Chapter 48: Two Monsters

Chapter 48 Two Monsters

Within the public martial arts chamber, Qin Feng was utterly immersed in the extreme cultivation of the Imperial Body-Forging Technique.

Sweat drenched his clothes time and again, only to be dried repeatedly by the rising steam radiating from the surface of his skin.

The vast yet gentle energy of the mid-grade psionic elixir, acting like a most loyal quartermaster, manifested with perfect timing whenever his body teetered on the brink of its limits, repairing damage, replenishing exhaustion, and steadily driving the very essence of his life toward a loftier plane.

Time, amidst such absolute concentration, slipped away with incredible swiftness.

Qin Feng discovered that after achieving the introductory level of the Imperial Meditation Technique, it became remarkably easy for him to enter this legendary state known as flow.

The flow state was a term Qin Feng had found through his research.

In this condition, time seemed to fly past, and one's entire heart and soul were fully invested.

Yet above the flow state, Qin Feng had also uncovered the existence of an epiphany state, much like the experience during his previous battle with Zhou Yu.

The epiphany state was not merely a total investment of mind and soul, but an occasion where both spirit and flesh ran entirely in a state of overclocking!

It was a rare grace to be encountered, never sought!

Sunk deep beneath the flow state, Qin Feng remained completely absorbed in his cultivation.

In the blink of an eye, noon had already arrived.

...

The First Cafeteria of Qiming First Advanced Martial Arts High School.

It was the height of the lunch rush, and the vast hall bustled with a clamor of voices as tens of thousands of first-year students gathered to replenish the energy drained by their morning training.

Qin Feng, Qian Duoduo, and Shi Potian met here as they always did.

The three of them approached a row of automated meal dispensers gleaming with a metallic sheen.

Qin Feng reached out and lightly tapped his wrist terminal against the scanner zone of the dispenser.

"Beep—"

A distinctive, crisp, and pleasant chime rang out.

The light screen atop the machine instantly shifted from the blue that signified a D-class contract to the red that symbolized a C-class contract.

[C-class contract authenticated. Preparing your C-class customized nutritional meal...]

In the next second, a lunch entirely distinct from all the surrounding trays was delivered steadily before Qin Feng via the conveyor belt.

It was no longer a simple meal of synthetic meat patties and algal nutrient paste.

It was, in every true sense of the word, a feast.

The tray was crafted from smooth, warm white jade porcelain, holding a piece of exotic beast leg meat weighing a full two pounds, meticulously prepared with a secret sauce and exuding a rich, wondrous aroma;

A vibrant salad tossed from dozens of rare vegetables and fungi, brilliant with color;

And a bowl of thick, golden porridge, resembling nectar and jade broth, which had been simmered for several hours with astral rice and various medicinal herbs.

Merely breathing in the drifting fragrance was enough to whet the appetite and make one's mouth water.

This starkly different nutritional meal, like a massive boulder cast into a placid lake, instantly stirred a thousand waves among the students waiting in line nearby.

Everyone's gaze, by sheer instinct, converged upon Qin Feng and his tray.

First came bewilderment, followed by shock, and finally, it transformed into an undisguisable envy and astonishment.

"Is that... a C-class nutritional meal?! Am I seeing things?"

"The red tray, and that exotic beast leg meat... that is absolutely a privilege only enjoyed with a C-class contract!"

"My god! Someone in our first-year class has actually managed to secure a C-class contract already?!"

"Who is it? Who is that guy? How come I've never seen him around the school before?"

"Too fast! It's only been a little over a month since school started! A hundred merit points... how did he do it?"

Whispers spread through every corner of the cafeteria like an encroaching tide.

Everyone knew exactly what a C-class contract implied.

It was not merely an extravagantly abundant pool of resources, but the school's highest endorsement of a student's talent and diligence! It was the most direct hallmark separating a genius from a top-tier genius!

Because Qin Feng, Qian Duoduo, and Shi Potian had spent the past month moving almost exclusively between the dorm, the martial arts chamber, and the cafeteria, rarely participating in other campus activities, the majority of the students had only heard his name without ever seeing his face.

Just as the crowd was rife with speculation, a student from First-Year Class Three finally recognized Qin Feng.

His eyes widened, and he cried out in a lost voice:

"It's Qin Feng! Qin Feng from our class! He actually got a C-class contract!"

This startled cry acted like a final detonator.

With a resounding boom, the atmosphere of the entire cafeteria was thoroughly ignited.

"Qin Feng? I think he was the top scorer in individual subjects and the one who made the most progress."

"That's right, Qin Feng is that monster who got a perfect score in the combat simulation, leading the runner-up by nearly three hundred points!"

"So it's him! I heard he's a spear technique master recognized by Professor Gu Yue!"

"A C-class contract so soon, what a true monster."

Noisy discussions echoed across the cafeteria.

Faced with this massive wave of attention that could easily make any youth swell with pride, Qin Feng's face showed not the slightest ripple of emotion.

He simply carried his tray and, under the watch of countless eyes, walked calmly alongside Shi Potian and Qian Duoduo to the corner where they usually sat, taking a seat.

"Tsk tsk, Qin Feng, you're bound to be famous now."

Qian Duoduo smacked his lips in envy, gnawing on his own D-class synthetic meat patty while staring at the sizzling, oily exotic beast leg meat on Qin Feng's tray.

