CHAPTER 139: CHEN AO

Chapter 139: Chen Ao

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The battle hadn’t even begun yet, but many among the audience had already started to cheer.

A good number of them were cheering for Li Duoji, but there were also those cheering for Zhu Rong.

Although Zhu Rong’s display of skill and strength so far had been overwhelming, defeating with relative ease both third year and second year students,

many were still skeptical that this dark horse, who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere in the competition, could continue all the way to the end.

The mere fact that he had made it this far was already a source of pride for many of the second and third year students.

In their eyes, even if Zhu Rong were to lose, he would have nothing to be dissatisfied about.

A second year student who had made it all the way to the end, fighting against the strongest of the third-years,

for many, this alone was already an impressive achievement.

But even though most of them thought that Zhu Rong, despite everything he had shown until now, still had no chance of defeating Li Duoji, mainly because Li Duoji had reached the fourth stage,

there were still some who hoped to see something unexpected, hoping that this dark horse might once again surprise the audience by winning the battle.

This ended up igniting the spirits of many, and needless to say, many discussions broke out, with students, experienced or not, debating who would win and why.

These discussions spread not only among the students but even among the instructors themselves, who couldn’t help but rejoice at how the tournament as a whole had turned out.

By this point, the five participants of the expedition team had been decided, and among them were two second year students.

This was a bit unexpected, but not completely outside the instructors’ expectations.

The very reason they had started this kind of tournament among the students was that the instructors believed there could be someone among the younger stidents who might prevail against stronger opponents.

And Li Daniu was precisely that kind of student.

He was exactly the kind of seedling who could fight against students of a higher level, the kind many instructors had been hoping to see.

Of course, there were others like him, but they hadn’t lasted until the end. Li Daniu had, and that alone was a source of joy for them.

Having a second second year student had been unexpected, but more than welcome. It simply meant that the academy had another talent in its hands to nurture, one whose potential seemed even greater than Li Daniu’s potential on par with the third year prodigy, Li Duoji.

And so the discussions among them continued as they eagerly awaited the start of the battle.

At this point, Liang Yuexin had already lost count of how many times her closest colleagues had congratulated her on her engagement to Zhu Rong, saying things like how lucky she was to have ended up with someone who had such high future potential,

someone who, even at his current age, was already at the third stage a stage at which cultivators were already held in good regard, both inside and outside the academy.

Reaching such a stage at only seventeen years old was seen as a sign of great talent in everyone’s eyes, and everyone wanted to have some kind of connection with such a genius, especially in this case where the genius himself had been so unexpected and little known.

Throughout it all, Liang Yuexin only gave brief replies that varied from "thank you" to "I don’t know," If they asked for something more detailed about the two of them.

But unlike her, someone else wasn’t nearly so restrained in accepting the compliments.

And this person was none other than Li Duoji’s instructor,

Chen Ao.

He was an academy instructor assigned to the third year students and one of the few instructors who had reached the peak of the Mortal Rank in cultivation.

According to many, among the few instructors at his level, he was the one with the greatest chance of taking a step into the Spirit Realm.

The difference between cultivation Realm was much greater than that between the stages within a Realm.

The number of instructors who had reached the Spirit Realm was reduced to only one, and that was none other than Zhao Tianlei, the Northern Dragon Slayer.

And the reason for this was simple.

Although the fifth stage of the Mortal Realm was held in great regard as the pinnacle of the Mortal Realm of cultivation, the true superpowers who dominated the world and were feared among all empires were precisely those who had crossed the threshold into the Spirit Rank.

The number of such people in each empire was extremely low, just like the number of grandmasters.

So, already having someone of that level and prestige teaching in an academy was a source of pride for many headmasters.

But Qinyun Academy, in this regard, was special and considered prestigious for several reasons, the main one being the presence of two individuals of This level.

The headmaster of the academy himself had reached the Spirit Realm, and this alone already made the academy one of the top prestigious ones. Having a second only increased that prestige.

Having other instructors who, in a few decades or centuries, might also reach such a realm was very important, and in an academy like this, which had been cultivating talents for so long, such individuals were not lacking, whether students or professors.

If it hadn’t been for Liang Yuexin’s initial talent, which had convinced everyone including the headmaster, she would never have been able to become an instructor here, no matter whether she had reached the fourth or even the fifth stage.

Now, seeing the disciple Chen Ao had personally cultivated during his these years at the academy reach this point at his age was a source of pride for him. And hearing the compliments from his colleagues was even more gratifying.

"Hahaha, Professor Lin is giving me too much credit. I was simply lucky that a student like Li Duoji decided to take me as his master.

That boy has great potential, and I fear that if he continues like this, in ten or twenty years he’ll catch up to me, and perhaps even surpass me," said Chen Ao with a smile, never seeming to tire of the other instructors’ praises.

Outwardly, he showed a modest and respectful attitude, but inside, he was far prouder of Li Duoji’s results and mocked all those who could only lick his feet.

He was also a member of a prestigious family, which, though not at the same level as the four major families, was still at an acceptable level.

He had always wanted to raise his status even higher, and his family’s position had never satisfied him.

He wanted to aim for the four major families of Qiyan City, and becoming an instructor at the academy had been the best thing that could have happened to him to achieve that result.

Not only because here he could elevate his status, but also because he had been lucky enough to take on a prodigious talent from one of those four major families as his disciple.

He had done so in the first year, before that talent had fully exploded.

In essence, he had won the jackpot, and he knew that Li Duoji’s future achievements would only benefit him.

Whenever Li Duoji’s name was mentioned, the name of the one who had contributed to his rise would inevitably be heard as well, and as a master from a prestigious academy, his name would certainly be among them.

He had absolute confidence in this monstrous talent, who had reached the fourth stage in less than twenty years.

In his opinion, there was no doubt that within a few years he would catch up and then surpass him.

Winning today’s tournament was just another stepping stone toward his rise, and if he also performed outstandingly in the secret realm, he would be able to obtain immense benefits.

Thus, he continued to watch the match about to begin with a wide smile on his face.

The other second year student had been unexpected even for him, and he had to admit he truly had talent.

But compared to his disciple, there was no way he could win. So he watched the start of the match with a calm heart.

On the arena, Zhu Rong and Li Duoji stared at each other without making any moves, while the referee, who had just announced the start of the battle, stepped aside, leaving the field to the two of them.

Neither of them moved immediately, both staying in place as if assessing the other.

This only fueled the audience’s excitement, as they couldn’t wait for the fight to begin.

On one side was Zhu Rong, calm with a carefree expression as he looked at Li Duoji. On the other was Li Duoji, who, for some reason, wore a slightly grim look, his eyes fixed on the other with a murderous gaze.

Zhu Rong’s earlier remark about not needing weapons had only added fuel to the contempt Li Duoji felt for his opponent.

He had to admit Zhu Rong was much stronger than he had imagined.

But not for a single moment did he believe he could defeat him.

In his eyes, Zhu Rong was still the same ant he had always considered inferior, only now slightly bigger than before.

But that didn’t mean he saw him as a worthy opponent. To him, no one was, not even Yao Jianbo, who had given him some trouble, had reached that level.

He decided this match would simply be a stage for him to thoroughly crush Zhu Rong and show him his place.

He couldn’t kill him, but who said serious injuries couldn’t happen?