Points Preliminary

Seven-Star Tower District, Second Tower.

The qualifier used a points system. Winners received +1 point.

The top 100 in qualifier points would advance to the next promotion round. The promotion round used a one-on-one elimination format; losers were eliminated immediately, until the final top ten emerged.

The qualifier lasted one month, and the promotion round lasted one week. Weapons were forbidden in both.

The qualifier ran around the clock. Every four hours, there would be a round of matches, with 302 bouts taking place simultaneously in each round.

Chu Wen looked over the rules on his optical computer. A total of 604 people had registered this time. Unless students were seriously injured in later fights and withdrew, the qualifier schedule was actually extremely tight. It was estimated that many students would withdraw afterward, causing the number of matches to plummet.

After all, with arena battles this intensive, injuries were inevitable.

This qualifier was practically hellish special training for those with poor stamina. No wonder only one-eighth of the students had signed up. Most likely guessed that most people would not even survive the six matches on the first day.

"Brother Wen, go easy on me when we fight." Chen Dai stood on a distant arena platform and waved at Chu Wen.

The spectator stands below were also packed with students who had not entered the competition.

They had come to observe and learn. Battles between strong fighters could inspire them as well.

Naturally, most people's attention was focused on those ranked in the top ten of the Dragonspine Corridor.

Nearly a hundred students and faculty members watched the arena where Chu Wen stood.

"So this is Chu Wen? I heard he only became an intermediate battle general two months ago."

"Why did I hear he was a beginner battle general?"

"Looks like he'll be one of the dominant contenders in this promotion round." Several teachers from the Flying Waterfall Faction nodded slightly.

Chu Wen was a specially recruited student and belonged to the Flying Waterfall Faction, so they naturally wanted to see him sweep through the points matches.

With the strength of an intermediate battle general, dealing with high-level fighters was child's play.

[Contestants, take your positions.]

All 302 arena platforms lit up at once, and the terrain of various types shifted accordingly.

[Rainforest]

"Senior Chu Wen..." Chu Wen's opponent was a burly man named Chen Shi, a high-level fighter.

But the information displayed for Chu Wen on the light screen was—an "intermediate battle general"!

"You make the first move." Chu Wen stood with his hands behind his back.

Chen Shi did not waste words. Leaning forward, he instantly unleashed the impact force of an intermediate battle general. One of his martial techniques had clearly reached the perfected level!

Bang!

His fist, veins bulging across it, was caught by Chu Wen's palm. Chu Wen turned with the force and flung his opponent off the arena.

"Huh?"

The battle had unfolded too quickly. Most spectators had not even seen what happened!

"I only blinked once. How did Chen Shi end up on the ground?"

"It looked like... Chu Wen only used one palm strike, and Chen Shi lost his balance and fell out by himself."

"Chen Shi was still a top-three-hundred fighter in the Dragonspine Corridor, wasn't he? He lost just like that?"

"No way. Chen Shi didn't throw the match on purpose, did he?"

The students in the stands were utterly baffled, while the battle-king-level teachers nodded slightly. What Chu Wen had used just now was a method of borrowing force to strike back.

When Chen Shi threw his punch, he had failed to notice the shift in his center of gravity. Chu Wen seized that opening and borrowed his force to push him off the arena. It had to be said that Chu Wen's response was truly exquisite.

Every movement flowed like drifting clouds and running water, completed in one seamless breath!

What did that mean? It meant Chu Wen's fundamentals completely crushed his opponent's. It was not merely a matter of explosive strength; that clever use of borrowed force alone was enough for his opponent to study and replay over and over.

Yet everyone's guesses were far less startling than what Chen Shi himself had just experienced.

He had discovered that his opponent could have snapped his throat with ease. If Chu Wen had raised his palm with the momentum just then, he could have simply and brutally beaten him into serious injury. A displaced brow bone would have been the least of it!

But Chu Wen had merely thrown him off the arena...

"Thank you... I'll definitely go back and train properly." Chen Shi looked at Chu Wen with eyes full of respect and gratitude.

