High Martial Arts: Grinding for the Supreme Talent

Chapter 251: Chapter 251: Taking Stock

The stands of Azure Sky Martial Arts Academy were in an uproar.

"Brother Qi is a badass!!"

The thousand or so people from the Azure Sky Sixth Institute erupted, shouting in unison.

"That’s a Little Divine Power! What Teacher Jia said was true!" Jiangtao exclaimed excitedly.

"I knew Brother Qi could master a Little Divine Power!"

"Brother Qi is just too damn awesome!" Guo Heng couldn’t help but add.

He had originally thought Lin Qi was guaranteed to lose. The outcome, however, defied everyone’s expectations. Lin Qi hadn’t just won; he had achieved victory by soundly defeating Han Zhen.

It was a solid victory, with no trace of luck involved.

The others were also amazed. Lin Qi had once again shattered their understanding of what was possible, even defeating a genius from the Tenth Institute.

Was there anything he couldn’t do?!

In a corner of the audience stands.

Li Qing and Wang Zixuan exchanged a look. Li Qing swallowed hard and said,

"This..."

"Our little junior brother is just too incredible! He can even beat a genius from the Tenth Institute!"

"If I’m not mistaken, that was a Little Divine Power, right?"

Wang Zixuan also blinked hard, clearly shaken. "Our little junior brother is a huge celebrity now. I bet students from all over the country, from every Martial Arts University, will know his name."

...

Down in the arena, Lin Qi was not teleported back to the stands.

The surrounding ruins and broken walls all began to dissipate, replaced by a golden pedestal. The Little Divine Power active on his body was terminated, and all his pain and injuries were healed.

His stamina was also completely restored. The battle he had just experienced felt like a hallucination.

Xu Wenji’s figure shrank and appeared before Lin Qi. In his hands, a trophy of pure burnished gold slowly materialized.

Engraved upon it was a handsome image of him in his Combat Suit, holding a spear in one hand.

"Student Lin Qi, congratulations on defeating Han Zhen and taking the champion’s title."

"Please, share your champion’s speech!"

Xu Wenji said kindly as he handed the trophy to Lin Qi, his satisfaction with the young man growing the more he looked at him.

Lin Qi accepted the trophy and looked around at the audience, which numbered nearly two million people.

His expression was calm, but inwardly, he was a little excited, because he knew the champion’s rewards would be extremely generous.

The National Freshman Tournament, which had lasted five days, had finally come to a close.

As a seeded contestant, he had joined in the fourth round and fought his way through every challenge.

Mao Jia, Gong Hui, Wei Peng, Liang Yuxin, Li Hanjiang, Han Zhen...

Not a single one of the opponents he had defeated was weak.

He looked out at everyone and finally, slowly, began to speak:

"This championship is just the beginning!"

"I am worthy of this title!"

CLAP! CLAP! CLAP!

Just two short sentences, but they displayed his powerful confidence, causing the audience to erupt into thunderous applause once more.

In the Azure Sky Martial Arts Academy stands, Huo Wanyang, Ao Feng, Duan Chuchu, and the others were also applauding.

He was just too strong.

Everyone had been thoroughly convinced of Lin Qi’s power.

From now on, among his peers, aside from the geniuses of the Tenth Institute, Lin Qi had no rivals.

...

After the brief award ceremony, the National Freshman Tournament officially drew to a close.

Lin Qi returned to the spectator area for the Azure Sky Sixth Institute.

"Brother Qi, you’re a badass!"

Jiangtao came over, shouting with a wide grin as a crowd gathered around Lin Qi to celebrate.

...

「Ten minutes later.」

In the Martial Arts Room, Lin Qi slowly stepped out of the Virtual Cabin.

He pressed his temples, feeling a bit weary. Fighting against experts one after another had taken a huge toll on his Spirit.

He glanced at the time: 13:50.

Several hours had passed since the competition began at eight in the morning.

"Little Chan, order me a Level 4 Nutritional Meal!"

"Right away, Master!" a projection of the Little Blue-robed Xiaochan appeared.

