Chapter 234: Showcasing Skills
Chapter 234: Showcasing Skills (Requesting Monthly Vote)
Lin Qi’s figure darted forward like a crack of lightning, his body surging into motion.
His Black Long Spear trembled as his muscles tensed, channeling Vital Force into the weapon. The spear vibrated, emitting a low hum while Vital Force coated its sharp tip.
In an instant, he thrust forward. The strike blazed like a falling star, piercing the void. Most spectators in the audience barely caught a faint, shimmering silver light.
Lin Qi’s attack reached its peak of speed—blisteringly fast, slicing through the air with a shrill whistle as Vital Force tore through the atmosphere.
《Meteoric Spear Art》——Stellar Lance (Starlight Piercer)!
So fast!
Mao Jia felt a chill flash before her eyes, and a terrifying aura of death enveloped her.
The strike was too rapid. Instinctively, she tried to retreat, but her crimson Han sword altered its trajectory, thrusting to parry Lin Qi’s spear.
“Clang!!”
A sharp crash rang out as the sword tip collided with the spear, sparking a shower of embers!
Yet Lin Qi’s spear was too fast, his hand too steady. The Vital Force surged like an arrow, unyielding even after impact, driving straight toward its target.
It’s over!
Mao Jia’s eyes widened, her beautiful pupils reflecting the sharpened tip of the spear.
It radiated bone-chilling cold, like subzero ice!
“Pfft~”
In a blink, the spear pierced through her combat suit, tough skin, muscles, blood vessels, and finally, her heart.
Blood splattered from the wound.
Mao Jia still tried to slash her sword at Lin Qi, but the system had already declared her defeat.
“Thud!”
Her knees slammed onto the cement, blood pooling on the ground.
“How…?”
Mao Jia let blood drip from her lips, staring up at Lin Qi with disbelief.
He merely replied calmly,
“Your swordsmanship isn’t as refined as Duan Chuchu’s.”
As his words faded, Mao Jia dissolved into nothingness.
Total battle duration: three seconds.
[Second Match: Lin Qi (Azure Firmament) Victorious!]
The automated voice echoed across the arena.
After the fight, Lin Qi returned to the audience as a crimson light pillar.
…
On the Shuchuan Martial University stand, tens of thousands of students fell silent, their mouths agape. Some blinked furiously, doubting their eyes.
“This can’t be real, right?”
“Mao Jia got instantly defeated?!”
“Is the gap between our Top Ten Universities and the Big Three truly this vast?”
The crowd shattered their confidence. Their earlier pride crumbled into stunned disbelief.
Back on the stand, Mao Jia buried her face, her cheeks burning with humiliation.
So embarrassing!
She’d been instantly defeated by Lin Qi!
Recalling her pre-match arrogance and words toward Lin Qi, she felt utterly mortified.
…
At the same time, on the Vip stand, the bald man from Shuchuan Martial University stared wide-eyed, as if choked by an invisible hand.
His entire demeanor wilted, his earlier smugness vanishing.
“What kind of monster is Lin Qi? How is he this strong?”
He felt Lin Qi surpassed even the elite competitors he’d seen in previous competitions.
Leaders from the Big Three—Daminghai and Shanyu Martial Academy—watched Lin Qi’s performance with furrowed brows.
Only a few remained calm.
On the Azure Firmament Martial Academy stand, voices murmured in awe.
“Lin Qi’s gotten even stronger!” a leader remarked.
“It’s natural after over three months since the Freshman Competition,” Dean Liu chuckled.
…
After the fight, the audience fell silent for a second before erupting into thunderous applause and cheers.
“Incredible! A one-hit kill!”
“I got instantly defeated by Mao Jia yesterday—her strength exceeded my expectations.”
“But now she got instantly defeated by Lin Qi?!”
“This Lin Qi is insane! Is this the power of Azure Firmament’s seeded competitors?”
The crowd buzzed in shock, realizing every peak had higher peaks beyond.
They’d thought the Big Three’s geniuses were overwhelmingly strong, a “dimensional advantage.”
Yet Mao Jia, another genius, had fiercely challenged them.
Now Lin Qi emerged—a seeded competitor who killed Mao Jia in three seconds, shaking their very worldview.
…
On Azure Firmament’s stand, Huo Wanyang clenched his fist, eyes alight with excitement:
“Lin Qi’s gotten even stronger! I’d love another fight with him!”
Duan Chuchu shook her head: “Mao Jia was too arrogant—I couldn’t even beat Lin Qi. She was clueless.”
On the Minghai Martial Institute stand, a dark-skinned, hulking man grinned:
“Looks like I’ve got another rival.”
His gaze flicked to a compact, muscular figure nearby.
