Challenge

Guan Ning arrived at the Challenge Room of the Nine-Story Tower. By now, the area outside was bustling with noise; this was a massive wager involving a hundred billion Huaxia Currency, and no one wanted to miss it. Virtually all one hundred and eighty-plus students of the Elite Training Camp had arrived, and quite a few War God-level instructors were present as well. Guan Ning even spotted Jiang Fang and Yang Hui. As for his own instructor, Feng Mu, he was never seen at the camp outside of their scheduled sessions, and no one knew what he was busy with.

Guan Ning's eyes lit up when he saw Jiang Fang, though her gaze seemed to carry a hint of a warning. Guan Ning could only offer a respectful greeting. Seeing Jiang Fang's expression return to its usual calm, like an ancient well without a ripple, Guan Ning felt a secret joy. It seems Teacher Jiang hasn't forgotten everything.

"Little Ning, you must do your best! Sister Ruo believes in you." Zhao Ruo put on her big-sister act, causing Guan Ning, Luo Feng, and Shi Jiang to curl their lips in unison.

Zhao Ruo was about to flare up, but she stopped when she saw Chu Qiang approaching.

"Junior Brother Guan Ning, the commotion you stir up grows larger every time. It's truly... truly..." Chu Qiang couldn't find the right words to describe it, so he simply cupped his hands in a gesture of well-wishing. "This senior brother wishes you a smooth challenge."

Hearing Chu Qiang put it that way, Guan Ning thought about it carefully, and it really was true.

His first time hunting in the Wilderness Area, he encountered a Tuoshan Deer cub and triggered a beast stampede, albeit a very small-scale one.

Less than a week after entering the Elite Training Camp, he defeated John, who was in the top hundred.

In his first month, he entered the top hundred of the Black Dragon Ranking, placing 86th.

Then, he secured the hundred billion bounty.

In May, he was ranked 67th, in June 52nd, and in July 47th. Although he couldn't compare to Luo Feng, he had still caused quite a sensation.

And now, this wager worth nearly a hundred billion.

He hadn't realized it until he counted, but Guan Ning was shocked to find that in the mere four months since joining the training camp, he had caused so many incidents—even more frantically than Luo Feng in the original story.

To this, Guan Ning could only offer a faint smile, truly not knowing how to respond.

Soon, the challenge began. Guan Ning didn't even glance at his opponent as he walked straight into the Challenge Room.

Less than ten seconds later, Finn Hudson, the lowest-ranked student, walked out looking completely dazed. The gap was too wide; he had been killed in one strike by Guan Ning.

The crowd outside was in an uproar. They had expected Finn Hudson to be no match for Guan Ning, but they hadn't expected it to end so quickly.

Not to mention the others, Candice's face turned deathly pale. He couldn't manage to kill Finn that quickly, and Guan Ning had placed him at the very bottom of the list. Once he realized Guan Ning's intent, his expression became hideously ugly.

Soon, the second, the third...

The first seven people all failed, and without exception, they were all killed in one strike; not a single one lasted more than ten seconds.

The students who had been waiting to watch a good show were filled with astonishment.

Seven battles, seven victories!

It took less than five minutes in total. Excluding the time spent choosing weapons and donning gear, each fight lasted less than 10 seconds.

These were students ranked between 30 and 50 in the Elite Training Camp!

This could no longer be described as a challenge; it was a ruthless crushing!

So the question arose: just how high was Guan Ning's combat power amplification?

Guan Ning walked out and scanned his surroundings. Those who met his gaze felt a sense of dread, subconsciously taking a step back.

In the crowd, a white man with slightly curly blonde hair and a sturdy build had a slight change in expression, then walked into the Challenge Room without a word.

"Do you think Adolf can beat Guan Ning?"

"That's a given. Adolf is ranked 23rd, and his combat power amplification has reached the superior grade."

"This Huaxia person is truly arrogant, daring to provoke even Adolf."

"Seven wins out of seven—that's 3.5 million. Even if the Huaxia person loses to Adolf, he's still made a profit."

"Tsk tsk, Candice is in for it now..."

The students outside the Challenge Room were discussing it heatedly, while inside, the battle had already begun.

Adolf arrived in the Challenge Room and immediately saw Guan Ning lying on the sofa with his helmet on. Without wasting words, he put on his own helmet.

On the vast, boundless silver alloy ground, there was only one structure—the arena!

Swish!

A white-skinned, blonde-haired youth appeared out of thin air.

A black-haired youth was already waiting there.

"Please select your weapon and combat suit."

The grand, majestic electronic voice echoed through the space like a god. Guan Ning chose his familiar combat suit and the Qingming Sword, quickly arming himself. Opposite him, Adolf also swiftly donned his combat suit; his weapons were two curved blades.

After equipping his gear, Guan Ning's gaze naturally fell upon the pillar in the arena, where text began to emerge—

"Name: Adolf

Gender: Male

Status: Official Student of the Elite Training Camp

Combat Power Amplification: Superior"

Adolf also smiled as he cast his gaze toward the pillar beside Guan Ning. When he saw the text upon it, his smile instantly froze.

His face contorted with shock and rage.

"Impossible!"

"Name: Guan Ning

Gender: Male

Status: Official trainee of the Elite Training Camp

Combat Power Amplitude: Excellent

"Damn it! I should have realized it sooner."