Lin Qi consumed a tube of High-Level Enhancement Potion, sat down cross-legged, and projected his panel to review his performance.

His improvement from the consecutive battles with experts was significant. He focused his gaze on the panel.

[You battled against top-level geniuses Li Hanjiang and Han Zhen. Your mastery of Spear Technique has increased from the intense battle. Spear Technique +5%.]

[You battled against top-level geniuses Li Hanjiang and Han Zhen. Your Body Technique has improved. Body Technique +5%.]

[Spear Technique: Tier Three 13% → 18%]

[Body Technique: Tier Three 4% → Tier Three 9%]

...

’Dean Liu was right. Clashing intensely with other geniuses really does significantly improve one’s Martial Arts Skills.’

’My progress these past few days has been greater than my progress over the last few months.’

Lin Qi looked at the notifications on his panel, very satisfied.

He clenched his fist. The one who had really put pressure on him was Han Zhen.

’Han Zhen’s physical constitution is similar to mine, maybe even a little weaker, but his special Power and Saber Technique Secret Manual are much stronger than mine.’

’That special Power imbues even his Ordinary Techniques with immense destructive force, and the Silver Level Saber Technique Secret Manual gives him a much richer set of options in a fight.’

’If it weren’t for my Heart Eye Talent, I probably would have lost to Han Zhen long ago.’

’I’ve already reached the Perfection Realm in all three of my Spear Technique Secret Manuals: *Mountain Splitting*, *Meteor*, and *Vajra*. It’s time to start learning a Silver Level Secret Manual.’

Lin Qi noted this down on his panel.

On the last line, he wrote: Little Divine Power!

’*Vajra Transformation* is even more powerful than I imagined. Once I use it, my physical constitution explodes, and I can defeat Han Zhen relying on pure physical strength alone.’

’It’s a pity the Virtual World can’t display the full power of a Little Divine Power.’

Lin Qi sighed to himself. Using the Little Divine Power was potent, but it could only be simulated to ninety percent of its real strength.

Even so, it was enough for him to crush any opponent.

’I can’t get arrogant. Han Zhen had his Special Ability disabled.’

’If there were no restrictions and I fought him while using my Little Divine Power, I wouldn’t necessarily be the one to win.’

After this brief summary, he took out his phone while waiting for lunch and began replying to messages.

...

「North River Province, Black Dragon War Base」

This was the absolute front line of North River Province’s defense against the Calamity Beast invasion.

Inside a spacious hall, hundreds of white Virtual Cabins were arranged.

Many tall, burly Martial Artists exuding a thick killing intent came and went.

WHIRRR!!

A Virtual Cabin slowly opened, and Mu Hong, dressed in a black fitted suit, stepped out.

"It’s Blood Shadow Spear Mu Hong!"

"He’s a celebrity here at the Black Dragon Base. A Seventh Realm master. I hear he has a chance of breaking through to become an Eighth Realm Martial Artist."

The people nearby began to discuss in hushed tones when they saw Mu Hong.

"Old Mu!"

A burly man exuding a terrifying aura approached from a short distance away, his voice deep and resonant.

"Old Mu, what brings you to the Red Realm?"

The two of them walked out of the hall together, striding down a steel corridor that showed its age.

Meanwhile, two metallic spheres of different colors followed closely behind them.

Mu Hong said simply, "The National Freshman Tournament. My disciple made it to the finals, so I went to watch his last match."

"That impressive? Did he win the championship?" the burly man asked curiously.

"He’s the champion!" Mu Hong replied with a smile.

"Impressive! Congratulations on finding such a talented disciple!"

The burly man offered his congratulations. He had also participated in the National Freshman Tournament before, so he was well aware of its significance.

"I’m planning to return to the academy in a few days, and then I’ll prepare to break through to the Eighth Realm,"

Mu Hong said seriously.

The burly man listened and said, "We’ll be losing a powerful Seventh Realm master like you, but once you break through, you’ll be able to effectively reduce the pressure on our base."

WHOOSH~

The two arrived on a high platform where a cold wind buffeted them.

