Crushed!

At the Top 100 arena ring. At this moment, no one else stepped onto the stage. Knowing that a major spectacle was about to unfold, who would want to be treated as a background prop? Originally, one open spot remained on the Top 100 Rankings, and many had sought to claim it. But right now, no one was willing to go up and fight, only to be cast aside and lose face. Zheng Yunhui had a helpless look on his face. *I was supposed to be the main character today!* *Damn it, but Su Yu stole all the limelight.* *And as if that weren't enough, is this guy even human?* Right now, Su Yu beside him was receiving completely different treatment. ... "Junior Brother Su Yu, how old are you this year?" "Junior Brother, is Nanyuan fun?" "Little brother, how did you get so strong?" "Little Ah Yu, can you beat Liu He later? If you can't win, just concede. It's totally fine, not embarrassing at all—Liu He enrolled a year earlier than you." "..." At that moment, the eyes of many onlookers turned red with envy. *Sisters, come talk to us!* *We'll chat with you!* Even some of the higher-ranked students on the Top 100 Rankings felt a wave of sourness in their chests. Hadn't Su Yu only just taken ninety-ninth place? What were they fawning over him for? Meanwhile, Su Yu inhaled a medley of various fragrances that stung his nose, making him want to sneeze. Forcing down the urge, he silently reminded himself that these women were all trying to derail his cultivation path, and that he had to stay focused! The path of cultivation offered so little time as it was. If one squandered mental energy on women, how could one ever make progress? Right now, he already felt there weren't enough hours in the day to cultivate, so how could he possibly go chasing after girls? Though he thought this internally, his face maintained a warm, gentle smile as pleasant as a spring breeze. "Senior Sisters, I'm eighteen. Nanyuan is great, though yuanqi there isn't quite as rich." "Senior Liu He may be strong, but I'm not afraid of him." Su Yu smiled and said brightly, "From my very first day at the academy, I told myself to always strive for the top! If one doesn't dare face geniuses, how can one improve? Even if I lose, it will only spur me on." "Ah Yu, you're so brave!" A reasonably pretty senior sister looked at him with doting pity. "Little Ah Yu, it doesn't matter if you lose. Just don't get hurt too badly. Don't let pride get in the way—if you're outmatched, remember to admit defeat!" Su Yu gave an honest, naive smile. "I hope I can win. I think... I'm actually pretty strong!" "Tee-hee..." The group of girls surrounding him couldn't help giggling. He was too adorable! And so gentle and easygoing! Every student on the Top 100 Rankings was usually prickly with pride, completely ignoring anyone outside their inner circle. Yet what about Su Yu? He answered whatever was asked, an obedient good boy. It was simply delightful. Internally, Su Yu felt utterly helpless! *I'm a good person, an honest guy, practically a kid... but could you please back up a little?* *My nose can hardly take it anymore!* All those different scents blended together were truly making him want to sneeze. *Liu He, why aren't you here yet?* Right now, he would rather fight three hundred rounds against Liu He than waste another second with these girls answering pointless questions. As for the waves of envy, jealousy, and spite from the crowd around them... Su Yu was speechless. *If you want to come take my place, be my guest!* Just as he was thinking that, a commotion erupted at the edge of the crowd. The girls around Su Yu parted one after another, many whispering, "Little Ah Yu, if you can't beat him, just surrender! Don't push yourself too hard!" Su Yu breathed a quiet sigh of relief! *Liu He, bless you and eight generations of your ancestors—you're finally here.* The newcomer outside was none other than Liu He. ... Striding forward, Liu He saw Su Yu encircled by female students and let out a soft snort! It was hard to tell whether it was jealousy or disdain. Not bothering with pleasantries, Liu He reached a point ten-odd meters from the Top 100 arena ring, stomped the ground, leaped into the air, and landed squarely on the stage in a flash. A spear materialized out of thin air in his grip! Leveling the spear straight at Su Yu, he declared, "I accept your challenge! Su Yu, you're quite something. I originally thought it would take until next year for you to have any hope of breaking onto the Top 100 Rankings. I never expected we'd meet so soon!" "Get up here!" The moment Liu He arrived, his aura surged like a rainbow! The full might of the Qianjun Ninth Layer peak erupted. His apertures shone with brilliant light, and his willpower enveloped the entire arena! Formidable! His physical body had reached the absolute limit of Qianjun, and his willpower saturation exceeded ninety percent, placing him at the peak of the Yangxing Realm. No wonder he had managed to fight his way to eighty-fourth place. Liu He hadn't been enrolled for very long either—just one year more than Su Yu and his peers. To reach this height in only a single year meant he possessed both genuine talent and true strength. The cultural weapon in his hands was also top-grade Yellow rank. It gleamed with thirty-six golden veins. This was far superior to Yang Sha's cultural weapon from earlier. Su Yu let out a soft breath, leaped up, and landed on the platform. His white robes were as pristine as snow. The hem of his robe fluttered gracefully