Chapter 119: Count It as I, Sun He, Owe You a Favor!

Chapter 119: Consider This a Favor Owed to You by Me, Sun He!

A year ago, he was merely a newly crowned king with a perfected killing technique.

A year later, he now stood at the pinnacle that every senior high student dreamed of—the peak of a third-rank martial artist—and had mastered two killing techniques at the "Mastery" realm!

This year's "Qiming Star General" might no longer hold any suspense.

A flicker of resolve flashed in Sun He's eyes.

He faced Qin Feng, and with solemnity and depth, bowed deeply.

"Junior Qin Feng, I, Sun He, have an impertinent request here, and I earnestly beg you to grant it!"

Seeing this, Qin Feng immediately stepped forward and helped him rise.

"Senior Sun He, what are you doing? Just speak your mind directly."

He was puzzled, completely unable to fathom Sun He's intent.

Sun He straightened himself, a trace of bitterness and earnestness on his face.

"I hope... you will take the initiative to arrange a duel with Feng Ruyun."

"Feng Ruyun?"

Qin Feng grew even more confused. "Why?"

He couldn't understand why Sun He would make such a strange request.

Sun He sighed and began to explain.

"Feng Ruyun is my best brother. Back in the senior tournament, I was secretly struck down and gravely wounded, nearly dying on the arena. It was he who, disregarding everything, stood up for me in the next match, beating that student from Golden Dragon Martial Arts High School to death, avenging me."

A glimmer of gratitude shone in his eyes.

"He is good in every way, except too proud. His goal has always been this year's 'Qiming Star General,' and for that, he prepared for three full years."

"But..."

Sun He's tone grew immensely heavy. "I know that because of your appearance, he no longer has any chance this year. If he continues to compete, he will only serve as your stepping stone, with no other outcome."

"This is not just about losing honor. More importantly, the application deadline for special admissions to the empire's top few interstellar martial arts universities is only three days away! If he participates in the school league, by the time it ends, the deadline will have long passed."

"And if he gives up the competition now and applies for graduation, with his strength as a third-rank martial artist and dual-perfected killing techniques, he is fully qualified to vie for a special admission spot!"

"I don't want him to waste an entire precious year for a 'Qiming Star General' he is destined not to obtain! For us martial artists, one year is enough to change too many things!"

"I tried to persuade him, but he wouldn't believe me."

Sun He's face was full of helplessness. "He thought I was belittling him, speaking up for you. So... I had to come and ask you to play the villain."

"Only you, by personally striking, can make him clearly see, before everyone, the insurmountable chasm between you. Only this can wake up that proud head of his!"

"Consider this... a favor owed to you by me, Sun He!"

After hearing this, Qin Feng fell silent.

He looked at Sun He's sincere and earnest eyes, and in his heart, he gained more respect for this open-minded and loyal senior.

Qin Feng thought for a moment, and finally nodded.

"Alright, I agree."

He agreed for three reasons.

First, Sun He's character was worth his help.

Second, he truly wanted to fight Feng Ruyun again.

It was to test the improvement in his strength over the past year, especially since last year he had suffered an "eight-second crushing defeat" at Feng Ruyun's hands.

"Thank you!"

Seeing his agreement, Sun He was overwhelmed with excitement and bowed deeply to him once more.

...

Qin Feng said no more. He directly opened his terminal, found Feng Ruyun's avatar in the private network list, and sent a duel request.

[Duel Request: Qin Feng requests a private domain match with Senior.]

On the other side, in the senior-exclusive gravity chamber, Feng Ruyun, drenched in sweat, received this message.

He was startled at first, then burst into uncontrollable laughter.

"Ha ha ha ha ha!"

Feng Ruyun's laughter was filled with contempt and a hint of irritation at being provoked.

He immediately recalled Sun He's earlier persuasion, which he had deemed "absurd."

And then he thought of the posts on the campus forum over the past few days, which praised Qin Feng as if he were a god, as if the "Qiming Star General" was already his for the taking.

"Fine... just fine."

A cold glint flashed in Feng Ruyun's eyes. "Everyone thinks I, Feng Ruyun, am a pushover?"

Displeased, a thought arose in his mind.

He wanted to win, and win brilliantly! He would use an overwhelming victory to tell Sun He and everyone else how laughable their judgment was!

He immediately found two other equally renowned names in his friend list.

[Feng Ruyun to Li Daoyi: Daoyi, free? One hour. Last year's new king, too arrogant, challenged me.]

[Feng Ruyun to Zhao Wuji: Wuji, come to my room.]

After doing this, he directly posted a public message on Qiming No.1 High School's public channel.

[Feng Ruyun: One hour later, private domain battle room 334455, accepting the challenge from sophomore junior Qin Feng. All are welcome to watch.]

