Clang—
On the arena, Xiao Ze flicked a finger against the longsword, ringing out a crisp clash of metal.
The person opposite him felt her vision blur. A moment later, her hand was empty, and her beloved sword had already fallen into her opponent's grasp.
Thump!
Holding the sword backward, Xiao Ze struck the other girl in the stomach with its hilt, forcing her to bend over.
By the time she raised her head again, Xiao Ze had already laid the sword against her neck.
"Classmate, I've won."
The pretty-faced girl sighed helplessly.
She had expected this outcome from the start, but she still couldn't help feeling a little unwilling to accept it!
She had made it all the way to the end and reached the final.
Just one more step, and she could have won a Fifth-grade Pill!
But facing Xiao Ze was like facing an insurmountable mountain.
She couldn't last even one round against him before he had the sword at her neck.
"I lost, Classmate Xiao Ze."
The referee announced the result at just the right moment.
"In this match, Yellow Grade Class 2's Xiao Ze wins!"
On the judges' platform opposite them, the Vice Dean rose to his feet and made an announcement to everyone present.
"The ultimate winner of this class competition is Xiao Ze!"
"Furthermore, the class represented by Xiao Ze, Yellow Grade Class 2, will receive the academy's support in resources for the coming year!"
"Woo-hoo!!!"
The moment Hu Gan finished speaking, Xiao Ze's class erupted in jubilant cheers, everyone shouting his name in unison.
Xiao Ze's smile on the arena nearly slipped.
"Here's your sword."
Xiao Ze held out the longsword backward, offering it hilt-first.
"Thank you for the match, but I'll definitely get even with you for this!"
The girl flashed a charming smile as she took the sword, speaking with conviction.
"I hope you do."
Xiao Ze replied nonchalantly.
If she really managed to get even with him, he might as well find a place to slit his own throat.
"Xiao Ze, please come up to collect your individual winner's prize."
At those words, Xiao Ze's eyes lit up. He hopped off the arena and hurried toward the platform opposite.
This was the Fifth-grade Pill he had been dreaming of!
Hu Gan looked at Xiao Ze with a faint smile.
Judging by the class competition, Xiao Ze certainly lived up to the academy's plans for his development.
However, he still needed time to grow.
In the future, Xiao Ze would surely leave a bold and brilliant mark on the continent!
"Take this. It was refined by Elder Huo of the Alchemist Department, and it's one of his rare masterpieces."
"I asked him to offer it as a prize. He was so reluctant that he really made me pay for it!"
Hu Gan chuckled as he solemnly handed the jade bottle to Xiao Ze.
The bottle felt warm in Xiao Ze's hand. He could sense the powerful energy radiating from the pill inside.
"Thank you, Vice Dean!"
"It's what you deserve!"
Then, at the Vice Dean's request,
with everyone watching, Xiao Ze held the jade bottle high and declared himself the ultimate winner of the competition.
As soon as he returned to class, Xiao Ze vanished in a flash.
The Vice Dean's last request had made it almost impossible for him to keep smiling.
The back mountain of Jia Nan Academy.
At the spot where the three of them often practiced together, Xiao Xun'er and Xiao Yi Xian were already waiting.
"Whew. That last request from the Vice Dean really made it hard to even force a smile."
Xiao Xun'er couldn't help covering her mouth as she giggled.
"But the other students thought it looked really cool, seeing you declare yourself the ultimate winner while everyone watched."
Xiao Yi Xian nodded in agreement, speaking as if she knew exactly what she was talking about.
"I think every boy wished he could take your place. It was also the best way to catch the girls' eyes."
Xiao Ze rubbed his arms. He still wasn't used to it.
"By the way, take this Body Sculpting Flame Pill, Xun'er. You have a fire attribute, so it should work better for you."
The Body Sculpting Flame Pill was the prize Xiao Ze had won.
It would help him if he took it himself, but not by much.
What Xiao Ze truly wanted was the tenfold feedback he would get after Xiao Xun'er took it!
"Actually, pills that improve one's aptitude don't have stringent attribute requirements. The effect might be better if you took it, Big Brother Xiao Ze. It could improve your talent even further."
Xiao Xun'er held out her jade-white hand and gently pushed the bottle back.
"Why are you being so polite to your Big Brother Xiao Ze now? I gave Xiao Yi Xian an Earth Tier Cultivation Method. Does that mean I can't give you a Fifth-grade Pill?"
Xiao Ze insisted, taking Xiao Xun'er's hand and placing the bottle in her palm.
"Besides, I've already completed my cultivation method conversion, so my cultivation speed will improve even more. I don't want to end up going to the Inner Academy all alone."
Hearing that, Xiao Xun'er stopped resisting. She didn't want to be separated from Big Brother Xiao Ze!
Xiao Yi Xian, standing nearby, grew serious as well.
What Xiao Ze had said was true.
His cultivation speed had already far surpassed theirs, and he was leaving them far behind!
If they didn't work hard to catch up, Xiao Ze might really end up entering the Inner Academy all alone.
Xiao Xun'er opened the jade bottle. A rich pill fragrance wafted out, accompanied by faint ripples of energy.
A scorching aura poured from the mouth of the bottle, and the temperature around them seemed to rise.
"What a rich pill fragrance..."
Xiao Xun'er fell silent for a moment, then made up her mind.
"Big Brother Xiao Ze, I think I'll wait until I'm about to advance to Nine-Star Dou Zhe before taking it."
"This pill's medicinal power is formidable. Even after it improves my aptitude, a great deal of its power will remain."
"Then I can use that power to break through to Dou Master. I might even get twice the result for half the effort!"
Xiao Ze nodded at her words.
Xiao Xun'er wasn't far from reaching Nine-Star Dou Zhe.
Perhaps she really could use the pill to break through to Dou Master in one go!
For the rest of their time together, all three devoted themselves to cultivation.
Xiao Ze didn't claim the feedback reward from Xiao Xun'er, intending to save it for a breakthrough.
As for Xiao Yi Xian's feedback rewards, perhaps his luck had run out after the first hundredfold reward.
After that, they were only onefold or twofold rewards. They were better than nothing, at least.
For his Perfect Woe Poison Body, they were merely the icing on the cake.
After the class competition, Xiao Ze suddenly became all the rage.
Many people wanted to recruit this rising star.
The Xiao Ze who had strode step by step toward ultimate victory in the class competition with an invincible bearing!
But, to everyone's surprise, Xiao Ze seemed to vanish after the competition.
He didn't even attend the academy's cultivation classes!
This left all the people who wanted to recruit him completely empty-handed.
In truth, Xiao Ze wasn't skipping every cultivation class. He occasionally went to the practical lessons.
He had already finished studying all the theory classes.
Because of this, Ruolin had no choice but to arrange for more people to spar with Xiao Ze during practical lessons.
However, as a result, everyone had much less time to spar with him.
None of the other students complained.
Those who had sparred with Xiao Ze from the beginning had been able to enjoy the whole feast.
After the class competition, those who sparred with him could only sip a little broth.
There was far less time for them.
Even so, the students treasured every moment.
They knew that, with Xiao Ze's talent, it wouldn't be long before he left their class for a higher-level cultivation ground.
Like the Inner Academy!
Xiao Ze would gradually leave them behind.
All they could do was make the most of this time and ask Xiao Ze for his help while they could.
Time passed amid cultivation, and Xiao Xun'er soon reached a critical bottleneck.
Nine-Star Dou Zhe!
Fellow readers, please give the book a follow! Whether it gets promoted to the next tier now depends entirely on follow-through reads. Please lend a hand and scroll to the very end of the book. I'm on my knees in thanks!
Thank you so, so much!
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