All Eyes on Him

Before long, the next day arrived.

Not long after Qi Ji posted that brief yet devastating update, Yu Xiaogang responded to him loudly and publicly on social media.

He posted a lengthy essay, going on and on with a whole lot of nonsense, but its central message was only one thing—he accepted the challenge.

Qi Ji casually scrolled through it twice, confirmed that the other party had agreed, then could not be bothered to read the rest of the drivel. He tossed his phone aside and returned to meditation.

After all, to him, the real battlefield was the arena, not some online war of words. Besides, no matter how many armchair Shrek supporters there were online, could they really be more professional than the Federation's paid internet trolls?

In the blink of an eye, afternoon arrived.

Qi Ji slowly emerged from deep meditation and opened his eyes. His golden dragon pupils flashed briefly in the dim cultivation room.

He glanced at the Soul Tool clock on the wall—there were less than two hours until the agreed time. Plenty of time.

He quickly tidied up, changed into a clean, sharp casual outfit, and prepared to head out.

Qi Ji had never wanted to stay forever in the War God Temple' underground base, buried deep within the mountains like some cave-dwelling creature that never saw daylight. So, he had long since applied for permission to live in an apartment in central Mingdu.

As the Federation's most heavily promoted genius, he naturally had as much of that kind of privilege as he wanted. His application was approved in no time.

Of course, that was also because he still attended the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. Living in the city was far more convenient than commuting every day between the mountain base and the academy.

Moreover, unlike those reclusive geniuses who shut themselves away to cultivate in silence, Qi Ji was also a public representative of the Federation. He often had to appear at official events, accept media interviews, and attend charity projects. Living underground was clearly impractical.

In short, regardless of the reason, as long as he did not have to spend all day thousands of meters underground as a caveman, he was satisfied.

He had once curiously asked several War Gods from the War God Temple why these major organizations all loved digging their bases underground.

The answer he received was that, as Titled Douluo who had already achieved Unity of Heaven and Man, the chaotic Soul Power fluctuations and restless human presence in cities were a form of interference that made it difficult for them to cultivate in peace.

That was probably the rule behind the locations of those top powers: either they built extremely high, like the Spirit Pagoda; dug extremely deep, like the Tang Sect and the War God Temple; or chose places devoid of people, like Shrek Academy's inner court, hidden within Sea God Island.

As an official military institution, the War God Temple naturally could not flaunt a towering structure like the Spirit Pagoda. As a military facility, the deeper and more concealed it was, the safer it would be.

Of course, none of that had much to do with Qi Ji.

He was still far from the realm of Unity of Heaven and Man. At least before becoming a Titled Douluo, he preferred staying somewhere the sunlight could reach.

When Qi Ji arrived downstairs from his apartment, a pitch-black Soul Tool car was already waiting at the entrance.

As a genius watched by the entire Federation, his travel arrangements were naturally first-class—the driver was a defense-type Soul Sage above level seventy, with a steady expression and restrained aura. One look was enough to tell he was a battle-hardened veteran.

Together with the various top-tier defensive Soul Tools Qi Ji wore—his necklace, rings, and bracelet, each one a level-ten Soul Tool—his personal security had been taken to the absolute extreme.

Even a Limit Douluo personally making a move would not be able to break through all those layers of defense and take him down in a short time.

"Young Master Qi Ji, we're here."

The car came to a steady stop not far from the entrance to Mingdu Stadium.

Qi Ji looked out through the window and saw that the area outside the stadium was already packed with people. It was a sea of heads, shoulder to shoulder, with the entrance completely blocked.

Because yesterday's challenge had exploded across the internet, the popularity of this match far exceeded expectations. The spectators who had failed to get inside alone had already packed the entire street.

Most people had failed to get tickets and could only gather before the huge screens outside the stadium, watching the live broadcast from afar.

Qi Ji pushed open the car door. The moment his foot touched the ground, a tidal wave of cheers crashed over him.

He instinctively put on a professional smile and waved, nodded, and greeted the crowd. His movements were smooth and practiced, as if he had done this countless times.

As a public figure, he had to maintain his image. He could not greet the fans supporting him with a cold face.

No matter how impatient he felt inside, he still had to wear a perfectly measured smile.

That made him somewhat envy the geniuses of Shrek Academy, the Tang Sect, and the Spirit Pagoda.

They did not have the Federation's public opinion pressure behind them. They did not need to care about the outside world's gaze and could freely maintain an aloof, mysterious persona.

But as the face of the Federation, Qi Ji had to care about such things. It was the price he had to pay for enjoying the finest resources, and part of the shackles binding him.

Soon, Qi Ji walked down the long red carpet. Amid the deafening cheers from the spectators on either side and the glare of countless flashing lights, he slowly entered Mingdu Stadium.

It was even livelier inside than outside.

Mingdu Stadium was a massive venue capable of holding more than a hundred thousand people.

Today, every seat was occupied. As far as the eye could see, there were swaying heads and glowing sticks waving in the air.

After years of relentless promotion by the Federation, Qi Ji had long become a household-name national genius. His name was practically synonymous with "miracle."

Today was his first public acceptance of a challenge from the second-ranked genius on the Young Genius Rankings, so naturally, countless spectators had come specifically to watch him.

It was said that the tickets had sold out in less than three minutes after going on sale, and their prices had even been driven to astronomical levels on the black market.

Guided by staff, Qi Ji passed through the competitor tunnel. After briefly interacting with the spectators in the front rows for several rounds, he finally stepped slowly onto the central arena.

The arena was forged from high-strength alloy, its surface covered in a thick layer of impact-resistant Soul Tool coating. It could withstand the full-force attack of a Soul Sage without being easily damaged.

The enormous Soul Tool screen overhead was broadcasting every detail on the arena in real time. More than a hundred thousand pairs of eyes converged on him at once.

On the other side of the arena, his opponent—Yu Xiaogang, an inner court student of Shrek Academy and a level-sixty-eight Light Holy Dragon Soul Emperor—had already been waiting for quite some time.

"Hehe... you finally came?"

Yu Xiaogang stood with his arms crossed, a confident smile on his lips. His eyes were locked tightly on Qi Ji, filled with long-suppressed excitement and hostility. "You didn't run away. Instead, you came straight toward me?"

Qi Ji looked at the black crew-cut man opposite him, whose eyes were bloodshot, breath ragged, and chest heaving violently. An intense sense of déjà vu suddenly rose within him.

That state, those eyes, that way of speaking... why did it look more familiar the longer he looked?

"Good lord... don't tell me you're actually Gangzi reincarnated?"

Qi Ji's mutter was so quiet that only he could hear it.

Yu Xiaogang obviously could not hear him. He still maintained that arrogant posture of someone convinced he was superior, chin slightly raised as he looked down at Qi Ji.

"As the challenger whose cultivation level is lower than mine, I can let you have three moves first."

Yu Xiaogang spoke with complete confidence, his tone carrying a charity-like generosity. "That way, no one can say I'm bullying someone weaker."

Qi Ji raised an eyebrow, an unreadable smile curling across his lips. "Do you have this backwards? I mean, you're the challenger."