The day of the grand competition

Next, the Imperial Fighting Team fought in the Great Soul Arena for half a month.

Lin Qingchen and Ye Lingling fought for over forty matches without losing a single one, advancing from Iron Soul Fighter to Silver Soul Fighter, accumulating points rapidly.

Ye Lingling stood on the edge of the stage watching the whole thing, and when Agility Attack System tried to flank her from behind, she would jump down herself, and she never got hurt.

This led her to complain to Lin Qingchen that she felt she wasn't involved at all.

However, Lin Qingchen had no choice. His opponent wasn't strong enough to break his defenses, so he couldn't very well harm himself and let Ye Lingling heal him, could he?

After some thought, Lin Qingchen decided to finish each battle with just two or three punches, knocking his opponents down before they could even unleash their full Soul Skill.

In this way, there's no need to worry about Ye Lingling complaining about not feeling involved, since even Lin Qingchen himself hadn't participated.

Um...

Very direct.

In the following days, the Great Soul Arena couldn't find any suitable opponents, so they simply started arranging opponents at the Silver Soul Fighter level for them. However, the result was the same; they couldn't even withstand an extra punch.

Lin Qingchen also became a celebrity in the Great Soul Arena, and every time he appeared, he would be greeted with countless cheers.

He even received quite a few love letters, after all, he had never hidden his appearance.

How could someone so young, handsome, and talented not be popular with young girls?

However, the fact that there were even love letters from men among them disgusted Lin Qingchen.

Although he was from Yu City in his previous life, wasn't that still quite a distance from Sichuan Province?

Yu Tianheng and Shi Mo, who were in the same group, only lost one match.

The match he lost was one where he was worn down by two level 39 Defense System Soul Master. Yu Tianheng's expression wasn't good after he came down, but there was nothing he could do. He wasn't a prodigy like Lin Qingchen, and he couldn't do anything about this kind of turtle-shell-like fighting style.

Shi Mo itself is a Defense System, so naturally it couldn't help him much.

Once on stage, Yu Feng and Osler, this pair of bickering lovers, stopped arguing and actually worked together quite well.

Yu Feng flies fast, while Osler plays dirty; their playing styles complement each other perfectly, achieving an impressive record of 32 wins and 3 losses. Even offstage, they continue to argue endlessly.

The team consisting of Dugu Yan and Shi Mo won the most easily. Dugu Yan's Jade Phosphorous Blue Poison combined with Shi Mo's defense made it impossible for the opponent to damage her. With the addition of Jade Phosphor Purple Poison, they could often subdue the enemy without a fight.

Half a month later, the college's grand event arrived as scheduled.

The grand competition of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy was held in the central square of the academy.

This place is not open to the public normally; it is only used for major competitions and important ceremonies.

The arena is modeled after the structure of the Heaven Dou City Great Soul Arena, with a main stage in the center and tiered stands on all four sides, capable of seating several thousand people.

A separate row of VIP seats was set up at the highest point of the stands.

On the morning of the competition, Qin Ming summoned the entire Imperial Fighting Team to the training ground.

"I won't go into the rules, you all know them. I'll just emphasize one point: the competition ranks all students in the college, but there are only a handful of truly threatening candidates. Aside from those, it's each other."

As he spoke, Qin Ming briefly introduced the other people's information.

"Liu Qingfeng and Zhao Tiezhu?" Yu Feng scratched his head. "These names don't sound very imposing."

"Your name sounds imposing?" Osler glanced at him. "Yu Feng, Yu Feng, it sounds like flying a kite."

"You damn leopard, are you looking for trouble?"

Qin Ming ignored their usual bickering and continued, "It's good that the seven of you are all at the Heaven Dou Grade, but Qingchen is a newcomer. He'll probably have to fight quite a few matches, and there's a high chance of infighting among them."

"Don't worry, Teacher Qin." Yu Tianheng clenched his fist. "I told Qingchen that if we run into each other, I won't hold back."

Qin Ming waved his hand. "Alright, before we begin, you'll come with me to see someone."

After saying that, he led the Imperial Fighting Team to the VIP lounge behind the arena.

At the end of the corridor was a double door, with two guards in Imperial Guard uniforms standing at the door. They quickly stepped aside to make way for Qin Ming.

Qin Ming knocked on the door, and a gentle voice came from inside. "Come in."

Xue Qinghe sat inside.

Today he was wearing the Crown Prince's everyday robes, white and gold, with subtle patterns embroidered on the cuffs. His hair was neatly tied up, and he looked clean and tidy.

Seeing Qin Ming enter with his men, he stood up and took two steps to greet them, a perfectly timed smile on his face.

"Teacher Qin Ming, I've long admired you."

"Your Highness, you're too kind." Qin Ming bowed and stepped aside to let the Imperial Fighting Team pass. "These are the members of the Imperial Fighting Team: Yu Tianheng, Dugu Yan, Osler, Yu Feng, Shi Mo, Shi Mo, Ye Lingling, and Lin Qingchen."

Xue Qinghe's gaze swept across everyone's faces, neither too fast nor too slow, but when it fell on Lin Qingchen, he nodded slightly.

"You are all outstanding talents from the Heaven Dou Royal Academy," Xue Qinghe said with a smile. "I heard three members of the Education Committee mention you while I was in the palace. Today I finally get to meet you in person. Indeed, seeing is believing."

"Your Highness flatters me," Yu Tianheng replied respectfully as the team leader.

Xue Qinghe turned her gaze to Lin Qingchen: "You're Lin Qingchen? The Education Commission said you reached level 30 at the age of ten. That's truly remarkable."

"Just lucky," Lin Qingchen said.

"Luck is also part of strength, and talent can't be explained by luck alone." Xue Qinghe smiled. "Play well in today's competition. I'm watching from up here. Don't let the three education committee members down."

"Alright, I won't keep you from preparing any longer." Xue Qinghe waved his hand. "Teacher Qin, I'll talk to you again after the competition."

"I will be at your service at any time, Your Highness."

Upon exiting the rest area, Yu Feng was the first to speak, "His Highness the Crown Prince seems quite amiable. I thought all members of the royal family were like Xue Beng."

"Xue Beng is a spoiled brat, the Crown Prince is the heir apparent, how can they be the same?" Yu Tianheng said. "But on this occasion, even if he's unhappy inside, he'll be all smiles. Don't actually think he's easy to talk to. These members of the royal family are all born actors."

He felt a pang of emotion, realizing that it wasn't just the royal family; even within their own Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, there were quite a few people like that.

Lin Qingchen walked at the back of the group and did not participate in the discussion.

He had just noticed a detail: when Xue Qinghe scanned all the members of the Imperial Fighting Team, his gaze lingered on each person for almost the same amount of time, except for him, where it lingered for less than a second longer.

This detail was so small that probably no one present except Lin Qingchen noticed it.

But he knew in his heart that Xue Qinghe had seen all the team members' information and probably had his eye on him for a long time.

Qian Renxue...

From any perspective, Qian Renxue is a troublesome person, not only herself but also the people behind her.

The emotional entanglement with Bibi Dong, the bunch of old guys in the Worship Hall, and that incredibly abstract plan...

Lin Qingchen sighed inwardly, "They're probably up to no good..."