Chapter 53: Challenge Accepted! The Shocked Liu Ming!

With a sudden voice, a group of four stepped out from the crowd.

The lead youth stood at one meter eighty, wearing a white T-shirt and white pants.

His frame was slender, yet he radiated a faint sense of danger.

The three around him were either heavily built or grinning broadly.

Each carried an aura of at least First-Stage Mid-Level, clearly formidable individuals.

The white-clad youth at the front was Lei Zhou, second place in Jiangnan Province’s Wu Ke college entrance exam from Ning’an City No.1 High School.

“Xu Jingming!”

Lei Zhou’s face carried resentment.

His parents were both Fourth-Stage Adepts; he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth.

After awakening his A-Class elemental fire ability, Senranyehuo , at age sixteen,

he soared to fame, becoming one of Ning’an City’s most celebrated prodigies.

He crushed every local prodigy in two short years, advancing from Awakened to First-Stage Upper-Level Adept.

He became this year’s top favorite to win Jiangnan Province’s Wu Ke exam.

And he lived up to expectations, scoring over nine thousand three hundred points.

Remember, last year’s provincial top score was only eight thousand eight hundred to nine hundred!

His nine thousand three hundred points effectively secured him the provincial top rank.

Yet just as he believed his provincial top scorer title was certain, and the education bureau and his family prepared victory banquets,

Xu Jingming appeared out of nowhere, claiming the Jiangnan provincial top scorer title with over eleven thousand points.

More importantly, Xu Jingming came from Jiangcheng, the impoverished north of Jiangnan Province.

Ning’an City, as the provincial capital, received the most educational resources annually.

Yet this year’s provincial top scorer came from Jiangcheng—the region with the fewest resources.

Thus, rumors spread in Ning’an that the city’s education bureau was incompetent, unable to even beat a remote prefecture like Jiangcheng.

The Ning’an Education Bureau faced immense pressure.

He, once the city’s golden boy, was instantly cast down to earth.

While studying Xu Jingming’s Wu Ke exam footage, he discovered their actual strengths were nearly equal.

Xu Jingming gained those extra two thousand points by wiping out all the core zone monsters.

In Ning’an, candidates were strong; core zone monsters were fought over—none were left for others.

Thus, he had never let go of this grievance.

Had he taken the exam in Jiangcheng, he too might have scored over ten thousand and claimed the provincial top scorer title.

So when he learned Xu Jingming had also enrolled in Magic Capital Adept University, Lei Zhou issued a challenge.

He wanted to crush Xu Jingming underfoot.

To prove to Ning’an, to all of Jiangnan, that he wasn’t weak—only the exam location had held him back.

In fact, yesterday he’d posted multiple challenge requests on the school forum.

But received no response.

That’s why he confronted him directly at the freshman assembly.

“Lei Zhou? I know him—he’s Jiangnan Province’s Wu Ke second place!”

“Second place challenging first place? Interesting.”

“Online rumors suggest this year’s provincial top scorer may have benefited from the exam location.”

“Their actual strength difference isn’t large—Lei Zhou might even be stronger.”

“So that’s why Lei Zhou is so eager to challenge—he wants to prove himself.”

“...”

Among the onlookers were students from Jiangnan who recognized Lei Zhou’s identity.

They acted as informants, explaining to those around them.

Xu Jingming also pieced together the full story from fragments of the crowd’s chatter.

Yet even so, he showed no intention of accepting the challenge, shaking his head and refusing:

“Sorry, I’m not interested.”

Before advancing to Adept, he might have desired a fight.

But now, as a First-Stage Lower-Level Adept who has perfected his S-Class Thunder Unyielding Body and mastered four A-Class combat techniques,

if he fought Lei Zhou, it would be like an adult beating a child.

Even if he won, he’d feel no sense of accomplishment.

“Heh, not interested? Or are you just scared of our Lei Brother?”

“The forum’s been calling you our school’s once-in-a-decade prodigy—I guess that’s just talk.”

“Forget it, Lei Brother. Someone like this isn’t worth your time.”