in the wind. Down below, quite a few female students gasped in admiration. He looked truly dashing! Liu He's gaze turned chillingly cold as he said, "Su Yu, there was never any grudge between us! But when I entered the academy last year, Bai Feng deemed me unteachable. It wasn't as if I was desperate to take him as my teacher, but I refuse to let anyone use me, Liu He, as a stepping stone! Before you even enrolled, people were already comparing you to me. Su Yu, do you think you're worthy?" Su Yu gave a faint smile. "Whether I'm worthy or not will be proven with our fists! Being compared to you was never my desire. If that's the case, why didn't you go after the ones spreading those rumors, instead of picking on a new student like me at the start of the term?" Su Yu added calmly, "My teacher looked down on you, so you should have confronted him to prove yourself! If you couldn't, then you should have swallowed your pride. Coming after me... is it just because you thought I was an easy target?" Liu He's expression shifted slightly. Su Yu smiled faintly. "People are always like this, always looking for an excuse for their own mistakes! You were the one who provoked me first, not me trying to make trouble for you. Yet in the end, it became my fault, as if I were stepping on you to climb higher... Was there any need for that?" Liu He focused his gaze! Looking at Su Yu, some of the anger in his eyes dissipated, though his tone remained cold. "Fair enough! But at this point, talking about that is pointless! Su Yu, since you want to climb the Top 100 Rankings and walk the path of the Top 100, this fight between us would happen regardless!" Su Yu nodded slightly and smiled. "Now that makes sense. Sparring, challenging—the whole point of it all is to make ourselves stronger! Blathering about who wronged whom is meaningless. Unlike a shameless scoundrel like Huang Qifeng, who intentionally crippled my Senior Sister... Against scum like him, I'd never bother talking about righteousness or self-improvement. Trash like that deserves nothing less than being stomped into the dirt!" Faced with this comparison, Liu He suddenly felt quite gratified! He laughed heartily. "Well said! How intriguing. Huang Qifeng..." At that point, still harboring some wariness, Liu He scoffed and did not continue. Below the stage, Huang Qifeng's eyes turned freezing cold! Yet Liu He didn't care in the slightest! He was not afraid of Huang Qifeng. Leaving his elder brother aside, his own teacher was a powerhouse at the Lingyun Ninth Layer. Though not on par with Zheng Yuming, his teacher was still an important figure in the Single Divine Character Faction. Besides, his brother's teacher was still alive—just in seclusion, not dead. The two on stage fell silent. Zhao Ming looked at them and chuckled. "Anything more to say? If not, you both know the rules. Su Yu, if you win, you take the eighty-fourth spot on the Top 100 Rankings. Liu He, if you lose, you drop to ninety-ninth. If you want to climb back up, fight your own way back!" "Additionally, if Su Yu loses, he must pay Liu He ten merit points. That's the rule!" "After winning, Su Yu may continue to issue challenges, or he may stop. For the next three days, he may refuse all challenges!" "..." After reciting the regulations, Zhao Ming looked at the two of them and smiled. "Then let's begin!" The moment his voice fell, a whistling spear tore through the air! A surging dragon swept forward! Yuanqi erupted, and a lethal chill targeted Su Yu's apertures, stirring the ambient energy into a frenzy. Su Yu tapped the ground with one foot, shifting his weight to dodge. "Die!" A muffled roar sounded, and Su Yu felt as though his willpower had taken a heavy blow! *Die... die... die...* Inside his mind, an illusory demon god seemed to materialize, roaring relentlessly as battle cries echoed, shaking his sea of will. A divine character! A Demon Race divine character! Su Yu recognized it instantly. Liu He had gone all out from the very start without the slightest hesitation, unleashing his divine character and martial skills simultaneously. "Kill!" The "Kill" divine character erupted, its lethal aura piercing the heavens, instantly shattering the illusory demon phantoms. By this point, the spear was already right upon him. Before the spearhead even struck, its unmatched spear qi had already lanced toward Su Yu's apertures. Su Yu's apertures vibrated! *Boom!* A detonation of yuanqi rang out. A faint radiance shimmered across Su Yu's body as his profound reserves of yuanqi pulverized the incoming energy needles. Su Yu made his move abruptly. Yuanqi surged as he struck with a heavy palm, swatting the spear sharply to the side. Liu He reversed his grip and swept the shaft back around! *Buzz!* The displaced air exploded with a shrill, ear-piercing scream. Not only that, but the "Death" divine character flared once more, roaring chants echoing within Su Yu's sea of will, rattling his mind and stirring an irritable restlessness in his spirit. A disruption-type divine character! Against someone with weaker willpower, the detonation of this character could likely rattle their sea of will so violently that they wouldn't even be able to deploy their own divine characters. Su Yu gave a low shout, and his cultural weapon appeared! Thunder rumbled! A saber slashed down! With a thunderous crash, the spear shuddered violently. Liu He was forced back several steps, his expression flickering in shock. What immense strength! His physical body was terrifyingly robust! "Hmph!" The spear vanished in an instant. Liu He let out another low shout, triggering yet another divine character. In the next breath, both of his hands took on a visible golden-jade hue. "Kill!" Abandoning his cultural weapon entirely, Liu He thrust both bare palms toward Su Yu! Shatter Yuan! Su Yu recognized the strike instantly—the third form of the *Sky-Breaking Slash*, Shatter Yuan. "Fight!" Su Yu also barked a shout. His cultural saber slashed outward, unleashing the exact same strike—Shatter Yuan! ... "Late-stage Qianjun!" Below the stage, many cried out in shock! *Damn it, Su Yu is at late-stage Qianjun.