Chapter 1 Showdown

Amidst the rocky terrain of the arena, Zhou Jing and Lin Kun stood facing each other, separated by jagged, grotesque stones.

As the ten-second countdown on the large screen reached zero, both of them simultaneously launched forward, rapidly closing the distance.

When only twenty meters remained between them, Lin Kun suddenly stopped, forcefully stomping on the ground in front of him.

*Boom!*

The ground cracked, and chunks of rock rose up, spreading forward in a fan shape like ripples.

The path ahead abruptly became treacherous. Zhou Jing felt a sway beneath his feet, losing his balance. With a thought, he simply leaped into the air.

As soon as he was airborne, he saw Lin Kun grinning savagely as he kicked off the ground with force, creating large cracks. Lin Kun propelled himself toward Zhou Jing, his giant-like figure rapidly growing larger in his vision.

Zhou Jing was caught in mid-air, seemingly unable to dodge.

"Not bad, you've improved. Better control over your power, creating opportunities to restrict my movements. Not just blindly rushing in like last time."

Zhou Jing's lips curved upward, not panicking at all.

At this moment, Lin Kun had already approached, ruthlessly throwing a punch at Zhou Jing, who had no way to evade in the air.

"Eat this!"

The force of the wind made his skin ripple, but it couldn't conceal the excitement in Lin Kun's eyes.

Revenge was at hand!

During their last encounter, Lin Kun hadn't landed a single punch on Zhou Jing and had been toyed with for half the fight. Actually hitting Zhou Jing with a punch had become an obsession for him.

Therefore, in the past six months, Lin Kun had often pondered how to use his abilities to restrain his opponent's agile movements when facing Zhou Jing again, which inspired him to develop his own abilities.

In addition, after Zhou Jing's "education," Lin Kun realized the importance of combat skills and experience, abandoning his reckless fighting style that relied solely on his abilities.

To gain combat experience, he frequently sought sparring partners after entering the academy, working diligently and assiduously. This also led to him being seen as a violent brute by the academy, with most students keeping their distance, afraid of being dragged into a sparring match.

In Lin Kun's eyes, Zhou Jing was synonymous with slipperiness, but his physical strength was far inferior to his own. As long as he landed a solid punch, he could severely injure Zhou Jing and win the battle!

However, the next moment, a shocking scene unfolded before him.

Zhou Jing's body suddenly emitted flickering electric sparks, releasing a crackling sound from his feet. In mid-air, with no place to borrow strength, he abruptly surged to the side, directly dodging the punch.

In the instant their figures crossed, a long saber suddenly thrust out.

*Psh!*

A flash of cold light, and a bloody mark appeared on Lin Kun's forearm.

The two brushed past each other, falling simultaneously.

Zhou Jing lightly landed on the top of a strange rock, while Lin Kun couldn't stop his momentum, crashing through two more rocks before steadying himself on the ground.

Lin Kun looked down at his arm, a mix of shock and anger on his face.

He saw that his tough flesh, even after transformation, had been cut open by the saber, leaving a shallow wound that was seeping blood.

Not far away, Zhou Jing stood on a rock, looking down at Lin Kun and shaking his head.

"Did you forget that I'm using a real saber now? You just rushed in like that, aren't you afraid I'll stab you to death?"

Hearing this, Lin Kun gritted his teeth inwardly, becoming wary.

Although his resistance increased after transforming, the resistance to blunt force and cutting was different. Moreover, his transformation mainly enhanced his strength, with defense being a secondary effect. It wasn't enough to be immune to sharp weapons.

When Zhou Jing had used a training saber, his attacks had been blunt strikes. Even so, it had left him covered in bruises. Now that he had a real saber, the lethality had increased several levels.

Lin Kun immediately realized that he couldn't take attacks head-on like before, or he might be hacked into pieces. He inwardly cursed his luck.

However, he had another question, filled with astonishment:

"Why can you use electricity?!"

He clearly remembered that Zhou Jing didn't have this ability during their last encounter.

"It's not just you who can improve, you know."

Zhou Jing casually twirled the saber, chuckling.

Lin Kun's heart trembled. He had been completely confident, but now that confidence was gone.

He bit his teeth hard, discarding these negative emotions.

"Again!"

With a roar, Lin Kun charged again, smashing the rock where Zhou Jing had been standing.

Zhou Jing landed lightly and engaged Lin Kun in close combat, his electric figure dodging and weaving around Lin Kun.

The two figures constantly crossed paths, fighting all over the arena. Like a whirlwind, the rocks in their path were smashed to pieces.

*Swish, swish, swish*—

In no time, the two had exchanged dozens of blows.

Because of the real saber's ability to break through his defenses, Lin Kun didn't dare to take attacks head-on, fighting with restraint, only dodging from time to time.

Even so, he still had countless shallow cuts all over his body, covered in blood, completely dyed red.

