Chapter 214 - 212: Xu Cheng’s Lingering Prestige and the Highly-Anticipated Challenge

In the blink of an eye, it was late September.

Jiangti was the same old mess, with students forging ahead under immense pressure.

The first month was about to end, which meant the "Ranking Challenge system" had entered its initial phase.

When Yang Shen passed the Qiangwu Academy office, he glanced at the ranking board that stretched for over a hundred meters along a massive wall.

Behind his own name, there was still only one challenger: Jiang Xin.

The interesting thing was... behind Jiang Xin’s name, there was nothing.

It was hard to say if it was due to the intimidation of a Legitimate Son from a Martial Arts Family, or if everyone was just waiting to see how the battle between first and second place would turn out.

As for Xu Bamboo... her name already had as many as six Challenge Cards behind it, with the highest-ranked challenger at number 51.

As number 48 in the first class, it was clear that many had set their sights on Xu Bamboo, hoping to defeat her and enter the top class.

According to the rules, Xu Bamboo had to accept the challenges in descending order of rank, fighting at least three matches.

As for Cao Wei, Yuan Rui, and Tian Zihan, they each had two or three Challenge Cards behind their names, but Yang Shen, who knew his disciples’ progress, wasn’t too worried.

The bonus from the "Martial Arts Gate" had been affecting them since the college entrance exam scores were released, including his five disciples at other schools.

Yuan Rui and Cao Wei had already broken through to the Late-stage Marrow Refining, and Tian Zihan was just a step away. Furthermore, Yang Shen had taught them the Qi Daoist Technique "Vomiting Valley Qi," which would significantly enhance their gains during Innate Rebirth.

They would only continue to stand out more and more on their respective campuses.

Additionally, the club application for "Yang’s Disciples" had been approved. One could only say that this was Jiangti for you.

Any damn club could get approved.

At Yang Shen’s direction, all new members of "Yang’s Disciples" would be considered nominal "Named Disciples."

This was an extremely loose title. Even the members themselves wouldn’t take it seriously, and Yang Shen would have almost no karmic ties to them. No one would truly consider them his disciples.

But they could enjoy the bonus from the "Martial Arts Gate," and it made it convenient for Yang Shen to complete his current main quest.

Every collective needs a shared sense of honor. Yang Shen didn’t care if these "Named Disciples" were freeloading, but he knew that as "Yang’s Disciples" grew stronger, even completely unrelated people would begin to feel a sense of belonging.

Eventually, through constant filtering and activity, they would become a solid and powerful group.

With this in mind, Yang Shen increased the budget for "Yang’s Disciples" to 300,000 per month.

Money becomes family influence, influence becomes system rewards, and rewards become strength.

The cycle was that simple.

「October 1st gradually arrived.」

Jiangti’s "Ranking Challenge system" officially began.

The night before, students from all grades learned their challenge schedules. For the next five days, from the 1st to the 5th, Jiangti would be filled with countless battlegrounds set up for the "Ranking Battles."

The format was much simpler than the college entrance exam’s practical combat test. There was only one supervising teacher, and usually, no video was recorded, nor were medical personnel assigned.

If you got injured, you just had to find someone to carry you to the school clinic. The next person up had to remember to wipe up the blood!

The "Ranking Challenge system" was a unique feature of the Qiangwu Academy. The other four academies didn’t have such a rule, so at the beginning of every month, students from the other four would come to watch the fun.

The more ambitious ones were also scouting for powerful figures to see if there was anyone worth investing in or attaching themselves to.

Because the ranking challenges were scheduled based on rank, the matches with the highest combined ranks of challenger and defender were scheduled first.

And so, Yang Shen, ranked number one in his year, accepting a challenge from the number two, was scheduled for the very first match on the very first day.

It drew the attention of countless students.

Everyone was very curious about the outcome of their fight.

Would Yang Shen continue his legend, or would Jiang Xin prove himself?

During this time, Jiang Xin, relying on his status as the Legitimate Son of a Martial Arts Family, had already gathered a small group of followers at Jiangti.

Among them were members of other Martial Arts Clans with less talent than him, as well as ordinary students who simply wanted to align with the strong.

Even some upperclassmen from Martial Arts Families had established contact. The Martial Arts Family community at Jiangti had always subtly formed its own circle, helping one another out.

