The fourteenth day since Qi Dao began visualizing Wushuang.
In the first-year dormitory, he sat cross-legged on his bed like an old monk in deep meditation.
Whenever he cultivated, Xiao Chenyu and the others didn’t dare make the slightest noise.
Some students in the neighboring dormitory had caused trouble before, but after Qi Dao paid them a visit with his sword, no one dared make loud noises again.
Just then, Qi Dao’s motionless body suddenly trembled.
His eyes slowly opened, revealing a glint of joy.
He had finally broken through to rank 1!
The breakthrough brought a slight increase to both his physical strength and soul power.
Noticing this, Xiao Chenyu asked, “Boss, are you done cultivating today?”
Qi Dao smiled.
“Because I broke through to rank 1.”
Xiao Chenyu was slightly surprised, but he quickly broke into a grin.
“Congratulations, Boss.
Your strength has reached another level.”
“Boss, you could already beat Xiao Haijie half to death when you were only at half a rank.
Now that you’ve reached rank 1, wouldn’t beating him be even easier?”
The others in the dormitory chimed in.
“Of course!”
“Boss Qi is already unquestionably the strongest student in Nuoding Academy.”
Xiao Chenyu suddenly grinned mischievously.
“Boss, Xiao Haijie recovered from his injuries a few days ago.
He’s been spreading the word lately, saying that the only reason he lost to you before was because he was careless.”
“If you’re confident you can beat him, I’ll go provoke him a little.
I guarantee I’ll make him cough up some gold soul coins.”
Qi Dao narrowed his eyes slightly before nodding.
“Sure.
Go ahead and handle it.
We’ll split whatever gold soul coins we win, thirty-seventy.”
Xiao Chenyu immediately became even more enthusiastic and thumped his chest.
“Consider it done!”
…
The woods behind the academy.
The area was packed with people, ranging from first-year students all the way to sixth-year students.
In the open space surrounded by the crowd, two figures stood facing each other.
Seeing Qi Dao standing opposite him with a relaxed expression, Xiao Haijie thought to himself,
“Do you really think that because you got lucky and beat me once, you can afford to look down on me?”
“Today, I’ll show you just how big the gap between us really is!”
At that moment, Xiao Chenyu stepped forward with a sly grin.
“Xiao Haijie, don’t say I didn’t help you.
Our boss has accepted your challenge, so you should hand over the challenge fee now, right?”
Xiao Haijie glared viciously at Xiao Chenyu.
“Second Brother, aren’t you getting a little too impatient?
I haven’t even lost yet!”
Ever since recovering from his injuries, Xiao Haijie had been eager to redeem himself against Qi Dao. Get faster updates on g.com.
However, he was also worried that Qi Dao would report him to the dean or Director Su.
If Dean Hans and Director Su found out that he had caused trouble for Qi Dao again, he definitely wouldn’t get off easily.
Then Xiao Chenyu approached him and said that for five thousand gold soul coins, he could arrange a rematch with Qi Dao.
Xiao Haijie’s first reaction had been
“Has that poor bastard Qi Dao gone crazy for money?”
Five thousand gold soul coins wasn’t a small sum even for him.
Losing that much would hurt for quite some time.
However, Xiao Haijie was extremely confident in his own strength.
Although he had lost to Qi Dao last time, he was completely unconvinced.
He hadn’t even activated his martial soul, much less used his soul skill.
Qi Dao had clearly won unfairly.
So he agreed to Xiao Chenyu’s proposal.
However, he didn’t want to simply hand Qi Dao five thousand gold soul coins for nothing.
He had insisted that if he won, the five thousand gold soul coins would be waived.
And so, today’s battle had been arranged.
Determined to wash away his humiliation, Xiao Haijie had even publicized the match throughout the academy.
He wanted to crush Qi Dao beneath his feet in front of every student in the academy.
Once word spread, even the academy’s teachers were alerted.
At the back of the crowd, Dean Hans, Director Su, and Yu Xiaogang were watching from a distance.
