19: What are you looking at?

zhi yong ship, Main Hall.

A group of people suddenly poured in, looking as youthful as Xiao Weiqing and the others; there were roughly over a hundred of them.

The leader was a young man wearing a uniform with the archaic characters for 'Luo Jiang' written on his chest.

"Lingyun, I've told you about the seating. The rest is up to your own choices. Don't embarrass Luohe City."

Afterward, the young man went to the control room upstairs.

Upon reaching the upper floor, the young man cupped his hands toward Jiang Peng and the other two, saying, "third year, Middle Academy, Zhou Zhen."

Jiang Peng nodded in response. "Take a seat. How is the quality of the new Trainees from Luohe this year?"

"Mm, it's alright. There's one Rank 4 'Skill' I kept, and twenty-six Rank 3 Extraordinary Talents. Overall, it's not much different from last year."

Jiang Peng nodded. For cities far from Luo Jiang Academy like Anqiu City and Luohe City, having one or two Rank 4s every year was normal, and it wouldn't be surprising if there were none. The closer one got to Luo Jiang Prefecture, the more people there were with high-level Extraordinary Talents.

The reason was simple: a larger population.

Every year, people from Luo Jiang Prefecture City accounted for more than half of those entering Luo Jiang Academy, simply because the Prefecture City was large enough and had a massive population.

Adding the several adjacent subsidiary cities—which were called cities but were actually subordinate districts of the Prefecture City—these areas combined accounted for half of Luo Jiang Prefecture's total population.

The combined population of the remaining thirty cities didn't even match that of the Prefecture City.

"You went to Anqiu City, right? How was it?"

Wang Fu said, "Three Rank 4s appeared."

"Oh?"

Zhou Zhen said in surprise, "Anqiu City doesn't even have as many people as Luohe City, yet so many excellent Extraordinary Talents appeared this year?"

"Which ones are they?"

Zhou Zhen asked while staring at the screen.

Jiang Peng cursed, "What's the damn use? Two of the Rank 4s were snatched away by Azure Dragon Academy."

Zhou Zhen sighed slightly. "A pity. Azure Dragon Academy really doesn't do things decently."

"Oh, they're about to make a move," Wang Fu chuckled, looking like he was enjoying the show.

Hearing this, several people quickly focused their attention on the surveillance screen, where the two groups of people had already approached each other.

Meanwhile.

The people from Luohe City entered the hall. Seeing that Anqiu City only had fifty people—not even half their number—they immediately felt reassured.

A young man leading them stepped forward.

He sized up the people from Anqiu City.

Li Fangnan immediately became displeased.

"What are you looking at?"

The young man instinctively replied, "Looking at you, so what!"

"Hey, my temper's flaring up!"

Li Fangnan stood up and reached out toward Xiao Weiqing.

"Bring me my blade!"

Xiao Weiqing frowned slightly, squinting at Li Fangnan.

Li Fangnan turned to meet Xiao Weiqing's gaze and shrank back.

"Hehe, sorry, I got a bit too into character."

Then, he went to the rack himself and took a wooden Ox-tail Saber.

Swish, swish~

He performed two standard saber flourishes.

"Anqiu City, Li Fangnan, Rank 3 'Skill'."

Seeing this, the young man clenched both fists and took a stance.

"Luohe City, Fang Lingyun, Rank 4 'Skill'."

Judging by the stance, it was likely some form of leg or footwork.

Li Fangnan was stunned. He put away the wooden saber, cupped his hands, returned the saber to its place, and then sat down calmly as if nothing had happened.

"Uh... Qin Sheng, he's a Rank 4 'Skill'. I can't beat him, you take over."

Qin Sheng sighed. This team was truly hard to lead.

Then he stood up and said, "How about best two out of three?"

"On what grounds? Brother Yun, we won't do it. We have more people, they should yield to us. If not, we'll just beat them up."

Li Fangnan was displeased again. "Kid, what's your Extraordinary Talent and what Rank?"

"Rank 3 'Skill', what of it?"

"If you have the guts, come out. See if I don't beat you until you go crying to your daddy."

For a moment, both sides started a war of words.

Fang Lingyun shook his head. "The numbers are uneven; we'd be at a disadvantage. If all of us swarmed you, you wouldn't be our match."

Qin Sheng countered, "You should know that the closer we get to the center of Luo Jiang Prefecture, the more people there will be. That means the people from the next two cities will definitely outnumber you."

"If they also go by numbers, what will you do?"

Fang Lingyun fell silent.

