Crushing Defeat

With his words spoken, Chen Qing's figure vanished from his spot in an instant, appearing before Qin Chen in the blink of an eye.

!!!

"So fast!"

Qin Chen's pupils constricted. He instinctively threw a punch, but halfway through extending his fist, he felt a colossal force erupt from his abdomen.

Qin Chen's body shot backward like an arrow loosed from a bow. The powerful force carried him across the fighting stage, sending him flying off the platform.

He crashed heavily onto the ground.

"Pfft!"

A mouthful of blood spurted directly from Qin Chen's mouth. At this moment, his abdomen felt like it was about to explode, and a piercing pain continuously swept through his entire body.

The gap is truly immense!

He couldn't even take one move.

Qin Chen shook his head and gave a wry, helpless smile before struggling to his feet.

He looked up, meeting Chen Qing's gaze on the number one fighting stage.

Suddenly, Chen Qing smiled.

"My apologies! I might have gone a bit too hard!"

"Because I believe that once you step onto the fighting stage, going too easy is disrespectful to your opponent!"

"Too hard?!"

Qin Chen raised an eyebrow.

Chen Qing smiled without replying.

Not dwelling on the matter, Chen Qing's gaze fixed intensely on Qin Chen, and he said:

"I have a feeling! This won't be the last battle between us!"

"I hope that the next time we meet, we can have a proper fight!"

With that, Chen Qing walked directly towards the spectators, entering the competitor's passage amidst the crowd's gaze, his figure gradually disappearing into the darkness.

"A proper fight?"

Qin Chen's eyes flickered.

"Next time we meet, who knows who'll be the one getting thrashed!"

Being thrashed this time made him clearly understand the gap between them.

But he was confident he could quickly close that gap.

The other party's talent and resources could indeed be considered those of a young master, but the ultimate cheat was on his side.

The further he went, the higher his Star Energy Aptitude would become, and correspondingly, his cultivation speed would accelerate.

It was just a pity that his ten-win streak was broken.

If he had won this match, he would have received a full 400,000 Star Coins.

But now, he only had 190,000.

Losing just one match meant a loss of 210,000.

Honestly, Qin Chen felt no heartache at all!

Really!! Not even a little...

Heartache!!

Qin Chen felt he had a short-term goal.

Rapidly improve his strength, and then...

Go find Chen Qing for a friendly spar!

It was normal for geniuses to appreciate each other and test their strength, right?

If he accidentally went a little too hard, it would also be reasonable, right?

Shaking his head, Qin Chen slowly walked towards the competitor's passage as well.

That was it for today.

The injuries Chen Qing inflicted would at least require some time using the Seven Injuries Fist to recover.

Moreover, he was a bit fatigued after several battles.

190,000 Star Coins was enough for his expenses for a while. He would come back later when he ran out of money.

Suddenly, a loud shout erupted from the spectator stands next to Qin Chen.

"King of Body Tempering Layer Six!"

"Hmm?!"

Qin Chen paused and looked towards the side.

Although he'd named it himself, hearing it shouted out in public felt a bit...

Amazing!

A chubby boy's face was flushed, his eyes shining with excitement as he looked at Qin Chen.

"I've decided! You're my idol from now on!"

"I believe you can become a Bronze Gladiator one day too!"

Can't find it by searching the title? Try searching for the author instead! Maybe they just changed the name!

The chubby boy looked about eleven or twelve years old. The way he looked at Qin Chen was filled with a certain light.

Qin Chen was very familiar with that look. When he was little, he'd looked at the "Kamen" of light with the same kind of awe.

It seemed the chubby boy wasn't lying!

Qin Chen smiled, his gaze falling gently on the boy as he spoke:

"That day won't be too far away!"

With that, Qin Chen didn't linger. He stepped into the player tunnel, his figure slowly disappearing into the darkness...

Late at night.

It was Qin Chen's usual training time.

After an afternoon, all the injuries on his body had already healed.

Countless Star Energy points were drawn into his body like tiny stars, tempering his physique.

His cultivation realm was also steadily advancing towards Body Tempering Fifth Layer.

For the next few days, he planned to stay home and cultivate, focusing on improving his strength.

He wanted to face the upcoming Ranking Battle in his most perfect state.

Although, even with his current strength, he didn't think anyone would be his opponent in the upcoming battle.

But even a lion hunts a rabbit with all its might!

He didn't want any slip-ups.

First place in the Ranking Battle, he was determined to win!!

A few days later~

The Training Ground at Muyang Third Middle School was bustling with noise.

The crowd that met the eye was almost entirely a sea of black.

Although there were only a little over three hundred Martial Artist students in Muyang Third Middle School's first year, the problem was the sheer number of spectators!

There were ordinary students who couldn't become Martial Artists, and the parents of those Martial Artist students.

Even some senior students had come to witness the event.

After all, this was the first time Muyang Third Middle School was holding an Elite Class selection, and it naturally attracted a lot of attention.

The battle stages on the Training Ground now numbered sixteen, not the ten from the previous class battles.

And they were larger than the previous ones.

Above each battle stage, a huge screen displayed the ongoing fight below in real-time.

On the east side of the Training Ground, there was a spectator stand resembling a rostrum.

This stand was located in the center of the Training Grounds, offering the best vantage point to see any of the battle stages.

Yet, only about ten people were seated there.

"Principal Zhang, I heard your school has several promising talents this year!"

A middle-aged man wearing gold-rimmed glasses, looking refined and scholarly, turned his head slightly to speak to Principal Zhang Haoran of Muyang Third Middle School.

"Director Jiang! You could have just mentioned your daughter's name directly. There's no need to ask Principal Zhang so indirectly!"

Beside him, a burly, muscular middle-aged man scoffed.

"Hey! How can you say that?"

Jiang Mu waved his hand, looking at everyone with a serious expression.

"Although that's what I was thinking! Saying it directly would make me seem a bit arrogant!"

?!!

Everyone was speechless.

As if you weren't already acting that way!

Jiang Mu was Jiang Ruohan's father. He controlled one of the top five financial groups in Muyang City and was himself a powerful expert in the Star Vein Realm.

The people around him also held high positions.

They were either school administrators or high-ranking executives from other financial groups.

The purpose of these financial groups was to provide support to students with good talent but from less fortunate family backgrounds.

allowing them to fully utilize their talents.

Of course, this isn't free!

The consortium will sign a contract with the students. The consortium provides certain assistance to the students, and after the students graduate from university, they will work for the consortium for a certain number of years.

This is the most common form!

Of course, overall, it's definitely more beneficial to the consortium. Otherwise, why would they do business?

But many students choose to accept. Compared to being trapped by resources and unable to become stronger, they are more willing to accept sponsorship to empower themselves first.

Otherwise, the gap between them and their peers will only widen, and they might miss out on more opportunities.

At that point, even if they originally had some talent, missing the best cultivation period makes it highly likely they'll end up ordinary.

Zhang Haoran gazed thoughtfully at the dense crowd below, his eyes flickering slightly.