Chapter 151: Call Me Brother Qi

Chapter 151: Chapter 151: Call Me Brother Qi

An aircraft slowly descended onto the plaza.

The first to step off the aircraft was Zhou Xiyin—tall, attractive, and dressed in a white combat suit.

Chen Li followed, carrying his heavy sword. He looked exhausted and deflated, all his previous arrogance gone.

Last was Lin Qi. Clad in a black combat suit, he disembarked with a calm expression, carrying his blood-stained Black Great Spear.

After the three of them were on the ground, Zhou Xiyin offered a lovely smile. "Lin Qi, let’s exchange contact info when we get back."

Lin Qi nodded. "Alright!"

Chen Li raised his hand. "Add me too!"

Lin Qi nodded, and then the three went their separate ways.

"It’s Zhou Xiyin, Chen Li, and Lin Qi!" someone whispered in amazement.

Many people looked over, their eyes following Lin Qi’s departing figure with curiosity.

"So that’s Lin Qi... The stench of blood on him is so thick, and his killing intent is overwhelming. Just how many Calamity Beasts did he slay?" someone wondered aloud.

"He must have killed a ton of Third-Level Calamity Beasts to get so many points," someone remarked with a sigh.

"Lin Qi is number one in Cang Province now!"

"Who would have thought?"

Hearing the crowd’s discussion behind him, Lin Qi entered the locker room.

He sank onto a chair, letting out a breath of relief. As he relaxed, a wave of profound exhaustion washed over him. He then checked the panel in his vision.

[You fought a powerful Calamity Beast and unleashed combat power far beyond the ordinary.]

[By battling the formidable Gray Ridge Giant Wolf, your mastery of Spear Technique has increased significantly. Spear Technique +3%]

[By battling the formidable Gray Ridge Giant Wolf, your mastery of Body Technique has increased significantly. Body Technique +3%]

[Spear Technique: Tier Two 41% → 44%]

[Body Technique: Tier Two 28% → 31%]

...

Lin Qi looked at the panel data as he changed out of his combat suit. The fight against the three Gray Ridge Giant Wolves had indeed been an arduous one.

’They were truly powerful,’ he thought. ’If it weren’t for my talent of unleashing greater combat power against Calamity Beasts, victory would have been incredibly difficult.’

It had consumed a massive amount of his stamina.

Fortunately, the outcome was good. Not only did he claim first place on the Points Chart, but he had done so by an enormous margin, crushing all competition.

That included Chen Li, the S-class genius from Chongming Martial Arts Dojo.

He had successfully proven his own strength and talent.

Lin Qi changed into his own clothes, placed the blood-stained combat suit into a metal box, and wiped his Black Great Spear clean.

He clenched his fist. "My performance this time should be enough to shut those people in the Imperial Capital up."

’S-class genius? Does he, Li Zehao, even deserve the title?’

...

When Lin Qi returned to the equipment depot carrying the black metal box, a male soldier greeted him with a smile.

"Lin Qi, welcome back!"

"Congratulations on taking first place in the practical training."

"Thank you!" Lin Qi said gratefully.

The soldier took the metal box and the Black Great Spear, and he could clearly see that the shaft was covered in claw marks.

The spear tip was severely worn—damage caused by piercing tough hides and bone.

He couldn’t begin to imagine the fierce battles the weapon had endured.

As he watched Lin Qi’s retreating back, his heart filled with a deep sense of respect.

...

"Brother Qi!!"

Just as Lin Qi finished returning his combat gear and was walking across the plaza, the students from Celestial Sea—and even those from other parts of Celestial Sea City—all went out of their way to greet him.

From the bottom of their hearts, they called him "Brother Qi."

"Brother Qi, you’re a badass!" Li Zhou grinned when he saw Lin Qi.

The way he addressed him had changed from "Lin Qi" to "Brother Qi."

It wasn’t just him; Lv Xiang, Wu Feng, and Qiu Siying all gathered around.

"Brother Qi, you were fucking incredible!"

"Zhou Xiyin, Wang Qiufeng, Chen Li... you crushed all of Cang Province’s top three."

"How did you do it?"

Guo Heng came over as well, bumping fists with Lin Qi, his expression full of admiration as he exclaimed:

"Brother Qi, I’m calling you Brother Qi from now on, too. You’re just too amazing. I’m completely convinced."

"I knew Brother Qi would take first place!" Jiangtao boomed with laughter.

The air was filled with cheerful chatter and laughter.

In moments, a large crowd had gathered around Lin Qi.

Fewer people called him "Lin Qi" now, and more called him "Brother Qi." This was the mark of his new status.

Not far away, Yu Jing watched Lin Qi, the center of everyone’s attention, and couldn’t suppress a surge of jealousy.

’How is this kid getting stronger and stronger? It’s so unfair.’

...

「Half an hour later」

"Attention, students!!"

A massive projection of Yuan Ji’s figure appeared above the plaza, and all eyes focused on him.

"First, I want to congratulate all of you on your safe return."

"Many of you have successfully slain a Calamity Beast, completed your first real combat mission, and become true Martial Artists."

Many students smiled upon hearing this. After killing a Calamity Beast, they all felt as if they had undergone a spiritual transformation.

In the future, they would no longer feel fear when facing Calamity Beasts.

Yuan Ji’s expression suddenly turned serious. "Of course, tragedies also occurred."

"A total of eleven students unfortunately died during this practical training."

"Their families will receive compensation of 3 million Xia Country Coins."

