103: If I say it wasn't intentional, would you believe me?

Just as Lu Bingyun was explaining her relationship with a few girls, the battle on the stage entered a fever pitch.

Xie Ning and Ye Feiyu were both fired up, fists and spears flying, dodging left and right, with afterimages all around them.

But fists were ultimately no match for a spear, and Xie Ning was subtly at a disadvantage.

The Rift Blade War Mantis watched anxiously from the side, attempting to attack several times, but Xie Ning stopped it.

After avoiding the long spear once more, Xie Ning propped himself up with one hand on the ground, kicking out with both legs, sending Ye Feiyu stumbling back three steps. However, Ye Feiyu then spun around with the spear, almost hitting him.

He gripped the long spear tightly, not allowing it to be pulled back.

After a second of stalemate, Ye Feiyu abandoned the spear, delivering a whip kick. Xie Ning used the spear to block the kick, but the powerful force made his hands go numb.

Unlike Xie Ning's wild boxing, Ye Feiyu had clearly undergone specialized Ancient Martial Arts Cultivation, with numerous Moves. Even her leg techniques were tightly linked.

Xie Ning had just blocked one Move, and before he could counterattack, the next kick came, like a tide, each wave higher than the last.

The first Move, Xie Ning easily blocked;

The second Move, his arm trembled;

The third Move, his face turned green;

The fourth Move, he stumbled back;

The fifth Move... Damn it! It's endless!

Seeing a more ferocious spinning kick sweep towards him than the previous ones, Xie Ning, for some unknown reason, gritted his teeth, let go of the long spear, and lunged forward, avoiding the most powerful part of her calf and grabbing her thigh.

Neither side could stop their momentum, and they crashed to the ground in an extremely ambiguous position.

Audience below: "..."

Xie Ning: "..."

Ye Feiyu: "..."

Xie Ning was also stunned by his own actions. He froze for a few seconds, then swallowed: "I said, it wasn't intentional, do you believe me?"

"Let! Go!"

Xie Ning quickly let go and stepped back two paces.

Ye Feiyu got up from the ground with a dark expression. When she looked up, her eyes seemed to burn with fire. She raised both hands, and three Demon Taming Formations of different sizes appeared.

"Oh crap! Little Mantis, retreat quickly!"

As his voice fell, Xie Ning no longer cared about winning or losing. He greased his feet, stepping on the shoulders or heads of the still-stunned audience below the stage, and quickly disappeared from sight.

Little Mantis followed closely, vanishing into space, leaving only Ye Feiyu's angry shout: "Shameless!!!"

This scream finally brought everyone back to their senses.

"W-what did I just see?"

"Young Miss Feiyu was pinned down by a new student?"

"Nothing actually happened, but I feel the pain of a breakup..."

"Xie Ning! We're sworn enemies with you!"

"Everyone, follow me! Let's go settle the score with Xie Ning! Such a hooligan must be killed to appease public anger!"

"Kill!!!"

A large group of people surged in the direction Xie Ning had left, leaving only Lu Bingyun and a few others, along with the frantic Ye Feiyu, on the stage.

"Oh dear~ As expected, something happened." Lu Bingyun rubbed her temples, walking towards the challenge stage.

The other three showed various expressions: Lan Yu was blushing, while Mo Yu and Xiao Ya were both excited. The three followed Lu Bingyun onto the stage.

Ye Feiyu was about to chase Xie Ning, but seeing the girls come onto the stage, she frowned and looked at Lu Bingyun: "What are you doing here?"

"Xie Ning is my friend, so of course I'll be here. I didn't expect, however, that Cousin has also become as unreasonable as some people," Lu Bingyun said.

Ye Feiyu looked at Lu Bingyun, her brows tightly furrowed, and asked: "How am I unreasonable?"

"An Advanced Class student fighting a Beginner Class student, constantly harassing him after he refused your challenge, and provoking Xie Ning with the Instructor's name," Lu Bingyun said as she approached, until the two were less than a foot apart, close enough for their breaths to touch each other's faces, then her expression turned cold: "And I also heard that he didn't want to fight, and you ambushed him. Don't you think that's unreasonable?"

Ye Feiyu opened her mouth, but it eventually turned into a cold snort, leaving behind a phrase: "I don't need to explain my actions to you." She turned, put away her Demon Tamer Beast, and left in the opposite direction, no longer chasing Xie Ning.

Lu Bingyun watched her departing back, her expression complex, but she also secretly breathed a sigh of relief... Why did Ye Feiyu want to fight Xie Ning? What happened between her and Lu Bingyun? All of this was unknown at the moment, and even less so to Xie Ning, who was fleeing for his life.

At this moment, he finally shook off Ye Feiyu's fans, took several detours, and arrived at a plaza.

This plaza also had some people gathered, but they weren't challenging each other, nor were they Ye Feiyu's rabid fan club. Their attention was all on a huge poster in front of them, the theme of which was four characters—Houtu Secret Realm.

Seeing the name of this Secret Realm, Xie Ning raised an eyebrow.

The Houtu Secret Realm, from the moment Xie Ning arrived at the academy, he had heard rumors about it. He originally thought it was just a rumor, but he didn't expect it to be true.

However, the poster's introduction to the Houtu Secret Realm was pitifully sparse; the only valuable information was that it would open in one week.

"Another Houtu Secret Realm, it seems it's finally our students' turn to get a share this year," a nearby classmate couldn't help but exclaim.

Xie Ning walked over, conjured a bag of potato chips, ate a few pieces first, then handed it over, asking curiously: "Hey, classmate, you sound very professional, did students not get to participate in this Secret Realm before?"

"You must be a new student. Anyone who's studied for a year knows what's going on."

The classmate reached for the chips, a look of 'this classmate is sensible' on his face, and explained: "Although the Houtu Secret Realm appears every year, it has always been a game for the strong. It's rare that it's open to students this year... It's full of treasures, Earth-Splitting Beasts, Petrified Trees, Sand Spirits. I heard that the ruins inside will also appear this year, and they contain legendary spiritual Materials, worth a fortune!"

Xie Ning asked again: "Then why is it open to students this year?"

Crunch~ Crunch~

"I heard that the energy has weakened, and the Yao Beast Ranks inside the Secret Realm have all dropped below Gold," the classmate said indistinctly, munching three or four chips at once.

Hearing this, Xie Ning suddenly understood.

At this moment, he heard the classmate sigh again: "Alas~ It's a pity for Instructor Yan Ruyu. In previous years, nearly half of the earth cracking beast inner cores went to her, but this year, there's probably no hope."

"Does Instructor Yan Ruyu need earth cracking beast inner cores every year?"

"Isn't that right? I don't know what she needs them for. But every year when the strong contend, she gives up all other treasures and only chooses the earth cracking beast inner core, even spending money to buy many inner elixirs at high prices. I really don't understand, this thing can't be eaten as food, what's the use of snatching it? Don't waste money like that."

Xie Ning was lost in thought.

Just then, his wristband 'dinged', but it wasn't a challenge; instead, it was a notification from Yan Ruyu, who had been missing for a week: All students of Class 33, please return to the classroom within 30 minutes, there is an important announcement!

Immediately, Xie Ning's expression tightened. Just as he was about to speak, a loud shout came from afar:

"Found him! Xie Ning is here!"

Xie Ning looked back and saw that the fan club had found him.

"Classmate, thank you for your explanation, bye-bye." With that, Xie Ning grabbed another handful of chips and stuffed them into his mouth, then took off running, leaving the senior student bewildered, holding a bag with only crumbs left.