Chapter 330: Breakthrough

Chapter 330: Chapter 330: Breakthrough

"Let’s congratulate contestant Lin Qi from Xia Country! He’s the lucky one who got a bye, advancing directly to the sixth round!!"

Xu Wenji announced loudly!

The stands erupted in an uproar, and many contestants looked disappointed.

But many spectators from Xia Country also grew excited.

"It’s great that Lin Qi got a bye! I wanted to see him fight a few more matches!"

"With Lin Qi’s strength, he can probably last a few more rounds. I wonder if he has a shot at the top 32!"

"I think it’s no problem!"

"I think it’ll be tough. After all, he’s just an Unawakened genius."

As they chatted, many spectators began to argue.

...

In the Xia Country spectator section, Lin Qi also smiled when he saw that he had received a bye.

’Looks like my luck is pretty good. I’ll have more time for Cultivation, too.’

"Next, I declare the fifth round officially open!"

After Lin Qi successfully got his bye, the match-up list for the 62 bouts of the fifth round was released.

"Will the contestants for the first match please come forward!"

The intelligent voice announced emotionlessly from high above the arena.

BOOM!!

In the ruined arena, two dazzling crimson pillars of light descended. As the light faded, Li Hanjiang, clad in a blue robe, emerged, brandishing a sharp, blue Long Spear with one hand.

His features were handsome and his aura was sharp, like the frigid winds of the North River. His gaze was fixed on his opponent!

His opponent was a black contestant from Gaul Country. He was lean and wiry, with a piercing aura, and his chosen Weapon was Dual Blades.

Li Hanjiang’s expression was grim. He had barely scraped by in the previous round.

And this opponent was even stronger. According to the data, he was one of Gaul Country’s top masters, second only to their SS-level geniuses.

’Looks like I’ll have to use my Little Divine Power,’ he thought. Without it, he wasn’t confident he could win.

"Let the match begin!"

High above the arena, the intelligent voice’s words echoed in everyone’s ears.

The first match of the fifth round officially began!

"Li Hanjiang’s strength is truly impressive. Among the Unawakened geniuses, he’s the strongest besides Brother Qi."

"But he’s not Brother Qi. This round might be his limit."

In the stands, Jiangtao remarked from beside Lin Qi. The others nodded in agreement after hearing him.

Sure enough, as soon as the battle started, Li Hanjiang was completely suppressed.

Lin Qi watched the fight intently, taking in every detail.

He could already tell that although Li Hanjiang had broken through to the Fourth Realm, it was a recent breakthrough.

He hadn’t had time to start cultivating an Intermediate Source Energy Technique yet!

He was at a great disadvantage in terms of physical conditioning and Power!

Due to the gap in their physical conditioning, he couldn’t fully display his Spear Technique.

After struggling to hold on for a minute, he was forced into a desperate situation.

Just as everyone thought Li Hanjiang was about to be defeated, he suddenly erupted.

BOOM!!

Lin Qi’s expression tensed. He watched as a radiant light burst forth from Li Hanjiang’s body, from which blue-white patterns emerged.

In that instant, his speed suddenly increased by a huge margin.

Facing his opponent’s dual-bladed Killing Technique, he not only blocked it completely but also counterattacked with his blue Long Spear.

As he brandished his spear, his entire being seemed to transform into a flurry of bone-chilling snow.

With the speed of a thunderclap that leaves no time to cover one’s ears, he killed his opponent with a single spear strike before anyone could react.

Match 1: Li Hanjiang (Xia Country) wins!

"Is that... a Little Divine Power?" Jiangtao exclaimed in shock.

"It is a Little Divine Power. I didn’t expect Li Hanjiang to have mastered one too. He hid it quite well," Lin Qi confirmed with a nod.

"With a Little Divine Power, he has a spot in the top 32!" he quickly concluded.

The others marveled at Li Hanjiang’s Talent, and many in the Xia Country audience cheered.

The other Awakened geniuses frowned, while the SS-level geniuses became interested.

"Another Li Hanjiang has appeared. The competition is getting fiercer and fiercer."

Pei Jiu sighed. There were too many experts, and he also felt immense pressure.

Now that Li Hanjiang had mastered a Little Divine Power, even he couldn’t guarantee a win against him.

