Lin Qingyu

By afternoon, with the breeze gentle and the weather fair, the quarterfinal matches were about to begin.

The eight remaining disciples stepped onto the stage one after another to draw lots.

Thirteen- or fourteen-year-old Chen Fan, along with Yan Lincu, who was not much older than him, stood out sharply among the eight!

When it was Chen Fan's turn to take the stage and draw, a burst of booing suddenly rose from a certain section below!

The boos came from where the Four Symbols Sect disciples were seated.

Yu Xingzheng stood coldly at the front of their formation, staring at Chen Fan on the arena. The two of them had already become enemies.

Chen Fan shook his head and flashed the people around Yu Xingzheng a middle finger at an angle!

"Idiots..."

He did not easily make enemies, but since he had, he would not show the slightest weakness!

Not to mention that he had already decided yesterday's ambush had been arranged by Yu Xingzheng, and anger had been building in his heart.

At the same time.

At the main stand, Li Linliu saw this and gave a cold snort. The heads of the various martial academies and gangs all shuddered.

The old master of the Four Symbols Sect wore a bitter expression. "The younger disciples are competitive and hot-blooded. My apologies for letting Master Li witness this."

When disciples caused trouble, their teachers took the blame. He was quite helpless as well.

Li Linliu sneered but said nothing more.

Looking at the drawing results, Chen Fan felt rather helpless.

His first match's opponent was another female disciple. She was also the only female among the final eight, likewise from Cold Plum Pavilion. Her name was Lin Qingyu, and she was astonishingly a second-level martial artist as well!

She was not even as old as Li Wen had been. She was Li Wen's junior sister, though Chen Fan did not know what kind of strength-training manual she had cultivated.

In any case, it could not have been too poor.

Women were naturally inferior to men in terms of vitality and blood, so they were naturally weaker in combat.

Even so, Lin Qingyu was far stronger than Li Wen.

She was on an entirely different level from Chen Fan's previous opponents!

Many people below erupted into discussion upon seeing the result, sighing that Chen Fan truly had good luck to draw the only woman among the final eight!

In reality, although Lin Qingyu was a woman, she was not weak at all!

The crowd had merely been blinded by their preconceptions. Because Lin Qingyu was female, they deliberately labeled Chen Fan as "lucky."

In the contestants' waiting area, Feng Yuancheng shook his head as he watched the arena. Chen Fan is certain to lose. Even I wouldn't have an easy time beating Lin Qingyu!

Yu Xingzheng's face was icy, but his heart was thrilled. So what if you escaped the Black Alliance's people? Won't you still lose? Hmph, weakness is the original sin!

A gong rang out.

When the referee announced the names of the competitors and called Chen Fan's name—

Another wave of boos rose from the Four Symbols Sect's section.

"These bastards!"

Bao Tianyou and the other disciples close to Chen Fan immediately stepped forward to argue, nearly coming to blows with them.

Fortunately, staff members came forward to maintain order and pulled the two groups apart.

Even so, the spectators watching the match began discussing it heatedly.

When Bao Tianyou returned to his own section, he felt increasingly speechless. Yu Xingzheng really is an idiot. Since you've already been eliminated and can't change anything, why offend a genius like Chen Fan?

The difference between the two men's social awareness and outlook was enormous, and their principles were completely different. Bao Tianyou simply could not understand Yu Xingzheng's pointless behavior of harming others without benefiting himself!

He had never thought much of someone like Yu Xingzheng. His talent was not bad, but with such a terrible personality, he could never shoulder great responsibility!

Li Linliu continued to sneer without saying anything.

You Shahu narrowed his eyes and watched the farce with a smile. "Chen Fan entered the final eight because of a bye, after all. If he wants to silence the criticism, he can only put on a good fight, perhaps even win again..."

He paused, then said regretfully, "It's a pity that while Chen Fan has good luck and comprehension, he is ultimately too young. His raw strength is still insufficient. Against Lin Qingyu, the gap is still rather large. I'm afraid this is where his journey ends!"

Chen Fan was young, and the reason he had made it this far was no more than his powerful innate vitality and high talent.

However, he had yet to show strength capable of matching the other seeded contestants, so naturally no one favored him!

Some even believed he had reached the top fifteen, or even the top thirty, only because he had not encountered sufficiently strong opponents.

The other martial academy masters all nodded in agreement.

"Actually, if Chen Fan wants to prove himself, he doesn't necessarily need to win. As long as he puts up a good showing and lasts a few more moves against Lin Qingyu, that will be enough!"

Chen Fan was not weak. Judging by his performance in advancing to the top fifteen, he had been outstanding and had more than demonstrated his talent!

But because of his age, he was fundamentally not on the same level as Lin Qingyu and the others!

Expectations were different. As long as he met those expectations, Chen Fan could free himself from his earlier awkward situation!

Li Linliu smiled as he watched the arena, narrowing his eyes.

