The comments said I was deeply affectionate, I just added points by using an alternate account.

The internal forum of Huaqing College had never been so noisy this early in the morning.

A featured and pinned post is seeing its reply count scrolling upwards at a visible speed.

Each refresh brings hundreds of new comments.

The post's title was written in large, blood-red letters, and the words were full of malice.

[Video] First-grade top student An Changqing practices swordsmanship in the bamboo forest, but ends up at a beginner level!

The post was unusually short, consisting of only a 30-second video.

The video was filmed in the Academy's Trial Forest, and it's quite blurry, like a candid shot.

The morning mist had not yet dissipated, and the light was dim and unclear.

An Changqing was standing in a clearing in the woods.

He is the academy's top genius, and not long ago he even killed a demon with the power of a fifth-order being. Now he is the student council president who is in an unparalleled position.

At this moment, he was wearing the most ordinary training clothes.

The sword he held in his hand was not the one he used to have, but a rough wooden sword.

He repeated the most basic sword-swinging motion over and over again.

His movements were perfectly precise, yet his entire body remained completely still.

There was no sword energy, no light, not even a single fallen leaf was stirred up.

He wielded the wooden sword like a novice kendo student, practicing the most tedious basic skills.

At the end of the video, he sheathed his sword and stood there, sweat rolling down his forehead and his chest heaving.

Those few basic movements drained all his strength.

The forum's comment section has been completely overrun.

"Am I seeing things? This is An Changqing? That fifth-tier sword cultivator?"

"Has he gone mad with demonic possession?"

"Hilarious! He was the center of attention just a few days ago, and now he's a complete failure? I knew he couldn't possibly have improved so quickly."

"Watch your mouth, upstairs. An Changqing is doing this to protect us."

"So what? In the world of superhumans, being weak is the original sin. He's like this now, he can't even beat me."

"Is it possible that this is some kind of more profound form of spiritual practice?"

"Stop washing him. Look at how weak he is. Is this the state one should be in when cultivating? He has clearly lost all his foundation."

"Can you shut up upstairs? If not, send me your dorm number and I'll send you some local specialties."

Various speculations and malice proliferated in every corner of the forum.

An Changqing himself did not respond, which only fueled the spread of the rumors.

Chen Guan sat in his dormitory, looking at the forum notification that popped up on his terminal, his expression unchanged.

The barrage of comments in front of him was a hundred times more frenzied than on the forum, still starting with "Holy crap!"

[Holy crap! Holy crap! Holy crap! The big one's here! An Changqing really went to practice the basics.]

[Coffin Bro! Forever a legend! He said the sword would break, and it really did break down.]

[Don't forget Baihu, upstairs. Baihu told him to shatter and rebuild, to return to his original state. An Changqing listened to that advice.]

[I understand now. It's chilling to think about. Chen Guan has never denied that he is not the White Tiger.]

【"The ever-changing coffin, what a familiar phrase. Is the ID upstairs the president of Chen Guan's fan club? Why are you always mentioned?"

The screen was almost completely white with comments.

In the blink of an eye, popularity points were credited again.

Chen Guan looked at the increasing number with increasing calm. Unless he was given a million popularity points one day, he probably wouldn't be able to react to the numbers.

……

Eight o'clock in the morning, at the east gate square of the college.

A massive silver gate, ten meters high, stands in the center of the square.

The door frame is engraved with intricate runes.

Inside the door was a slowly rotating silver vortex, breathing in and out the fluctuations of space.

The members of the Tian Shu class have mostly arrived, gathered in twos and threes. The Tian Xuan class is not present this time, so it seems that the Tian Shu class has booked the whole place.

Chen Guan, carrying a coffin on his back, stood alone at the edge of the crowd.

Long Ao walked over from the other side and stood beside him.

He changed into a black outfit, and looked much calmer, just like when we first met.

The outward aggression of the past has now transformed into a rock-solid solidity.

He glanced at the coffin, then quickly looked away.

His voice was strained, revealing an unnatural stiffness.

Thanks.

The two words came from his throat with a sense of composure after letting go of pride.

Chen Guan nodded almost without reacting, his gaze still fixed on the spatial portal.

Long Ao stopped speaking, and the two stood there in silence.

[This arrogant yet masculine man's thank you is incredibly meaningful.]

[Long Ao has finally figured it out. If Brother Guan alone can carry the chosen one of destiny to new heights, who else can?]

[This damned team spirit! Ever since Jiang Cheng, Long Ao's favorability rating has almost been maxed out by Chen Guan.]

Just then, the noise in the square subsided.

A tall figure appeared in front of the portal at some unknown time.

He was tall and imposing with a stern face; he was none other than Li Yan.

Wherever his gaze fell, the students who had been excitedly discussing fell silent instantly, even their breathing became soft. Even though everyone had made considerable progress, they still subconsciously felt intimidated when facing Li Yan.

As the saying goes, "a person's reputation precedes them," and Li Yan has always enjoyed a good reputation.

Li Yan's gaze slowly swept over every student present. Those who were being looked at felt as if their skin was being gently scratched by a needle, and a tingling sensation ran through them.

"Everyone's here."

His voice was flat and cold.

"Destination: D-level secret realm, Weeping Valley. Mission objective: Hunt down the Windblade Wolves in the valley and obtain their crystal cores. Time limit: 24 hours. The number of crystal cores obtained will be used as the criterion for judging this combat performance."

Li Yan's gaze moved through the crowd, finally lingering on Chen Guan for a moment, a look of approval flashing in his eyes.

Chen Guan kept his aura concealed at all times, suppressing it to the level of an ordinary student.

But under Li Yan's gaze, he still felt a sense of being thoroughly seen through and scrutinized.

"The secret realm is not an amusement park."

Li Yan looked away, his tone devoid of warmth.

"There are no rules inside, only hunters and hunted."

"Windblade wolves are social creatures, cunning and cruel. Any mistake by any one of you could lead to the annihilation of the entire team."

He paused for a moment and looked around at everyone.

"I'll just emphasize one point. In Weeping Valley, no one will pay for your stupidity."

These words cooled the eager expressions on many students' faces, turning them into wariness.

"Now, form your own teams. If you encounter danger, you can fire a signal flare to give up. However, if one person gives up, the entire team will be eliminated and will be marked as unqualified."

After Li Yan finished speaking, he stepped aside to make way for the portal.

The students immediately sprang into action.

Long Ao naturally stood beside Chen Guan.

Soon, Su Yuehe and An Changqing also came over.

Long Ao glanced over; he hadn't disconnected from the internet, and he had seen what was on the forum.

I originally wanted to send some local specialties, but unfortunately, keyboard warriors are quick to back down.

An Changqing's face was somewhat pale, and his breathing seemed far weaker than before.

But his eyes were unusually bright, and he seemed to be in good spirits, which put Long Ao at ease.

"Sorry I'm late."

He walked to the side of the line and smiled apologetically at everyone.

Su Yuehe immediately went to greet him, asking with concern, "Changqing, are you alright? Those things on the forum..."

"I'm fine."

An Changqing shook his head, his expression unchanged; he didn't care about the forum.

Those who criticize him are not even capable of standing in front of him, so why should he care?

After everyone finished forming teams, Li Yan didn't say much, but simply raised his hand to signal.

"Set off."

An Changqing walked at the very front.

He stopped in front of the vortex, his chest heaving briefly, before stepping into the rotating silver light curtain.

Chen Guan followed behind Long Ao and stepped into the gate of the secret realm.