Chapter 513 - 527: Incident at the Rundown Hotel

An Ning looked at Yu the Elder, whose face was filled with pride and emotion, and swallowed the words she was about to say.

’So be it,’ she thought. ’It’s a traditional virtue to respect the elderly and cherish the young. Besides, he’s my own disciple.’

’What was that saying again? Even if you regret taking on a disciple, you can’t let others see it!’

The misunderstanding was cleared up, and the rumor was debunked.

The news that Yu the Elder was An Ning’s disciple, however, spread like wildfire across the Beijing University campus.

The first reaction of everyone who heard the news was: Impossible!

What? Yu the Elder said it himself?

’Could it be true? But how is that possible?’

Everyone knew An Ning was formidable, but they had never imagined she was *this* formidable.

However, many teachers, including the university president, came forward to confirm it. Yu the Elder himself told anyone who would listen, leaving no room for doubt.

Everyone couldn’t help but sigh. It turned out they and An Ning were not on the same level at all. While they were unaware, she had already shot forward like a rocket.

Then a new question arose: If Mr. Yu was An Ning’s second disciple, who was the first?

More and more people became curious about this question, but neither of the parties involved, Yu the Elder and An Ning, said a word.

After the cheating incident was over, An Ning focused on preparing for the competition.

On the first day of group training, An Ning conquered all the other contestants with her astonishing abilities.

That evening, when the training session ended, the contestants had only one thing to say to An Ning: "We’re sorry."

’To think we actually suspected her of cheating. We must have had rocks in our heads back then.’

An Ning didn’t mind. She smiled cheerfully at everyone, appearing very magnanimous.

This, of course, did not include Tao Quan. An Ning couldn’t go against her true feelings; allowing Tao Quan to remain was the greatest extent of her good grace.

The competition training continued. After conquering everyone on the first day, An Ning would only show up in the mornings. In the afternoons, she would still go to the suburb of Beijing to work and restore her spiritual power.

When someone asked her why she didn’t attend the full day, An Ning replied quite naturally, "I have to farm."

The person who asked had no idea what farming had to do with the competition. ’Could farming be more important?’

’Or maybe farming is the key? Does it help one’s concentration?’

For some reason, everyone felt an itch to try it. They also wanted to go farming, to become just a little bit stronger. They didn’t need to be as strong as An Ning; just getting closer would be enough.

But when a few curious students spent two days working in the fields and found they could barely lift their arms and legs, they understood one thing: what suits you is what’s best.

Someone else’s method, no matter how amazing that person was, wouldn’t work if it wasn’t right for you.

Being envious was useless. Being angry was useless. In the end, you were the only one who suffered.

The competition training lasted for half a month. An Ning was unsurprisingly elected team captain, but she disliked managing things and immediately gave up the position, becoming an unofficial leader.

The identity documents for all the contestants were prepared. Yu the Elder and two other teachers were the team chaperones.

They flew across the ocean to the other side of the continent.

After enduring layovers, security checks, and a series of other procedures, the team arrived at their designated hotel, exhausted both mentally and physically.

When the group of people with yellow skin and black hair stood before the entrance of the so-called hotel, everyone looked at their chaperones.

Yu the Elder and the other two teachers stared at the small, dilapidated, two-story building in front of them with "Traveler’s Inn" written on it, their anger simmering.

"They look down on us. What we need to do is hit back with our skills, understand?"

The students behind them nodded in unison. They understood.

In this unfamiliar place, Yu the Elder had no other choice. He had the students check in, two to a room, and settle in for now.

After the check-in was complete, Yu the Elder and the other two teachers repeatedly warned them, "If you go out, go in pairs at least. It’s better to have more people, including boys. If you have anything for self-defense, remember to keep it hidden on you."

The students weren’t stupid. They knew that weapons could be bought and sold freely here.

The place they were staying was in the sketchiest and cheapest part of town.

Before coming abroad, everyone thought the moon was rounder in foreign countries and that people were all kind. Only after experiencing it firsthand did they discover that reality was very different.

Their group had come by invitation, yet they were subjected to an extremely thorough inspection at the airport, which many found deeply humiliating.

After leaving the airport, they were the only team brought to a hotel like this. They didn’t see any other competing teams here. The feeling of being looked down upon was truly awful.

Regardless, everyone settled in.

That night, if one ignored the passionate moans coming from the other side of the paper-thin walls, was passed safely enough.

The next day was for adjusting to the time difference. The competition would officially begin the day after.

During the day, as everyone held plastic plates and chose what to eat in the cafeteria, they stared at a pot of beans served as a main dish, finding it hard to stomach.

A piece of dry bread, a hot dog sausage, a scoop of mushy beans, and a few florets of seemingly uncooked broccoli—that was a meal.

An Ning, holding her plate, was the first to find an empty spot to sit and eat.

She preferred good food, but it wasn’t as if she couldn’t eat bad food.

Seeing how calmly An Ning ate, everyone else swallowed their complaints and silently sat down to eat as well.

For the entire day, they ate food they disliked and didn’t venture outside the little inn. Most of them barely even left their rooms.

Competing and winning first place was the only motivation keeping them going.

That night, after dinner, everyone returned to their rooms early to rest. To adjust to the jet lag, many hadn’t slept well the previous night.

That night, the already noisy inn was jolted awake by a gunshot.

An Ning was the first to sit up in her room. She told her roommate to crouch in the corner and not move.

She, on the other hand, extended her spiritual power and pressed her ear against the door, trying to hear what was happening.

As her spiritual power spread, she "saw" a man with a large firearm slung over his shoulder shouting outside the inn.

"Bitch! Get out here!"

"Don’t think I don’t know where you are!"

"I’m going to check every single room in here!"

"I stopped giving a damn about my life a long time ago! Kill one and I break even, kill two and I’m ahead!"

"HAHAHA! Sara, you better come out on your own! Otherwise, when I find you, you won’t want to know what I’m going to do!"

The man was in a crazed state. Wielding a submachine gun, he kicked down doors one by one, spraying bullets after each one, followed by manic laughter.

’A madman!’

That was the only thought in An Ning’s mind.

A wisp of her spiritual power quietly enveloped the gun on the man’s body.

She slowly extended the rest of her spiritual power to check on everyone’s safety.

"Jiang Xia—"