* Shatter Yuan was the third form of the *Sky-Breaking Slash*, a technique that could only be mastered in late-stage Qianjun. This guy wasn't at the Qianjun Sixth Layer at all! ... "Seventh Layer?" Wu Lan blinked, not feeling particularly disheartened. *I... seem to be getting used to this.* *It's fine, I'm not walking the physical path anyway!* *No matter. Once my willpower breaks through to Tengkong, my body will follow suit directly into Tengkong, so I still have hope of catching up to him. It's totally fine.* ... "Qianjun Seventh Layer?" Huang Qifeng frowned slightly, then sneered. Was this where his confidence came from? Seventh Layer... was not weak, but that was all it was! ... On the stage. Su Yu's Shatter Yuan strike detonated, colliding with Liu He's bare palms with a thunderous roar! Cultural weapon met bare flesh! Yuanqi detonated! Shatter Yuan was designed precisely to shatter yuanqi. Vortices of blade-like wind swept across both of their bodies. Liu He's palms, infused with his divine character, were now sharp enough to shear through iron, matching the cultural weapon blow for blow and causing a crisp ringing sound to echo from the saber. Right at that moment, Liu He's vision blurred. Liu He snorted coldly and flared his willpower in an instant. A crack resounded in his ears, and the illusion shattered! *That won't work on me!* "Colossal Strength Upon Me!" With a low roar, an immense surge of power suddenly poured from Liu He's palms. Between the two who had been evenly matched, Su Yu abruptly felt a colossal force crashing against him, rattling his physical frame. Su Yu exhaled, roared furiously, and his apertures detonated! One hundred and eight apertures blazed with dazzling radiance! "Get back!" A terrifying burst of power poured through Su Yu's saber. With a deafening boom, it shoved Liu He backward. In the next instant, a silent bolt of lightning exploded right atop Liu He's head! Thunder! Shadow! Using shadow to conceal the lightning, Su Yu counterattacked while the thunderbolt detonated. The concussive roar only sounded once it penetrated his defenses. *Bang!* A massive explosion sent Liu He staggering backward, blood streaming down his face. His hair was blasted into a scorched, frizzy mess, several clumps standing straight on end, and his complexion was charred black. "You..." Qianjun Ninth Layer! ... *Thud!* Below the stage, the sound of people staggering and bumping into each other rang out. Zheng Yunhui bumped into the student in front of him without even realizing it. He stared up at Su Yu, his eyes filled with bewildered shock. Qianjun Ninth Layer! One hundred and eight apertures were shimmering with brilliant, dazzling light. Su Yu... was at the Qianjun Ninth Layer? *Damn it, are my eyes playing tricks on me?* Beside him, Xia Huyou's jaw dropped. *Are you kidding me?* Wan Mingze and the others were equally dumbfounded! Qianjun Ninth Layer? Hadn't they agreed he was at the Qianjun Sixth Layer? Accepting the Seventh Layer from moments ago was hard enough, but now he was Ninth Layer? And how had Su Yu's lightning divine character stayed completely concealed? Even Liu He hadn't noticed it until he took a devastating blow. A divine character's blast damaged more than just the physical body—it shook the sea of will! Right now, Liu He's head was probably ringing furiously, making it doubtful he could even continue fighting. ... In the distance. Liu Hong was busy snacking on a melon when he suddenly began coughing violently, choking on a bite. Looking at Su Yu in the distance, he was utterly astonished. "*Cough, cough, cough...* Ninth Layer?" Liu Hong blinked. *Damn it, I thought you were Seventh Layer at best, maybe Eighth Layer if you pushed it. How the hell did you reach the Ninth Layer?* *Not only Ninth Layer, but this yuanqi... Fuck, it's way too pure!* It looked as though he had spent a decade or more idling in the Qianjun Realm, purifying his energy step by painstaking step! "Does that idiot Bai Feng know about this?" "Why hasn't he ever mentioned it?" Liu Hong was genuinely stunned. This was just too fast! Taking a vicious bite out of his melon, Liu Hong chewed, feeling an abrupt pang of jealousy. *Why him?!* *How could that idiot Bai Feng recruit a student this talented?!* *He has no money, no connections, no brains, no nothing!* *Heavens, why are you so unfair?!* *Damn it, having a student like this would set you up for retirement!* Looking back at Su Yu, Liu Hong felt intensely aggrieved. *Damn it, why can't my students trick tens of thousands of merit points out of people?* *Why can't they stand up for their teacher and beat my rivals' students to a pulp?* *That idiot Bai Feng stays holed up in seclusion every single day without lifting a finger, while his student is completely self-sufficient. Why can't mine do that?!