"He's actually going to challenge the top hundred?"
"Is he crazy? Huang Hao isn't even at the bottom of the top hundred; he's ranked 24th!"
In the training hall, everyone was unsettled.
Even students from other classes came up to persuade, "Xu Zhou, we believe in your teacher; you really have the top-tier S-ranked talent!"
They weren't actually trying to stop Xu Zhou.
But if they didn't persuade him, Cao Yong would likely blame them when he found out!
After all, the reason Xu Zhou was acting all "fearless in the face of death" had a lot to do with them.
At the same time, Wen Yuehui urged, "Xu Zhou, don't be impulsive. Although Huang Hao is just a freshman ranked in the top hundred, his strength is formidable even among sophomores!"
"How formidable?" Xu Zhou asked.
Wen Yuehui replied gravely, "Currently, the top thirty freshmen have Qi-Blood levels above 80 cards!"
"And Huang Hao's ranking is from three months ago. By now, he's only gotten stronger!"
Xu Zhou shook his head; this guy clearly didn't know Huang Hao's exact strength.
In fact, he hadn't originally planned on challenging someone ranked so high.
But now that the other party had provoked him.
Would he just do nothing and hide like a turtle?
Xu Zhou trained so hard just to earn some respect, and now that he was being bullied, he had to fight back!
"It's you then." Xu Zhou squinted his eyes, making up his mind.
These days, he's been practicing diligently, but he wasn't sure about his combat abilities yet.
Finally, he could find out.
Xu Zhou put down the training equipment and turned to walk toward the door.
Seeing this, everyone was stunned.
Wen Yuehui suddenly looked at those from other classes and said harshly, "Don't let this spread!"
"...Yes, yes!"
The group quickly nodded.
They understood Wen Yuehui's point; Xu Zhou had become the focus of the entire school.
If word got out that Xu Zhou was going to challenge Huang Hao, it would cause a huge stir throughout the school, potentially sparking unknown trouble.
After Wen Yuehui shouted this, he quickly chased after Xu Zhou.
Soon, the crowd hurried to follow.
...
Xu Zhou, familiar with the route, arrived at the base of the cubic building.
Challenging the top hundred isn't a direct challenge to the person.
Instead, it's entering a virtual world to challenge the virtual avatar they left behind.
This virtual avatar records the owner's last entry into the virtual world, simulating the same Qi-Blood, combat techniques, and fighting style, almost indistinguishable from the real person.
Of course, this is just one of the wonders of the virtual world.
It's said that the virtual world can also simulate battle scenarios and even battlefields of two armies, greatly assisting in the practice of combat arts.
However, these features are generally only available to students on the top hundred list due to the extreme costs.
Xu Zhou naturally hasn't experienced this before.
At this moment, Xu Zhou entered the virtual hall, seeing once again the ten sci-fi-like virtual capsules.
Without hesitation, he went to the counter nearby and said, "Teacher, I want to challenge the top hundred."
The counter teacher, Song Qi, saw him and his face slightly changed, "Xu Zhou?"
Xu Zhou nodded, "Teacher knows my name?"
Song Qi's gaze was deep, by now, who in Linjiang First High School didn't know your name?
Then, Song Qi frowned, "You want to challenge the top hundred?"
Xu Zhou nodded, "I want to challenge the 24th-ranked freshman, Huang Hao!"
Upon hearing this, Song Qi's face subtly changed.
He knew some secrets about this matter as well.
Originally, the principal and some teachers agreed to keep Xu Zhou's real talent a secret.
Because of a few words from Huang Hao, the whole school was in an uproar, leading to the current situation.
The counter teacher looked at Xu Zhou; was this kid planning to take revenge on Huang Hao?
His mind raced, quickly understanding everything, and he immediately said, "Non-top-hundred students only have one chance to enter the virtual capsule each year!"
"Are you sure you want to waste this chance on such an emotional dispute?"
Xu Zhou was taken aback, then calmly said, "Teacher, this isn't an emotional dispute. I simply want to challenge the top hundred."
"Even if you're challenging, you should start with the hundredth rank!"
Song Qi admonished, "You immediately challenge the 24th-ranked Huang Hao; what kind of challenge is that?"
"If you said you came to hone your combat skills, I might reluctantly agree with you."
Xu Zhou slightly frowned.
Then he took a deep breath and said solemnly, "Yes, teacher, I am here to hone my combat skills; consider it wasting a chance to vent my frustrations."
He didn't want to argue with the teacher over this.
No point!
Upon hearing his words, Song Qi frowned for a long time, but eventually turned on the virtual capsule's power.
"Cabin No.1, go in."
Song Qi looked at Xu Zhou, said gravely, "Since you've decided, take this as a life-and-death tempering, don't truly waste this chance."
"If you can learn something from Huang Hao, it won't be a waste."
Xu Zhou nodded, saying no more, and headed straight for Cabin No.1 on the far left.
Meanwhile, Wen Yuehui and the others arrived there as well.
They saw Xu Zhou entering Cabin No.1 and, without prior agreement, all showed expectant expressions.
Others might not know Xu Zhou's strength, but they had seen it firsthand.
At this moment, they were extremely curious, could Xu Zhou really beat Huang Hao?
As for the freshmen of Class Eight, even more so; after all the twists and turns, at this point Xu Zhou was nearly a deity in their eyes.
Regarding Xu Zhou's actions, they were both nervous and expectant.
This battle, if won, would completely change the school's dynamics!
But if lost, they, the students from Class Eight, wouldn't know what to do next.
...
At this moment, Xu Zhou had already entered Cabin No.1 of the virtual capsule.
As before, he put on the metallic helmet connected with hundreds of cables.
"Buzz!"
The cables on the metallic helmet lit up one by one, connecting with the cabin, with light beams streaking across its surface.
Meanwhile, Xu Zhou closed his eyes, and his consciousness entered the virtual world.
"Whoosh!"
A strong wind blew!
On the vast grassland, waves of grass roiled like the ocean, sometimes rising over ten meters high, a spectacular sight.
Ten meters away, a figure with a crew cut stood with eyes closed.
Xu Zhou arrived here, looked at the figure ten meters away, and showed a look of surprise.
That figure didn't look virtual at all; it appeared incredibly real, even down to each hair!
He had seen photos of Huang Hao; the figure looked just like him.
At this moment, a mechanical voice sounded in Xu Zhou's ear.
"Welcome to the Hundred Arena!"
"Freshman Class Eight, Student Xu Zhou, please select your weapon."
Xu Zhou was momentarily stunned, then immediately made his choice: "E-grade Model 100 Tang Dao."
The E-grade Model 100 Tang Dao was his usual training weapon.
He could choose a weapon with better materials, but it might not be as handy as this one.
In the next second, a narrow and straight long knife appeared in Xu Zhou's hand, identical in weight and material to the one he used.
"Swipe!"
As soon as Xu Zhou selected his weapon, Huang Hao's virtual figure suddenly opened its eyes.
The next moment, Huang Hao drew a long sword from behind and then launched aggressively toward Xu Zhou.