Chapter 217: Meeting a Spiritual Mind Master
Dean Liu took another sip of hot tea, his expression serene as he spoke calmly,
"Martial Arts are forged in combat. It requires a fiercely competitive atmosphere."
"The fastest way to improve one’s Martial Arts strength is through intense clashes between geniuses."
"It’s not like we can throw you geniuses onto a real battlefield, so if you want to rapidly improve your Martial Arts strength,"
"there’s only one way: hold constant competitions and let you geniuses clash with one another."
"There’s always someone stronger. You can only rapidly improve your Martial Arts by constantly fighting other geniuses."
"Every year in August, one month after school starts, each of the thirty-six Martial Arts Universities in the Xia Country holds its own freshman tournament!"
"Then, at the end of November, we jointly host the National Freshman Competition—a tournament where all the new students from all thirty-six Martial Arts Universities participate."
"It’s a grand competition with over a million new students."
Lin Qi was inwardly shocked. ’A competition with over a million new students... Just thinking about it is staggering.’
"However, you are the freshman champion of our Azure Sky Martial Arts Academy, and our school has always been the strongest Martial Arts University in the Xia Country."
"There aren’t many opponents you need to pay attention to."
Dean Liu said confidently.
"The college entrance exams are over. University is a new beginning, so those rankings are just a reference."
"The other two top-tier academies also have top-level masters."
"The two major military academies are full of combat geniuses hand-picked by the military. They pour massive amounts of resources into improving their students’ physical Talent and Comprehension, so they’ll produce powerful geniuses as well."
"And while the other Martial Arts Universities might not be able to recruit top-level geniuses, they can still produce quite a few masters by crazily piling on resources."
Lin Qi nodded. Hearing all this, he realized there really would be a lot of masters at the National Freshman Competition.
"Shanyu University’s freshman champion this year is named Liang Yuxin. She was the third-ranked student in the nation on the entrance exams."
"But Nether Sea University is a different story. This year’s top-ranked student, Wei Peng from Shanghai, lost—just like Huo Wanyang did here!" Dean Liu suddenly exclaimed.
Lin Qi asked curiously, "Who defeated him?"
Dean Liu replied, "Li Hanjiang from North River Province. He was ranked seventh in the nation on the exams, only three ranks higher than you."
"In their freshman tournament’s individual competition, he successfully defeated Wei Peng to take the championship, making history just like you did."
"He might just be a formidable opponent for you in the National Freshman Competition."
Lin Qi nodded. He knew of Li Hanjiang, nicknamed the North River Cold Spear.
His strength was definitely not to be underestimated.
The top three students in the nation each year were basically all top-level geniuses, and it was very difficult for those ranked below them to surpass them.
He knew very well how strong Huo Wanyang was, and Wei Peng was the one who had defeated Huo Wanyang to take the top spot in the exams.
’He can’t be that much weaker.’
’For Li Hanjiang to be able to beat Wei Peng, he must be incredibly strong.’
"Lin Qi, there are still over two months until the National Freshman Competition. You need to prepare well," Dean Liu advised.
Lin Qi nodded. "I understand."
As the freshman champion of Azure Sky Martial Arts Academy, his goal for the National Freshman Competition was the championship.
Anything less than first place would be a failure.
He wouldn’t allow himself to lose to anyone.
...
「Two hours later, the Martial Arts General Education Course ended.」
Lin Qi took the tram with Jiangtao and others from his class to the Refining God Tower to cultivate their Spiritual Power.
RUMBLE!!
The tram stopped, and everyone got off.
"It’s Lin Qi! He’s at the Refining God Tower!"
"That’s Lin Qi? The strongest of this year’s freshmen?"
"He’s actually pretty handsome!"
Students were constantly coming and going at the entrance of the Refining God Tower. When they saw Lin Qi, they began to discuss him in low voices.
A mix of admiration, curiosity, jealousy, and doubt filled their words.
Lin Qi was already used to this kind of attention.
Just as they were about to enter, two figures slowly walked out.
In the lead was a beautiful girl with a slender figure, a gentle demeanor, and delicate features. Her skin was like flawless white jade. A beautiful, silver metallic sphere floated beside her shoulder.
The moment she appeared, Lin Qi keenly sensed a strong spiritual fluctuation coming from her.
It was an aura that was only occasionally emitted by High Realm Martial Artists.
’This is a super-level master.’
Beside her was another girl, who had a sturdy build and exuded a powerful aura.
"It’s Shen Zhenzhen!" someone recognized the girl and exclaimed in a low voice.
Jiangtao, who was next to him, said,
"Brother Qi, that’s Shen Zhenzhen. She’s a student from the Tenth Institute here at Azure Sky this year, an S-class genius who has Awakened a Special Ability."
"I heard her Special Ability is being a Spiritual Mind Master. She has an Innate and extremely powerful Spiritual Power, along with the Ability to control things with her mind."
Lin Qi had a flash of understanding. ’A Spiritual Mind Master.’ He looked at her with curiosity.
Sensing again, he confirmed the intense spiritual fluctuations she was constantly emitting.
’Her Spiritual Power is a whole level above mine.’
When Shen Zhenzhen saw Lin Qi not far away, a smile appeared on her lips, and she walked straight toward him.
"You’re Lin Qi?"
Lin Qi answered calmly, "I am."
Shen Zhenzhen smiled. "A lot of people in the Tenth Institute have been talking about you. They’re all saying a freshman named Lin Qi made history."
"They say if you were to awaken a Special Ability, you would definitely be an SS-level genius."
"So we’re all very curious about you and wanted to meet the big star of the school."
"Hello, I’m Shen Zhenzhen."
"You flatter me," Lin Qi said, nodding in greeting.
