Headmaster Xu, the vice headmaster, and Yan Hua were all frozen in place.
What Xia Hang, the Yunmeng Martial Institute recruiter, realized—so did they.
A mid-stage One-Star cultivator possessing the strength to challenge a peak Two-Star martial artist… This wasn't just talent. This was monstrous.
In the 600-year history of the Wind Martial Kingdom, a genius like this appeared once in ten thousand!
Oh no…
Did I just expel this kind of genius?
Xu's body trembled, his face going blank for a moment.
The kingdom allocated funding based on how exceptional a school's students were. The more geniuses an academy produced, the more generous the following year's grants.
But what if a student had been expelled?
The academy no longer had anything to do with them.
Thinking of that, Headmaster Xu suddenly felt his legs weaken. His mind went fuzzy.
Then he remembered something, and his expression darkened instantly. His gaze snapped toward Yan Hua.
This bastard… Wasn't it your idea to expel Su Ba in the first place?
Feeling that murderous glare, Yan Hua's back turned cold.
He was just about to explain—
When suddenly, a roar burst out from below.
"No! That's impossible! There has to be a mistake! There's no way a piece of trash like Su Ba has that kind of strength!"
Everyone turned.
It was Wang Quan, stepping out from the crowd. His eyes were bloodshot, filled with unwillingness as he stared hard at Su Ba.
"That's right!" Yan Hua's eyes lit up, and he quickly added, "Headmaster, the assessment chamber hasn't been calibrated in years. It's supposed to be serviced after this round of exams. Maybe it just glitched when it was Su Ba's turn!"
Was that possible?
Headmaster Xu's expression eased slightly.
Honestly, it wasn't entirely unreasonable. A student who had been dead for years suddenly turning into a top genius? Even he was finding it hard to believe.
Then—
A soft chuckle echoed.
Su Ba clasped his hands behind his back, turning his calm gaze toward Wang Quan as he spoke with a trace of ridicule.
"There are always people who think they're better than everyone else. The moment things don't go their way, they start blaming everything but themselves."
"In the end, they're just frogs at the bottom of a well… forever unaware of how vast the sky truly is."
"What did you say?!"
Wang Quan's face flushed with fury. He pointed a trembling finger at Su Ba and barked,
"You trash! You spent three years just to break through a single small realm, and now you're acting like some big shot? Fine—come down and fight me one-on-one! You scored 99, right? Watch how I knock you flat with my 91!"
"You're not worthy."
Su Ba's voice was calm and steady, his eyes filled with condescension as he looked down from above.
What?
Not… worthy?!
Wang Quan's fury exploded. He forgot the setting entirely and looked like he was about to rush forward and beat Su Ba senselessly on the spot.
But before he could act—
"Su Ba, was it?"
A deep voice rang out from the platform.
When Wang Quan turned and saw who had spoken, it was as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over his head. His burning rage instantly cooled.
Clenching his fists, he stood frozen in place, glaring at Su Ba without saying a word.
The one who had spoken was none other than Xia Hang, the recruiter from Yunmeng Martial Institute—the strongest martial institute in the entire Wind Martial Kingdom.
Xia Hang stepped forward with his arms crossed, his expression cool as his sharp gaze swept toward Su Ba.
"You," he said, "fight him."
Su Ba raised an eyebrow.
So that was it. The Yunmeng recruiter clearly had doubts about his strength and figured, with Wang Quan issuing a challenge, he could use this chance to confirm things.
It made sense.
If Su Ba defeated Wang Quan—the academy's top student—then the result from the assessment chamber couldn't be questioned.
And this was Yunmeng Martial Institute.
Their martial techniques, resources, and instructors were the absolute best. They were filled with geniuses, and competition was fierce. There was no strongest—only stronger.
The very thought of it made Su Ba's blood burn with excitement.
He nodded calmly. "Understood."
Then, turning around, he locked eyes with Wang Quan—who was grinning with twisted delight—and took a single step off the platform.
He landed in front of Wang Quan with a composed gaze and said plainly,
"Go ahead."