"Is that so? How come I've never heard of it?"

A flash of anger flickered in Zhang Ling's eyes—her instincts had been right.

Or rather, her judgment about Jiang Jun's character had never been wrong.

Bringing up Ya Ge at this moment, Jiang Jun was clearly up to something.

On Awakening Day, it was Ya Ge who caught her eye—Zhang Ling signed her for Juxing immediately, while Lin Feng was ignored from start to finish.

Maybe "ignored" isn't strong enough—he was openly looked down on and threatened by her gaze.

From the very start, she'd deliberately avoided talking about Ya Ge, trying to act natural—she just didn't want Lin Feng recalling any unpleasant memories, but Jiang Jun was barreling right through that boundary.

On top of that, Ya Ge had just broken up with Lin Feng. Now, letting Lin Feng know Ya Ge was thriving in Juxing, with a bright future ahead—would he be happy or pissed?

At that thought, Zhang Ling shot Lin Feng a subtle glance. He seemed perfectly calm—that let her breathe a little easier.

"Oh come on, what are you still hiding?" Jiang Jun smirked faintly.

"Word's practically out around the alliance—heard that the evolved Enchanting Butterfly's got strength rivaling Earth Chart demon spirits. At this rate, Ya Ge will probably get recruited to the Juxing Team!"

"Heh, Wind-Grabbing's Demon Spirit Research Department doesn't have much to show for results, but you're sure quick with the rumors!" This time, Zhang Ling didn't even bother denying it—she shot back with straight ridicule.

"What's the point of all that research? You just need impressive team records!" Jiang Jun retorted.

"If your records are so great, why can't you get into Huaxia's Glory Team?"

"Who said we can't? Ten years ago, didn't Zhang Ziyun make it in?"

"So you know that was ten years ago? And Zhang Ziyun didn't exactly shine, did she? Looks like Wind-Grabbing is slipping more and more!"

As Zhang Ling and Jiang Jun sparred, Elder Jiang looked completely unfazed, saying nothing—total 'none of my business, don't ask me' vibes.

"Let 'em fight, the more the better!" Elder Jiang was secretly amused.

Going up against giants like Juxing and powerhouse teams like Wind-Grabbing, Thunder really had no competitive edge.

No matching them in money or record, and the only advantage—Thunder being local to Jiang City—barely registered.

Plenty of prodigies signed elsewhere, even moved their families away.

Seeing Elder Jiang's detached attitude, the arguing duo quickly caught on, exchanging bitter looks and cutting the trash talk. No sense making someone's wedding clothes for nothing.

With Elder Jiang leading the way, Lin Feng and the others walked into a quaint, classical room. Not big, just twenty or thirty square meters—a guest tea room.

"Elder Jiang! Manager Zhang! Manager Jiang!"

Inside, a girl of about twenty, dressed in a dark green long dress, stood up to greet the group.

She was, of course, quite familiar with Elder Jiang. As for Jiang Jun and Zhang Ling, the club managers—she knew them too. The only thing she couldn't figure out was Lin Feng's identity.

A teenager hanging out with the three major club heads? Must be another top-level prodigy!

The girl smiled at Lin Feng, and Lin Feng responded with a nod.

"Xiaoyun, brew some tea," Elder Jiang instructed the girl.

"Sure!" she answered, expertly setting out the teaware and brewing tea.

"Sit down, try my Cloud Robe White Tea," Elder Jiang said.

After some tea and idle chat, Elder Jiang cut straight to business: "Lin Feng, Thunder Club is very interested in you. We're planning to sign you!"

"Juxing Club really hopes Lin Feng will join us too!" Zhang Ling piped up, unwilling to lose ground.

"Wind-Grabbing's the same—Lin Feng's battle style fits right in with our team,"

Jiang Jun said, even directly naming the Wind-Grabbing Team, as if signing Lin Feng would put him straight onto the roster.

That made Zhang Ling irritated, her lips curling into a mocking sneer.

"I'm planning to sign with a club. What can you offer me?" Lin Feng asked.

