Chapter 184: The Aggrieved Crowd (Seeking monthly votes)

"Senior Brother Li Qing, Senior Sister Wang Zhixuan." Lin Qi nodded in greeting.

"The Junior Brother is the one from Cangqiong this year? I'm finally not the youngest anymore." Li Qing wrapped his arm around Lin Qi's shoulder and laughed boisterously.

"Finally, there's a Chief of the Academy who uses a long spear." Wang Zhixuan also sighed with emotion.

"Lin Qi, if I'm not around, you can ask your Senior Brother and Senior Sister if you have any questions," Mu Hong suggested.

"Junior Brother Lin Qi, add me on WeChat. You can ask me anything you don't understand in the future."

"In the academy, martial spirit is prevalent. The school doesn't care if students in the same grade fight, but bullying by upperclassmen against lowerclassmen is strictly prohibited."

"If any upperclassmen bully you, just tell us, and we'll help you beat them up."

Li Qing took out his phone and patted his confident chest as he spoke.

Wang Zhixuan also took out her phone:

"That's right, you are our Junior Brother now, so your business is our business!"

"Junior Brother Lin Qi, I'll add you to our small group chat. There were originally two other Senior Brothers, but one has already graduated, and the other isn't at school right now," Li Qing said.

"Let's get together this weekend; I'll host."

"Alright!" Lin Qi did not refuse.

He could feel that neither Li Qing nor Wang Zhixuan held any malice toward him, and their enthusiasm was genuine.

……

A few minutes after Lin Qi left, only Mu Hong, Li Qing, and Wang Zhixuan remained in the martial arts room.

"Master, what do you think of our new Junior Brother?"

"This is the first time you've taken a Chief of the Academy as a disciple," Li Qing asked curiously.

Mu Hong smiled and said:

"I can only say that Lin Qi is worthy of being a Chief of the Academy, a genius personally selected by the Vice Dean."

"Just now, I only gave him a few pointers, and his spear technique broke through to the mid-stage of Stage Two."

Li Qing and Wang Zhixuan looked at each other, shocked.

"I spent nearly a month under your guidance last year before breaking through to the mid-stage of Stage Two. He broke through as soon as he arrived; this gap..." Li Qing swallowed hard.

"I had to spend quite some time in the Trial Tower to break through to the mid-stage of Stage Two. Junior Brother Lin Qi is even more outstanding than we imagined," Wang Zhixuan also praised.

"If you have any questions, ask them quickly."

Mu Hong returned to the main topic and said.

"Teacher, we have questions about Stage Three spear techniques!" Wang Zhixuan asked.

"When mastering physical strength in Stage Three spear techniques..."

……

Cangqiong Sixth Academy, Villa No. 01.

Lin Qi sat in the living room eating a Level 3 nutritional meal, his mind recalling Mu Hong, Li Qing, and Wang Zhixuan.

"Senior Brother Li Qing and Wang Zhixuan are both in the top 20 of their grade; they will be one of my backings in the future."

"Teacher Mu Hong is a super expert among Seventh Realm practitioners; even Uncle Yue might not be able to beat him."

"He is my strongest backing besides Liu Yuanzhang."

"Entering Cangqiong Martial Arts University, as long as you are a genius, you can build good connections."

Lin Qi nodded secretly. Although he had great talent, connections were also very important.

"Buzz buzz!"

His phone vibrated. He looked up and saw it was a video call from Jiang Tao. He immediately projected it in front of him.

"Lin Lin Qi Ge, do you know about the Calamity Beast Trial Tower? I've never seen you go there," Jiang Tao asked suddenly.

"The Calamity Beast Trial Tower..."

Of course, Lin Qi knew about it. When Liu Yuanzhang provided his benefits, he had mentioned the Spirit Refining Tower, the Gravity Room, and the Calamity Beast Trial Tower.

They corresponded to the cultivation of mental power, Qi-blood value, and martial arts, respectively.

This morning, Senior Brother Li Qing had suggested he should go experience the Calamity Beast Trial Tower more often, as it could greatly advance his martial arts.

