Wang Zhan was unaware that he had become a target.
He was currently on his way to the Second Training Ground.
Rank 501, Xu Mengjuan, Wang Zhan thought, browsing information about his next opponent on his personal terminal. He also began to arrange the match after that.
"Brother Zhan, you're too fierce!" Cheng Shu exclaimed, following closely. He was fully aware of Wang Zhan's impressive actions.
Even while on his way to a match, Wang Zhan was already casually selecting his next opponent.
How much confidence did that show? Cheng Shu marveled.
"Time waits for no one," Wang Zhan said, hurrying along. "According to my plan, three days isn't much time, so I can't afford to hesitate."
As he said this, Wang Zhan suddenly stopped and gave Cheng Shu a meaningful look.
Cheng Shu was a bit confused. "Brother Zhan, why are you looking at me?"
"When I saw you using your Academic Credits Card to bet at the arena just now, did you place a bet?" Wang Zhan asked with a smile. "I thought you were following me so closely because you were sure I'd keep winning."
The embarrassment on Cheng Shu's face was palpable.
"Well... I just wanted to make some extra money," Cheng Shu said, scratching his head. "There are students in the school who organize betting pools specifically for this. They're senior students with lots of academic credits. It'd be a waste not to earn some of their credits."
"Seventy-thirty. I take the seventy," Wang Zhan stated, his face expressionless.
"You call the shots," Cheng Shu agreed, his head drooping.
Only then did Wang Zhan nod in satisfaction. He patted Cheng Shu on the shoulder and said, "Little Fatty, it's not a good habit to keep all the winnings for yourself. By the way, where did you get those academic credits?"
"The school distributed them. I ranked in the top ten among new students on the entrance exams, so the school gave me 3,000 academic credits," Cheng Shu replied truthfully. "Others have already exchanged their credits for cultivation resources, but I couldn't bring myself to spend them. I was waiting for the ranking competition to make a killing."
"So, you're quite the prodigy!" Wang Zhan remarked, a little surprised. This unassuming little fatty is actually among the top ten new students? He's got some hidden depths, he thought.
"You're too kind, Brother Zhan. I wouldn't dare call myself a prodigy in front of you," Cheng Shu said, his face wreathed in an innocent smile.
「Later that day」
Wang Zhan won the subsequent matches easily.
His rank steadily climbed, and he soon reached 101st place.
On the arena platform, Wang Zhan kicked his opponent off. The referee promptly declared Wang Zhan the winner.
Not bad, another 900 academic credits earned, Wang Zhan calculated as he walked off the arena platform.
He had fought his way from the tenth level to the top rank of the second level, winning a total of four matches and earning 2,400 academic credits.
He still owed the school 1,600 credits.
Next up, a delightful credit-earning spree, Wang Zhan thought.
After stepping down from the arena platform, he ignored Cheng Shu's fawning expression and directly opened his personal terminal to challenge the student ranked 100th.
Cheng Shu watched this curiously and asked, "Brother Zhan, why not directly challenge someone in the top ten?"
Having watched Wang Zhan consistently choose the strongest opponents, Cheng Shu had assumed Wang Zhan wanted to steamroll his way to the top.
Wang Zhan glanced at Cheng Shu. "How much did you earn betting on my four matches?"
"Hehe, just under 5,000," Cheng Shu grinned.
"Against opponents in the top 100, I can get 1,000 credits per match. There are 100 such opponents. Why wouldn't I take these credits?" Wang Zhan shot Cheng Shu a look. "You have such little ambition; 5,000 credits and you're already ecstatic! If this ranking competition lasted more than three days, I'd challenge everyone from last place to first, one by one."
Seeing Cheng Shu's stunned expression, Wang Zhan patted him on the shoulder.
"Watch and learn!"
On another arena platform in the same training ground, the referee was already calling for the next contestant.
"Is Wang Zhan here?"
"Here!" Wang Zhan responded, quickly stepping onto the arena platform.
Time was of the essence. With potentially 100 matches in three days, Wang Zhan had no time to waste.
「By evening」
Time flew, and soon it was six o'clock.
At the school, a broadcast announced the end of the first day of the ranking competition. The training ground was closing, and students were advised to leave promptly.
A number of students who hadn't had their fill of combat clamored to continue fighting overnight. However, these individuals were quickly dealt with by the mentors serving as referees.
The students were brimming with energy, but the mentors had no intention of indulging their frenzy.
Wang Zhan also left the Training Ground, followed by an expressionless Cheng Shu.
After witnessing Wang Zhan for a full day—either fighting, on his way to a fight, or having just achieved one of his over thirty consecutive victories—Cheng Shu's definition of a 'formidable person' had been completely overturned.
Rank 70. Gained 30,000 academic credits. After deducting what I owed, that leaves 28,400. Sweet! Wang Zhan mused.
In just one day of the ranking competition, Wang Zhan had not only paid back his debt but had also earned nearly 30,000 additional academic credits.
And this didn't even include the academic credits Cheng Shu had won by betting on him.
Cheng Shu had also made a fortune. Regardless of the odds, he had mindlessly bet on Wang Zhan to win every time and then simply waited to collect his earnings.
"I'm heading to the Academic Credits Exchange Office. You?" Wang Zhan asked, turning to Cheng Shu.
"I'll head back for now, Brother Zhan. I'll find you tomorrow morning," Cheng Shu replied quickly.
He now firmly believed Wang Zhan was his meal ticket. Several times today, when others had challenged Cheng Shu, he had immediately conceded on the arena platform and hurried back to Wang Zhan's side.