...

In the upper-level spectator box,

Many of the leaders looked toward the burly man in blue from Nether Sea Martial Academy.

"Old Pang, congratulations! Li Hanjiang actually mastered a Little Divine Power. You’ve landed a true genius."

The burly man in blue also broke into a hearty smile. He hadn’t expected Li Hanjiang to be so strong as to master a Little Divine Power either.

It was a complete and pleasant surprise.

Watching the cheerful group from Nether Sea, the leaders of Azure Sky Martial Arts Academy remained calm.

No matter how strong Li Hanjiang was, he was still no match for Lin Qi.

They had Lin Qi, and they also had Yu Zhuoran. They had nothing to worry about.

...

「Azure Sky Sixth Institute, Villa 01」

In the Martial Arts Room, the white Virtual Cabin slowly opened.

Lin Qi stepped out of the Virtual Cabin, his mind replaying the scene of Li Hanjiang unleashing his Little Divine Power.

’Li Hanjiang’s Basic Source Energy Technique should be the *Glacier White Wolf Evolution Method*.’

’The Little Divine Power he mastered is Glacial Transformation.’

’This Little Divine Power greatly enhances his physical condition, with the most significant boost being to his speed!’

’Even if an opponent has a special Power, they’ll still be defeated when facing someone that fast.’

’If he’s lucky, he might have a chance to make it to the top 16.’

Lin Qi didn’t feel much pressure from this. His true rivals had always been the three of them: Yu Zhuoran, Havier, and Victor.

But he felt that his current strength was still not enough; he needed to keep improving.

Thinking of this, he packed his things and headed out to the Gravity Room for Cultivation.

He still had one night.

Because the entire freshman tournament would conclude tomorrow!

This was the last bit of time he had to improve his strength.

...

Three hours later, the fifth round of the main tournament in the Red Realm officially ended, and the top 63 were decided.

Spectators and contestants logged off one after another to eat and rest, preparing to watch the final day of competition tomorrow.

In the spacious living room of Villa 01 at the Azure Sky Sixth Institute.

Lin Qi ate two Level 4 Nutritional Meals, took a short walk, and then returned to the Martial Arts Room and entered the white Virtual Cabin.

After logging into the Red Realm, he chose to enter the Disaster Beast Trial Tower.

WHOOSH...

When Lin Qi opened his eyes again, the massive, cloud-piercing Disaster Beast Trial Tower appeared before him.

’I still have two hours of training time left this month. That’s enough for my Body Technique to break through.’

Lin Qi thought to himself. He was entering the Disaster Beast Trial Tower this time to break his Body Technique through to Tier Three Mid-stage and shore up that weakness.

It was currently dinnertime, so there weren’t many people around. He went straight inside.

But some students still recognized him!

"Isn’t that Lin Qi? He fought all day in the tournament and he’s still training this hard."

"No wonder he’s as strong as he is now," a student from another institute remarked.

...

「Fifty minutes later, on the sixth floor of the Disaster Beast Trial Tower」

Amidst a stretch of ruins, on a deserted highway, the air was thick with the rich scent of blood.

The concrete road was stained red with blood. As far as the eye could see, there were nothing but the corpses of Calamity Beasts: Iron Spike Wild Boars, Unihorned Black Pigs, Iron-Scaled Eagles...

SCREECH—

An Iron-Scaled Eagle, beating its steel-like wings, dove down from the sky, riding a Gale as it launched a surprise attack.

SWOOSH—

SHINK!

Just as it was less than two meters from the ground, a cold light flashed. Lin Qi’s spear tip pierced through it, and blood splattered out.

Phew...

The trial was over. He put away his Black Great Spear, his entire body already stained red with blood.

Student Lin Qi, congratulations on passing the sixth floor of the Disaster Beast Trial Tower.

As you are the first freshman to pass the sixth floor, you will receive a generous reward!

Academy-wide Ranking: 6000

Tenth Institute Ranking: 3

...

Lin Qi looked at the rankings. He could now rank among the top 6,000 in the entire academy.

This meant his strength was in the lower-middle tier even among fourth-year students.

The gap between geniuses was already showing.

In less than a year, he had surpassed what others had worked over three years to achieve.

From now on, the gap would only grow wider.

...