The arena was pitted and uneven, mostly caused by his powerful destructive force. However, despite his strength, Lin Kun hadn't managed to touch Zhou Jing even once.

"Why is it still like this! There's no way his speed is that much faster than last time!"

Lin Kun couldn't care less about the burning pain all over his body, roaring inwardly, unable to believe it.

This time, he wasn't just blindly attacking. He had learned many combat techniques, gained a lot of practical experience, and understood how to use his destructive power to change the terrain, achieving a certain degree of control with constant small combos...

But Lin Kun was shocked to find that the battle was nearly identical to their first encounter.

The only difference was that he was getting beaten even worse?!

"I've improved so much during this time, made so many preparations, and in the end, I'm getting beaten even worse than last time?!"

Lin Kun felt stifled.

The many tactics he had thought about during this time were all based on the premise that Zhou Jing's strength hadn't changed much since their last encounter.

However, he didn't expect Zhou Jing's physical abilities to have skyrocketed in just one month, his speed being far faster than before.

Last time, at least they had exchanged blows, but this time, he couldn't keep up with Zhou Jing's movements at all. He would only see a blur before suddenly getting cut!

Even more infuriating was that Zhou Jing only aimed his saber at his thickest, toughest areas, never attacking his vital points to inflict serious damage.

If last time was a display, this time it was simply a game!

Lin Kun felt that he had been violated from body to soul, filled with grief and indignation.

"Enough!"

He couldn't bear it any longer, slamming his fist into the ground, causing the ground to ripple and forcing Zhou Jing back.

Lin Kun panted heavily, glaring at Zhou Jing, and said resentfully:

"Either cut my vitals and let me be carried off the stage, or face me head-on!"

Zhou Jing retreated to a distance, and upon hearing this, coughed a little, feeling somewhat embarrassed.

As the saying goes, with a sharp weapon comes the desire to kill, and with such superb saber skills, he naturally wanted to cut something from time to time. However, he never had the opportunity in the main world.

Now that he finally had a real saber, and Lin Kun was such a thick-skinned target, Zhou Jing couldn't help but cut a few more times, savoring the long-lost feeling.

Zhou Jing suppressed his thoughts, switched the saber to his left hand, clenched his right fist, and said seriously:

"Don't say I'm not giving you a chance. I'll take one of your punches."

He didn't feel any pressure at all fighting Lin Kun, handling it with ease.

Before his second enhancement, his physique wasn't as strong, and Lin Kun's attacks had a significant impact on him. One punch could injure him, so he couldn't afford to fight head-on, and his margin for error was low, so there was some risk.

Now, Lin Kun's destructive power was still as strong, but it was almost no threat to him.

Zhou Jing strongly suspected that even if they exchanged punches head-on, he would only be sent flying due to his lack of weight, but he wouldn't be easily injured. His margin for error had increased too much.

What's more, his greatest strength, speed, had increased several levels. As long as he didn't want to, Lin Kun simply couldn't hit him with his agility... It all came down to one word: fast!

Lin Kun clenched his fists, as if feeling wronged, and asked with concern, "You're not allowed to dodge!"

"Of course not."

"Really not dodging?"

"Not dodging, not dodging."

Zhou Jing shook his head helplessly, feeling like he was coaxing a child.

He understood that under his combat power suppression, Lin Kun knew he was doomed to lose, but he just couldn't swallow his pride. He would rather use this weak tone to demand it, just to have a head-on confrontation with him.

If he couldn't fight head-on, Lin Kun wouldn't accept defeat even if he lost.

With that in mind, Zhou Jing simply agreed to his seemingly unreasonable request. He also wanted to test his own punching power.

"Ha!"

Lin Kun didn't care about the humiliation in his heart, only thinking about not wasting this opportunity. He concentrated all his strength on his fist, roaring and punching with all his might.

Electric light flashed in Zhou Jing's eyes as he entered the internal discharge state, meeting the punch with lightning speed.

The two fists, one large and one small, collided with a deafening crash.

*Bang!!*

The two flew backward at the same time, crashing through rocks.

Lin Kun's arm was sore and numb, with waves of stinging pain. He braced himself on the ground, gritting his teeth to get up.

However, the next moment, Zhou Jing suddenly approached at high speed, kicking Lin Kun in the chest, knocking him to the ground, and then stepping on him.

Before Lin Kun could continue his movements, the long saber was already against Lin Kun's neck, the blade pressing into his skin.

Lin Kun immediately froze, not daring to move, cold sweat dripping down, staring intently at the blade.

"Don't struggle, you're no match for me anymore."

Zhou Jing exhaled, shaking his sore but unharmed right arm without concealment.

Taking a punch head-on was also to test his current physical strength. He found that Lin Kun still had the advantage in strength, but it could no longer crush him.

