78: Chapter 78 Holy crap, is this how it's happening?

After enjoying a delicious Spirit Fish feast outside with Tang Xiaowu,

the two of them strolled back to the Four Seas Academy Dormitories under the cover of night.

Four Seas Academy had strict rules.

Once the semester began, all students, except for the rest day every ten days,

had to live entirely within the academy's Dormitories during the remaining time.

As the top students of the academy, the treatment for those in the Heaven Class was naturally excellent.

There were no communal bunks; instead, everyone had an independent small courtyard equipped with a Spirit Gathering Array.

Returning to his courtyard, Chen Shanzhi didn't even bother to bathe and fell asleep immediately.

The night passed in silence.

Early the next morning.

Chen Shanzhi pushed open his courtyard gate and strolled toward the academy's central Martial Arts Arena.

At this time, the Martial Arts Arena was already buzzing with people.

In the exclusive viewing area for the Heaven Class, Chen Shanzhi spotted an extremely eye-catching figure from afar, sitting in the same spot they had occupied yesterday.

That figure was, naturally, Tang Xiaowu.

Because there were matches today, the girl wasn't wearing her usual flowing long dress.

Instead, she had changed into an extremely form-fitting black martial arts outfit.

The design of this outfit was meticulous, not only making it easy for a Martial Artist to perform techniques,

but also perfectly revealing her flawless figure, which had previously been hidden by her loose dresses.

Below her slender waist that one could almost wrap a hand around were curves that were startlingly exaggerated.

Even though she was just sitting upright, her stunning silhouette was enough to make any man with weak willpower feel his Bloodline surge.

Following down from that slender waist, a pair of straight, long, and perfectly proportioned legs were pressed tightly together.

Wrapped in black fabric, they exuded an incredible sense of elasticity and explosive power.

The male students in the surrounding stands were all discussing today's matches with their mouths,

but their eyes seemed glued to Tang Xiaowu, constantly glancing at her tiny waist and rounded curves.

The sound of gulping saliva could be heard here and there.

However, because of Chen Shanzhi's arrogant declaration of possession yesterday,

these people only dared to look; none had the courage to approach her.

Chen Shanzhi raised an eyebrow, a mischievous smirk playing at the corner of his mouth.

He swaggered over and sat down right next to Tang Xiaowu, his shoulder pressing directly against hers.

Then, he just stared at her intently and without any pretense.

Tang Xiaowu currently had her beautiful eyes closed, her long eyelashes trembling slightly, seemingly circulating her true essence for her final meditation before the match.

Feeling an aggressive, burning gaze suddenly appear beside her,

Tang Xiaowu's delicate brows furrowed slightly.

She thought it was some blind lecher.

She snapped open her eyes—usually clear, but now filled with annoyance—and spoke coldly:

"I said, this seat is—"

She stopped mid-sentence.

After seeing that the person sitting next to her, smiling as he stared at her, was Chen Shanzhi,

a blush visibly rushed across Tang Xiaowu's cold, pretty face.

The scolding she was about to blurt out instantly turned into a soft, stuttering mumble.

Her eyes darted around in panic, not daring to meet Chen Shanzhi's gaze.

"Y-you... why are you here so early?"

Tang Xiaowu bit her red lip and tugged at the hem of her clothes unnaturally. "Isn't your match later in the order?"

Chen Shanzhi rested his chin on one hand and leaned forward slightly, closing in on her with an oppressive presence.

"If I didn't come early, how would I know that my Xiaowu specifically saved a seat for me?"

Chen Shanzhi intentionally dragged out his words, his tone full of teasing.

"Nonsense!"

Tang Xiaowu was like a cat whose tail had been stepped on; she snapped her head away and squeezed her eyes shut.

"I... I just didn't want anyone crowding me, so I said that! I didn't save a seat for you!"

This obvious cover-up, paired with her bright red earlobes, was simply too adorable.

