Chapter 315: Geniuses from All Nations Gather

Chapter 315: Chapter 315: Geniuses from All Nations Gather

Teacher Wang pushed up her black-framed glasses and continued,

"According to the rules of this competition, all freshmen are eligible to participate."

"The country even encourages students from the Tenth Institute to compete, but they will be prohibited from using their Special Abilities during the matches."

"For the honor of our country, all of them will participate, including the SS-level geniuses, Yu Zhuoran and Huo Wanyang."

Everyone’s gaze fell on Yu Zhuoran, who was seated in the very center. As for Huo Wanyang, he had Awakened too late, so his strength was naturally no match for Yu Zhuoran’s.

"Additionally, other countries also have SS-level geniuses competing, so the competition will be exceptionally fierce."

"As for the Awakened geniuses, according to the rules, they will be seeded players. They’ll advance directly to the global tournament, taking thirteen of the available spots."

The crowd nodded without any objection.

Awakened geniuses were already a huge cut above ordinary ones.

Not everyone was as formidable as Lin Qi, capable of defeating an Awakened genius.

Teacher Wang switched the large screen again and said,

"As for the Deans, my apologies, but you have no seeded player slots."

"Due to the varying skill levels of contestants from different countries, with the exception of Awakened geniuses..."

"...everyone else must participate in tomorrow’s preliminaries!"

Ao Feng and the others had no objection. With the geniuses from the Tenth Institute competing, their own strength was hardly worth mentioning.

They weren’t even the main characters anymore.

Lin Qi also shook his head inwardly. He hadn’t expected to have to participate in the preliminaries either.

’But then again, I’m not Awakened.’

Teacher Wang switched the projection and added,

"The preliminaries are tomorrow. In our Eastern Region, there are 24 participating countries, with a total of over 100,000 contestants."

"In the first round, ninety percent of the 100,000 will be eliminated. Only 10,000 contestants will advance to the second round."

"I hope you all take this seriously, because everyone who can compete is an elite genius."

"They come from various countries, and their Secret Manual styles are all completely different."

"In past years, there have been far too many examples of upsets. I hope none of you become one of them."

"Our Xia Country is the most powerful nation on the entire Blue Star. Countless people want to defeat us to rise through the ranks."

"So don’t you dare be careless. When the time comes, it won’t just be you who’s embarrassed, but our Azure Sky Martial Arts Academy as well."

Teacher Wang’s expression was grave as she spoke, sending a chill through everyone. They all planned to go back and prepare thoroughly.

"That’s all for today’s meeting. I hope everyone passes the first round smoothly tomorrow."

With that, she was the first to log off, and the others followed suit.

Lin Qi looked at the members of the Azure Sky Sixth Institute and also gave a word of advice,

"Let’s all do our best. Don’t let your guard down!"

Jiangtao nodded confidently. "Don’t worry, Brother Qi. We’re not that stupid!"

Lin Qi nodded, and the others logged off one by one.

After exiting the Virtual Cabin, he sat cross-legged and resumed his Cultivation for the evening.

He wasn’t worried about his own performance in the first round tomorrow.

He was just curious about the contestants from other countries. The main reason was that he’d barely seen any foreigners growing up.

He knew nothing about the fighting methods and styles of other nations.

INHALE... EXHALE...

After briefly regulating his breathing, he entered a state of Cultivation.

...

「Nether Sea Martial Academy, Ninth Institute Dormitory Area」

Inside the Martial Arts Room of a villa, Li Hanjiang, with his ramrod-straight posture, swung a large blue spear, creating a beautiful flourish.

Not far from him, a large screen was projected.

"Hanjiang, you truly are a genius!"

"I never thought that besides Lin Qi, you would also succeed in mastering a Little Divine Power!"

"If you had mastered your Little Divine Power back during the national tournament, perhaps the championship wouldn’t have gone to Lin Qi."

A burly man in a blue robe said with a laugh from the video feed.

Li Hanjiang held the spear with one hand. Extremely fine, thread-like patterns appeared on his exposed skin.

He smiled. "It’s not too late now, either!"

"My affinity with the *Glacial White Wolf* is extremely high. Being able to master a Little Divine Power was a stroke of luck."

"But in this global freshmen tournament, even with Awakened geniuses competing, I’m not any weaker than them."

"I’m looking forward to facing Lin Qi again. I wonder how much stronger he’s gotten in these past five months?"

Just thinking about it made Li Hanjiang tremble with excitement.

He was so looking forward to the global freshmen tournament.

"Don’t worry, you’ll be able to show your true strength tomorrow," the man in blue laughed.

He was very pleased with Li Hanjiang. It was just a shame that a freak like Lin Qi had emerged.

Now that Li Hanjiang had also mastered a Little Divine Power, he wasn’t far behind Lin Qi at all.

...

「Shanyu Martial Arts University, Third Academy」

Inside a luxurious, single-family villa.

Liang Yuxin, with her silver hair, stared at the information about the global tournament in front of her, feeling a wave of pressure wash over her just from the text.

’The national freshmen tournament ended in late November last year. Now it’s late April. Five months have passed.’

’My strength has improved drastically, and now I’m about to break through to the Fourth Realm.’

’Unfortunately, my opponents are all Awakened geniuses. I have no confidence that I can defeat them.’

’I’m not one of the main characters anymore, either.’

’Perhaps only Lin Qi, who mastered a Little Divine Power, can truly compete among them?’

Liang Yuxin clenched her fists, unwilling to accept it. If only she could Awaken.

’Mom and Dad have been looking for an Awakening Fruit for me, but there’s still no news.’

