Chapter 358 - 356: The Academy’s Shock
BOOM!!
In an instant, Lin Qi’s relaxed posture vanished. His eyes sharpened, and a terrifying aura erupted from his body.
His Qi Blood surged. He instantly flexed his arm, engaging every muscle in his body. Veins bulged on his forearm like coiling steel bars.
Power burst forth from his body in a continuous stream.
ROAR!
Waves of Evil Qi swirled around him, and his skin seemed to glow.
It was as if a massive, towering Ninth-Level Calamity Beast—a Platinum Evil Tiger—was roaring at the heavens.
WHOOSH!!
A powerful gust of wind ripped through the area, whipping at the surrounding students’ hair and clothes.
"What a powerful aura!"
Everyone was shocked. The aura was so immense they felt an invisible pressure bearing down, instinctively making them want to submit.
KACHA KACHA!!
BEEP!
The Qi and Blood Tester activated, scanning Lin Qi’s body with an infrared light.
Data quickly appeared on the digital screen.
[Examinee: Lin Qi, Qi and Blood Value: 310]
As the automated voice announced the result, all several hundred people in the vicinity heard it.
The air instantly fell silent!
Luu Wei, the proctoring teacher, stared wide-eyed, her gaze fixed on the "310 Qi and Blood Value" displayed on the screen.
After a second of silence, the several hundred onlookers gasped, all of them reeling in shock.
"How much?"
"A Qi and Blood Value of 310?"
"My God, is that even a Qi and Blood Value a freshman should have?" someone exclaimed, their voice cracking with disbelief.
"My Qi and Blood Value is only 80! He’s nearly four times stronger than me!"
"That’s the late-stage of the Fourth Realm! That Qi and Blood Value is just ridiculous!"
"Someone slap me and tell me this isn’t real."
"Brother Qi is a total badass!"
Guan Mountain, Guo Heng, Wang Qiufeng, Zhou Xiyin, and the others also sucked in a sharp breath.
They all knew Lin Qi was strong and had even guessed that Brother Qi had broken through to the mid-stage of the Fourth Realm.
But it turned out they had still underestimated him.
Lin Qi had, without anyone realizing, already broken through to the late-stage of the Fourth Realm!
’How long has it even been?’
"Holy shit!"
Jiangtao’s eyes widened, and he couldn’t stop a curse from escaping his lips.
His Qi and Blood Value of 140 was already quite high, but Brother Qi’s was more than double his own.
That was more than twice his Qi and Blood Value!!
Amidst the crowd’s shock, Lin Qi calmly retracted his aura and stepped out of the Qi and Blood Tester.
"Brother Qi, you’re too insane!"
Jiangtao exclaimed in awe, finally snapping out of his stupor.
"Taozi, you still need to work hard!" Lin Qi said with a smile.
"Who can even compare to you!" Jiangtao replied with a wry smile.
Once the initial shock passed, the Qi and Blood tests continued, but many of the hundreds of students present grabbed their phones to quickly notify others.
Whether it was to share the news or to show off, it didn’t matter.
The number of shocked people grew from hundreds to thousands, and then tens of thousands.
The news spread at an astonishing rate, even reaching the sophomores and juniors.
"Did you hear? The Dean of the Sixth Institute has a Qi and Blood Value of 310!"
"What? For real?"
"Of course it’s real! There are even photos from the scene!"
When other Deans like Ao Feng and Duan Chuchu heard the news, they were all stunned.
"A freshman has a Qi and Blood Value of 310!"
"Who? Lin Qi?"
"Damn, I’m about to be a junior and my Qi and Blood Value just broke 250. This guy’s is a full 60 points higher than mine. Are all the freshmen this monstrous nowadays?"
Even Lin Qi’s senior brother, Li Qing, got the news.
His jaw dropped. "Isn’t Little Junior Brother being a bit too ridiculous?"
"He’s already surpassed me by so much, so soon?"
"I haven’t even broken through to the late-stage of the Fourth Realm yet!"
...
「Azure Sky Tenth Institute」
The final exam’s Qi and Blood test was also underway here.
[Examinee: Yu Zhuoran, Qi and Blood Value: 296]
In the second-floor hall of the Red Cloud Building,
the automated voice rang out from a red Qi and Blood Tester.
"As expected of an SS-level genius, his Qi and Blood Value is rising so fast!"
"He’s about to break through to the late-stage of the Fourth Realm!"
"Even among past SS-level geniuses, he’s in the top tier!"
"To think a genius like him actually lost to Lin Qi. I have no idea how that guy pulled it off!"
Dozens of Awakened geniuses watched Yu Zhuoran, whispering amongst themselves.
Guo Yi was one of them. She looked at his Qi and Blood Value of 296, which wasn’t that far off from her own anymore.
’In another month or two, he’ll be able to surpass me.’
’This is the Ability of an SS-level genius. I’m just an Ordinary Awakened genius; there’s no way I can compare to him.’
Inside the Qi and Blood Tester, Yu Zhuoran couldn’t help but crack a smile, feeling a secret thrill as he soaked in everyone’s admiration.
He stepped out of the Qi and Blood Tester. ’With my current Qi and Blood Value, I should be higher than Lin Qi, right?’
"Holy shit!"
Suddenly, Wan Ming’s curse echoed in his ear, drawing everyone’s attention.
Wan Ming felt their gazes on him. He looked up, a horrified expression on his face, and said,
"I just got news. Lin Qi’s Qi and Blood Value is 310."
"How much?" Xia Lian blurted out in surprise.
The others were stunned. Even Pei Jiu blinked, losing his previously calm demeanor.
Yu Zhuoran’s expression froze.
’A Qi and Blood Value of 310... That’s a full 14 points higher than mine, and it means he’s already broken through the bottleneck to the late-stage of the Fourth Realm.’
