Chapter 81: The Confidence from Qi Yi

Su Jin had brought insect-repellent powder, which was fortunate; Su Wuji and Su Cheng had initially refused the powder and ended up being bitten by the black locusts, screaming in agony.

They leaped about like wretched monkeys, swatting at the biting insects on their bodies.

Watching this, Su Jin laughed heartily.

She thought to herself: Let this be a lesson for not choosing the repellent powder; do not think that because the insects are small, their bites do not hurt.

Because there were too many insects and the bites were so painful, a portion of the students soon withdrew from the street.

They had suffered combat damage.

Liu Shi gave them a displeased look, then instructed them to squat aside and rest.

Su Wuji and Su Cheng, having no other option after being bitten, went to Su Jin to ask for the insect-repellent powder.

Powder that was barely sufficient for one person naturally depleted quickly when used by three.

Fortunately, the three of them were quite efficient at killing the insects, and Liu Shi saw their results and recorded them.

Otherwise, had they withdrawn from the street early, they likely would not have secured first place in today's overall rankings.

The last group to withdraw from the street had all three members agree that everyone would take a portion of the insect-repellent powder.

They persisted until the very end.

Liu Shi praised the three of them greatly.

Especially their group leader, Qi Yi. It was precisely because of Qi Yi's foresight that every member chose a portion of the insect-repellent powder, allowing them to persist until the end.

Although they persisted until the end, they did not secure first place in today's overall rankings.

First place was taken by Su Wuji's group, and second place was snatched by Su Linyuan's group.

Thus, Qi Yi and her group secured third place in today's overall rankings.

That was not bad either.

There were twenty-five people in total, forming only eight groups, with the final group consisting of four students.

Some insects remained on the street, but before their class left, Liu Shi casually eliminated them all.

The next day, they went to the adjacent street. It was another half-day of killing insects; this time everyone had learned their lesson and all requested a portion of the insect-repellent powder.

This time, Qi Yi and her group did not secure third place, managing only fifth place.

Their class exterminated insects on the streets for five days; on the sixth day, they received an order from the Clan Academy that they were no longer needed.

Because the insects in Xicheng, Beicheng, and Nancheng had already been completely swept away. The few remaining could be handled by hiring some independent cultivators.

In other words, this locust disaster had ended.

Just as everyone had not yet come to their senses, this locust disaster ended. Indeed, many hands make light work.

The black locusts, originally flooding everywhere, lasted only five days under the Xiancheng's all-out extermination efforts.

Although it was only five days, it did indeed provide everyone with some training.

Moreover, fighting insects every day and using magical artifacts consumed a Large Amount of Qi daily.

So, the insect extermination matter had just concluded.

Su Yunhu, Su Linyuan, and Yang Guan all broke through to the second layer of Qi Condensation on the very same day!!

Although Su Yunhu still maintained fourth place, Su Linyuan and Yang Guan broke through to the second layer of Qi Condensation less than an hour behind him.

This was truly too depressing.

Su Yunhu suddenly felt a sense of urgency, as if he were just a hair's breadth away from being sixth.

In the days that followed, he cultivated even more diligently and industriously.

Even stranger things occurred: Su Yue suddenly accumulated strength and burst forth, breaking through to the second layer of Qi Condensation ten days after Su Yunhu and the others broke through!

Supposedly, when she condensed her first wisp of magic power, she ranked nineteenth in the class, nearly falling into the group of poor students at the very bottom.

However, her ranking upon breaking through the first layer of Qi Condensation became fifteenth in the class. Although this result was not particularly conspicuous, her progress speed was visible to the naked eye.

This breakthrough to the second layer of Qi Condensation even placed her seventh in the class.

This speed was simply so fast it made one's eyes spin.

Liu Shi initially found it suspicious and even proactively sought out Su Yue's parents.

Perhaps they were feeding the child some forbidden medicine or black pills or something.

However, after Su Yue's parents arrived, Liu Shi accepted her results.

This indicated that Su Yue had no issues.

Su Yue, overjoyed, moved from the First Academy to the Third Academy under Liu Shi's leadership.

This thoroughly stimulated the students of the First and Second Academies.

Even a student like Su Yue, who was initially completely inconspicuous, could stage a counterattack and step over their heads.

How could everyone be willing to accept this?

Even Qi Yi felt extremely stifled.

The top ten of the class consisted of only ten spots, and with Su Yue included, there were already seven.

The time left for her was truly not much.

Qi Yi deeply felt the pressure upon her shoulders.

Even after returning home, she cultivated desperately.

Su Zhang and his wife, Zhang Yan, watched this with great heartache.

"Little Yi, if it truly becomes unbearable, let us change to a different Clan Academy for schooling. Or perhaps, we could go to the Dao Academy." Zhang Yan discussed with her eldest daughter.

"Changing to a different Clan Academy, I cannot attend any Clan Academy other than the Su Clan Academy. Going to the Dao Academy, both my older brothers are currently there; are they not also having to struggle to the death just like me? I heard that my eldest brother injured his face not long ago. Sigh, let us just persist. At least in my current class, I should not end up at the very bottom of the rankings."

Su Zhang and his wife heard this and frowned together.

"Perhaps I should go find Su Jin and ask her to help you?"

Upon hearing this, Qi Yi immediately shook her head and refused: "Father, if you go to find Su Jin, what reason would you use to ask for her help? Her biological father? But since you divorced her mother, you have not cared for her for a single day."

"You probably didn't leave much of a good impression in her heart."

"Father, where do you get the nerve to ask her to look after me?"

Su Zhang's expression changed instantly.

"Father, I've come into contact with Su Jin a few times, I know her temperament. If you really step in, I'm afraid you won't get anything good out of it.

So, I'm begging you, please don't go.

I don't want to become a useless person in her eyes!!"

Zhang Yan listened, her feelings quite complicated: "Is Su Jin's talent really that good?"

"Mm, her mother comes from the Wood Wu Tribe. She is a descendant of the Wu bloodline, so when cultivating soul-refining Cultivation Techniques, she is naturally stronger than us. On top of that, her Qi Refining talent is also very good — she's currently ranked in the top three of the class, absolutely leading all the students by a wide margin." Qi Yi said.

"That amazing?" Zhang Yan exclaimed.

Qi Yi nodded seriously.

"Of course, I also don't think I'm necessarily inferior to her. After all, cultivation is a lifelong matter; even if I'm a bit behind in the early stage, I'm confident I can catch up later. It's just that Su Jin will very likely reach Foundation Establishment before me, and that she'll be more formidable and more powerful than me in the early stage — that is also a fact."

Qi Yi summarized very seriously.

She is a reborn person; there are several great fortuitous opportunities she had heard of in her previous lives, and she can intercept them all in advance.

So she isn't worried about being completely left behind by Su Jin; she even feels that she will surely be able to surpass Su Jin in the future.

The nearest great fortuitous opportunity is the Hongtong Secret Realm.

What treasures are there and where they are located — she knows everything clearly.

With the resources from this Secret Realm, she will surely be able to overtake her in one swoop. Even if she can't necessarily surpass Su Jin outright, she can definitely let Su Jin feel the pressure of someone chasing from behind.