In the stadium stands, a few upperclassmen with extraordinary auras sat in the very front row, a clear space naturally forming around them.

Even if some clueless hothead tried to get close, they would be stopped and shooed away by those nearby.

Unlike the "stocking trio" who were still in the Late-stage Marrow Refining as third-years with their graduation in jeopardy, these were proper seniors.

One of them, a brawny figure over two meters tall who was clearly on the Horizontal Training Route, gazed at Jiang Xin on the field below. "Arriving so early... looks like Jiang Xin is taking this very seriously."

Beside him was a short-haired girl, her long legs crossed. "Wouldn’t you take it seriously if it were you? He entered the college entrance exam at the Innate Stage but didn’t become the Champion Scholar. How awful would it be to lose again?"

The brawny male senior shook his head. "If you ask me, Jiang Xin should be more open-minded. He shouldn’t pick a fight with a tough opponent right away. He should spend some time getting to know him; he might even be able to recruit him. He could always schedule a match later and throw it."

’With a top-tier background and top-tier talent, there’s no need to act brave just for a moment.’

The short-haired girl laughed dryly. "That’s you, not him. As the only Innate candidate in years, Jiang Xin wants to walk the path of Senior Xu Cheng."

The brawny man paused... and sighed.

"Senior Xu Cheng... What a shame. My dad still can’t stop praising him after all these years."

Nearly 20 years ago, Xu Cheng, the Legitimate Son of the Xu Family, entered the college entrance exam at the Middle Stage of Innate. After entering university, he swept away all competition. Not only did he possess extreme talent, but he also had a powerful, charismatic personality.

For a time, he became the leading figure of the younger generation, jointly endorsed by all the Jianghuai Martial Arts Families.

The Martial Arts Families have their own aspirations and struggles. They hope for a continuous stream of brilliant figures to make a name for themselves, reminding the world that they don’t just rely on the achievements of their predecessors, but are also teeming with geniuses.

Xu Cheng’s talent and personality earned him the approval of almost every Martial Arts Family... He was hailed as a "hero born of a noble family." Given time, his future would have been limitless.

But in the end, he died in the Exotic Realm...

No one would say he was weak—he died protecting his teammates—but everyone felt it was a great pity.

Their generation of Noble Family Descendants all grew up hearing the legends of Xu Cheng. Many of their parents had been his sworn brothers or even vassals back in the day, which is why they still remembered him so fondly after all these years.

As they were discussing, they saw a figure walk in through the entrance. It was Yang Shen.

He wasn’t alone either; several people followed, surrounding him.

The short-haired girl rested her face on her hand. "The Jianghuai Yang Family... I didn’t expect them to actually look the part. In a way, the path this Champion Scholar wants to walk is even harder than Jiang Xin’s..."

’No matter how many bestsellers were sold or how many ordinary people talked about the concept, people like them knew best: there was no Jianghuai Yang Family...’

At least, there hadn’t been one before.

On the field, Yang Shen strode forward slowly, surrounded by Xu Bamboo, Cao Wei, and the others, dressed in a simple tracksuit.

’He was quite curious, since it was his first time participating in a ranking challenge.’

’But it’s much more haphazard than I imagined. Then again... Jiangti is a huge brawl at the start of every month. With tens of thousands of duels across multiple grades, how could they have the manpower and resources to make it formal? It’s good enough that there’s someone supervising the results.’

In reality, most of the lower-ranked challenges didn’t even have a proper teacher. They were supervised by graduate students or fourth-year seniors, and sometimes even security guards.

Rest assured, Jiangti’s security guards could fight better than most first-year students.

The large crowd today was only because the two participants were special and the match was highly anticipated.

Jiang Xin was dressed unusually today. He was no longer in his lavish attire but was wearing a special black combat suit.

It covered everything from the neck down, outlining his chiseled muscles. The material didn’t have the cheap feel of a spandex suit; it was matte and stylishly tailored.

Before Yang Shen could ask, Jiang Xin spoke up. "This suit doesn’t have much defensive power. I just want to face you in my best condition so I won’t have any regrets."

"But I must admit, wearing this suit is better than regular clothes in terms of air resistance and other aspects. To ensure fairness, I’ve also prepared a brand-new one in your size. You can wear it if you’d like."

