51: Chapter 51 Minor Success in Meat Refining, An Olive Branch from Dragon Fang Academy

The halo of the teleportation faded as the glass cover of the simulation pod slowly rose.

Lin Qi took off his helmet, and before he could even stretch his stiff neck, he noticed that the atmosphere around him was not quite right.

The massive combat hall was packed with people—at least a thousand teachers and students—but at this moment, no one was speaking.

Everyone's eyes were focused on him, their gazes as if they were looking at a Tyrannosaurus Rex that had just escaped from a zoo.

"Cough."

It was unclear who coughed first, but the crowd seemed to come back to life, and the buzzing sound of discussion began to spread.

"That's Lin Qi? He doesn't look that strong; how did he smash the mutated boss to pieces?"

"What do you know? That's internal martial arts, focusing on Inch Power. Didn't you see the replay just now? His punches were moving so fast they left afterimages."

"Brother Qi!"

A high-pitched howl broke the atmosphere of the onlookers.

Zhang Wei's plump body crashed over like a meatball, the flesh on his face trembling as he opened his arms for a bear hug.

"Stop."

Lin Qi raised his hand, pressing his palm against the fatty's sweaty forehead and pushing him half a meter away in disgust.

"You smell like sweat; get away from me."

"Brother Qi, you're too heartless! I thought we were going to turn into fertilizer in that spider cave just now!" Zhang Wei wasn't embarrassed; instead, he grabbed Lin Qi's arm, his expression more affectionate than if he had seen his own father. "That last punch was so cool. I've decided—when I get back, I'm changing the sign of my 'Huichun Hall' to a branch of the 'Lin Family Martial Arts Hall'!"

"Stop joking around." Lin Qi pulled his arm away and scanned the crowd.

In the nearby rest area, Li Shaobai was sitting on a leather sofa. This Prodigy's face was currently as black as the bottom of a pot, and the water bottle in his hand had been squeezed out of shape. Although his team had also cleared the stage—even being the second to emerge in the whole school—compared to Lin Qi's striking "SSS" rating, even an A-Rank evaluation seemed dull and lackluster.

The crowd automatically parted to make a path.

Instructor Su Qing walked over in her military boots, her "stay away" aura making the surrounding students instinctively back away.

She stopped in front of Lin Qi, her sharp gaze scanning him from head to toe. After confirming the boy was mentally sound and hadn't lost any parts, she gave a slight nod.

"Well done."

"Just good luck," Lin Qi replied casually.

"Good luck can punch a mutated Crypt Spider Queen's head into its chest cavity?" Instructor Su Qing lowered her voice so only the two of them could hear. "The System backend just detected abnormal code. That boss's mutation wasn't a random event; someone used a 'Berserk Curse' item."

Lin Qi didn't say anything, but his eyes grew slightly colder.

"It seems you have an idea of what's going on." Instructor Su Qing looked at his expression and stopped asking. "The school and the military will intervene to investigate this. Although the source of the interference ran fast, as long as an item was used, it will leave a trace. Be careful during this time; don't go off alone."

"Understood. Thanks, Instructor."

Lin Qi flexed his wrists and suddenly felt a warm current surging wildly through his body.

That was the reward feedback from the stage completion settlement.

Although he didn't have an experience bar in the System's judgment and couldn't level up or assign points like others, the "essence" obtained from killing high-level mutated creatures was currently being fed back into his real Physical Body through virtual synchronization.

If this energy wasn't guided and absorbed in time, it would not only be wasted but could also cause physical harm.

"I'm going to the restroom."

Without waiting for Instructor Su Qing's response, Lin Qi turned and walked quickly toward the end of the hallway.

He slipped into the innermost stall and locked the door. Lin Qi took a deep breath, spread his feet to grip the floor, and assumed a strange stance.

The warm current surged through his body like scalding lava.

He controlled his breathing rhythm, his chest beginning to rise and fall regularly as he guided this essence to wash over his entire muscle groups.

Chi chi.

A faint flush appeared on the surface of his skin; this was his capillaries operating under a high load.

The muscle fibers that had been slightly strained in the dungeon due to the forced burst were rapidly repaired and reorganized under the nourishment of this energy. The newly grown muscle fibers became tighter, like countless tiny steel wires twisted together.