"Once you step onto the path of a Martial Artist, true safety is impossible."

"I hope that in the future, all of you will put more effort into your cultivation and make yourselves stronger."

As Yuan Ji finished speaking, many students held a moment of silence in their hearts for the eleven who had died.

Lin Qi did the same. ’To walk the path of a Martial Artist is to be prepared to die at any time.’

But soon, Yuan Ji continued:

"Now that the practical training has ended, it is time to reap your rewards."

"These are the top 500 students on the Points Chart. All of you will receive a reward."

Yuan Ji raised his hand, and a massive screen projected a huge Points Chart—a mega-list of 500 names.

Many faces lit up with excitement.

"I made the top 300! That’s a 200,000 Xia Country Coin reward!" someone said excitedly.

For him, 200,000 Xia Country Coins was a huge sum of money.

"I made the top 100! The reward is even bigger," someone else said with a happy smile.

"Brother Qi, I’m number eight!" Jiangtao said, his expression a mix of excitement and pride.

Lin Qi gave him a thumbs-up. "Nice one, Taozi!"

He glanced at the Points Chart. The top four were himself, Chen Li, Wang Qiufeng, and Zhou Xiyin, in that order.

Guo Heng was ranked 6th, Jiangtao was 8th, and Li Zhou just barely made it into 10th place.

Their school, Tianhai No. 2 Middle School, had actually managed to get three people into the provincial top 10 in this Practical Training Camp.

Zhang City and Principal Jiang Zhiguang had hit the jackpot!

Finally, Lin Qi saw Chen Zichuan’s name. He had performed exceptionally well in the practical training, actually breaking into the top 100.

...

"Everyone, begin your return journey now. Get some proper rest," Yuan Ji said finally.

The students boarded the transport vehicles one after another, beginning their journey back amidst a low RUMBLE.

Lin Qi and the others also sat in a vehicle. Although their bodies were exhausted, they were still excitedly discussing the practical training.

Just then, he pulled out his phone and saw he had several new text messages.

The first was a message from Zhang City, posted in the group chat.

[Zhang City: After you get back, you might receive invitations for talks from the military, Tianhai Wuda, and the three top-tier universities. Don’t be surprised or panic; just handle it normally.]

[Zhang City: Especially for students with lower rankings, joining the military might be a good option.]

[...]

"I heard that the three great martial arts institutions of our Xia Country made a deal with the military. If you jump ship to the military, you don’t have to pay a breach of contract fee," Jiangtao said. "And this whole Practical Training Camp was basically a recruiting event for them to poach people."

"The military’s offers are supposed to be really good, too. Among the thirty-six martial arts universities, several are military academies."

"Plus, the military seems to place more importance on Combat Talent and willpower."

"If you perform well enough, you can even get priceless treasures that enhance your physical talent or even your comprehension," Li Zhou added.

Lin Qi nodded. For students with lower rankings and less-than-ideal physical talent, the military was indeed a good option.

He continued checking his phone. Zhang City had sent him several messages.

[Zhang City: Lin Qi, you’re a freaking legend! (thumbs-up.jpg)]

[Zhang City: Right now, the three top-tier universities and the military are all asking me for your contact info!]

[Zhang City: I gave them your contact info. They’ll add you. You’ll probably have to talk to them yourself, but if you have any questions, you can run them by me.]

[...]

Zhang City had sent a long string of messages. It was clear he was extremely excited.

At the same time, several [Friend Requests] had popped up on his phone.

[Azure Sky Martial Arts Academy] [Nether Sea Martial Academy] [Shanyu Martial Arts University] [Military] [Tianhai Wuda]

Representatives from all five parties wanted to recruit him.

Lin Qi didn’t refuse any of them and accepted all the requests.

’With my top-level talent, the three great universities, the military, and even Celestial Sea University all want to recruit me,’ he thought.

’I’ve heard they’re extremely generous when recruiting top-tier geniuses.’

’They offer plenty of money and resources. I’ll talk to them first,’ Lin Qi mused as he saw the notifications that his friend requests were accepted.

Meanwhile, Zhang City, who was waiting in the dormitory building not far away, was also ecstatic.

He stood up and paced around the room. "Haha! That kid Lin Qi is incredible!"

"He actually took first place and even broke the record. Who would have thought?"

"And it’s not just Lin Qi. Jiangtao and Li Zhou also made it. Three in the top ten!"

"I’ve struck it rich! Old Jiang has to give me a bigger bonus."

"Haha!" The smile on his face could no longer be contained.

...

「Joint Training Base, Dormitory Building」

Room 301. Lin Qi placed more than a dozen nutritional meal packs he was carrying onto the table.

They were starving. They had used up a massive amount of stamina, and the compression rations hadn’t been enough to replenish it.

A short while later, only a large pile of empty meal containers remained on the table.

"GLUG, GLUG~"

Lin Qi finished a bottle of an energy drink. A warmth spread through his stomach, and the exhaustion in his body began to rapidly fade.

"Brother Qi, the three top-tier universities and the military have all contacted me," Jiangtao said suddenly.

"That’s normal. They’ve contacted me, too."

"I’m about to head out and meet with them now."

"You get some rest first. Your turn will come soon," Lin Qi said with a nod.

Jiangtao nodded. Everyone had witnessed Lin Qi’s excellence firsthand.

Everyone wanted to recruit him first.

As for himself, he was only ranked eighth. His priority was definitely lower than Lin Qi, the number one.

...