72: Chapter 72 Arena Tournament

The Principal's gaze slowly swept across the entire venue. Once the discussions died down slightly, he continued, his voice carrying an unquestionable authority.

"The path of cultivation is inherently filled with skepticism and sparring. Since some students have doubts about the rankings, let your strength do the talking."

He paused, and the light on the Spirit Gathering Crystal leaderboard brightened: "Three days from now, the Martial Arts Field will host the New Student Arena Tournament."

"The current top ten students will act as defenders, and all other New Students are free to challenge them."

"After the tournament concludes, the final top ten will be granted the qualification to challenge upwards—which means, even the top spot can be shaken."

As soon as these words were spoken, the entire venue erupted once more. Fighting spirit ignited in the eyes of those New Students dissatisfied with the rankings, especially Feng Yingcai.

The gloom on his face was swept away, replaced by a sharp, determined look of someone who had victory within their grasp.

He stared fixedly at Zhang Wen, as if he could already see the other person suffering a crushing defeat in the arena.

Ding Siyi subconsciously tightened her grip on Zhang Wen's hand and whispered, "The Principal is doing this on purpose. He wants to use this tournament to let you firmly establish your footing, and he also wants to see exactly how much substance you have."

Zhang Wen tapped his fingertips lightly against the jade pendant on his chest, a faint curve appearing at the corner of his mouth: "This is quite good; it saves me from having people always whispering behind my back."

After the opening ceremony concluded, the crowd dispersed like a tide. As many people passed by Zhang Wen, they cast looks of either provocation or curiosity.

Feng Yingcai even brought a few lackeys, deliberately circling around to stand in front of them, his tone arrogant: "Zhang Wen, see you in the arena in three days. I will make you understand that your first-place ranking is nothing more than a joke."

Zhang Wen didn't even lift an eyelid; he simply held Ding Siyi's hand and walked toward the exit, as if he hadn't heard a word.

This kind of ignoring was more infuriating to Feng Yingcai than any rebuttal. He clenched his fists and let out a cold snort: "Just you wait!"

Just as the two of them walked out of the square, a cold, mechanical voice suddenly rang out in Zhang Wen's mind—

[Ding! Special event "New Student Arena Tournament" detected. Triggering time-limited quest: Maintain the top spot.]

[Quest Requirements: Maintain the first-place ranking in the Arena Tournament and do not be defeated by any challenger.]

[Quest Reward: Issued after the results are finalized.]

[Failure Penalty: None (but will affect the activation of subsequent hidden quests).]

Zhang Wen's footsteps faltered slightly. This System had been silent since he returned from the Secret Realm; he hadn't expected it to suddenly issue a quest at this moment.

He scanned his surroundings calmly. Ding Siyi was looking up at him, her eyes filled with worry: "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing." Zhang Wen smiled and squeezed her hand, "Let's go take a look at the Martial Arts Field and familiarize ourselves with the venue in advance."

...

The Martial Arts Field was located at the foot of the back mountain. It was a massive platform cast from a mixture of black iron and Spirit Stone powder, with dense defensive runes carved along its edges.

At this moment, many New Students were already practicing on the edge of the field. Seeing Zhang Wen and Ding Siyi approach, they all stopped their movements, their gazes converging on them instantly.

"That's Zhang Wen? He doesn't look like much."

"Young Master Feng said he must have used some underhanded methods to get first place."

"We're in for a good show in three days. I bet Young Master Feng can beat him until he's flat on the ground!"

The discussions were neither too loud nor too soft, just enough to reach their ears. Ding Siyi frowned and was about to retort, but Zhang Wen held her back.

He walked to the center of the Martial Arts Field, feeling the faint fluctuations of spiritual power coming from the runes beneath his feet, and suddenly spoke in a clear voice: "Whoever wants to test their hand in advance can come up now."

The entire venue went silent instantly. Those who had been discussing most enthusiastically just a moment ago looked at one another, but not a single person dared to step forward. Just kidding—who among the top ten was an easy target? Even if they were dissatisfied in their hearts, no one wanted to be the first bird to stick its neck out.

Seeing this, Zhang Wen didn't mind; he simply said to Ding Siyi, "Do you want to try too?"

Ding Siyi was stunned for a moment, then nodded. The two stood still in the center of the Martial Arts Field, their spiritual power quietly circulating. Ding Siyi excelled at long-range harassment; with a flicker of her figure, she transformed into several afterimages, attacking Zhang Wen from different directions.

Zhang Wen did not dodge or evade, relying solely on his senses to predict her trajectory. With a light tap of his fingertips, he was able to land precisely on the nodes where her spiritual power was circulating each time, neither hurting her nor letting her attacks succeed.

After a few rounds, Ding Siyi stopped her movements, panting slightly as she smiled: "It seems I, ranked ninth, really can't beat you, the one ranked first."

"You just didn't use your full strength." Zhang Wen handed her a bottle of spirit liquid, "Prepare well these three days, and don't let your guard down."

...

As the sun set, the two left the Martial Arts Field side by side. Ding Siyi looked at Zhang Wen's profile and suddenly asked.

"You don't seem worried at all? Feng Yingcai's 'Wind Speaker' talent is very tricky; it's said that he can manipulate airflow and even affect an opponent's spiritual power circulation."

Zhang Wen looked at the darkening sky in the distance, the jade pendant on his chest faintly heating up: "Worry is useless. When soldiers come, block them with generals; when water comes, cover it with earth."

He paused, turned his head to look at her, his eyes filled with a smile, "Besides, if I lose, wouldn't you, ranked ninth, also be challenged by others?"

Ding Siyi was amused by him, and the worry in her heart dissipated quite a bit. She knew that Zhang Wen was never one to back down. The Arena Tournament in three days was destined to stir up a storm, and Zhang Wen was already prepared to rise to meet it.

...

As the night deepened, Zhang Wen returned to the large villa and locked himself in the cultivation room.

He sat cross-legged, his fingertips brushing over the jade pendant on his chest, replaying the System's quest prompt over and over in his mind.

The reward was unknown, but failure would affect the hidden quest—this System was clearly more aware of how deep the waters ran in Qinglan University than he had imagined.

He took a deep breath and began to circulate the Myriad Force Thunder Guidance. The moonlight outside the window shone through the lattice, forming a faint halo of light around him. Spiritual power surged into his body like a tide, only to be tempered and compressed by him bit by bit.

The Arena Tournament in three days was not just about holding onto the top spot, but also about letting those hiding in the shadows see—he, Zhang Wen, was absolutely not a pushover to be manipulated at will.

...

Elsewhere, the second-ranked New Student, Zhao Ya.

"Niece, are you confident in taking down that Zhang Wen in the duel three days from now?" the middle-aged man asked in a deep voice.

Zhao Ya's delicate brows furrowed slightly: "It's hard to say. After all, he has an SSS-rank talent, and he has long enjoyed a significant tilt of the school's resources. I suspect he may have already reached the Forming Realm Peak."

"Sigh, that kid is indeed a Prodigy, and he just had to end up under Lin Mo's tutelage. That old thing is best at hiding things; I have a feeling that on the day of the Arena Tournament, Zhang Wen will definitely give us a big 'surprise'."

The middle-aged man gazed into the distance, his tone carrying a trace of complexity.