Chapter 29: Yang Lei's Challenge

"Boom!"
"Whoosh—"
The sky over Tianhai City was shrouded in black clouds, and an endless torrential rain poured down. Silver serpents of lightning tore through the horizon, dancing wildly.

"Drip."
Lin Qi put away his umbrella. As the rainwater dripped onto the ground, he walked up to the third floor of Building 4, still damp from the storm.

"Click."
He opened the front door, and a wave of alcohol fumes rushed out to meet him. Lin Qi looked closely and spotted a familiar figure.
"Uncle, why are you here?"
The living room table was covered in food, and a pile of empty liquor bottles lay beneath it. Besides his parents, there was one other person: a tall, well-proportioned man in his thirties with handsome features, dressed in a black suit.
This was his mother Fang Huiyi’s older brother, Lin Qi’s uncle—Fang Zhe.
Compared to his brawny father, Lin Zhen, Uncle Fang Zhe possessed more of a scholarly air.

"Little Qi is back!"
Fang Zhe set down his bottle, his face slightly flushed as he sat on the sofa with a smile. "I haven't congratulated you on getting into the elite class yet. This is a gift for you."
Fang Zhe stood up and handed him a box. "These are stimulants. You’re in your senior year now, and the constant hard work is too much of a drain on your mental energy—it’s not something a few cups of coffee can fix."
Lin Qi saw three vials of stimulants in the box, worth 3,000 Xia currency.
"Uncle, this is too precious."
"Thank you, Uncle!" Lin Qi did not refuse, knowing his uncle's temperament; if he declined, his uncle might actually take them back.

"Little Qi, sit down. We want to hear your opinion," Lin Zhen said.
Fang Zhe’s expression turned serious. "Little Qi, besides visiting your mother, there is one more thing. I plan to head to the Linhai No. 1 War Base to work as a meat cutter. Linhai hasn’t been peaceful lately; disaster beasts keep descending from the space gates."
"I’m going to work as a cutter for a while—the pay is good. Besides, I want your father to come with me."

Lin Qi fell into deep thought.
Disaster beasts had invaded Blue Star. They were vast in number, and their corpses were massive. Due to their hardened skeletons, using mechanical saws was too time-consuming. Thus, the profession of "meat cutter" was born. These roles were filled by martial artists skilled in blade techniques, who used their superior mastery to dismantle the corpses in the shortest amount of time, greatly increasing efficiency.
Every meat cutter received excellent compensation. Especially when a space gate opened and a disaster beast tide erupted, there was a massive demand for them. Martial artists strapped for cash would often take these side jobs.
Although the pay was high, the working environment was dirty, exhausting, and dangerous. It was easy to contract various infections, and one careless mistake could result in all earnings being spent on medical bills. Many martial artists wouldn't choose this work unless they were desperate for money.

Lin Qi understood why Fang Zhe was doing this. His cousin, Fang Lin, would be entering her senior year next year and needed money to buy resources to build a solid foundation. Furthermore, their family had borrowed a large sum of money from them, leaving their savings depleted. A sense of guilt welled up inside him.

"Little Qi, there’s no danger in your father going. My health has recovered well, and I don’t need looking after anymore," his mother, Fang Huiyi, urged.
The three of them looked at Lin Qi, waiting for his decision.
"I have no objections!" Lin Qi looked up and smiled.
The three finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"When are you leaving?" Lin Qi asked suddenly.

"The day after tomorrow!" Uncle Fang Zhe replied.

...

More than ten minutes later, Uncle Fang Zhe took his leave.
Lin Qi returned to his room. Even though he was mentally exhausted, he did not forget his standing post training. He swallowed a few blood-energy capsules and crouched into the "Hunyuan" stance.
In a moment, his face turned red, and sweat poured down like rain. Lin Qi lifted his spine, tucked his shoulders, dropped his elbows, and kept his head poised...
His body trembled slightly as blood energy surged through him, tempering every muscle. Lin Qi felt an invisible pressure.

"Working as a meat cutter isn't dangerous, but it is incredibly taxing. Dad’s health issues are becoming more frequent, and this will be a huge test for him."
Although Lin Qi didn't want his father to suffer, he knew that besides earning extra money, his father wanted to pay back the money they owed Uncle Fang Zhe as soon as possible.
It was all because of money!

"I need to become stronger and earn more money."
"The second-tier student loan and the 500,000 yuan reward from the Star Rank competition—I must get both."
Lin Qi hardened his resolve. Power suddenly surged through his body, and his blood energy erupted, flowing to every part of him.

