Guarding the Ring

"Student Wang Dong, are you certain you want to challenge student Yang Chengzhi?" the referee standing beside Yang Chengzhi asked gravely.

The competition had a rule: challengers only got one chance to fight for a spot. If they lost, they forfeited their chance to compete for a place in the Dragon Ranking. So whenever a challenger stepped into the ring, the referee would ask this question.

He didn't think much of this freshman. Although his cultivation had reached Spirit Master Stage Nine, he had no chance at all against Yang Chengzhi, who had already broken through to the Spirit Master realm.

On the other hand, if he'd chosen to challenge someone else, with his Spirit Master Stage Nine cultivation, he would certainly have earned a place in the Dragon Ranking.

"Instructor, I'm certain," Wang Dong said, cupping his fists toward the referee.

As a freshman who had just enrolled this year, Wang Dong had every reason to be proud. At such a young age, he had already reached Spirit Master Stage Nine. Among the tens of thousands of students at Zhenguan Academy, he was undoubtedly one of the best.

He also had sky-high ambitions for this year's Dragon Ranking competition, aiming for a spot in the top ten.

He had challenged Yang Chengzhi mainly to use him as a stepping stone and make a name for himself. After all, Yang Chengzhi was attracting a great deal of attention. If Wang Dong could defeat him, he would surely become one of the most talked-about competitors in this year's Dragon Ranking competition.

As for the rumors that Yang Chengzhi had broken through to the Spirit Master realm, Wang Dong didn't believe them. Yang Chengzhi was a well-known good-for-nothing at the academy, his cultivation having made no progress for two years. He'd heard that if someone hadn't thrown a match in last year's Dragon Ranking, Yang Chengzhi wouldn't even have kept the last spot. Someone like that could break through to the Spirit Master realm? What a joke. He must have some kind of spirit artifact that concealed his cultivation from others.

"Very well. Both sides must abide by the rules of the ring. I now declare the battle to defend the three hundredth spot in the Dragon Ranking open." After speaking, the referee stepped out of the ring and stood to one side.

There was only one rule for these matches: no killing blows. Otherwise, neither side was restricted in the methods they could use in the ring.

Yang Chengzhi and Wang Dong exchanged glances and cupped their fists in greeting.

"Please enlighten me." A long spear appeared in Wang Dong's hand out of nowhere. It was a peculiar weapon: the spearhead, tassel, and shaft were all red, and formations had been carved into the shaft. The spear was about seven feet and two inches long. As soon as Wang Dong gripped it, his aura seemed to grow stronger by a third.

"He actually used that spear to raise his cultivation to the peak of Spirit Master Stage Nine." Yang Chengzhi looked at the weapon with a hint of envy.

The spear's grade was definitely no lower than fifth tier, since only spirit artifacts of fifth tier or higher could have formations carved into them. Lower-tier spirit artifacts couldn't withstand the power of formations; carving one into them by force would only shatter the artifact.

Yang Chengzhi had never obtained a fifth-tier spirit artifact, let alone one with a formation carved into it.

"In an ordinary year, someone with his cultivation would definitely have a place in the Dragon Ranking's top ten." Yang Chengzhi couldn't help sighing. He'd once naively believed he was one of those once-in-a-thousand-years geniuses. Now, it seemed he was no different from an ordinary cultivator. Just look at Wang Dong: he wasn't even twenty-five, yet he'd already reached Spirit Master Stage Nine. The Yang Chengzhi of the past wouldn't have come close to measuring up.

"But now..." Yang Chengzhi glanced at Ma Feifei in the stands and saw him still bent over, writing something. Then he turned back to Wang Dong, gestured for him to make the first move, and said, "Junior Brother Wang, please!"

Today, I, Yang Chengzhi, would take on you so-called geniuses.

"Whoosh!"

A flash of spear light shot straight at Yang Chengzhi. Moving at such incredible speed, Wang Dong's figure blurred into a series of afterimages, trailing wisps of spiritual energy that made the attack look dazzling.

"What incredible speed!"

In the stands, Zhou Guanyu stared at Wang Dong's speed in astonishment.

Yang Chengzhi was the only person they knew in this year's Dragon Ranking competition. And since they'd once read together at the Bookstore, it was only natural that they were all focused on him.

"This year's freshmen really do deserve their reputation as the strongest in a thousand years," Zhou Zhuling exclaimed. She'd just seen a student ranked in the top hundred lose to a freshman and forfeit his right to defend his spot.

"So what? Can they beat Yang Chengzhi?" Ma Feifei, who'd been scribbling away with his head down, couldn't help interjecting. However strong they were, they couldn't be stronger than someone trained by the system.