"I haven't been there yet!" Lin Qi replied.

"Lin Lin Qi Ge, I'll take you to experience it this afternoon," Jiang Tao suggested.

"Alright!" Lin Qi did not refuse.

……

One hour later.

In the martial arts room, Lin Qi lay inside a white virtual pod and chose to log into the Red Realm.

【Welcome, Yang Jian, welcome to the Red Realm!】

Personal Space.

"Buzz buzz!!"

When Lin Qi opened his eyes, he heard the welcome sound. He looked at the pop-up panel information and quickly logged into the official website of Cangqiong Martial Arts University.

He found the option for the Calamity Beast Trial Tower.

【Enter the Calamity Beast Trial Tower? Yes/No】

【Yes!】

As soon as he made his choice, Lin Qi's figure disappeared from where he was. He felt the surrounding space shift, and he was moved into a brand-new space.

This was an endless wilderness, with the sky shrouded in gloomy dark clouds.

In front of him appeared a giant building, lying on the earth like an ancient and mysterious giant beast.

The tower stood tall into the clouds, surrounded by mist.

It was built entirely of dark gray giant stones, and the stone carvings were densely covered with images of various calamity beasts.

On the bottom floor, Lin Qi even saw patterns of Iron-Spiked Wild Boars, Mastiff-Toothed Dogs, and Shadow Cats.

On the higher floors, he saw the pattern of the Level 8 top-tier calamity beast, the Jin Gang Tiger.

"Lin Lin Qi Ge!"

Not far away, several figures approached. It was Jiang Tao, Guo Heng, Wang Qiufeng, and Zhou Xiyin.

"The Calamity Beast Trial Tower simulates a real calamity beast invasion scenario, where you are surrounded by the most dangerous dozens of calamity beasts."

"We need to kill them successfully within a limited time while under siege to clear the level!"

"It's better than the Red Realm for honing our movement techniques and martial arts. I've even quit the Red Realm Arena now," Jiang Tao introduced with a smile.

As they spoke, they arrived at the entrance of the Calamity Beast Trial Tower, which was guarded by two golden stone dragons.

Above the gate, several large screens were projected.

Lin Qi looked up.

【Trial Tower Leaderboard (Overall)】

【Trial Tower Leaderboard (Sophomore)】

【Trial Tower Leaderboard (Cangqiong First Academy)】

【……】

"This is...?"

"Lin Lin Qi Ge, this is the Trial Tower leaderboard."

"Among the three major buildings—the Spirit Refining Tower, the Gravity Room, and the Calamity Beast Trial Tower—only the Calamity Beast Trial Tower ranks our performance."

"According to school rules, it's to encourage everyone to compete. It's mainly divided into three major leaderboards: the overall list, the grade list, and the academy list," Zhou Xiyin explained.

"The individual academy lists are updated in real-time, while the grade and overall lists are updated once a month."

"The most important thing is that whether it's the academy list, the grade list, or the overall list, there are rewards every month," Guo Heng said.

Lin Qi's eyes lit up. A list with rewards was a good list.

He quickly found the leaderboard for the Cangqiong Sixth Academy.

【Trial Tower Leaderboard (Cangqiong Sixth Academy)】

【1st Place: Guanshan, Floor: 1】

【2nd Place: Wang Qiufeng, Floor: 1】

【3rd Place: Zhou Xiyin, Floor: 1】

……

!

Next were Guo Heng, Jiang Tao, Li Zhou, and the others.

"Lin Lin Qi Ge, everyone knew you hadn't been here because they saw the leaderboard," Jiang Tao nodded.

"Your Sixth Academy is a bit weak. No one has been able to break through to the 2nd floor yet."

"Ao Feng from our Ninth Academy reached the second floor the first time he entered the Calamity Beast Trial Tower."

"You really have no future signing up for the Sixth Academy."

Not far away, two boys were discussing. A round-faced man laughed out loud, while the honest-looking boy beside him kept his head down and said nothing.

Their voices were not loud, but they were clearly heard by Lin Qi and the others.

