Chapter 79: The Three Great Masters

Chapter 79: The Three Masters

The light and shadow dissipated before his eyes, the familiar victory and defeat notifications of the Imperial Arena still echoing in his ears.

Qin Feng’s consciousness withdrew from the highly concentrated combat, returning to the grand and solemn reality of the "Arctic Crown" arena.

Five qualifying matches, three wins and two losses; his touch had completely warmed up, and his mental state had been adjusted to its absolute peak.

The moment he opened his eyes, he heard an uncontrollable exclamation of surprise from Qian Duoduo beside him.

"Found it!"

Qin Feng turned his head to see Qian Duoduo holding his wrist terminal, various streams of information densely listed on the virtual light screen, his face wearing an expression of excitement as if he had discovered a new continent.

Shi Potian was also drawn by the commotion and cast an inquiring glance.

"What are you doing? Making such a fuss."

"Intelligence! Crucial intelligence!"

Qian Duoduo lowered his voice, but the excitement in his tone was hard to conceal. "I’ve been scouring those hot threads on the Morning Star public martial arts forum just now, and I’ve finally dug up the few most troublesome, hard-to-crack nuts in this freshman tournament!"

He turned the light screen toward Qin Feng and Shi Potian, pointing to the first piece of information.

"Look at this one, Lei Yi, from 'Tianshu Martial Arts Advanced High School.' This guy was our session's top scorer in the high school entrance examination across the entire Morning Star! It is said that after enrollment, he was treated like a treasure by his school, with massive resources poured into him. Right now, his vitality index is conservatively estimated to be around 15.0. He uses dual-wielded short staffs, and the combat technique he practices is called 'Wind and Thunder Staff,' which is famous for its fierce, violent offenses and speed swift as wind and thunder. He has already cultivated this combat technique to the 'Minor Success' realm—and word is it’s not a newly broken-through Minor Success, but rather he has been at this realm for a long time, and might even be close to 'Major Success.' His strength is unfathomable, making him the absolute favorite to win this freshman tournament!"

Hearing this, Qin Feng pondered for a moment.

Is Major Success possible?

His own vitality index was currently over 14, and counting his passives, it was still steadily rising.

Meanwhile, his combat technique had reached Major Success long ago, with only a matter of time and effort separating him from Grand Completion.

"I should be able to defeat Lei Yi."

Qin Feng thought to himself, "If the information is accurate."

Qian Duoduo slid the light screen again, bringing up the second profile.

"This one, Shi Dang, from 'Galaxy Military Affiliated High School.' His entrance exam rank wasn't high, somewhere past one-thousandth place, making him a super dark horse that burst out of nowhere. The most exceptional thing about him is his lineage; it's said he possesses a partial inheritance of the Stone Race bloodline, granting him an inherently formidable physique and an abnormality in defensive power compared to ordinary people. He uses a broadsword, and his vitality index is unknown."

At this point, Qian Duoduo couldn't help but click his tongue in wonder. "By the way, his old man really is a character. The Stone Race, you know, they're just like rocks, yet he actually went through with... cough, well, didn't it hurt?"

"Get lost."

Shi Potian rolled his eyes and coldly cut him off. "There are countless races in the universe, and their ways of reproduction are bizarre and varied. The Stone Race is a classic example of 'Stone-Blood Reproduction,' where their core of life resides within their blood. When their blood combines with human blood under specific conditions, there is an extremely low probability of giving birth to a mixed-blood descendant. The Stone Race is considered one of the few alien humanoid races capable of producing offspring with humans, though a drop of blood every hundred years for a Stone person is indeed rare."

"Uh... is that so?"

Choked by the response, Qian Duoduo gave a sheepish smile. "Alright, treat it as if I didn't speak. Haha, let's keep looking at the third one."

He cleared his throat and pointed to the final profile.

"This third one is named Li Qing, from 'Golden Dragon Martial High.' Ranked fifth in the entrance exam, he is also a top-tier genius. His current vitality index is reportedly also at 15.0. His fighting style is very peculiar; the weapons he uses are throwing knives. He simultaneously practices two combat techniques: one is 'Basic Throwing Knives,' and the other is a movement technique called 'Phantom Steps.' The combination of these two techniques makes him exceptionally slippery, with an unpredictable and eerie footwork that is highly troublesome."

After introducing the three, Qian Duoduo summarized, "As things stand, in this freshman tournament, these three monsters possess a strength that tier-breaks ahead of everyone else. Aside from them, I’ve also dug up about a dozen individuals who require attention; their strength levels generally have reached 'Minor Success' in combat techniques, and their vitality indexes are all above 10.0, roughly on par with you, Old Shi."

Saying this, he suddenly turned to Shi Potian. "By the way, Old Shi, your combat technique should have reached the 'Minor Success' realm by now, right?"

"Two weeks ago, by a stroke of luck, Minor Success."

