Chapter 131: Beginning to Show Its Edge | Ninth Update of Gratitude

"As expected."

Xiao Nan frowned silently. Judging by the situation, Li Shaohua’s performance must have been impressive. Xiao Nan had crossed the radiation zone, fought a fierce battle in the Wolf-Barbarian tribe, and rested for a while; perhaps because the distance was greater, his return had been delayed. Yet, Li Shaohua had returned even later than he did. Xiao Nan realized that the guy must have ventured very far in order to secure first place, perhaps truly hoping to achieve a great merit.

"He couldn't have gone to kill a Fourth-Rank Beast-Barbarian, could he? That would be suicide."

Although Xiao Nan had not seen the full extent of Li Shaohua’s strength, he had gathered some information from news reports. His techniques and equipment were formidable; if one calculated it seriously, it wouldn't be strange for him to cross ranks to fight a Third-Rank, or even emerge victorious. But to say he could fight a Fourth-Rank was pure fantasy.

A Third-Rank martial artist had only tempered their tendons, bones, and skin; even the strongest among them possessed only about three thousand pounds of force. Despite their strength, these external-tempering experts had a flaw: their internal organs remained unrefined and fragile. A fatal blow to their vitals meant instant death. A Fourth-Rank, however, had refined their internal organs with blood and vital energy, possessing a vitality that defied human limits. Not only did their strength leap forward—potentially reaching five thousand pounds—but they were also nearly impossible to kill. Even if you pierced their heart or lungs, they could heal themselves autonomously.

For instance, in a battle between a Third-Rank and a Fourth-Rank, if the Fourth-Rank were pierced through the heart by a sword, they would ignore it and, with a backhand strike, crush the Third-Rank warrior. Afterward, they would take some healing medicine, and before long, they would be as good as new, having even broken through a bottleneck in their cultivation. Facing such an elite-tier opponent, whose level was already higher than his own, was incredibly grueling. Unless one could exhaust their blood energy or deliver a single strike exceeding their maximum threshold of endurance, the fight would only become more difficult as it dragged on. Failing to kill a Fourth-Rank quickly would only lead to one's own exhaustion.

In that case, Li Shaohua had only one choice to secure the victory: win through sheer quantity.

Just as this thought crossed his mind, a clamor erupted at the entrance of the military camp. The commotion was no less intense than it had been when Xiao Nan returned.

Xiao Nan turned to look. A young man walked in with long, confident strides, dressed in a tight black combat outfit, with glimpses of golden armor visible through the tears in his outer robe. It was indeed Li Shaohua. A smile played on his face, gleaming in the sunlight. A broadsword was strapped to his back, and in his left hand, he held a bundle of matted hair, which proved to be two severed heads—one with delicate, uncanny features and pointed ears, the other with a wide mouth and upturned nose, the head of a Bear-Barbarian. In his right hand, he dragged a captive barbarian with all four limbs broken. This barbarian had a sharp face, thin eyebrows, and cherry lips, babbling in an unintelligible language—evidently cursing—and also possessed pointed ears.

"Shh..." The crowd suddenly fell silent.

Watching the scene, Xiao Nan felt a flicker of uncertainty. His own record was indeed solid, but Li Shaohua had killed a Third-Rank Tree-Barbarian and a Second-Rank Bear-Barbarian. Most importantly, he had captured a Tree-Barbarian alive. Everyone knew that capturing an opponent was far more difficult than killing one. This suggested that Li Shaohua had completely overwhelmed the Tree-Barbarian, leaving the opponent unable to escape or even commit suicide.

"Commander, in my opinion, since Li Shaohua captured a Third-Rank alive, killed another Third-Rank and a Second-Rank, and returned without a scratch, his combat prowess is undoubtedly first. In terms of merit, he is the clear winner of this trial," said a cheerful man of about thirty, approaching with a grin. He seemed very familiar with Wang Yuanzhi; despite being a subordinate, he acted with great ease and showed no concern for the impropriety of contradicting his superior.

"Commander Li!"
"Commander Li is back!"
"Commander Li must have had a massive haul this time. Did you raid the lair of the Three-Paths Tribe?" asked a bearded officer, his voice the loudest.

As soon as the young man appeared, all the surrounding officers greeted him with smiles, and even the stern, dark-faced military judge, Zhi Chang, revealed a rare hint of a smile. He was incredibly well-liked. Xiao Nan’s eyes flashed.

Seeing the warmth of the crowd, the young man cupped his hands in a collective salute, pointed at the bearded officer, and laughed, "Madman Hu, if you are interested in the Three-Paths Tribe, we can go together next time."

"Uh..." The bearded officer was choked into silence; it was clear that the Three-Paths Tribe he spoke of was extremely dangerous. Even if he liked to boast, he wouldn't dare actually venture there.

"Shaoyun, you’re only pushing for him to be first because he’s your brother. That won't do. Xiao Nan just fought through blood and carnage, achieving great merit, even killing a Barbarian God Priest," Wang Yuanzhi scolded, yet the affection in his tone showed he wasn't truly offended, treating the man’s attempt to poach the glory as a joke.

"Oh? Another young genius? That would make him even more outstanding than Shaohua, impressive!" Li Shaoyun gave a thumbs-up, praised him with a hearty laugh, and then turned to Principal Sun Zhongli. "Principal Sun, Yuanjiang No. 1 High School is really going to be in the spotlight this year. Just a while ago, the little girl from the Qin family was specially recruited by a prestigious university, and now it seems you have two more candidates headed for top schools. Truly worth celebrating."

"It is indeed worth celebrating," Sun Zhongli replied with a smile. Even if he felt something was off, the compliment was pleasant. "Let’s refrain from empty praise; we shouldn't make a spectacle of ourselves by bragging. Li Shaoyun, regarding today's trial, I don't think your assessment is quite right. One cannot simply say that capturing a Third-Rank makes someone the winner. Xiao Nan broke into a large-scale tribe alone, killed a priest, fought an elite barbarian leader, and retreated unscathed. The difficulty was far greater. He deserves to be ranked first."

"No rush, Principal Li. School matters are usually up to you, but Yuanjiang No. 1 is governed by a board of directors, after all. Why don't we hear everyone's opinion?"

Yes, he was also a board member. Xiao Nan understood the tone immediately. What right did the Li family have? Simply because they had money and provided the most sponsorship, they occupied two seats on the board. Were they trying to have father and son work in tandem? At the same time, the influence included the aristocratic families of Yuanjiang Prefecture and a large block of military power.

"The top spot is in jeopardy."

Xiao Nan’s heart sank, but he remained silent, watching quietly, knowing a dispute was inevitable. This competition for first place, while ostensibly between him and Li Shaohua, was in reality a struggle for influence between two factions. Some time ago, because the Li family supported Deputy Principal Lin Anguo in controlling school affairs, Sun Zhongli had been marginalized, leaving the Li faction with the clear upper hand. At that time, it had been essentially decided that Li Shaohua would enter the Void Crystal Chamber for cultivation. It seemed they had not given up, using the dispute over the trial results to flex their muscles once again.