The group looked over instantly. The round-faced man felt a chill run through his body and trembled when he looked up to see more than a dozen cold eyes staring at him.

His face turned pale, and he immediately chose to log off and disappeared from the spot.

When the honest-looking boy saw Lin Qi, his eyes lit up.

Guo Heng, Wang Qiufeng, and the others didn't look very happy.

Lin Qi asked with a realization: "Who has reached the second floor so far?"

"Currently, 6 people have passed to the second floor: Huo Wanyang, Ao Feng, Duan Chuchu, and Li Lei."

"On the first day of school, Huo Wanyang passed the first floor."

"Ao Feng broke through to the second floor two days ago!" Jiang Tao answered.

"Other academies are also breaking through to the second floor one after another."

"Guanshan is still a bit short."

Lin Qi nodded. So that was it.

Other academies already had people who had broken through to the second floor; only they and another academy were left.

If he didn't act, no one in the Sixth Academy would be able to break through to the second floor. The mockery just now clearly wasn't the first time.

That was why Jiang Tao and the others were in such a hurry to find him.

"It seems everyone is laughing at us!"

"It's only the second floor. I'm going in!"

Lin Qi said calmly and began to walk into the Calamity Beast Trial Tower.

Jiang Tao and the others looked happy and followed him into the Trial Tower one after another.

"Lin Qi has entered the Trial Tower," someone nearby shouted after seeing it.

"Lin Qi has finally made a move. It hasn't been easy being mocked these past few days," people from the Sixth Academy said, clenching their fists.

"Boom!!"

Lin Qi felt a wave of dizziness in his head. When he opened his eyes, he appeared in the middle of ruins.

Everywhere there were broken walls, fractured cement surfaces, exposed steel bars, and various signs and furniture.

He was on a spacious road, with cracked asphalt under his feet.

The air retained the smell of burning and gunpowder, accompanied by a stench.

【Student Lin Qi, welcome to the Calamity Beast Trial Tower!】

【Trial Tower First Floor: Kill 50 Iron-Spiked Wild Boars within 30 minutes. If the time passes and you haven't reached the goal, the trial fails. Meanwhile, your Qi-blood value is adjusted to 9.99.】

【You have 10 minutes of preparation time!】

Lin Qi frowned after seeing this.

It was actually a siege by 50 Iron-Spiked Wild Boars. In his actual combat training, he had faced at most seven or eight at once.

He quickly chose his black combat suit and a 100-jin black heavy long spear.

He punched, jumped, and ran on the spot, feeling his strength and speed drop significantly, returning to the physical fitness he had at a Qi-blood value of 9.99.

【Countdown: 3, 2, 1...】

【Trial officially begins!】

As the emotionless female AI voice announced the start of the trial!

"Boom!!"

Lin Qi clearly felt the asphalt road trembling slightly. At the end of his line of sight, a group of gray Iron-Spiked Wild Boars suddenly appeared.

Their thick hooves trampled the earth, kicking up large clouds of dust.

A pair of tusks reflected a metallic luster like sharp curved blades.

Pairs of sharp tusks were charging forward.

"Hoo~"

Lin Qi watched the charging Iron-Spiked Wild Boars. This shocking scene did not scare him. His expression tightened, and his figure moved suddenly.

He stepped out like a fierce tiger, wielding his black long spear.

"Heh~ heh~"

The 50 Iron-Spiked Wild Boars formed a gray tsunami, instantly submerging Lin Qi.

The leading Iron-Spiked Wild Boar bore the brunt, like a car driving at high speed.

A fierce wind raged against his face.

Seeing this, Lin Qi's eyes seemed to flash with golden light.

His whole body's strength erupted, his figure moved like lightning, and his legs were rooted in the earth like old trees.

The veins on his arms bulged, and with over 1500 kilograms of force gathered, he thrust his spear out.

"Bang!"

He accurately struck the Iron-Spiked Wild Boar's chin, using his force to launch it into the air.

"Pfft~"

The spear tip cut through the long sky, pierced its tough, rough skin, penetrated its throat, and his force erupted, strangling its neck.

"Bang!!"

……

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 185 =====