Lin Feng couldn't join the Glory Club yet, but he wasn't opposed to it.

Even if those big club pro teams didn't mean much to him—given his experience, he could become a martial arts powerhouse on his own.

But to be a powerful Demon Spirit Master, joining the Glory League was a must.

The Glory League rewards were what every Demon Spirit Master hungered for.

And to join the Glory League, you needed a five-person team and qualified entry—a direct spot in an S-rank club might be less free, but saved him a ton of hassle.

"Then we'll have to verify your strength and talent before we can offer you a concrete contract and conditions."

Elder Jiang smiled, Jiang Jun and Zhang Ling nodded in agreement.

"Let's confirm the first thing—Lin Feng, are you really hiding your martial arts talent?" Elder Jiang asked.

"Yes."

Lin Feng answered confidently, "You've all seen my transcripts. Obviously, my combat scores are deliberately held back—for my reasons, which I don't want to repeat."

After Lin Feng spoke, the three showed little reaction.

Lin Feng continued: "I'm confident I'll reach Ninth Rank Body Cultivator before the college entrance exam, maybe even break through to First Grade Martial Artist!"

As those words landed, the three nearly couldn't believe their ears—like thunder out of a clear sky. They stared at each other in disbelief.

After the initial shock came doubt and denial.

They couldn't figure out where Lin Feng's confidence was coming from.

"Are you sure?" Zhang Ling asked—skepticism written all over her face.

Back on Awakening Day, Lin Feng was just at Seventh Rank Body Cultivation. Only two days later, he'd hit Eighth Rank, and the college entrance exam was just three months away.

In three months, break straight through to Martial Artist?

If Lin Feng said he'd hit Ninth Rank, they'd believe it.

If Lin Feng was a martial arts prodigy, and backed with massive resources, three months wasn't impossible. But breaking straight into Martial Artist— that's ten or even dozens of times harder.

Even with Ye Qiu's talent, hitting Ninth Rank in sophomore year at fifteen, backed by all the Ye Group's resources, he's still stuck at Ninth Rank now, unable to make the breakthrough. That shows how tough it is.

Many students at Ninth Rank before their college entrance exams don't hit Martial Artist until junior or even senior year.

"Lin Feng is the strongest high schooler. Maybe he'll pull off a miracle."

Jiang Jun chuckled—not outright questioning Lin Feng, but calling it a miracle pretty clearly meant he didn't believe it.

Miracles aren't so easy to produce, after all.

Elder Jiang didn't directly state his opinion, waiting for Lin Feng's response. Though skeptical, he didn't take Lin Feng for an idiot who'd talk big for no reason.

Lin Feng stayed silent a moment, facing all their doubts. He didn't explain—just stood up.

"Lin Feng, are you..."

Just as the trio thought Lin Feng's lie had been caught, and he was storming out in anger, Lin Feng instead walked to a clear spot and started performing some strange movements.

He put his head to the ground, kicked his right leg up like a scorpion, then moved his body with serpent-like twists for a bit...

"Thirty-Six Body Refining Techniques?"

Elder Jiang easily recognized these bizarre moves. As a Fifth Grade Martial Artist, he could master twenty-eight of them.

Zhang Ling and Jiang Jun were a bit lost.

The Thirty-Six Body Refining Techniques were the foundation of martial arts—like Foundation Establishment.

All students, even university martial arts majors, practiced body refinement through these techniques.

After becoming a Martial Artist, you could start cultivating other techniques—spiritual power could nourish and strengthen your body and organs, but not as effectively as the Thirty-Six Body Refining Techniques.

The heart of Thirty-Six Body Refining Techniques was body tempering: manipulating Qi and Blood to enhance the body.

But after reaching Fourth Grade Realm, once spiritual power could be projected and techniques like Hundred-Step Divine Fist could be used for devastating effect, close combat fell out of favor. A lot of people dropped the techniques and specialized in cultivation arts.

Could it be Lin Feng was a master at the Thirty-Six Body Refining Techniques?

Even if he was... so what?

Lin Feng's actions just seemed kind of ridiculous to them!

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