A Secret!

Whether Principal Tao was showing off or trying to intimidate them, his words had certainly done the trick. The Imperial University administrators immediately realized how serious the situation was, and their expressions changed drastically.

The Spiritual Energy Testing and Research Institute was the organization in the Great Xia Empire responsible for rating Awakeners' various skills.

To ensure the ratings were fair, the Institute had Awakeners undergo evaluations under the same conditions: the same level and the same skill type.

Therefore, the fact that Qin Tianyu's skill had been recognized as the World's First Wave... was absolutely shocking to the faculty and students of Imperial University!

Lin Xia's decision to step forward and sign up for the Challenge Tournament had originally lifted the spirits of many people, including some of the upperclassmen.

They'd also wanted to follow his lead and sign up.

But when they saw the official document declaring Qin Tianyu's new skill the World's First Wave, they felt their stomachs churn. Their fighting spirit, which had just flared to life, vanished at once!

That was because wave-type skills were universally recognized by Awakeners around the world as the most terrifying attacks!

A direct hit could leave you missing limbs at best, or vaporize you in an instant at worst, reducing you to dust and leaving no body behind!

And the most unbelievable thing was that the energy level of Qin Tianyu's Nether Prison Black Annihilation Wave was only one mark short of the testing device's maximum!!

Terrifying! Simply terrifying!

For hundreds of years, the top spot among wave-type skills had been held by an Awakener named Song Wen.

Yet even his energy level was still two marks short of maxing out the testing device!

And despite that, his power was enough to make the leaders of secret realms tremble in fear, while Awakeners of every stripe gave him a wide berth!

"Bro, forget it..."

Xu Jian stepped forward and gently tugged at Lin Xia's sleeve. "Your future matters more. Let's not be the one to stick our necks out. Qin Tianyu is a complete bastard, and now he's mastered such a powerful skill... I'm sure he'll go for the kill!"

"Bastard versus bastard. It all comes down to who's more of a bastard." Wu Ziyang came up behind Lin Xia and shrugged. "I'm sure you won't disappoint us in that regard."

Just then, the tall, samurai-haired Liu Yucheng arrived too. There wasn't a trace of fear of Qin Tianyu on his face; instead, he looked skeptical and excited. "Y-you're really level 5?"

"Level 5? I doubt that's all!"

A delicate fragrance arrived with the cool, beautiful Zhu Tingyu, and the air seemed to turn several degrees colder. With her arms crossed, she gazed at Lin Xia with her captivating face. "The first person to come out of the secret realm—and the only one to get out before the special explosives went off. I did the calculations. If nothing went wrong, you're already level 7, aren't you?"

At that, Lin Xia, who had been lost in thought, furrowed his brows.

But before he could say anything, Xu Jian clicked his tongue and gave Zhu Tingyu a reproachful look. "Come on, if you know, you don't have to say it out loud. But you got one thing wrong. Lin Xia wasn't the only one to get out before the bomb went off!"

"...You?"

Lin Xia stared at him in surprise. Judging by Xu Jian's expression, he'd known for a while.

"If it was something worth celebrating, you would've told me yourself. Since you didn't, you must have your reasons."

Xu Jian patted Lin Xia on the shoulder. "Everyone has secrets. As your friend, I respect your choice—and of course, I'll help you keep it!"

Warmth stirred in Lin Xia's heart at those words.

Then he looked around and noticed Wu Ziyang wearing a faintly amused expression too.

It seemed he'd known for a while as well.

But when Lin Xia looked at Liu Yucheng, he found him standing there in bewilderment, his eyes darting between Zhu Tingyu, Wu Ziyang, and Xu Jian.

After a moment, he said in a tone that made him sound completely out of the loop, "So... am I the only one who didn't know Lin Xia had reached level 7?"

At that, the others merely shrugged meaningfully without saying a word.

"That's right. I'm level 7."

Lin Xia said softly.

Zhu Tingyu and Xu Jian looked as if they'd expected as much.

"Fuck!!!"

Liu Yucheng immediately swore. Every time he tried to surpass Lin Xia, he ended up being the one left stunned!

The first time, Lin Xia had beaten him in the Otherworld rankings...

The second time, he'd stayed up all night playing ranked matches to earn the Bronze Achievement, but then...

The third time, he'd wanted to beat Lin Xia at leveling up. But while he was still level 1, that guy had already reached level 7!!

"So, you're not dropping out, right?" Wu Ziyang asked.

"Drop out?" Lin Xia let out a cold laugh. "Of course not!"

As soon as he'd said that, his thoughts returned to a minute earlier.

When Lin Xia had heard Principal Tao say that Qin Tianyu's Nether Prison Black Annihilation Wave was the World's First Wave,

A familiar voice had sounded beside his ear.

It was a little old and lecherous, yet brimming with absolute confidence.

'The World's First Wave?'

'Heh, how interesting. I haven't heard anything that amusing in a long time.'

'Back in my day, that title was always used to describe my Turtle School Ki Wave!'

As soon as the voice fell silent, text appeared before Lin Xia's eyes:

[Master Roshi Favorability +50%!]

That's right, that was the voice of Master Roshi, the lecherous old geezer!!

Who was Master Roshi?

A martial arts grandmaster!!!

And the creator of Dragon Ball's greatest skill, the Turtle School Ki Wave!!

And judging by how he gained favorability,

Lin Xia had to enter the Challenge Tournament and face Qin Tianyu to earn the remaining favorability!

That was what he'd been thinking about when he'd seemed lost in thought.

He hadn't been stunned out of his mind.

Lin Xia's thoughts returned to the present. He walked up to Principal Tao and took the official document from his hands.

The next second,

he tore the document bearing the words "World's First Wave" to shreds and tossed the scraps into the air.

Amid the fragments fluttering down like snowflakes, his stern face appeared and disappeared. "Looks like the Spiritual Energy Testing and Research Institute will have to reconsider what truly counts as the 'World's First Wave'!"

[Master Roshi Favorability +20%]

[Current Favorability: 70%!]