His body had withstood the deep damage with extremely strong penetrating power, only feeling some vibration, without much damage. He wasn't afraid of going head-to-head with Lin Kun at all.

Lin Kun's gaze moved upward, staring intently at Zhou Jing, and suddenly released his transformation, saying dully:

"...I admit defeat."

After saying these words, Lin Kun seemed to have released a breath, his face full of frustration.

The punch he had placed his hopes on had failed to cause significant damage to Zhou Jing, meaning that a head-on confrontation wouldn't solve the battle as expected.

The difference in strength wasn't as big as he had imagined, but his speed was far inferior to his opponent, and the gap in skills was even greater... Lin Kun really couldn't think of any way to turn the tables. He was being crushed in every aspect.

He didn't expect that after working so hard during this time, the gap not only didn't narrow, but actually widened. The other guy was beating him even easier than before...

--Before I trained, I couldn't beat you. After I trained, I still can't beat you, so what was the point of training!

Lin Kun was greatly affected, and his whole person entered a state of depression.

Zhou Jing sheathed his saber, retracted his foot, and seeing the man's dejected expression, thought for a moment and said encouragingly:

"Don't be discouraged, go back and train some more. Your ability is so powerful. When you develop it, come and challenge me again."

Lin Kun subconsciously looked up, seeing Zhou Jing's friendly smile without any mockery.

After a few seconds of silence, Lin Kun suddenly got up, seemingly unconvinced, and raised his head and snorted:

"Losing to you today doesn't mean I'll always lose to you. You wash your ass and wait. Next time, I'll definitely beat the shit out of you!"

Zhou Jing blinked, his tone hesitant: "If you really want it, you don't have to fight me. I can go to your room to use the bathroom."

"...You're really a pervert."

Lin Kun's face twisted. Not wanting to talk to Zhou Jing anymore, he turned and left the stage.

Seeing this, Zhou Jing shook his head and smiled, withdrawing his gaze, and also left the stage.

Returning to the resting area, Zhou Jing nodded to his instructors and teammates, and said with a smile:

"I've taken care of my opponent. Did I do well?"

"As expected, I didn't misjudge you."

Li Yun smiled and gave a thumbs up, also marveling in his heart.

Although he had confidence in Zhou Jing, seeing Zhou Jing beating an S-class potential like it was crushing vegetables was still somewhat unexpected. He realized he had underestimated Zhou Jing.

Tang Liu's expression next to him was strange.

If he remembered correctly, Zhou Jing seemed to have said that Lin Kun was his boss?

But now, Zhou Jing had "insubordinated" and defeated his original boss, regaining his "freedom"... Should he still defeat Lin Kun to prove himself and snatch away his subordinate?

And how could a subordinate be stronger than the boss? Could this person have been fooling him from the beginning?

Tang Liu fell into deep thought. His small, uneducated brain finally realized that he seemed to have been tricked.

On the other side, as soon as Lin Kun left the stage, medical personnel rushed over to treat his injuries.

Lin Kun walked back to the Gemology Department's team and immediately saw the surprised expressions of his teammates.

"Um... didn't you say you were sure you could win against him?"

Someone couldn't help but ask.

Lin Kun's expression remained unchanged, unmoved by honor or disgrace:

"There are always mistakes in battle. At least I tested out a powerful opponent."

Everyone was speechless.

The instructor wanted to say something, but found himself at a loss for words, sighing and saying helplessly:

"Alas, losing is nothing. It's our fault for misjudging the opponent's strength and falling into a trap... We can only adjust our strategy for the next round. Hopefully, we can still salvage the situation."

Although only one person had been defeated, the impact was a chain reaction.

Losing an important combatant meant fewer scoring opportunities in the later stages.

Lin Kun was one of the core members, and according to common sense, he could advance several rounds. With his combat power, he was enough to win most battles and steadily secure a score.

But now that he had fallen in the first round, without a single point, all the planned points were lost. On the contrary, his opponent could continue to score, giving him the advantage in scoring opportunities in the later stages.

This meant that Lin Kun's defeat directly affected the Gemology Department's overall strategy, putting the instructor group in a very passive position.

Seeing Zhou Jing's fierce performance, the instructors of the Gemology Department couldn't help but struggle.

In the following rounds, should they send their core members to risk defeating Zhou Jing, or simply ignore him and use their "inferior horses" to guarantee a win against other opponents?

While the two departments were one happy and one worried, the large screen suddenly displayed the result of Zhou Jing's victory, and the Royal Crown Department gained another point.

In the stands, the students of the Royal Crown Department cheered in surprise, shouting loudly.

Because this battle was one-sided, with the highly anticipated S-class being almost completely dominated, many people were amazed. The noise rose up, and they couldn't help but excitedly discuss Zhou Jing's performance.

In the VIP area on the other side, among the observing guests from various official institutions, many people's eyes lit up, their gazes focused on Zhou Jing, revealing a rather interested look.