Chapter 320: The 230 Seed Competitors
Chapter 320: The 230 Seed Competitors (Requesting Monthly Vote)
"Run!"
Finally snapping into action, the six competitors felt as though they'd encountered a flood or a ferocious beast. A terrifying killing intent enveloped everyone.
They weren't fools—Lin Qi was clearly leagues stronger than them. Continuing the fight was pointless.
The outermost contestants didn't hesitate, instantly turning to flee. Activating their body techniques, they sprinted at maximum speed.
Earlier, they'd worried whether Lin Qi could withstand the coordinated assault. Now, those concerns seemed baseless.
They felt lucky to have kept a safe distance—if they'd been closer, escape would’ve been impossible.
Those near Lin Qi, however, felt as though locked in a predator's gaze. The suffocating killing intent pinned them in place.
"Pfft! Pfft!"
Lin Qi moved like a silent reaper, cutting through the experts.
Not a single opponent could withstand the tip of his Black Long Spear.
His speed dwarfed that of ordinary geniuses. To the foreign prodigies, he was a black lightning bolt—here, then gone, leaving death in his wake.
"Pfft! Pfft!"
The sound of spears piercing flesh echoed. Within moments, over thirty competitors had fallen.
The rest had already fled, forcing him to hunt them down one by one.
Meanwhile, the arena erupted into life-or-death battles. The top-tier geniuses unleashed shocking power.
Li Hanjiang, Liang Yuxin, Ao Feng, Duan Chuchu, and Yi Shaojie—these S-rank geniuses—demonstrated terrifying strength. Within minutes, countless talents were eliminated.
"Another Xia Kingdom genius? They're too powerful!"
"How did they become this strong?"
Above the arena, Xu Wenji waved his hand, conjuring a crimson leaderboard projection.
[Points Leaderboard]
1st: Lin Qi (Xia Kingdom) – 53 Points
2nd: Li Hanjiang (Xia Kingdom) – 42 Points
3rd: Avid (India) – 31 Points
4th: Liang Yuxin (Xia Kingdom) – 30 Points
...
The rankings sent shockwaves through competing nations.
"First place Lin Qi is a monster! No one can withstand a single spear strike!"
"Second place Li Hanjiang’s the same—others are just pigs to slaughter!"
"Xia Kingdom dominates! Six of the top ten are theirs!"
The leaderboard made the power imbalance painfully clear. Scanning the list, most names bore the tag "Xia Kingdom."
On Japan's Floating Isle, Moriyama Aya stared at Lin Qi's carnage, stunned.
"Xia Kingdom's Lin Qi? How?!"
"Why is he this strong? We're all S-rank geniuses—yet this is Xia Kingdom's world-beating talent?"
The battle continued, measured in seconds. Each tick claimed more lives—throats slashed, hearts pierced. Even talented survivors faced absurd disparities.
"Pfft! Pfft!"
"Lin Qi! I'm from Xia Kingdom too!" someone screamed.
"Sorry—Xia Kingdom or not, you're out. See you at the Revival Match!"
"Academy Head! I’m from the Sixth Institute! I swear on my family!"
"Then you can leave!"
In the Ruins Arena, Lin Qi—a streak of black—whirled his Black Long Spear. Everyone within his gaze became prey. Even fellow Xia Kingdom members fell, except students from Azure Firmament's Six Colleges.
Each kill transferred points to him. His score skyrocketed as the match neared its end. But eliminating opponents grew harder—everyone avoided him.
[Time's Up!]
[Second Round Ends!]
The arena's AI voice echoed across Floating Isles. Survivors exhaled relief, especially a Thai competitor mere ten meters from Lin Qi.
Had the match continued, he'd have faced elimination. A top-five S-rank in Thailand's freshman ranks, he felt helpless against Lin Qi's tiger-like pressure from ten meters away.
"Kid's lucky", Lin Qi mused.
A flash later, he vanished, teleported back to the Floating Isle.
