Chapter 29 The Rule Breaker

Chapter 29 The Rule Breaker

"Why was Xu Qingran assigned to such a devilish match?"

People around whispered among themselves.

The officer in charge of match scheduling in the background was both shocked and angry: "What's going on? Wasn't it agreed that Xu Qingran should be placed in the A-S match?"

Others looked at each other, equally puzzled: "I don't know, I remember he was supposed to be in match 92..."

"With semi-automated scheduling, could it be a mistake?"

"Ah, with thousands of participants, and manually adjusting system matching differences, it's easy to overlook..."

"But it couldn't have been assigned to match 2!"

As the atmosphere grew tense, someone suggested: "The final evaluation is about to start, and it's probably too late to readjust. Since he has special invitee status, his presence in the AS match is inherently unfair to others, so why not let him try."

All eyes turned to the speaker.

The person paused, then continued in a flattering tone: "Besides, Xu Qingran is currently a hot topic. Any match he's in will attract a lot of attention. Today's final evaluation has important figures in attendance. Providing them with a thrilling and noteworthy display wouldn't be bad, right?"

"If the higher-ups ask, Xu Qingran's identity and project results are well-documented, and it won't fall on us. Moreover, this is just a minor evaluation to mark the start of the term, with no substantial rewards or impacts. But if the school gets praised by those dignitaries, the dean and others would be pleased."

Those present found the reasoning sound.

Nine out of ten of them had heard rumors about Xu Qingran and ridiculed him. Most lacked his background and special treatment, and seeing him receive excellent benefits and recognition from the academy before he had fully proven himself, they harbored doubts and imbalances.

Indeed, their military academy doesn't care about your external gossip; they value strength.

If Xu Qingran can't even demonstrate dominance in an evaluation that excludes psychic abilities, why should he have special invitee status!

Perhaps senior officers share similar thoughts.

In any case, until the final evaluation officially began, no one came to the background to inquire about the mistake.

There were hundreds of evaluation matches, with the total number of venues being about half of the matches, so they were divided into upper and lower sessions. The odd-numbered evaluations started first, and the live broadcast of match number 1 gathered the most onlookers in front of the large screen.

Xu Qingran was also watching.

Mainly curious about another Type E user from the same cohort.

On the field, besides the combat arena, there were many metal platforms for climbing and moving around. These platforms led to the highest point at the center, where a locked iron box was placed. When the number of remaining people on the field dropped to 20, a colored flag would descend from the box, and whoever grabbed it first would be the winner of the match.

As soon as the signal for the start of the evaluation sounded, twenty to thirty people on the field rushed towards a girl in the center.

She was a girl with a short bob cut, with long and powerful limbs, a standard model's height and figure. Her movements were very agile; the moment others touched her, she had already leaped out of the attack range using her jumping power, and even turned around to kick away several people who tried to sneak up on her from behind.

"Ling Yuege, 25 years old, Type E user, from the Golden Wing Battalion's governance area, an ordinary resident of the VG Virgo system."

"Three years ago, she was sent to the Tower of Evil by relatives. At the beginning of the year, when she was detained on the 17th floor of Tower 2, she was unlucky to encounter an equipment failure incident on the 17th floor, and Type E users from the entire floor rushed out of their cells. Ling Yuege battled her way out and calmly held back from attacking the Tower of Evil staff."

"Finally, with this achievement, she inquired with the Tower Master about her eligibility for graduation."

Xu Qingran watched and suddenly smiled.

In this world, Type E users who can leave the Tower of Evil really have distinct personalities. They should all be like Shen Tingyu, the empire's future elite, right?

He seemed to understand the emotions Type E users feel when encountering their peers.

Just imagine how thrilling it would be to pin them all down and give them a beating.

Ling Yuege was killing it out there.

Whether facing a group attack on flat ground or using the metal platforms to her advantage, she showed that Type E users have top-notch energy bursts and physical strength, even without psychic powers.

Xu Qingran observed her fighting style, her knack for positional warfare, and her explosive strength.