* Liu Hong's melon suddenly tasted like ash! He refused to accept this! He felt utterly miserable! *Bai Feng, you bastard... Fuck, why don't you just drop dead!* ... Su Yu didn't care what anyone else thought. With a flick of his feet, his figure blurred as his cultural saber slashed down with a howl! With his hair standing on end, Liu He hadn't fully lost consciousness. By sheer reflex, his cultural spear materialized, trembling as he gripped it, barely raising it to parry! *Boom!* A deafening crash shook the platform. The slash made the spear shudder uncontrollably, and blood seeped from the corners of Liu He's mouth. "Lend me strength!" Liu He roared again, his arms turning completely golden-yellow. Yet his face was pale as death as he swept his spear outward in a wide arc! Su Yu, however, took a step back, vanishing from before his eyes in an instant. In the next breath, the saber descended silently, laced with crackling thunder! *Crack!* The blow tore into Liu He's arms, ripping flesh and spilling blood like a fountain. Lightning flared once more, charring his arms. Deflecting the spear with a swipe of his blade, Su Yu lashed out with a kick. Even without employing the Mountain-Sea Shatterer martial skill, this kick carried immense physical power, striking squarely against Liu He's chest! With a dull thud, Liu He flew backward, crashing hard onto the ground. After struggling a few times, Liu He failed to climb back up, blood steadily dripping from his lips. Looking up, he stared at Su Yu. Liu He was silent. The audience below was silent. Defeated! Liu He had lost! "Thank you for the match!" Su Yu sheathed his blade and cupped his hands in respect. His robe fluttered, as white as snow, still free of wrinkles, let alone tears. ... He had won! Su Yu had won, defeating eighty-fourth-ranked Liu He without even seeming to have exerted his full strength. Just like that, he had won! Qianjun Ninth Layer! His yuanqi was incomparably pure, and his physical body was powerful enough to suppress Liu He completely. Although his willpower wasn't monstrously high, many could see that it had already surpassed sixty percent, and he commanded multiple divine characters, including a Tier-2 divine character. His willpower was exceptionally stable! Even when Liu He detonated his divine character, it had failed to shake Su Yu's sea of will. *Is this guy... even human?* *Isn't he a freshman?* *Who among this year's new students could possibly match him?* ... Over there, Wan Mingze's expression turned thoroughly grave. Hu Qiusheng drew a deep breath. Xia Chan clenched her fists and bit her lip, her eyes blazing with battle intent and indignation! None of them were willing to concede! Yet even if they refused to accept it, they all knew that Su Yu had seemingly pulled ahead of them! Battle intent surged like a dragon! The monstrous prodigies—including Zheng Yunhui—held their tongues, none of them making sarcastic remarks. Every single one radiated towering fighting spirit! In the area where these prodigies stood, even some senior students found the pressure unbearable and moved aside. Looking at the stage, then back down at the crowd... Only a single thought lingered in everyone's mind: *This class... is terrifying!* Jia Mingzhen glanced between Su Yu and Wan Mingze's group, suddenly laughing. This was far too interesting! Did they even need the elders to provoke them? These few kids looked ready to burst already! With Su Yu pulling off a stunt like this today, there was no way in hell Wan Mingze and the others could hold back. Without a doubt, once Su Yu's battle concluded, someone else was going to suffer. The Top 100 Rankings were due for a complete shakeup! ... On the stage. Su Yu stood as composed as ever, his white robes as pristine as snow. At this moment, no one viewed him as just a kid anymore. A powerhouse! At the very least, an absolute powerhouse among his peers! "Senior Liu..." Su Yu looked at Liu He. Liu He shook his head, struggling to stand. Dizziness lingered in his eyes, and the searing agony in his chest reminded him that his ribs were broken. Staring at Su Yu, Liu He suddenly gave a self-deprecating smile. Who was trash? He didn't consider himself trash! Which meant Su Yu was simply far more talented than him! Bai Feng had good reason to accept him. What teacher wouldn't want a student like this? "I lost!" Liu He bared his teeth, forcing a smile. "Losing to anyone else, I wouldn't accept it! They're just old bastards who cultivated a few years longer than me; I would surpass them soon enough!" "Losing to you..." A trace of sorrow crept into Liu He's voice. "I accept it!" He had no reason not to! Su Yu was younger than him, had cultivated for less time, and likely had fewer resources. He had no prestigious family background, no backing, only a multiple divine character faction that was heavily suppressed. If he couldn't accept losing to someone like that, who could he ever accept losing to? Stumbling slightly, Liu He turned to leave. "Beat Huang Qifeng. He's nothing but trash. If you lose to him, I won't accept it!" In the distance, Huang Qifeng didn't even have time to settle scores with him. Looking at Su Yu, his gaze turned intensely solemn. Qianjun Ninth Layer! A Tier-2 divine character! There had been no fluke in Su Yu's defeat of Liu He. Liu He had gone all out, yet had been easily struck down. Su Yu was even stronger than he was currently showing! ... "Su Yu wins!" Zhao Ming was also filled with astonishment, while the younger teacher who had arrived later looked at