Chapter 70

Yang Mingwei stood motionless at the foot of the stage for a long time. Despite the commotion around him, he did not hear a word. He stared blankly at the golden ring of Acala on his body.

His extremely confident golden ring of Acala was completely useless in front of Huang Xiaolong.

Even now, he still could not accept this fact.

Yang Mingwei's face was a mix of emotions.

"This round, Huang Xiaolong wins!" It was only when the referee announced the result that Yang Mingwei snapped back to reality. He looked at Huang Xiaolong with a complex expression and said, "I admit I lost this time, but next year in the grade competition, I will definitely defeat you!"

"Next year?" Huang Xiaolong remained calm, then shook his head.

By next year, with Huang Xiaolong's cultivation speed, he should be able to break through to the seventh stage. By then, he would advance to the second grade, so Yang Mingwei, who would still be in the first grade, would have no chance to face Huang Xiaolong in the grade competition.

However, seeing Huang Xiaolong shake his head, Yang Mingwei clearly misunderstood, thinking Huang Xiaolong was disdainful of his challenge.

"Huang Xiaolong, what do you mean?!" Yang Mingwei was furious.

Huang Xiaolong turned and walked off the stage: "We'll see when you advance to the second grade next year."

Yang Mingwei was stunned, staring blankly at Huang Xiaolong's back.

Advance to the second grade next year?!

What did Huang Xiaolong mean?! Yang Mingwei's eyes widened.

On the main stage, King Lu Zhe looked at Huang Xiaolong's figure and smiled at Marshal Hao Tian, "I didn't expect Huang Xiaolong's strength to reach this level! It's truly beyond my expectations."

"Even I was a bit surprised," Marshal Hao Tian smiled. He knew Huang Xiaolong had broken through to the sixth stage, but the strength Huang Xiaolong displayed still shocked him.

Originally, he thought that even if the sect leader could win, it would be after a hard-fought battle. He didn't expect such an easy victory.

Huang Xiaolong's easy defeat of Yang Mingwei also surprised and astonished Fei Hou.

Not long after Huang Xiaolong defeated Yang Mingwei, the results of the other twelve first-grade students' matches were quickly announced.

However, since this round had seven participants, one person did not need to compete to advance to the next round. This person was not chosen by lottery but directly decided by Vice President Xiong Chu.

Xiong Chu chose Lu Kai.

Lu Kai was widely recognized as the strongest first-grade student in the academy. Naturally, no one objected to Xiong Chu's decision for Lu Kai to directly advance to the next round.

Huang Xiaolong drew number six in this round.

Number six was Hu Dong from Class 6 of the first grade. Hu Dong's strength was even weaker than Yang Mingwei's, being at the peak of the sixth stage. Therefore, the result was a foregone conclusion. Just like Yang Mingwei, Huang Xiaolong easily defeated him and knocked him off the stage.

Standing below the stage, Lu Kai watched Huang Xiaolong and Hu Dong's match calmly, his face expressionless, revealing no thoughts.

In reality, he was equally shocked.

Originally, he and his father, Lu Zhe, thought Huang Xiaolong would be eliminated before having a chance to face him. But unexpectedly, even Yang Mingwei was no match for Huang Xiaolong.

Lu Kai felt a mix of emotions. Among the dozens of princes in Luotong Kingdom, his talent was undoubtedly the best, and he was the most favored by his father. However, in front of Huang Xiaolong, his pride in his talent meant nothing.

Zhong Yuan, standing behind Lu Kai, watched Huang Xiaolong defeat Yang Mingwei and Hu Dong one after another, his face dark and ugly.

After a while, the second round of matches ended. Huang Xiaolong and two others advanced to the third round, joining Lu Kai in the lottery to determine the third round matches.

Whether intentionally or unintentionally, Huang Xiaolong drew number three, Chen Qiang, and did not face Lu Kai.

However, Chen Qiang was also very strong, being the second-ranked student in the first grade, just below Lu Kai. His strength was at the peak of the sixth stage, and his martial soul, like Yang Mingwei's, was a top-tier level 10 martial soul, a long-armed water ape.

Although Chen Qiang was much stronger than Yang Mingwei, Huang Xiaolong still easily defeated him without summoning his martial soul.

Seeing Chen Qiang lose to Huang Xiaolong, the crowd below the stage was in an uproar, shocked and amazed.

In the end, Huang Xiaolong and Lu Kai advanced to the next round, meaning they would compete for the first place in the first grade this year!

No one expected that it would be Huang Xiaolong and Lu Kai competing for the first place in the first grade. A few days before the grade competition, the first, second, and third-grade students and teachers had discussed the rankings in the first grade. Everyone agreed that only Chen Qiang had the qualifications to compete with Lu Kai for the first place in the first grade.

But now, it was Huang Xiaolong, a freshman who had just entered the academy this year!

On the stage, Huang Xiaolong and Lu Kai faced each other.

They stared at each other, neither speaking.

Below the stage, everyone became inexplicably tense, and the hall fell silent.

Li Lu, with wide eyes, tightly watched Huang Xiaolong and Lu Kai on the stage, her small hands clenched, palms sweating.

"You've surprised me," Lu Kai finally broke the silence. "But you should know that you can't win against me, so why don't you just admit defeat?"

Huang Xiaolong remained calm, "Yang Mingwei also told me to admit defeat."

But the result was a crushing defeat for Yang Mingwei!

Lu Kai understood the meaning behind Huang Xiaolong's words but did not get angry. He smiled, "But I'm not Yang Mingwei!" As he spoke, he released his full aura, a force several times stronger than Yang Mingwei and Chen Qiang, enveloping the area.

"Seventh stage! Prince Lu Kai has indeed broken through to the seventh stage!"

"With Prince Lu Kai's seventh-stage strength, the first place in the first grade is no longer in doubt. I don't believe Huang Xiaolong can win against Prince Lu Kai!"

"If I were in his shoes, I would have admitted defeat long ago upon seeing Prince Lu Kai's seventh-stage strength! Huang Xiaolong is simply overestimating himself, stubbornly clinging to his pride!"

The crowd below the stage was in shock and debate.

Of course, some who were jealous of Huang Xiaolong's talent couldn't help but mock him.

Hearing the cold ridicule from the crowd, Huang Xiaolong looked at Lu Kai, who was releasing his aura, with a calm expression. Seventh stage? However, Huang Xiaolong had already anticipated that Lu Kai would break through to the seventh stage, so he was not surprised.

"What do you think? Do you still want to fight?" Lu Kai looked at Huang Xiaolong.

"Go ahead," Huang Xiaolong said calmly.

Lu Kai was taken aback. After knowing his seventh-stage strength, Huang Xiaolong still dared to challenge him? Huang Xiaolong was indeed strong, but everyone could see that his aura was only at the peak of the sixth stage.

The seventh stage was a significant milestone. Even the strongest sixth-stage warriors could not defeat seventh-stage warriors, a widely accepted fact in the martial soul world.

Did Huang Xiaolong intend to break this widely accepted fact with his peak sixth-stage strength?!

Lu Kai stared at Huang Xiaolong for a moment, then nodded. "Since you're not willing to admit defeat, I'll take action myself." As he spoke, he summoned his martial soul.