Li Hanjiang rubbed his hair, smirking: “He’s definitely strong—a real challenge.”
On Shanyu Martial Academy’s stand, silver-haired Liang Yuxin’s eyes gleamed:
“Mao Jia was too weak—I could’ve killed her with one sword. Without breakthrough-level Third-Stage swordsmanship, she’s just too fragile.”
“Still, Lin Qi’s skill alone makes him a formidable rival.”
…
In Azure Firmament’s Six Colleges area, Lin Qi reappeared as a crimson light.
“Welcome back!” Jiang Tao roared.
“I told you Mao Jia couldn’t beat Brother Qi!”
“He’s like Li Zehao from the Freshman Competition—thinks he can win, but doesn’t stand a chance,” Guo Heng added.
Lin Qi shook his head: “Mao Jia’s strong—she just had bad luck facing me.”
“Don’t underestimate your next opponents.”
“Got it, Brother Qi!” They laughed, the air buzzing with energy.
After a few encouraging words, Lin Qi turned back to the arena, replaying the fight mentally.
Mao Jia was undeniably an S-Rank Genius—her Vital Energy stat just lagged behind his. Crucially, her swordsmanship hadn’t reached Third Stage, a massive gap.
Third-Stage Martial Arts was a critical threshold. The difference was like night and day.
Even someone like him, with his combat-born talent, at 99% Second Stage, would struggle to beat a Third-Stage opponent.
So Mao Jia’s defeat was inevitable.
[Next match: Competitors, please step forward!]
The AI announced. The third match began.
“Brother Qi, that’s Xia Yujun’s Yi Shaojie!” Jiang Tao pointed at the arena.
Lin Qi observed a tall, broad-shouldered man in silver-gray combat gear, posture as rigid as a cypress. His features were sharp, with bronze skin and a saber. His aura was ironclad, typical of a military school student.
A minute later, Yi Shaojie swiftly defeated his opponent.
Lin Qi quickly judged him stronger than Mao Jia—likely an S-Rank Genius from Imperial Military, a prime candidate to lead Azure Firmament’s colleges.
The fourth and fifth matches grew fiercely competitive. Unless one was an Academy Head-tier, victory wasn’t easy.
By the sixth match, Shanyu Martial Academy’s top freshman, Liang Yuxin, appeared.
All eyes turned to her.
“Liang Yuxin’s Shanyu’s top freshman—her strength’s definitely formidable. Her opponent’s from Daminghai,” Jiang Tao explained.
As the AI announced the start, Liang Yuxin blurred into motion, leaving multiple afterimages. Her sword flashed.
Her opponent, a muscular man wielding a broadsword, barely registered two phantoms before a cold flash split his throat.
The fight ended instantly—another one-hit kill.
The audience erupted again.
“So fast!” Zhou Xi Yin gasped.
She and Wang Qiufeng frowned. Their speed couldn’t match Liang Yuxin’s blade.
“Third-Stage swordsmanship,” Lin Qi noted.
“Only Third-Stage Martial Arts can move this fast and dominate so easily.”
Understanding dawned.
Lin Qi studied Liang Yuxin—her swordsmanship had not only broken through to Third Stage but had likely matured over time.
By the tenth match, Abyssal Sea University’s top student, Li Hanjiang, entered.
Clad in blue combat gear, he wielded a bluish-silver Long Spear—muscular, sharp-featured, and cold-eyed.
As he stepped onto the arena, Lin Qi, Huo Wanyang, and other geniuses eyed him with curiosity.
Li Hanjiang’s opponent was Wang Qiufeng.
At the AI’s start signal, Wang Qiufeng lunged like a gust of wind, his saber slashing.
“Hss!”
Li Hanjiang smirked, his bluish spear darting forward.
“Hmph!”
Wang Qiufeng saw snowflakes swirling around the spear, icy and deadly.
“Clang~”
His saber met the spear tip, sparks flying. A needle-like Vital Force numbed his arm.
“Pfft~”
A moment later, pain split his neck. Blood sprayed before his eyes.
“I lost?!” Wang Qiufeng stared in shock before vanishing.
“Another one-hit kill!”
The audience roared again, almost numb to the spectacle.
“Li Hanjiang’s incredible—I got instantly defeated!”
Back on the stand, Wang Qiufeng shook his head grimly. Others frowned.
“Li Hanjiang truly deserves his reputation as the one who defeated the National College Entrance Exam champion,” Jiang Tao muttered.
Wang Qiufeng wasn’t weak—ranked in Azure Firmament Six Colleges’ top five and the academy’s top 30.
Yet he couldn’t withstand a single strike from Li Hanjiang.
…
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
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