The uproar of the freshman tournament eventually came to a close.

After two days of intense and brutal competition, the final "Freshman King" crown was decisively claimed by a young man named Luo Yi from Star River Affiliated Middle School. He won with an aggressive, almost Iron Blood style, showing a complete disregard for injury.

This result gave many a glimpse into the terrifying Combat Will of students trained in military academies.

Yet, as the freshman tournament ended, the atmosphere throughout the Crown of the Arctic, instead of easing up in the slightest, grew even more solemn and oppressive.

Because the real main event—the upperclassman tournament—was about to begin.

On the huge central virtual screen, the chief referee’s serious face appeared again, his voice resounding throughout the arena.

"The upperclassman individual tournament is about to begin. Before we proceed, all competitors must sign the ’Imperial Inter-School League Participant Waiver of Liability for Accidental Injury and Death’."

As soon as he spoke, a virtual screen filled with cold, legalistic text popped up on every competitor’s personal terminal.

[Agreement]

[Article 1: I am a willing participant in this Inter-School League and fully understand the dangers involved in the competition.]

[Article 2: I pledge to personally assume full responsibility for any and all consequences during the competition, including injury, disability, or even death. I absolve the Empire, the League Committee, my opponents, and their respective schools of any legal or moral liability.]

[Article 3: ...]

Each cold line of text spoke of the arena’s brutality.

Here, there was no luck, only strength.

To step onto the platform was to entrust one’s very life to the weapon in their hands and the power of their fists.

Qin Feng glanced over the agreement, his face devoid of expression. Then, following the prompts, he completed the triple authentication: iris scan, blood sample, and Mental Power fluctuation.

Next, a high-value personal accident insurance policy appeared.

In the beneficiary field, Qin Feng unhesitatingly entered the names of his father, Qin Dahai, and his uncle, Wang Ming.

With that finished, his mind settled once more.

"The upperclassman tournament adopts a 1v1, single-elimination format. The match list will be determined by a completely random system draw. Good luck to you all."

As the chief referee finished speaking, the more than four thousand names of students from various schools began to cascade down the central virtual screen like a waterfall.

Everyone held their breath.

This purely luck-based draw was especially cruel for students of average strength.

If they were unlucky enough to draw a top-tier expert like Chen Tian, Liu Feixu, or Zhou Qi—or an upperclassman with a Vitality Index of 30.0—in the first round, they could only curse their luck as they faced a first-round exit.

A few seconds later, the virtual screen froze.

The bracket for the first round was displayed clearly for all to see.

"Holy shit!"

Qian Duoduo suddenly cried out, pointing at Qin Feng’s name on the screen, his face a mask of disbelief. "Old Qin, your luck is just off the charts!"

Right after the name "Qiming First Martial High School - Qin Feng" was a term, written in bright, glaring red, that made countless competitors burn with envy: [BYE]

...

The first round of the competition proceeded in an orderly fashion.

Qin Feng was happy for the break. He closed his eyes and continued to cultivate his Emperor Meditation technique.

Just then, his personal terminal, for which he’d set the highest-level permissions, vibrated faintly once more.

Qin Feng’s brow furrowed as he opened his eyes.

The sender was, once again, the recruitment advisor from Du Na Star Martial Arts University: Zhang Ruoyu.

[Qin Feng, it seems the A-rank contract I offered you last time wasn’t to your satisfaction.]

[I underestimated your ambition.]

[So, please allow me to add a more sincere offer to the table.]

[If you accept my special recruitment offer, on top of all the conditions in the A-rank contract, Du Na Star Martial Arts University can provide two additional slots for your family members to pursue advanced training.]

[Your immediate family members can enroll directly in our affiliated high school, Du Na First High School, to cultivate the Martial Dao.]

[Qin Feng, you may not understand. Du Na First High School is located on the Capital Star of our Du Na Star System. The Spiritual Energy concentration, cultivation resources, and quality of instructors there are over a hundred times greater than on a remote mining Star Zone like Qiming Star! Your family can receive a top-tier elite education and be cultivated with the best resources! This is an opportunity that no amount of money or Contribution Points can buy!]

[This is the most generous offer I could secure. I hope you will consider it seriously.]

Between the lines of Zhang Ruoyu’s message was a palpable urgency, along with what she clearly believed to be an irresistible temptation.

She also assumed Qin Feng came from a humble background, which is why she had tailored these favorable conditions for his family.

However, after reading the message, Qin Feng’s expression remained utterly unfazed.

If anything, his brow furrowed even deeper.

’Ignore all of it.’

Teacher Gu Yue’s words echoed in his mind.

Qin Feng couldn’t be bothered to dwell on her persistence. With a simple thought, he accessed his terminal’s administrative settings and located the ID "Zhang Ruoyu."

Then, without a moment’s hesitation, he pressed the "Block" button.

-----------------

Inside the Spectator Tower, the recruitment advisors from the various Martial Arts Universities were all focused intently on the hundreds of platforms below.

They were like a pack of experienced hunters sifting through gravel, meticulously searching for any missed flecks of gold, hoping to find a hidden dark horse or two not mentioned in their files.

The first round of the competition ended quickly.

Qiming First High School hadn’t been very lucky.

Unfortunately, both Qian Duoduo and Shi Potian were matched against powerhouses with Vitality Indexes exceeding 30.0 in the first round.

Although they both gave it their all, the gap in Hard Power was too great. They were both defeated, their tournament run ending in the first round.

Neither of them was discouraged, however.

"Damn it, I’ll be back next year! And next year, I’ll damn well break into the top one hundred!"