Su Yu with a peculiar gleam in his eye. He won? And it felt like Su Yu hadn't even exerted his full strength! A full-power display wouldn't look like this! He had actually defeated Liu He after just two months. And now, he was about to challenge Huang Qifeng. This wasn't a pipe dream—it was reality. Ignoring their reactions, Su Yu raised a hand. "I'd like to rest for half an hour before challenging seventy-first-ranked Huang Qifeng. Teacher, is that permitted?" "It is!" Zhao Ming chuckled. "Of course! You could even fight tomorrow if you wanted. After expending so much energy, half an hour might not even be enough to recover, so that fellow is already taking advantage of you!" Below the stage, Huang Qifeng didn't say a word. Taking time to recover was standard practice. If he dared object right now, the entire crowd would drown him in spit. After two consecutive fights, what was a short rest? Ignoring them, Zhao Ming looked toward Liu He in the distance and called out, "Liu He, your injuries are severe. Let me treat them!" With that, he blurred into motion, rushing over. He had to treat those wounds! Silly kid, running around like an idiot—didn't he know moving about while injured could cause his broken bones to shift out of alignment? ... No one paid him any mind. Su Yu stepped down from the ring and sat cross-legged. A drop of yuanqi liquid slipped into his mouth, quickly dissolving. In truth, his expenditure hadn't been large, but against Huang Qifeng, he needed to be at peak condition. He intended to teach that man a proper lesson! A moment later, several figures gathered around him. This time, Wu Lan didn't look down her nose at him. Instead, she squatted down and peered at him curiously. "Ninth Layer?" "I already told you!" "What?" Su Yu smiled faintly. "I never lie. When you asked me, I said 'six.'" "And?" "From Qianjun Third Layer, I advanced by six layers, which makes Ninth Layer!" Wu Lan nodded. So he really had told her all along! Saying nothing more, she stood up, pointing her chin at him again. "Beat that guy named Huang. He looks like a villain and a petty scoundrel!" Su Yu chuckled and said nothing. A moment later, Xia Huyou leaned in. "Are you confident?" Su Yu glanced at him, eyes flickering. "Nope!" "Don't mess around!" "You made a killing running the betting pool just now, didn't you?" "No way, just a tiny bit..." "You think I didn't see?" With a smile as warm as a spring breeze, Su Yu spoke in a barely audible whisper. "You opened a book just now, and probably not many bet on me to win! It's the same now. Even though I looked strong, Huang Qifeng is stronger! I won't place a bet, but you give me thirty percent of the cut. Otherwise... believe it or not, I'll have someone bet on me to lose, and I'll throw the match!" "..." Xia Huyou grimaced. "Aren't you afraid of losing face?" "Not at all. Losing wouldn't be embarrassing for me, as long as I make money!" "You..." Xia Huyou felt utterly depressed! Su Yu whispered, "Go get Huang Qifeng and his crew to place bets! Wouldn't it be easy to provoke them? Does he think he'll lose to me? If not, wouldn't he want to make some easy money? There are plenty of people on their side!" "Nonsense, of course I know that! I'm asking if you're sure you can win. He's in the Wanshi Realm, can you really beat him?" "One hundred percent!" "You said it..." Xia Huyou gritted his teeth. "Then I'll gamble on it! I'll go find them. If you actually lose and they bet heavily, I'm ruined!" "Don't worry!" With that, Su Yu murmured, "The pool won't get raided by the academy, will it?" "Bite your tongue! How could it?" Xia Huyou whispered in a hushed tone, "Don't worry, for everyone placing bets, I wrote IOUs! It's framed as me borrowing from them. Even if the academy comes cracking down, I have an excuse: I'll say I borrowed it! Later, for those who lose their bets, I'll just go collect the notes..." "Aren't you afraid they won't pay?" "Pfft, you think people don't care about their reputation?" Xia Huyou whispered, "The greater the genius, the more they care about face. The bigger the family background, the more face matters! With so many people watching, would they dare be shameless? If someone really tries to play dirty with me, do you think I'm someone to mess with? Geniuses pay their debts, the strong honor their word, and as for any weaklings who refuse to pay up, believe it or not, I'd give them hell every single day!" "It's better not to collect their merit points upfront right now," Su Yu whispered. "Have them write IOUs for their wagers. You hold the notes. If they win, return them along with their winnings; if they lose, go collect from them one by one. It's safer that way." "That makes sense, though collecting one by one is a huge pain!" Xia Huyou nodded. That worked; he could try a mix of both. Either way, safety came first! He suspected that some bastard had been keeping an eye on him all along. No matter, Lord Xia wasn't someone to be pushed around easily. Su Yu added, "Huang Qifeng is at the Wanshi Second Layer with willpower saturation at ninety-six percent. Spread the word. I'll provoke him in a moment and make him reveal his strength, so everyone thinks I'm no match for him!" "He's that strong? Are you really sure?" Xia Huyou grew even more uneasy! *Damn, Wanshi Second Layer!