Only now did Adolf understand the key to Guan Ning's unstoppable seven-game winning streak.

"No wonder you dared to accept my challenge; so your combat power amplitude has reached the Excellent level. But you've miscalculated. My combat power amplitude has reached 12.8, far beyond what you can challenge. Prepare to die!"

Adolf had been in the training camp for five years, and his combat power amplitude had only just crossed 12. He assumed Guan Ning had barely scraped into the Excellent tier, and he spoke with relaxed, effortless arrogance.

If he knew that Guan Ning's combat power amplitude was actually 13.2, his expression would likely have been quite spectacular.

"Less talk, let's move." Guan Ning said impatiently.

Whoosh!

When the distance between them closed to just over ten meters, they moved simultaneously. The two curved blades in Adolf's hands attacked from above and below with the vicious precision of vipers.

Facing these strange twin blades, the Qingming Sword did not dodge or weave; it struck directly against one of the curved blades.

Seeing Guan Ning's response, a ferocious grin appeared on Adolf's lips. He could already see the image of Guan Ning being torn apart by his blades in the next instant.

However, Guan Ning had unleashed his physical strength to the limit with this strike. With a base strength of 10,000 kilograms and a 4x force-amplification, the power of this sword strike had reached 40,000 kilograms.

Adolf's force-amplification level was only 3.5, and due to his carelessness, he hadn't fully exerted his physical strength. The immense power surged through the blade.

The curved blade in Adolf's hand was knocked aside uncontrollably, and even the blade in his left hand was affected, leaving his center wide open.

Guan Ning's eyes lit up. He stepped forward, pressing his advantage, and thrust the Qingming Sword upward at an angle. Adolf's face changed drastically; if he didn't handle this correctly, he would lose his right arm.

However, he was an experienced fighter. In his desperation, he spun his body, using his right foot as a pivot, and rotated a full circle, just barely dodging the Qingming Sword.

Guan Ning's first strike missed, but the Qingming Sword moved with fluid grace, shifting from a diagonal slash into a straight thrust, aiming plainly and directly at Adolf's throat.

Adolf was filled with terror and hurriedly used his twin blades to block.

But the moment before they made contact, the Qingming Sword suddenly turned as soft and agile as a spirit snake, becoming erratic and unpredictable, yet still piercing toward his throat.

"No!"

Adolf began to retreat in panic. All of his techniques suddenly felt like mere parlor tricks. No matter how many blades he had or how exquisite his moves were, he could not avoid this strike.

He waved his twin blades frantically, trying to deflect the incoming sword.

But just as he touched the spine of the blade—

Clang!

The spine of the Qingming Sword suddenly bent, curving like a bow. The moment it bent, it snapped back with a sudden, violent force, knocking the curved blades aside.

Adolf wanted to dodge, wanted to flee.

But he suddenly realized that for every step he took back, Guan Ning took one step forward, and the sword took a step and a half.

From all directions, from every corner, this sword sealed off all his paths of retreat, even though the strike was nothing more than a simple thrust.

"ROAR—"

A shrill, desperate cry echoed through the night sky.

Squelch. Blood splattered.

The tip of the Qingming Sword, like a needle piercing tofu, sank into the gap in his neck.

Then, the entire blade followed.

Guan Ning took one more step forward.

He stood face-to-face with Adolf, the Qingming Sword embedded in his neck, entering through the Adam's apple and protruding nearly a meter out the back.

Pierced through in one strike!

Blood dripped from the sword spine protruding from the back of his neck, drip, drip.

A simple, unadorned move. Even a child could perform this move—a thrust.

The field of vision turned pitch black, and both of them left the virtual space.

The electronic voice echoed through the Nine-Story Tower once more, mercilessly announcing the fact that Guan Ning was unstoppable.

Outside the Challenge Room, Candice looked utterly soul-broken, his hand trembling so hard he could barely hold his longsword.

"Even Adolf was defeated? And he's a genius who has long been in the top 30 of the training camp!"

"His combat power amplitude is over 12, and even he lost. What can I do?"

Candice asked himself in his heart.

He originally had no conflict with Guan Ning, but because of the Hundred Billion Bounty, he had acted to help his aunt, the "Poison Scorpion" Venina Polenas, which led to the current situation.

"Since it's impossible to win, I might as well admit defeat."

Having made up his mind, Candice approached Guan Ning, who had just stepped out of the Challenge Room. "Guan Ning, I concede. The 5 billion is yours."

"Oh?" Guan Ning looked at the straightforward Candice, feeling somewhat surprised. He hadn't expected the seemingly arrogant heir of the Polenas Family to be this decisive; he was truly worthy of being an heir chosen by a great family.

"Fine, I accept," Guan Ning said, sounding bored.

"Candice conceded?"

"He's the heir to the Polenas Family, I can't believe it!"

"He didn't even have the courage to fight the last match, what a disgrace."

"I disagree with you there. Knowing it's impossible yet doing it anyway is just stupidity; Candice is simply showing self-awareness."

"That's true, 5 billion is nothing to Candice anyway."

The students had mixed reactions upon hearing Candice's concession, but regardless, Guan Ning had won all nine matches, pocketing 45 billion instantly.

"Ding!"

Guan Ning received a transfer notification, and his account balance grew by 45 billion—he had struck it rich overnight!