’The gap is even larger than the numbers suggest.’
Not far away, the sophomores, juniors, and even seniors of the Tenth Institute overheard.
"What did he just say?"
"I didn’t mishear, did I? A freshman already broke a Qi and Blood Value of 310?"
"Is it that Unawakened Lin Qi, the one who won the Global Freshman Tournament?"
"Good heavens, that’s just savage."
"It’s unbelievable. I didn’t break through to the late-stage of the Fourth Realm until the end of my first semester as a sophomore."
"At this rate, isn’t he going to surpass me soon?"
Guo Yi was also reeling from shock. Her entire worldview had been shattered once again.
She had already been stunned when she heard that Lin Qi had won the Global Freshman Tournament.
Now, hearing about his Qi and Blood Value of 310, she was shocked all over again.
She clearly remembered that at the end of her freshman year, her own Qi and Blood Value had only been 201.
That was a difference of 100 points.
’What kind of monster did Aheng befriend?!’
Looking around, the group of Awakened geniuses from the Tenth Institute was, for once, completely stunned by an Unawakened genius.
...
「2:00 PM」
All of the final exams for Azure Sky Martial Arts Academy freshmen were over, officially kicking off the summer vacation.
As Lin Qi walked from the academic building to the cafeteria, many students stared at him with looks of awe.
They had clearly been shocked by his Qi and Blood Value of 310.
Meanwhile, he took the tram to Cangjing Building.
Just like usual, he took the elevator to the top-floor office.
BEEP!
The office door opened. Dean Liu, dressed in a long robe, stood with his back to him, looking out the window and down at the entire campus.
"You’re here."
Dean Liu turned and walked back to the sofa, where a white and green metal box sat on the table in front of him.
"I saw the data, too."
"You broke through to the late-stage of the Fourth Realm in less than a year of university."
"Aside from SSS-level geniuses, you’ve broken the record for the fastest breakthrough."
Lin Qi smiled. "Dean, you flatter me."
"Yu Zhuoran from the Tenth Institute should have broken through as well."
Dean Liu shook his head. "His Qi and Blood Value is only 296. You’ve completely surpassed him."
Lin Qi paused. ’I’ve already surpassed him?’
’Is Yu Zhuoran’s Cultivation speed that slow?’
"Alright, let’s not talk about that."
Dean Liu handed Lin Qi a cup of hot tea and said,
"About this summer vacation... although the Insect God Association in Celestial Sea City has been cleaned up,"
"we can’t let our guard down. It’s better to be safe than sorry."
"You now have an S-Class Defense Vest, a liquid Weapon, and your intelligent lifeform’s defense mode."
"Your survival capabilities have greatly increased. When you go back, just stay home as much as possible and focus on your Cultivation."
"The Red Dome Martial Arts Dojo will protect you. As long as you don’t leave your residential complex, you’ll be fine."
Lin Qi nodded. That was his plan as well.
’Focus on Cultivation and wait to Awaken a Special Ability!’
"Oh, right. There’s one more thing."
Dean Liu pushed the white and green metal box forward and said,
"This is the Water of Rebirth you asked for."
"One vial is enough to regenerate your father’s severed arm."
Lin Qi’s eyes lit up as he immediately took the white and green metal box in his hands.
"Dean, I’ll transfer you the money!"
"Alright."
Dean Liu cheerfully accepted Lin Qi’s transfer.
Although Lin Qi was now out 50 million Xia Country Coins, he was still incredibly happy.
"Lin Qi, I will be going with you to Cang Province tomorrow,"
Dean Liu said slowly after taking a sip of tea.
"In a few more days, the college entrance exams will begin."
"And our recruitment activities for the new class have also started."
"Because of you, our Azure Sky Sixth Institute has been ranked first among the Nine Great Academies."
"So we have a much better selection of geniuses to choose from this year."
"Right now, I’m thinking of recruiting Jiangtao’s younger sister, Jiang Miaoyin. She’s an S-class genius and even made it to the top 32 in the Red Realm’s Genius Tournament."
"I wanted to ask for your opinion."
Lin Qi thought for a moment before replying, "My advice is that we must recruit Jiang Miaoyin."
"As the saying goes, ’don’t avoid recommending friends and family if they are worthy.’ I think Amiao’s Talent is even better than her rank suggests, and her future potential is no less than the S-class geniuses ranked ahead of her."
"It would be best if she came to our Sixth Institute."
Dean Liu nodded. "Good."
"With your recommendation, I can rest easy."
"Don’t worry, the offer we give Jiang Miaoyin will be the absolute best."
Lin Qi nodded. He very much hoped Jiang Miaoyin would come to the Sixth Institute.
With her Talent, once she entered a Martial Arts University, she would sooner or later reach the same level as Huo Wanyang and the others, and perhaps even surpass them.
...
「The next day, June 4th」
「Cang Province, Celestial Sea City, entrance of the Red Dome Martial Arts Dojo」
Early in the morning, a large crowd had already gathered at the dojo’s entrance.
"They’re almost here!"
"By the way, Lin Qi is coming back with them."
"Old Lin, that son of yours, Lin Qi, is getting more and more incredible. He can even defeat SS-level geniuses now!"
"He’s a future Ninth Realm Title Level Martial Artist!"
"If you need anything in the future, just come to me. I’ll help you without a second thought."
"Haha, Old Lin, me too! I have a business deal. Let’s do it together, I guarantee you’ll make tens of millions of Xia Country Coins a year..."
"What are ten million? I’ve got a hundred-million-coin deal right here."
In the crowd, the stern-faced Lin Zhen was surrounded by a group of people, all of them acting extremely enthusiastic.
So enthusiastic, in fact, that Lin Zhen was starting to feel a little scared.
...