155: Chapter 155 Dongcheng Martial Arts University

The others, including the usually steady Zhou Nan, all stared at Qin Yan with burning eyes, their gazes full of inquiry and disbelief.

When they had personally witnessed Qin Yan descend like a god from the heavens from the spectator seats earlier,

and single-handedly, with effortless ease, 'defeat four in a row', sweeping through the four members of the Shanghai Jiaotong University team, their minds were utterly blown!

They simply couldn't connect the youth on the arena, with his fierce aura and immense power,

with the gentle and humble Qin Yan from their memories.

Seeing the expressions of his friends, who looked as if they'd seen a ghost, Qin Yan couldn't help but laugh. 'What's my status? Didn't you all see it with your own eyes?

I'm just a freshman participant from Shanghai University of Martial Arts.'

He paused before continuing, 'As for being able to defeat the Shanghai Jiaotong University members so easily, that's entirely because they only sent out reserve team members, whose strength is limited.

Their real ace players, experts like Chen Hanshan and Lin Qingyin,

didn't take the field at all, in order to conserve their strength for the later matches in the losers' bracket.

If we had faced those few, it probably wouldn't have been so easy.'

Qin Yan patiently explained to his friends, soothing their overly shocked minds.

However, deep in his heart, he held absolute confidence—even if Shanghai Jiaotong University's ace players had taken the field today, the result wouldn't have changed in the slightest!

After he used some of his trump cards, he would have crushed them just the same!

But, there was no need to say these inner thoughts out loud now and further shock these old friends.

It was better to let their fragile little hearts recover a bit first.

Afterwards, Qin Yan, as the host, invited his friends to have lunch at the Shanghai University of Martial Arts cafeteria.

During the meal, the group remained immersed in the excitement of the morning's match and their shock at Qin Yan's strength, the conversation constantly revolving around the exchange tournament.

After the meal, he bid farewell to everyone and returned to his No. 11 Manor.

There was still about a week left until the entire exchange tournament concluded. During this time, there was still room for his strength to improve!

Every minute and every second was precious and must not be wasted.

He checked the credit balance displayed on his smart wristband: 396 points.

'Ah, what a pity.'

Qin Yan sighed softly, feeling somewhat regretful. 'Starting today, the school's daily special subsidy of 30 credits has stopped.'

This meant that the resources for his subsequent cultivation would need to rely more on his own accumulation and planning.

Fortunately, his previous accumulation was substantial, so he didn't need to worry about resources for the time being.

Without too much hesitation, he immediately used the campus system to exchange credits for the large amount of resources needed for his cultivation over the next few days.

This included tiger elephant bone forging pills, Heart-Cleansing Tea, and the daily required Second-Grade Qi-Blood Pills and bone forging pills.

Once the resources were secured, Qin Yan immediately entered a frenzied cultivation mode.

Sweat soaked his clothes, qi and blood roared and surged within his body, and his comprehension of the martial path deepened bit by bit through arduous tempering.

He continued cultivating until the early hours of the morning before Qin Yan slowly ceased his exercises.

Feeling the increasingly surging power within him, a satisfied expression appeared on his face.

With the aid of ample resources and the Nine Revolutions Golden Body Technique, which had reached the eighth revolution, he successfully tempered two more skull bones tonight!

The total number of skull bones he had fully tempered reached 6!

At the same time, his foundational qi-blood value also rose accordingly, soaring to 496 units!

He was getting closer and closer to the limit of the Second-Grade peak.

His cultivation progress in the Nine Revolutions Golden Body Technique also steadily increased to 28%.

Feeling the increasingly condensed and formidable power within him, Qin Yan felt even stronger confidence for the subsequent matches.

After a simple wash-up, he drifted into a sweet sleep with the satisfaction of his increased strength, storing up energy for the fierce battles of the next day.

...

December 26th.

Inside the Shanghai University of Martial Arts preparation area, Lu Qingfeng shook his head like a rattle-drum, his tone resolute: 'Instructor Fang, I really don't want to go draw lots again. You should send someone else!'

Recalling Dean Xiao Shan's 'death glare' from yesterday, he still felt a lingering fear.

No matter how Instructor Fang Yuan threatened, tempted, coaxed, or persuaded, Lu Qingfeng remained iron-willed, refusing to go on stage.

Seeing his utterly unyielding attitude, Fang Yuan could ultimately only sigh helplessly, knowing it would be a waste of time to try further persuasion.

He scanned the preparation area, his gaze landing on Lu Youyou, who was leisurely arranging her ponytail.

'Youyou,' Fang Yuan said, 'since Qingfeng is so unwilling, you will represent our Shanghai University of Martial Arts on stage to draw the lots this time.'

Hearing this, Lu Youyou's eyes lit up: 'Okay, Instructor Fang! I guarantee to complete the task!'

She never shied away from such opportunities to show her face.

Soon, the long, resonant bell marking the start of the drawing ceremony echoed throughout.

Lu Youyou straightened her robe, a bright and brilliant smile on her face, and walked onto the arena.

She walked straight up to Dean Xiao Shan. Far from being the least bit nervous, she acted as if meeting a family elder,

smiling affectionately as she said a few words, even playfully winking.

A trace of a helpless yet doting smile couldn't help but appear on Dean Xiao Shan's originally stern face.

He shook his head and responded to her in a low voice.

Their familiar interaction formed a stark contrast to the 'cold treatment' Lu Qingfeng had suffered yesterday.

Afterwards, Lu Youyou, quite satisfied, finished drawing from the lottery box, waved at Dean Xiao Shan, and ran off the arena with light, brisk steps.

Returning to the preparation area, Lu Qingfeng watched Lu Youyou's carefree, smiling return, his heart filled with immense confusion and grievance.

Why is Dean Xiao Shan all smiles and kindness with Lu Youyou, but scowls and gives me the cold shoulder?

Is it favoritism towards females over males?!

If Lu Youyou knew what Lu Qingfeng was imagining right now, she would probably laugh so hard she couldn't straighten up on the spot.

She and Xiao Wangshu were childhood friends who grew up together, as close as sisters.

Dean Xiao Shan, being Xiao Wangshu's grandfather, was naturally someone she had met countless times since childhood, and their relationship was quite close.

Dean Xiao Shan had long been familiar with her; how could he possibly give her a stern look like he would to an unfamiliar student?

'Youyou's luck is pretty good. Today's opponent is actually East City University of Martial Arts.'

Instructor Fang Yuan chuckled lightly.

East City University of Martial Arts, among the hundreds of martial arts universities in China, has a comprehensive strength ranking outside the top fifty.

Its strength is even somewhat inferior to that of Shanghai Jiaotong University, whom they had easily defeated earlier.

For Shanghai University of Martial Arts, which aims to win the championship, today's match was practically a 'freebie' delivered to their doorstep, with minimal pressure.

'It really is a good draw.' Lu Qingfeng also nodded, his mood relaxing considerably.

Afterwards, Instructor Fang Yuan briefly arranged the tactics. The core idea was to train the team and preserve the main force.

He planned to mainly send out reserve team members, allowing them to accumulate experience in major competitions.