146: Chapter 146 The biggest joke? No, it's the biggest bookmaker!

Lin Qi looked at the ridiculously exaggerated number on Zhang Wei's communicator, and the light in his eyes was even brighter than the scanning beam of the tester just now.

One to five hundred.

What kind of concept was this?

It meant that as long as he put in one dollar, he could get back five hundred.

If he threw in all of the ten billion he had just received...

[This isn't just giving money away anymore; it's as if they're afraid I won't have enough to spend and are sending it to my house in a grand sedan chair.]

Lin Qi was overjoyed.

He snatched the communicator from Zhang Wei's hand.

"Brother Qi?"

Zhang Wei was stunned by his sudden action.

"Come on, let's find a place to sit and talk."

Lin Qi patted his shoulder and stepped forward. His leisurely posture didn't look at all like a "waste" who had just been publicly executed by hundreds of millions of people online.

The two of them quickly found a nearby cafe.

Zhang Wei was restless, as if there were nails under his seat.

He kept refreshing the news on the internet, his face turning red and white in turns.

"Brother Qi, it's over, it's completely over!"

He shoved the screen in front of Lin Qi.

"Look, the experts from the Federal Sports Daily have even published an article saying that with your physical stats, the probability of you surviving for more than ten seconds in a high-intensity confrontation like the Prodigy Championship is zero!"

"And this 'Fighting Master' Zhao De, he said your fighting style is completely disorganized and relies entirely on brute force. Once you encounter a truly technique-oriented player, you'll be insta-killed!"

"What's even worse is that they've even started a poll, betting on how many moves it'll take to KO you in the first round!"

Public opinion on the internet had completely fermented into a carnival after Lin Qi's "all 5" Blank Slate data was made public.

Mockery, abuse, disdain...

Almost everyone regarded Lin Qi as a buffoon, a shame who had lucked his way into a top-tier event.

Lin Qi, however, didn't even bother to lift an eyelid.

He took a sip of his coffee and then looked at the restless Zhang Wei.

"Fatty."

"Ah? Brother Qi, I'm here!"

"Haven't you always wanted to take me as your master?"

Zhang Wei was stunned, not understanding why Lin Qi would suddenly bring this up.

He nodded subconsciously: "I do! I dream of it!"

"Alright."

Lin Qi put down his coffee cup.

"If you want to be my disciple, the first lesson is to have courage."

He pointed to Zhang Wei's pocket.

"Take out all your secret savings."

"All of it, bet on me to win the championship."

Zhang Wei's breathing hitched, and the color on his fat face drained away at a visible rate.

"All... all of it?"

His hands were shaking.

Although he had a near-blind worship and trust in Lin Qi, this was the Federal Prodigy Tournament!

Gathered here were the most top-tier and terrifying group of monsters in the entire Federation!

That "Thunder God" Li Pojun, just standing there, made him feel like he couldn't breathe.

Not to mention those legendary prodigies from other academies.

Betting his entire fortune on Brother Qi winning the championship?

This wasn't just gambling anymore; this was risking his life!

Looking at Zhang Wei's expression of internal struggle, Lin Qi smiled.

He didn't say anything more, directly took Zhang Wei's communicator, and his fingers moved rapidly across it.

He pulled up the account, found the pool with the highest odds, and then...

A full transfer!

Over ten billion Federation Credits, along with Zhang Wei's meager secret savings, poured into that massive betting pool like a torrent.

"Done."

Lin Qi threw the communicator back to Zhang Wei and leaned back in his chair, looking relaxed.

"Since they sent the money right to me, it would be too impolite not to accept it."

Zhang Wei looked at the transfer success notification on the communicator and the account balance that had returned to zero, feeling like his heart was about to jump out of his throat.

He opened his mouth to say something, but couldn't utter a single word.

Crazy!

Brother Qi is crazy!

And I've gone crazy right along with him!

...

Meanwhile.

In the guild headquarters of major cities across the Federation, internal meetings regarding this Prodigy Championship were underway.

On massive holographic screens, the profiles of all the seed players who needed focused attention were listed.

The name of "Thunder God" Li Pojun was placed in the most prominent position, followed by a series of S-rank evaluations.

And at the very bottom of that long list, behind Lin Qi's name, two glaring words were marked in red font.

[No attention needed]

In the eyes of these professional data analysts and tactical teams, a Blank Slate with all attributes at 5 didn't even have the qualifications to be discussed.

He was just a joke, an interlude.

However, not everyone thought so.

Tianhai City, First People's Hospital, inside an intensive care ward.

Li Qingxuan was half-reclining on the bed, watching the reports about Lin Qi on the holographic screen and the unsightly comments below.

On his face, there was no schadenfreude, but rather a hint of cold mockery.

"A bunch of fools."

He muttered to himself, his voice carrying a chill that only someone who had personally experienced it could understand.

"You have no idea what kind of monster you are actually facing."

...

Night fell.

The city, which had been noisy all day, gradually quieted down.

Lin Qi came alone to the empty field of Longya Academy.

He didn't go to the gravity room, nor did he use any training equipment.

He just stood quietly in the center of the field and closed his eyes.

The next second.

His figure moved.

There was no sound, no wind.

His body was like a ghostly shadow merging into the night, shuttling at high speed across the empty field, leaving behind blurred afterimages.

Yu Step!

In coordination with the Turtle Breathing Technique, every one of his movements was truly silent, and energy consumption was reduced to the minimum.

Suddenly!

His forward-charging figure came to a sudden halt.

His right fist was pulled back to his waist, and then he thrust it lightly toward the air in front of him.

Mountain Crushing Force!

"Bang!"

An extremely muffled explosion erupted in the air in front of his fist!

That highly condensed vibrational force was perfectly controlled within three inches of his knuckles, without the slightest leak.

But the essence of this power was enough to instantly turn the internal organs of an Earth Demon Spider into mush!

Once, twice, ten times...

In the dark night without an audience, Lin Qi's figure was like a specter, practicing the combination of his footwork and fist force over and over again.

His movements became smoother and more harmonious.

Inside his Dantian, the liquefied True Qi was like a volcano about to erupt, accumulating terrifying energy and waiting for an outlet for complete release.

A cold figure appeared at the edge of the field at some unknown time.

Instructor Su Qing walked over and handed a document to Lin Qi.

"This is the first-round match list just released by the organizing committee, along with some profiles of opponents you need to pay close attention to."

Lin Qi stopped his movements and took the document.

Instructor Su Qing's voice was cold.

"That Li Pojun is only the strongest on the surface. According to my intelligence, in this tournament, there are at least five other monsters who have had a Hidden Class Awakening, and their strength is definitely not weaker than Li Pojun's."

Lin Qi casually flipped through the materials in his hand, which detailed the skills, equipment, and past records of those so-called prodigies.

Gorgeous and powerful.

But he only took one look before closing the file.

"It doesn't matter."

He looked at Instructor Su Qing, his tone calm.

"As long as they are still human, as long as they have flesh and blood, I can fight them."

Instructor Su Qing looked at Lin Qi, looking at the natural confidence on his face, and suddenly felt that those people who were frantically mocking him on the internet were truly pathetic.

They had no idea that this youth, whom they regarded as a joke, was about to become a nightmare for all of them.

Lin Qi put away the materials and turned to look toward the city center square in the distance.

There stood the venue for the Prodigy Championship, brightly lit at this moment, as if it were broad daylight.

"The good show has only just begun."