Chen Shanzhi chuckled, seeing through her but not calling her out.

He reached out with his large palm and grabbed the soft hand Tang Xiaowu had resting on her thigh.

"Ah..."

Tang Xiaowu's body stiffened, and she let out a tiny gasp, instinctively trying to pull back.

But Chen Shanzhi's hand firmly enveloped her boneless little hand in his palm.

He toyed with her long, slender fingers from time to time.

Feeling the warmth and the rough friction from his hand,

Tang Xiaowu kept her eyes tightly shut, but her violently trembling eyelashes

and her increasingly heavy breathing completely betrayed her panicked heart.

This kind of intimate contact in public gave her an unprecedented sense of excitement and shame.

At this moment, how could Tang Xiaowu have any mind left for meditation?

The true essence in her body had long since become a chaotic mess!

Finally, Tang Xiaowu couldn't take this slow, agonizing ambiguity anymore.

She snapped her eyes open and turned her head in a mix of shame and anger, glaring fiercely at Chen Shanzhi.

Those eyes were watery; rather than anger, it looked more like she was acting spoiled.

"Stop it!"

She lowered her voice and grumbled through gritted teeth. Seeing she really couldn't pull her hand away, she resigned herself to letting him hold it.

Then she forced herself to turn her head and look toward the Martial Arts Arena below.

However, her stunning profile was already so red it looked like it might bleed.

Chen Shanzhi's lips quirked up as he followed her gaze toward the center of the arena.

After a short while.

On the Martial Arts Arena, the White-robed Elder who had been in charge of hosting yesterday

walked onto the center of the stage with his hands behind his back and a steady gait.

He looked around and spoke slowly with a voice as resonant as a bell:

"Students, quiet."

The clamor of thousands of people in the arena instantly died down.

The White-robed Elder nodded with satisfaction and continued:

"Yesterday, the Palace Master personally activated the Immortal Tablet Array. Using the power of the immortal stele, a trace of Life-Protecting True Essence was infused into everyone's Waist Token!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the entire audience was shocked.

The elder gestured for silence, his voice suddenly rising:

"This Life-Protecting True Essence is connected to your life force.

As long as you are on the stage and your injuries reach the threshold of death,

this true essence will automatically activate, forming an absolute defense to save your lives!"

"Therefore!"

A sharp light suddenly burst from the elder's eyes:

"For today's matches, I require you to cast aside all reservations. Go all out and do not hold back!"

"You must remember that your performance will directly determine how many Cultivation resources you can obtain from the academy in the future,

and even determine whether you can enter the Secret Realm at the end of the year!"

"When meeting on a narrow path, the brave shall prevail!"

Once these words were out, the entire Martial Arts Arena was like a heavy bomb had been dropped, instantly exploding into a frenzy!

"Holy crap! Life-Protecting True Essence?"

"Hahaha! Great!

I've long been annoyed with that brat from the Earth Class who uses a saber. Today, I'm definitely going to chop him up!"

The students from humble backgrounds in the stands all showed uncontrollable fervor and excitement in their eyes.

In Four Seas Academy, there were many children of the nobility.

In previous matches, these commoner students were always restrained.

They feared retaliation if they won, and they would have to pay with their lives if they accidentally killed someone.

If they encountered those desperate disciples of great families

who played the game of 'a life for a life,' they could only admit defeat in frustration.

But now?

With the Palace Master's Life-Protecting True Essence as a safety net, what was there to fear!

As long as you don't kill them, beat them to within an inch of their lives!

On this stage, everyone competes on raw strength!

No backgrounds, only fists!

Feeling the instantly soaring Battle Intent and boiling Killing Intent from the crowd below,

the White-robed Elder smiled slightly.

This was exactly the effect the academy wanted. Without experiencing life-and-death combat, how could true experts be cultivated?

"It seems everyone is already impatient."

The elder shouted loudly: "In that case, I declare that today's martial arts display officially begins!"

