35: Zhou Yaoguo

On the stage, as their battle continued, Chen Qing's combat experience grew richer, and he was gradually able to anticipate moves and defend against Lu Hao's attacks.

Suddenly, Chen Qing unleashed his Earth Shattering Fist, which he hadn't used in a while, finding the perfect timing to strike Lu Hao's chest armor, sending him flying backward and crashing heavily to the ground.

Lu Hao struggled to his feet but did not attack again; he seemed somewhat dejected.

The earth-elemental armor on his chest was shattered, and a layer of frost had condensed on it, preventing the armor from reforming.

Like many in the audience, he had felt from the beginning that Chen Qing was holding back, merely using him as a whetstone.

Though the feeling wasn't pleasant, driven by the spirit of a Martial Artist, he decided to fight with all his might, unleashing his full array of attacks.

In truth, it was also a sparring session, but he had constantly been searching for an opportunity to defeat Chen Qing.

However, his strength was inferior, and surprisingly, his speed was also lacking. Now, at this stage of the fight, Chen Qing must have felt it was enough, delivering a single punch to make him realize the gap between them.

"Thank you, Senior Brother, for the sparring!" Chen Qing said with a smile, cupping his hands in gratitude.

Lu Hao managed a weak smile, then turned and jumped off the stage.

To continue fighting would only be to humiliate himself.

——

"Winner, Chen Qing. He replaces Lu Hao's ranking, now 97th on the Top 100 list. Lu Hao's rank drops to 98th."

New information appeared on the large screen.

"Chen Qing won! A freshman who just entered actually defeated an older student on the rankings!"

"This is huge news for Jinling Martial Arts University! This year's freshmen are really going to turn things upside down!"

"We won! We won!" Some freshmen cheered loudly.

The older students next to them were collectively speechless. What did "we" mean? Did you go on stage?

"He is him, and you are you! Just because he can win doesn't mean you can! We can easily beat you even with one hand tied behind our backs!"

A freshman retorted disdainfully, "What's so great about beating us? Give us some time, and we'll ensure there are no sophomores left on the sophomore rankings!"

At this, a chorus of agreement erupted!

The first-year students were all fired up. Although they had just started school and didn't know each other well, at this moment, Chen Qing's victory united a group of young people from all corners of the world, eager to collectively challenge the older students.

Some older students couldn't help but step back. At this moment, the freshmen's Aura subtly overwhelmed many of the older students; their fighting spirit was high!

——

"Hehe, I can somewhat understand your earlier thoughts now. This might truly ignite a rivalry between the grades, uniting everyone. No one wants to drag down the collective," Mu Linxi said with a smile.

"Exactly! In previous years, there was only an annual Martial Dao competition between schools, and it was always tacitly understood as a confrontation between students of the same grade. If students of the same grade lost, they didn't feel it was shameful, but what if you lost to a lower-grade student? And from the same school? That's different."

"Everyone sees each other constantly. If you see the rankings dominated by lower-grade students, do you still have Face? Would you still think it's normal and have an indifferent attitude?"

Yan Tianhao was in a great mood and spoke a lot.

Mu Linxi gently agreed. She had originally only come to see which freshman had been so ruthless as to severely injure an older student. She knew the reason but came out of curiosity, never expecting to witness such a good show.

——

"Hey, Chen Qing, are you still going to challenge?" Zhu Yulin asked.

Chen Qing had a few wounds on his body at this time, bleeding slightly, but his eyes were very bright.

"Of course! This is just the beginning. I'll use this opportunity to hone myself. Senior Brother Fu Mingyu said he's going on a mission later, didn't he? I need to be fully prepared."

"Take it easy; the mission I mentioned isn't that difficult! Don't injure yourself so badly that you can only recuperate in the dorm," Fu Mingyu said blandly.

Chen Qing smiled but didn't reply, simply saying loudly, "Are there any Senior Brothers ranked between 81 and 90? I want to challenge!"

Below the stage, a square-faced young man heard him and jumped onto the ring.

His sword-like brows furrowed slightly as he gazed at Chen Qing.

"Chen Qing, you're very good. But why be so aggressive on the first day of school, causing second-year students to lose Face?"

The square-faced young man had a stern Face, a tall build, and a strong Aura, completely incomparable to Lu Hao from earlier.

"It's Zhou Yaoguo! Why is he back?"

"Who is Zhou Yaoguo?"

"He's one of the few A-rank ability users in the second year, but this guy is an oddball. He's always focused on Cultivating Martial Skills and killing techniques, so his cultivation progress isn't that fast. He's still at the high stage of First Rank, but he's almost at the Peak."

"Is it him? I heard he went to train in the army? I heard he temporarily joined a hundred-man legion, aiming for desperate battles!"

"It's him! I don't know when he returned to school."

Zhu Yulin also frowned and whispered, "Be careful! This guy has most likely achieved a Breakthrough to the Peak of First Rank. His ability doesn't belong to any elemental system; it's a special ability related to killing. His Cultivation also focuses on killing techniques, and he fights extremely desperately! Someone said his ability was suitable for the army, and he went without a second thought. His rank of 81 is because he hasn't been at school for a long time and dropped down!"

"He was already in the top 50 half a year ago; now he's only stronger!"

"Fatty, you said he was in the top 50?" Fu Mingyu asked in surprise.

Zhu Yulin nodded seriously: "Yes. This guy is a born killing machine! Even those ranked above him are unwilling to fight him. A teacher once commented that Zhou Yaoguo is a person born for war!"

Zhao Yuanyue couldn't help but ask, "Then if you went up, could you beat him?"

She remembered this guy seemed to be ranked in the twenties.

"Hehe, if you let this fatty go up, that guy would be instantly killed! What killing techniques? To put it bluntly, it's a desperate fighting style; all the techniques are just for killing, it's not invincible," Li Qingshan said with a chuckle, his hands clasped behind his head.

So powerful? It seems this little fatty has some tricks up his sleeve.

——

"Senior Brother, this... this Zhou Yaoguo, I know him! This guy is very brutal, will Junior Brother be okay?" Yan Ling was a bit worried, now standing up from her seat.

Tong Zhe's expression was serious, still showing no emotion.

Actually, he was somewhat frantic internally, a bit tempted to notify the teachers. Should he really let Junior Brother continue fighting?

"I didn't offend the second-year students, Senior Brother, so don't misrepresent me. A Dean said that if we can defeat second-year Senior Brothers, there will be academic credit rewards."

Chen Qing listened to the discussions below the stage, knowing he had encountered a tough opponent today, and perhaps he could no longer hold back.

"Then let me see if you have the ability to get those academic credits from me today!"

The square-faced young man's eyes were cold, and a sinister smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.