Upon hearing the news about Wang Zhan from the King of Thunder, Yun Shan, the Principal of Yanjing Martial Arts Academy, showed a rare change in his expression.

Yun Shan was a powerhouse whose strength surpassed even that of a Martial King!

It was hard to imagine that he, who was always as calm as an ancient well, would reveal such a shocked and complex expression.

"Only in his first semester, he broke through from a Martial Student to a level 8 Martial Artist, and even surpassed the Limit by more than 40%? Are you sure you're not joking with me?" Yun Shan asked again.

This news was simply too astounding. A Martial Artist with such Talent had not been seen among humans for a very, very long time.

For a moment, Yun Shan didn't know whether to be happy or sad.

The King of Thunder nodded. "I met Wang Zhan when I was going to Chu State to find Lv Zhenglong. That kid was only a level 6 Martial Artist at the time, and he was already trying to awaken his mental energy. Moreover, right in front of me, he succeeded in awakening it in just a brief moment and even resonated with Spiritual Energy! That kid isn't just talented in martial arts; his Talent in mental energy is also top-tier."

"And he's cultivating the Five Thunder Deity Refinement Method Ancient Book, which I heard he acquired from the Black Market. His luck is truly unparalleled."

At this point, the King of Thunder noticed Yun Shan's face darken visibly, and he chuckled in amusement.

It was indeed rare to see the Principal in such a state.

But he continued to rub salt in the wound, saying, "In any case, I'm afraid Yanjing Martial Arts Academy is probably out of luck for this year's Martial Arts Academy Competition."

"If I go back on my word now, it should still be possible..."

"It's too late. You know Liu Zhenfeng and Lv Zhenglong better than I do; those two won't act without certainty. Once you've agreed, they would have surely secured evidence."

The King of Thunder said with a smile, "Believe it or not, the moment you try to go back on your word, news that the distinguished Principal of Yanjing Martial Arts Academy, the high-ranking Federation official Yun Shan Yun Tianyi, has broken his promise and that his words are worthless, will spread throughout the entire Federation by the next day."

Yun Shan's face darkened even more.

"Are you really part of Yanjing Martial Arts Academy? Why are you always speaking for others?"

"I'm just stating the facts," the King of Thunder shrugged. "Besides, Yanjing Martial Arts Academy has had it too easy these years. It's not just the students; even the mentors are getting so arrogant. Sometimes, giving them a sharp wake-up call isn't necessarily a bad thing."

"But you can't use the Martial Arts Academy Competition for that..." Yun Shan started to say, but then shook his head. "Forget it. What's done is done. There's no point saying anything more."

Once his words fell, Yun Shan directly waved his hand, signaling for the King of Thunder to leave.

However, the King of Thunder asked, "Aren't you going to give Cui Tianfeng a heads-up?"

"A heads-up, my ass! Let him go and be disgraced! He'll be the one to blame for this afterward anyway!" Yun Shan said angrily. "That foolish boy, I've known since he was little that he wasn't very bright."

「...」

「Meanwhile, at Chu State Military Martial Arts Academy.」

Cui Tianfeng was still unaware that, because of this matter, the two high-level officials from Yanjing Martial Arts Academy had already decided to make him the scapegoat.

He had already left Liu Zhenfeng's office and personally come to the edge of the Training Ground to oversee the matches.

After all, a bet had been made, and it concerned the upcoming Martial Arts Academy Competition. So, even though he had sufficient confidence in his students, Cui Tianfeng couldn't help but come to the site to keep an eye on things.

"Teacher," Zhong Lun and Dai Yanran greeted together.

Aside from Zheng Sikai, who was hiding off to the side, the other five students from Yanjing Martial Arts Academy were already on the arena platforms, each accepting challenges.

Cui Tianfeng glanced at Zheng Sikai, who was off to the side, shook his head slightly without saying anything, and then asked, "What's the situation? The Principal just made an agreement with the two Vice Principals of the Military Martial Arts Academy. As long as you few remain undefeated for three days, Chu State Military Martial Arts Academy will fully support Yanjing Martial Arts Academy in the Martial Arts Academy Competition."

Cui Tianfeng intended to put a little pressure on the students, so he didn't reveal the other conditions.

"Oh? It actually happened?" Zhong Lun was somewhat surprised. This had originally just been his provocative joke aimed at the Military Martial Arts Academy; he never meant for it to be taken seriously.

But hearing that this matter had been confirmed by his own Principal and the high-ranking officials of the Military Martial Arts Academy, Zhong Lun knew it was now unalterable.

"So you must ensure it's foolproof," Cui Tianfeng stressed. "Those on the arena platforms are only sophomores; they might not be able to guarantee remaining undefeated. But you and Dai Yanran absolutely must not lose! Absolutely!"

"Don't worry. The gap between the Military Martial Arts Academy and Yanjing Martial Arts Academy is significant. These students from the Military Martial Arts Academy might not even be able to force us to make a serious move," Zhong Lun said contemptuously.

"That's ideal." Cui Tianfeng nodded slightly.

In truth, he doubted that even Yanjing Martial Arts Academy itself had many who were truly worthy of Zhong Lun making a move, let alone Chu State Military Martial Arts Academy.

Zhong Lun was a top student among the third-years at Yanjing Martial Arts Academy. Never mind a minor institution like Chu State Military Martial Arts Academy; even across the entire Federation, he was undoubtedly among the top tier of geniuses.

Over the years, Chu State Military Martial Arts Academy had only managed to produce one Wang Qi.

However, neither Zhong Lun nor Cui Tianfeng noticed that not far from them, in the stands of the Training Ground, Wang Zhan was watching them intently.

They don't seem all that impressive, Wang Zhan clicked his tongue.