She hadn’t had formal training, but her self-taught skills were sharp and methodical. If she went up against his current body, it’d probably be a tie.

The system was speechless: "..."

Fortunately, its host didn’t have the habit of boasting out loud, otherwise it might have caused a riot on the scene.

The fight in Arena 1 was intense, but the result was a foregone conclusion.

Ling Yuege had the edge, not just from her physical strength, but from growing up in a tougher environment. Even when ten 3S-level fighters teamed up to take her down, she dodged them and used her agility to snag the colored flower first.

But things took a turn in Arena 7.

A 3S-level student, already badly hurt, got hit by the opponent’s psychic energy blast. It wasn’t too bad, but it broke the rules, and everyone noticed.

But the rule-breaker got off scot-free.

Because it was Lin Qianmu, a top-tier Type D dominator.

Xu Qingran learned that, as the only high-level Type D dominator, Lin’s importance trumped minor rules. Unless he kills someone or messes with the academy, his rule-breaking gets a pass.

"Weird, Lin’s usually so chill..."

"Maybe he just panicked and lost it?"

People nearby whispered and gossiped about it.

Group 1’s arena was cleared fast, and the announcer called for Group 2 to step up.

Xu Qingran walked into the massive arena for the test.

The system fretted: "Psychic powers are banned, but these guys go all out—just don’t kill anyone, and it’s fine. Host, you sure you’re ready?"

The Tower of Evil arena only had like fifty or sixty people back then!

Xu Qingran was distracted: "So, no killing means no foul?"

Sweet. This place is paradise.

Others filed into the arena, one by one.

Someone shoved him from behind, and when he turned, they snapped, "Move it or lose it, don’t block the way!"

As they walked past, they sneered to their buddy, "A-levels are so clueless, they even hesitate in a fight."

"If we hit a bit harder later, will we make this little master cry?"

"Hard to say, hahahaha!"

They laughed arrogantly.

The venue's entrance was wide enough to accommodate ten to twenty people side by side, and the surrounding foot traffic wasn’t overwhelming, so it was clearly done on purpose.

Xu Qingran glanced at the scar on the person’s left arm, committing it to memory.

Drawing on his arena experience, Xu Qingran entered and took a quiet spot in the corner. Nearby, a girl with pink-gray hair shot him a cold look, then bit her hair tie and started pulling her princess-cut hair into a high ponytail.

Silver Dragon Battalion, the young lady from the Ni family, Ni Xiaoyuan.

A top-tier 3S-level student, she’s been excelling in sports since she was a kid. She began training in martial arts at six, turned down a special invite from Grandis University, and opted for the general assessment, acing it and landing in the top five to enter the military academy.

She’s a fiercely determined girl.

The system chuckled: "Back when you were kids, you were set up on a blind date with her. But you put your foot in your mouth, pissed her off, and got flipped over her shoulder. Ever since, just hearing her name has made you nervous."

Xu Qingran: "..."

Oh, great.

Ji Huaixiu was the one who made the first move.

Still sore about not finishing him off in the cafeteria, Ji Huaixiu wasn’t about to pass up this chance to settle the score.

Plus, plenty of 3S-level classmates were eyeing him. But their looks were just curious—they didn’t see him as a threat, focusing instead on their peers.

Group 2’s members filed into the venue quickly.

The system sealed the entrance, and the overhead screen lit up with the rules and the count of remaining participants.

"The rules for this assessment are:

1. No psychic attacks on fellow students. Break this rule, and you’re out—your scores wiped.

2. No dangerous tools allowed. Violators will be immediately removed from the examination hall, and all assessment scores will be halved.

3. No trying to kill your classmates. You get three yellow cards before you’re out."

At the sound of the gunshot, the scattered fighters charged at each other like caged beasts set free.

No surprise, Ji Huaixiu—who’d had his sights set on Xu Qingran since the list came out—made him target number one. But the moment the match started, Xu Qingran turned and headed off in a specific direction. When Ji Huaixiu went after him, a dozen 3S-level students blocked his path.

