Angel Qi

"Weren't the outside students in the class organized at all?" Qin Ming asked. As the saying went, where there was oppression, there would inevitably be resistance. Yet those outside students had not organized themselves?

"Mm, mm, mm..." Bai Heng scratched his head and said regretfully, "No. Because none of the outside students had anyone capable of standing up to powerful figures like Qi and the others."

"Qin Ming, you were really reckless just now. That Angel Qi isn't someone with a soft heart," Bai Heng said weakly from the side.

"Exactly. I haven't been in the Genius Class for long either, but I've heard quite a few stories about Angel Qi," Hua Lian agreed with a nod.

"Tell me more."

"Qi is incredibly capable. His current combat strength has already surpassed that of ordinary Soul Elders. He once even fought a Soul Elder Genius Class student to a draw." Hua Lian gestured animatedly with both hands in front of Qin Ming, making it sound rather exaggerated.

Students from the Soul Elder Genius Class were nothing like the ordinary Spirit Masters outside. Back in Suotuo City, Qin Ming had often challenged opponents above his level.

The limitations of being short one Soul Skill were enormous. He understood that deeply.

Qin Ming glanced sideways at Qi, who was surrounded by a crowd like stars around the moon. Able to challenge Soul Elders while still a Soul Grandmaster, blessed with formidable strength, the prestige of an Angel Martial Soul, and that handsome face...

He was the very image of a campus heartthrob.

"One more thing: among our class, fighting Qi in the Soul Fighting Arena has the highest chance of ending in serious injury," Bai Heng added at the right moment.

"If that's the case, what rank does Qi hold on the Genius Ranking?"

Bai Heng, seated beside Qin Ming, took a mirror-like Soul Tool from his pocket. It was roughly palm-sized.

Bai Heng tapped it, and the mirror surface lit up. A ranking list appeared on it.

Grandmaster Genius Ranking.

1. Qi: 848 points

2. Cang Ao: 786 points

3. Zhu Haotian: 764 points

...

104. Qin Ming: 50 points

The ranking ran from first place to one hundred and fourth, which also meant there were one hundred and four students in this class. Qin Ming had just enrolled, so he was naturally in last place.

Incidentally, Bai Heng and Hua Lian were ranked seventy-eighth and eighty-second respectively.

"What is that?" Qin Ming pointed at the mirror-like Soul Tool in Bai Heng's hand. It looked rather like a phone from his previous life.

Though it seemed to have only one function: checking the Genius Ranking.

"Ah, this is a Soul Tool specially provided by the academy. It's used to record points and view the Genius Ranking," Bai Heng explained.

"So how exactly are these points calculated?" Qin Ming looked at the two of them. Ling Yuan had explained it before, but only in broad terms.

"Me, me!" Hua Lian eagerly raised her hand.

"There are two kinds of points. One is practical combat points, meaning Soul Fighting points. The other is theory points, earned through theoretical studies every morning."

"The theory section is worth a total of three hundred points per month. There's an exam at the end of the month, and however many points you score are added to the Genius Ranking."

Qin Ming nodded. It was no different from his previous life.

"The way practical combat points are earned differs between Battle Soul Masters and Support Type Soul Masters."

"Qin Ming, your Martial Soul is the Inferno Grey Wolf. That sounds like a powerful combat-type Spirit Master, right?" Hua Lian blinked.

Qin Ming nodded in acknowledgment.

Hua Lian continued, "Battle Soul Masters earn Soul Fighting points through one-on-one matches. Battle Soul Masters fight other Battle Soul Masters. At the beginning of every month, everyone starts with fifty points. The winner not only receives half of the loser's points, but also gets an additional reward."

"Also, every win grants an extra ten recorded points. Two consecutive wins give twenty points, three wins give thirty, and so on."

"If you can beat Qi this afternoon, Qin Ming, you can get half of his points too—four hundred and twenty-four points."

"You could shoot straight into the top fifty of the Genius Ranking." Hua Lian said it in a joking tone.

"As for Support Type Soul Masters like us, we do team battles. At the end of every month, we hold a three-on-three team Soul Fighting match."

"One Support Type Soul Master leads two Battle Soul Masters. The team's average level cannot exceed Level 28, and the referee scores us Support Type Soul Masters based on our performance in the team battle."

Qin Ming nodded, understanding now. After all, Support Type Soul Masters truly showed their value in team battles, so there was nothing wrong with that evaluation standard.

Just as the three of them were about to continue chatting, the class bell rang. A middle-aged teacher wearing a red Spirit Master robe walked into the classroom.

"Students, next we will study History of Continental Sects and Empires."

"We'll talk later." Seeing that class had begun, Hua Lian tossed out those words and turned around.

It was a history class, and Qin Ming was not particularly interested in it. He entered a half-meditative state, leaning back in his chair with his eyes half-closed.

The class continued until noon. When dismissal was announced, only a few students left.

After all, there was still a big show to watch.