* Huang Qifeng had merged at least nine apertures into one, and his willpower was nearing its limit. A Civilization Master like that probably possessed the combat strength of a Wanshi Fourth or Fifth Layer. As for Liu He, his combat power peaked around Wanshi Second Layer, barely scraping Third Layer. Just because Su Yu had beaten him didn't guarantee he could beat Huang Qifeng. "Cut the chatter. If I lose, I'll cover ten percent of your losses!" "Really? Isn't that a bit low?" "Then you go up and fight, and I'll run the betting pool!" "Forget it!" Xia Huyou waved his hands. He had no interest in that. Fine, since this guy sounded so confident, his chances had to be high. "All right. Oh, by the way, should I open a time prop bet? How fast can you win?" "Within three minutes!" "Seriously?" Xia Huyou was genuinely stunned this time. *Are you sure?* He had assumed Su Yu would engage in a drawn-out battle! Su Yu exhaled softly and said calmly, "Seriously. Go on!" Xia Huyou felt a jolt of shock. *Does this kid really have that much confidence?* *Holy crap, that means he's still hiding his strength!* He was finding it harder and harder to see through Su Yu! ... Xia Huyou left. Su Yu rested for another seven or eight minutes, feeling that he had returned to his absolute peak. Hesitating no longer, he rose and stepped onto the stage. In that instant, every eye locked onto Su Yu. In the crowd, Xia Huyou felt his heart pounding in his chest. *Good heavens, he cannot afford to lose this time.* *There are way too many bets!* Never mind that everyone seemed to be cheering for Su Yu—when actual money was involved, people were brutally honest. Even those sweet senior sisters who had showered Su Yu with praise, a dozen or so of them, had bet on Huang Qifeng to win. And their bets weren't small either, totaling seven to eight hundred merit points—nearly everything those girls owned! And that was only part of it. The wagers from Huang Qifeng's side were staggering. Huang Qifeng himself had wagered two thousand merit points on his own victory! His lackeys and members of the Single Divine Character Faction had placed nearly eight thousand points altogether! This pool was far larger than the last one, with bets backing Huang Qifeng exceeding thirty thousand merit points. Those backing Su Yu totaled only about three thousand. Xia Huyou was terrified. If Su Yu lost, he would be out at least six thousand points! To entice everyone to bet, he had offered quite generous odds. A Huang Qifeng victory paid 1 to 1.3. Given Huang Qifeng's strength, that payout was genuinely substantial—otherwise, Huang Qifeng wouldn't have bet so much himself. If Huang Qifeng really won, Xia Huyou would have to pay out thirty-nine thousand points. As for Su Yu, the odds on him were even higher. However, very few had bet on him. If Su Yu won, Xia Huyou stood to make a massive fortune. Xia Huyou was on edge. Having his pool raided last time had already cost him dearly. If he lost again, he would be down over ten thousand merit points in total. His second grand-uncle would truly beat him to death! Doing business for a few months, and all he'd done was lose money! ... On the stage. Su Yu took the platform first. Looking down at Huang Qifeng below, he said calmly, "Get up here!" Gone was his previous humility and warmth! He had already made it clear: there was no need for courtesy toward enemies. Huang Qifeng sneered and walked onto the arena ring. Below, the crowd was swelling by the second. In the distance, an anxious shout suddenly rang out: "Junior Brother, come down!" Wu Jia had arrived! Her face was still slightly pale. Having arrived alongside Chen Yong, she called out anxiously, "Come down, I'll get my own revenge... *cough, cough...*" A fit of coughing interrupted her. Su Yu looked toward Chen Yong and Wu Jia, took a deep breath, and let the full power of his Qianjun Ninth Layer erupt without reservation! Chen Yong said nothing. He had known this day would come. It had just come too soon! It was far faster than he had anticipated. Knowing earlier that Su Yu had reached the Qianjun Ninth Layer, he had known this day wasn't far off, but how many days had it been? Huang Qifeng was stronger than him! Su Yu unleashed his aura! Huang Qifeng unleashed his as well! One hundred and eight apertures gradually condensed into one hundred, then ninety-two. It wasn't that he was growing weaker, but rather that two sets of nine apertures had merged into singular nodes! Wanshi Second Layer! Below the stage, another wave of gasps erupted. He really was at the Wanshi Second Layer? Before this, though rumors had circulated, Huang Qifeng had always displayed the strength of the Qianjun Ninth Layer. No one had expected him to truly be at the Wanshi Second Layer! Those who had bet on him, despite finding the man despicable, couldn't help feeling a secret surge of joy. They were going to win money! The girls cheered for Su Yu while thinking helplessly to themselves: *It's fine, losing isn't shameful. Once we win our money, we'll share some with you. Don't cry.