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Of course, however, his neck had already become so thick by this point that there probably wasn’t anyone who could grab him by his neck unless he or she used an Origin Skill like Sky-Concealing Hand.

Wang Doushan, who was stuffed into a chair that groaned under his weight, stared at Su Chen in disbelief, “You’ve finally thought things through?”

Su Chen replied helplessly, “It’s not me who has thought things through but the old man. He wants me to do something for him, so he allowed me to attend this year’s end-of-year competition. Not only that, but he required that I get at least within the top 20.”

“Wow, that’s quite a high requirement. Does he think everyone else in the Institute is an idiot?” Wang Doushan laughed.

He had not sparred with Su Chen in these past few years, so he didn’t have a complete grasp on how strong he was. However, he was very clear that all of Long Sang Country’s top geniuses were gathered in the Hidden Dragon Institute. Dominating in this kind of a place was not easy, especially without a bloodline.

Yes, without a bloodline!

Although Su Chen had developed many powerful techniques that didn’t require a bloodline, he still had not surpassed the power of a bloodline.

There were too many people who could counter all of Su Chen’s Origin Skills, and Su Chen’s own cultivation base had basically not progressed at all in the past few years.

It wasn’t that Wang Doushan was looking down on Su Chen. He trusted that Su Chen was strong, but it was difficult to say if he was strong enough to enter the top 20.

“You don’t have faith in me?” Su Chen asked.

“I just know how strong these guys really are. Su Chen, they’re not weak chickens like Zhang Sheng’an; every one of them is frighteningly powerful. Those who can stand in the top 20 of the Dragon Transformation List are all able to defeat the average Blood Boiling Realm cultivator. You know what that means.”

“I know. But as long as I can beat you, that should be enough,” Su Chen replied.

Wang Doushan laughed. “Fine, then let’s try it out. I’ll just stand here and let you hit me; if you can topple me within ten blows, I’ll admit that you are strong enough.”

“You’re sure?” Su Chen stared at him.

“Of course!” Wang Doushan nodded.

“Fine, if that’s the case, I’ll help you lose some weight,” Su Chen replied.

Su Chen cracked his knuckles and stood up, a wicked grin on his face.

At this point in time, it was quite difficult to find someone who was willing to just stand there and get hit.

Very quickly, a pained cry sounded out from the Origin Energy Tower.

————————————

The end-of-year competition finally came.

This was the first time that Su Chen had come to register, and he attracted some attention. After staying in hiding for eight years, he had finally mustered up the courage to show himself. It was at least something worth gossiping about.

Some people began to discuss it, many of them mocking Su Chen for only now growing brave enough to attend once.

No one believed that Su Chen would attain a respectable ranking. After all, they all believed that he was a fallen star; it was already enough for him to have shown up.

There were roughly 2500 students in each year, and they were split up into ten arenas with around 250 students each. Only the top 20 students from each arena could advance. All of these individuals would then enter the Dragon Transformation List and battle for their rankings.

Because there were too many people, not everyone could be given an equal opportunity. Thus, eliminations were done in separate arenas. Those who lost had essentially lost their opportunity. The previous year’s top one-hundred seeds would be split amongst the ten arenas and automatically enter the fourth and final elimination round. Thirty of the remaining 240 students would join the aforementioned ten after fighting their way through three rounds. From these forty students, twenty would be selected to move on to the next stage.

Su Chen was placed in the fourth arena.

Cloud Leopard was also placed in the same arena as him.

Because he was one of the top 100 from last year, Cloud Leopard did not need to participate in the first three rounds of battle. Su Chen, however, had to start from the very first round.

Despite this, it was the person who had to start from the very beginning who was guiding Cloud Leopard, who could skip the first three rounds, with patient concern.

“Cloud Leopard, I hope that you’ll be able to get into the top 20 in this competition.”

The fourth arena was bustling with activity.

There were a total of eight stages here, and students were battling on every one of them. Below the stages, large numbers of students were watching the battles and taking note of the opponents they would need to keep an eye out for.

Su Chen, who had yet to be called, was also watching the battles even as he spoke to Cloud Leopard.

When Cloud Leopard heard what Su Chen said, his eyebrows slightly furrowed. “There’s only a limited amount of space on stage, so I won’t be able to fully display my movement techniques. In addition, there are too many rules – I can’t attack people in the eyes, crotch, or any other vitals; I can’t attack my opponent after injuring them; I can’t use any killing techniques after my opponent’s barrier shatters; I get automatically disqualified after being injured a certain amount...... How am I supposed to fight with so many rules? The Bloody Battle Scripture1 increases my strength the more wounded I am, but here I get disqualified even before the battle begins. Last time I was lucky to even get to 41st place.”

Cloud Leopard rarely spoke much, but it was always to complain when he did.

“You’re right,” Su Chen sighed. “I also know that it’s not easy for you, but this time Instructor demanded that I make an impression during the battle for the ruins. That will be a true battle, so I hope that you will also be part of the group that can go.”

“If it’s a real battle, they should use real battles to make the selection. Why bother competing in an arena anyways?” Cloud Leopard frowned.

“It’s too easy to get seriously injured or die in a real battle. It would be illogical to kill each other off before even getting to the main battle.” Su Chen felt a headache coming on.

Apart from Cloud Leopard, Jin Ling’er was also stronger in a real battle. However, her problem was much more severe than Cloud Leopard’s; while Cloud Leopard still had a slim chance of making it, Jin Ling’er was basically beyond hope. Her previous ranking was around 98th. Even if she were to go all out, it would be quite impressive if she were to reach the 80s. Reaching the top 20 was impossible.

The higher the ranking, the fiercer the battle. After all, you had to fight your way up from the lower rankings.

“Number 34, Su Chen. You’re up!” someone yelled.

Su Chen’s first battle had finally come.

Su Chen’s eyebrows were tightly knit as he walked up to the stage, trying to figure out a solution to Cloud Leopard’s problem.

His opponent was a short, capable man. When he saw Su Chen in the arena, he laughed, “I’m lucky to have run into the Hidden Dragon Institute’s well-known coward. Your expression looks quite concerned, are you afraid? If you’re afraid, call yourself a piece of trash......”

Bang!

An Erupting Firebird surged forth from Su Chen’s hand.

The short man in front of him had good instincts, and he was able to set up a magic barrier in time.

The Firehawk slammed into the barrier, shattering it instantly. The ensuing shockwaves slammed into the short man, and his eyes rolled into the back of his head as he fainted clean on the spot.

Su Chen replied, “I’ll keep that in mind, trash.”

He had passed the first round of the competition.

1. This is one of the Origin Skill that Cloud Leopard learned from Shi Kaihuang. The author notes it all the way back in Chapter 65 in an author’s note that I didn’t translate.