Chapter 121: The Name of the Hidden Tiger

Chapter 121: Chapter 121: The Name of the Hidden Tiger

The moment the results were released, the expressions on the other students’ faces varied wildly.

’How could this be?’

Li Zhou clenched his fists, his brow furrowed. His Qi and Blood Value and Martial Arts were both improving.

But his city and provincial rankings had actually dropped.

Instead of improving, he had fallen behind!

An unprecedented pressure washed over him, making him feel incredibly uncomfortable.

It was a feeling he had never experienced before.

Yu Jing looked at his own rank and compared it to Lin Qi’s, a sense of powerlessness growing within him. The gap was just too wide.

And so, he lost all thought of competing with him.

The rest of the class was in an uproar.

"The number one spot really went to Lin Qi! As expected of the Hidden Tiger, he’s a real beast!"

"Third in the city, fifth in the province... is this a result someone from our No. 2 Middle School can actually achieve?!" Qiu Jie exclaimed in amazement.

Many others voiced their agreement.

When he looked at Lin Qi in the back row again, his eyes were filled with admiration.

Many students in the class felt the same way. They had a feeling.

Tianhai No. 2 Middle School had officially entered the era of Lin Qi.

On the podium, Yan Hong and Zhang City exchanged a look, and both broke into smiles.

Lin Qi’s results were ridiculously good. He had defeated the top students from No. 1 Middle School, No. 3 Middle School, and other first-rate key high schools in one fell swoop.

Their efforts as teachers had played a part in this, so they figured their final rewards wouldn’t be small.

...

「Meanwhile, in the Principal’s Office.」

"BEEP! The results are out!"

The smartphone on the desk chimed.

Jiang Zhiguang, who had been busy with paperwork, snapped his head up and quickly grabbed his phone to project the screen.

A large green screen materialized in front of him.

When he saw the first-place student’s name, Lin Qi, along with his results and rank, he became ecstatic.

"Haha!!"

"Lin Qi, you’re incredible!!"

"You really are my lucky star!"

Jiang Zhiguang shot to his feet with a WHOOSH and burst out laughing.

"No. 2 Middle School is on the rise!"

’With Lin Qi,’ he thought, thrilled, ’our No. 2 Middle School will definitely be able to apply for more funding this year.’

After calming down, he picked up a watering can and watered a thriving young sapling.

"Who would have thought my No. 2 Middle School would take off like this? We have three students in the city’s top ten."

"And two in the province’s top ten."

"I can’t wait to show this off to Old Guo and the others."

The smile on Jiang Zhiguang’s face was impossible to suppress.

...

「10:00 AM, Martial Arts Room 503」

Lin Qi, Chen Zichuan, and Jiangtao were having a meal together again. A table was laden with KFC, and the aroma of burgers and fried chicken filled every corner of the room.

This time, it was Lin Qi’s treat to celebrate him becoming number one in their grade.

"Brother Qi, you’ve got a new nickname. Everyone’s calling you the Hidden Tiger!" Jiangtao said, grabbing a burger and finishing it in two bites.

"Hidden Tiger has a few meanings, but it generally refers to a genius who keeps a low profile," Chen Zichuan added with a nod.

"It suits Brother Qi perfectly. Who would’ve thought he’d suddenly get so strong, shocking everyone with every single assessment?" Jiangtao said, taking a sip of his soda.

Lin Qi put down his burger wrapper and nodded.

’Hidden Tiger... I guess I can accept that nickname,’ he thought.

He hadn’t really liked his previous nicknames, like Mountain-Breaking Tiger or Tiger-shaped Spear.

Hidden Tiger was more conventional and suited him better.

"We’ve all made progress, but we can’t get complacent. We need to work even harder,"

Lin Qi said.

Jiangtao and Chen Zichuan nodded.

Jiangtao had made up his mind. He would learn from Brother Qi. Starting tomorrow, he was going to order a Gravity Ring too.

...

「Meanwhile, at the Martial Arts Education Bureau.」

"I’ve received the suggestions. We will discuss them."

The broad-shouldered Director He ended the video call and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

He gave a wry smile to Little Li, who was standing nearby. "Several geniuses have already complained about the Martial Arts assessment. They’re all dissatisfied with the maximum possible score."