Group 2 wasn’t for the average—these were proud, fearless fighters who didn’t care who they were up against. Plus, without psychic powers in play, this was their best shot at taking down an E-type. Naturally, they teamed up to get rid of the biggest headache first: Ji Huaixiu.

As for Xu Qingran, where was he going?

Of course, to find the target he’d already set his sights on.

The ones who’d taunted Xu Qingran earlier were all double S-level. Their targets were students of the same level, and when the two groups met, the atmosphere was tense. Suddenly, the man with the scar on his arm felt a poke on his back.

He turned around in confusion, and before he could clearly see the person, he was punched hard in the nose.

"Damn it!" the man who was hit howled in anger.

The person who struck knew how to control his strength, concentrating all his power in the fist he swung, accurately hitting the most vulnerable part of the opponent's face, sending his spirit soaring with a single blow.

"Who dares to sneak attack your grandpa..." he said, covering one painful eye while searching for his target with the other.

Then he spotted Xu Qingran—pale and unassuming.

The man recognized this young master, the same one he and his friends had just been mocking. He never expected this young master to have the guts and boldness of a newborn calf, daring to step right up to them.

The three or four guys behind him, who had been exchanging glances and plotting to make a move, also looked pissed: "Kid, we got here first!"

Xu Qingran lowered his head to adjust the glove on his left hand, tightening the wrist strap at the top, then raised his eyes and said, "No need to fight over it, you can all come at me at once."

"..."

What a cocky bastard! Totally reckless!

Is he dissing us double S-level guys?!

He's just an A-level, who does he think he is!

Provoked by Xu Qingran, the big guys couldn't take it, their eyes blazing as they rushed him all at once. At the same time, others who had already built a rep before enrollment and aced previous evaluations were also in similar scrapes.

And so the brawl kicked off.

Outside the venue, in the auditoriums packed with students who'd finished their tests or were waiting their turn, lots were glued to the action in the second field. Ling Yuege, soaked in sweat, sipped from her water bottle as her eyes locked onto the big screen showing the second field.

She'd meant to keep an eye on Ji Huaixiu, her main competition.

But like everyone else, she found herself drawn to a brown-haired guy in the corner.

Xu Qingran really stood out.

Even in a wide-angle shot, he was impossible to miss. What really grabbed everyone's attention wasn't just his unexpectedly killer skills, but mainly—

Just five minutes into the test, he got slapped with a yellow card!

Anyone who'd been watching from the start saw him walk right up to a bunch of double S-level guys, talk smack, and then go full 1vN. At first, the crowd was sweating bullets for him, but he turned out to be as slippery as an eel, dodging and weaving while the guys ganging up on him kept tripping over each other and hitting their own buddies.

So what started as a 7-on-1 turned into a total clusterfuck as they kept tripping over each other.

Xu Qingran stayed laser-focused, zeroing in on the guy he'd first provoked and laying into him without mercy. His icy stare was straight out of a nightmare as he tossed the heavier guy around like a ragdoll, kicking his ribs and punching his face—it looked more like a beatdown than a fight.

The crowd was like: ...Damn, that guy must've really pissed him off, huh?

Finally, when he stomped on the guy's ribs, breaking them and knocking him out, the ref hit him with a yellow card.

Xu Qingran watched silently as the guy who'd been so cocky earlier got carted off on a stretcher, then turned to the ref with an innocent look: "I was just fighting fair. Who knew he was so fragile?"

His time with the Shen family wasn't exactly a vacation.

Knowing that mental strength alone wouldn't cut it, he put himself through brutal daily workouts. Behind Shen Tingyu's house, there was a small hill with steep cliffs and paths, suitable for climbing and parkour training.

Coupled with various indoor physical training, his body, though not visibly muscular, had improved significantly since he first arrived, and his abs were gradually forming.

The most taboo on the battlefield is underestimating the enemy, and no one present looked up to him.

Xu Qingran's movements were crisp, precise, and agile, with quick reactions and counterattacks. Even when encountering moves he hadn't seen before, he could quickly find the flaw by observing patiently.