Qin Sheng continued, "How about this: there are a hundred sofas in total. Best two out of three. If one side loses completely, then there's nothing to say—they go to the back."

"If your side only gets one win, you can take forty seats. If our side only gets one win, we take twenty."

"How about it?"

Fang Lingyun thought for a moment and nodded. "Agreed."

The two returned to their respective camps.

Qin Sheng said, "Rank 3 'Skill' and 'Artifact' users, please volunteer yourselves."

"Shouldn't it be Rank 3 'Technique'?"

Zhu Dong shook his head. "Everyone has only just opened their divine palace. Their Spiritual Qi content is scarce. 'Techniques' won't be of much use right now. At this time, we still have to rely on fists, feet, and weapons."

Then Zhu Dong looked at Wei Lan. He found it strange; this girl was surrounded by several people from Linhai County but hadn't spoken much, only occasionally talking with Xiao Weiqing. However, her temperament and confidence didn't seem fake.

"This classmate, your..."

"She's not under consideration. I'll fight," Xiao Weiqing interrupted.

Someone said, "Xiao Weiqing, you're also a Technique user, aren't you?"

Xiao Weiqing nodded. "Mm, but I also know some weapon skills. Besides, my Technique is alright. Below Rank 4, it shouldn't be much of a problem."

"Fine, then it's me, Xiao Weiqing."

"And..."

Someone stood up from the back. "Count me in. Rank 3 'Artifact', sword. I also know a bit about swordsmanship."

"He Wu, you've been practicing the sword since you were a child. You know more than just 'a bit'."

Qin Sheng's eyes lit up. "Good, then it's the three of us."

"Of course, if the three of us lose, I hope everyone won't mind. If we only get one win, I won't take a sofa seat either."

"Qin Sheng, what are you saying? At worst, we'll just go to Luo Jiang Prefecture hungry today. We'll just save our stomachs to eat something delicious there."

"That's right, Qin Sheng, get 'em."

Both sides finalized their candidates.

Qin Sheng took the lead and picked up a long staff.

"Qin Sheng, Rank 4 'Artifact'."

The opponent coming out was Fang Lingyun.

"Fang Lingyun, Rank 4, 'Skill'."

The two took their stances, and the battle was about to begin.

"Eh? Isn't Qin Sheng a spear user? Why did he take a staff?" Li Fangnan asked.

Zhu Dong said, "A month for the staff, a year for the saber, but a lifetime for the spear."

"He only obtained his Extraordinary Talent yesterday. There's no way he could learn it so quickly, especially a Rank 4 spear."

"Makes sense."

On the floor.

Qin Sheng kicked the staff with his left foot to flip it up, spun it with one hand, and then, with the tip of the staff trailing the ground, he rushed toward Fang Lingyun.

Seeing this, Fang Lingyun took a step back with his right foot, appearing as though he were retreating to open up distance. However, he suddenly exerted force with his right foot and charged rapidly toward Qin Sheng.

"Hah!"

Qin Sheng showed no fear. With a roar, he gripped the staff with both hands and brought it crashing down in a 'Mount Tai Press' move.

Fang Lingyun dodged at a bizarre angle, just barely avoiding the blow. Everyone could see the long staff sweep past Fang Lingyun's face, the force causing the muscles on his face to quiver.

The strike missed.

Fang Lingyun stepped onto the long staff, leaped into the air, and swept his leg toward Qin Sheng.

Qin Sheng seemed prepared and used the staff to parry.

Fang Lingyun's stance changed. He quickly closed in, his elbow nearing Qin Sheng.

Qin Sheng sidestepped, passing by Fang Lingyun as they both pulled apart.

But in the next second, Qin Sheng synchronized his waist and legs, suddenly turning and thrusting out.

The long staff stopped right at Fang Lingyun's chest.

What a brilliant 'Return-Horse Spear'!

In the blink of an eye, the winner had been decided.

Inside the control room.

"Not bad."

Jiang Peng and the others praised.

Whether it was Qin Sheng using a staff as a spear or Fang Lingyun's initial feigned retreat to find an opening to close in, both were commendable.

Zhou Zhen shook his head. "Fang Lingyun has too little Spiritual Qi; otherwise, he could have easily fended off the long spear."

Wang Fu chuckled. "You can't count it like that. It's the same for Qin Sheng; he doesn't have much Spiritual Qi either. If you look at it that way, Technique Cultivators are the ones at the biggest disadvantage right now."

"True."

With that.

The first match ended.