Chapter 70: 3 Wins, 40 Losses

Chapter 70: 3 Wins, 40 Losses

In the cafeteria, Qin Feng quickly finished his C-grade nutritional meal.

The impact of his battle with Sun He was far more intense than any ranked match he had experienced before.

It was an all-encompassing, suffocating gap.

He did not return to his dormitory to rest, but instead turned around and went straight back to the first-class martial arts room, his consciousness entering the private domain of the Imperial Arena.

He planned to devote the entire afternoon to fighting in the private domain.

Without a moment's hesitation, he directly clicked [Start Matching].

Light and shadow shifted, and a new opponent appeared before him.

A burly senior student wielding a massive axe, with a life force index of 16.5.

The moment the battle began, the opponent made no attempt to probe; with a single step, the ground seemed to tremble, and he charged like an out-of-control heavy truck, bringing down his axe with overwhelming force.

Qin Feng’s pupils contracted sharply. He pushed the "Wandering Dragon" footwork to its limit, narrowly sliding to the side.

Yet the fierce wind pressure from the axe blade still scraped his armor, producing a piercing screech.

He tried to use his speed to circle and find an opening.

But against absolute power and a higher life force index, all his techniques proved futile.

The opponent’s axe style was bold and unrestrained, yet flawless; each swing sealed off all his escape routes.

Eight seconds later, Qin Feng was struck by the axe and sent flying like a kite with a broken string, losing the match.

[Battle Ended]

[Points -1]

He did not lose heart and immediately started a second match.

This time, his opponent was a female student with bizarre footwork wielding twin blades, life force index 15.9, and her killing technique realm was also at Grandmastery.

Her attacks were like quicksilver seeping into the ground, penetrating every gap. Qin Feng’s spear advantage was completely neutralized, and he was constrained in close-quarters combat.

He held out for nineteen seconds before his throat was slit by the twin blades, losing again.

[Battle Ended]

[Points -1]

Third match, fourth match, fifth match…

Throughout the entire afternoon, Qin Feng was like a piece of stubborn iron thrown into a forge, enduring relentless hammering from all directions, far beyond his own limits.

Almost all his opponents were senior students from the second year. Their life force indices ranged from a low of 15.0 to a high of nearly 20.0.

In terms of killing technique realm, Grandmastery was just the starting point; he even encountered a monster who had perfected the "Wind Tremor Fist."

Before that senior, Qin Feng felt as if he were facing an insurmountable wall.

The senior’s fist techniques had returned to simplicity, each move embodying profound principles, with no superfluous actions.

His proud "Flowing Light Chasing Shadows" and "A Thousand Troops Yield" crumbled under the senior’s seemingly ordinary punch.

That battle, he was instantly defeated.

Of course, he did not go completely winless.

After more than a dozen consecutive crushing defeats, the system seemed to finally take "pity" on him and matched him against Shi Potian.

Shi Potian had also been training hard, but he still lagged behind Qin Feng.

Qin Feng used "A Thousand Troops Yield" to deflect his long blade, then thrust his spear like a dragon, striking his opponent’s chest, ending the battle instantly.

[Battle Victory]

[Points +3]

He then matched against two more freshmen, winning both easily.

But whenever he was matched against a senior, Qin Feng was utterly dominated.

In one afternoon, he fought a total of forty-three high-intensity duels.

His record was a dismal 3 wins and 40 losses.

His private domain points fell to -31. The three victories were all against freshmen who, like him, had just been promoted.

Against all seniors, he had not a single win.

Yet in stark contrast to his dismal record, his killing technique proficiency skyrocketed.

[Thousand Troops Spear Proficiency +215]

This number shocked even himself.

It was far more than the proficiency he gained from a full day of ranked matches in the Imperial Arena!

Qin Feng quickly figured out the reason.

In the Imperial Arena’s ranked matches, for fairness, the life force indices of both combatants are locked at the same level.

The opponents matched are mostly of similar killing technique levels.

It feels like "a worthy opponent in a game of chess"—though progress can be made through the contest, the pressure is always manageable.

Unless one encounters those "point-chasing kids" whose rank and strength are severely mismatched, only then can one experience the extreme pressure of being crushed.

But the private domain of Qiming No. 1 High School is different.

Here, it is a lawless, dark forest where the strong prey on the weak.

Not locking the life force index means there is a vast chasm in all basic physical attributes—strength, speed, defense, reaction…

And the gap in killing technique levels is even more immense.

Qin Feng had to face opponents who surpassed him in every aspect: strength, speed, and technique.

He could no longer calmly set up, probe, and find openings like in ranked matches.

All he could do was strain his spirit to the breaking point, rack his brains, and think desperately to predict his opponent’s attacks, to figure out how to change moves at minimal cost, how to use the opponent’s force to deflect, how to use the "Wandering Dragon" footwork to find a sliver of hope amidst the storm of attacks.

What Qin Feng sought was no longer victory.

It was to hold out for one more second, two more seconds, three more seconds under these powerful seniors!

Every successful block, every desperate dodge, every counterattack created from a hopeless situation—each was like a profound brand, deeply etched into his combat instincts.

Under immense pressure, rapid improvement comes.

Of course, the price of such improvement is enormous consumption.

When Qin Feng withdrew from the subspace network, he felt a dizzying spin.

His body was not tired, but his mind was hit by an unprecedented, utterly drained weakness.

It was more exhausting than playing twenty-four standard hours of ranked matches.

"Right."

"Low-level mental recovery potion."

Qin Feng recalled that his C-level contract still included a lower-grade mental recovery potion; back then, Mentor Gu Yue had told him he could use it to restore his spirit after intense Imperial Arena rankings.

Wasn’t this the perfect moment?

Qin Feng returned to his dormitory, took a vial of the lower-grade mental recovery potion, and silently consumed it.

A clear stream surged into his mind, soothing his weary consciousness.

Soon, Qin Feng felt a refreshing clarity.

“It should last about half a month.”

Qin Feng’s eyes lit up.

That meant he could wage fierce battles in the private domain without restraint.

The potion was issued once a month, but he hadn’t used last month’s; now, after using one, he still had one left.

“Push harder—aim to break into the top ten thousand of the sophomore private domain points ranking within a month!”

“Keep it up!”

Qin Feng calculated his rate of progress and felt it was very possible to reach the top ten thousand within a month.

Even if he had to participate in the Qiming School League, it wouldn’t hinder his private domain combat practice.

……

(End of chapter)