Chapter 127: Gongtong City

Chapter 127: Chapter 127: Gongtong City

Li Heng was in his room. For dinner, he had ordered Di San Xian over rice and a glass of juice, both made with Soul Qi ingredients.

After eating, he was playing on his phone when he suddenly heard the sound of an argument outside. The room was actually well soundproofed, but ever since Li Heng had advanced to the Soul Warrior realm, his hearing was much better than before.

So, despite the soundproofing, he could still hear the quarrel outside.

Curious, Li Heng stepped out of his room to see what was going on.

The flat-chested loli from the next room also came out at the same time as Li Heng. It was then that Li Heng learned Bai Shasha had chosen Room 6.

"Wanna go check it out together?" Li Heng didn’t comment on her room choice, simply extending an invitation when he saw Bai Shasha. She nodded and automatically positioned herself behind him.

"Heh! Is that Li Heng of yours really all that? Bragging about a fucking 4000 score... Why don’t you just claim he’s in the top fifty of the entire federation!"

"Exactly! If I had 4000 points, I’d have definitely chosen the first room. What’s the deal with picking the fifth one?"

"You can pick whatever room you want. What’s wrong with you, coming over here just to mock us?"

"Li Heng is from our Maple City. He chose Room 5. Even if someone’s going to comment on it, it should be us from Maple City. It’s none of your damn business!"

As soon as Li Heng and Bai Shasha arrived on the deck, they saw two groups of people arguing. Some students were even flushed with anger.

Thankfully, they were only arguing and hadn’t resorted to profanity, though they were shouting quite loudly.

When Li Heng realized the argument was centered around him, for a moment he didn’t know what to say.

However, when Li Heng appeared on deck, the arguing voices unexpectedly died down. The local students from Maple City, as well as the other group, all turned their gazes toward Li Heng and Bai Shasha.

"Student Li Heng, it seems you’ve become the catalyst."

Chen Bingjing appeared behind them at just the right moment, but she kept her distance, her tone somewhat intriguing.

The atmosphere was, one could say, very awkward. There was a strange tension among the students, and the crew of the Flying Boat showed no intention of getting involved.

They simply handed over a key whenever a student chose a room, showing no signs of interfering.

But this strange atmosphere didn’t last long. It was broken when Lu Shengming jumped up from the rope ladder, bringing another student with him.

"What are you all gathered here for? Students of Gongtong City, have you chosen your rooms?"

Gongtong City was one of the central cities of the Southwest Province. It was several times larger than Maple City and quite far away. Although it was still within the Southwest Province, it would take a full day to reach by normal means of transport.

Yet, they had arrived in Gongtong City in just one afternoon and had already gathered over twenty more students.

Lu Shengming said a few words to the students from Gongtong City, then gave some special instructions to a young man and woman. Finally, he left the deck, and the Flying Boat promptly set sail.

After Lu Shengming left, the strange atmosphere on deck vanished. At the same time, the young man and woman he had just given special instructions to began walking toward Li Heng.

Seeing the students from Gongtong City suddenly approach a student from Maple City, everyone’s attention instantly focused on the three of them, each with their own thoughts.

"Hello! Lu Bichuan. Third place in Gongtong City with 2186 points in the Mystic Realm College Entrance Exam."

"Hello! Qian Yun, fifth place in Gongtong City."

"Hello to you both. Li Heng, from Maple City. It’s a pleasure to meet you. May I ask what this is about?"

Watching the man and woman approach, Li Heng blinked, unsure of their intentions, but he maintained a polite front.

After Li Heng spoke, Lu Bichuan and Qian Yun exchanged a glance and then smiled in perfect sync.

"It’s a great pleasure to meet you. Teacher Lu said you’re the strongest student on this Flying Boat and also this year’s freshman representative. We just came over to get acquainted," Lu Bichuan explained.

"Some of our city’s students might have been a bit too aggressive with their words earlier. I hope Student Li Heng won’t mind. After all, not everyone can understand the thinking of a master who can score 4000 points."

"I was just lucky, that’s all. I was just lucky. I’m not sure what this ’freshman representative’ you two mentioned is?"

Li Heng noted their friendly tone and saw that they didn’t seem to be looking for trouble, so he remained polite as well.

As for the earlier discussions about him, Li Heng didn’t care at all. It was a non-issue, just a bunch of talk.

At the same time, he latched onto the key point of their words—freshman representative.

’How come I’ve never heard of this?!’

’When did Teacher Lu Shengming decide that? He didn’t discuss it with me at all!’

After Li Heng’s question, Qian Yun, who had short, ear-length hair, responded with a smile, "The freshman representative, naturally, has to be the strongest student. That’s the only way to win everyone’s respect."

...

At this point, Li Heng gave a helpless smile. After exchanging a few more pleasantries, he was ready to take his leave. After all, he now knew the reason for the earlier argument, and continuing to stand around would just be pointless.

"By the way, I was wondering if I might have the honor of sparring with Student Li Heng? Just a friendly match, of course! I hope Student Li Heng will go easy on me."

Li Heng had been about to leave—staying here was worse than going back to his room to play games—but halfway through his polite farewell, Lu Bichuan smilingly made his request.

The sudden invitation to spar took Li Heng by surprise. Before he could speak, Lu Bichuan added another sentence.

"I chose Room 8. This spar is just so I can admire Student Li Heng’s skills. There are no other factors involved."

"Then I’ll have to ask for Lu Tongxue’s guidance!"

With things having come to this, with the other party being so polite and having stated his reasons so clearly, it would seem unreasonable for Li Heng to refuse.

Whatever Lu Bichuan’s true motive was, Li Heng wasn’t worried if it was just a spar. He didn’t even feel any pressure.

Lu Bichuan: "I wouldn’t dare presume to give guidance. Let’s just have a friendly exchange, get to know each other’s abilities."

In fact, the moment Lu Bichuan proposed the spar, the attention of all the students on deck shifted to Li Heng and Lu Bichuan. Deep down, every single one of them was eager to see the two fight.

After all, to the students from Gongtong City, Lu Bichuan was the top student on this Flying Boat, a master who had scored over 2100 points.

In Gongtong City, Lu Bichuan was a prominent figure. His saber techniques were said to be superb, and it was rumored he was already preparing to break through to the Soul Warrior realm, hoping to fight for a spot on the Celestial Rankings.

At the same time, the students from Gongtong City also wanted to see if this "4000-point monster" who had been hyped to the heavens was the real deal or just all talk.

As for the students from Maple City, Li Heng was already a monster in their eyes. Other than Bai Shasha, none of them had ever seen him in action, so it would be a lie to say they weren’t looking forward to it.

Even Bai Shasha wanted to see what level Li Heng’s strength had reached after the Mystic Realm College Entrance Exam. She also wanted to see his new weapon—just how proficient could a master swordsman become with throwing knives!

And Lu Bichuan himself was also very eager to see what this Li Heng, the one deemed worthy of being the "freshman representative," was really like.

The atmosphere on the deck shifted from its previous strangeness to a surge of "fervor"!

Everyone was staring at Li Heng and Lu Bichuan. Though their thoughts varied, there was no doubt that at this moment, the two of them were the center of everyone’s attention on the entire Flying Boat.