Chapter Thirty-Four: I Challenge You

Within First High School of Yangcheng, the advancement tournament had already passed its midpoint. From the initial thousand students of the host school and several hundred prodigies from other schools, relentless eliminations and the advancement rounds had whittled the contenders down to fewer than two hundred. Many participants had already sustained various injuries from the relentless challenges.

Yet there was one exception—one who had never needed to lift a hand: Yu Zhisha, lauded as the foremost genius among all students in Yangcheng. Whenever it was her turn to compete, her opponents surrendered outright, unwilling to face her reputation. No one dared challenge her; her renown alone was deterrent enough.

On the leaderboard, Yu Zhisha had long since claimed the top spot. Second was an outside prodigy named Song Chenxin, and third was another outsider, Chen He.

At this moment, Yu Zhisha sat in the most conspicuous contestant’s seat, surrounded by other young talents from various schools.

“Jin Canjie, this really isn’t the Jin Canjie I know, one of the Three Talents!” Yu Zhisha glanced at Jin Canjie below and couldn’t help but smile faintly.

“Heh heh, sis! He’s just sulking because he lost to Su Ye. He’s been in a foul mood all night! You have no idea—every opponent he’s met today was flattened without mercy. It was brutal!” Yu Wenhuan gestured animatedly as he laughed.

Song Chenxin smirked with pride. “You’re a disgrace to our ‘Heaven’s Chosen Organization.’ Hmph, had I known you’d turn out so useless, I’d never have let you join the ranks of us prodigies.”

“No, hey, Su Ye really is strange. He only has twenty-three unlocked acupoints, but his strength is far beyond that—maybe it’s because he has the Thunder Vein!” Jin Canjie, in the presence of these geniuses, was far less arrogant than usual.

Yu Zhisha’s ever-proud expression suddenly turned cold. Her voice was icy: “A loser is a loser—stop making excuses. Who else in all of Yangcheng, besides me, possesses the Thunder Vein?”

Those present, hearing her fury, immediately recalled the rumors surrounding the forbidden Thunder Vein of the Yu family—it was a taboo not to be mentioned.

Jin Canjie forced an awkward smile. “That’s not what I meant, I apologize. That Su Ye, he only beat me by catching me off guard. If I see him again, I’ll beat him to a pulp!”

Abruptly, Yu Zhisha pointed to the leaderboard and said coolly, “It’s not that I’m denying you a chance—I’m arranging for you to fight Jiang Liuying again. I want her ruined, never to stand again.”

“What? But… she’s ranked thirty-first, she’s not even my match! Besides, she’s already won five consecutive bouts and has chosen to withdraw…” Jin Canjie’s face turned pale. He’d flirted with Jiang Liuying before, but to cripple her? He shuddered to imagine the consequences.

“I said I’ll arrange it. Are you going or not?” Yu Zhisha’s voice grew colder still, an intangible pressure radiating from her.

“Alright… fine!” Jin Canjie could only force himself to comply.

Soon, the challenge rounds were drawing to a close. Still, no one dared challenge Yu Zhisha, the undisputed number one.

Cai Weisong took the microphone and stepped onto the magnificent arena. Beaming, he announced, “Dear students, our rankings are all but finalized. I’m deeply gratified—this very arena beneath my feet was funded out of my own pocket, and it’s been bathed in the blood and sweat of our competitors! Now, before the tournament concludes, I have a special challenge to announce—”

At this, he signaled for Jin Canjie to take the stage.

On the opposite side, Jiang Liuying, seated among the contestants, frowned. She sensed something amiss, for Jin Canjie’s gaze had not left her once.

Cai Weisong laughed heartily, “You’re all about to graduate, soon to come of age! Pursuing love is your right! Earlier, our classmate Jin Canjie courted Jiang Liuying in the martial hall, but she was too shy and turned him down. Yet Jin Canjie didn’t give up—such spirit is admirable! We should never give up in the face of adversity. Now, let’s give Jin Canjie a chance to challenge Jiang Liuying and express his feelings through martial arts—Come, Jiang Liuying, please take the stage!”

