Bountiful Gains!

"Ye Li wins!"

Only after Ye Li stepped down from the Combat Stage did the referee's hollow, lonely voice finally ring out.

Only then did the audience snap out of their stunned daze, erupting into shocked cheers.

"Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit! What just happened?!"

"That's insane! A School Team member got one-shotted!!"

"Fuck, that had me on my knees! That spear was so fast it was utterly unreasonable!"

"An ordinary student? The hell kind of ordinary student is this?"

"This guy's badass! He was hiding his strength! Who said ordinary students couldn't beat the School Team?!"

"..."

At that moment, the students were beside themselves with excitement.

No one had expected an upset in an internal sparring match.

Shen Lian, seated among the spectators, felt even worse.

As though her backside had taken root, she remained seated where she was, staring blankly at the scene below.

People's joys and sorrows were never shared; right now, she only found the people around her unbearably noisy.

Wang Ren... lost?!

How was that possible?!

She had revealed all of Ye Li's information to Wang Ren precisely so that he could win more easily...

Even she, a full-fledged School Team member, would find it difficult to defeat Wang Ren so effortlessly!

Shen Lian clenched her fists tightly, her teeth biting into her lip as her gaze flickered.

How exactly had Ye Li done it?!

On the raised platform behind the audience seats,

the teachers all looked at one another, and anyone could see the surprise on their faces.

The School Team was filled with the cream of the student body. Even its substitutes were far stronger than ordinary Martial Science Students.

That was practically common knowledge.

When one was inferior to the other in martial techniques, level, and talent alike, defeating the strong while weak was simply impossible.

The only explanation for what had happened was that Ye Li had hidden his strength before this.

"Principal Li, this student named Ye Li... he's a fine prospect!"

The homeroom teacher of Class One pushed up his glasses, unable to conceal his astonishment as he spoke to the vice principal.

Principal Li smiled. "Indeed. His blood and qi intensity is evenly matched with Wang Ren's. They should both be at First-Tier Level Five."

"But his martial techniques are remarkable. Though neither of the two techniques he used is high-ranked, both carry the air of completion."

"At his age, mastering two low-tier martial techniques to completion... that speaks of exceptionally outstanding comprehension."

"This child must have trained tremendously hard in private!"

Principal Li's tone carried obvious approval.

"Little Yang." He then looked at a young woman behind him, whose face was likewise full of shock, and asked as if casually,

"This is a good prospect from your Class Nine. I think he's fully qualified to join the School Team! Why haven't I seen you report him?"

Hearing this, sweat immediately broke out on Yang Shan's brow.

"Principal Li, during the blood and qi test two weeks ago, Ye Li was still at First-Tier Level Three. I never expected him to improve this quickly," she hurriedly explained.

How could she not understand that he suspected her of deliberately burying a talent because of a personal grudge?

This Vice Principal Li of Linhai First High School was famous for cherishing talent as dearly as his life.

He had once beaten a teacher who maliciously targeted students until the man knelt and begged for mercy in front of the entire school, teachers and students alike. The scene had been utterly miserable, and he only barely stopped when people from the Qingyi Bureau arrived.

It was truly terrifying.

And honestly, Yang Shan rather liked Ye Li as a student—

His parents had died early, he lived alone, and he trained quite diligently. Aside from being too honest in temperament and rather average in aptitude, there was nothing else to fault him for.

So heaven and earth bore witness: Yang Shan would never have guessed, not even if beaten to death, that Ye Li, who had always been like a stuffy gourd, had actually hidden such strength!

This was simply outrageous, wasn't it?

"Is that so? I'll look into it when I get back."

Li Haohan gave Yang Shan a deep look, then turned his gaze back to the slender figure walking toward the raised platform below.

The youth wore white, his back straight, his steps steady, brimming with youthful vigor.

He casually handed the long spear to the stunned referee. After politely nodding, he turned and walked into the passageway.

"Not bad. Truly not bad." Having witnessed Ye Li's performance, Li Haohan nodded with a smile.

"Principal Li." One of the teachers looked at him and tentatively suggested,

"Since Ye Li beat Wang Ren, why not give Wang Ren's School Team substitute spot to him?"

"The province-wide Inter-school Exchange Competition is only half a month away. The more outstanding students we send, the better Linhai First High School's ranking will be!"

Hearing that, Li Haohan turned to look at the Class One homeroom teacher.