“...”

Before Lei Zhou could speak, his companions began sneering.

“Don’t talk nonsense. Xu Jingming isn’t like that.”

Lei Zhou feigned anger and silenced them, then smiled coldly:

“Xu Jingming, I recall your aunt runs a business in rare herbs and exotic flowers, right?”

“Coincidentally, my family is currently your aunt’s largest buyer—and we still owe you a large sum.”

“If that payment isn’t made on time, your aunt’s business might face a bit of trouble.”

“Rare herbs and exotic flowers” refer to heavenly treasures that concentrate the essence of heaven and earth.

They can only be gathered in the wild zones, each possessing unique effects.

Some enhance blood qi, others strengthen spiritual power.

Extremely valuable to Adepts, many are willing to pay high prices for them.

Thus, many merchants across the nation deal in them.

After the Wu Ke results were released, Lei Zhou discovered Xu Jingming had a close relationship with his aunt, Xu Qingwan.

He had his family place a massive order with Xu Qingwan’s company, paying only a deposit—with no intention of paying the balance.

If they sued, dragging it out for one or two years, the company would already be bankrupt by then.

He’d only meant to squeeze Xu Jingming a little—never expecting to use this here.

And Lei Zhou knew someone like Xu Jingming, who valued family deeply, couldn’t ignore this.

“You’re threatening me?”

Xu Jingming’s eyes narrowed.

Just that glance made Lei Zhou’s heart jolt.

He felt as if a top-tier monster had locked onto him—every hair on his body stood on end.

Yet still, he forced calmness:

“Not a threat. Just a friendly reminder.”

“Time and place.”

Xu Jingming exhaled slowly, his clear black-and-white eyes filled with unprecedented coldness.

Nearby, Song Qiuyun, with her keen perception, sensed the violence hidden beneath that chill.

“Such violent aura—how did he achieve this?”

Song Qiuyun’s curiosity about the tall boy deepened further.

“Next week at noon, Arena Three.”

Seeing Xu Jingming take the bait, Lei Zhou replied immediately.

“Fine, I’ll be there. But don’t regret it later.”

Xu Jingming dropped the words coldly and turned away.

Before coming to Magic Capital Adept University, he’d known his uncle’s company received a major order.

His uncle and family worked nonstop for two days and nights to fulfill it.

They said the profit from this order would cover the company’s entire annual expenses.

He never imagined it was a trap laid in advance.

Since this matter started because of him, he must end it himself.

“Xu Jingming accepted!”

“Arena Three, next week—there’ll be a major battle!”

“We should get there early to secure good seats—after all, the provincial top scorer is fighting.”

“...”

The onlookers, eager for drama, erupted in excitement upon hearing the challenge was accepted.

They agreed to gather together at Arena Three to watch.

And that was exactly what Lei Zhou wanted.

He set the date seven days ahead to ensure the news spread widely, drawing more spectators.

Then, he would defeat Xu Jingming before the crowd’s eyes—to achieve the ultimate sense of triumph!

“First, welcome all new students to Magic Capital Adept University.”

This orientation isn’t a formal opening ceremony.

We’ve gathered you here to answer some questions and explain how to better use school resources.

First, your permission levels...

After the interruption, the orientation officially began at nine o’clock.

On the podium in front of the playground, a male teacher spoke at length.

The main content was similar to what Zhang Zhaoyang had said—credit system, dedicated mentor system, and so on.

But it was much more detailed.

The combat ranking system mentioned especially piqued Xu Jingming’s interest.

The combat ranking is somewhat like the Fist Power List at Lei Ting Martial Arts Gym, but it tests students’ actual combat ability.

It requires a device called the Virtual Immersion Pod, where combat takes place in a holographic simulation.

The more stages you clear, the higher your rank.

And the rewards at the end are extremely generous.

“After the orientation ends, take some time to learn more about this so-called combat ranking.”

Xu Jingming thought to himself.

After all, holographic immersion was a new concept to him.

The orientation continued for another hour.

