Cheng YuanYu walked over to Di Yunliang, took a cigarette, and squatted down to smoke.

Di Yunliang was at the fourth realm of martial arts. He was the strongest person present, a master of Inner Qi. Cheng YuanYu’s own strength was approaching the peak of the third realm.

Their combined strength was enough to easily kill everyone present. But for some reason, as they watched the pandemonium unfold and thought of the even more monstrous Rose who ranked above them, a chill ran down both their spines.

They both felt a chill creep up their backs!

"Damn it! This fucking Bird God Cult is doomed!"

Di Yunliang suddenly cursed under his breath.

Cheng YuanYu stared at his old superior in surprise, not understanding why he would say such a thing. But then he looked back at the chaotic scene of the blood sacrifice and suddenly felt the words were perfectly reasonable.

So he smoked his cigarette in an even deeper silence.

’There’s no turning back now.’

「...」

After the Cold Food Festival’s ancestral worship trip ended, the academic atmosphere in all the county’s high schools suddenly improved.

The diligent students became even more focused, and the slackers turned over a new leaf.

But it was a process of attrition; only time would tell how many could persevere until the very end.

The teachers knew this well. Group rituals often carried a powerful, infectious energy that could ignite a person’s inner passion.

But under the tedious, day-to-day grind, most people would eventually become the very version of themselves they despised.

Striking while the iron was hot, the Education Bureau launched the Tianning County Martial Arts Exchange Competition the day after the ancestral worship event. This was an annual tradition.

The event, from the qualifying rounds to the final tournament, would last for a total of one month.

Since it was only a county-level competition, the number of participants from each high school was limited.

Although the First Middle School was the strongest, the Education Bureau treated all schools equally, requiring each to select its top five students from the second and third years to compete.

At Nanguan Second Middle School, Yu Fei was the undisputed number one among the second-years, while everyone else fought tooth and nail for the remaining four spots.

’It’s one thing to not have their talent,’ the other students thought, feeling a sense of indignation, ’but can we really not even outwork them?’

From top to bottom, a culture of intense internal competition swept through the entire campus.

「...」

"Yu Fei, I came looking for you!"

On the training ground, which was ablaze with fiery passion, Jiang Dalong appeared before the second-year intensive class with a hearty smile.

Since last year’s Martial Arts Exchange Competition in Y-City, the two had exchanged messages but had never met in person. This was the first time.

Yu Fei was also very happy to see the sturdy young man arrive.

"Let’s have a match! I know I’m a year older and one minor realm higher in martial arts, but I feel like in our entire school, we’re the only ones who can really give each other a good practice session."

"You’re on, Dalong! I couldn’t ask for more!"

The moment they met, Jiang Dalong issued a challenge.

Jiang Dalong had now entered the Blood Pass realm, giving him the ability to aim for one of the "Seven Greats."

Improving a Cultivation Technique required not just training, but also combat.

Jiang Dalong was now facing the same problem as Yu Fei: he had no worthy opponents at his level—within Nanguan Second Middle School, of course.

Yu Fei readily agreed to Jiang Dalong’s proposal. Since entering the Tendon-Refining stage, the other students in the intensive class could no longer put any pressure on him.

Even without resorting to tricks, he could face a four-person siege and crush them head-on.

It couldn’t be helped. The combination of [Super Speed Reaction] and [Insight] was simply unbeatable in a real fight. Anyone whose raw power didn’t surpass his would be taken out the instant they made a move.

As for having even more students join the attack, it was pointless. There was limited space, and with too many people, they’d just get in each other’s way.

When word got out that the top student from the third-year intensive class was going to duel Yu Fei, everyone stopped their training and gathered around, curious.

Jiang Yifan, Feng Shuhao, and the others knew Yu Fei was strong, but they never expected a third-year senior to come and challenge him.

After all, Jiang Dalong was the number one martial artist in Nanguan Second Middle School’s third year. With his strength, he had a real shot at being accepted into one of the "Seven Greats."

"Can Yu Fei win?"

Zhang Qingyu was skeptical. Although she generally disliked Yu Fei, she had to admire his strength. But Jiang Dalong was a whole grade above them!

Ten years from now, a one-year difference wouldn’t mean much. But they had been training in martial arts for less than a year, meaning Jiang Dalong had more than double their training time.

The top-tier students of the second-year intensive class had complicated expressions. On one hand, they hoped Yu Fei would win, as it would bring glory to their class as a whole. On the other, a subconscious part of them hoped he would lose, because that would be the logical outcome.

Otherwise, it would mean the gap between them and Yu Fei was immense—perhaps one they could never close in this lifetime.

What young person, after all, wants to be considered inferior?

Yan Sea was the referee once again. The two opponents stood on opposite sides of the training ground, waiting for the signal to start.

Yu Fei activated his Reversing Destiny Vision. A blue gem glittered above Jiang Dalong’s head.

He remembered that Jiang Dalong’s talent was supposed to be defensive in nature.

Since his Destiny Reversal Pearl awakened last September, Yu Fei had accumulated nine opportunities to copy talents. He had copied [Extraordinary Comprehension] from Jiang Yifan twice, and dismantled one of them.

He’d gotten [Super Speed Reaction] from a large tabby cat, which had been his first big score.

From Zuo Qiuming, he had obtained [Insight], his first purple-grade talent.

These three talents were already slotted, forming the foundation of his current power. Inside his Destiny Reversal Pearl, the purple-grade talent [Steel Bones and Iron Sinews] and the blue-grade talent [Enhanced Absorption] were still drifting in the stardust due to a lack of talent slots.

With that, Yu Fei had now accumulated three unused copying charges.

Although Jiang Dalong’s talent was only blue-grade, it was a defensive one, which was quite rare.

Yu Fei placed a marker on Jiang Dalong. A blue-grade talent was relatively low-tier, but it could be upgraded later when he had enough stardust.

The main reason was that defensive talents were hard to come by. He decided to use one of his charges to copy it.

"Begin!"

At Yan Sea’s command, Yu Fei took the initiative and attacked.

Yu Fei’s Six Harmonies Killing Fist benefited from the huge boost to his basic Spiritual Power granted by the red-grade talent [Spiritual Intelligence]. His [Dragon and Snake Double Stack] was nearing the grand completion stage, while his [Mountain-Blocking Celestial Net] and [Light Swallow Shadow] had reached the minor completion stage.

Although Jiang Dalong was a realm higher than him, his mastery over the various fist techniques within the Six Harmonies Killing Fist was weaker than Yu Fei’s.

Facing the aggressive Yu Fei, Jiang Dalong made no attempt to defend himself. Instead, he launched a ferocious counterattack with a Straight-Line Pierce Kill—a fist technique he had trained to grand completion.

To date, Jiang Dalong had only brought his [Straight-Line Pierce Form] and [Mountain-Blocking Celestial Net] to grand completion. The rest weren’t even worth mentioning.

In an instant, Yu Fei saw completely through Jiang Dalong’s fist technique.

’A trade of blows? No, this isn’t a trade. It’s a test of how long you can last!’

Yu Fei thought to himself as his Super Speed Reaction kicked in, making time seem to slow to a crawl. He moved at an angle Jiang Dalong couldn’t have possibly imagined, sidestepping the attack and landing a solid punch on his chest!

’He really is tough!’

Using [Dragon and Snake Double Stack] to control two diametrically opposed types of force—the Straight-Line Pierce Kill and the [Yin Stream Shattered Jade]—produced a destructive power where one plus one was greater than two.

Gao Yunxiang was in the same realm as Jiang Dalong. While Mr. Gao had been sent flying back by one of his punches, Jiang Dalong didn’t even flinch.