"Do you all think Chen Fan will lose easily? I don't see it that way. The fact that his previous opponents were not strong enough, and that he drew a bye, does not mean he is necessarily inferior to others!"

Everyone laughed and shook their heads.

They did not take it seriously at all.

The master of the Four Symbols Sect shook his head. "Haha, if Chen Fan were two years older, perhaps there would be a chance! But now? Hehe..."

Teng Bo coughed twice. "Chen Fan is a heaven-sent talent. He will certainly be able to last a few more moves..."

Li Linliu merely smiled without speaking.

He was, after all, a branch master of White Cloud Martial Academy. Even if his own disciple was weaker, as his elder, he still had to support him. That was why he had deliberately said what he did earlier!

As for whether Chen Fan could win, that was no longer important!

Making it this far was already enough!

And as for other people's opinions, what did a few remarks matter?

Li Linliu cared the least about such things. What he saw differed from ordinary people's. Between talent and current strength, he valued the former more!

He was also considering what gift he should give the little fellow Chen Fan.

The referee announced the start of the match.

Chen Fan and Lin Qingyu stepped onto the arena.

Chen Fan looked over at her. Lin Qingyu had black hair tied in a ponytail and delicate features.

Her appearance was no worse than that of her senior sister Li Wen!

At the same time, her movements were light and graceful, and her temperament was gentle, giving her the air of a refined young lady.

Chen Fan cupped his fists in greeting but did not rush to attack.

It was not because he went easy on women.

Lin Qingyu simply looked like someone easy to talk to!

However, he had a question in his heart. "Senior Sister Lin, I have a question. I wonder if you could clear up my confusion?"

Lin Qingyu raised her brows at Chen Fan. Seeing his handsome face and earnest expression as he sought advice, her first impression of him was not bad. She was in no hurry to attack either, and she smiled. "Go ahead."

Chen Fan was the youngest of the remaining contestants, and he was good-looking as well, so he naturally made a good first impression!

Chen Fan did not waste words and asked directly.

"Senior Sister Lin, you are only seventeen, yet you are already a second-level martial artist. I don't understand. Since you are not yet eighteen, why didn't you cultivate another strength-training art to strengthen your foundation before making your breakthrough?"

Lin Qingyu glanced at Chen Fan with raised brows. She liked his politeness, so she answered without concealing anything.

"Half a year ago, I mastered Cold Plum Pavilion's highest-grade strength-training manual, the Plum Blossom Fist. I was already past seventeen then. Even if I cultivated for another year, I would probably only master a third-grade or lower second-grade strength-training manual, and its effect would be limited... It would be better to begin cultivating a true art directly!"

Improving one's foundation was like a logarithmic function: the further one went, the harder it became to improve. After already mastering a first-grade strength-training manual, cultivating a lower-grade manual provided far less benefit!

Since she could not establish a much stronger foundation, it was better to cultivate a true art early.

After all, accumulating vitality and blood was meant to make true art cultivation smoother. The difference between beginning true art cultivation a year early and gaining little additional foundation depended on one's personal choice.

Chen Fan was somewhat astonished. "You only cultivated a true art for half a year, Senior Sister, and you already broke through to the first level?"

Lin Qingyu nodded. "The first level of a true art is the easiest step. One only needs to strengthen and transform the corresponding inner breath into true essence. Some talented disciples can do it in three or four months. Someone with poor talent like me needs a little over half a year..."

Lin Qingyu was being modest. Her talent might not compare to Feng Yuancheng's, but it far surpassed Yu Xingzheng's and the others'.

Chen Fan nodded, finally understanding.

So some people could break through the first level of a true art in just a few months. No wonder the gap between first-level martial artists and ordinary inner-breath martial artists was limited.

That must also be why Yu Xingzheng, Ge Yuantong, and the others had already become second-level martial artists before turning eighteen!

Chen Fan had always thought true arts were extremely difficult to cultivate and that breaking through a level took two or three years, so he had felt that Yu Xingzheng and the others were wasting their potential by cultivating true arts too early!

Senior Sister Lin only recently broke through to the second level. No wonder her foundation is clearly stronger, yet she is not as famous as Yu Xingzheng and Ge Yuantong...

Given a few more months, Lin Qingyu's strength would likely far surpass those two!

Chen Fan cupped his fists. "Thank you for clearing up my confusion, Senior Sister!"

Lin Qingyu shook her head. "You're welcome."

These were actually common facts, but Chen Fan had entered the martial path too recently and did not know them.

After their brief conversation, Lin Qingyu had developed a favorable impression of this handsome, refined, and polite junior brother. She nodded slightly.

With the doubt in his heart resolved, Chen Fan bent down and assumed his stance.

"Then let's begin."

Seeing Chen Fan switch states so quickly, Lin Qingyu felt a faint sense of disappointment, but she stepped forward with a serious expression. "Junior Brother, here I come!"