Jiang Liuying stood up in anger, her voice cold: “I refuse! Such a pointless challenge, I will not accept!”

“You can’t refuse! You’re ranked thirty-first, and lower-ranked students have the right to challenge you if they’re unsatisfied with your spot! Don’t say I’m singling you out—even if someone wanted to challenge the top rank, we’d have to allow it. If you refuse, your results will be cancelled and you’ll be ejected from the top hundred!” Cai Weisong, panting as he spoke, was all righteous indignation.

Clenching her fists, Jiang Liuying strode up to the arena. She knew she could simply concede—dropping a few places mattered little to her. What she truly wanted was to face Yu Zhisha.

She said in a low voice, “Since challenges are allowed, then I challenge the number one!”

“You—you… Hmph! Win this match first and then we’ll see. If you lose, you forfeit all right to further challenges!” Cai Weisong was exasperated, never expecting Jiang Liuying would dare challenge Yu Zhisha.

Jin Canjie turned to Jiang Liuying with a smug, rakish smile. “Let’s make this challenge more interesting! I’ve always said you’re destined to be mine. If you lose, you owe me a kiss—a debt you must repay.”

Jiang Liuying’s teeth ground audibly in fury. She desperately wanted to slap Jin Canjie across the face. “Who’s agreeing to such a childish bet? If you want to fight, then fight. If not, get off the stage.”

“Tsk tsk, that’s not up to you. I’m the challenger here!” Jin Canjie shamelessly played rogue in front of everyone.

Some in the crowd jeered, while others—students who felt for Jiang Liuying—could only watch helplessly. It was clear the authorities were shielding their favorites; nothing anyone did could change the fact that they were no match for the Yu family.

“Begin!” Cai Weisong shouted.

In a flash, Jin Canjie’s roguish expression vanished, replaced by pride. The humiliation Su Ye had dealt him still burned inside. He blamed Jiang Liuying for his disgrace.

With a bound, Jin Canjie sprang into the air, his long leg sweeping in a vicious arc, the wind screaming as his kick lashed out like a whip.

Jiang Liuying channeled her internal force through her acupoints, meeting the blow head-on. With a resounding thud, she was sent sliding more than ten meters away. Fresh blood immediately stained her bandaged wrist, a single drop falling to the arena floor.

There were gasps all around as the crowd witnessed the scene.

In the midst of the contestants, Yu Zhisha smiled coldly: all who opposed her would be eradicated.

Seeing Jin Canjie’s ruthless attack, Jiang Liuying swiftly retreated off the stage. “I concede!” she shouted.

What? No one had expected Jiang Liuying to surrender.

“Damn, that little wretch is sharp!” Yu Wenhuan gritted his teeth, clearly frustrated at a missed opportunity.

“Brother, don’t get flustered. Even if she concedes, she’ll still be left crippled,” Yu Zhisha whispered coldly.

Sure enough, Jin Canjie paid no heed to the rules, striding forward menacingly. “You lost, so you owe me a kiss! Don’t resist, or I won’t be so gentle next time!”

Jiang Liuying was furious. “Don’t you dare come any closer!”

“Quit pretending to be pure! Even that loser’s kissed you—you’re hardly innocent, are you?” Jin Canjie pressed in, sneering under his breath.

Jiang Liuying was seething with humiliation and rage—she’d never imagined facing such disgrace at school. How she longed to strike these people, to wipe the smugness from their faces!

Sensing the tension, Cai Weisong hurried up to the stage, laughing awkwardly. “Ah, young couples bickering—it takes me back to my school days! Come now, don’t make a scene. Settle your wager in private, just don’t upset the younger students. Heh heh—alright, our rankings are set. Any more challengers? If not, I’ll announce the final list—”

At that moment, a voice thundered through the hall, brimming with uncontrollable fury:

“I challenge!”