By the end of the day, Cheng Shu's rank had plummeted into the teens. However, what he had gained far exceeded what the top-ranked student had received.
After parting ways with Cheng Shu, Wang Zhan headed to the Academic Credits Exchange Office.
"Give me twenty bottles of Grade-1 Mixed Essence Pills!" Wang Zhan declared, handing his card to the staff member with a flourish.
"Twenty bottles? Are you sure, student?" the staff member asked, surprised.
"Positive!" Wang Zhan confirmed with a firm nod.
Mixed Essence Pills were more potent elixirs than Essence Pills.
A bottle of Grade-1 Mixed Essence Pills cost 1,000 academic credits, while even Grade-9 Essence Pills cost only 900 academic credits.
He swiped his card and collected the items.
Ignoring the astonished stares of the other students, Wang Zhan swaggered back to his dormitory with the Mixed Essence Pills.
He placed the box of Mixed Essence Pills down and opened his attribute panel.
Host: Wang Zhan
Strength: 530
Agility: 528
Physique: 541
Charm: 31
Wisdom: 18
Before today's battles, Wang Zhan's three main attributes had all been around 510. After dozens of fights throughout the day, they had increased by less than 20 points in total.
Indeed. After reaching a limit, I have to rely on body refining to increase my attribute points. I faced Level 3 Martial Artists today, but fighting them didn't grant any attributes at all, Wang Zhan pondered.
This small increase of just over twenty attribute points was due to the physical enhancement accumulated from high-intensity combat, not from gaining attributes by sparring with opponents.
I must increase all three main attributes to over 700 before I can break through again. I hope these Mixed Essence Pills can help, he thought.
With that in mind, Wang Zhan took out a bottle of Mixed Essence Pills.
Unlike the viscous liquid of Essence Pills, Mixed Essence Pills were actual pills. Each was about three centimeters in diameter—large enough to potentially choke someone.
However, when Wang Zhan swallowed a Mixed Essence Pill, it instantly liquefied into a clear fluid that slid down his throat.
Moments later, his energy center abruptly swelled, and a wave of heat surged through his body.
Potent!
The overwhelming Essence Energy made Wang Zhan groan. He quickly adopted a body refining posture, not daring to delay a second longer.
「Meanwhile」
While Wang Zhan was diligently focused on his cultivation, the school's online forum was in an uproar.
"What's the deal with that new student, Wang Zhan? Is he planning to take down the entire second year by himself?"
"The honor of the second-years is inviolable! Any seniors willing to... 'deal' with him secretly tonight?"
"He's too ferocious! Dozens of consecutive victories in a single day, and none of his battles lasted more than ten minutes."
"So this is the guy who's number one in Chu State and second in the Federation?"
「In the girls' dormitory」
Lv Qing scrolled through the forum comments, unable to suppress a laugh.
"Pfft, these people are hilarious."
Just then, a slender figure wrapped in a bath towel emerged from the dormitory bathroom.
"Qing, what are you laughing at?"
"I was just reading the forum posts about today's ranking competition. Turns out, no one's actually discussing the competition itself—everyone's just talking about Wang Zhan's winning streak!"
Turning to her roommate, Lv Qing smiled and asked, "Su, who do you think is stronger, you or Wang Zhan?"
"Of course, it's me," Su Wanying declared confidently. "The students in the top ten and those in the top hundred might seem like they're in the same top tier, but the actual gap in strength between them is enormous!"
"But you lost to Xu Junyuan, and Wang Zhan once defeated him head-on," Lv Qing said with a teasing smile.
Su Wanying's face stiffened slightly. "I was careless that time! Besides, Xu Junyuan is no pushover. He wasn't even using his full strength against Wang Zhan, but he went all out against me."
Seeing Lv Qing still looked skeptical, Su Wanying huffed, "Hmph! Tomorrow, I'll challenge Wang Zhan myself and show you exactly how I'll beat him."
"Alright then, I'll be looking forward to it," Lv Qing responded with a laugh.
「The next morning」
The night passed quickly.
Wang Zhan awoke from his cultivation.
Feeling the abundant Essence Energy coursing through him and the colossal strength latent in his physique, he now had a thorough understanding of the Mixed Essence Pills' effects.
One bottle of Mixed Essence Pills... the effect is more than twice as strong as Grade-9 Essence Pills, yet they only cost 100 academic credits more.
Wang Zhan knew clearly this was one of the benefits of the Martial Arts Academy.
Although students used academic credits for purchases, in the final analysis, the academy's purpose wasn't to make money or achieve other objectives; it was to cultivate its students.
It was similar to how top-tier cultivation techniques only cost 10,000 academic credits. Outside the academy, such techniques would be priceless, unobtainable even for the wealthy. But for the Martial Arts Academy, these skills existed for students to learn and master, not to be hoarded like treasures.
After a night of cultivation, the cap on my Full Attributes has probably increased by more than ten points. At this rate, I'll soon reach my extreme attributes. Not bad at all.
The ranking competition had come at the perfect time, resolving Wang Zhan's issues with cultivation resources.
He secretly lamented that the ranking competition only happened once a year. Such a blatant opportunity to rake in academic credits was simply too precious to pass up.
When he opened his dormitory door, Cheng Shu was already waiting outside.
Not only that, but Wang Zhan also noticed many passing students casting glances his way.
"Brother Zhan, ready to continue today?" Cheng Shu asked.
"Of course. I still have sixty-nine opponents ahead of me!" Wang Zhan replied.