137: Chapter 137 The Calm Before the Storm: The Tournament of Prodigies

"Golden Body Realm!"

Mo Lao's last four words were like a heavy hammer, smashing fiercely onto Lin Qi's heart.

His breathing hitched for a moment.

Golden Body!

In the martial arts era, this was a massive watershed for the Body Refining school!

Once one stepped into the Golden Body Realm, the Physical Body could withstand Divine Artifacts, blood and Qi would be like a dragon, and every move would have the power to collapse mountains!

More importantly, after the Golden Body reached Major Achievement, the repulsion towards energy would reach a terrifying degree, truly achieving immunity to all methods!

That was the perfect form of the "Mage Killer" in his mind!

Deep in Lin Qi's eyes, a hot light flashed and vanished, so fast that even Mo Lao beside him didn't notice.

He took a deep breath, forcefully suppressing the excitement in his heart, his face remaining as calm as ever.

"Dragon blood... I understand."

His tone was as flat as if he were discussing what to have for dinner.

Mo Lao looked at him, his mouth twitching, cursing inwardly.

Is this kid a monster born without emotions?

That is Dragon blood! A supreme treasure that can make the Physical Body a saint! And you have this reaction?

...

Meanwhile, the news of Lin Qi, with his LV.1 Blank Slate body, physically breaking magic and strongly winning both the Five-Academy League and the freshman competition, spread like wildfire, reaching all of Tianhai City overnight.

Countless media outlets scrambled to report, portraying him as a peerless Prodigy who broke all conventions.

But in the wider Federation, this news didn't cause much of a stir.

It was just a local tournament in the Eastern Theater Command; in the eyes of those true behemoths, it was just a farce in a small place.

Federal capital, Kyoto.

In a vast and heavily guarded manor.

The Li family ancestral hall.

A pale-faced, listless young man was kneeling before dozens of spirit tablets.

It was Li Qingxuan.

Behind him stood a row of solemn black-clad Elders, each exuding an unfathomable aura.

"Trash!"

The leading Elder slapped Li Qingxuan's face, knocking him to the ground.

"With an S-rank talent and holding the Divine Artifact [key of the void], you actually lost to a LV.1 Blank Slate who doesn't even have a profession! You have lost all the face of our Li family!"

Li Qingxuan clutched his swollen face, his body trembling uncontrollably, his eyes filled with fear, but he dared not refute a word.

"Elder, this matter cannot be entirely blamed on Qingxuan." A middle-aged man next to him hurriedly spoke up, "That kid named Lin Qi has methods that are too strange, completely ignoring the data-based rules. We have already checked; his files are as clean as a blank sheet of paper."

"Hmph, rules?" The leading Elder sneered, murder in his eyes.

"Since he doesn't follow the rules, we will use the most primitive rules to deal with him."

"Pass on my order: in the upcoming 'Federal Prodigy Tournament', spare no expense and use all available power."

"I want that bastard named Lin Qi to die on the arena!"

...

The storms outside seemed not to affect Lin Qi at all.

Life after winning the championship was exactly as he had imagined, without the slightest change.

Cafeteria, dormitory, library.

A life of three points and one line, boring, but effective.

He was like a sponge, crazily absorbing the rare knowledge about the old martial arts era in Mo Lao's library, using it to verify and perfect the Martial Saint memories in his mind.

That afternoon, Instructor Su Qing found him.

Still in that black combat suit outlining her amazing curves, her expression still cold.

"Follow me."

She was concise and brought Lin Qi to an empty training hall in the academy.

Instructor Su Qing took a precise energy detector from her storage space and aimed it at the dragon-shaped jade pendant in Lin Qi's hand.

"Look."

The screen displayed a line of faint data.

"The jade pendant in your hand, although it is the key to opening the Dragon Tomb, is currently in a dormant state."

Instructor Su Qing's voice was very cold. "It is slowly absorbing the free energy particles in the air, but at this speed, let alone three months, it won't be full in three years."

Lin Qi frowned; he had felt this himself.

The jade pendant was like a bottomless pit, greedily swallowing everything, yet not even burping.

"There are two ways to open the Dragon Tomb."

Instructor Su Qing held up two fingers.

