73: Chapter 73 The School's Public Enemy and the First Formation of Silver Bones

The air in Longya Academy has been thick with the smell of gunpowder lately.

Banners for the Freshman Grand Competition are draped across every teaching building. Even the frequency of the cafeteria aunties' hand tremors while serving food has quickened; it's said they're practicing some kind of high-frequency oscillation ladling technique.

The training grounds are packed, filled with shouts and the light effects of magical explosions.

Only one person is missing.

Lin Qi, the one who became a legend in a single battle during the Deep Trials, has disappeared for half a month.

"I told you it was just a flash in the pan."

In a corner of the cafeteria, several upperclassmen were picking their teeth while talking loudly.

"What Martial Intent? What tearing apart Gundams with bare hands? He probably just happened to hit a monster's weak point mechanism. If he really had that kind of ability, could he stay out of sight for half a month? He's probably hiding somewhere crying."

"I heard Li Shaobai has already declared that he's going to use Lin Qi as a sacrificial flag in this competition to wash away the humiliation from the trials."

At a nearby table, a fat guy suddenly stood up and slammed the chicken leg in his hand onto his plate.

"Bullshit!"

Zhang Wei's face turned red as he pointed at the upperclassmen. "My Brother Qi is in secluded cultivation! Do you understand secluded cultivation? When he comes out, he'll beat every single one of you into pig heads!"

"Oh, isn't this that unscrupulous merchant who resells second-hand potions?"

The upperclassmen burst into laughter. "What, did your golden thigh break and now you're anxious? If you really have confidence in Lin Qi, why don't you go place a bet? The current odds are 1 to 10."

Zhang Wei gritted his teeth.

He glanced at the balance on his terminal. It was all the savings he had accumulated over the years, plus the operating capital his family had just sent—a total of five million.

"If I win, can the bookmaker afford to pay?" Zhang Wei asked.

"What a joke. This is an official academy betting pool; they'll take as much as you have."

"Fine."

Zhang Wei took a deep breath, his fingers moving rapidly across the screen.

Beep.

"Bet successful. Amount: 5 million. Subject: Lin Qi. Category: Freshman Grand Competition Champion."

The entire area instantly went silent.

The upperclassmen looked at Zhang Wei as if he were an idiot.

"He's crazy. This fat guy is absolutely insane."

Zhang Wei ignored the surrounding ridicule, though his palms were covered in sweat.

He didn't want to go all-in either.

But since he had acknowledged him as his Big Brother, if he didn't stand up now, how could he keep following him in the future?

"Brother Qi, oh Brother Qi, you better not mess this up, or the two of us will be stuck applying screen protectors under a bridge for a living."

...

At five in the afternoon, ten minutes before the registration deadline.

At the entrance of the Academic Affairs Office hall, the staff were preparing to pack up and leave.

"Wait."

A youth wearing old sportswear and carrying a backpack walked in.

The students still lingering in the hall were stunned for a moment, then erupted into whispers.

"Lin Qi? He actually came?"

"Why does he smell like engine oil? And a bit... sour?"

Lin Qi ignored everyone's gaze, walked straight to the registration desk, picked up a pen, and filled out the form with a flourish.

Just as he turned around, a figure blocked his path.

Dressed in white with a long sword on his back, his hair was combed meticulously.

Li Shaobai.

After half a month of recovery, this young master of the Li family had regained much of his complexion, but the look in his eyes as he watched Lin Qi was still complex.

There was resentment, wariness, and an indescribable awkwardness.

"Finally decided to show up?"

Li Shaobai crossed his arms, his chin slightly raised. "I thought you were afraid of losing and had run back to your hometown to farm."

Lin Qi looked up at him, his gaze lingering for a second on the left side of Li Shaobai's face, which hadn't fully healed from the swelling.

"Is your face better?"

Li Shaobai's expression froze.

Bringing up exactly what shouldn't be mentioned.

That slap was the greatest humiliation of his life and a psychological shadow he couldn't shake off.

"Lin Qi!"

Li Shaobai lowered his voice, his tone icy cold.

"I will make you pay back a hundredfold for what happened in the trials. Don't think that just because you awakened some strange ability, you can be lawless. On the arena, what matters is comprehensive strength, equipment, and skills!"

He patted the sword case on his back.

"In this half month, my Sword Control Technique has broken through to the third level. When the time comes, I hope you can last a few seconds before that broken pressure cooker of yours shatters."

The surrounding students grew excited; this was some major drama.