She sighed at the thought. Her luck wasn’t very good. Not only was there a Li Hanjiang in her year, but a freak like Lin Qi had also appeared.

She was destined to be unable to surpass them.

...

Meanwhile, geniuses from the various Martial Arts Universities across the 24 countries assigned to the Eastern Region were also preparing for tomorrow.

The geniuses in the Western Region were preparing as well.

Countless geniuses hoped to make a name for themselves in this competition. Some wanted to defeat the geniuses of other nations to win glory for their own country.

"Tomorrow, we face off against other countries. It’s so nerve-wracking."

"They say the Xia Country is the most powerful nation on Blue Star. They have the world’s strongest Martial Artist—Emperor Red."

"I really want to see just how strong the geniuses from the Xia Country are."

"I’m going to defeat a genius from the Xia Country and make everyone know my name!"

...

「Martial Arts Calendar Year 2047, April 25th」

The first round of the global freshmen tournament preliminaries.

「Azure Sky Sixth Institute, Villa 01」

Inside the Martial Arts Room.

Lin Qi, dressed in a black Martial Arts Uniform, suddenly opened his eyes. They shone with a translucent light, like glowing light bulbs.

[You have completed a Cultivation session of the *Hundred Calamities Atlas*. Your Spiritual Power has increased. Spiritual Power +2.]

[Spiritual Power: 251 → 253]

...

With the breakthrough in his Spiritual Power, Lin Qi felt refreshed and clear-headed.

He put away the orange Scroll in front of him. Now that he had broken through, it was time to switch to the yellow Scroll, which involved visualizing and fighting a Third-Level Calamity Beast.

He already had a target in mind: the Gray Ridge Giant Wolf.

The effects of the *Hundred Calamities Atlas* Cultivation Technique were becoming more and more obvious. As long as he cultivated, his Spiritual Power would steadily increase.

After putting his things away, he glanced at the time: 8:25.

Only five minutes remained until the start of the first round.

He walked over to the large white Virtual Cabin, opened it, and stepped inside.

BZZZT!

In his personal Space, he quickly noticed a message box that had popped up.

[Student Lin Qi, would you like to enter the Eastern Region of the global freshmen tournament? (Y/N)]

[Yes!]

Without the slightest hesitation, he clicked confirm.

In the next instant, he vanished. The space around him shifted, and he was moved to another location by an invisible, giant hand.

WHOOSH!

He suddenly felt his surroundings open up as he found himself in a vast, open space.

The noisy din of a crowd immediately filled his ears.

"Brother Qi, you’re finally online!"

He turned his head and saw the tall, dark-skinned Jiangtao standing beside him, dressed in a red and white school uniform.

Looking down, he saw that he was also wearing the uniform of Azure Sky Martial Arts Academy.

"Taozi!"

"Brother Qi!"

The other members of the Azure Sky Sixth Institute around them also greeted him enthusiastically.

As Lin Qi nodded, he surveyed his surroundings amidst the noise.

He could see that they were surrounded by students from Azure Sky Martial Arts Academy, positioned according to their respective institutes. The members of the Tenth Academy were also present.

Not only that, but there were also students from Nether Sea Martial Academy in blue uniforms and students from Shanyu Martial Arts University in black.

The geniuses from the Xia Country’s three top academies were all gathered together. Besides them, there was also a small number of geniuses from the Ten Great Schools.

For example, Mao Jia from Sichuan Martial Academy, Yi Shaojie from Xia Imperial Military Academy, and others.

They nodded when they met Lin Qi’s gaze.

Li Hanjiang’s gaze was particularly intense, burning with a strong will to fight.

"Brother Qi, the Floating Island we’re on is on the highest level. Each country gets its own Floating Island."

Jiangtao explained from the side.

Lin Qi could already see the huge Xia Country flag fluttering in the wind above their heads.

Their Floating Island was the largest; no other island was on the same level, and they could look down on the Floating Islands of other countries on the levels below.

"The second level belongs to Tianzhu Country. They’re the second most powerful nation in our Eastern Region."

"There’s also Japan, the Silla Kingdom, Tailande, the Thousand Islands, and other powerful nations."

Lin Qi listened from the side. They were all in the East, surrounding the Xia Country, and he had heard their names before.

He looked at the flags of different colors fluttering in the wind, and at the contestants who, despite having similar skin tones, had distinctive facial features.

The Qi Blood of these men and women was potent, and their eyes were bright. They looked up at the Xia Country’s Floating Island, their gazes filled with curiosity, admiration, inferiority, and greed...

Some gazes were full of fighting spirit, eager to defeat the geniuses of the Xia Country.

WHOOSH...

Before everyone’s eyes, countless red particles of light appeared out of thin air, finally coalescing to project a giant human figure.

"Contestants from the East!"

A voice familiar to everyone from the Xia Country rang out.

The giant figure stroked its beard and announced in a resonant voice,

"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Xu Wenji, the Vice-Chancellor of the Xia Country’s Azure Sky Martial Arts Academy. I will be presiding over the selection for this Eastern Region!"

After he finished speaking, his words were translated into different languages on the various Floating Islands, appearing in front of them as subtitles.

"He’s the Vice-Chancellor of the Xia Country’s Azure Sky Martial Arts Academy!"

"Is that the Azure Sky Martial Arts Academy, the strongest one in the Xia Country that I’ve heard of?"

"I heard their Vice-Chancellor is an Eighth Realm Martial Artist! My god, a big shot from the Eighth Realm is actually hosting."

"Something like this would be impossible in our country."

The geniuses from many countries were shocked. Some of them had never even seen an Eighth Realm Martial Artist speak from such a close distance.

...