When he finished speaking, Chen Qing vanished from the spot. In the blink of an eye, he was standing right in front of Qin Chen.
!!!
"So fast!"
Qin Chen's pupils contracted. He instinctively threw a punch, but before his fist had even made it halfway, he felt a tremendous force erupt from his abdomen.
Qin Chen shot backward like an arrow loosed from a bow. The powerful force carried him across the Arena Stage and sent him flying right off it.
He slammed heavily into the ground.
"Urgh!"
Blood burst from Qin Chen's mouth. At that moment, his abdomen felt as if it were about to explode, and waves of excruciating pain coursed through his entire body.
The gap between them really was enormous!
He hadn't even been able to withstand a single move.
Qin Chen shook his head and gave a helpless, bitter smile, then struggled to his feet.
He looked up and met Chen Qing's gaze on Arena Stage One.
Suddenly, Chen Qing smiled.
"Sorry! I hit you a little too hard!"
"I thought that since we'd stepped onto the Arena Stage, holding back too much would be disrespectful to my opponent!"
"Too much?!"
Qin Chen raised an eyebrow.
Chen Qing smiled without answering.
Not dwelling on that any longer, Chen Qing fixed Qin Chen with a blazing gaze and said,
"I have a feeling this won't be our last fight!"
"I hope that the next time we meet, we can have a proper match!"
With that, Chen Qing headed straight off the stage. In full view of the crowd, he walked into the competitors' passageway, his figure gradually disappearing into the darkness.
"A proper match?"
Qin Chen's eyes flickered.
"Next time we meet, who knows which of us will be the one getting thrashed!"
This beating had made him keenly aware of the gap between them.
But he was confident he could close it quickly.
His opponent's talent and resources certainly gave him a bit of an advantage, but Qin Chen was the one with the real cheat code.
The further he progressed, the higher his Star Energy Aptitude would become, and the faster he would cultivate in turn.
It was just a shame his Ten-Win Streak had been broken.
If he'd won this match, he would've earned a full four hundred thousand Star Coins.
But now he'd only earned a hundred and ninety thousand.
One fewer win had cost him two hundred and ten thousand.
Honestly, Qin Chen wasn't heartbroken at all!
Really!! Not heartbroken in the—
slightest!!
Qin Chen felt he had a new short-term goal.
Quickly increase his strength, then...
go find Chen Qing for a friendly spar!
It was perfectly normal for geniuses to appreciate one another and test their strength against each other, right?
And if he accidentally hit a little too hard, that would be perfectly reasonable, wouldn't it?
Shaking his head, Qin Chen slowly made his way toward the competitors' passageway as well.
That was enough for today.
The injuries Chen Qing had inflicted would take quite a while to heal. He'd need to practice Seven Injuries Fist for a while.
Besides, after several fights, he was a little tired.
The hundred and ninety thousand Star Coins would cover his expenses for a while. He could come back when he ran out.
Suddenly, a loud shout rang out from the spectator stands beside Qin Chen.
"King of Body Tempering Layer Six!"
"Hm?!"
Qin Chen stopped in his tracks and looked to the side.
He'd come up with the name himself, but hearing it shouted out in public was, well...
so freaking satisfying!
A chubby little boy stood there, his face flushed with excitement as he gazed at Qin Chen.
"I've decided! From now on, you're my idol!"
"I believe that one day, you'll become a Bronze Gladiator too!"
The boy was around eleven or twelve, and his eyes shone as he looked at Qin Chen.
Qin Chen knew that look very well. When he was little, he'd looked the same way watching those "Cha! Xie!" giants of light.
It seemed the little chubby boy meant what he said!
Qin Chen smiled, his gaze calm as he looked at the boy and said,
"That day won't be far off!"
With that, Qin Chen didn't linger. He stepped into the competitors' passageway, his figure slowly fading into the darkness...
Late that night.
It was once again Qin Chen's familiar time to cultivate.
After an entire afternoon, all his injuries had healed.
Countless streams of Star Energy, like specks of starlight, were drawn into his body, tempering his physique.
His cultivation was steadily advancing toward the Body Tempering Fifth Layer.
He planned to stay home and cultivate over the next few days, improving his strength as much as possible.
That way, he'd face the Ranking Battle a few days later in the best possible condition.
Though, even with his current strength, he didn't think there was anyone who could beat him in the upcoming battles.
But even a lion used all its strength to hunt a rabbit!
He didn't want to suffer a Waterloo.
He was determined to take first place in the Ranking Battle!!
A few days later~
The Training Ground at Muyang Third Middle School was packed with people, and the noise was deafening.
Black-clad crowds filled nearly every inch of the place.
Although Muyang Third Middle School had only a little over three hundred Martial Artist students in their first year, there were plenty of spectators!
There were ordinary students who couldn't become Martial Artists, the Martial Artist students' parents, and even some older students who had come to watch.
After all, this was the first time Muyang Third Middle School had formed an Elite Class, so it had drawn plenty of attention.
There were now sixteen Battle Platforms on the Training Ground, rather than the ten there had been for the previous Class Battle.
They were also larger than the platforms used in the earlier Class Battle.
A huge screen hung above each Battle Platform, displaying a live feed of the fight below.
On the east side of the Training Ground stood a viewing platform, much like a grandstand.
It occupied a central spot overlooking the grounds, offering a clear view of every Battle Platform. It was the best place to watch from.
Yet only a dozen or so people sat there.
"Principal Zhang, I hear your school has several promising young talents this year!"
A middle-aged man with gold-rimmed glasses and a refined, scholarly appearance turned slightly toward Zhang Haoran, the principal of Muyang Third Middle School, and spoke.
"President Jiang! You could just say your daughter's name. There's no need to ask Principal Zhang that."
Beside him, a burly, muscular middle-aged man curled his lip.
"Hey! How can you put it that way?"
Jiang Mu waved his hand and looked at everyone with an earnest expression.
"That's what I'm thinking, sure! But if I said it outright, it'd make me look like I was showing off!"
?!!
Everyone looked speechless.
As if he wasn't already doing that!
Jiang Mu was Jiang Ruohan's father. He controlled one of the five largest consortiums in Muyang City and was also a Star Vein Realm powerhouse.
The people around him were all influential figures as well.
They were either school administrators or senior members of other consortiums.
Consortiums existed to support talented students whose families were short on resources.
That way, the students could make the most of their gifts.
Of course, the support wasn't free!
The consortiums would sign contracts with the students, providing them with a certain level of support in exchange for things like working for the consortium for a set number of years after graduating from university.
That was the most common arrangement!
Of course, overall, the deal was definitely more favorable to the consortiums. Otherwise, why would they bother doing business?
Still, many students chose to accept. Rather than let a lack of resources hold them back from growing stronger, they'd rather take the support and build up their strength first.
Otherwise, the gap between them and their peers would only keep widening, and they might miss even more opportunities.
By then, even those who'd once had some talent could easily end up lost in the crowd after missing the best time to cultivate.
Zhang Haoran gazed down at the sea of people below, his eyes flickering faintly.
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