Chapter 84: Chapter 84: The One I Once Looked Up To
After lunch, Lin Zhen went home to rest.
Lin Qi, on the other hand, went to the Virtual Room.
"Brother Qi!"
In the lobby’s rest area, Lin Qi approached with a powerful and confident stride.
BAM!
Guo Heng, who had been watching him approach, grinned and landed a punch on his chest.
"You’ve got some nerve, Lin Qi. Quietly climbing all the way to ninth place in Celestial Sea City."
"You’re only two spots away from me now."
"We all underestimated you!"
Guo Heng looked at Lin Qi. His friend was now tall and powerfully built, with a cold, stern aura that was rather intimidating.
He had originally thought his own progress for this final assessment was significant enough.
But he never expected Lin Qi and Jiangtao to have caught up to him without him even noticing.
Who would have thought fate could be so strange? The two part-timers he had hired over four months ago possessed such incredible Talent.
He still remembered that day: Lin Qi and Jiangtao, dressed in faded school uniforms and worn-out sneakers, looking around at everything with the curious eyes of complete newbies.
Lin Qi’s unique temperament had caught his attention, which was why he’d chosen him as a training partner.
Seeing Lin Qi, Lv Xiang, who had been sitting, immediately stood up and offered his seat.
"Brother Qi, want some milk tea?"
"Brother Qi, have some fruit."
Lin Qi turned to see Wu Feng handing him a cup of coffee and Qiu Siying offering a plate of fruit, their faces full of smiles and enthusiasm.
Their form of address had also changed to "Brother Qi."
It caught Lin Qi somewhat off guard.
Jiangtao, standing nearby, smiled. He wasn’t surprised at all.
In the past, the trio of Lv Xiang, Wu Feng, and Qiu Siying had been quite cold and aloof toward him and Lin Qi.
But their attitudes had completely changed after he and Lin Qi had reached ninth and eleventh place in Celestial Sea City, respectively.
When he first arrived, he too had been taken aback by the trio’s enthusiasm.
Guo Heng watched the enthusiastic trio. Who would have guessed they were geniuses ranked in the top one hundred of Celestial Sea City?
Lin Qi glanced at Guo Heng, then accepted Wu Feng’s coffee and started drinking.
He also ate some freshly washed grapes.
"You guys don’t have to be so enthusiastic. Just act normal."
"Okay, Brother Qi!" Lv Xiang nodded.
"Oh, right. My older sister is coming back from Azure Sky University for the Spring Festival soon."
"When the time comes, I’ll introduce you to her."
Guo Heng said suddenly, while sipping his milk tea.
As soon as he said this, everyone’s attention focused on him.
They knew about Guo Heng’s older sister, Guo Yi—a genius who had Awakened a Special Ability.
"My family was originally just an Ordinary one. It’s all thanks to my sister. She Awakened a Special Ability—the Ability to control fire—and signed a major S-class contract with Red Dome. That’s how our family became wealthy."
Lin Qi was also quite curious and wanted to meet her. He felt very grateful to Guo Heng.
Jiangtao asked curiously, "Aheng, have you ever seen your sister use her flames?"
Guo Heng said proudly, "Of course! My sister can control fire, shooting it out like she has a personal flamethrower."
"The temperature reaches nearly a thousand degrees!"
"In a fight, she can instantly ignite and incinerate someone."
"It’s a completely different level of power. She’s not even afraid of a Third Realm Martial Artist."
The others were inwardly shocked. ’Awakening a Special Ability is basically like having a cheat code in the early stages of Martial Arts,’ they thought.
"By the way, you guys better hurry and push for the Bright Moon Rank in the next few days. Otherwise, it’ll be difficult to get promoted before the deadline," Guo Heng said suddenly, changing the subject.
"Ever since my Points broke 900, all my opponents have been experts. It’s become normal for me to win only one match out of every three or four I play."
"My win rate keeps dropping, and it’s getting harder and harder to earn Points. I’m not even sure I can make it to Bright Moon Rank by the deadline."
"That’s normal!"
Lin Qi spoke up and explained the inside information he had heard from Manager Sun.
"What the hell, that’s insane! We really need to hurry, then. I’m still more than two hundred Points away. I’ll have to put in some overtime," Jiangtao said nervously.
Lv Xiang and the other two also felt a sense of urgency.
"It’s a good thing the Martial Arts Dojo recently added 20 more Virtual Cabins. Otherwise, we might not have even gotten a turn these past few days," Qiu Siying remarked with a sigh.
