Chapter 724: Xu Jingming of the Seventh Tier! The Focus of All Eyes!

Zhang Heng's plan was clever — no matter whether Hearing Ling Shuang struck or not, he'd have something to say in the end.

But what he never expected was that, in the end, it was Xu Jingming who stepped forward.

What shocked him even more was that Xu Jingming had already broken through to the seventh tier!

"I remember Xu Jingming had only just entered the sixth tier before he went to Dayangzhou, right?"

"That's right, and it's only been four months!"

"Four months — from sixth tier to seventh tier. What kind of speed is that?"

"..."

A wave of low gasps rose up, and some hall masters who had believed the rumors and thought Xu Jingming had fallen into decline were utterly stunned.

This is the 'decline' you people were talking about?

Breaking through an entire major tier in four months — and the most critical one, sixth to seventh tier!

If that's called decline, then wouldn't I basically be a dead man?

Listening to the exclamations around him, Zhang Heng now found himself in an awkward position.

He had fallen into the very situation he'd originally prepared for Hearing Ling Shuang.

If he fought, he was a full twenty-plus years older than Xu Jingming.

Winning would look like bullying the young; losing would be even more shameful.

More importantly, he really didn't have full confidence he could defeat Xu Jingming.

"You? Forget it. I have no interest in bullying the young."

Snorting coldly to mask his inner weakness, Zhang Heng wrapped himself in a gust of wind, lifted the heavily wounded Li Hao into his arms, and quickly took to the air and left.

Although his tone was tough, no matter how you looked at it, there was a sense of him scurrying away in disgrace.

"That's it? How boring." Xu Jingming shook his head and reined in his aura.

He'd thought he'd finally get to face an eighth-tier grandmaster, but the man didn't even have the courage to make a move.

"Teacher Ling, let's go."

Paying no heed to the stunned gazes cast his way, Xu Jingming and Hearing Ling Shuang continued walking toward the conference building.

Only after the two of them had left did the hall masters and deputy hall masters present dare to speak a little more loudly in their discussions.

"Tsk tsk — breaking through to seventh tier, defeating an eighth-tier grandmaster head-on. Xu Jingming has truly returned as a king."

"Indeed. He's already broken through to seventh-tier grandmaster. I reckon Hall Master Su will probably arrange a position for him too."

Compared to his breakthrough to seventh tier, the news that Xu Jingming and Hearing Ling Shuang were partners didn't hit quite as hard.

As the hall masters discussed, many of them speculated about where Xu Jingming would end up.

Of course, wherever Xu Jingming went, the perks certainly wouldn't be meager.

"Seventh tier... Jingming is already this strong?" Lin Hui was equally full of shock.

Xu Jingming's breakthrough speed was far faster than he'd imagined.

No wonder Wang Dong had immediately applied for graduation right after the Genius Tournament ended, to take up a post outside.

Otherwise, him — a lower-sixth-tier S-rank — facing an SS-rank seventh-tier, the picture would be too beautiful to even imagine.

"Lin Ge, let's go. We still have to be volunteers."

Mu Bing, however, was quite carefree. "Someone like Lei Di is destined to reach the pinnacle of Blue Star. We can't keep up with his footsteps.

Being able to watch him shine from afar is already pretty good."

"True."

Lin Hui also came back to his senses, shook his head, turned around, and went back to his original spot with Mu Bing.

"Jingming, you actually shouldn't have stepped out earlier. There's no need to offend the Li family right now."

On the way, Hearing Ling Shuang walked close beside Xu Jingming and said softly.

"When all is said and done, they're just a ninth-tier ability-user clan. They're not Supreme Powerhouses.

Like I told you before, they can't do anything to me.

But I'm different — give me a little more time, and I'll be fully capable of surpassing the Li family."

Xu Jingming said thoughtfully, "Besides, this counts as solving a trouble once and for all.

Otherwise, that guy Li Hao would absolutely never give up."

"Fair point."

After thinking it over, Hearing Ling Shuang also agreed with Xu Jingming's reasoning, though she still cautioned:

"Although the Li family can't do anything to you, you still have other relatives.

They probably wouldn't go so far as to kill anyone, but they're very likely to suppress their businesses."

She also knew that Xu Jingming's young aunt and the Song family had both benefited from his winning the Genius Tournament.

Precisely because of that, they were even more likely to face suppression from the Li family.

"I almost forgot about that."

Xu Jingming nodded. "Don't worry, I'll handle it properly."

It still came down to not being strong enough. If he had already reached ninth tier, the Li family would absolutely not dare think of revenge.

They might even feel he hadn't hit Li Hao hard enough!

As they spoke, Xu Jingming and Hearing Ling Shuang entered the first-floor conference hall of the conference building.

It was a large conference hall capable of seating over a thousand people.

Above the main hall hung an exquisite crystal pendant-shaped chandelier, radiating bright light.

At every seat in the conference hall, a cup of tea brewed from B-rank exotic flowers and herbs had been prepared.

There were also handsome men and beautiful women moving about, constantly refilling tea for the hall masters and deputy hall masters in their seats.

And on the seats of the conference, there was no shortage of hall masters who had just returned from outside.

Naturally, they told the people they knew about the scene just now, and word spread from one to ten, from ten to a hundred.

Most of the people in the conference hall now knew that Xu Jingming had broken through to the seventh rank, with astonishing combat power.

So, with the arrival of Xu Jingming and Ling Shuang, gaze after gaze immediately turned their way.

These gazes were all different — some carried shock, some carried wonder, and still others carried thick envy.

No matter how you put it, it could be considered the center of attention.

"Ling Shuang, Jingming, over here."

Su Qingli's voice rang out from a seat in the first row.

Seeing this, Ling Shuang hurriedly led Xu Jingming over, and they took their seats next to Su Qingli.

Generally speaking, the first few rows of the conference hall were all specially reserved key seats.

The hall masters' conference of Lei Ting Wu Guan was no exception — the first three rows, thirty seats in total, each seat more spacious than an ordinary one.

The tea provided was also brewed from higher-grade A-rank exotic flowers and herbs.

The second and third rows were all assigned to invited honored guests.

Only the first row was reserved for the core figures of Lei Ting Wu Guan.

Su Qingli and Master Gu Ming were both there, and the ability users seated in the other seats of the first row had all reached the astonishing rank of eighth-rank peak!

Before long, Vice Hall Master Hu Jinyu and Moben Branch Hall Master Liu Shan also arrived and took their seats in the first row.

But no sooner had they sat down than the Vice Hall Master received a spiritual message from a hall master.

It briefly recounted what had happened outside the conference building just now.

"What a useless trash! Of all the people he could have provoked, he just had to go provoke Xu Jingming!"

Hu Jinyu's face darkened.

He hadn't expected that Ling Shuang would actually choose Xu Jingming as her partner!

Most crucially, the Li family would definitely come looking for him about this matter afterward.

"What a hassle — I told him long ago not to provoke Ling Shuang, but he just wouldn't listen."

At the thought of the Li family's subsequent accountability, Hu Jinyu felt a bit irritated.

But the only thing that consoled him was that Ling Shuang's mind was now entirely fixed on Xu Jingming.

As for Liu Shan's matter, Su Qingli had never come looking for him about it either, so that should be considered safely past...

PS: Three chapters done, still owe 4 more chapters, on my knees begging for gift support!