"I heard Gao Fei from Shanhai No. 1 Middle School can run the hundred-meter sprint in under nine seconds. That's ridiculous—he's still only a middle schooler."
"Of course. His father is a Gene Fusionist. As the child of a Gene Fusionist, his physical abilities are bound to be far beyond those of an ordinary person."
"Now that you mention it, that first-year student from Shanhai High School probably doesn't stand a chance."
"What's the big deal? He's only in his first year. Once he's grown a bit in a couple of years, Shanhai High School will be a lock for first place..."
As soon as Gao Fei from Shanhai No. 1 Middle School appeared, a chorus of chatter about him immediately broke out among the spectators.
Most of it was praise, with people impressed by his incredible physical abilities.
As for Lin Zichen... almost no one thought he had a chance.
Even Zhang Wanxin and Lin Yansheng didn't think he could win. They felt their son would probably lose.
In the couple's eyes, their son was a genius, but he was still within the bounds of ordinary people. It was nearly impossible for him to contend with a monster who could run a hundred meters in nine seconds.
That was what they thought, but Zhang Wanxin still called out to Lin Zichen as usual. "Xiao Chen, do your best! As long as you give it everything you've got, you'll definitely win!"
Beside her, Lin Yansheng and Shen Qinghan also joined in, cheering Lin Zichen on.
On the Martial Platform.
When Lin Zichen heard Shen Qinghan and his parents cheering him on, he smiled and waved back at them just as he had before.
Seeing this, Gao Fei said, "Junior from Shanhai, you and your family are really close. I'm almost jealous."
"More or less." Lin Zichen smiled.
As soon as he finished speaking, Gao Fei looked at him with envy and said, "Unfortunately, I can't stand seeing other people with harmonious families. For the match coming up, I suggest you prepare yourself mentally, because... I'm going to unleash my most ferocious assault on you!"
Lin Zichen was at a loss for words. He'd run into another middle school boy who didn't seem quite right. Shanhai No. 1 Middle School must have been a hotbed of chuunibyou kids.
"The match is about to begin. Please take your positions," the referee said, looking at them both.
At that, they each took their positions and prepared for the match to begin.
Seeing this, the referee smoothly raised his right hand and chopped it down. "Begin!"
At the command, Gao Fei drove off hard with his calves and instantly charged in front of Lin Zichen, unleashing his family's ancestral martial art, Flowing Water Rock Smashing Fist.
In an instant!
His fists rained down on Lin Zichen like a downpour!
Fast, accurate, and ruthless!
Lin Zichen found the style interesting, so he didn't rush to knock Gao Fei out. Instead, he dodged his attacks with ease, taking in every move and technique to study them.
"Gao Fei, what are you doing? I told you to focus on defense! Why are you attacking?"
Down below, the Shanhai No. 1 Middle School coach saw his student ignoring the tactics he'd assigned and immediately shouted in anger.
But Gao Fei paid him no attention, continuing to attack Lin Zichen as he pleased.
Defense?
A turtle-like fighting style was beneath a genius like him!
The moment he stepped onto the platform, he would unleash his fiercest assault on his opponent!
Either a lightning-fast victory or a lightning-fast defeat!
He would never cower in a corner!
That was what Gao Fei had thought when he first launched his assault.
But as time passed and he realized he couldn't land a single attack on Lin Zichen, he began to lose it!
"What's going on?!"
"How can you dodge my attacks?!"
"This makes no sense!!"
Gao Fei stopped attacking and stared at Lin Zichen as if his whole worldview had collapsed, shouting his questions at him.
Lin Zichen didn't answer. He only asked, "Do you have any other moves? Go ahead and use them."
"You...!"
Hearing that, Gao Fei went red with rage.
It was an outright taunt!
Damn it!
His face flushed with anger, and he soon charged at Lin Zichen again, throwing a flurry of punches!
Seeing him use the same moves as before, Lin Zichen knew he'd run out of tricks. He stopped wasting time and kicked Gao Fei right off the Martial Platform, winning the match.
Gao Fei had actually lost?
At that moment, everyone in the crowd was stunned. No one had expected the match to end like this.
Soon, the venue erupted in a wave of disbelieving cries.
"Xiao Chen, you're incredible!!!"
"Darling, our son is amazing!"
"Zichen, you're awesome!"
"What's going on? Who exactly is that first-year student from Shanhai High School?!"
"This is so fake. The match must have been rigged!"
At that moment, the entire gymnasium was filled with deafening uproar.
Lin Zichen paid no attention to the noise and quickly moved on to the next match.
The fourth match—won in a flash!
The fifth match—won in a flash!
In less than ten minutes, Lin Zichen had defeated the two remaining competitors from Shanhai No. 1 Middle School, single-handedly sweeping their entire team.
Then.
Over the next two days, he did the same thing, single-handedly sweeping the other two schools he faced and successfully leading Shanhai High School to victory in the Eight-School League.
During the entire tournament, none of his four teammates stepped onto the platform. They won without lifting a finger.
Perhaps they felt a little regret at having missed their last chance to compete.
But Lin Zichen didn't care about that. All he cared about was his progress on the Achievement task.
On the awards podium.
Holding the Champion Trophy, Lin Zichen took group photos with his coach and teammates, his family, his childhood friend, and several spectators who happened to pass by.
After sharing in the joy of winning the championship, he immediately looked toward the Void to check his Achievement task progress.
[Opponents eliminated: 16/1000]
He still needed to defeat 984 different opponents to complete this Achievement related to Natural Selection.
With that much ground left to cover, there was no way he'd finish anytime soon.
He'd probably have to count the time in years...
Thinking of this, Lin Zichen shook his head and stopped paying so much attention to the Achievement task. Instead, he turned to Guo Xiangyuan beside him and asked about the prize money.
The Eight-School League champion received a prize of 30,000 yuan.
The school took a share, and the coach and teammates split some more.
In the end, as the team's undisputed mainstay, Lin Zichen received 20,000 yuan.
He'd taken two-thirds of the prize.
Far more than he'd expected.
That evening, the two families gathered for a celebratory dinner.
As the champion, Lin Zichen was showered with praise by both families' parents from beginning to end.
"You've got the makings of a Mechanical Cyborg!"
"You've got the makings of a Gene Fusionist!"
They praised him with every flattering phrase they could think of, placing high hopes on him.
Lin Zichen felt nothing as he listened, quietly calculating how much money he'd saved up so far.
There was the 20,000 yuan he'd earned from winning the Martial Arts Tournament.
There were the prizes he'd won in various academic competitions.
And there were the scholarships he'd received from school.
Altogether, he had nearly 30,000 yuan.
"That's quite a bit. It's time to find someone to buy Ghost Shadow Squid meat for me. I should try to unlock the Ghost Shadow Squid's compendium before I graduate from middle school..."
Lin Zichen thought to himself.
Before you continue