Li Linliu's Invitation

"How could this happen?"

Amid countless cheers, even more people were left utterly stunned.

That included the academy masters seated on the platform.

The most unwilling and unable to accept it was Teng Bo, the master of the Flying Tiger Sect.

"Lincu actually lost? And to Chen Fan?"

The reason he had paid such a huge price to jointly organize a martial competition of this scale was to pave the way for Yan Lincu!

Even the champion's reward being far greater than the runner-up's was because he believed that, with Yan Lincu's endlessly replenishing blood and qi, no one could possibly defeat him unless they were far above him in strength!

The Deer Placenta Pills were not particularly valuable on their own. There were only ten of them, and the major clans and martial academies could all afford them. The problem was that they were scarce cultivation resources for true martial arts, things that had always been priceless despite having a listed value!

"Chen Fan got it for nothing!"

No one had expected a mere Chen Fan to defeat Yan Lincu head-on, crushing his seemingly limitless blood and qi and knocking him off the arena!

One instructor asked curiously, "Why didn't Chen Fan go all out earlier? Did he deliberately hide his strength for so long just to catch Yan Lincu off guard?"

This was also what most of the audience below the stage believed.

Chen Fan had concealed his strength, lulled Yan Lincu into complacency, then struck like thunder and seized victory with overwhelming force!

"No!"

You Shahu shook his head, narrowed his eyes, and looked at Li Linliu.

"Chen Fan wasn't hiding his strength. Rather, his power suddenly increased at the end, and his blood and qi swelled. If I'm not mistaken, he continuously pushed his body's potential to the limit during the battle and ultimately refined the remaining medicinal power of the Blood-Nourishing Pill. That was why his strength increased so drastically!"

Li Linliu nodded as well, clearly overjoyed. "Chen Fan deliberately chose less powerful moves so that he could put himself in a more dire situation, leaving himself no way out and forcing out the medicinal power within his body."

"This is unfair!"

Teng Bo, the Flying Tiger Sect's master, had lost all his previous composure. His face darkened as he said, "Winning with the help of pills goes against the rules!"

Li Linliu merely shook his head and replied calmly, "If Chen Fan had taken a forbidden drug that stimulated his potential, then naturally it would be unfair. But the Blood-Nourishing Pill he used was provided by me... His increase in strength is permanent, so how does that violate the rules? Chen Fan was able to refine its medicinal power so quickly because he is extraordinarily gifted and has a special physique!"

No one could refute him.

Li Linliu gave a cold laugh, looked at Teng Bo, and smiled. "If you had a Blood-Nourishing Pill and gave one to Yan Lincu, I naturally wouldn't object either!"

At those words, the Flying Tiger Sect's master could not utter a single reply.

How could he possibly produce a treasure like a Blood-Nourishing Pill?

In truth, a Blood-Nourishing Pill did not simply increase one's blood and qi the moment it was consumed. The time needed to refine it also depended on one's physique and progress in cultivating force techniques!

Li Linliu had given Chen Fan that pill only because Chen Fan had entered enlightenment twice, and he wanted to help him complete his blood and qi accumulation as soon as possible!

Originally, he had thought that it would already be quite good if Chen Fan could fully refine the Blood-Nourishing Pill's medicinal power within two months.

He had never expected Chen Fan to give him such an enormous surprise on only the second day.

"Could Chen Fan also possess some special physique? Such high comprehension, and such rapid absorption of medicinal power as well..."

As Li Linliu watched Chen Fan on the stage, the more he looked, the more satisfied he became.

Both Yan Lincu and Chen Fan were peerless talents, but Chen Fan cultivated the White Cloud Pine-Crane Palm and was a disciple of his own martial academy. Naturally, he found Chen Fan far more pleasing to the eye than Yan Lincu.

Li Linliu's thoughts raced.

"My position as acting academy master in Flying Spirit County was merely a worldly trial, and also a way to share some of my senior brother's burden. I never expected to discover such a precious disciple near the end of my term. If I bring him back for my senior brother to accept as a disciple, who knows how he'll thank me!"

Chen Fan's strength was secondary. What Li Linliu valued most was the comprehension he had displayed!

As the saying went, the victor became king, and the loser was condemned.

No matter how dazzling Yan Lincu had been before the finals,

now that he had lost this final match, all the honor and fame he had carried before had become Chen Fan's wedding dress!

Nearly five hundred martial artists under eighteen in Flying Spirit County had competed to determine this number one!

Not to mention that Chen Fan was even younger than Yan Lincu!

After the referee announced the final victor,

a group of White Cloud Martial Academy disciples led by Bao Tianyou rushed forward, lifted Chen Fan high into the air, and cheered wildly!

Many of them had not even known who Chen Fan was before this martial competition!

