May, Linjiang City has already entered summer, and one can feel a hint of heat.
In Cao Yong's office.
A tall figure is holding a long saber, swinging it fiercely.
"Boom!"
Suddenly, his long saber strikes forcefully forward, the blade light cuts through, as if squeezing the surrounding air, emitting a thunderous roar.
A hidden force bursts out from within the saber.
"Shh!"
In an instant, a white mark three meters long and twenty centimeters wide appears on the ground.
If this terrifying power landed on a person, it would certainly cause not small injuries.
Xu Zhou sheaths his saber and stands, looking at Cao Yong, asking, "Teacher, how was it?"
"Not bad," Cao Yong praised, "You should be only a step away from the third realm of saber techniques."
Xu Zhou nods, "Two days ago, I reached the second peak of the Mountain Breaking Saber Technique, feeling like I'm about to touch the threshold of the third realm."
"You kid," Cao Yong laughed and shook his head, "Your progress is really astounding."
Xu Zhou has been training in the Mountain Breaking Saber Technique for less than two months.
Now, he has already reached the second peak, and isn't far from the third realm.
It's no longer enough to call him a genius; a prodigy would be more appropriate.
But Cao Yong feels that Xu Zhou's improvement is not limited to this.
He observes Xu Zhou's Qi-Blood fluctuations and notices that this month, the boy's Qi-Blood seems to have greatly increased.
"With such explosive power, his Qi-Blood has probably reached around 90 cards!" Cao Yong thought.
Thinking of this, Cao Yong was even more astonished.
Before awakening, Xu Zhou's Qi-Blood was only around 70 cards, and now, in less than two months, it has increased by 20 cards!
This speed is truly shocking!
Yet what he doesn't know is that Xu Zhou hasn't unleashed his full strength yet.
Xu Zhou glances at his own panel.
Host: Xu Zhou
Qi-Blood: 91.9 cards
Spirit: 9 He
Avatar: Saber-toothed Dragon Beast
Rank: 0 Rank 9 Level (20%)
Net Weight: 358.5 kilograms
Talent: Gain ten kilograms a day (limit), Devouring All Things, Tearing (active)
Evolution: When net weight reaches the species' limit, evolution can begin.
——
"In a month's time, my Qi-Blood increased by 12 cards, Spirit by 5 He!"
Xu Zhou thought, "And the Saber-toothed Dragon Beast Avatar has grown from level 4 to level 9, about to step into Rank 1!"
With the reward of ten thousand yuan, he's elevated himself at an astounding speed this month.
Now, his Qi-Blood has already surpassed the 90-card mark.
But Xu Zhou's true strength is far more than it appears on the surface.
Don't forget, because of the talent "Imperishable Dragon Body", his Qi-Blood quality far exceeds that of ordinary people.
Every 1 card increase in his Qi-Blood translates to nearly double the increase for an ordinary person.
This means, currently, Xu Zhou's Qi-Blood is equivalent to over 130 cards for a regular person.
Even A-level talented geniuses cannot match his current Qi-Blood strength of over 120 cards.
Yet Cao Yong only saw the 90 cards of an ordinary person.
Xu Zhou's real strength is much higher than this.
After a moment, Xu Zhou puts away his saber and bows slightly to Cao Yong.
"Teacher, I am returning to the training room."
"Wait a moment."
Cao Yong suddenly calls him back, saying, "These are the rewards your sister got last month for being in the top hundred, please pass them to her."
He takes out several training potions.
Xu Zhou is slightly stunned, "My sister's?"
Cao Yong nods, "Last month's training subsidy was taken from her, and since I'm in charge of resource transfer, I got her a replacement. Anyway, you're her brother."
Xu Zhou is increasingly puzzled, "Who dares to snatch her stuff?"
"Li Ruoxi seems to have offended someone from the Inner City, a few students from the Inner City seem to be targeting her lately," Cao Yong says.
"The Inner City?" Xu Zhou frowns slightly.
He has heard about the Inner City.
In the Yan Country's Twelve States, each state is like a petal, the twelve petals together forming a lotus flower.
And in the very center of this lotus flower, the receptacle part, is the Inner City.
Beyond the Inner City, there are countless smaller cities like Linjiang City, called the Outer City Districts.
Beyond the Outer City Districts, there are vast territories known as forbidden zones.
The Outer City Districts are established as buffer zones after beast tide uprisings; the Inner City is the core area of Yan Country.
Compared to the Inner City, the Outer City District is like a rural village—barren and backward.
"Not many people from the Inner City attend our school, right?" Xu Zhou asks, confused.
"Indeed not, but their influence is considerable," Cao Yong replies casually, "Liu He, ranked first on the Dragon-Tiger List, is from one of the big families of the Inner City, and others regard him as a leader."
Liu He?
Xu Zhou frowns slightly—did Li Ruoxi offend him? Otherwise, why would Inner City students target her?
Cao Yong glances at him and says: "Don't mind this, it's none of your business. Just deliver the things to your sister."
"Alright."
Xu Zhou nods and takes his leave, heading towards the senior year teaching building with the training potions.
...
Senior Year Class Three.
In the training room.
A coldly beautiful girl holds a long sword, completing a set of swordsmanship, and then sheaths her sword to stand.
Her tall figure and well-proportioned body, despite the loose martial arts uniform, still make many girls in the class envious.
Li Ruoxi sits down in the nearby rest area, closing her eyes slightly to enjoy a moment of peace.
Just then, a girl with twin ponytails walks in.
"Class rep, here," the twin ponytail girl hands a bottle of water to Li Ruoxi.
Li Ruoxi opens her eyes but doesn't reach out to take it.
She looks at the girl and calmly says, "Speak what's on your mind."
Zhou Kexin awkwardly retracts her hand, then softly says, "Class rep, just agree to team up with Liu He. So many people want to team up with him to enter the Thousand Demon Cave, but he refuses them."
"Why do you keep mentioning Liu He?" Li Ruoxi looks at her.
Although this girl is her classmate, they are not usually close.
Yet, in recent days, the girl has suddenly started warming up to her, often mentioning Liu He.
Li Ruoxi has a hunch but maintains a calm tone with her classmate.
Zhou Kexin shakes her head, saying, "You've misunderstood. I've seen Brother Liu invite you several times, but you keep refusing him. Now, people in Class One don't look kindly on us."
"What does it matter what Class One thinks?" Li Ruoxi's voice is icy.
"Uh..."
Zhou Kexin's face tenses, then she says, speechless, "Class rep, don't be stubborn. It's just a team-up, Brother Liu is such a nice person..."
"Enough," Li Ruoxi cuts her off, her tone cold, "I don't care how many benefits Liu He gave you; don't mention him in front of me."
Then, she stands and leaves the rest area.
Inside the rest area, Zhou Kexin watches Li Ruoxi leave, her expression darkening, and mutters under her breath: "Brother Liu invites you as a courtesy, you ungrateful person..."
She mutters, thinking Li Ruoxi wouldn't hear after walking out.
But Li Ruoxi's hearing is incredibly sharp. Even after leaving the rest area, she hears it clearly.
Li Ruoxi's steps pause slightly, her hand clenching a bit.
However, in the end, she says nothing.
Zhou Kexin is her classmate, and as the class rep, she can't just attack her classmates.
Especially since she'd already broken Huang Yunxuan's finger before, violating school rules.
If she recklessly acted again, graduating might really be difficult.
But just as Li Ruoxi was about to swallow her anger.
Suddenly, a voice sounded from the entrance of the training room.
"Who are you calling ungrateful?"
A familiar figure strides in with steady steps.