Director Su smiled.
“Who do you two think will win?”
Hans thought for a moment, then analyzed the situation.
“The main reason Xiao Haijie lost last time was because he didn’t expect Qi Dao to suddenly erupt with such power.
On top of that, he was careless and didn’t activate his martial soul.”
Director Su asked again, “So you think Xiao Haijie will win this time?”
“Heh.”
Hans shook his head.
“Quite the opposite.
If we look at it rationally, I think Xiao Haijie has a better chance of winning.
But I’d rather believe that a miracle will happen again with this child, Qi Dao.”
“So I still think Qi Dao will win!”
“Hahaha!”
Director Su burst out laughing.
“Funny enough, I think the same.”
With that, he turned toward Yu Xiaogang and asked teasingly,
“What about you, Grandmaster?”
“Who do you think will win in the end?”
They all knew about what had happened a few days ago.
For example, Yu Xiaogang had tried to accept Qi Dao as a nominal disciple, only to be rejected without hesitation.
Qi Dao had even bluntly told him that he wasn’t qualified to be his teacher.
To be honest, Director Su had felt rather pleased when he heard about it.
Although he appeared respectful toward Yu Xiaogang on the surface, Director Su had never truly acknowledged Yu Xiaogang’s title of “Grandmaster.”
As for Dean Hans, he had been equally speechless after learning what happened.
If only he’d known it would come to this, why had he acted that way in the first place?
At this moment, Yu Xiaogang spoke with an air of complete calm.
I’ll admit that Qi Dao does have some ability, but as long as Xiao Haijie activates his martial soul, I can’t imagine Qi Dao having any chance of winning.”
“Heh.
Then let’s wait and see.”
Director Su and Dean Hans smiled.
While the three of them continued talking, the center of the crowd grew quiet.
A serious look appeared on Xiao Haijie’s face.
“Xiao Haijie, sixth-year student.
Martial Soul: Wolf.
Rank 13, one-ring Battle Soul Master!”
As he spoke, a layer of azure light enveloped his body.
Within the flickering blue radiance, the muscles on Xiao Haijie’s body began to swell.
His eyes gradually turned pale green, while his fingernails became increasingly sharp.
Clearly, although he looked down on Qi Dao in his heart, he wasn’t careless in his actions.
Qi Dao slowly drew his sword.
“Qi Dao, first-year student.
Martial Soul: Wushuang Sword.
Rank 1 Soul Warrior!”
When in Rome, do as the Romans do.
After all, this wasn’t a battle to the death.
After introducing themselves, Xiao Haijie sneered coldly.
“This time, I won’t give you any chance to turn things around!”
Before his voice had even faded, a yellow soul ring rose beneath his feet.
“That’s Boss Xiao’s 100-year soul ring!”
“That first-year kid is in trouble now!”
Cheers erupted from among the sixth-year students.
Qi Dao remained completely unmoved.
He casually twirled his sword once before stepping forward.
His body lowered slightly as his waist and back slowly curved, resembling a massive bow pulled to its limit.
Every muscle in his body tensed beneath that posture, as though storing an astonishing force that could erupt at any moment.
Qi Dao’s gaze remained fixed on Xiao Haijie, as if searching for an opening.
If the enemy didn’t move, he wouldn’t move.
Despite being only a rank 1 Soul Warrior, Qi Dao somehow gave Xiao Haijie a faint sense of pressure.
Especially when Xiao Haijie saw the cold glint flashing along the sword’s edge.
Goosebumps immediately covered his body, and he couldn’t help remembering that terrifying sword strike from half a month ago.
At that moment, he seemed to hear his great-grandmother calling for him from the other side.
However, hearing the cheers from the crowd helped Xiao Haijie regain his composure.
He’s just a rank 1 Soul Warrior.
How much trouble could he possibly cause?
In an instant, his first soul ring flashed, and a sinister chill spread across his wolf claws.
A single word suddenly burst from his throat.
“Kill!”
End of Chapter