The moment he spoke, the entire arena was in an uproar once again.

Such provocative words piqued everyone’s curiosity. On one side was Elder Gu’s Direct Disciple, a genius student with an awakened bloodline. On the other was a super dark horse, the strongest auditing student who had steamrolled his way into the finals.

The impending confrontation was filled with anticipation. Although most students favored Zhou Chen, Feng Hao had won over a fair number of supporters with his performance just now.

The massive arena was a cauldron of noise, a constant, thunderous din. All eyes were fixed upon the battle stage!

"Damn it! So what if he won one match?" Beixing Ran said to Zhou Chen, her expression full of resentment as she gritted her teeth. "That guy is too arrogant. Get up there and teach him a lesson."

"I will," Zhou Chen replied with a solemn nod. He strode onto the battle stage, and the atmosphere in the arena instantly reached a fever pitch.

In the crowd, the beautiful girls of the Dance Team had just snapped out of their shock. Seeing Zhou Chen take the stage, they immediately began to cheer for him without a second thought. In their eyes, the enemy of their enemy was a friend.

Li Ting and Xiaoyou, in particular, were screaming with such frenzy that anyone who didn’t know better would have thought they were Zhou Chen’s biggest fans.

Meanwhile, among the third-year students, Xiyue Frost was witnessing Feng Hao’s true strength for the first time and couldn’t help but be shocked.

"This person is incredibly experienced in combat, like a veteran of a hundred battles. His strength cannot be underestimated!" Yan Feihong said, her expression grave.

"Teacher, who do you think will win?" Xiyue Frost asked, lost in thought.

Yan Feihong answered after a moment of contemplation, "As it stands, Zhou Chen holds a significant advantage in terms of genetic data and Secret Techniques. But I have a feeling there’s more to Feng Hao than meets the eye."

Xiyue Frost nodded, her beautiful eyes locked on Feng Hao. "True. There’s something strange about the damage he deals."

...

On the battle stage, Feng Hao and Zhou Chen faced off, staring intently at one another. The tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife.

"You are strong, I’ll give you that. But I’m about to show you the difference between a genius and a commoner," Zhou Chen said, his face dark. "In this match, I won’t be holding back!"

Feng Hao asked with a surprised laugh, "Trying to get revenge for Beixing Ran?"

"That’s right," Zhou Chen confirmed with a cold nod.

"To think you’d fall for an idiot like her," Feng Hao said, shaking his head in resignation. "What a waste of your genius."

Zhou Chen snorted and drew his sword. "My affairs are none of your business. Let’s fight!"

"Fine," Feng Hao said with a smirk. "I’ve never been one to go easy on emotionally stunted children."

With that, Feng Hao went into a ready stance, dual-wielding his Dark Moon Daggers in a forward and reverse grip. At the same instant, Zhou Chen made the first move. Three streams of Sword Qi howled through the air, instantly cutting off Feng Hao’s potential lines of attack.

Feng Hao, having already thoroughly analyzed this move, tapped his toes lightly against the ground. He launched himself into the air, easily evading the three-pronged assault of Sword Qi.

"You should just activate your racial talent. Otherwise, you don’t stand a chance," Feng Hao advised playfully. As he landed, he was already within striking distance of Zhou Chen. A dark light pulsed from his daggers as he prepared a deadly, hidden strike.

Zhou Chen clearly paid Feng Hao’s words no mind, meeting the advance with a One-Sword Decision!

Feng Hao had anticipated he would use One-Sword Decision. With a few simple, quick steps, he effortlessly dodged the technique’s blade flash. The instant it exploded, he sidestepped and appeared behind Zhou Chen.

’Not good!’ Zhou Chen’s expression changed dramatically. He hastily activated his [Wrathful Battle] talent, spun around, and slashed out with a basic stream of Sword Qi.

But Feng Hao was already prepared. The moment Zhou Chen turned, Feng Hao had already leaped into the air. He dodged the Sword Qi and landed in a flash, his deadly, hidden strike stabbing precisely toward Zhou Chen’s shoulder.

BANG!

With that single strike, Zhou Chen’s Qi Blood was completely depleted. The red glow covering his body dimmed in an instant.

