When I first entered high school, the system insisted that I was destined to be an emperor in my lat

One hour later.

The first round of matches has concluded.

Of the sixty trainees, half were eliminated, leaving only thirty to advance to the next round.

Lu Chenshan glanced at the list.

The public Wugao High School has twelve students.

Private martial arts high school, eighteen people.

He slowly rose, walked to the edge of the stage, scanned the entire room, and said loudly:

"The next draw will completely shuffle the lots!"

"That means... you might be matched with students from your own school!"

Wow!

A commotion immediately broke out in the audience.

This is a rule that has never been implemented before!

Lu Chenshan raised his hand to suppress the commotion, and once it subsided, a smile appeared on his lips as he dropped an even bigger bombshell:

"but……"

"Starting from this round, everyone who makes it into the top fifteen will be rewarded with one..."

"The Limit-Breaking Pill!"

Dead silence.

After a brief silence, the entire venue erupted in cheers!

"A Breakthrough Pill?! A Breakthrough Pill that can help a peak third-grade cultivator break through to the fourth grade?!"

"My goodness! The mayor has really gone all out this time!"

"Top 15... No matter what, I must make it into the top 15!"

At that moment, the eyes of everyone in the audience instantly turned red.

……

After the first round of the competition, everyone was given half an hour to rest.

Half an hour later.

The second round of competition has officially begun!

This round is down to 30 to 15.

To compete for a spot in the top fifteen and obtain the Breakthrough Pill, all the students were eager to compete, their morale soaring.

The draw ended quickly.

Secretary Kim glanced at the lottery results and announced loudly:

"Group One: Xiao Xingye VS Tie Zheng!"

"Please, both trainees, come up to the stage and get ready!"

Inside the contestant area, Xiao Xingye was slightly taken aback.

He never expected that he would be the first one to go on stage.

However, he showed no fear on his face, grabbed the spear on his back, and got up to leave.

"Hoshino!"

Xiao Wanning grabbed him, her face full of worry: "That Tie Zheng is very strong, he's a fourth-rank martial artist!"

"If you can't win, just surrender, understand? Don't be stubborn!"

Xiao Xingye, his neck stiff, said in a muffled voice, "Even if I can't win, I'll fight to the very last moment!"

With so many people watching, and three big shots sitting on the stage, how could he surrender before even fighting?

He can't afford to lose face like that!

On the other side...

Jiang Feng's gaze fell on Tie Zheng, who was flexing his wrists across from him.

For some reason, he felt a vague unease from the moment he first saw this guy at the entrance of the martial arts school.

Just now.

[Ding! Mission triggered!]

A system notification suddenly sounded in my mind.

[Mission Background: The Great Emperor's youth coincided with the golden age of martial arts in the Dragon Kingdom! Prodigies rose to prominence, a constellation of brilliant talents! However, the cult "Blood Card Society" wreaked havoc, aggressively recruiting prodigies, many of whom willingly succumbed to demonic possession for cultivation resources! Known by their names of hearts, spades, clubs, and diamonds, they slaughtered humans across the land, using them to refine Blood God Pills, wreaking havoc and posing a significant threat to the Great Emperor in his early years!]

[Mission Requirements: Defeat or expose "Ironclad's" cult identity. This person has been manipulated by the Ace of Hearts and harbors murderous intent towards the host. If the host is defeated in the exchange, he will subsequently harm the host's sister and family!]

[Mission Reward: Low-grade Saint-level Martial Skill - Five-Finger Fist Heart Sword!]

Upon hearing the system notification, Jiang Feng was startled.

This guy is a cult member?!

And you even harbor murderous intent towards me?!

Jiang Feng clenched his fist.

I shouldn't have provoked these cultists...

Wait!

He suddenly thought of something.

He wiped out the Black Tiger Gang and then killed the strange beast in the city center.

Both of these events undoubtedly disrupted the cult's plans.

I'm afraid they've been watching me for a long time!

This Tie Zheng has most likely received instructions from the cult to attack him at the exchange meeting!

The system mission even clearly states that if he cannot win in the ring, he will harm his sister and family!

Jiang Feng's gaze gradually turned cold.

He looked at Tie Zheng, who was not far away.

This person!

Desperate!

"Hoshino."

Jiang Feng withdrew his gaze and said in a deep voice, "You are no match for that guy. When you get on stage, if you can't beat him, just jump off. Don't force yourself. Don't let it interfere with the rest of the league."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Xingye felt a chill run down his spine as he looked at Jiang Feng's solemn expression.

"Um!"

He nodded emphatically.

Soon, Xiao Xingye and Tie Zheng stepped onto the arena one after the other.

Just then, Gu Yuanchao moved closer to Jiang Feng and said with a grin, "Jiang Feng, I heard everything just now. You actually tried to persuade him to surrender?"

"In the previous matches, you seemed to have a lot of faith in your teammates."

Jiang Feng didn't answer his question, but instead asked directly, "Who is this Tie Zheng?"

Gu Yuanchao was slightly taken aback, then thought for a moment and said in a low voice, "Tie Zheng and I are classmates."

"However, he's a bit of a loner, usually keeps to himself, and doesn't have many friends."

"I heard that his talent in the Tie family is not strong, and can even be described as very average. He has never been valued in the Tie family since childhood. Even his fiancée thought he was a good-for-nothing and chose to break off the engagement."

"But after that, he seemed to suddenly become a different person. His cultivation speed increased dramatically, like he had a cheat code!"

"And his fiancée died suddenly a year after the engagement was called off."

"In recent years, several of the Tie family's prodigies have died suddenly, and the causes of death are all very strange, with no cause being found."

"By this generation, only Tie Zheng and Tie Qingshan remained in the Tie family. Undoubtedly, Tie Zheng has better talent, and now the Tie family is pouring all its resources into him."

After Gu Yuanchao finished speaking, he raised an eyebrow: "What? You think there's something wrong with him?"

Jiang Feng's expression shifted slightly, and he countered with, "What are your thoughts?"

Gu Yuanchao turned and looked around, then leaned closer and whispered in his ear, "I suspect... there might be an old man on him!"

"This plot is exactly the same as one I read in a novel before!"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Feng couldn't help but roll his eyes.

This kid's been reading too many fantasy novels!

He shook his head and said no more.

However, although Gu Yuanchao's guess was far off, his direction was actually correct by accident.

There really is something behind Tie Zheng!

He's not an old man.

It's the Blood Card Cult!

As for the cult, Jiang Feng did not intend to tell anyone.

Firstly, there is no evidence or proof.

Secondly, those guys are all ruthless killers; dragging people around them into this will only harm them.