"The winner, Ning Chuan!"
The referee made the announcement in a loud voice.
As his voice faded, the screen beside the arena suddenly flashed, displaying a line of eye-catching text:
"The winner, Ning Chuan, advances to the top sixteen of the martial arts exam!"
The arena battles at Qingshan No. 1 High School were divided into two parts.
In the first part, all the students were matched against one another.
Then, based on their records, sixteen finalists were selected to compete in a single-elimination tournament.
Making the top sixteen was also considered an important mark of a dark horse.
A stir swept through the crowd below the arena!
Many people stared intently at Ning Chuan, their gazes filled with shock, praise, or envy.
Qingshan No. 1 High School was no mediocre school.
It had been a key city school for years, a high school for the wealthy and powerful, where geniuses gathered!
One could imagine how difficult it was to rank among the top sixteen out of more than three thousand seniors.
Judging by previous years, students in the top sixteen had a ninety percent chance of getting into one of the Federation's ten best schools.
Their futures were bright and limitless.
Under countless gazes, Ning Chuan calmly stepped down from the arena at an unhurried pace. He found an unoccupied spot beneath a tree and regulated his breathing to recover his strength as he waited for the top sixteen finals to begin.
In fact, he had not used much strength.
He had not even broken a sweat.
He was in far better condition than Zhang Wensi.
The Ancient Dragon Elephant Scripture, as a breathing technique, had no shortcomings to speak of, and stamina was likewise one of its strengths.
The only flaw is that it's too difficult!
Ning Chuan sighed inwardly.
Three days had passed, and his progress in the basic realm of the Ancient Dragon Elephant Scripture had increased by only one percent.
It would take nearly a year to reach the proficiency realm.
As for the perfect realm, there was no telling how long that would take.
Ning Chuan felt rather helpless about it.
More than half an hour later.
The matches ended, and all sixteen finalists had been determined. Their names appeared on a large screen in the center of the training ground.
Ning Chuan looked up.
The other fifteen students were all at the high awakening stage.
Seven were at awakening stage nine.
Eight were at awakening eighth stage.
Among them, besides Ning Chuan, there were three new faces, all dark horses who had emerged this time.
Ning Chuan paid them little attention, his gaze lingering only briefly on Wei Bohu's name.
"The finals are about to start. Who do you think will take first place?"
"Who can say? But one thing's certain: first place will definitely go to one of those three at peak awakening stage nine!"
Amid the chatter, the spectators and students who had finished their exams flocked toward the arena where the finals would be held, their faces eager as they anticipated the coming matches.
"The finals begin!"
The referee made the announcement in a loud voice, then took out a slip of paper and glanced down at it. "First match: Wei Bohu of senior year, class one, versus Ning Chuan of senior year, class fifteen!"
A commotion broke out below the arena.
"This dark horse's run ends at the top sixteen!"
Someone expressed regret for Ning Chuan.
"His luck is terrible. He actually got matched against someone at peak awakening stage nine!"
"Ning Chuan is sure to lose. Wei Bohu came second in the last monthly exam, and Lu Mengyue, who came first, hasn't even taken the exam!"
"After this fight, you'll understand that Ning Chuan only killed the Heavenly Martial spy because he was lucky enough to run into him. As for strength, he's decent at best at Qingshan No. 1 High School, more than a whole level below the top students."
Many people had little faith in Ning Chuan, thinking he would be knocked out in the first round.
Ning Chuan, however, felt exactly the opposite. A glint of lightning flashed through his dark eyes, sharp and piercing.
His right hand came to rest on Silver Blood's hilt.
At last,
he no longer had to hold back!
With steady steps, Ning Chuan climbed onto the arena before the watching crowd.
Wei Bohu stood opposite him, a cold sneer on his face.
"The chairman of the Wei Financial Group is here!"
Someone shouted, and the crowd turned toward the viewing stand.
At the VIP seats, Wei Qiance approached with his hands behind his back, followed by several executives from the Wei Financial Group. The principal of Qingshan No. 1 High School personally accompanied him, chatting and laughing with him.
After all, Wei Qiance was an important figure in Qingshan City.
"Director Gu is here too! He's a Knight!"
Suddenly, someone cried out in surprise.
With a light breeze, Gu Tianyu appeared without a sound.
"It's not just Director Gu. Look, who's that beside him?"
"Holy shit, Qingshan City's number one martial artist!"
Lu Zhan appeared on the viewing stand.
Lu Mengyue stood beside him, her face pretty and her spirits high. After several days of rest, her injuries appeared to have nearly healed.
"The patriarch of the Wang Family, one of Qingshan City's three great families, is here!"
"Isn't that skinny old man the deputy commander of the Federation 27th Army Group?!"
"Li Yun, the actress with over ten million fans, is over there!"
The countless spectators at the scene, including the students and teachers, were all utterly shocked.
Although the martial arts exam at Qingshan No. 1 High School attracted a great deal of attention, that was only compared to ordinary schools.
Most of those who usually came to watch were students' parents.
Or members of the public who enjoyed watching the excitement.
The school had to call in favors to invite one or two prominent figures.
Today was nothing like that.
There were too many important figures present to count.
Soon, some of the sharper people realized that today's finals were out of the ordinary.
After searching the scene with their eyes, their gazes settled on Ning Chuan.
He could be said to be the only variable.
On the arena.
Ning Chuan was also somewhat puzzled. He had indeed killed Zhao Weiping, but a Heavenly Martial spy was not important enough to draw the attention of so many important figures at once.
In fact,
what Ning Chuan did not know was that word of Lu Zhan taking him to demand twenty million from the Wei Financial Group had long since spread throughout Qingshan City's upper circles.
They were all very curious.
What kind of young man could make Qingshan City's number one martial artist value him so highly?
Enough to personally step forward and offend the Wei Financial Group.
Across from him.
Wei Bohu glanced at his father and steadied himself. He looked up at the referee and said in a low voice, "For this match, I'd like to request a fifteen-minute no-holds-barred fight!"
An uproar swept through the crowd.
A fifteen-minute no-holds-barred fight was extremely brutal.
As the name suggested, both sides could use any means to fight and kill during those fifteen minutes, with no stopping partway through.
Unless one side died.
"This..."
The referee was taken aback.
Fifteen-minute no-holds-barred fights took place between opponents of roughly equal strength.
Within fifteen minutes, it was generally impossible for either side to kill the other.
At the same time, such fights could temper a person's will and improve their martial arts cultivation.
That was why the Federation had passed laws permitting this form of combat.
But Wei Bohu was clearly at a higher realm.
The referee pondered for a moment but still could not make a decision. He looked toward the viewing stand and asked the principal, "What do you think about this?"
The principal immediately wanted to refuse.
With so many important people present, absolutely nothing could go wrong!
Wei Qiance glanced at the principal and seemed to see through his thoughts. He smiled faintly and said, "A fifteen-minute no-holds-barred fight does a great deal to strengthen one's will. It wouldn't hurt to let these two children have one. If either is injured, the Wei Financial Group will cover all treatment costs."
After a pause, he added, "In addition, the Wei Financial Group will pay the full medical costs for every student injured in this martial arts exam."
The principal hesitated.
He had a feeling the matter was not that simple.
But with Wei Qiance having said so much, refusing might offend him.
Not far away, Lu Zhan remained expressionless, seemingly unconcerned.
Just then, an indifferent voice spread from the arena in all directions.
"I accept the fifteen-minute no-holds-barred duel!"