After watching for a while, Wang Zhan acknowledged that the students from Yanjing Martial Arts Academy were indeed quite good. But this group, he thought, compared to me, still seems to be lacking a certain edge.

How lonely it is to be invincible. Are even the elites of the dignified Four Major Martial Arts Academies only at this level? Wang Zhan shook his head, stood up, and left the Training Ground.

These people completely look down on the Military Martial Arts Academy right now, Wang Zhan thought. Hopefully, they'll still be able to laugh by the third day.

「...」

「Time passed quickly; two days went by in the blink of an eye.」

During these two days, the forum of Chu State Military Martial Arts Academy was filled with cries of despair.

Yanjing Martial Arts Academy truly lived up to its name as one of the Four Major Martial Arts Academies. Of the eight students who came to the Military Martial Arts Academy, apart from Zheng Sikai who was ignored, the remaining seven had not lost a single match in two full days!

They had fought at least one or two hundred matches, meaning each person experienced dozens of battles per day on average!

Yet, despite this, not a single student from Yanjing Martial Arts Academy showed even the slightest sign of fatigue.

Of course, this was also related to the fact that the students of the Military Martial Arts Academy found it difficult to put any pressure on their opponents.

Most students from the Military Martial Arts Academy who stepped up to challenge were defeated at lightning speed, within anywhere from a few to a few dozen moves. Even those students ranked in the top 100 of the ranking competition were no exception.

Facing this elite team from Yanjing Martial Arts Academy, composed of geniuses who had, on average, surpassed their personal Limits by at least 15%, the disparity in strength was starkly evident.

On the forum, almost all posts were predicting doom for Chu State Military Martial Arts Academy.

"So these are the elites of the Four Major Martial Arts Academies? The gap is simply despairing."

"I originally thought Chu State Military Martial Arts Academy wasn't much weaker than the Four Major Martial Arts Academies. It seems I was naive..."

"There's a reason their entry standards are so high. I just wonder if our Wang Zhan, President Wang, regrets his decision now."

The moment the topic shifted to Wang Zhan, the atmosphere instantly grew livelier.

After all, Wang Zhan's initial enrollment at Chu State Military Martial Arts Academy had caused quite a stir. A genius who had placed first in Chu State's College Entrance Examination and in the top three of the Federation, yet he chose the Military Martial Arts Academy over the Four Major Martial Arts Academies.

Initially, the students of the Military Martial Arts Academy hadn't thought much of it. But when they realized the gap between their own academy and the Four Major Martial Arts Academies, most of them found Wang Zhan's choice somewhat incomprehensible whenever he was mentioned.

At this moment, Wang Zhan was sitting on the edge of a flower bed outside his dormitory, with Cheng Shu beside him.

Wang Zhan was browsing the forum, shitposting and stirring up drama anonymously. He himself had initiated most of the topics discussing whether or not he regretted his decision.

"Is Wang Zhan a coward? He acts all high and mighty at our academy, but now that the people from Yanjing Martial Arts Academy are here, he's hiding like a scared turtle?"

He hit 'send anonymously'. Seeing the number of likes for this comment increase at a visible rate, Wang Zhan nodded with satisfaction.

"Cheng Shu, what are the odds now?"

"Brother Zhan, your tactic of badmouthing yourself really worked! Half an hour ago, your odds were just one-to-one, and now they're one-to-five! But the guys running the betting pool said this is the capped odds. They claim so many people are betting on Yanjing Martial Arts Academy to win that they can't afford the payout if Yanjing loses."

For the past two days, Wang Zhan had intentionally kept a low profile, creating the impression that he was afraid to fight, all to lure the fish to the hook now.

According to Cheng Shu, these seniors running the betting pool usually rake in huge profits. It's about time they were made to bleed a little, Wang Zhan thought.

"One-to-five, that's about right." Wang Zhan nodded with satisfaction, handed his Academic Credits Card to Cheng Shu, and said, "Same as always, bet it all!"

Cheng Shu took the Academic Credits Card and eagerly scurried off to place the bet.

Wang Zhan stretched lazily, stood up, and casually posted a new thread on the forum.

This time he posted with his real name.

"Calling me a coward? Tomorrow, none of you make a move. Just quietly watch me put on a show!"

Seeing the number of replies to the post rapidly increasing, Wang Zhan chuckled lightly and closed the forum.

He had to admit, after so much fighting and killing, occasionally playing the keyboard warrior online, stirring up flame wars and manipulating the narrative, was quite satisfying.

「...」

Wang Zhan's efforts to stir things up were quite successful.

So much so that before dawn, many students had already rushed to the Training Ground to save seats, all to watch Wang Zhan fight today.

At nine in the morning, the eight individuals from Yanjing Martial Arts Academy, along with Cui Tianfeng, arrived at the Training Ground.

Seeing the Training Ground packed with people, they too were somewhat surprised.

"Heh, have these newbies come to watch how their own academy gets crushed?" Zhong Lun greatly enjoyed this feeling of being in the spotlight.

"Don't get careless. It's the last day; we must maintain our undefeated streak and leave with a perfect record," Cui Tianfeng said with a frown.

For some reason, Cui Tianfeng couldn't shake an ominous premonition.

And this premonition reached its peak when Liu Zhenfeng and Lv Zhenglong appeared together, and even Zheng Yu, who had supposedly left two days prior, also showed up.

Cui Tianfeng quickly walked over to greet them.

"Vice-Principals, Minister Zheng."

"Today is the last day, isn't it? You guys from Yanjing Martial Arts Academy truly live up to your reputation. And the students you've brought, Little Cui, are also quite good; every one of them is talented," Lv Zhenglong said with a beaming smile.

But these words, though clearly complimentary, sounded incredibly jarring to Cui Tianfeng's ears.

His ominous premonition grew even stronger.

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