CHAPTER 39: CHAPTER 39 FAILURE_1

The intensity of Xu Junyuan’s attacks escalated to the point where Wang Zhan began to falter for a moment.

BANG!

Eventually, Wang Zhan was caught off guard and struck squarely in the chest by Xu Junyuan. He was sent flying backward, landing at the edge of the ring.

Getting up, he saw that his clothes in the front had been torn to shreds by the gales. He felt a burning sensation in his chest and slightly narrowed his eyes. Incredible. The Wind Breaking Palm is even more powerful than I imagined.

Wang Zhan once again approached Xu Junyuan, but this time, he wasn’t in a hurry to launch an attack.

"Using all your strength right from the start means you’ve completely drained your energy store with the Wind Breaking Palm in just those few minutes, doesn’t it?"

"Huff... Correct," Xu Junyuan wheezed. "I never expected to win against you anyway. The point of that stunt was only to show you that if I had put in my all, you wouldn’t have beaten me a month ago."

Upon hearing this, Wang Zhan’s expression froze.

He hadn’t expected Xu Junyuan to put in all his effort from the get-go for just this reason.

However, Wang Zhan admitted that if his past self had faced the full effort of Xu Junyuan’s Wind Breaking Palm, he wouldn’t have been able to win.

In fact, if Xu Junyuan had just rushed him as he did just now, Wang Zhan wouldn’t have even had a chance to use his Killing Fist and would have been overpowered and defeated by Xu Junyuan.

After all, Xu Junyuan had already reached level 3 as a Martial Artist at the time, while Wang Zhan had barely breached level 2.

After a moment of silence, Wang Zhan understood.

A Martial Artist must fight?

"A Martial Artist must fight," Xu Junyuan nodded firmly. "It was your defeat that woke me up."

As his words settled, Xu Junyuan nodded to Wang Zhan, then jumped down from the ring and left.

He was already drained of his strength. The palm strike that hit Wang Zhan was his peak; after that, he was just spent.

Xu Junyuan knew this, and Wang Zhan did too.

So Xu Junyuan simply chose to admit defeat, since his goal had been achieved.

"Wang Zhan wins!" The referee’s voice sounded.

But Wang Zhan kept looking at Xu Junyuan’s retreating figure, feeling somehow that Xu Junyuan’s change had been even greater than he’d imagined.

Just to show me how you’ve changed? Now I’ve seen it.

Wang Zhan touched his chest injury, but his mood was lifted.

He was no longer fighting just for academic credits like he had before; he saw the quality of a true Martial Artist in Xu Junyuan.

If Xu Junyuan could be like this, what about the higher-ranked opponents?

Wang Zhan suddenly felt a bit of anticipation. He wasn’t concerned about being the top anymore; he didn’t even care about academic credits.

Next, I’m going to enjoy a few good fights. Wang Zhan felt a long-lost excitement.

「Evening, six o’clock.」

The ranking competition time had ended, but the fight within Training Ground No.1 was still ongoing.

"Wind and Cloud Break, Wind Rises and Clouds Surge!"

Just like Xu Junyuan’s Wind Breaking Palm, Wang Zhan’s hands and feet now carried a fierce Essence Energy-formed gale.

The clouds in the sky above the ring, illuminated red by the evening light, were stirred by this gale and began to drift away.

While there were clear layers of clouds in the surrounding sky, it was clear above the ring itself.

RUMBLE...

A loud noise rang out and gusts of dust were kicked up on the ring.

It wasn’t until more than ten seconds later that the dust slowly dispersed, revealing the silhouettes of the two fighters.

Wang Zhan, shirtless, had a mix of blue and purple bruises all over his body, and Fresh Blood was trickling down from the corner of his eye.

Opposite him, a strapping man about two meters tall lay on the ground, almost unconscious.

Huang Pufeng, second on the sophomore year’s ranking list and a level 4 Martial Artist.

He was a contender eligible to challenge the ranks like Wang Zhan, but now he was down in front of Wang Zhan.

"I... lost." There wasn’t much disappointment in Huang Pufeng’s tone, and despite his serious injuries, he still managed a faint smile.

"Hehe, what a pity. Time has already passed," Huang Pufeng said. "Wang Zhan, you’re outrageously strong! Unquestionably deserving of being Chu State’s number one and the Federation’s second-ranked genius."

Medical staff climbed into the ring and began treating Huang Pufeng’s injuries.

Other medical staff were ready to bandage Wang Zhan too, but he refused.

"I’m fine." Wang Zhan shook his head slightly, looking somewhat disappointed at the person standing at the front below the ring.

"Song Dongming, the top-ranked." Wang Zhan let out a long breath, the disappointment on his face vanishing in a flash. "What a pity. I was really looking forward to sparring with you."

Song Dongming had a bright smile on his face.

"I look forward to it too," Song Dongming chuckled lightly. "Don’t be too disappointed though. Even though we can’t face off directly now, we’ll get another chance soon. We’ll have a contest then."

"What chance?" Just as Wang Zhan was about to ask, Song Dongming shook his head and left the scene.

「The ranking competition was over, and Wang Zhan’s final ranking was third in the sophomore year.」

The time when he defeated Huang Pufeng had already passed six in the evening, so although he won, this victory was not counted in the final ranking.

