End

As the referee announced the result, the members of both sides carried away their unconscious companions.

After watching Lin Xiuyai and Liu Qing's duel, Lin Ming once again sighed that the two truly deserved to become the future overlords of the Inner Academy's Strong Ranking. The Dou Techniques they had used to decide the match felt scarcely weaker than his Mountain Rushing Flood Fist with both fists striking together. Lin Ming therefore resolved that he had to master the Blazing Sun Saber Technique before entering the Inner Academy next year.

Lin Ming was completely in the dark about the current state of the Inner Academy. There might even be people more monstrous than Lin Xiuyai and Liu Qing. Therefore, he had to learn this Earth Tier Dou Technique before entering the Inner Academy and use it as a trump card.

The competition continued. After waiting for a long time, Black Tier Class One finally received another challenger. However, when Lin Ming saw the other side's introduction and cultivation levels, he completely lost interest. The challengers were merely a Yellow Tier Class, and among the five of them, only two had reached the Dou Practitioner Stage: one was a two-star Dou Zhe, one was a one-star Dou Zhe, and the remaining three were only at the ninth level of Dou Qi.

Lin Ming directly sent five of his classmates onto the stage. He would not be fighting this time. If five one-star Dou Zhes from his class lost against challengers with only two Dou Zhes and three people at the ninth level of Dou Qi, then Lin Ming could only accept it.

Although they were all students of the same class and should fight for their class's honor, it was impossible for Lin Ming to handle everything himself. If there was something they could not resolve, then as the class leader, Lin Ming had no problem helping them deal with it; he even felt it was his duty. But now, their side clearly held every advantage. If he still had to make a move, then he would be unwilling. They had the ability to earn honor for the class themselves but chose not to—so why should Lin Ming do it for them?

Everyone was part of the class. The resources belonged to everyone, not Lin Ming alone. Since they all enjoyed those resources, they also had to shoulder the corresponding responsibilities. Lin Ming would decide whether to participate in future Monthly Competitions depending on the circumstances. If he had time, he might join, but if he had other matters to attend to, he would not delay his own affairs for a Monthly Competition.

The match officially began. After a total of half an hour, Black Tier Class One successfully defended the arena and claimed victory, which left Lin Ming fairly pleased.

After half an hour of rest, Lin Xiuyai finally regained consciousness. According to Lin Xiuyai himself, he only needed another hour to regulate his breathing before he could fight again. Lin Ming therefore stopped worrying about him and let him recover on his own.

They had merely been struck by the shockwave created by the clash of Dou Techniques, then fainted from excessive Dou Qi Consumption. After resting, they woke up, and there was nothing seriously wrong with them.

The competition continued. Lin Ming only made a move once afterward, when Black Tier Class Three came to challenge them and said they wanted to experience the gap between themselves and a Dou Master. Lin Ming granted their request.

From the start of the match until the referee announced the result, not even the time it took to drink a cup of tea had passed. After that swiftly concluded match, no other Black Tier Class came to challenge Black Tier Class One. Only two Yellow Tier Classes came afterward to go through the motions. Naturally, Lin Ming did not take the field against Yellow Tier Classes like those and left them to his teammates.

As time passed, all the matches finally came to an end. The members of every class returned to their respective areas and waited for the final results to be announced.

After the time it took to drink a cup of tea, the results were finally announced.

A middle-aged man first offered a few words of encouragement before getting to the point. "I will now announce the results of this Monthly Competition:

"First place, Black Tier Class One. Total score: twenty points! The breakdown is as follows: four successful arena defenses, four victories, earning four points; twenty arena challenges, sixteen victories, earning sixteen points. Twenty points in total. Please applaud their achievement."

Applause rang out, and Black Tier Class One's applause was by far the loudest.

"Second place, Black Tier Class Three. Total score: fifteen points! The breakdown is as follows: eight successful arena defenses, eight victories, earning eight points; sixteen arena challenges, seven victories, earning seven points. Fifteen points in total. Please applaud their achievement."

Applause broke out again, though their own class still applauded the loudest.

The results continued to be announced, and only after two more classes did Black Tier Class Two's score get mentioned.

"Fifth place, Black Tier Class Two. Total score: ten points! The breakdown is as follows: nine arena defenses, seven victories, earning seven points; two defeats, deducting six points; seventeen arena challenges, nine victories, earning nine points. Ten points in total. Please applaud their achievement."

Applause rose once more. Thinking of Black Tier Class Two's fifth-place ranking, Lin Ming realized that after Liu Qing lost to Lin Xiuyai and fainted, Black Tier Class Two must have been defeated once more. That was why they had lost two arena defenses. Otherwise, with their strength, they should have at least made the top three.

"Last place, Yellow Tier Class Fifteen. Total score: negative thirty points! The breakdown is as follows: eleven arena defenses, all defeats, deducting thirty-three points; ten arena challenges, three victories, earning three points. Final total: negative thirty points. We hope they can improve in next month's Monthly Competition and escape last place. Of course, please give them a round of applause as well."

Applause rose again, though it was not nearly as enthusiastic.

"I hereby announce that the freshmen's first Monthly Competition has come to an end. Each class may leave in an orderly manner." As the middle-aged man announced the end of the competition, Lin Ming and the others began leaving the venue.

Once they returned to the classroom, the entire class erupted in cheers. Instructor Zhang Man also came over, and as she watched the cheering students, she was filled with delight.

"Students, to celebrate your excellent results in this Monthly Competition, I specially hired a chef for you. Tonight, we'll hold a celebration banquet on the third floor."

"Long live Instructor Zhang Man!" someone shouted upon hearing that Instructor Zhang Man had hired a chef to hold a celebration banquet on the third floor.

