On the third day of the ranking competition, in the afternoon.
The referee on the stage raised his hand expressionlessly.
"Wang Zhan is victorious!"
"Thanks for the match." Wang Zhan helped his opponent up from the ground.
"I’m afraid you really will become the number one contender through consecutive wins this time," said the 11th-ranked contestant as he left with a bitter smile.
As soon as Wang Zhan stepped down from the stage, Cheng Shu eagerly came over.
"Brother Zhan, you’re okay, right?"
At this point in the ranking competition, his opponents were no longer as weak as before. On the stage just now, Wang Zhan, for the sake of a quick victory, had repeatedly traded injuries.
"I’m fine." Wang Zhan waved his hand. With his physical strength, although being hit would hurt, it would be difficult for him to be substantially injured.
Wang Zhan opened his attribute panel.
Strength: 605 ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ N0veI.Fiɾe.net
All three main attributes are around 600, which exceeds the limit of ordinary level 4 Martial Artists. Not bad.
Over the last three days, with extensive real combat during the day and consumption of Mixed Essence Pills like they were free at night, Wang Zhan’s attribute points progressed quickly.
Compared to when he first joined the competition two days ago, he had slimmed down significantly but gained a few kilos of weight.
This is the result of body refining to its limit. When he increases his attribute points to the maximum value of 700, his body will shrink further.
After that, it would only be when he broke through to become a level 4 Martial Artist that his body would return to its earlier robust state.
"Let’s go to the canteen for a meal first, and then start challenging the top ten opponents in the afternoon." Wang Zhan left the Training Ground with Cheng Shu.
On the way to the canteen, Wang Zhan noticed that quite a few people were watching him secretly, while some were openly pointing and whispering.
"What are these people saying about me on the forum again?" Wang Zhan had a feeling that he had become the topic of students’ gossip.
Cheng Shu, however, didn’t find it strange. "Brother Zhan, the forum has been arguing over you for three days. A lot of people think you’re going overboard, slapping the entire second grade in the face."
"They’re overthinking it; I just want academic credits." Wang Zhan didn’t even look up, wholly focused on his meal.
"But other people don’t know that," Cheng Shu said with a smile.
"Don’t mind them. Let’s finish eating quickly. The tenth-ranked opponent has already responded." Wang Zhan had just received a reply on his personal terminal.
After quickly finishing their lunch, Wang Zhan eagerly rushed to the first Training Ground.
He also found that as soon as he left the canteen, the other students there also followed him.
"What are these people following us for?" Wang Zhan was taken aback.
"To watch the fight, of course," Cheng Shu said. "There are no other fights scheduled for this afternoon, so they’re planning to watch yours."
"They like to watch the show that much?"
"This isn’t just any regular show. A new student, only two months into the school year, achieving a hundred straight victories to become first in the second grade—this is something that might not happen again for many years. No one wants to miss it."
Wang Zhan shook his head resignedly. "Fine, if they want to follow, let them."
「The first Training Ground.」
It was now occupied by thousands of students. The surrounding viewing seats were unusually packed; some, unable to find space, were even standing on high walls or in trees, telescopes in hand, waiting.
When Wang Zhan arrived, the entrance was filled with students.
This... Seeing the sea of people in the Training Ground, Wang Zhan was at a loss for words.
However, just as he was hesitating about how to enter, someone suddenly shouted, "Wang Zhan is here! Make way for President Wang!"
Following the voice, many students turned their heads.
Immediately, a path leading into the arena opened up before Wang Zhan.
Wang Zhan and Cheng Shu looked at each other, wondering if these people had really gone to such lengths just to watch the show.
Passing through the crowd, Wang Zhan arrived at the first stage.
After waiting for a few minutes, a familiar figure also appeared on the stage.
"Lv Qing? You’re ranked tenth?" Wang Zhan was a bit surprised, as he hadn’t paid attention to the rankings before and didn’t notice who he was challenging.
"Don’t you look at the battle information?" Lv Qing looked momentarily taken aback, surprised by Wang Zhan’s reaction.
Wang Zhan shook his head slightly. "I didn’t pay much attention; I’m a little pressed for time. Let’s start."
Wang Zhan looked towards the referee.
Just as the referee was about to speak, Lv Qing suddenly said, "Wait, I give up."
"Huh? Why are you surrendering?" Wang Zhan asked, puzzled. "If it’s because of what happened before, there’s no need. You don’t have to take it to heart."
Wang Zhan thought that Lv Qing was deliberately surrendering because he had previously saved her in the wilderness.
Lv Qing laughed. "I know I’m not your match, and besides, I really want to see you make it to the top. So, I don’t want to waste your energy needlessly. Good luck in the fights to come! I’ve joined your cheer squad, so don’t disappoint me."
After finishing her speech, Lv Qing lightly jumped off the stage. After waving at Wang Zhan a couple of times, she gracefully slipped into the crowd and vanished. "Wait, what cheer squad?" Wang Zhan was confused.
However, Lv Qing’s immediate admission of defeat did save Wang Zhan a lot of trouble, and he quickly began to arrange a match with his next opponent.