"Brother Zhan, we’ve lost all our academic credits," Cheng Shu said with a bitter face. "That’s tens of thousands. The guy running the bets made a killing."

Wang Zhan glanced at Cheng Shu disdainfully.

"You think I don’t know? You didn’t bet everything on me getting first place!"

Cheng Shu’s face stiffened. "Brother Zhan, it’s not like... It’s not like I..."

"Alright, how much did you make this time?" Wang Zhan waved his hand, indicating that he didn’t care.

"Over 10,000. I’ll give you seventy percent."

"No need. I don’t care about that small amount of academic credits. You keep it."

Although Wang Zhan didn’t get first place this time, he was still pleased with all the academic credits earned.

Altogether, the balance on Wang Zhan’s Academic Credits Card had reached 75,400, an absolutely staggering sum.

For a long time to come, I probably won’t lack cultivation resources. Wang Zhan thought to himself satisfyingly.

Despite not finishing first, Wang Zhan was very content with his gains.

Just as Wang Zhan and Cheng Shu were about to leave the Training Ground, a figure suddenly appeared in front of them. Upon seeing the person before him, Wang Zhan’s expression faltered; he could hardly believe his eyes.

Cheng Shu then retracted his neck slightly, hiding half of his body behind Wang Zhan, and asked in a low voice, "Brother Zhan, this person looks like a fourth-year senior, and they don’t look friendly. What did you do to them? You didn’t lead them on and then abandon them, did you? That’s not right."

Wang Zhan glared at Cheng Shu.

Cheng Shu continued, "Or... should I leave first? Senior year students are all fighting in the wilderness. If they specifically came back to find you, it must be big trouble. I... I don’t want to get involved. Brother Zhan, playing with people’s feelings isn’t good."

"Little fat guy, I can hear you," Wang Qi said with a grin.

Cheng Shu’s face suddenly froze.

Wang Zhan stepped forward quickly and pulled Wang Qi into a tight embrace.

"Sis!"

Since entering university, starting systematic Martial Artist cultivation, and after a trip to the wilderness, Wang Zhan finally realized the difficulties of being a Martial Artist.

Thinking back to when Wang Qi used to bring resources home for his cultivation and how she had excelled among the senior students at the Military Martial Arts Academy, Wang Zhan could imagine how much hardship Wang Qi had endured.

Meanwhile, Wang Qi, held by Wang Zhan, was also stunned.

"You... I..." Wang Qi was at a loss, not knowing how to respond to her brother’s affectionate gesture.

Finally, Wang Zhan let go.

"Sis, you’re now half a head shorter than me." Wang Zhan reached out and tousled Wang Qi’s hair.

Just like a playful uncle with a cute niece.

Wang Qi’s face immediately turned red, and she snapped, "You stinky boy, you’re looking for a beating!"

Wang Qi raised her hand to hit him, but Wang Zhan, who was very familiar with his elder sister’s temper, didn’t even think and turned to run.

The siblings disappeared from sight in the blink of an eye.

Only a few minutes later, Wang Zhan was caught and given a good thrashing by Wang Qi.

The playful scuffle helped the siblings fall back into their usual, familiar dynamic.

「Back at Wang Zhan’s dormitory.」

"Sis, why did you suddenly come back?"

Wang Qi said, "This time, the school issued a summon order, urging all senior year students in the wilderness to return. Something significant seems to have happened."

"Usually, senior year students are considered practically graduated. During their senior year, they start looking for their own futures or continue to venture in the wilderness, and the school doesn’t manage them anymore. But this time it’s different. My mentor said that this is the first time in many years that the school has issued a mandatory summon order."

As she said this, Wang Qi noticed Wang Zhan’s eagerness and knocked him on the head.

"Stop dreaming. Even if there’s a huge issue, it wouldn’t be up to a freshman like you."

After talking for a while more, Wang Qi left.

She hadn’t rested since coming back from the wilderness, and Wang Zhan had also experienced many battles; they were both very tired.

After Wang Qi left, Wang Zhan rested a bit, then resumed his Body Refining Technique cultivation.

「The night passed uneventfully.」

It wasn’t until class the next day that Wang Zhan learned from Cheng Shu about the "significant event" Wang Qi had mentioned.

"This time, it’s a joint operation by the senior year students to clean up the outer perimeter within a hundred kilometers of the wilderness," Cheng Shu said excitedly. "And I heard that many high-level beasts have appeared. They say the school spent a lot to bring in these beasts for practical training."

"High-level beasts?" Wang Zhan was surprised.

"Yes, at least level 7 beasts," Cheng Shu nodded repeatedly.

Wang Zhan frowned slightly, thinking about the Four-arm Giant Ape he had seen before.

Theoretically, within the hundred-kilometer outer perimeter of the wilderness, big guys like level 7 beasts, which exceed student capabilities, shouldn’t appear.

And there were the mysterious men in black, as well as Sun Jian’s later obscure words.

Is there any connection between these things? Wang Zhan quietly pondered.

After class, Wang Zhan eagerly went to find Duan Kun.

He felt that Duan Kun should know a lot about the situation.