Chapter 17: Ai Ning's Challenge

Shen Donglin had long been puzzled: why would a teenager who should be studying in school skip the Joint Examination to become a Wilderness Hunter instead?

He focused intently on the conversation between the two in the surveillance footage and indeed discovered clues.

According to what that Chu Ming said, Jiang Yan was originally a student at Linjiang First High School, but was later expelled for some unknown reason?

A genius who had mastered Blade Momentum, instead of being valued by the school, ended up wandering destitute in the Wilderness—this made Shen Donglin particularly concerned about the underlying circumstances.

“That’s Blade Momentum we’re talking about. What kind of genius is that?” Shen Donglin sighed with emotion. After being here for so long, someone had finally managed to surprise him.

Indeed, Shen Donglin was well-informed and had detected something unusual the moment Jiang Yan drew his saber.

At first, Shen Donglin couldn’t believe it, thinking how could a kid who looked barely eighteen or nineteen possibly master something as profound as Blade Momentum?

It wasn’t until Jiang Yan’s near-instantaneous battle with Chu Ming that Shen Donglin dared to confirm Jiang Yan was indeed using Blade Momentum.

Shen Donglin then grew furious. A genius who had mastered Blade Momentum wasn’t properly studying in school, but instead got expelled?

Did this mean there was a flaw in their talent screening system, or… was there another hidden reason?

“Liu Hairen, I hope you can give me a reasonable explanation.”

Liu Hairen was now sweating profusely, never expecting that an unintended action would come back to trip him up.

With a pained expression, he said, “This isn’t my fault. He voluntarily dropped out himself. I tried to stop him but couldn’t.”

Liu Hairen concealed the fact that he had barred Jiang Yan from entering the Martial Training Ground. If Shen Donglin found out about that, wouldn’t he skin him alive?

As long as he could tough it out for a while, this matter would at most become a minor mistake in his work record. Time would fade everything.

“Better be.”

Shen Donglin snorted coldly, clearly not fully believing Liu Hairen’s words.

The meeting room fell silent again. On the surveillance screens, scenes of students fighting appeared one after another, while Jiang Yan’s figure had vanished from view.

After killing Chu Ming, Jiang Yan’s mind was calm. During these days of battling Fierce Beasts, he had long grown accustomed to bloodshed and killing, not even batting an eye throughout the process.

Although he didn’t know how the authorities would handle this matter, Jiang Yan didn’t regret his choice.

This was the Wilderness. According to Blue Star’s laws, his killing was legal and compliant. Even if it went to court, he would be in the right.

After slaying several more second-tier Fierce Beasts, Jiang Yan realized how effortlessly he was currently killing monsters.

“Seems like I can consider third-tier Fierce Beasts now.”

Aside from that freakish Void-Splitting Weasel in the Battle Space, Jiang Yan hadn’t encountered a single third-tier Fierce Beast yet.

“Sky-Piercing Sword Slash!”

A dazzling white light flashed, and a two-meter-tall second-tier Fierce Beast—a Giant Demon Scorpion—fell to the ground, lifeless.

Ai Ning sheathed his sword and calmly ordered his underlings to collect the materials from the Fierce Beast.

Points in this joint competition were mainly earned by collecting materials from Fierce Beasts. Of course, one could also skip hunting Fierce Beasts and simply steal points from other students instead.

The underlings gathered the materials and handed them to Ai Ning.

“Boss, should we go deeper to hunt more Fierce Beasts?”

Now these followers were completely at Ai Ning’s beck and call. While everyone else was terrified of their first encounter with Fierce Beasts, only Ai Ning moved through them as if unopposed, his sword alone sending the beasts fleeing in panic.

As his entourage, they only needed to pick up scraps to earn decent points, perhaps even squeezing into the top hundred to snag some rewards.

“No need to hunt Fierce Beasts anymore.”

To their surprise, Ai Ning casually uttered a few words.

“What? How will we get points without killing Fierce Beasts?”

Ai Ning carefully wiped the tip of his sword and replied without hesitation, “Don’t the other students have them?”

“Boss, are you planning to—”

“Split up and lure students from other schools here. I’ll take care of them all at once.”

“Boss, this…”

“Just a bunch of rabble. I can handle them single-handedly.”

With these words, all his followers were awed by Ai Ning’s domineering declaration.

Ai Ning meant: he was going to challenge everyone!

What kind of confidence was that? If anyone else had said it, they would have been ridiculed by outsiders, who would have thought they were just seeking attention.

But Ai Ning was different—he truly had the strength to back it up!

The group of followers quickly scattered, each going off to find students from other schools.

This scene was also witnessed by everyone in the conference room.

As Jiang Yan’s screen disappeared, everyone’s focus returned to this Genius who had Awakened his Talent in his first year of high school.

“Is Ai Ning insane? The students from our school aren’t to be trifled with!”

“Exactly, Ai Ning is strong, no doubt, but he can’t just boast that he can take on everyone else alone, can he?”

Ai Ning’s arrogance made the principals of other schools deeply uncomfortable, each feeling their school was being overshadowed by Linjiang First High School.

Liu Hairen’s face regained its confidence. While others thought Ai Ning was just bragging, he had personally witnessed Ai Ning’s strength. All he could say was…

It was monstrous!

Sure enough, the group of followers began running around everywhere.

“Students of Huangshui High, our Boss says you’re all trash. Come fight if you dare!”

“Zeshui High is full of crap. Come argue if you disagree.”

“That guy not wearing a uniform, our Boss says you’re a noob. What? Don’t like it? Come face our Boss if you have the guts.”

Jiang Yan: ?

Was he being challenged?

The person who had thrown down the gauntlet ran away quickly, but how could he compare to Jiang Yan?

Jiang Yan dashed out, grabbed someone by the neck, and lifted him up, his icy gaze sweeping over this weakling of a man.

The words “Linshui High School” on his chest were particularly eye-catching.

“Hah, I really do have a connection with Linshui High School.”

“Cough… cough, our Boss is Ai Ning from First High… Blood Coagulation Middle Stage Realm. You’d better let me go.”

“Ai Ning?”

At the mention of this name, Jiang Yan’s mind automatically conjured up the image of a man with his nose in the air.

The Prodigy of First High, Awakened his Talent at fifteen, achieved a Body Tempering Breakthrough at seventeen, entered the Blood Coagulation Middle Stage at eighteen—the only Prodigy at Linjiang First High School, surpassing everyone to become the strongest.

He was the complete opposite of someone like Jiang Yan, who had struggled to even open an Aperture.

Who could have imagined before that Jiang Yan, someone who couldn’t even open an Aperture, would ever cross paths with a Prodigy like Ai Ning?

Intrigued, he kicked the man in front of him. “Lead the way.”

…

“Skyward Sword Slash!”

“Rainbow Pierces the Sun!”

Boom!

Ai Ning looked at the Huangshui High School student lying in the ruins, sneered, and couldn’t help but mock several people from Huangshui High School:

“Tsk tsk, your strongest person at Huangshui couldn’t even withstand two of my strikes, yet dares to call themselves the strongest?”