[Through the training of the "Hunyuan Stance," your blood energy has achieved a breakthrough. Blood energy value +0.2]
[Blood energy value: 6.7 → 6.9]

...

"Not enough. I need to break through even faster."
Lin Qi clenched his fists and shook his head, dissatisfied with his rate of improvement.
But the next second, a wave of intense exhaustion flooded his mind.
"The mental drain is too great. Even with stimulants, I can't fully recover."
Lin Qi shook his head.

...

In the living room, Lin Zhen and Fang Huiyi cleaned the table together.
Fang Huiyi whispered worriedly, "Although there’s no danger in going to the war base, the environment is harsh. Some organs and blood from the disaster beasts are corrosive, and there are all sorts of toxic fluids."
"You must be careful. Don't ruin your health."
Lin Zhen nodded with a smile. "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. I’ll come back after working there for a while."
"Okay!" Fang Huiyi nodded.

...

Two days later, Lin Qi’s father, Lin Zhen, and his uncle, Fang Zhe, set off for the Linhai No. 1 Base.
Lin Qi continued his classes and martial arts training according to his routine.
One evening after class in the elite group...
"Kang Feiyue, let's go to the martial arts classroom after class and have a duel. Do you dare?"
"Who wouldn't dare? If I don't go, I'm a coward!" Kang Feiyue shouted back.
Two classmates in the group had challenged each other.
"Brother Qi, Kang Feiyue is from our old Class 3. We have to go support him. Shall we head to the martial arts classroom together during the evening study session?" Jiang Tao asked. Lin Qi nodded.
Lin Qi was used to such challenges. They were all martial artists full of energy, and having trained with weapons, they were all geniuses who refused to concede to one another, which inevitably led to these challenges.

"Ring—"
The evening study session ended, and a crowd from the class flooded into the martial arts classroom.
At this moment, Zhang Cheng was already standing in the room, grinning. "I heard there was a challenge, so I’ll act as the referee."
Soon, the two challengers changed into their gear and stood opposite each other in the room.
"Challenge rules: the match ends if either side admits defeat, or if I make the call. No attacking vital points during the match. The duel begins now!" Zhang Cheng announced, raising his right arm.
Kang Feiyue and his opponent engaged, their weapons clashing rapidly in the arena.

Lin Qi watched from the crowd, his brain working at full speed, thinking from their perspectives: how would he respond if he were in their shoes?
The two combatants were ranked 22nd and 18th in the grade, respectively, and were very evenly matched.
Lin Qi silently compared their skill to his own spear mastery. Others didn't have a system panel like he did to quantify their progress and confirm every bit of improvement. However, he was certain that the gap between his spear mastery and these geniuses had closed infinitely.
Not far away, Yang Lei was watching the duel as well, his eyes flickering, as if he were brewing something.

A few minutes later—
"Bang!"
"I won!"
As his opponent fell to the ground, Kang Feiyue swung his saber and held it against the other's neck, announcing the end of the duel with great excitement.
"Kang Feiyue wins!" Zhang Cheng announced loudly.
The crowd erupted in cheers.
"I haven't seen enough, let's have another match," someone suggested.
"Is there anyone else who wants to challenge?" Zhang Cheng asked.
"Me!"
Among the crowd, Yang Lei raised his hand and stepped out.
"Who are you challenging?" Zhang Cheng asked.
"I want to challenge Lin Qi!"
Yang Lei pointed at Lin Qi. Many people started jeering, and a multitude of gazes shifted toward him.
Lin Qi remained expressionless and exchanged a glance with Jiang Tao.
"Lin Qi, do you dare to accept my challenge?" Yang Lei asked, raising his voice.

Lin Qi sensed Yang Lei's malicious intent. If he didn't accept, it would look like he was afraid. He had long forgotten about this person, never expecting him to jump out again.
Well, he would teach him a profound lesson.
"Yang Lei, I have a proposal. If you lose, how about you give Lin Qi 50,000 yuan?" Jiang Tao suddenly said. "Likewise, if Lin Qi loses, he gives you 50,000."
"50,000!"
The crowd gasped; 50,000 was not a small sum.
"This..." Yang Lei hesitated. Even though his family was relatively well-off, 50,000 was a significant amount.
"What? No confidence in your own strength? Don't you dare?" Lin Qi finally spoke.
His expression was stern, his gaze fixed on Yang Lei like a torch, an invisible aura radiating from him.
Provoked, Yang Lei felt a surge of indignation and, in a moment of hot-headedness, said, "Who says I don't dare? 50,000 it is!"