Chu Wen was pointing out the flaws in how he exerted force. If such a situation happened in the wilderness, it could easily cost him his life!

Chu Wen stepped down from the arena with ease, his points rising to 1.

Xu Yunzhong was just as relaxed as Chu Wen.

Xu Yunzhong's opponent surrendered immediately at the start. Xu Yunzhong was not a pleasant fellow; once he made a move, his opponent could end up lying in the hospital.

Xu Yunzhong had also noticed what happened at Chu Wen's arena at a glance, his gaze filled with provocation.

Originally, Xu Yunzhong had not believed Chu Wen would pose much of a threat. But after hearing that Chu Wen had broken through to intermediate battle general, Xu Yunzhong finally sharpened his focus.

"Chu Wen, I hope you won't disappoint me."

Xu Yunzhong spoke faintly. Standing amid the crowd, he seemed detached from the world, as though he merely acknowledged that Chu Wen could fight him—but the result would certainly be Chu Wen's defeat!

As Xinhang Martial University's overall number one for two consecutive years, Xu Yunzhong had every reason for such confidence.

"Of course. I hope we can fight for a little longer."

With that, Chu Wen returned to the preparation seats and waited for the optical computer to arrange the next round.

In this first round alone, many students would likely suffer serious injuries and have no choice but to withdraw.

He had only closed his eyes slightly and circulated the Chaos Breathing Method for a short while before the optical computer randomly generated another match arrangement.

This opponent was someone Chu Wen was somewhat familiar with as well.

"Big Sister Zhang," Zhang Liping.

"Brother Chu Wen, the offer the Li Family mentioned before can be increased."

Zhang Liping looked at the opponent information displayed by the optical computer—intermediate battle general!

She was a high-level fighter. Wasn't she just being served up on a platter?

Still, she was a martial family descendant living in the high-level dormitory district. Without the slightest trace of hesitation, she stepped on gale-force wind, her hand forming the Flower-Pinching Stance as she struck forward like a spirit snake flicking its tongue.

After all, Chu Wen had been merciful to others just now. At worst, she would fall off the arena. Nothing serious would happen.

Clinging to that stroke of luck, Zhang Liping's fist had barely neared Chu Wen when she felt her field of vision tilt.

Her entire body spun as though heaven and earth had turned upside down, and she flew backward!

She had not even seen how Chu Wen attacked. Violent pain spread from the joints in her arm, and with a scream, Zhang Liping's vision went black as she fainted on the arena.

No matter what, she probably never imagined that Chu Wen would strike so brutally.

"Don't blame me. When Lin Haisheng's uncle came to apologize, he had already sold you out."

Before this, however, Zhang Liping had been a descendant of a major family, and Chu Wen lacked the background to contend with her, so it had been difficult for him to make a move. Only now that these arena battles had begun did he have the best opportunity.

Chu Wen knew where to draw the line. He had not struck especially heavily, merely taught her a small lesson.

Zhang Liping's targeting of the Jiangnan Martial Faction was likely because the Li Family had suffered devastating losses in the battle at Jiangnan Base City and wanted to find an outlet for their resentment.

At the same time, there was Rox's indulgence.

Liu Changshou had helped him piece together all this intelligence. The Yatu Family also had considerable influence within Xinhang Martial University, and many teachers' part-time positions had been recommended by the Yatu Family.

The emergence of the Jiangnan Martial Faction had affected the Yatu Family's interests the most. This had all been cake they never needed to divide up in the first place.

But Chu Wen still did not know exactly what role Rox played. Rumor had it that Rox and the Yatu Family were not on good terms. Perhaps he was merely watching from the sidelines?

For now, Chu Wen did not completely trust even Yuchi Yu.

At the very least, he would not naively believe that he possessed enough influence to make the Yatu Family give up the portion of the cake currently allotted to the Jiangnan Martial Faction.

But no matter what lay ahead, only his own strength would never deceive him! Only by becoming strong could he face these struggles over interests without fear!

Advancing in first place with an invincible bearing—that was his goal this time!