Chapter 683 - 323: Freshman Welcome Party (Part 2)

The increase in Tier Two or Tier Three is actually the same, the only difference is that if it counts as Tier Two, then this increase can be used earlier, having more strength in Tier Two.

"Come quickly! Come quickly!"

Qing Yu enthusiastically called over, watching the two approach, joking with a smile, "I thought you were going to make a grand entrance, didn’t expect you to come so fast... are you also interested in the welcoming ceremony?"

"It’s alright."

Ye Mingqiu casually responded, sitting down.

He could feel countless fleeting glances directed at him from around.

Those glances came from various people, both senior and new students. The new students were more curious and admiring, while most seniors were cautious and displeased. Only a few, due to special reasons, were not well-informed about who Ye Mingqiu was.

In response, Ye Mingqiu remained calm, his gaze scanning the crowd, finally landing on the platform ahead, where a halo of green energy was slowly gathering, as if something was about to descend.

....

Soon, the welcoming ceremony began right on time.

The teacher in charge of the Special Training Camp took the stage, a slightly overweight elderly man in a suit, who was also the first to welcome Ye Mingqiu, Master Hissa.

He went on stage, smiling and waving casually, as a light blue glow instantly ignited, flew into the air, then exploded at the highest point like fireworks, turning into a sky full of starlight falling softly onto everyone, bringing a warm and serene feeling.

"Dear students, welcome to the Special Training Camp."

Master Hissa’s voice wasn’t loud but had great penetration, clearly reaching everyone’s ears. Taking out a speech manuscript, he said, "Dear students, reaching this place means you are the top talents, the future of humanity..."

"....but."

"Here, genius is just the starting point, everyone is a top genius, possessing top-level wisdom and power. So, you have to adapt to the new environment and draw nutrients from it...."

"...."

Master Hissa was still giving the speech, but the atmosphere below was not stable.

Many eyes came from the second and third-year sections, filled with unabashed smiles and teasing, as if something interesting was about to happen next.

"Is there a traditional program here?"

Ye Mingqiu asked.

"Almost, the latter half of the welcoming ceremony is the interaction between new and senior students, including direct interaction.... truly a bad tradition."

Qing Yu sighed helplessly, at this moment he was only Tier One, being challenged would mean just getting beaten up.

It wasn’t just Qing Yu, many other new students’ expressions also turned serious, knowing that something might happen next, which wasn’t hard to realize.

As expected, after the speech ended, Master Hissa smiled and said, "Next is the free interaction session, where seniors and new students can spar with each other, stopping at the point, also to familiarize with each other."

"Sparring?"

"This... how do we even fight."

"Do I fight Tier Three? Seriously."

"I’ll win."

....

Voices of discussion came from the audience, Master Hissa watching their reactions, further explained, "Next, we’re going to conduct a Combat Skill Challenge, not actual combat."

"The Combat Skill Challenge is similar to a Soul Realm Contract, forcing both sides’ power to be at the same level. So, the senior students you’ll spar with will have their power suppressed to Tier One, and they won’t be able to use the new abilities they’ve mastered in Tier Two or Tier Three."

"This is a relatively fair combat skill challenge and an opportunity to challenge the stronger ones, I hope you won’t miss it."

"Teacher, is there any reward?"

Ye Mingqiu suddenly raised his hand to ask.

As his words fell, many looked over instinctively, including many senior students, whose gazes changed drastically the moment they saw Ye Mingqiu.

To put it metaphorically, fighting other new students is like a father hitting a son, while facing him is like a grandson challenging a grandfather; nobody wants to spar with this guy, only to get beaten.

"There is."

Master Hissa said with a smile, "The content of this challenge has been modified compared to previous years, changing to a ranking challenge mode."

"Here, each student has a fixed initial ranking, which they can change through challenges. The higher the final rank, the more rewards they get after the challenge ends."

"Also, those with lower rankings can have a limited number of challenges against those with higher rankings, while those with higher rankings cannot challenge someone ranked lower than themselves."

With this said, the restless senior students finally felt somewhat relieved.

If it followed the previous rules, they would likely be beaten to a pulp by the Tyrant, not to mention Tang Ruobing beside him, encountering them would basically mean waiting for death.

This was precisely why the school had changed the rules.

"Then how is the initial ranking determined? What is the standard for ranking?"

Someone else curiously asked.

"Ah! You’ve hit the nail on the head!"

Master Hissa chuckled, saying, "This time, our initial ranking is quite interesting, it doesn’t assess power but goes directly to voting in the app, the more votes, the higher the initial rank, and those with the same number of votes have their ranks assigned randomly."

"Here, everyone has 10 recommendation votes, and you can only cast one vote per person to prevent a few from ballot-stuffing any single person."

As soon as he finished speaking, the auditorium’s atmosphere instantly changed, becoming more calm and stable.

The senior students, originally anxious, felt at ease again, many scanning the new student section with a scrutinizing gaze, feeling like they had survived a disaster.

However, nobody dared to look at Ye Mingqiu and Tang Ruobing directly. Their glances would instinctively shift away when passing by them, no one daring to look too long.

"Well then, next I will publish the voting content on the app, which will last for one hour, during which you can get to know each other, and I welcome everyone to vote enthusiastically." Master Hissa said.

Soon, the atmosphere on-site gradually became lively, with many new and senior students entering the app, starting to chat and vote together.

"Brothers, how do you plan to vote?"

"How else can we vote? We must vote for Brother ’Other Shore,’ who wants to get beaten? Quickly send this venerable being up, or else getting beaten by the newbies at the welcoming ceremony would be embarrassing."

"As if you weren’t beaten before, I have recordings from before."

"Damn! Delete it! Delete it!"

"Hehehehe!"

....

As time went by, the votes for rankings also increased rapidly, with Ye Mingqiu and Tang Ruobing holding a tied first place. Due to the recommendation vote system where one can vote for ten people, many voted for them.

Many new and senior students were voting while also chatting and exchanging ideas, the atmosphere continued to spread, expanding to discussions on other strong contenders’ rankings.

"I think Mo Ze is really awesome, we should vote for him."

"Doesn’t seem as good as Hagen."

"Oh, here comes Hagen’s fanboy again."

"Not convinced? Let’s argue!"

....

Actually, the ranking of Spiritualists isn’t that standard or stable, as there’s a counterbalance relationship between different Spiritualists. Plus, compatibility matters, and the final level they can exert in battles with various types of Spiritualists differs.

Therefore, if it really comes to arguing, things can become very complex, making the discussion quite interesting.

The outside world was incredibly noisy, but in the small corner where Ye Mingqiu and the other two were, time was peaceful.

Qing Yu leaned back against his chair, muttering to himself, "Seems like everyone’s well-informed."

"Hmm, just curious about what rewards are on the ranking list, I’m quite curious." Ye Mingqiu curved his lips slightly.

The rankings at the welcoming ceremony were for students from all three grades, and although many voted for him and Tang Ruobing, the actual Tier Three Powerhouses are the backbone of the rankings.

Therefore, the ranking rewards are likely not low, otherwise, there’s no point in competing for them.