The ground was a vast expanse of white snow, with snowflakes drifting down upon a world of black steel.

RUMBLE!!

ROAR~~

At the same time, the roar of machinery and the bellows of Calamity Beasts echoed from the distance. It was the sound of an ongoing Calamity Beast Tide; there was never a moment of peace.

The burly man lit a cigarette, taking a drag and exhaling smoke as he lamented,

"I used to think that with decades of development, Blue Star’s overall Martial Arts strength had advanced by leaps and bounds, enough to withstand the invasion of the Otherworld Calamity Beasts."

"But in recent years, I’ve realized I was wrong!"

"The Otherworld’s offensive is growing more and more ferocious. The Calamity Beasts are endless, and High-Level Calamity Beasts are everywhere. We can’t kill them all."

"And we are far short on High Realm Martial Artists. We need more of them."

"Seventh Realm, Eighth Realm, Ninth Realm!"

"In the face of the Calamity Beasts’ powerful offensive, High Realm Martial Artists are the key."

"That’s why I hope the geniuses of our Blue Star, of our Xia Country, can grow up as quickly as possible."

Mu Hong nodded in agreement. He suddenly thought of his three disciples.

Li Qing and Wang Zixuan were both future prospects for the Seventh Realm, and they even had a chance to break through to the Eighth Realm.

As for Lin Qi, his most talented disciple, reaching the Eighth Realm was a certainty, and he even had a sliver of hope for the Ninth Realm.

They were all the future mainstays in the defense against the Calamity Beast invasion.

...

The National Freshman Tournament was over.

News of Lin Qi’s championship spread at an astonishing speed.

Across the Thirty-six Martial Arts Universities, sophomores, juniors, and even seniors about to graduate all learned that an astonishing genius had appeared at Azure Sky Martial Arts Academy.

「Evening.」

Azure Sky Sixth Institute, inside Villa No. 01.

Lin Qi’s villa was exceptionally lively. A large number of students from the Azure Sky Sixth Institute had crowded into the spacious living room.

All kinds of food were laid out: hot pot, barbecue, roasted meats, grilled fish, large pot stews...

Everything had been delivered from the cafeteria to the villa, and the air was filled with the fragrant aromas of the feast.

It wasn’t just students from the Sixth Institute. Contestants from various other institutes had also come to congratulate Lin Qi, including Huo Wanyang, Ao Feng, Duan Chuchu, Li Lei, and the twin sisters Ruan Qian and Ruan Yu.

"Lin Qi, congratulations on winning the championship!"

The burly Huo Wanyang raised his glass of baijiu with a smile. After clinking glasses with Lin Qi, he downed it in one go.

Seeing this, Lin Qi also drained his glass.

"Lin Qi, congratulations!" Ruan Qian raised a bottle of cola and also clinked it against his glass.

Lin Qi clinked glasses with everyone one by one.

As time passed, his relationship with the others grew closer.

After chatting for a while longer, a few of the contestants left.

Only the members of the Sixth Institute remained, continuing the celebration until 11 PM.

The crowd in the villa dispersed.

Only Lin Qi and Jiangtao were left, eating hot pot together.

"Brother Qi, congratulations on winning the championship!"

Jiangtao raised his cup of cola, clinked it against Lin Qi’s, and drained it before they both dug into the hot pot.

"Thanks to you winning the championship, Brother Qi, our Azure Sky Sixth Institute’s total Points ranked first."

"We still get the number one spot for Cultivation time."

"Plus, Brother Qi, since you won the championship, the rewards are definitely going to be huge."

Lin Qi nodded. The champion of the National Freshman Tournament, a competition among 1.5 million people—having won it all, the rewards were bound to be substantial. And his rewards should be credited to his account by tomorrow.

"But I need to step up my game too!" Jiangtao also felt the pressure.

He had made great strides in this National Freshman Tournament, but Lin Qi’s progress had been even faster.

He had to find a way to upgrade to an S-level Contract next, so he wouldn’t be left in the dust by Lin Qi.

...

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