So the vacant third floor was meant for class activities like these, Lin Ming thought.

The evening celebration banquet officially began. All kinds of food were brought out, and there was even a roasted Tier One sheep-type magical beast. Then the students began raising their cups and drinking together. Their living quarters were upstairs, and they were all at least Dou Zhes, either adults or close to adulthood. Drinking some wine was perfectly normal.

Lin Ming himself had lost count of how many people had come over to toast him. By now, everyone had loosened up. Lin Xiuyai came over to Lin Ming, raised his cup, and said, "Class Leader, this toast is for you. If you hadn't been here, I wouldn't have been able to challenge Liu Qing today. I'll drain this cup."

Watching Lin Xiuyai empty the cup immediately after speaking, Lin Ming could only raise his own cup and drink it as well.

Seeing Lin Ming drink, Lin Xiuyai filled another cup, raised it again toward Lin Ming, and said, "Class Leader, while I have some liquid courage, I want to spar with you. Otherwise, I'm afraid I won't dare to ask once I sober up. I'm even more afraid that you'll pull farther and farther ahead of me. I hope you can grant this request!"

Lin Ming looked at Lin Xiuyai, who had come to challenge him with the courage provided by alcohol, unsure whether he should accept or refuse. After a moment, perhaps noticing Lin Ming's difficulty in deciding, Instructor Zhang Man spoke up. "Lin Ming, if you can, grant Lin Xiuyai's request. It will also let the other students see the difference between a Dou Master and a Dou Zhe, giving them something to aspire to and motivating them to cultivate harder."

Since Instructor Zhang Man had said so, Lin Ming naturally agreed. Then the group headed down to the open space below the building.

"I'll keep watch for you. Spar without worry," Instructor Zhang Man said as she looked at the two men who had taken their positions.

"Class Leader, please instruct me." After saying that, Lin Xiuyai gripped the Green Peak Sword and launched an attack at Lin Ming.

Looking at the attacking Lin Xiuyai and recalling Instructor Zhang Man's words about letting the students see the difference between Dou Zhes and Dou Masters, Lin Ming directly used the Dou Qi Gauze Robe that only a Dou Master could wield.

The Gold-Green Dou Qi Gauze Robe covered Lin Ming's body, directly blocking Lin Xiuyai's Green Peak Sword outside the robe and preventing it from advancing even half an inch.

"This is the Dou Qi Gauze Robe, one of the differences between a Dou Master and a Dou Zhe. Only those who reach the Dou Master Stage can use it. Once a Dou Master deploys the Dou Qi Gauze Robe, ordinary attacks from Dou Zhes will be blocked outside it, making it impossible for Dou Zhes to inflict even the slightest injury on a Dou Master." After Lin Ming used the Dou Qi Gauze Robe, Instructor Zhang Man explained it to the other students. The students listening to her all nodded, showing that they understood.

During the spar between Lin Ming and Lin Xiuyai, Lin Xiuyai kept attacking. But with the Dou Qi Gauze Robe protecting Lin Ming, Lin Xiuyai could not hurt him at all, making Lin Ming seem more like a spectator.

"Do you see? During this period of exchanging blows, Lin Xiuyai has consumed a great deal of Dou Qi. It is now obvious that he has little Dou Qi left. In contrast, Lin Ming has barely consumed any. Aside from the fact that Lin Xiuyai has been continuously attacking and therefore used more Dou Qi, there is another reason—the second difference between a Dou Master and a Dou Zhe: the quality of Dou Qi."

"The Dou Qi used at the Dou Master Stage is formed by drawing the free Dou Qi in the air into the body and compressing it into liquid Dou Qi. This not only increases the capacity of Dou Qi, but more importantly, improves its quality. Liquid Dou Qi is clearly superior to the gaseous Dou Qi you use at the Dou Practitioner Stage. This is the second difference between a Dou Master and a Dou Zhe."

"When you advance to Dou Shi in the future, you must remember to compress your Dou Qi and turn it into liquid Dou Qi. This concerns whether you can successfully advance to Dou Shi."

Using Lin Ming and Lin Xiuyai's spar as an example, Instructor Zhang Man explained the second difference between a Dou Master and a Dou Zhe to the other students. The students all committed her words firmly to heart. After all, this concerned their future advancement to Dou Shi. No one would fail to take it seriously.

"Class Leader, I'm going to use my final move." After attacking for a long time without results, Lin Xiuyai stopped and spoke to Lin Ming.

"Come on, let me see the power of your sword qi as well," Lin Ming replied. After watching Lin Xiuyai's match against Liu Qing that morning, he had been quite curious about Lin Xiuyai's sword qi. Being able to witness it now was not bad at all.

"Green Peak Sword Qi!"

A roar erupted from Lin Xiuyai's mouth. Then his Green Peak Sword swept toward Lin Ming with the might of a tornado.

Lin Ming clenched one hand into a fist as Dou Qi circulated through him. A buzzing sound rang out, and then he threw a punch, colliding with the Green Peak Sword.

A moment later, apart from his Dou Qi Gauze Robe dimming slightly, Lin Ming remained unchanged. Lin Xiuyai, on the other hand, panted heavily from the massive consumption of Dou Qi.

"I lost." Seeing that Lin Ming was virtually unaffected, Lin Xiuyai admitted defeat.

"Let's go upstairs and keep drinking," Lin Ming said.

Hearing Lin Ming's words, the somewhat dejected Lin Xiuyai abruptly raised his head. The negative emotions of defeat vanished from his eyes, and his face broke into a smile.

That was how men got along. There was no need for sympathy or consolation. A round of drinks was enough. Everything was in the wine, and the wine contained everything.

"Everyone, let's go upstairs and keep drinking!"

"Alright! Let's drink."