, it let out two terrifying booms, almost perfectly overlapping!
A force of penetration far beyond anything he had unleashed before burst from the blunt, rounded tip!
The air before him seemed to cave inward beneath that thrust, forming a translucent dent visible to the naked eye!
The gusting air sent the flowers and plants in the courtyard reeling!
He'd done it!
Jiang Hao stood upright with the pole lowered, his eyes blazing with a brilliance they had never shown before!
The pleasant notification from Heavenly Dao Rewards Diligence rang in his mind at just the right moment!
[ Ding! Congratulations, Host! ] [ Your "Tidal Wave Spear Technique" proficiency has reached a new level! ] [ Current progress: Tidal Wave Spear Technique · Minor Success (1/100)! ] [ You have successfully mastered: Second Layered Strength! ]
Hearing the voice in his mind, Jiang Hao gripped the wooden pole tightly and recalled the sensation of that force. The double-layered strength, which felt as if it could pierce through anything, made the corner of his mouth slowly curl upward.
"The Second Wave!"
"Layered together, it's enough to make my attacks erupt with power comparable to a Blood Qi Intensity of 11.0!"
"Zhao Wuji."
"Tomorrow."
"I'll give you one hell of a surprise!"
Before you continue