Beside him, a lackey of some unknown rank held up the suit and gestured to Yang Shen.

’He’s being quite magnanimous.’

Combat suits were actually a rather niche type of attire for Martial Artists. Although characters in movies often wore them, and they did look cool.

But in reality, something that covered the whole body wasn’t practical for daily life. Even going to the bathroom was a huge hassle.

Yang Shen had only seen them in some Martial Arts competitions, where they were essential.

Deliberately wearing this suit was enough to prove Jiang Xin’s solemnity and seriousness. It was even a bit over the top.

It was like everyone going to the beach to swim in bikinis, and Jiang Xin showing up in a full diving suit.

Yang Shen handed his backpack to Xu Bamboo and began a simple warm-up. "No thanks, it’s too much trouble."

Jiang Xin frowned slightly. "You’d better think it through. Also, a little reminder... I’ve already broken through to the Middle Stage of Innate, with a Qi and Blood Value of 1800."

As soon as he said this, many in the crowd stared with wide eyes.

’Holy shit! School’s only been in session for a month, and he’s already at the Middle Stage of Innate?’

You have to understand, most Jiangti students start at the mid-stage of Marrow Refining. Even the Champion Scholars from various provinces and cities were generally still in the Late-stage Marrow Refining...

Very few had reached the Early Innate Stage yet.

’Dude, it’s one thing to have a high starting point, but you’re this fast too?’

From the early to middle stage, that was a gap of a full 800 points in Qi and Blood Value. Even counting from Jiang Xin’s college entrance exam, it had been less than four months.

Didn’t that mean he was consolidating a terrifying 7 points of Qi and Blood Value every single day?!

Was he even human?!

Yang Shen said calmly, "You talk a lot. It seems you’re still nervous. Aren’t you going to use a weapon?"

Jiang Xin shook his head. "I don’t need one."

Yang Shen’s expression was indifferent as he warmed up. He just stood up straight and stretched.

’If I want to establish dominance and build my reputation, I need to be a little flashy.’

Yang Shen raised a hand, and a ball of fire floated above his palm, drawing gasps from the onlookers.

No one knew the properties of that brilliant golden flame, but the Fist Intent was one in ten thousand, not to mention "Fist Intent Infection"...

Yang Shen made a Hollow Grip around the golden flame in his palm:

"This... is too dangerous. I don’t usually use it on classmates."

Jiang Xin was a little annoyed that Yang Shen wasn’t using his full strength, but at the same time, he was also relieved. He still hadn’t figured out a good way to deal with his opponent’s Fist Intent Flame.

’Even a normal fire would be troublesome enough.’

But then, he grew angry at his own cowardice. This wasn’t the path he wanted to walk!

But before the words could fade, Yang Shen slapped the flame in his palm onto his own chest.

The next moment, his T-shirt disintegrated at a speed that turned it to ash, the loose remnants scattering in the wind.

In its place was Yang Shen’s powerful, chiseled chest.

This move made all the onlookers suck in a sharp breath.

’Is this the legendary Fist Intent of the number one student?!’

’Fist Intent has this much style?!’

’It comes with a transformation sequence?!’

Slapping his own clothes into dust—the visual effect was simply too stunning.

It wasn’t just the crowd; even Xu Bamboo’s eyes sparkled with a strange light. ’Shenzi’s been corrupted! He’s not so innocent anymore!’

As for Cao Wei, she was practically drooling.

On the challenge field now stood one person in a full-body black combat suit, like a sci-fi character straight out of a movie.

The other was bare-chested, revealing his raw, wild physique.

The contrast in styles was stark.

Yang Shen, who had deliberately worn his cheapest clothes, ambled forward.

With every step, his body changed. Wisps of steam curled upwards, forming a Celestial Silk-like ribbon behind him.

Like a Demon God marching toward victory, his aura completely suppressed Jiang Xin in his black combat suit.

Today, he would use a high-profile fighting style to establish his authority in Jiangti, lest his position in Jianghuai become unstable when he left.

"Then let me give you a reminder as well..."

Yang Shen smiled. "I’m also at the Middle Stage of Innate."

Jiang Xin’s pupils contracted!