Chapter 400: Ling Shuang

The only nine-stage peak experts publicly recognized in Great Xia are three, and Li Guang of the Li family is one of them.

As Li Hao is the direct bloodline of the Li family, it's easy to imagine how powerful his background truly is.

"That Li family?" Xia Lan and the others also showed expressions of shock.

As students of the Talent Training Camp, they were seen by outsiders as young elites, chosen by heaven!

Yet before such a family, they were like ants.

Even Su Qingli, the current director of Thunder Martial Arts Gym, is inferior to the Li family.

"That Li family."

Lin Hui wore a look of reflection: "Speaking of it, our teacher Ling Shuang is quite formidable.

Li Hao launched his courtship five years ago, but without exception, all were rejected.

He even fled all the way to Magic City University—something a normal woman would never do.

Just the Li family's background alone would make any woman agree."

Compared to Thunder Martial Arts Gym, Magic City University of Psychic Abilities, with its official backing, carries greater prestige.

That's also why Li Hao dared not follow her to Magic City University.

"But this Li family's young master Li Hao's talent is actually quite poor—he possesses only a B-grade psychic ability.

Though he's roughly the same age as Teacher Ling, and has also reached the eighth-stage Grand Master rank,

his entire cultivation was forcibly stacked through pills and rare treasures.

Compared to Teacher Ling, who possesses an S-grade psychic ability and broke through to eighth-stage mid-level Grand Master on her own, he's vastly inferior.

He only holds a slight advantage in family background."

Lin Hui added quickly.

Li Hao holds the position of commander in his family's military unit, making him a notable figure.

Yet his actual combat power ranks among the lowest in the eighth-stage Grand Master tier.

"How come you know so much about Teacher Ling's past?" Xu Jingming said with a strange expression.

Magic City University's student forum forbids discussing instructors above vice-dean level.

So to him, Ling Shuang had always been mysterious—he never expected she went there for this reason.

"Because Teacher Ling is incredibly charming."

Lin Hui gave a look every man understood:

"Among all the female instructors at Thunder Martial Arts Gym, Teacher Ling ranks second in beauty, after Director Su."

When the news spread that Teacher Ling had returned to the Talent Training Camp, it caused a major stir on the gym's internal forum.

Even some graduates who had long left and taken posts at branch locations clamored to rejoin.

"There's actually a ranking?"

Xu Jingming was stunned: "Aren't you terrified they'll find out and kill you with a single glare?"

He instinctively stepped farther away from Lin Hui, fearing blood might splash on him.

"Keep it low-key—this ranking was made by the older students.

I only saw it once; Director Su and the others probably don't even know.

By the way, there's another ranking of beautiful students in our training camp—if you're interested, I can send it to you later."

Lin Hui cleared his throat and quickly changed the subject.

"Boring. Xiao Man, Xiao Dan, let's go."

Hearing this, Xia Lan rolled her eyes and pulled Zhou Xiaoman and Yang Dan away.

"You're bold—knowing Xia Lan and the others are right here, you still say that."

Xu Jingming gave a thumbs-up.

"What's the difference? I'm not interested in Xia Lan, so I don't care what they think."

Lin Hui said indifferently.

Xia Lan is regarded as a goddess by many training camp students; objectively speaking, her looks and figure truly deserve the title.

But he just felt such a young girl lacked depth—he preferred the mature type like Teacher Ling.

"True."

Xu Jingming nodded with a smile.

As for what Lin Hui had just said, he didn't take it seriously.

That's Teacher Ling's personal life; as a student, he naturally wouldn't—and couldn't—interfere. He treated it as gossip.

"Brother Wang, Xu Jingming's progress is too fast—I might not be able to beat him in the upcoming match..."

In the gym cafeteria,

Wang Dong and the others gathered together, and Chen Hai spoke with a serious expression.

It's ridiculous.

He shattered an S-grade alloy plate twenty centimeters thick!

He's practically a monster!

His terrifying strength is far beyond anything he could ever achieve!

He even wondered if Xu Jingming had even used half his power during the gravity chamber test.

Though raw strength doesn't equal combat power, it still reveals something significant.

"Don't rush."

Wang Dong waved his hand carelessly: "If you lose, I'll handle him afterward.

Besides, you might not lose at all.

Didn't he say before the test that he'd let you strike for a full minute without retaliating?

I don't believe you can't win under those conditions."

"That's right!" Chen Hai's eyes lit up.

In fact, Xu Jingming had probably just been bluffing.

He wouldn't actually do that during the test.

But holding onto that point could still annoy him.

If Xu Jingming angrily accepted, he'd surely win.

If he refused, he'd leave a bad impression of boasting...

After the halftime break, the first-year examination matches resumed.

Instructors gave mixed evaluations of the students on stage, but all were talents gathered from across the nation.

None among them were weak enough to be expelled from the training camp.

Two hours later, the defending-champion phase ended; five students, including Xu Jingming, remained undefeated.

"Defending-champion phase concluded. The next phase is free challenge.

The five students on the stage may challenge each other with mutual consent.

The challenger who wins takes all the reward points of the defeated!"

Liu Wei's clear voice echoed throughout the gym, and many spectators eagerly watched the stage below.

The free challenges among the strongest defenders are the main highlight of the examination.

Of course,

usually only two fourth-stage and two fifth-stage students fight each other.

High-stage students challenging low-stage ones are almost always refused.

Low-stage students challenging high-stage ones aren't refused, but everyone's not stupid.

I'm a full stage below you—why would I voluntarily challenge you?

But this examination is different.

This time, an extremely abnormal SS-grade psychic awakened has appeared!

Sure enough, as soon as Liu Wei finished speaking, Xu Jingming on Stage 3 shouted loudly:

"Teacher Liu, I challenge Chen Hai on Stage 5!"

The moment Xu Jingming spoke, all spectators' eyes lit up.

"He's launching a challenge!"

"Good! Good! Good! I want to see just how far Xu Jingming's limits go!"

"A fifth-stage lower-rank daring to challenge a sixth-stage? Xu Jingming is awfully arrogant.

I wonder if he has the strength to back it up—if he gets humiliated later, it'll be fun."

In the indoor audience seats, Li Hao, who had been ignored by Ling Shuang, narrowed his eyes and looked at the stage with a sly expression.

He sided with the vice-director and naturally had no interest in supporting Su Qingli's students.

PS: Backlog—13 chapters owed...