In Virtual Pod No. 1.
Xu Zhou glanced at his intact hands and sighed with relief.
Thankfully, the battle just now took place in the virtual world, or else he would have become a one-armed youth at this moment.
Just as he was sighing, he suddenly heard the thunderous cheers coming from outside.
Xu Zhou's expression shifted slightly, and he opened the pod door to walk out.
"Xu Zhou!!!"
The students from Class 8 swarmed towards him, screaming.
Xu Zhou instantly understood. It seemed these classmates already knew the outcome of the battle.
He helplessly dealt with the students.
But just then, a figure suddenly walked into the hall.
"Xu Zhou! Do you dare to fight me?"
Huang Hao, carrying a longsword, strode in, his voice extremely penetrating, instantly suppressing the cheers in the entire hall.
Everyone fell silent.
At the counter, Song Qi was surprised. He had expected Huang Hao to come, but not so soon.
At once, he spoke loudly, "Huang Hao! You were defeated by Xu Zhou, and within seven days, you cannot challenge him! If you wish to challenge Xu Zhou, come back in seven days."
Because operating the virtual pods incurs great costs.
So those defeated on the top hundred rankings are not allowed to issue challenges to their challengers within seven days.
To prevent anyone from wasting a challenge opportunity over a spur of the moment clash.
But upon hearing this, Huang Hao remained indifferent and said coldly, "I won't challenge in the virtual world!"
He looked at Xu Zhou and shouted, "Xu Zhou, I challenge you in reality!"
Boom—
The venue was instantly in an uproar.
Everyone held their breath; a real-world challenge meant competing in the real world.
The school did not advocate this behavior.
Blades and swords have no eyes, and students trained in combat skills deliver every move with considerable destructive power!
This is also why challenges are hosted in the virtual world.
In the virtual world, even if you die, it doesn't affect reality!
But in reality, even losing a finger is irreversible.
Song Qi's face changed slightly after hearing this, then he spoke solemnly, "Huang Hao, real-world challenges shouldn't be initiated lightly!"
He looked at Huang Hao's slightly murderous face and felt a chill in his heart.
This kid, he probably doesn't just want a challenge; he wants to cripple Xu Zhou completely to prove what he said earlier.
How could Song Qi agree to such a thing?
Yet Huang Hao said calmly, "Teacher, students on the top hundred list have ten opportunities each year to challenge higher-ranking students in reality."
"Now, I meet all three conditions; why shouldn't I?"
At this, Song Qi fell silent.
That's right; according to the school's rules, top hundred list students have this right!
But the school's intent is to foster students' courage and vigor, not for vendetta.
At this moment, Xu Zhou suddenly said, "I accept your challenge."
Song Qi abruptly looked at him.
Xu Zhou's expression was calm; he was well aware of Huang Hao's intentions.
But this matter was clearly instigated by the other side.
If it wasn't for this Huang Hao, how could things have escalated to this point, disgracing Class 8, humiliating Cao Yong, and causing Xu Zhou to be questioned by the whole school?
He hardly said anything, yet the opponent broke first?
Xu Zhou snorted coldly in his heart. The current him is not the same as before. Since you want to cripple me, I can't hold back either.
However, Song Qi frowned: "Xu Zhou, you..."
Before he could finish, a loud voice sounded from outside the hall.
"Let them fight!"
The principal, accompanied by a group of teachers, walked in.
The leading principal's expression was calm, speaking, "It's just a real-world challenge. Back in the day, when there were no virtual pods, who didn't compete in reality?"
"Martial Artists should have vigor. Isn't a Martial Artist who doesn't shed blood still a Martial Artist?"
Song Qi was speechless; even the principal said so. It seems today's battle is unavoidable.
However, judging by the looks of those two little fellows in the field, the upcoming match will probably be extremely bloody...
As teachers from various grades arrived, more and more people gathered on-site.
From first to third year, some members from the top hundred list had caught wind and came to watch the spectacle.
Huang Hao's brother, Huang Yunxuan, also came; he stood amongst the crowd, his gaze darkened.
He fixed his eyes on Huang Hao, coldly saying, "Huang Hao, remember what I said."
Huang Hao nodded and looked at Xu Zhou from another direction, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.
He had already prepared; even without Huang Yunxuan's reminder, he would make sure Xu Zhou was utterly crippled in this battle.
Not far away, Li Ruoxi stood beside Lin Shishi, looking at Huang Yunxuan in the distance with a cold expression.
Besides them, some rarely seen geniuses also showed up, standing in the corners to watch.
At this moment, all the people from Class 8 in the first year shrank their necks slightly.
This scene seemed even bigger than they had imagined!
The upcoming match...
If Xu Zhou wins, it'll be fine; if he loses, the impact might be unprecedented!