Ling Yuege stopped holding the water bottle, her expression calm, but her gray eyes filled with disbelief.

...This is the reaction of someone with ample fighting experience! She even wanted to say, it's the kind of seasoned experience one would have after being thrown into the harsh environment of the Tower of Evil, struggling for over a decade!

But, she remembered this person as the famously weak Young Master Xu from the Silver Dragon Battalion?

What could possibly cause someone to change so drastically in such a short time? Or were those rumors just hearsay, and Young Master Xu wasn’t as weak as people made him out to be?

The other students watching the live broadcast of Field 2 slowly fell silent.

If you thought Xu Qingran had some skill, in the first ten minutes, he racked up three yellow cards, and all three were carried off the field. If you thought he was reckless and couldn’t control his strength, but in the thirty minutes after he maxed out his yellow cards, he didn’t slip up once!

They started to catch on.

...So Young Master Xu was just testing the rules’ limits during the assessment?!

The key point is, how could an A-level like him take down double S-level and even some 3S-level opponents?!

Indeed, anyone who faced Xu Qingran would realize that although his physical abilities weren’t yet on par with theirs, it was nearly impossible to land a hit on him in such a wide arena. They put in a lot of effort but couldn’t lay a finger on Xu Qingran, while he struck them from all sorts of tricky angles.

Every hit he landed was aimed at weak spots or areas that would hurt the most. The pain slowed their reflexes, giving him more chances to strike, until they were knocked out.

Before they knew it, an hour had passed.

Xu Qingran kicked the man in front of him in the groin, then grabbed his collar and punched him in the face again, leaving the man dazed and raising his hand to surrender: "I, I'm done, it's over."

Finally, the referee, who’d been keeping a close eye on Xu Qingran, rushed over to escort the man out.

The system couldn’t help but ask: 「Host, I’ve noticed you really enjoy punching people in the face. Is this some special preference or habit of yours?」

Xu Qingran: "?"

"Didn’t you say when we first crossed over that we had to fight back and slap the scum in the face?"

"I’m just slapping faces."

System: 「...?」

It shouldn’t have asked that question.

The huge arena suddenly fell silent.

The number of remaining participants on the big screen dropped from 21 to 20.

Everyone still on the field was soaked in sweat.

Xu Qingran’s hair was plastered to his forehead with sweat. A few people stood apart, sizing each other up. Top contenders like Ji Huaixiu and Ni Xiaoyuan were still there, and the remaining nineteen were most surprised that Xu Qingran was still on the field.

Xu Qingran, however, remained calm, even considering this outcome to be completely normal.

He was very confident in his current self.

At the age of nine, he inherited a lightning-based ability that wasn't originally his, and at the same time, he was left alone.

Back then, his personality underwent a drastic change, and after two years of fighting both humans and beasts, he realized that relying solely on strength and abilities was meaningless. To become stronger and continue to survive and protect his ability, he would learn various combat techniques from all available resources wherever he went.

He then applied them in real combat, refining his skills while absorbing others' techniques.

For over a decade, he never stopped.

The countless days and nights of enduring pain, all the survival skills etched into his bones, were the foundation of his confidence.

The iron box hanging from the arena's roof let out a 'poof' and began to smoke, then dropped a colorful flower ball the size of a fist, dangling from a rope with long ribbons, swaying slightly in the air.

As their eyes shifted, the remaining twenty participants almost simultaneously climbed onto the metal scaffolding, rushing toward the highest central iron frame. Xu Qingran was soon blocked by someone—Ji Huaixiu, who hadn’t faced him yet since entering the arena.

Ji Huaixiu threw a punch at him right off the bat, but he dodged it by tilting his head. Others rushing toward the high platform also started fighting each other along the way.

Another chaotic brawl broke out.

Thanks to Ji Huaixiu, they knocked out a few 3S-level students from their group during the fight.

Mostly because some still wanted to take on Xu Qingran, but Ji Huaixiu stopped them all, beating them up like a crazed wolf, threatening, "Back off, he's mine!"