Shi Potian also wore a smile, genuinely happy for his brother. "The mindset matters most. Guard against arrogance and impatience, and keep working hard."

Qin Feng smiled, picked up his utensils, and began to enjoy his lunch.

The exotic beast meat melted the moment it touched his tongue, turning into streams of vital energy far more pure and easily absorbed than the mid-grade psionic elixir, rapidly replenishing the immense exhaustion brought on by his extreme morning cultivation.

"By the way, Fatty Duoduo."

Qin Feng swallowed a mouthful of meat and looked at Qian Duoduo, "Around when is that Qiming League tournament you mentioned before supposed to be held?"

"Oh, that,"

Qian Duoduo's intelligence radar activated instantly, "According to the convention of previous years, it's generally held in the final week of the third month after the semester starts. Counting the days, there's probably a little less than two months left."

"Close to two months..."

Qin Feng nodded and asked again, "If my vitality index is about to break through 10.0 by that time, should I freeze my rank and participate as a first-year freshman, or should I advance directly to a rank-two martial artist?"

"If I advance to rank two, wouldn't I have to fight those older students from the second and third years? If that's the case, aiming for a good ranking might prove difficult."

This was indeed a question that required forethought.

"Hahaha, you are overthinking it!"

Upon hearing this, Qian Duoduo could not help but burst into laughter.

He shoveled the remaining food from his tray in a couple of bites, wiped his mouth, and explained:

"How could the school possibly set such an unreasonable rule? The Qiming League is divided into two parts: the 'Freshman Tournament' and the 'Veteran Tournament.'"

"The Freshman Tournament, as the name suggests, is only open to new students enrolled that year. No matter whether your Vitality Index is below 10.0, or has already reached 15, 20, or even 100, as long as you are a new student enrolled this year, you must participate in the Freshman Tournament."

"As for the Veteran Tournament, it is open to students who have been enrolled for more than a year. Sophomores and juniors clash in a chaotic melee, with geniuses emerging frequently and monsters everywhere. Because the first-place winner of the Veteran Tournament earns the title of Qiming Star General, which grants significant advantages in the interview for Starry Sky Martial Arts University. So there are even monsters who deliberately keep their Vitality Index at 30 and refuse to graduate, just to claim the title of Qiming Star General."

"I see."

Upon hearing this, Qin Feng nodded slightly and breathed a sigh of relief.

That way, he didn't have to worry about anything.

He just needed to focus single-mindedly in the coming days, frantically raising his Vitality Index as high as possible.

The stronger he became, the greater his chances of achieving good results in the Freshman Tournament.

"Fatty, how do you know all this?"

Shi Potian, standing nearby, also asked curiously.

Even he had only heard bits and pieces of this information, far from the detailed knowledge Qian Duoduo possessed.

Qian Duoduo puffed out his chest proudly, then looked at Qin Feng and Shi Potian as if they were aliens.

"Seriously, you two—don't you ever browse the campus forum?"

"Campus forum?"

Qin Feng and Shi Potian exchanged a glance, both wearing identical, bewildered expressions.

Seeing them like this, Qian Duoduo pressed a hand to his forehead, looking utterly exasperated.

"My god... you two martial arts maniacs, how have you even survived until now?"

He cleared his throat and began to educate these "internet primitives."

"Do you remember? When Teacher Wu Shangfeng was on Gamma-7, didn't he adjust the permissions for all our subspace passes? That was when our 'affiliation' was officially transferred from our respective middle schools to Qiming First Martial Arts Senior High School."

"This so-called affiliation is like the 'files' or 'household registration' from the Dark Ages. The entire Human Empire relies on this vast affiliation system built on the subspace network, layer by layer, for governance. Otherwise, how could an empire spanning countless star walls and countless life-bearing planets achieve unity and efficient administration?"

"And as long as your affiliation is at a certain level—like ours at Qiming First High—you automatically gain access to that level's internal forum. Our school's forum is a treasure trove, full of all kinds of information, resources, gossip, and guides. Everything is there: the detailed terms of C-level contracts, the rules of the Qiming League, even which mentor specializes in what, the names of the beauties in each class, the school beauty rankings, the powerhouse rankings—everything!"

Qin Feng nodded thoughtfully, following Qian Duoduo's logic, and tentatively asked, "So that means Teacher Wu Shangfeng's own affiliation is also tied to Qiming First High?"

"Yes, but not entirely."

Qian Duoduo explained, "A martial artist can have multiple affiliations. Teacher Wu's affiliation definitely includes Qiming First High, but he might also hold positions elsewhere—like a guest elder for some merchant caravan, or a titular professor at a power armor research institute, or even an officer in an extreme battle group. All of these form affiliations."

"I understand."

"Right. So your affiliations have long been transferred, and your forum access has been open for a while. Take some time to browse, read some posts—it won't do you any harm."

Qian Duoduo said, then couldn't help but look them up and down with an expression of utter bewilderment.

"I still can't figure it out. When you log into the subspace network, besides playing in the Imperial Arena, what else do you do? That forum button—it's so big, so bright, right next to the arena icon—have you never even noticed it?"

"No."

Qin Feng and Shi Potian exchanged another knowing glance, then shook their heads in unison, honestly.

For two pure martial arts maniacs like them, the subspace network was essentially the Imperial Arena.

Everything else was just clouds.

"..."

Qian Duoduo was completely speechless.

He could only raise both thumbs sincerely at them.

"Two monsters."

(End of chapter)