Thinking of this, everyone in Class 8 looked grave, their previous joy gone.
...
As more and more people gathered, the teachers also looked solemn.
Only the principal remained calm all along.
He glanced at Xu Zhou, then at Huang Hao, and said softly, "Huang Hao, if you lose to Xu Zhou, you will pay the price for your words."
Huang Hao's face stiffened.
But soon, he gripped his longsword tightly and said solemnly, "I won't lose!"
Huang Hao looked around and loudly stated, "Teachers, I believe you all know the truth about this matter. You know I didn't create rumors. What I said was true, and I did not spread falsehoods!"
After saying that, he looked at Cao Yong and continued, "Teacher Cao, you're Xu Zhou's teacher. Surely, you know more clearly?"
Cao Yong's face darkened.
Is this kid trying to make him, Cao Yong, admit in front of everyone that he'd been lying?
This kid, it's outrageous!
"Stop talking nonsense!"
Cao Yong said calmly, "Let's start then. Whoever wants to prove themselves should defeat the other!"
Huang Hao said no more and slowly drew his sword from its scabbard.
At this moment, the crowd formed a large circle around Xu Zhou and Huang Hao.
The battle was about to begin.
But just then, Xu Zhou suddenly asked, "Who has a saber?"
Everyone just realized he had no weapon on him.
From the Class 8 team, Wen Yuehui quickly shouted, "I'll go back to the training room and get it for you!"
"No need." Xu Zhou said calmly, "Just give me any saber, doesn't matter long or short, as long as it can be used."
The crowd went silent for a moment.
The principal frowned, "Don't be careless!"
In a fight, using the most handy weapon can unleash the greatest power!
At this moment, Xu Zhou's action to randomly take a saber clearly showed he didn't take Huang Hao seriously.
Facing the principal's words, Xu Zhou just smiled slightly, "I'm short on time; let's hurry up."
In the crowd, a student immediately threw over a long saber.
Xu Zhou caught the saber; it was quite long, with a blade length of 1.5 meters, and a cold gleam shimmered at the tip when viewed along the hilt.
Xu Zhou stroked the blade and praised, "Nice saber!"
Opposite, Huang Hao couldn't resist anymore; he couldn't bear Xu Zhou's dismissive attitude.
By rights, shouldn't he be the one underestimating the opponent?
He looked coldly at Xu Zhou, "Can we start now?"
Xu Zhou nodded, "Make your move."
As soon as he finished speaking, Huang Hao's figure suddenly vanished from his original position, moving so swiftly that it created a strong gust in the field.
A potent Qi-Blood surged from his body, stronger than in the virtual world.
"Whoosh!"
In mid-air, Huang Hao wielded his longsword, resonating his entire Qi-Blood with the sword, massively increasing the power of his swordsmanship.
He launched his adept combat technique from the start—the Gale Swordsmanship!
The sword light flashed, and in the eyes of the crowd, it seemed as if more than a dozen swords appeared simultaneously, stabbing towards Xu Zhou's vital points.
Every move was extremely ruthless; Huang Hao had resolved to turn Xu Zhou into a cripple!
Facing this scene, Xu Zhou remained unchanged, merely swinging his long saber lightly towards one of the swords.
The second level of the Mountain Breaking Saber Technique.
Emphasizes Qi-Blood restraint, creating hidden force!
When this hidden force accumulates to the extreme, one swing can break mountains, crack the earth, overturn the sea!
This is the essence of the Mountain Breaking Saber Technique.
At this point, the saber swing filled with boundless hidden force slashed through the air.
"Bang!"
The long saber collided with the long sword, and in an instant, the other dozen swords all vanished. They were just sword shadows.
Then, the terrifying hidden force within the long saber erupted abruptly.
"Ding!"
In a flash, a crack appeared on Huang Hao's longsword.
"What?!" Huang Hao's face changed slightly.
In the next second, the longsword in his hand shattered, a force surged through the sword body.
"Boom boom boom!"
The sleeves on Huang Hao's arm exploded one after another, bloody.
One strike only, his body shook violently, a look of disbelief on his face, is this... the hidden force of the second level saber technique?
However, it wasn't over yet.
Xu Zhou's saber momentum didn't decrease; with violent force, it continued to chop towards Huang Hao below.
The 1.5-meter-long blade turned into a snow-white saber light, rapidly enlarging in Huang Hao's pupils.
"Whoosh!"
A flash of white light, the saber cut through!
A bloodied right arm flew into the air, blood spilling high, then dropped to the ground.
Xu Zhou withdrew the long saber with his right hand, face serene, his left hand hanging by his side, untouched from start to end.
Behind him, Huang Hao, with only one arm left, stood still, empty-handed, stunned, seemingly unresponsive.
Until the next moment, a miserable wail echoed in the hall.