Skin Refining Perfection is about locking in blood and Qi, while Flesh Refining is for explosive power.

Lin Qi closed his eyes, feeling every tremor of the large muscle groups in his back.

This feeling was very familiar; in his previous life, he had undergone this tedious tempering countless times in the game to achieve the "Martial Saint" title.

Five minutes later.

Lin Qi slowly exhaled a mouthful of turbid air; that breath shot out straight like an arrow for half a meter before dissipating.

He raised his right hand, slowly tightening his five fingers.

Crackle.

A series of crisp, popping sounds like beans roasting came from his knuckles—a precursor to the resonance of muscles and bones.

"Flesh Refining Minor Achievement."

Lin Qi looked at his palm; the lines on his calloused hand were distinct.

Although his current Physical Body strength was not even one percent of what it was in his previous life, after stabilizing the Flesh Refining Stage, his single-instance explosive power had increased by at least twenty percent. If he were to fight that mutated Spider Queen again now, he wouldn't need dozens of punches—three would be enough to end the battle.

"It's still not enough."

Lin Qi knew very well that this was only the beginning.

In this world where S-Rank classes were everywhere and skill damage easily exceeded ten thousand, a mere Flesh Refining Minor Achievement was not enough for self-preservation. That assassin who had shot a cold arrow from the shadows earlier had fled quickly; next time they met, the opponent would definitely not give him such a chance for a fair duel.

After smoothing out his slightly wrinkled school uniform, Lin Qi pushed the door open and walked out.

Just as he reached the corner of the hallway, he was blocked by a group of people.

Leading them was a middle-aged man in a deep blue uniform, with a golden badge pinned to his chest engraved with a ferocious dragon's head.

Seeing this badge, the surrounding students couldn't help but stop, their eyes filled with envy.

That was the emblem of "Longya Academy."

One of the top three war academies in the country, a place where only true monsters and Prodigies were qualified to enter.

"You're Lin Qi, right?"

A professional smile hung on the middle-aged man's face, but it carried a sense of condescending scrutiny. "I am the director of the admissions office at Longya Academy. You can call me Director Chen."

Lin Qi stopped, his expression indifferent. "Is something the matter?"

This reaction caught Director Chen off guard. Any other student meeting an admissions officer from Longya Academy would be so excited they'd be tripping over their words. This kid, however, acted as if he were asking a random passerby if they wanted to buy groceries.

"Cough." Director Chen cleared his throat. "We all saw your performance in the dungeon just now. Although you are classless, your combat techniques are very interesting, especially that special way of exerting power. Longya Academy has always been unconventional in recruiting talent, so we would like to invite you to participate in this year's 'Early Admission Special Recruitment Selection'."

Whoosh—

The surroundings erupted into an uproar.

Early Admission Special Recruitment! That was an admission ticket that only geniuses with an S-Rank evaluation or higher were eligible for. Once passed, it meant having one foot already inside the gates of a top academy before even taking the college entrance exam.

Li Shaobai, who had just walked over from the other side, paused in his tracks upon hearing this, his teeth grinding audibly.

He had exhausted his efforts to perform, even using his Family connections to get a recommendation letter, yet Lin Qi had only completed one dungeon, and the admissions director was personally blocking the door to deliver an invitation?

"Special recruitment selection?"

Lin Qi frowned slightly. "Is food provided?"

The smile on Director Chen's face froze. "What?"

"I asked if food is provided during the selection. I want to eat Source Beast meat, and I have a large appetite," Lin Qi asked seriously. The Flesh Refining Stage consumed a lot of energy, and the meager portions at the school cafeteria couldn't fill his stomach at all; this was currently his biggest problem.

Director Chen's lips twitched a couple of times, and then he burst into laughter.

"It is! As long as you can pass the selection, let alone Source Beast meat, we can even provide the essence of B-Rank Vicious Beasts! Longya Academy lacks many things, but resources are not one of them."

"Alright then, I'll go."

Lin Qi agreed exceptionally decisively.

Director Chen pulled out a gold-rimmed black card from his pocket and handed it over.

"This is just an admission ticket; the real test is yet to come. This year's selection is a bit special; you will encounter many opponents you can't even imagine."