At the same time, in the principal’s office.

As the principal of Tianhai No. 2 Middle School, he furrowed his brow, leaning closer and closer to the projected report card.

His face was almost pressed against the projection screen.

After a moment, his expression changed, and he threw his head back and burst out laughing.

"What a pleasant surprise! Our No. 2 Middle School’s overall score is actually ranked 7th in Celestial Sea City."

"We were just a little bit off from reaching the second-tier."

"And among them, our elite class has improved across the board. Old Zhang, you deserve the most credit."

Zhang City, who was sitting on the sofa drinking an ice-cold cola, smiled and said without a hint of modesty:

"Glad I didn’t let you down!"

Jiang Zhiguang continued to watch the projection, one hand resting on a flowerpot.

"Li Zhou is still making steady progress. He’s practically made history, reaching 7th place in Celestial Sea City."

"Then there’s Jiangtao, who’s been catching up aggressively and has reached 5th in the grade."

"Of course, the most surprising is Lin Qi. His momentum hasn’t slowed at all, and this time he’s even entered the top 9 in the grade."

"It seems he’s a genuine dark horse. I’m starting to look forward to seeing what rank he can achieve during the final national assessment."

"I have to apply for a special genius loan for him. A genius like Lin Qi needs more resources. This time, Old He has no reason to refuse."

Jiang Zhiguang lifted his hand from the flowerpot. A small sprout poked its head out and began to grow.

...

Red Dome Martial Arts Dojo, top-floor Vice Hall Master’s office.

Yue Feng, dressed in a black and red Martial Arts Uniform, was surrounded by rings of blue Energy, making him seem like a giant beast.

He slowly opened the door, walked out of the spacious Martial Arts Room, and entered his office. The blue Energy around him dissipated instantly.

"BEEP!"

"Master, a text message from Sun Wang."

Alpha announced from mid-air, projecting a screen filled with data tables.

Yue Feng quickly scanned through them until he stopped at one set of data and smiled.

"Lin Qi, ninth in his grade, ranked 128th in the city. Compared to last time, that’s huge progress."

"My judgment was right after all."

"But he’s still a long way from getting an A-level Contract. He needs to keep working hard."

...

Chongming Martial Arts Dojo

Dongfang Qi was paying close attention to Lin Qi, desperately hoping he would fail.

She opened the backend system, went to the official website, and searched for Tianhai No. 2 Middle School’s report card. She quickly found Lin Qi.

A moment later, her eyes widened in disbelief.

"How is this possible?"

"He actually broke into the top ten of his grade, and his city ranking is 128th."

Dongfang Qi’s face turned pale. She knew very well that with this score and ranking, he would be able to sign a B-level Contract at the Chongming Martial Arts Dojo.

Lin Qi hadn’t been wrong. He really did have the strength to sign a B-level Contract.

Nearby, a supervisor sighed, "I guess it wasn’t meant to be!"

Meanwhile, at the Obsidian Martial Arts Dojo, a supervisor frowned, looking at the projected data and starting to doubt everything:

"Could he really be a genius?!"

...

「The next day, evening, at the Red Dome Martial Arts Dojo.」

At the entrance of the Virtual Room.

"Aheng, Brother Qi is already 128th in Celestial Sea City, and I’m 42nd this time. Who knows, I might even surpass you in the final assessment."

Jiangtao joked after seeing Guo Heng.

Guo Heng shook his head. "That’s just wishful thinking. I’m already 10th in Celestial Sea City. You can’t possibly surpass me."

Not far away, Lv Xiang, Wu Feng, and Qiu Siying were also there.

Lv Xiang frowned. "Those two friends of Guo Heng’s from No. 2 Middle School are really something."

"That Lin Qi... his Celestial Sea City ranking has already surpassed mine."

Wu Feng also shook his head. "And that Jiangtao is ranked exactly one spot above me."

"Guo Heng really has a good eye. We really underestimated them, and now we’ve been proven wrong."

"We could apologize to them. We said some nasty things before!"

"Hopefully, we can get on good terms with them!"

"Especially you, Si Ying. You said the worst things," Lv Xiang said.

Qiu Siying scowled, her expression turning ugly.

"No way!"

"There’s no way I’m ever going to befriend them."

...

「A few minutes later.」

Lin Qi felt a tingling numbness wash over him. When he opened his eyes again, he was in a boundless personal Space.

He summoned his personal panel.

[Nickname: Yang Jian]

[Rank: Star]

[Win Rate: 94%]

[Points: 357]

[Ranking: 15]

...

Lin Qi looked at the panel. Compared to a month ago, when he had just been promoted to Star Rank, he had been ranked 50th in Celestial Sea City.

Now, over a month later, he hadn’t spent much time at the Red Dome Martial Arts Dojo.