Lin Qi let out a yawn and reached out to push Li Shaobai aside.

"Excuse me."

Li Shaobai was pushed and stumbled slightly, looking at Lin Qi's back in disbelief.

"You're ignoring me?"

Lin Qi didn't even turn his head as he waved his hand. "You talk too much. If you have that much time, you should go drain the water out of your brain."

After saying that, he strode out of the hall, leaving behind a livid Li Shaobai and a crowd of stunned onlookers.

...

The back mountain, the waste area.

As night fell, only that old Pill Furnace was still emitting a faint glow of fire.

Lin Qi sat cross-legged in front of the furnace, holding the last two pitch-black Medicinal Pills in his hand.

This was the enhanced version of the enhanced version.

Old Mo called this the 'King of Hell's Invitation'.

"Swallowing both at once?" Old Mo stood nearby, his brow furrowed. "Even though your bones have hardened quite a bit, doing this could easily make them shatter into dust."

"I have a fight tomorrow. There's no time for slow grinding."

Lin Qi didn't hesitate, tilting his head back to toss both pills into his mouth at once.

Boom!

This time there was no waiting; the medicinal power exploded the moment it entered his mouth.

Lin Qi's whole body jolted. His skin instantly turned bright red, and his veins bulged like earthworms, as if they would burst at any moment.

Crack, crack.

Dense, crisp sounds echoed from within his body—the sound of his bones cracking under the impact of the medicinal power.

Pain.

It was ten times more intense than any time before.

If before it was like ants gnawing on his bones, now it was like his bones had been thrown into a grinder.

Lin Qi gritted his teeth so hard that blood seeped from his gums.

He guided that violent Martial Intent, forcibly suppressing the medicinal power and pushing that destructive energy bit by bit into the depths of his bone marrow.

"Break to establish, no breaking no establishing."

He muttered to himself in his heart.

As his bones continuously shattered and reconstructed, a faint silver light began to emerge on the originally grayish-white bones.

The silver grew brighter and brighter, until finally, the outlines of his bones could be seen glowing even through his skin.

Silver Bone, initial formation.

After an unknown amount of time, the red flush on Lin Qi's body receded, and his breathing gradually stabilized.

He opened his eyes, and a silver light seemed to flash deep within his pupils.

He stood up and moved his limbs.

He didn't feel any muscle swelling; instead, he felt incredibly light, as if he had escaped the pull of gravity.

But the density contained within this body had already reached a terrifying level.

"How is it?" Old Mo asked.

Lin Qi didn't speak, but simply picked up the solid steel ingot on the ground that he used for a footrest.

He exerted force with his five fingers.

Creeeeak—

That special steel ingot, which hadn't even been deformed by being stepped on for half a month, was twisted like playdough in his hand, leaving five deep, clear finger imprints.

"It'll do." Lin Qi tossed the scrap metal aside.

Old Mo's eyelid twitched. "That's just 'doing'? This grip strength could directly crush the helmet of a warrior of the same Rank."

Lin Qi walked to a corner and lifted a grease-stained canvas.

Lying beneath was a sword.

Or rather, a massive, slightly refined metal plate.

One and a half meters long, wide as a door, and over five centimeters thick.

It was welded together from tank armor plates found in the waste area, scrapped construction machinery gears, and half of a broken high-voltage transmission shaft.

It had no edge.

With this weight and thickness, it didn't need an edge at all.

Lin Qi picked up this three-hundred-pound "sword" with one hand and gave it a couple of casual swings.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The dull sound of the wind pressured the eardrums, and the air was crudely torn apart.

"If this thing hits a person..." Old Mo commented, "you wouldn't even need to call a doctor; you'd just need to scoop them up with a shovel."

"That's exactly the effect I want."

Lin Qi hung the heavy sword on his back; the blade almost covered more than half of his body.

He walked to the edge of the cliff and looked down at the brightly lit Longya Academy.

Final preparations for tomorrow's competition were underway there, with countless searchlights cutting through the night sky in brilliant colors.

And on this dark pile of scrap, Lin Qi was like a lurking beast, sharpening its claws and teeth.

"This half month has bored me to death."

Lin Qi cracked his neck, producing a crisp sound.

"Tomorrow, I'm going to smash this so-called S-rank list into pieces."

Old Mo took a sip of tea and looked at the youth's back, a hint of anticipation flashing in his cloudy old eyes.

"Just don't kill anyone. Paying compensation is a hassle."

"I'll try."

Lin Qi grinned and said in a low voice, "My era has begun."