"First, wait. Wait until the 'Nine Stars Alignment' celestial phenomenon appears in three months. At that time, the world's energy tide will reach its peak, enough to activate it instantly."

"Second, find. Find a high-concentration Earth vein energy node and use violent energy to forcefully feed it."

Three months? Too long.

Lin Qi's pragmatism did not allow him to wait so passively.

"This three-month window is exactly the preparation period for another tournament." Instructor Su Qing seemed to see through his thoughts and changed the subject.

"What tournament?"

"Federal Prodigy Tournament."

Instructor Su Qing's eyes became unprecedentedly solemn for the first time.

"This is the real stage, jointly organized by the highest level of the Federal Military, the five major super conglomerates, and the five top super academies."

"Kyoto University, Magic City War College... every one of them is a real concentration camp for monsters. Those who can come out of there are all powerhouses who can guard a territory in the future."

She looked at Lin Qi, her tone carrying a hint of warning: "By comparison, our previous Five-Academy League was just a warm-up game prepared by the Eastern Theater Command for freshmen."

Lin Qi had no interest in these empty titles.

He only wanted to know what the practical benefits were of participating in this competition.

"What is the reward for the champion of the tournament?"

Instructor Su Qing looked at him deeply, as if she had expected him to ask this.

Her red lips parted slightly, spitting out a name that made Lin Qi's heart jump violently.

"One Nine-Turn Soul-Returning Grass."

Lin Qi's pupils instantly contracted to the size of needle tips!

Nine-Turn Soul-Returning Grass!

That was the most core and rarest main material for refining [Golden Body Liquid] in his mind!

With it, supplemented by other Materials, he would have full confidence in forcefully pushing his [Silver Bone] Realm to Great Perfection, or even breaking through the shackles in one go and stepping into the [Golden Body] Realm he dreamed of!

"I'll participate."

Lin Qi said almost instantly, without the slightest hesitation.

Not only for that ethereal Dragon Tomb, but also for this Immortal Plant that could make his strength undergo a qualitative change!

After leaving Instructor Su Qing, Lin Qi went to the library again.

Mo Lao was wearing reading glasses, studying a beast bone. Seeing Lin Qi come, he didn't even raise his head and said: "Thought it through? Going to participate in that monster contest?"

"Mm."

"Think clearly." Mo Lao put down the beast bone, his expression serious, "The opponents this time are no longer the flowers grown in greenhouses like Li Qingxuan. Every one of your opponents may be a killing machine that crawled out of the Abyss battlefield, with more human lives on their hands than you have eaten meals."

"Moreover, the rules of the Federal tournament are extremely strict. To prevent anyone from using prohibited drugs or equipment, every competitor's physical data will be subjected to the strictest scanning and testing before the match."

Mo Lao raised his head, his cloudy eyes revealing a trace of worry.

"Your Blank Slate attributes of all 5 are destined to become a huge point of controversy, and you might even be directly disqualified."

Lin Qi shrugged indifferently upon hearing this.

"Data is dead, people are alive."

He grinned, revealing a mouthful of white teeth.

"Let them test."

Returning to the dormitory, Lin Qi closed the door and sat cross-legged on the bed.

He took out the dragon-shaped jade pendant, cold to the touch.

He could clearly feel that there seemed to be a hungry Soul inside the jade pendant, crazily craving energy.

Relying on its own absorption was indeed unreliable.

A place Mo Lao had mentioned inadvertently flashed in Lin Qi's mind.

There was a Forbidden Ground in the back mountain of Longya Academy, called the "Earth Fiend Cave".

It was said to be a natural outlet for the Earth vein's Yin Fire, with extremely violent energy; ordinary people would be burned to ashes if they got close.

Perhaps... the violent energy there could feed this greedy jade pendant?

A bold plan quietly took shape in Lin Qi's heart.

Just then.

Bang, bang, bang!

The dormitory door was pounded loudly.

Immediately after, Zhang Wei's chubby figure squeezed in, panting, his face filled with excitement and nervousness as if he had seen a ghost.

In his hand, he was still clutching a gorgeous invitation with gold-leaf edges.

"Qi... Brother Qi! Something big happened!"

Zhang Wei was out of breath, his voice trembling.

"The organizing committee of the Federal tournament is here! Right in the principal's office!"

"They... they specifically asked to see you!"