Shi Potian’s answer carried a trace of pride that was hard to notice.

To be able to cultivate a combat technique to the "Minor Success" realm within just over two months of enrollment was enough to be called a genius no matter where one went.

However, when his gaze swept past the calm face of Qin Feng beside him, that little bit of pride in his heart vanished instantly into thin air, leaving only the helpless inward curse of "freak."

He knew very well that the dozen or so so-called geniuses who, like him, had reached "Minor Success in combat technique" had likely, just like him, gambled the vast majority of their cultivation time and energy entirely into the practice of combat techniques to barely exchange for such a result.

But what about Qin Feng?

This monster had already achieved Minor Success in his combat technique during the first month’s monthly exam!

Comparing oneself to others could truly drive a person mad with jealousy.

Back when Shi Potian was stuck at his vitality index, the number of Imperial Arena qualifying matches he fought every day was several times that of Qin Feng, a Minor Success realm achieved purely by forcing his way through hard work.

...

Tianshu Martial Arts Advanced High School · Spectator Area

A young man with a lean, sharp physique and eyes as piercing as an eagle’s was quietly wiping the two dark-gold short staffs in his hands.

He was Lei Yi.

"Brother Lei, the championship of this freshman tournament is definitely already in your pocket!" "That’s natural! Brother Lei is our session's top scorer in the entrance exam. Looking across the entire Morning Star, who could be your opponent?"

"I checked the forum just now; the other schools don't have any freshmen worth mentioning at all. The big brother, Morning Star First High, hasn't leaked a single bit of news, so they probably don't have any powerful figures."

Lei Yi did not speak, only the motion of wiping his short staffs paused slightly.

His gaze crossed the spectator stands of tens of thousands of people, precisely projecting toward the direction of Morning Star First High, a confident arc curling at the corner of his mouth.

From the very beginning, his goal had been only one.

That was, the championship.

...

Galaxy Military Affiliated High School · Spectator Area

A youth with an exceptionally burly frame and skin showing a faint rock-gray color was leaning against his seat, eyes closed to rest his spirit.

He was Shi Dang.

Several seats around him were left empty; no one dared to approach easily.

That boulder-like body emitted a pressure that warned strangers to stay away.

Of course, the fact that no one conversed with him was not because he was strong, but rather due to the peculiar looks and viewpoints people held toward mixed-bloods and hybrid bloodlines.

His voice was low, like the grinding of rocks.

"First place..."

"Father said that my bloodline is a glory, not an impurity."

"I must take first place."

"..."

His fists tightened soundlessly, producing the sound of cracking knuckles.

Even within a military-affiliated high school, Shi Dang still received many cold shoulders.

However, he felt very fortunate—fortunate that he had applied to a military-affiliated high school instead of a private high school like Golden Dragon Martial High; otherwise, what he would have to endure wouldn't just be cold shoulders, but a myriad of rotten matters that would affect his cultivation.

If it was just cold shoulders, he didn't care!

As long as it didn't affect his cultivation, it was fine!

Although Shi Dang thought this way, his tightly clenched fists still indicated that he cared deeply about his bloodline.

...

Golden Dragon Martial High · Spectator Area

A young man with a handsome face and a faint, lingering smile always playing at the corner of his mouth was nimbly playing with several throwing knives as thin as cicada wings between his fingers.

He was Li Qing.

Unlike the aloofness of the other two, he was surrounded by a crowd of people, both male and female, clearly very popular, like stars clustering around the moon.

Jinlong Martial Arts High was a private martial arts school, and most of its applicants were "second-generation martial artists," with clear class divisions and frequent incidents of bullying.

"Brother Qing, you're too modest. Isn't this freshman tournament a sure win for you?"

A lavishly dressed girl looked at him with adoring eyes.

"That's not how you put it."

Li Qing smiled, the flying knife between his fingers darting like a butterfly. "Even a lion uses its full strength when hunting a rabbit. But..."

He shifted his tone, his gaze sweeping the arena. "I've looked around, and there's really no opponent that requires special attention. That Qiming No.1 High, so mysterious, hasn't leaked a single useful piece of information yet. But based on past years' experience, their students, though solid in fundamentals, are mostly a bit rigid—nothing to worry about."

The reason Qiming No.1 High was so information-tight was not because it lacked geniuses, but because its management style was completely different from all other schools.

There was no student council, no clubs, and certainly no student bored enough to post their classmates' information on public forums—at most, they'd lurk on the school's internal forum.

Qiming No.1 High was the strictest in academics, the toughest in school spirit, and the most insane in training atmosphere across the entire Qiming Star.

Every student here engaged in almost brutal self-exploitation to catch up with the footsteps of their predecessors.

Even a lazy dog like Qian Duoduo would become diligent under the influence and drive of the surrounding atmosphere.

(End of this chapter)