Hearing that, Zhou Zhuling couldn't help covering her mouth as she giggled. She really liked Ma Feifei's protective streak.

"Well, compared to Yang Chengzhi, they are a little lacking." Women really lost all objectivity in front of the men they liked.

Zhou Guanyu rolled his eyes, shifted farther away, and went back to watching the competition.

Zhenguan Academy's program lasted four years, and it was easy to tell what year a student was in: each student had a peony embroidered on their sleeve. Freshmen had a single blossom, with one more added for each year.

For example, the peony on Yang Chengzhi's sleeve had already bloomed three flowers.

"He caught it!"

In the ring, Yang Chengzhi had caught the spear point between his index and middle fingers! The crimson tip couldn't advance even an inch against the pressure of his two fingers.

"So strong!"

The students watching from below cried out in shock. He'd stopped a peak Spirit Master Stage Nine attack with such casual ease.

Wang Dong's face was taut, the veins bulging—he was clearly using all his strength. Yang Chengzhi, by contrast, looked completely relaxed.

Some of them believed they could withstand an attack from someone at the peak of Spirit Master Stage Nine, but none of them thought they could do it as effortlessly as Yang Chengzhi had, casually pinching the spear between two fingers.

If Yang Chengzhi's mysterious cultivation had left everyone uncertain before, the strength he'd just displayed had completely dissuaded the students who'd still been thinking of challenging him.

"Senior Brother Yang is truly strong!" Feng Xinglie stood in the ring, watching Yang Chengzhi stop the attack with two fingers, and couldn't help praising him.

"If it were me, I definitely couldn't stop it as effortlessly as Junior Brother Yang." The speaker was a fourth-year senior whose sleeve bore a four-flowered peony. He was also one of the Dragon Ranking's top ten, ranked seventh.

Everyone else fell silent as they watched Yang Chengzhi. Xiaoyaozi in particular looked grim, his eyes full of wariness.

"What on earth happened to that good-for-nothing? Why has his cultivation grown so dramatically?"

No one had expected Yang Chengzhi to disappear for just a month and return this strong. Even the current top ten students in the Dragon Ranking weren't completely confident they could beat him.

"Why?" Wang Dong poured all his spiritual energy into trying to force Yang Chengzhi's fingers apart, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't pull the spear free.

"Junior Brother Wang, you've conceded." Yang Chengzhi smiled faintly, then flicked the spearhead with his finger. Wang Dong felt an irresistible force run through the shaft and throw him away.

The entire fight had lasted only one move, taking no more than ten seconds.

"Yang Chengzhi has successfully defended his spot." Watching Wang Dong get thrown out of the ring, the instructor overseeing the match couldn't help sighing.

"What a pity."

If he hadn't challenged Yang Chengzhi, he might not have ended up like this. But now, his name was destined to be absent from this year's Dragon Ranking.

Wang Dong sat dumbly on the ground, staring at Yang Chengzhi in the ring, his chest filled with frustration. He still had so many martial techniques he hadn't used, so many high-tier spirit artifacts he hadn't brought out. He even had spirit medicine that could temporarily boost his cultivation. He'd prepared so much for this year's Dragon Ranking competition.

But he hadn't even had the chance to use any of it!

He'd expected to face difficult opponents in this year's Dragon Ranking competition. He'd even expected to lose. But he'd never imagined things would end like this.

How could a favored genius like Wang Dong accept such a blow?

"Whoosh!"

Wang Dong flipped to his feet, raised his spear, and glared at Yang Chengzhi in the ring.

"I refuse to accept this!"

"Wang Dong, this is the Dragon Ranking competition. What are you doing? Stand down!" the instructor beside him barked.

No one was allowed to make trouble during the Dragon Ranking competition, no matter how powerful their backer was. Wang Dong had already been thrown out of the ring. According to the rules, he'd lost.

Wang Dong's face was grim. The hand gripping his spear clenched so hard that his nails dug into his palm, drawing blood. In the end, he backed down and said quietly, "I lost."

Then Wang Dong dragged his spear away from Jiaolong Plain, leaving behind only a lonely silhouette.

"Do you need to rest?" the instructor asked.

After successfully defending his spot, a competitor was allowed a certain amount of time to rest and recover the spiritual energy he'd spent.

Yang Chengzhi shook his head to indicate that he didn't need to.

"Then the matches will continue."

Wang Dong's defeat gave the students a new understanding of Yang Chengzhi's strength. As a result, no one challenged him for quite some time after Wang Dong.

"This year's Dragon Ranking competition is going to be something to watch."