Except for the first half-hour, when the male teacher on the podium spoke, the rest of the time was taken up by student questions.

After the orientation ended, Xu Jingming went to Teacher Yang Zhentian’s villa.

In the villa’s living room, Senior Brother Liu Ming was already waiting.

“Let’s go to the training room. I’ll teach you fist techniques in the morning; the teacher will teach you spear techniques in the afternoon.”

Seeing Xu Jingming enter, Senior Brother Liu Ming immediately led him to the training room.

In fact, according to the original plan, both fist and spear techniques were supposed to be taught by him.

But Xu Jingming’s spear technique had already reached Advanced, matching his own proficiency.

So only Teacher Yang Zhentian could teach him.

Thus, Xu Jingming began training under Senior Brother Liu Ming.

Senior Brother Liu Ming was a senior this year, at the peak of Third Stage.

His fist, spear, and blade techniques all reached Advanced, and he possessed an A-Rank Lightning affinity ability—he was a true genius.

Under his instruction, Xu Jingming began to learn fist techniques.

In the following days, Xu Jingming settled into a highly regular routine.

He woke at 6:30 a.m., trained for an hour in the training room.

At 8:30, he arrived at Teacher Yang Zhentian’s villa.

In the morning, he studied fist techniques with Senior Brother Liu Ming; in the afternoon, he learned spear techniques and applications of his Lightning affinity ability from the teacher.

Of course,

neither Senior Brother nor the teacher were present every day; when they were absent, Xu Jingming trained alone in the villa’s training room.

Soon, seven days passed.

On July 1st, at 8:30 a.m., Xu Jingming arrived at Teacher Yang Zhentian’s villa as usual.

“Let’s go to the training room.”

As Senior Brother Liu Ming prepared to head to the training room with Xu Jingming, he suddenly noticed something unusual.

He stopped in his tracks and turned back in surprise: “You’ve advanced?”

Xu Jingming didn’t hide it; he nodded with a smile.

He had advanced last night using the system.

Previously, advancing from Awakened to First Stage Lower Rank had cost him 300 Ability Points.

This time, advancing from First Stage Lower Rank to First Stage Mid Rank cost him 386 Ability Points.

The non-integer cost confirmed one of his hypotheses.

That is, using the system to advance consumes Ability Points based on your existing cultivation progress.

If he had been just one step away from First Stage Mid Rank, the Ability Points needed might have been much lower!

Perhaps less than 100 Ability Points would have sufficed.

This is one reason why he trained relentlessly every day.

“How long has it been? You’ve already advanced?”

Liu Ming was stunned upon confirmation.

He knew Xu Jingming had arrived as merely an Awakened.

Less than half a month had passed, and he’d already broken through to First Stage Mid Rank!

What kind of cultivation speed was this?

He remembered that when he himself advanced from Awakened to First Stage Mid Rank, it had taken nearly a full year!

Even that had been considered an exceptionally rare talent!

“I recall you had a duel scheduled with another new student today at noon?”

Liu Ming asked, his tone shifting.

“At noon, on Practice Arena No. 3,” Xu Jingming nodded.

He had mentioned this to Senior Brother Liu Ming before.

“Alright, I’ll give your opponent three minutes of silent mourning...”

Liu Ming smirked.

Others didn’t know Xu Jingming’s strength, but how could his own training partner not know?

After cultivating the Thunder Unyielding Body, Xu Jingming’s physical strength alone rivaled that of a Second Stage ferocious beast!

Combined with his already exceptional Advanced spear technique, he was terrifyingly powerful!

And this was without even using his affinity ability or combat techniques.

According to Liu Ming’s estimate, Xu Jingming’s overall strength was nearly equivalent to a Second Stage High Rank ability user!

Now that he had entered First Stage Mid Rank, his power had grown further.

He didn’t believe any new student could defeat such a monster.

“Do your best. After training, I’ll go with you.”

Liu Ming clapped Xu Jingming on the shoulder.

In truth, he was eager to see just how terrifying his junior’s full strength truly was.