On a spectator stand at the outer edge of the first Training Ground, one man and two women occupied nearly ten seats. Though people were crowded all around, no one dared to approach them.
They were all dressed in combat suits, but their suits were stained with blood, and many places were already damaged.
Beyond that, all three looked disheveled, their faces smudged with dirt and grime. The woman in the middle was even bandaged.
"Aren’t they seniors? Seniors don’t participate in ranking competitions, so why would they care about what’s happening here?"
"It seems like they just returned from the wilderness. They carry such a heavy killing intent."
"Seniors don’t have ranking competitions. Did they also hear about Wang Zhan and come back to watch?"
The continuous chatter didn’t distract the trio of seniors, who remained focused on the ongoing battle.
When they saw Wang Zhan easily win again, the woman in the middle suddenly chuckled.
"Zhou Yi, if you were to fight Wang Zhan, do you think you could win?"
Zhou Yi was startled. "Qi, are you serious? He may be capable, but he’s only a level 3 Martial Artist. He still has a long way to go."
Wang Qi neither affirmed nor denied, instead turning to the woman next to her.
"What do you think, Yue?"
Xin Yue replied with an emotionless face, "We won’t know until we fight, but he certainly isn’t a match for you, Qi."
Zhou Yi also nodded. "Qi, you’re already a level 7 Martial Artist, and you’ve broken your limits with each advancement. Naturally, that kid’s strength can’t compare to yours."
Wang Qi smiled and nodded, her gaze fixed on Wang Zhan. She then casually asked, "The school called us senior students back, so something important must be happening. If you two find this dull, you can head off first. I plan to watch this ranking competition to the end."
"Qi, you seem quite interested in that Wang Zhan. I heard he was the top scorer in Chu State’s College Entrance Examination, second in the Federation. He certainly has some abilities. But surely you’re not *that* interested in a greenhorn like him, Qi?" Zhou Yi asked, puzzled.
Wang Qi just shook her head without explaining further and said, "When he finishes his fight, I’ll go up there and teach him a lesson."
"Qi? You?" Zhou Yi and Xin Yue both stared, their eyes wide in surprise.
「Meanwhile, on the stage.」
"Military Way Killing Fist!"
Wang Zhan’s aura suddenly erupted, his boundless killing intent directly enveloping Su Wanying, the contender ranked seventh.
Su Wanying’s face drained of color at a speed visible to the naked eye, becoming extremely pale in the blink of an eye.
And just as she was stunned by the killing intent, Wang Zhan’s figure had already appeared in front of her.
All Su Wanying felt was a gust of cold wind. By the time she came to her senses, Wang Zhan’s hand was already around her neck.
"COUGH, COUGH..." Su Wanying struggled a bit, only to find that Wang Zhan’s grip was extraordinarily strong.
"Senior Sister, you’ve lost." Wang Zhan let go, saying with an innocent expression, "Senior Sister, I’ve kept my promise to fight you. You can stop trying to add me as a friend now."
Regaining her composure from the killing intent, Su Wanying shot Wang Zhan a resentful look before jumping off the stage.
This is too humiliating.
Since being unfriended by Wang Zhan yesterday, she had persisted in sending many friend requests, even leaving messages threatening to make Wang Zhan pay.
However, when she finally faced off against Wang Zhan, she couldn’t even last ten minutes.
Strange. This kid wasn’t this formidable just a couple of days ago. Was he hiding his strength? Su Wanying mused.
After defeating Su Wanying, Wang Zhan had not yet left the stage when someone from the opposing side voluntarily jumped up.
"Wang Zhan, it’s been a while," Xu Junyuan greeted with a smile.
"Uh... you’re number six." Wang Zhan nodded. "You came up quickly. Very considerate, knowing my schedule is tight."
With that single sentence, Xu Junyuan was left speechless, all his prepared words stuck in his throat.
"Today, I’m here to clear my name," Xu Junyuan said. "Though the chance doesn’t seem great, I have to at least try. Do you want to take a break to recover?"
"No need. I’ll rest after I defeat you."
Xu Junyuan nodded, quickly finalized the match agreement with Wang Zhan, and then signaled the referee to start the match.
The moment the referee’s raised hand fell, Xu Junyuan charged at Wang Zhan.
"Last time, I underestimated you. This time, I won’t hold back at all!"
A fierce gust of wind erupted, carrying Xu Junyuan’s figure at a speed almost impossible to capture with the naked eye.
"Wind Breaking Palm!"
In the blink of an eye, Xu Junyuan reached Wang Zhan. With a single palm strike, Wang Zhan felt an immediate and fatal threat.
Indeed, the Wind Breaking Palm is much stronger in close combat! Wang Zhan tensed and hastily dodged.
The sound of breaking wind echoed like a sonic boom next to Wang Zhan’s ear.
Behind him, the hard ground of the stage shattered, leaving a huge palm print.
So strong? Wang Zhan was taken aback.
"I haven’t been idle this past month," Xu Junyuan snorted. "Previously, I had just learned the Wind Breaking Palm, but it’s different now! Wang Zhan, this time you won’t defeat me so easily!"