Chapter 501: Truly Strong

Everyone's expressions went from initial curiosity and surprise to disbelief.

They originally thought Jiang Cheng was a man in his twenties or thirties, and some even thought he was a fifty- or sixty-year-old old man, after all, he was an alchemist, especially a skilled alchemist, without a head of white hair it wouldn't be evident.

As it turned out, he was actually a youth whose age was comparable to theirs?

Really? Or fake?

Not far away, the school leaders also glanced at Sun Bo.

He remained calm, as if he hadn't heard the surrounding discussion.

Xu Juan, seated in the place of honor, showed a hint of interest in her eyes.

Initially, Jiang Cheng passing the base's assessment surprised her, and she even used her authority to pull up his battle records, watching them several times.

After watching, she had to admit that Jiang Cheng was not only astonishingly talented in alchemy, but also had some talent in combat.

Now, almost a month has passed since then; I don't know if he has made any progress, and how far he can go in the Grand Competition?

On the big screen, the two individuals holding long swords stood opposite each other.

"Teacher Jiang, I've long admired your name; please instruct me." Song Zhijie said, clasping his fists with a smile.

"Teacher Song, you're too polite," Jiang Cheng also clasped his fists seriously and said: "Please instruct me."

As the words fell, the countdown ended.

Song Zhijie kicked off the ground, his whole body shooting like an arrow from a bow, straight toward Jiang Cheng.

At that moment, several sounds of tearing through the air rang out.

Song Zhijie's face changed drastically; he hurriedly stopped his steps, waving his battle blade like the wind.

"Clang! Clang! Clang!"

Several impact sounds rang out.

The three incoming steel needles were all blocked; at last, it was a narrow escape.

"A Spiritual Thought Master?"

Song Zhijie blurted out, eyes wide, staring at Jiang Cheng.

He originally thought Jiang Cheng held a sword, just like him, both being Force Warriors, but it turned out that was merely the opponent's lure.

Not only he was surprised, but also a crowd of students.

"How sneaky!" a student exclaimed angrily: "Actually using such petty tricks."

"Exactly, he almost let him win; fortunately, Teacher Song reacted in time."

"Hmph, this little trick can't make up for the strength gap; Teacher Song will surely win!"

However, some expressed opposition.

"Isn't this not really sneaky? Since he's carrying a sword, that shows he'll definitely engage in melee; otherwise, carrying an extra weapon would just be dragging himself down."

"Yeah, besides, the competition doesn't forbid using psychic weapons; you, Teacher Song, don't use one—who can you blame?"

While the audience argued, the battle on the field also entered a fever pitch.

The three steel needles, like a fishing net, enveloped Song Zhijie, leaving him exhausted from defending.

And whenever Song Zhijie tried to break out, the needles' speed increased a bit, forcing him to halt his steps.

"Whoa, Teacher Jiang is going to win?" In the lounge, Xie Jianfeng saw this, his eyes widened, feeling quite surprised.

He had thought Jiang Cheng might win, after all they were of equal strength, but he hadn't expected that from the start, Jiang Cheng could hold the advantage.

"This Teacher Jiang is not simple."

Just then, a man's laughter sounded from behind.

Everyone startled, turning to look at the speaking man.

Because the speaker was none other than the previous first-place winner, Yao Jun.

Everyone knew Jiang Cheng's background, so it was extremely shocking that he could attract Yao Jun's attention and even personally say the three words "not simple."

"It's not simple."

Another man spoke up: "Given his ability, he could clearly end this battle within two or three seconds, yet he deliberately prolonged it to now; during this time, he also excellently controlled the psychic weapon, so to outsiders, Teacher Song appears to be blocking the psychic weapon with his own strength,

but actually, it was Teacher Jiang who deliberately let the psychic weapon strike his weapon; as for why he did that, I think it's because he considered the many onlookers and wanted to give Teacher Song a modicum of face."

"Even Teacher Qiu said that?"

Upon hearing this, everyone looked at each other.

Teacher Qiu, like Yao Jun, is also a Spiritual Master, and moreover a Sixth-level Spiritual Master, only one level below him.

Although he is one level lower, he is still one of the strong contenders with the best hope of competing with Yao Jun for first place in this academy Grand Competition.

If one person said that, it would be fine, but two people said it.

This newcomer, is he really that formidable?

Probably the most shocked was Xie Jianfeng.

As the person who interacted with Jiang Cheng the most in the lounge, he couldn't believe his own ears.

How could he not know Jiang Cheng was this capable?

"Teacher Qiu, what rank do you think he can achieve?" someone couldn't help but ask.

"Maybe the top fifty." Teacher Qiu thought, then said: "If he doesn't get complacent, making the top fifty should be no problem; any higher, and we can't tell yet."

Upon hearing that, everyone looked at each other.

Many still held skeptical attitudes.

A few people didn't care.

Right now, Jiang Cheng hasn't even made the top fifty; even if he did, stepping back ten thousand steps, what could it amount to? If they really encountered him, they'd be sure to eliminate him.

On the big screen, Song Zhijie's breath was somewhat disordered, his movements not as swift as before; if this continues, defeat is certain.

But, looking at Jiang Cheng not far away, his eyes showed a hint of despair.

Don't look at the fact that there is only a little over ten meters between them; that ten-plus meters is like a heavenly moat—every time he tries to close the distance a bit, the psychic weapon's speed increases a notch, warning him that if he moves forward any further, he will be injured, even killed!

Are you going to concede?

A voice sounded in his mind.

But giving up just like that would be too embarrassing.

Thinking this, he no longer hesitated, shouted loudly, and charged forward.

Ah!

With a miserable scream, a steel needle pierced his arm; in pain, the knife in his hand also fell to the ground.

The students opened their mouths wide.

The match, it seems, has already ended?

I, I lost.

Song Zhijie gave a bitter laugh; he seemed to realize that from the start, this person in front of him had been holding back—clearly he could have ended the fight quickly, yet he deliberately spent over ten seconds without delivering a killing blow, merely knocking away his weapon.

Jiang Cheng smiled at him.

The battle ended, and the two left the virtual storage.

"Teacher Jiang, thank you." Song Zhijie stepped forward and said gratefully.

"Teacher Song, no need to be polite." Jiang Cheng shook his head, stepped down from the stage, returned to the lounge, and was immediately locked onto by hundreds of gazes, among which was a pair of beautiful eyes—Lin Ziwei's; seeing Jiang Cheng look over, she also smiled.

Just as Jiang Cheng felt a bit at a loss, someone soon broke the atmosphere.

"Teacher Jiang, awesome!" Xie Jianfeng ran over, gave a thumbs-up, "Strong, really strong!"

(End of chapter)