Chapter 19

Wang Teng seized the opportunity to charge forward and punched Zhang Lei in the chest; his fist carried a gust of force, sending Zhang Lei stumbling back three steps.

“Do Itachi think Fat Boy’s two weeks of physical training were wasted?”

“Flame Palm!” Zhang Lei gathered fire in his palm and slammed it toward Wang Teng, but Wang Teng was ready—he sidestepped and shouted, “Forbidden Spell: Seal!”

A rune pattern wrapped around Zhang Lei, freezing him in place. Wang Teng immediately closed in and smashed a punch into Zhang Lei’s shoulder: “Yield!”

Zhang Lei staggered to the ground, staring at Wang Teng with shock, then gritted his teeth: “I yield!”

Cheers erupted from the crowd below; Wang Teng grinned and gave Jiang Xia and Ye Lingxi a victory sign: “Old Xia, Lingxi, wasn’t that awesome?”

Before the three could say more, the head referee’s voice rang out again: “Next match, singles round, first-year student Ye Lingxi versus first-year student Su Qing!”

As soon as she stepped onto the arena, Su Qing lunged at Ye Lingxi like a gust of wind, her short blade glinting with cold light.

Ye Lingxi calmly drew her bow and fired three ice arrows at the ground beneath her.

The ice arrows exploded on impact, instantly freezing a sheet of ice across the floor. Su Qing slipped, her speed sharply reduced.

Ye Lingxi seized the opening and fired another ice arrow, striking Su Qing’s short blade precisely; ice crystals spread along the blade, freezing her fingers.

“I yield!” Su Qing cried helplessly, staring at her frozen hand.

Next came Jiang Xia’s singles match, against second-year senior Li Yan, mid-Expert realm, radiating powerful spiritual energy.

Li Yan looked at Jiang Xia with arrogance: “I heard Itachi’re good in a fight? Today Itachi’ll learn the gap between junior and senior!”

The match began—Li Yan summoned lightning around him and hurled it at Jiang Xia. Jiang Xia’s eyes sharpened; his Sharingan spun as he sidestepped, tossing a shuriken marked with the Flying Thunder God seal toward the arena’s corner.

“Quick dodge!” Li Yan sneered, summoning more lightning arrows that forced Jiang Xia into a series of retreats.

“Flying Thunder God!” Jiang Xia timed his move perfectly—his body vanished and reappeared beside the shuriken in the corner.

Li Yan froze in place, still reacting, when Jiang Xia charged forward with the Kusanagi, its blade wrapped in white Chidori lightning: “My turn!”

He slashed at Li Yan’s shoulder; Li Yan hastily retreated.

Jiang Xia threw another shuriken to pursue—“Shadow Clone Jutsu!” As Li Yan tried to sidestep, the shuriken split into dozens, shooting toward him from all sides.

Li Yan’s face turned pale; he hastily gathered lightning into a shield before him. “Clang! Clang! Clang!” Several shuriken slammed into the lightning shield, numbing his arms and cracking the shield with fine fissures.

Before he could stabilize, Jiang Xia’s voice sounded behind him: “Your focus is too weak, senior.”

Li Yan spun around—two shadow clones emerged from behind Jiang Xia, all three raising Chidori-charged blades, striking at him simultaneously.

The lightning shield shattered completely; he could only watch helplessly as three bolts of lightning neared, rolling backward in panic—but still, the foremost bolt grazed his shoulder.

The moment the lightning struck, Li Yan felt his shoulder go numb; he staggered and crashed into the arena’s safety rope.

Before he could recover, Jiang Xia and his two shadow clones surrounded him in a triangle, their Chidori blades still crackling, making Li Yan’s face turn pale.

“Senior, is this the gap Itachi were talking about?” Jiang Xia’s voice was calm, but it filled Li Yan with humiliation.

He gritted his teeth, forcing his remaining spiritual energy to summon another lightning arrow—but as electric light flickered at his fingertips, Jiang Xia slashed his wrist.

“Still resisting?” One shadow clone seized Li Yan’s arm, another pressed against his back, pinning him firmly in place.

The original Jiang Xia raised the Kusanagi, pressing its tip against Li Yan’s throat.

“I…” Li Yan struggled twice, feeling the electric sting at his throat, then yielded: “I yield!”

The head referee’s voice rang out immediately: “Winner of this match: first-year student Jiang Xia!”

Wang Teng shouted from the sidelines: “Old Xia, awesome!”

Ye Lingxi smiled warmly and gave Jiang Xia a slight nod from the arena. Jiang Xia’s clones vanished; he extended a hand to Li Yan: “Thank Itachi, senior.”

Li Yan stared at the offered hand, hesitated, then took it, his expression complex as he turned and walked off the arena.

Li Yan stared at the offered hand, hesitated, then took it, his expression complex as he turned and walked off the arena.

Several more pairs competed, until the head referee picked up the microphone, his voice carrying through spiritual energy across the entire arena.

“Congratulations to the winners who have advanced to the semifinals! All contestants, rest well and prepare for tomorrow’s semifinals!”

As Jiang Xia and the others prepared to leave, they glanced toward the arena exit and caught sight of Zhang Lei’s back—he was speaking with a male student in black athletic gear: Zhou Hao, the second-year who had won his preliminary match with absolute defense.

“Looks like Zhang Lei knows Zhou Hao,” Jiang Xia murmured. Wang Teng followed his gaze and snorted: “Who cares? If we face Zhou Hao tomorrow, I’ll hit him with a combo—he won’t stop it with that dirt shield.”

As they walked and talked, reaching the cafeteria, a voice called out: “Jiang Xia, please wait.”

Jiang Xia turned to see a middle-aged man in a white shirt standing nearby, wearing the referee badge on his chest.

The man stepped forward and handed him a slip of paper: “This is tomorrow’s semifinal matchup list—distributed early so Itachi can prepare.”

Jiang Xia took the paper and opened it:

Match One: Wang Teng vs. Zhou Hao

Match Two: Ye Lingxi vs. Chen Yao

…..

Match Ten: Jiang Xia vs. Wang Shichen…

Wang Teng leaned over to look, groaned: “No way! I’m really fighting Zhou Hao, the dirt turtle? Should’ve kept my mouth shut!”

Ye Lingxi also leaned in, pointing at the name on the list: “That guy was seventh in last year’s Grand Competition. In the entire second year, only one SSS-rank talent can outmatch him.”

Wang Teng rubbed his temples, grimacing: “Guess we’ve got a lot of strategy to study tonight.”

Jiang Xia replied, “Alright,” and the three sat in a corner of the cafeteria with their trays, studying.

The next day, the semifinals began; the head referee stepped onto the arena and announced loudly: “Singles Semifinal Match One: first-year student Wang Teng versus second-year student Zhou Hao!”

Zhou Hao stepped onto the arena slowly; his body radiated earth-yellow spiritual energy, and the stone tiles beneath his feet began to crack faintly.

He glanced at Wang Teng, voice calm: “I heard Itachi trained your physique for two weeks? Too bad—in the face of absolute power, such progress means nothing.”

“Enough talk—watch how Fat Boy breaks through your turtle shell! Flame Seal: Affix!”

Wang Teng roared; crimson flames erupted around him, glowing runes swirling beneath his skin, his aura surging violently.

He stomped the ground, denting the arena’s stone slabs, his body becoming a streak of fire as he lunged at Zhou Hao.

Zhou Hao calmly raised his hand: “Stone Armor.” Earth-yellow spiritual energy instantly wrapped his entire body, hardening into thick rock armor that covered even his fingertips completely.