The Class One homeroom teacher immediately nodded. "I have no objections."

Wang Ren was a student in his class.

Since even he had no objections, the other teachers nodded as well, voicing their agreement.

Li Haohan said with a genial smile, "Then it's settled."

"Little Yang, later, help him apply for a School Team-exclusive Cultivation Room, and tell him about the School Team-exclusive benefits."

"Understood." Yang Shan immediately agreed.

"However, Principal Li, the provincial competition is only a month away. Letting Ye Li join the School Team at this time..." Yang Shan then showed a worried expression and asked,

"Won't that provoke dissatisfaction from the other School Team members?"

The official members of Linhai First High School's School Team were all at least First-Tier Level Seven.

Ye Li's current gap with them was immense.

If they were dissatisfied with the school's last-minute replacement, they would inevitably ostracize Ye Li in the future, affecting his state of mind.

That was exactly what Yang Shan was worried about.

"Teaching him to endure will count as a kind of training too," Li Haohan replied with a genial smile.

"...All right." Yang Shan fell silent for a moment before ultimately accepting his reasoning.

Meanwhile, Ye Li naturally had no idea that the school leadership's attitude toward him had changed.

After collecting his share of the spirit medicine subsidy, he left the school directly and took a taxi home.

Once home, Ye Li plunged into his room, locked the door behind him, and began studying his Golden Finger.

[Infamy LV1: Almost no one knows of your infamy]

[Note: Upgrading Infamy will grant bountiful rewards]

[Current Malice Points: 1800]

Looking at the Malice Points, which had nearly doubled compared with before he went all in, Ye Li felt much lighter.

Sure enough, going all in was a kind of wisdom.

Relying on the original owner's accumulated foundation, he had spent only nine hundred Malice Points to upgrade two martial techniques to completion.

Not only did he feel no discomfort whatsoever, but he could use them as easily as moving his own arms and fingers.

And it had even raised his Martial Arts Level by two stages in the process.

The system's capabilities were already plain to see.

"In other words, as long as I commit malicious acts recognized by the system, I can use the Malice Points I earn to upgrade martial arts and increase my level."

"Beating up one Wang Ren gave me nearly two thousand Malice Points. Is this thing built upon other people's suffering..."

Ye Li pressed a finger to his chin, lost in thought.

He then remembered that after defeating Wang Ren, the system seemed to have added another function.

[Cultivation level point-allocation path unlocked]

[Current Level: First-Tier Level Five (2%)]

[Upgradeable]

As his gaze swept over the display, thoughts surged through Ye Li's mind.

Previously, after raising both martial techniques to completion, his cultivation level had naturally risen to First-Tier Level Five.

That had merely been a byproduct of upgrading martial techniques.

Now that he could allocate points directly into cultivation, the effect would surely be even better than before.

"System, allocate points!"

With a grand sweep of his hand, Ye Li planned to use one hundred Malice Points first to test the depths of this new pool.

[Ding! 100 Malice Points consumed!]

[Beginning cultivation increase]

[No external assistance detected. Your cultivation speed is the same as usual: slow as a snail, a poet holding it]

[Cultivating...]

[Cultivation complete]

[Current Level: First-Tier Level Five (50%)]

[Evaluation: Due to the lack of any cultivation boosts, this gain is only equivalent to half a year of your hard cultivation]

[Note: With the same point expenditure, gains may vary due to external factors]

"...?"

"The gains can change because of external factors? Why didn't you say so earlier?"

Ye Li's vision went dark. This was like paying to draw cards, only to discover he had pulled from the wrong banner.

Fortunately, he had not gone all in right away like the first time, or he truly would have suffocated.

There was still hope.

"A boost, right? Easy."

Ye Li opened the exquisite iron box containing the spirit medicine and took out a small white porcelain bottle.

Inside the bottle was Body-Sculpting Spirit Medicine, which benefited cultivation.

For a Body-Tempering Realm martial artist of the First Tier, the blood and qi gained from this bottle of spirit medicine was equivalent to two months of arduous cultivation. It was exceedingly precious.

Using it as a cultivation boost now was quite fitting.

The moment he unscrewed the cap, a rich, refreshing fragrance wafted out, clearing his mind and delighting his spirit.

Without hesitation, Ye Li downed the entire bottle in one gulp. The cool medicinal liquid flowed down his throat as he began a new round of point allocation.