Simultaneously, all competitors checked the updated leaderboard:
[Points Leaderboard]
1st: Lin Qi (Xia Kingdom) – 328 Points
2nd: Li Hanjiang (Xia Kingdom) – 290 Points
3rd: Liang Yuxin (Xia Kingdom) – 262 Points
4th: Avid (India) – 261 Points
...
Most rejoiced—their survival secured, save a few.
Top-tier carnage had thinned 2000 competitors to 799 surviving the ten-minute carnage, barely meeting the 792 minimum.
"I'm through!"
"500,000 Xia Kingdom Credits incoming!"
"Xia Kingdom's freaks... at least I didn't face their elites!"
"Dammit! Japan's top talent only 8th?!"
"First place Lin Qi hasn't even awakened? I felt like facing an awakened genius!"
All nations etched Lin Qi's name into memory.
Japan's Floating Isle:
"In the main rounds, I'll show him Japan's true swordsmanship!" A clean-cut youth declared, faint green markings glowing on his skin.
Xia Kingdom's Floating Isle:
"Brother Qi's the strongest!"
"Ao Feng's sixth? That's solid!"
"Only 20th place... disappointing", Jiang Tao sighed.
Ao Feng placed sixth in the second round—a top-tier achievement globally. Jiang Tao ranked 20th among S-ranks, fourth at Azure Firmament behind Lin Qi, Ao Feng, Duan Chuchu, and Li Lei.
"Competitors!" Deputy Principal Xu Wenji materialized, projecting his voice:
"The second round ends here! Congratulations to the 792 qualifiers!"
"Non-qualifiers, tomorrow's Revival Match offers a second chance. Prove your strength to join the 100-person revival list!"
"See you in the main rounds!"
The projection faded.
"Prepare for tomorrow's Revival Match", Lin Qi told his Sixth Institute peers.
Even his institute lost 90% of its competitors. At most, a few dozen across Azure Firmament would revive the next day. After a few words, he logged off.
In the quiet martial arts hall:
"Vrrr!"
His white Neural Pod hissed open as Lin Qi stepped out.
"Tomorrow: Revival Match. The day after: Global Rounds. Main rounds soon!"
"One day left—time to improve."
Changing clothes, he headed to the Gravity Chamber.
April 26: Global Freshman Competition Day Two.
Eastern Region Revival Matches raged. Simultaneously, Western nations' elimination rounds began. From 1,000 Western contenders, 792 would qualify.
"Annual Global Freshman Competition begins!"
"Western strength always surpasses Eastern—only Xia Kingdom's dominance balances things."
"This year, the White Eagle Federation will defeat Xia and claim victory!"
By afternoon, Revival Matches concluded. The 1,000 qualifiers solidified.
Lin Qi checked the list—just as Teacher Wang predicted: ~460 Xia competitors, including 180 from Azure Firmament (8 more than the 172 last year). Divided among nine colleges, ~18 per college.
He logged into the Scarlet Realm, selected Lu Wei's link, and entered the virtual meeting room.
The smaller chamber featured a massive obsidian stone table. Ten Institute's geniuses occupied seats: thirteen awakened elites and Lin Qi himself. Teacher Wang, Deputy Principal, and Dean Liu (chuckling) joined them.
"Brother Qi!" Wan Ming and Xia Lian greeted from his left and right.
Teacher Wang began:
"Tomorrow begins the Global Rounds—2,000 qualifiers worldwide. Most are irrelevant—unawakened geniuses won't rank high. Except Lin Qi."
She waved, projecting data:
"This year's 2,000 competitors include 230 awakened geniuses: 108 from Eastern, 122 from Western. ~3 per nation on average. These are your true rivals."
Lin Qi frowned. Xia Kingdom produced ~30 awakened geniuses annually. Globally, that number exceeded 200—dwarfing expectations.
This elite group would dominate the 230 seed positions. Ordinary geniuses stood no chance. The competition would become an awakened-only battlefield.
The group studied the data, faces grim. Awakening was now the baseline.
(End of Chapter)
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