"How is this possible?" Zhou Chen’s aura withered as he stared at Feng Hao in disbelief. He couldn’t accept that he hadn’t even withstood a single blow. With his genetic aptitude, his Qi Blood and defense were supposed to be far higher than any other Mage’s.

The entire arena was in an uproar. Everyone stared wide-eyed, unable to believe what they had just witnessed.

Who would have thought that Zhou Chen, the center of everyone’s attention, would be instantly defeated by Feng Hao in a single blow?

"Shit, am I seeing things? Did Zhou Chen just lose?"

"He didn’t just lose, he was utterly crushed!"

"Just how high is Feng Hao’s damage? Even Zhou Chen couldn’t take a single hit!"

"Losing first place to an auditing student... How humiliating."

"Yeah, I’ve definitely lost the right to look down on auditing students after this!" 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

...

Compared to the stunned audience below, the dignitaries in the viewing stands were much calmer. After all, the Old City Lord had already predicted this outcome.

Even so, they were still shaken. They had imagined countless scenarios for Zhou Chen’s defeat, but they had never, ever expected it to be such a devastating loss.

"Haha! The heavens have blessed my Rongcheng Academy!" Zhao Hao couldn’t help but roar with laughter. The more he looked at Feng Hao, the more he liked what he saw.

The Old City Lord smiled faintly. "You should still find a way to get him officially enrolled."

"Yes, Dean! With his strength, he could definitely make a name for himself in the Hegemony Tournament!" the other Elders added excitedly.

"Rest assured. Once the assessment is over, I’ll handle it personally," Zhao Hao declared.

Unfortunately, West Moon Ridge immediately poured cold water on his enthusiasm. "Little Brother Ritian, it’s been so many years. How have you not matured at all? Whether or not he officially enrolls isn’t up to you."

"You think he would actually refuse?" Zhao Hao asked, frowning.

"It’s not as simple as you think, anyway," West Moon Ridge replied with a playful expression.

...

The first-year competition ended, with the second and third-year matches following right after.

Feng Hao was now the center of a storm of attention. When he returned to his group, he was immediately swarmed by his Class One classmates.

"Teacher Yue, I won!" Feng Hao said with a teasing glint in his eye as he walked up to Yue Linglong, his words heavy with implication.

Yue Linglong nodded, a complex emotion in her beautiful eyes. "Don’t worry. I’ll prepare the recommendation letter to Five States Academy for you."

"Ahem. If I recall correctly, wasn’t there another bet between us?" Feng Hao continued to tease.

Hearing this, Yue Linglong’s delicate frame trembled. She suddenly recalled their other bet, and her lovely face instantly flushed crimson. "A bet’s a bet. Go on, what... what do you want me to do?"

"It’s not a good time to talk about it now. We can discuss it... privately... tonight," Feng Hao continued, his teasing relentless.

’Remembering how she’d swindled him out of his money, and now seeing her look of frantic, indignant shame, he couldn’t feel more satisfied.’

Feng Hao’s words sent Yue Linglong’s mind to places it shouldn’t go. Mortified, she still had to force herself to agree. ’That shameless, dirty scoundrel!’ she cursed inwardly.

"Boss, you’re so cool! You even dare to tease Teacher Yue!" Zhang Meng sidled up, a lewd grin on his face.

"Yeah, Boss! You’re my lifelong idol!" Li Mufeng and Tu Xiaoshan chimed in, eager to brown-nose.

Feng Hao shot them an annoyed look. "Less sucking up. You should be thinking more about your cultivation."

"Thank you for your guidance, Boss! We’ll work hard!" the three of them responded in unison.

Yue Linglong was so ashamed she wanted the ground to swallow her whole. How could she possibly face her students? She practically fled from the Class One group to go talk with teachers from other classes.

"Huh? Yao Girl, what’s wrong? You’re not happy?" Feng Hao asked, looking at Xi Yueyao in surprise.

Xi Yueyao stood off to the side, arms crossed over her chest. The four words "I am not happy" were written all over her face. "Hmph! You hogged all the spotlight. Of course I’m not happy."

"..." Feng Hao was rendered speechless.

’Damn, this girl’s logic is just toxic,’ he thought. ’How on earth did that old bastard Xiyue Peak raise his daughter?’