He was inwardly surprised. The attitude of this top-level genius with an Awakened Special Ability was almost excessively friendly.
’It’s abnormally nice. Anyone who didn’t know better would think this was just her personality.’
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Shen Zhenzhen left with the sturdy girl beside her, getting into her own silver tram with a smile still on her face.
Once on the tram, the smile on Shen Zhenzhen’s face instantly vanished, replaced by a contemptuous sneer.
"That Lin Qi’s Spirit is decent, but that’s it. Without an Awakened Special Ability, he’s ultimately just an ant."
"I don’t get what’s so special about him to even discuss."
As she spoke, three sharp, silver Flying Knives flew out from a pouch at her waist.
They floated nimbly between her fingers.
"We’re in the same Realm. If I had wanted to kill him just now, it would have only taken a single thought."
"My Flying Knives could have pierced his heart in 0.1 seconds."
"He wouldn’t have been able to dodge it at all."
The sturdy woman beside her also smiled and said, "Of course they can’t compare to you."
"They’re just Ordinary geniuses, frogs in a well."
Shen Zhenzhen didn’t answer, but a small smile played on her lips.
The tram slowly drove off in the direction of the Tenth Institute.
...
Back at the tower entrance, Jiangtao watched Shen Zhenzhen’s departing figure and said doubtfully,
"That genius’s attitude was a little too nice."
"I remember someone said they ran into Shen Zhenzhen and tried to say hi, but she completely ignored them."
"Looks like your reputation is pretty useful, Brother Qi."
The group chattered among themselves.
"Let’s go up," Lin Qi said calmly. ’She’s just a genius with an Awakened Special Ability, not a High Realm Martial Artist.’
With that, the group walked into the Refining God Tower.
"Shen Zhenzhen is an S-class genius who Awakened the Spiritual Mind Master ability, so how strong is her Spiritual Power?" Jiangtao suddenly asked.
Guo Heng explained, "Once a Spiritual Mind Master awakens, even at the First Realm, their Spiritual Power can far surpass that of a Third Realm Martial Artist."
"She’s probably a Third Realm Martial Artist right now, so her Spiritual Power is likely comparable to a Fifth Realm Martial Artist."
"I heard from some of the upperclassmen in my institute that they’ve seen Shen Zhenzhen on the 10th floor of the Refining God Tower!"
"The 10th floor?!"
At Guo Heng’s words, everyone sucked in a sharp breath.
"You just barely made it to the third floor and can only just withstand the Spirit Shock there, but she can already stay on the 10th floor?"
"How can the gap between people be so huge?" Li Zhou’s eyes went wide.
Lin Qi also frowned, inwardly stunned.
He was currently only on the 4th Floor, yet Shen Zhenzhen, who was his age, could stay on the 10th.
The difference in their Spiritual Power was absurd.
A Special Ability was truly like a cheat code, creating a chasm-like gap between those who had one and other geniuses.
This gap would only begin to shrink once other Martial Artists broke through to the Seventh Realm and Awakened their own Special Abilities.
’But I have a cheat of my own, and the gap between us is constantly closing.’
’I’ll have a Special Ability sooner or later. I won’t have to wait until the Seventh Realm. I’ll probably awaken one when my Fusion Degree reaches 30% or 40%.’
Lin Qi let out a long breath and said,
"She has a Special Ability, so it’s normal for her to be stronger than me. We don’t need to sell ourselves short."
"The day we awaken our own Special Abilities, we definitely won’t be any worse than them," Jiangtao said.
After comforting the group for a bit, they regained some of their confidence.
Then, they began today’s Spiritual Power cultivation.
The others stayed on the third floor while Lin Qi went up to the 4th Floor, where there were even fewer people.
He had already discovered that on each floor, the Space was smaller and the number of people decreased.
He stepped from the white zone into the blue zone, which was covered by Spiritual Power.
BOOM!!
The instant he entered, he was struck as if by a great hammer out of thin air.
Lin Qi’s head spun, and then he was battered by a Spirit Shock that crashed against him like a surging tide.
It was everywhere, attacking from all directions.
Gritting his teeth, he found a white cushion and sat down to endure the Spirit Shock.
’I’ve already broken through to the Third Realm. My Qi and Blood Value is increasing rapidly, but the growth of my Spirit has slowed down.’
’I need to raise it quickly. It’s related to my Perception Ability—the higher my Spiritual Power, the stronger my Perception Ability.’
’Shen Zhenzhen is my age and she’s already on the 10th floor. I have to close the gap between us.’
These thoughts flashed through Lin Qi’s mind before he threw himself back into tempering his Spiritual Power.
In his Consciousness Space, a mass of gray fog floated within the boundless expanse.
The gray fog constantly vibrated, dispersing and then coalescing again. Without him realizing it, the fog was gradually growing denser.
This was the entire process of his Spiritual Power increasing.
Without him noticing, the gray fog slowly increased.
「Two hours later.」
Sitting on the cushion, Lin Qi frowned and opened his eyes. His head was spinning, and his face was a little pale.
But a hint of joy appeared on his lips.
[You have withstood two hours of Spirit Shock. Your Spiritual Power has been tempered. Spiritual Power +2.]
[Spiritual Power: 49 → 51]
...
*Phew~*
Lin Qi returned to the white zone, and the Spirit Shock dissipated.
’My Spiritual Power has broken through 50. The tempering effect of the 4th Floor is getting weaker. I’ll have to go to the fifth floor next.’
’Still five floors behind Shen Zhenzhen!’
Lin Qi thought to himself. The Spiritual Power of the Deans of the other institutes couldn’t even compare to his own.
The target he needed to surpass had now changed to the Spiritual Mind Master, Shen Zhenzhen.
...