"The geniuses these days are getting stronger and stronger."

"In previous years, we never had so many people achieving a perfect score at this stage. The quality of this year’s geniuses is exceptionally high."

"It seems we’ll have to make some reforms."

"Little Li, draft a proposal and send it to me."

"Yes, Director!" Little Li nodded.

After he left, Director He projected the grade rankings and began to look them over.

"First in the province is still Chen Li... then Wang Qiufeng, Zhou Xiyin... and... Lin Qi?"

His eyes lit up, and he marveled to himself:

’This kid, Lin Qi, his rate of improvement is getting faster and faster.’

’I really didn’t misjudge him!’

’The more geniuses like him, the better. They’re the hope for humanity!’

...

Once the monthly assessment results were out, the school-wide results and the provincial top ten rankings were also released.

Lin Qi’s name appeared before the eyes of many.

When Chen Li saw it, he had no reaction. When Wang Qiufeng saw it, his expression turned serious, and he felt immense pressure.

Zhou Xiyin silently repeated the name in her mind, marking him as one of her rivals.

...

「Noon, Red Dome Martial Arts Dojo, Hall Master’s Office.」

"Welcome to our fifth-ranked genius in Cang Province!"

As Lin Qi entered the office, Yue Feng—a tall, sturdy man in a black suit standing before the desk—turned around and teased him with a smile.

Lin Qi shook his head. "Uncle Yue, please don’t."

"Have a seat!"

The two sat down at the tea table. It had been a month, and there was a new tea set.

The moment Lin Qi sat down, he could feel the air around him was thick with Source Energy Particles.

Even more concentrated than in his Independent Martial Arts Room.

’If I cultivated here, the rate at which my Qi and Blood Value increases could be even faster,’ he thought.

"Lin Qi, I promised you before that if you could make it into the provincial top ten, I would give you a reward."

"I didn’t expect you to exceed the requirement."

"I called you here today to make good on that promise,"

Yue Feng said as he poured Lin Qi a cup of hot tea.

Lin Qi’s eyes lit up. He had been looking forward to this reward, so he picked up the hot tea, took a sip, and asked,

"What’s the reward?"

Yue Feng also took a sip of tea and continued:

"Your Spear Technique has reached a bottleneck. You’ve trained the Black Iron Level Secret Manual to the Perfection Realm, and its power has hit its limit."

"It’s become of negligible help to you."

"You need to learn a new Spear Technique Secret Manual. At the same time, you also need to set aside more time to study a Body Technique Secret Manual."

"When you step onto the battlefield, you won’t be facing just one opponent."

"You’ll be facing hundreds, even thousands of Calamity Beasts. When you’re up against them alone, you must learn how to evade."

"If you had known a Body Technique during the Wanda Plaza incident, your safety would have been greatly enhanced."

Lin Qi nodded. Attack Secret Manuals and Body Technique Secret Manuals were both crucial to a Martial Artist’s strength.

The gap between his Body Technique Realm and Spear Technique Realm was growing wider and wider. It was about time he started training it.

"Spear Technique Secret Manuals, Body Technique Secret Manuals... Bronze Level Secret Manuals aren’t free like Black Iron Level ones that anyone can just learn."

"Just like Source Energy Skills, they cost money."

"A Top Level, Five-star rating Secret Manual isn’t cheap. If you were to use your current funds to buy one, the resources you have for your own Cultivation would be drastically reduced," Yue Feng said.

Lin Qi nodded, not denying it.

’To put it bluntly, my family doesn’t have money. Even after signing an A-level Contract, it’s still not enough.’

The price of getting stronger was too high.

’In this High Martial World, without money and without resources, it’s just too difficult to become strong.’

"So, my reward is this: I’m giving you a 5 million Xia Country Coin credit line for any Secret Manuals or other resources you purchase from the Red Dome House."

"No matter what you buy, as long as it’s under 5 million, I’ll foot the bill."

"After you’ve chosen what you want and placed the order, there’s an option to ’Request Payment from Others.’ You can select me,"

Yue Feng said slowly.

Lin Qi’s heart skipped a beat!

Wasn’t this equivalent to directly giving him 5 million Xia Country Coins?!

The A-level Contract had only given him 5 million Xia Country Coins!

This reward was far too valuable!

...