Qian Duoduo returned from the medical station in the competitors’ area, still grumbling and covered in a few scrapes.

"Next year, my goal is the top thirty-two."

Shi Potian’s face, however, was filled with fighting spirit. For him, defeat only fueled his hunger for victory.

They knew full well that this year was not their time to shine.

As for the sole title of "General Star of Qiming," Shi Potian felt he might not have even a sliver of a chance to contend for it until the year after next.

Qian Duoduo, on the other hand, never entertained such an unrealistic notion.

The competition continued, round after round.

Over the next several rounds, Qin Feng’s advancement was almost unbelievably smooth.

In the second round, he had a match. His opponent, an upperclassman from Star River Affiliated High School with a Vitality Index of 25.7, was disarmed with a single spear thrust. An easy victory.

Third round: opponent with a Vitality Index of 27.1, defeated in three moves.

Fourth round: opponent with a Vitality Index of 26.5, defeated in a single move.

Fifth round...

He advanced through the rounds as if taking a leisurely stroll.

This was mainly because his opponents were far from top-tier, giving him no chance to even warm up.

As a result, Qin Feng never once had to reveal any of his true strength.

Seventh round: a bye.

Eighth round: another bye.

When the results showed he’d received a bye for the second time in a row, a small stir went through the arena.

Everyone felt that this fellow named Qin Feng was having an excessive, almost unfair, run of good luck.

In the ninth round, he was finally matched against a powerhouse with a Vitality Index of 30.0.

Everyone thought they would finally get to see a clash of titans and find out the true depth of last year’s "Freshman King."

However, the result once again left everyone stunned.

The top prodigy, a veritable king in his own school, lasted less than ten seconds against Qin Feng.

With a single, unremarkable straight thrust, Qin Feng struck second but landed first, shattering his opponent’s vaunted Perfection Level killing skill. The tip of his spear stopped with pinpoint precision just before the other boy’s throat.

An easy victory.

He remained just as nonchalant as ever, and still, no one could tell just how much of his strength he had actually used.

Tenth round: Qin Feng received yet another bye.

This round, however, the atmosphere in the Qiming First High School’s spectator section grew extremely tense.

Sun He was facing an upperclassman from Golden Dragon Martial High School.

It was an incredibly brutal, bloody battle.

His opponent was on par with Sun He, both possessing a Vitality Index of around 26.0.

From the moment the match began, however, both fighters abandoned all defense, trading lethal blows in a desperate, all-or-nothing exchange.

Finally, after a final, furious exchange, both collapsed, severely wounded and covered in blood.

Based on a series of complex data points from the match—including effective strikes and damage inflicted—the judges finally raised the hand of the student from Golden Dragon Martial High School.

Sun He had lost.

As he was carried off the platform by a medical bot, his face was ashen. Still, he struggled to give a weak thumbs-up in Qin Feng’s direction.

...

The brutal elimination tournament continued.

As the draw for the eleventh round began, the once-boisterous crowd of over four thousand competitors within the Crown of the Arctic had been whittled down to the final sixty-four!

Every last one of them was a true powerhouse who had clawed their way out of a mountain of corpses and a Sea of Blood!

The atmosphere was thick with tension.

All eyes were glued to the massive virtual bracket at the center of the arena.

The names scrolled by in a blur.

Then, they snapped to a halt!

When the names of the first pairing on the screen became clear, the entire Crown of the Arctic fell into a dead silence that lasted for a full three seconds.

The next instant, a deafening roar, like a landslide and a tsunami combined, erupted through the stadium!

[Qiming First Martial High School - Qin Feng]

[VS]

[Golden Dragon Martial High School - Chen Tian]

It was happening!

The first, and most anticipated, flashpoint of the upperclassman tournament had arrived without any warning!

"There it is! There it is!"

From the commentary booth, the lead commentator’s voice grew shrill with excitement. "A fated duel! A clash of titans! What are we seeing here, folks? Last year’s ’Freshman King,’ the Gun of Dawn, Qin Feng—a man of unfathomable strength who has effortlessly advanced through a combination of crushing victories and byes—is facing off against one of this year’s acknowledged top contenders for the title of General Star of Qiming, the peerless prodigy who has mastered three Perfect Killing Skills: the ’Golden Dragon,’ Chen Tian!"

"..."

BOOM—!

At that moment, the atmosphere in the stadium absolutely exploded!

In the stands, the students from Qiming First High School shot to their feet, their expressions tense and their palms sweating.

Meanwhile, the students from Golden Dragon Martial High School erupted into savage, beast-like roars, full of malice and aggression!

「Inside the Spectator Tower.」

All the advisors, including the recruiters from the Top 100 Star Martial Arts Universities, sat bolt upright. Their burning gazes were locked on the central platform where the climactic duel was about to unfold.

Under the watchful eyes of tens of thousands.

Qin Feng slowly rose to his feet.

Calmly, he descended from the spectator section and walked through the long competitors’ tunnel.

Meanwhile, a wild and confident smirk on his face, Chen Tian strode toward the platform with the force of a meteor.

From the left and the right, the two of them ascended almost simultaneously, stepping onto the massive central platform, a stage stained with the blood and sweat of countless prodigies.

They stood a hundred meters apart, facing each other down.

Qin Feng’s expression was as placid as an abyss, his aura completely restrained.

Chen Tian, in contrast, radiated a heaven-piercing battle intent, his domineering presence on full display.

He stared at the inscrutable Qin Feng, a cruel and contemptuous smile spreading across his face.

Then, as everyone in the arena watched, Chen Tian slowly raised his right hand.

He made a single, unmistakable gesture, one filled with boundless killing intent: he drew a finger across his throat.