* ... The two auras surged violently! Willpower clashed! Upon the arena ring, fighting spirit soared, and murderous intent boiled. Zhao Ming's expression turned far graver as he said in a low voice, "You may concede; do not stubbornly force it! I'm warning you both: if you truly get crippled, that's on you! As the referee, I cannot intervene in your duel unless a strike is fatal!" "Understood!" Su Yu replied. Huang Qifeng rolled his neck, smiling faintly. "Rest assured, I'll only cripple him. I won't kill him!" "Save those words for yourself!" "Begin!" The command fell! Every single aperture across Su Yu's body detonated, turning him into a being of pure, radiant light. He shot into the air, legs crossing. Stomping down toward the earth! A whip kick lashed out! Huang Qifeng detonated a divine character—"Bind," a restriction-type character. Yet Su Yu didn't deploy his willpower at all. As the whip kick struck out, a thunderous crash resounded, and the willpower binding was pulverized directly by the sheer physical force! The power of over one hundred and fifty apertures detonated with terrifying might. Wanshi Second Layer? No! In this instant, Su Yu even bit down on a drop of blood essence hidden in his mouth, temporarily opening additional apertures to drive the total beyond one hundred and eighty! Before he even touched down, afterimages of whip kicks blanketed the arena. Huang Qifeng felt as though he had been severed from the world. Everything around him blurred. In the next instant, darkness engulfed his vision, and an illusion flooded his mind. A cultural weapon appeared in his grip—a longsword. Roaring furiously, he swung it around wildly! Right at that moment, moving with blinding speed, Su Yu swept out with another kick. Vast yuanqi rippled in all directions—Mountain-Sea Shatterer! *Boom!* The kick landed squarely on Huang Qifeng, who had no way to evade. With a sickening crack, the sound of breaking bone rang out! His leg bone snapped! "Ahhh!" A shrill scream ripped through the air as Huang Qifeng's willpower flared once more, shattering the illusion! He saw Su Yu! Right now, Su Yu was as cold as frost, devoid of any warmth or smile. Strike while the enemy is down, and take his life! The cultural weapon appeared, not enlarged, but slender as a needle. It shot forward like a streak of lightning, piercing through his chest with a wet squelch. Coughing blood! Huang Qifeng stumbled back. Su Yu's figure blurred again, materializing behind him, and lashed out with yet another whip kick! *Snap!* His right leg snapped! His left leg had already been broken; now, the bones in both legs were shattered. With a heavy thud, Huang Qifeng collapsed to his knees. Channeling all his strength into both hands, Su Yu brought down a double-fist hammer strike! *Crack!* His left arm snapped! Grabbing Huang Qifeng by the back of the neck, Su Yu slammed him into the stone, stomped down with his foot, and another agonized shriek tore through the air as the right arm was crushed underfoot! Recalling his cultural weapon, Su Yu fused his divine characters into the blade. Five divine characters merged simultaneously, crackling with lightning, and cleaved downward in a single devastating strike! *Boom!* A violent explosion rang out, and Huang Qifeng's cultural longsword shattered completely into fragments! "Ahhh!" Huang Qifeng's willpower suffered a catastrophic blow. The divine character affixed to his cultural weapon shattered instantly, violently destabilizing his sea of will. Bleeding from all seven facial orifices, he screamed hysterically! Su Yu detonated his divine characters once more, the "Blood" character hungrily absorbing the lingering remnants of the shattered character. In the blink of an eye, a kick lashed out! *Bang!* Huang Qifeng was kicked airborne! Su Yu leaped into the air, saber in hand, cleaving straight toward his face! "Stop!" Only at this instant did Zhao Ming snap out of his shock. Turning pale with horror, he tore through the air and caught Su Yu's saber in his bare grip! His face was completely overcome with terror! *Holy shit!* *What the hell was that?!* *Holy shit!* Thirty seconds—at most thirty seconds! If he hadn't intervened, Huang Qifeng would have been hacked to death with that single blow! Even surviving it, the man was utterly ruined. All four limbs broken, divine character collapsed, sea of will devastated! This kid... was ruthless! A truly biting dog never barks! Holy crap, what a ruthless bastard. When he fought Yang Sha and Liu He, there hadn't been the slightest hint of this brutality! Below the stage, everyone was struck dumb. The weaker students hadn't even processed what had occurred. All they had heard were Huang Qifeng's agonizing shrieks, followed by Su Yu nearly cleaving him in half. If the referee hadn't stepped in, Huang Qifeng would have been virtually insta-killed by Su Yu! *Damn it, are we dreaming?* ... In that moment, everyone was genuinely flabbergasted. Xia Huyou's mouth hung wide open! Zheng Yunhui plopped straight onto his backside, utterly dazed. *Are you kidding me?* *Are you fucking kidding me?!* *He's this strong?!* Wan Mingze swallowed hard, feeling a lingering sense of terror. Thank goodness they had only competed in divine characters last time. Thank goodness he hadn't formally challenged him to a physical duel. If this guy had battered him like this for revenge, it would have been horrific! Truly terrifying! At the very outer edge of the crowd, Wu Jia, who had just arrived, hadn't even had the chance to shout "Junior Brother, come down!" a second time before witnessing this shocking scene! He won? No, it was a total rout, an absolute demolition of Huang Qifeng! Chen Yong was equally stunned. What was going on? How many apertures had he opened? *Good grief, he must have opened several hundred!* *Is this still Qianjun?* *Are you telling me this is Qianjun?!* What kind of martial skill was that leg technique? It was too ferocious! Even watching from a distance, Chen Yong had felt a brief moment of disorientation just now. That definitely wasn't an illusion from a divine character, but something else entirely! Further away, Liu Hong's melon fell straight to the dirt. He muttered blankly, "A martial skill... at least Heaven-rank mid-grade. Why the hell isn't he my disciple..." *Why isn't he my disciple?!