As soon as he finished speaking,

the White-robed Elder tapped his toes and rose into the air, floating in mid-air like an Immortal.

His hands moved like fluttering butterflies, rapidly forming complex hand seals in the Void Realm.

"Go!"

The elder pointed a finger, and a piercing white light shot from his fingertip, piercing the clouds and crashing into the heavens above.

“Rumble—”

The world trembled.

The phantom of the immortal stele, which spanned most of the sky and exuded an ancient, weathered aura, reappeared in the clouds!

Golden light flowed over the immortal stele, and yesterday's match list was clearly displayed.

In the stands, Chen Shanzhi yawned lazily and was about to find a comfortable position to hold Tang Xiaowu and nap for a while.

After all, according to yesterday's list, he was at the very end.

However, right then.

A burst of blinding golden light suddenly erupted from the immortal stele phantom!

Immediately after, the names of the last two people at the very bottom of the list

turned into two streaks of golden light and shot straight down from the heavens with thunderous force!

Chen Shanzhi watched as one of the golden lights expanded infinitely in his pupils, heading straight for his face.

"Holy crap?"

Chen Shanzhi was dumbfounded on the spot.

He sat up straight, his mind filled with ten thousand questions.

Wait!

Wasn't the match order mechanism supposed to go from top to bottom?

When he saw the immortal stele's list yesterday, the first line was Lu Yuchen, ranked fifth on the hidden dragon ranking, and Xing Zhige, ranked sixth. He had even wondered about it.

Usually, in these kinds of competitions, don't the weaklings go first to warm up, and the big shots appear last to show off?

Why was Four Seas Academy not following the script and throwing out the trump cards right at the start?

Now, all his doubts and misunderstandings were instantly cleared up.

Trump cards my ass!

This crappy immortal stele's drawing and sorting mechanism was actually freaking backwards, starting from the bottom?

But on second thought, he understood instantly.

When the last semester ended, Chen Shanzhi's strength was merely at the Xuanguan Five Apertures level, pushed up by pills.

Although he had made consecutive Breakthroughs during this time and his strength had undergone earth-shaking changes,

he had been staying low in the Marquis's Mansion and had never exposed his true essence fluctuations to outsiders.

The immortal stele naturally hadn't updated his true strength.

So, in the immortal stele's judgment, Chen Shanzhi was the bottom-tier trash of the entire Heaven Class!

Being ranked last was completely logical!

Therefore, if this first warm-up match wasn't for him, the bottom-ranked one, then who else could it be for?

“Buzz!”

Without giving Chen Shanzhi any time to complain, the golden light instantly enveloped him.

"Chen Shanzhi!"

Beside him, Tang Xiaowu was startled by the sudden turn of events.

Her red lips parted slightly, and her beautiful eyes were filled with shock and worry.

She instinctively reached out to grab Chen Shanzhi.

But that golden light carried an irresistible yet gentle force that directly bounced her hand away.

The next second, Chen Shanzhi's figure instantly vanished from his seat.

When he reappeared, his feet had landed steadily in the center of the massive Martial Arts Arena.

At the same time.

Another dazzling golden light rose from another corner of the stands

and crashed heavily onto the other end of the stage.

The golden light dissipated.

A person wearing a faded green robe stood expressionlessly opposite Chen Shanzhi.

This person was Tang Liu.

As soon as the two landed, the golden lights enveloping them quickly bored into their bodies like living things and disappeared.

This was the Life-Protecting True Essence that could save their lives.

Immediately following.

“Buzz—”

A golden true essence barrier, as solid as a physical object, shot up from the edges of the Martial Arts Arena.

It then instantly closed, sealing the entire vast Martial Arts Arena within it.

It completely cut off all interference from the outside world.

In mid-air.

The White-robed Elder looked down from above at the two people on the stage, his resonant voice spreading throughout the arena:

"First match!"

"Chen Shanzhi versus Tang Liu!"

"Now, begin!"