This message was like a detonated nuclear bomb.

The entire campus forum of Qiming No.1 High School instantly exploded!

The storm that had just calmed for three days swept through the campus again with even greater ferocity and violence!

[Damn! Damn! Damn! Is this for real?! Senior Feng Ruyun is going to have a public duel with Senior Qin Feng?!]

[A battle of the century! This is practically the early preview of this year's "Qiming Star General" finals!]

[What is Senior Feng trying to do? Public execution? That's too ruthless!]

[It must be Qin Feng who challenged first! He wants to prove himself early! So gutsy!]

Countless students—whether eating, resting, or training—upon seeing this message, immediately dropped everything and flooded into the announced viewing room!

Freshmen wanted to witness the strength of the unfamiliar senior.

Sophomores wanted to see how far that former nightmare had grown.

Seniors wanted to gauge the gap between themselves and the top-tier combatants through this fight.

Even many of the school's mentors, including Gu Yue and Wu Shangfeng, were drawn by this sudden, peak-level duel and entered the viewing channel.

For a moment, the winds and clouds converged.

The entire Qiming No.1 High School had its eyes fixed on that small, soon-to-open battle room.

A battle that has captured the attention of thousands is about to erupt!

Qiming No.1 High School, private network, battle room 334455.

When Qin Feng and Feng Ruyun's figures simultaneously appeared on that arena platform styled after the ancient Roman Colosseum, filled with an aura of iron blood and glory, the number of spectators in this room had skyrocketed to an unprecedented and terrifying figure—forty-seven thousand!

Almost every Qiming No.1 High School student currently online, no matter where they were or what they were doing, at that moment plunged their consciousness into this highly anticipated duel.

The bullet-screen area of the viewing channel, originally meant for chatting, was now completely overwhelmed by an endless torrent of scrolling text, the refresh rate so fast that the naked eye could not distinguish a single word.

The entire channel was clearly divided into several distinct "opinion zones."

The freshmen discussion area.

Here, there was curiosity, admiration, and a hint of bewilderment.

"Here it comes! Finally starting! This is my first time seeing Senior Feng Ruyun in action!"

"Senior Feng Ruyun is one of the acknowledged strongest in our Qiming No.1 High! I heard his vitality index broke 30.0 long ago—he's a true third-level martial artist! So powerful!"

"The one opposite him... is that the legendary Senior Qin Feng? He looks... nothing special?"

"Don't talk nonsense! I heard from the sophomores that this Senior Qin Feng was the freshman king of the previous year, an absolute monster! His experience upon enrollment is like a legendary novel!"

"Really? Then who is stronger, him or Senior Feng Ruyun?"

"Do you even need to ask? Definitely Senior Feng Ruyun! He's the face of the senior year! Senior Qin Feng may be a legend, but he's only been training for less than two years—how could he possibly beat Senior Feng?"

"Exactly! I bet on Senior Feng to win! He'll finish the fight within three minutes!"

For these freshmen who had been enrolled for less than four months, the name "Feng Ruyun" represented the very pinnacle of the campus pyramid they could look up to.

Meanwhile, "Qin Feng" was more like a distant "god" living in legends and the words of upperclassmen, having disappeared for a whole year.

They preferred to believe in the tangible, visible strength they had witnessed themselves.

Compared to the freshmen's fearless ignorance, the sophomores were far more complex.

Their emotions were a mix of anticipation, tension, excitement, and deep reverence for the "nightmare" that had loomed over them for an entire year.

"He's here! He really came back! That man is actually challenging the apex of the senior year!"

"My legs are still trembling. A year ago, I saw him in the cafeteria, teaching Tie Lin a lesson with one strike of his staff, making him completely convinced! That scene, I'll never forget it in my life!"

"Not just Tie Lin—every single one of our year was shocked by him. I remember my practical score was 120, and his was 500."

"And there's a rumor that he got 500 only because the full score was 500."

"What do you think? How much has he grown in this year? Can he really beat Senior Feng Ruyun?"

"I don't know... hard to say... If it were anyone else, I'd say impossible. But he's Qin Feng... that man is specifically made to break common sense and impossibilities!"

"That's right! I'll always believe in God Qin! He can definitely create a miracle! I bet on him to win!"

"Damn! You're that stubborn? His opponent is Feng Ruyun! A guy with dual perfected killing techniques! I also hope Senior Qin Feng wins, but reason tells me it's too hard. I bet... Senior Qin Feng can last more than five minutes!"

They were witnesses to Qin Feng's rise, and also the generation that suffered the most from his "overwhelming lead."

They understood better than anyone Qin Feng's "unreasonableness," and therefore, more than anyone, they looked forward to a subversive outcome from this seemingly impossible challenge.

(End of chapter)