Xu Qingran wasn't about to let them off the hook. While Ji Huaixiu was holding them back, he took the opportunity to sneak in a few more hits, directly sending them out of the competition.

Before they knew it, only eight were left standing.

The eight of them kept at it for another half hour, with no clear winner in sight. Every time someone climbed the high frame to grab the colored flower, they were promptly pulled down by someone else.

The spectators were on edge.

This was the day's most intense and drawn-out match yet!

While the others were all about the colored flower, Ji Huaixiu only had Xu Qingran in his sights.

Then, Xu Qingran finally snapped, staring at him with a cold, sinister gaze. With a scoff, he suddenly went on the offensive, terrifyingly so. Ji Huaixiu, caught off guard for just a second, was left defenseless.

Xu Qingran thought to himself, the remaining few had secretly teamed up against him, which was already annoying, and now Ji Huaixiu was sticking to him like a stubborn piece of gum. Enough was enough; his patience had run out.

Right before Ji Huaixiu was flung from the high frame, he heard Xu Qingran's cold voice whisper by his ear, "Ji Huaixiu, you must be running out of stamina by now, right?"

Then, he tumbled backward to the ground.

Indeed, from the moment the horn sounded, most of the people on the field had been targeting him, and he had spent most of his energy dealing with them. He thought Xu Qingran had been evading him without fighting back because he knew he couldn't win.

But he never expected that Xu Qingran was just waiting for an opportunity.

As soon as Ji Huaixiu fell, Xu Qingran jumped down from the frame and mercilessly kicked him a few more times, each kick filled with deep resentment from being harassed. He only halted when the referee, noticing things were spiraling out of control, stepped in.

"Kid," Xu Qingran said, his grip on Ji Huaixiu's chin firm, "without your spiritual power, you're no match for me."

Ji Huaixiu's face turned red with anger.

He thought, Xu Qingran was just a year his senior, so what gave him the right to talk down to him?

The guy above him cracked a smile again, his eyes glinting with a cold, almost enchanting light.

He continued, his voice calm and unhurried, "Of course, even with spiritual power in the future, you still won't be able to beat me."

With that, he released Ji Huaixiu's face.

The referee hurried over to Ji Huaixiu's side, but the latter watched as Xu Qingran got to his feet, took a look at the packed metal frame, and then turned back with a meaningful question: "Do you know how a true E-type loses it?"

Ji Huaixiu was still reeling when he caught a faint, eerie glimmer in Xu Qingran's deep amber eyes.

...!

Spiritual power??

Ni Xiaoyuan and the other five were still struggling on the high frame.

She was nearest to the colored flower and had just managed to ditch the pesky competitors, giving her enough space to climb to the top and grab the symbol of victory. But when she was just a few steps away, the metal frame was suddenly struck by a powerful force.

A sudden surge of spiritual power, along with a powerful kick from its source, struck the metal frame. The central part of the highest frame, which had been sturdy enough to hold twenty people, instantly collapsed, shaking and falling, dragging down everyone who was hanging on it.

Only one figure, taking advantage of everyone's delayed reaction, nimbly scaled the falling metal frame in a flash.

In an instant, the high platform built by the metal supports came crashing down into a heap. The few who remained crawled out from the scattered metal debris, dazed and shaken. Although they were not seriously injured, they felt a heavy emotional blow.

Their minds blank, they looked up to see a man in dark, fitted sportswear perched atop the pile of scattered frames. His gloved hand held the colorful ball they had been fighting for half a day, his eyes crinkled into a sweet smile, gazing down at them with an air of arrogance.

Then, in a drawling tone, he asked the stunned referee, "I didn't use mental energy to attack my classmates, only the frame. Does that still count as a violation?"

Xu Qingran let out a soft chuckle, then locked eyes with the astonished Ji Huaixiu.

Whether it was a violation or not wasn't the main issue.

If they dared to gang up on him, and if he wasn't happy, no one else was going to walk away smiling.