World's First Wave!?

Qin Tianyu looked over the packed field. Not a single person dared step forward to challenge him, and the contempt on his face deepened.

"Those who understand the times are wise. It seems your students are doing quite well in that regard."

Principal Tao patted his large belly and sneered, his tone cheerful. "Looks like there's no need to hold the Challenge Tournament tomorrow. Wouldn't you agree, Principal Yan?"

At this, Principal Yan's expression barely changed, but his pulse quickened and his heart pounded more and more fiercely.

As for Director Xie Feng and the others beside him, they couldn't keep their composure like Principal Yan. Their faces already wore their fury for all to see.

But they were all adults, after all. They could be angry, but they still had to let their strength do the talking.

Now, the entire Imperial University had been provoked by Principal Tao of Huajing University and Qin Tianyu, yet not a single student had stepped forward to sign up...

"Phew..."

The field was deathly silent, save for the flags snapping in the wind.

"Hahaha! Imperial University really lives up to its name. You certainly deserve the title of the nation's top university!"

Qin Tianyu's words, heavy with mockery, and Principal Tao's undisguised, smug laughter stabbed like needles into the hearts of every Imperial University student and teacher.

Principal Yan felt his temples throbbing. His heart weighed so heavily in his chest it seemed ready to burst through his ribs. He pressed his lips together, using every ounce of restraint he had just to keep the last trace of composure on his face from crumbling.

Director Xie Feng's face had turned bright red. His fists were clenched so tightly at his sides that his knuckles had gone white, and his chest heaved violently. He looked ready to charge forward at any moment, but those weighty words—"let your strength do the talking"—held him firmly in place.

Despair and humiliation spread through the air.

Was the vast Imperial University really going to be humiliated by its opponent in front of this huge crowd today, unable to find even one person to accept the challenge?

"Then I'll have to apply to the higher-ups to cancel the Challenge Tournament and announce the result as a forfeit?"

Principal Tao was once again speaking triumphantly, ready to finalize the tournament's cancellation and nail this humiliation to Imperial University's door, when—

A clear, steady voice, almost casual in tone, cut through the suffocating silence from the middle of the crowd:

"Who says nobody's signing up?"

The voice wasn't loud, but it was like a stone dropped into a still lake, sending ripples surging in every direction.

Everyone's eyes were drawn by an invisible thread and snapped toward the source of the voice in unison.

The packed crowd of students slowly parted down the middle, like the parting of the Red Sea.

A figure emerged from deep within the crowd, unhurried and composed.

He was tall and straight, his steps relaxed. There was little anger on his face; instead, he looked almost indifferent.

Sunlight fell upon him, tracing his clear silhouette.

Ignoring the countless astonished, curious, and hopeful gazes around him, he walked straight to the front of Imperial University's leadership, meeting the bewildered Qin Tianyu and the Principal Tao who had narrowed his eyes slightly.

He stopped and calmly swept his gaze over Qin Tianyu's contemptuous face. Then he looked toward Principal Yan and the others, giving them a slight nod before turning to Principal Tao and Qin Tianyu. He repeated himself, his voice carrying clearly across the field:

"Lin Xia, a first-year student in Class 4 at Imperial University, is signing up for the Challenge Tournament!!"

Boom! The crowd erupted!

Lin Xia's words exploded in everyone's ears like a thunderclap!

"A first-year...?"

"And from Class 4, the worst class..."

"My god, is he crazy...? Wait, did he say his name was Lin Xia!?"

"Is he the Lin Xia who wiped out the entire field in the freshman competition!?"

"That's right, it's him! He was the first one out of the 'Artificial Secret Realm'!!"

"But the minimum level to enter the Challenge Tournament is level 5. Lin Xia... doesn't seem to meet the requirements, does he?"

The upperclassmen on the field began whispering about Lin Xia.

At that moment, the name "Lin Xia" was coming up in people's conversations as often as a punctuation mark.

The corners of the university leaders' lips lifted, and a soft glow lit their eyes. They couldn't hide their relief.

At least someone had finally stepped forward to prove to Huajing University that we at Imperial University weren't all cowardly lizards afraid of a fight!

But back to reality: Lin Xia was only a first-year student and hadn't yet received systematic training in combat techniques...

Besides, ever since the incident in the Artificial Secret Realm, the school had suspended leveling for first-year students. That meant he didn't even meet the basic requirements to enter.

"Way to go!"

Xu Jian gazed at Lin Xia with admiration, his eyes fixed on him.

Even Zhu Tingyu and Liu Yucheng had eyes that lit up.

"So you finally couldn't keep hiding, huh?"

Wu Ziyang chuckled, wearing an expression that suggested he'd seen it coming all along.

He had witnessed Lin Xia kill the wild monster boss in the Otherworld with his own eyes.

So Wu Ziyang knew perfectly well that Lin Xia had leveled up.

The Artificial Secret Realm had its flaws.

It couldn't perfectly reproduce the difficulty of a real secret realm.

For instance, Lin Xia had been able to defeat a boss above his level because the research into Cards within the Artificial Secret Realm hadn't been thorough enough.

That was also why Majin Buu and Vegeta could fight level 7 wild monsters when they were only level 1.

After all, whoever had tampered with the secret realm hadn't expected a level 1 Awakener to enter it carrying two SSR Cards, had they?

And that was exactly why Wu Ziyang was so curious about the true strength of Lin Xia's two Cards.

Now, he finally had the chance to solve the mystery!

Once Lin Xia entered the Challenge Tournament, he'd have no choice but to reveal his trump cards in front of everyone!

"Hahahaha!"

Qin Tianyu let out a cold laugh, his eyes full of disdain. "If I remember right, Class 4 is the worst class at Imperial University every year. A useless scrap like you should stay out of sight instead of making a fool of yourself!"

"Principal Yan, oh, Principal Yan, did you forget to explain the rules of the Challenge Tournament to this batch of freshmen?"

Principal Tao's three chins shook with laughter. "The minimum level to enter the Challenge Tournament is level 5—"

As he spoke, the middle-aged man with the big belly suddenly paused. Then he raised an eyebrow, curled his lips into a smile, and took a document with an image on it from his briefcase. He unfolded it and held it up for everyone to see.

The paper showed an instrument quite similar to the breathalyzer traffic police used in Lin Xia's previous world.

The instrument's body was a sober metallic gray, giving it a professional, reliable appearance.

It was equipped with a small display screen that clearly showed the test results.

Most eye-catching was the strip of indicator lights along its side, made up of several LEDs.

The gray, yellow, green, and red lights were arranged in a row, forming a linear band that clearly indicated the different test results.

At that moment, the red LED was already lit, just one light away from the far-right "full capacity" indicator!

Its red glow stood out like a warning signal.

"Oh, right. There's something I need to officially announce!"

Principal Tao cleared his throat. His face wore a smug look as his eyes swept over the crowd like a hawk's. He deliberately lowered his voice:

"Qin Tianyu's newly mastered finishing move, the Nether Prison Black Annihilation Wave, has just been certified by the Spiritual Energy Testing and Research Institute as the 'World's First Wave'! You'd better keep that in mind!!"

He paused, the corners of his mouth curling into a cold smile as he fixed his gaze on Lin Xia, his words full of threat and intimidation:

"You should know that Qin Tianyu never used a move this powerful in the previous two Challenge Tournaments. So, during tomorrow's match... if Tianyu fails to control his strength and one of your students is 'accidentally' injured, then the consequences—well, we can't be held responsible!"