Elsewhere in the crowd, Lin Mo and Su Qingyang watched their classmate with complicated expressions. Their eyes were filled with envy, jealousy, and... awe!

That was right!

Chen Fan had won the championship and defeated both Feng Yuancheng and Yan Lincu. The strength he had displayed was already far beyond anything the two of them could hope to match!

Even if they truly managed to master the White Cloud Pine-Crane Palm before turning eighteen, they likely still would not be able to defeat the current Chen Fan. Such a gap had almost robbed them of the courage to chase after him!

Yet amid the thunderous cheers and commotion, two areas had entirely different atmospheres.

One was the area where the Four Symbols Sect's disciples were gathered.

The other place with an awkward atmosphere was naturally the Flying Tiger Sect's area.

Yan Lincu had been the sect's greatest dark horse. After defeating Feng Yuancheng and a third-realm martial artist from the Black Tiger Gang, he had practically been considered the champion in advance!

His physique was simply too special.

His endurance was limitless.

Even a monster like Chen Fan should not have been able to defeat Yan Lincu, whose blood and qi replenished without end.

Yan Lincu had defeated Feng Yuancheng, then beaten a third-realm martial artist from the Black Tiger Gang. He had risen all the way through the competition with unstoppable dominance!

Yan Lincu himself had seemed unstoppable, his strength growing more exaggerated with every match. He had intended to ride that momentum straight to the championship, only to lose to a dark horse like Chen Fan!

The result was difficult to accept.

But they had no choice but to accept it.

According to the original rules, they still had to determine third and fourth place.

However, Feng Yuancheng had withdrawn from the competition in advance, yielding third place without a fight.

Thus, the awards ceremony was held early!

They were all martial artists, so there were no overly complicated formalities.

The top three were simply presented with their awards, and the prizes were publicly handed out to encourage the other martial artists!

Chen Fan received silver and the Deer Placenta Pills.

Naturally, he was thrilled.

The top three stood on the arena stage, watched by hundreds and thousands of disciples below. Countless people envied and admired them.

Among them, Chen Fan was undoubtedly the most dazzling!

Chen Fan stood smiling in the center of the arena as he accepted his award from Li Linliu.

He basked in the gazes of countless spectators below the stage.

It had to be said, being number one felt really good.

After stepping down from the stage, Chen Fan saw Li Linliu walking toward him.

Li Linliu smiled at Chen Fan and patted his shoulder. "Not bad, Chen Fan. Even I didn't expect you to take first place!"

Chen Fan remained very humble. "It was all thanks to the pill you gave me, Academy Master. Otherwise, it would have been difficult for me to even win the semifinals, much less this..."

Li Linliu shook his head. "I gave you the Blood-Nourishing Pill because I hoped you would no longer be troubled by your blood and qi accumulation and could focus on cultivation for some time. I never expected you to refine it so quickly, much less use the power gained from refining it to defeat Yan Lincu... It seems your potential is even greater than I imagined. Your physique must also be particularly suited to refining Blood-Nourishing Pills!"

So that pill was called a Blood-Nourishing Pill.

Chen Fan smiled. "I was just lucky."

"Luck is also a part of strength."

Li Linliu shook his head, then changed the subject. "Chen Fan, there's something I'd like to discuss with you..."

Chen Fan was slightly startled. "Please speak, Academy Master."

Li Linliu said seriously, "Although your physique is not as unusual as Yan Lincu's, your comprehension is exceptional and your foundation is remarkable. It would truly be a waste for you to remain in Flying Spirit County. I'll be direct with you: I will soon step down as acting academy master, and before long I'll leave Flying Spirit County and return to Yan Capital City. Are you willing to come with me to Yan Capital City and receive training at the White Cloud Headquarters?"

Chen Fan was stunned as well.

He had thought that he would not truly set out from Flying Spirit County until after mastering the White Cloud Pine-Crane Palm. He had not expected that moment to arrive so soon!

Seeing Chen Fan's expression, Li Linliu assumed he was hesitant and said, "Yan Capital City's resources and training environment far surpass those of Flying Spirit County. Your comprehension is outstanding, and staying here would be somewhat wasteful!"

"I can guarantee that if you go to Yan Capital City, all food, lodging, martial arts manuals, and technique selections will be provided free of charge, including certain general cultivation resources. However, special pills such as the Blood-Nourishing Pill I gave you will be difficult to obtain, and you will have to rely on yourself for those..."

Chen Fan was overjoyed upon hearing this. Ever since he began practicing martial arts, he had constantly been constrained by money. His food and living expenses were absurdly high!

Although he now had prize money and Bao Tianyou's support, he still could not say that they would sustain him for long. Naturally, Li Linliu's words thrilled him.

As expected, how could the White Cloud Martial Academy possibly fail to focus on cultivating a genius like me?