Even so, his win rate had increased to 94%, and his ranking had climbed to 15th in Celestial Sea City.

’According to Aheng, the Red List is also being updated today, and the scope will expand to cover all of Cang Province.’

’More geniuses will show up, so I need to work hard to improve my ranking too.’

The thoughts surfaced in Lin Qi’s mind.

He then started matchmaking.

「Two minutes later.」

"BEEP!"

Two figures materialized in the vast arena.

Lin Qi saw his opponent. She was wearing a form-fitting purple Combat Suit that accentuated her curves, her skin was fair, her features were beautiful, and she held a Fine Steel Sharp Sword.

It was a familiar face. Lin Qi recognized her at once—it was Qiu Siying from the trio from No. 1 Middle School.

"Yang Jian!"

Qiu Siying’s brow was also furrowed in a tight frown.

’What rotten luck,’ she thought. ’How did I get matched with this Yang Jian?’

’All three of us have faced Yang Jian one after another. It would be a joke if I lost too.’

’Wu Feng may have lost to this Yang Jian, but I refuse to believe I’ll lose too. I might even win,’ Qiu Siying thought to herself.

[3... 2... 1...]

[Match Start!]

"BEEP!"

An electronic voice echoed in the air, and the battle officially began.

Qiu Siying shot forward like a phantom, brandishing her Longsword. The blade flashed, and an invisible killing intent enveloped Lin Qi.

Facing Qiu Siying’s attack, Lin Qi’s figure flickered, and he charged out, brandishing his spear like a bolt of Lightning.

The immense control in his hands guided his arm, making the Long Spear strike like a black viper emerging from its den, flicking its tongue.

Cloud Picking!

"CLANG CLANG CLANG~"

Flashes of the sword and shadows of the spear clashed wildly, and a fierce wind howled.

"Damn it!"

Qiu Siying launched a relentless assault. She also studied the Swift Shadow Swordsmanship.

It was swift as the wind, designed to defeat opponents with a high-speed barrage of slashes and thrusts.

But facing this opponent, Yang Jian, today was different. He effortlessly parried her every move as if he had already predicted all her attacks.

"Too slow!"

"To me, your attacks are as slow as a crawling turtle!"

Lin Qi taunted her!

"You’re asking to die!"

Enraged, Qiu Siying swung her Longsword even more furiously.

The Longsword in her hand stabbed out continuously, like a torrential downpour.

Killing Technique—Rapid Shadow Torrential Rain!

Beneath his black mask, the corners of Lin Qi’s mouth lifted slightly. He pulled back his Big Gun to gather power, his eyes locked onto her Swordsmanship, searching for an opening.

Just as the flash of her sword was about to land on him, Lin Qi suddenly burst with power and thrust his spear twice in quick succession.

Piercing Point!

The first thrust parried her Killing Technique. He retracted the spear and then lunged forward again.

"SHHIIING~"

This thrust pierced the air. The spear moved like a dragon, Tearing through the atmosphere with a chilling gleam.

"PFFT~"

The sharp spear tip pierced through Qiu Siying’s throat.

[Unfortunately, you have died!]

Qiu Siying fell to the ground and dissipated into the Void.

A moment later, she reappeared in her personal Space, her expression terrified.

"So strong!"

’My Killing Technique was broken by a casual thrust from Yang Jian.’

"That Spear Technique..."

Qiu Siying finally understood why Lv Xiang and Wu Feng had lost. This opponent was too strong.

’Who on earth is this Yang Jian?’

The thought popped into Qiu Siying’s head.

...

[Yang Jian, congratulations on your victory.]

[Points +3]

...

In his personal Space, Lin Qi looked at his panel.

"Satisfying!"

’I finally got to teach her a lesson.’

A smile spread across Lin Qi’s face. During this time, he had often run into Lv Xiang’s trio in the Virtual Room.

He would often hear them talking about him and Jiangtao behind their backs, especially Qiu Siying.

It had really annoyed Lin Qi, and now that he had a chance to vent his frustration, he definitely wasn’t going to pass it up.

’Qiu Siying’s strength is decent. Even though her Swordsmanship has broken through to Tier Two, to me, it’s not much different from Tier One.’

When facing opponents with lower Martial Arts skill, Lin Qi’s attacks were on a completely different level—he was terrifyingly consistent at stomping on weaker players.

"Continue matchmaking!"

Lin Qi chose to continue matchmaking. He needed more experts to temper his Spear Technique.

...

「One hour later.」

[Yang Jian, congratulations on your victory!]

[Points +3]

[Points: 375]

[Ranking: 14]

Lin Qi glanced at the panel. Including the match against Qiu Siying, he had fought six matches, won them all, and his Red List ranking had climbed another spot.

He exited the Virtual Cabin.

"Brother Qi, you’re out! The Red List is about to update," Jiangtao’s voice sounded beside him.

...