"Let's go. To the Soul Fighting Arena." Angel Qi walked directly over to Qin Ming, looking down at him with a sweep of his gaze. Holy light faintly flowed around his fingertips, and his tone was contemptuous.

Qi merely regarded Qin Ming as some little genius from outside the region, unaware that there were always greater people beyond greater people. His earlier remarks about Qin Ming being a Fallen Spirit Master had only been made to uphold the authority of the Angel God.

After all, as the owner of an Angel Martial Soul, he had a responsibility not to allow Fallen Spirit Masters to appear in sacred Spirit City. In his eyes, Qin Ming's rebuttal and even challenge meant that Qin Ming was the one in the wrong.

"Qin Ming... you can refuse..." Bai Heng tugged lightly on Qin Ming's sleeve and whispered anxiously.

Qin Ming gave Bai Heng a reassuring look, then raised his eyes to Angel Qi's arrogant face. A cold curve lifted at the corner of his mouth. "Angel Qi, is it? I wonder how much substance there is behind that arrogance of yours."

The moment those words fell, the entire classroom went silent for an instant before bursting into barely restrained laughter and mockery.

"This newcomer has guts. He's still provoking him."

"I bet he won't be able to stand for half a month."

"Some wild nobody from outside has such a big mouth?"

Even Cang Ao, who had been watching the show beside Qi, showed a hint of surprise. He asked doubtfully, "Didn't the people around this kid tell him about Qi?" Was he actually capable, or was he just putting on a brave face?

"Hey, don't go too far. Qin Ming just enrolled today." Hua Lian stepped in front of Qin Ming, planted her hands on her hips, and stared directly at this group of self-important "second-generation Spirit Hall heirs."

The direct descendants of Spirit Hall clustered around Qi immediately fell silent. Some even lowered their heads, afraid Hua Lian would get a clear look at their faces.

Angel Qi frowned. He did not know why Hua Lian was speaking up for Qin Ming, but the people behind this girl were no simple matter. Even he did not want to offend them lightly.

He then looked at Qin Ming, tossed out, "See you at the Soul Fighting Arena," and turned to leave. The direct-descendant Spirit Hall students followed him toward the classroom door.

Cang Ao, however, looked curiously at the three of them. This was the first time he had truly examined Qin Ming. He also wanted to see why this newly arrived outsider could make even Hua Lian, that little tyrant, speak up for him.

But unfortunately, he saw nothing special.

"Hello, Qin Ming. Let's get acquainted. I'm Cang Ao. My Martial Soul is the White Armored Earth Dragon, and I'm a Level 28 Soul Grandmaster." Cang Ao walked up to Qin Ming with a friendly demeanor.

"Mm." Qin Ming had no idea what this man was trying to do, so he merely nodded.

"Hmph!" Hua Lian, on the other hand, clenched her little fists and assumed a punching stance as she met Cang Ao's gaze.

Yet Cang Ao seemed entirely unconcerned by Qin Ming's coldness. He continued, "Qi has a rather impulsive personality. Do you need me to mediate between you two?"

"Thank you for the kind offer, Cang Ao, but I can be a little impulsive myself. If someone provokes me, there's no way I'll just swallow my anger."

"Oh? Then I was being presumptuous." A strange glint flashed through Cang Ao's eyes. He seemed somewhat surprised by Qin Ming's response.

"Then I'll take my leave. I wish you good luck, Qin Ming." With that, Cang Ao turned and left.

"Thank you, Hua Lian," Qin Ming said to the girl beside him.

"It's nothing. I've disliked that guy who looks down on everyone for a long time." Hua Lian waved a hand, telling Qin Ming not to mind it.

"Oh, right, don't trust that big guy!" Hua Lian gritted her teeth when she remembered Cang Ao.

"Cang Ao?"

"That's right. That person is extremely calculating."

"What was that phrase again?"

"Right, a dagger behind a smile! That describes him perfectly!"

"I think instead of being a Battle Soul Master, that guy would be better off as an accountant!" Hua Lian said angrily, folding her arms across her chest.

Qin Ming nodded. It was obvious those two had some history.

"Bai Heng? Are you alright?"

Only then did Qin Ming notice that Bai Heng beside him was trembling all over, with a thin layer of sweat on his forehead.

Bai Heng turned his head shakily. "I-I'm fine. It's just... so many people were staring at me just now. I'm not used to it."

"Bai Heng isn't used to crowded environments. He can chat fine with friends, but once there are too many people, he becomes like this," Hua Lian explained.

He was seriously socially anxious, it seemed.

"And you—are you really sure you'll be fine fighting Qi?" Hua Lian shifted the topic back to the Soul Fighting match between Qin Ming and Qi.

"It's fine. If anything really happens, I'll surrender." Naturally, Qin Ming was not afraid of Angel Qi. A Two-Winged Angel was not a Six-Winged Angel.

Besides, he had come for the Genius Ranking's first-place championship streak. He would not pass up the chance to earn more than four hundred points from a single Soul Fighting match.