Unwilling to waste any more time, they each entered a Virtual Cabin, logged into the Red Realm, and began matchmaking.
In the void of his personal Space,
Lin Qi’s figure materialized. He summoned his personal panel.
[Nickname: Yang Jian]
[Rank: Star]
[Win Rate: 95%]
[Points: 786]
[Ranking: 45]
...
Lin Qi looked at the data on his panel and began to think.
He hadn’t logged into the Red Realm ever since he started his all-out sprint for the final assessment and moved into the Martial Arts Room.
’Today is January 7th. The Bright Moon event deadline is January 13th, and New Year’s Eve is on the 14th.’
’Time is tight. I have less than a week.’
’It’s time for another sprint.’
’The rankings are probably going to change drastically. At my current rank, there’s no way I can get promoted to Bright Moon Rank.’
After setting his goal, Lin Qi started matchmaking.
[Match Found!]
Lin Qi appeared in the arena. His opponent emerged from a pillar of light—a slender, handsome boy holding a blue and white Big Gun.
He had a gloomy aura about him and looked at Lin Qi as if he were prey.
[Nickname: Swift Eagle]
Lin Qi’s eyebrows shot up. ’Yu Jing?’
’Looks like the matchmaking difficulty really has increased recently. I’m randomly getting matched with opponents at Yu Jing’s level.’
He looked at Yu Jing, the genius he had looked up to for a full two and a half years.
Since the beginning of high school, Yu Jing had been first in their class, a rival envied by countless classmates.
Now, Lin Qi had surpassed him, and they were matched against each other.
’I’ll use the Long Spear in my hands to settle this once and for all.’
"Yang Jian. You’re an expert!"
"Too bad for you. You’re unlucky. I’m in a bad mood right now, so just go and die."
Yu Jing sneered, his face dark. His failure in the final assessment had caused him to build up immense hostility, which he needed to vent.
And the Red Realm was the perfect outlet.
Hearing this, Lin Qi smiled under his mask.
He knew exactly why Yu Jing was in a bad mood.
He then raised his left hand and gave him the middle finger!
Yu Jing was enraged. "You’re courting death!"
[Prepare for Combat!]
[3, 2, 1...]
[Combat Begins!]
As the system voice announced the start, Yu Jing’s figure moved like a gale, instantly vanishing from his spot and charging forward as a phantom.
The Big Gun in his hand thrust out more than a dozen times in an instant, as fast as a gale, each stab like a drop of water.
Drip Water Spear Skill!
Lin Qi, like a cheetah, also charged forward, his Long Spear creating a sky full of afterimages.
CLANG! CLANG!
Like splashing droplets of water, the two clashed in a spray of collisions, their spears colliding, tips thrusting.
Fierce and precise, it was a battle of speed and accuracy.
The moment they engaged, Yu Jing’s expression changed slightly as he felt a sky-suffocating killing intent.
His opponent’s spear was extremely fast, enveloping him from all directions. Every thrust he made was blocked and neutralized.
’So fast!’
His nickname, Swift Eagle, was not only a play on his name, Jing, but also represented his eagle-like sharp eyes and unparalleled speed.
In every battle, he could easily use his rapid Spear Technique to force his opponents to reveal an opening and then finish them off.
But today, he had met a powerful obstacle.
This was an expert who used the Drip Water Spear Skill, just like him.
His opponent’s speed wasn’t any slower than his—in fact, it was even faster. He had fallen into a disadvantage after just one exchange.
The other’s Spear Technique was completely flawless.
Instead, it was his own situation that had become extremely dangerous.
’How can this be?’
Yu Jing’s face twisted into a snarl. He swung his Big Gun, about to unleash a major Killing Technique, when a cold light flashed before him. A sharp spear tip was less than a finger’s breadth away from him.
Clear Spring Surge!
CLANG!
He gripped his spear with both hands in a Horizontal Block, but his body was sent flying backward.
He stumbled back several steps before regaining his balance.
’This isn’t working. I have to use a Killing Technique!’
Yu Jing made an instant judgment. He activated a Killing Technique, stepping forward to build momentum for a charge. The muscles in his arms swelled, veins popping as his thick wrists trembled violently.
He shook the spear’s shaft at an incredibly high frequency, causing the tip to create multiple phantoms that stabbed toward Lin Qi like a gale.
The second Killing Technique of the Drip Water Spear Skill—Dripping Water Shadow!
Seeing this, Lin Qi’s lips curved upward as he launched the exact same Killing Technique.
...
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