* Who on earth mastered a martial skill of Heaven-rank mid-grade or higher while still in the Qianjun Realm?! Just how many apertures did that require? The War Academy might have such monsters, but the Civilization Academy... definitely did not! With hundreds of apertures opened and yuanqi of supreme purity, this wasn't a Civilization Master at all—this was a full-blown brute from the War Academy! In past years, it was always the brutes from the War Academy who beat their Civilization Masters into the dirt like this! Today, history had repeated itself. Of course, even the fighters from the War Academy were never this savage. Four broken limbs, cultural weapon shattered, divine character broken, willpower crippled... War Academy brutes didn't have the means to shatter someone's willpower! ... Upon the arena ring. Su Yu recalled his cultural weapon. He touched down. Huang Qifeng lay crumpled on the ground, blood pooling around him, clinging to a single faint breath, completely motionless. Ignoring him, Su Yu looked toward Wu Jia on the perimeter and smiled. It was a very gentle, very peaceful smile. "Senior Sister, I won!" Wu Jia suddenly didn't know what to say, tears streaming down her face like a broken dam! In this instant, she felt as though this junior brother was her entire world. In this instant, the girls in the crowd no longer cared about Huang Qifeng, nor did they care about the money they had lost. All they felt was moved, filled with envy! *I want a junior brother like that too!* Su Yu beamed brightly, turning to look at Zhao Ming. "Teacher, does this count as my win?" "..." Zhao Ming was speechless! *You nearly beat the man to death, and you're asking me if you won?* *You tell me if you won!* In thirty seconds, he had nearly beaten Huang Qifeng to death. The skies were truly about to change! This Top 100 Rankings... no, this wasn't just about the rankings anymore! *Damn it all, you just beat the closed-door disciple of a Shanhai Realm elder from the Single Divine Character Faction into this horrific state. There's going to be massive trouble!* Right at that moment, an incomparably immense aura detonated! It swept in from the distance at terrifying speed! Chen Yong's face flushed crimson. Turning his head toward the distance, fury blazed in his eyes! In the next instant, Chen Yong's aura erupted, shaking the very heavens and earth. "Zheng Yuming! You want to die!" With an enraged roar, a colossal giant materialized between heaven and earth, gripping a massive cauldron and smashing it toward the distance with a deafening boom! "Insolent!" Right then, a low shout rang out! The massive cauldron was sent flying. In the distance, Zheng Yuming, who had just taken to the sky, was seized inside an enormous, heaven-spanning palm! *Bang!* The hand closed. Zheng Yuming's physical body burst under the pressure, flesh and blood flying everywhere as one divine character after another manifested, only to be crushed to dust in an instant! "Audacious!" Wan Tiansheng's voice shook the heavens and earth. "Does the Single Divine Character Faction intend to rebel? Zhou Mingren, believe me when I say I will execute this beast right now!" In the next instant, within a secret realm, Zhou Mingren soared into the air. He asked no questions and offered no explanations. Catching Zheng Yuming's mutilated body, which had been tossed over like a bag of trash, he said calmly, "How about confining him for ten years?" "Hmph! Send him to the All-Heavens Battlefield. If he doesn't slay a Shanhai Realm enemy, let him die there!" Wan Tiansheng was incomparably domineering in this moment! The next instant, two beams of divine light flashed, piercing toward a certain quarter. "Get back!" In the Myriad Races Academy district, several powerhouses from the myriad races trembled in terror, hurriedly retreating into their quarters. Terrifying! With a quiet sigh, Zhou Mingren said nothing more, vanishing from the spot with Zheng Yuming's broken frame. Everything receded, returning to complete calm. Yet Su Yu and the others felt as though they were living in a dream! *Zheng Yuming... had he lost his mind?* *He actually tried to attack Su Yu!* *Inside the academy, against Su Yu!* *What was he thinking?* At this moment, even Liu Hong couldn't wrap his head around it, his mind feeling ready to explode. What kind of madness was that? Had his cultivation gone to his head? Or did he think becoming an academy elder meant he no longer had to follow the rules? After a long silence, someone murmured softly, "Maybe... he was just coming to retrieve Huang Qifeng..." "..." Silence. Speechless. Over there, Chen Yong touched down, keeping his head low, saying not a word. *Damn it, how was I supposed to know?* *I saw him flying straight at Su Yu, so I attacked. I didn't know if he was actually going to strike Su Yu or not!* *Did I... just cause massive trouble?* Chen Yong felt terribly guilty! Because he had attacked, everyone naturally assumed Zheng Yuming had intended to strike Su Yu. But... had he really? No one knew! Did Wan Tiansheng know? Was it an intentional warning to keep them in line, or... was he truly unsure as well? Chen Yong kept his head down, guilt gnawing at him. *I really didn't intentionally mislead anyone... Could those elders peeping at me please withdraw their willpower?*