Chapter 349 - 347: Unsatisfying Victory

Chapter 349: Chapter 347: Unsatisfying Victory

"What a shame!"

"Havier’s strength is already incredible!"

"He’s the most outstanding SS-level Talent I’ve seen in recent years."

"In any other year’s tournament, I guarantee he would have taken the championship."

"But what a shame... he just had to run into Xia Country’s Lin Qi this year!"

The blond, powerfully built man, Lode, watched the final match, his fists clenched so tightly the veins on them bulged. A tyrannical aura erupted from him in an instant!

The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. The championship that was within his grasp was gone, just like that.

"Haaaah..."

A moment later, he let out a breath, and his expression returned to calm.

His gaze fell upon the stern-faced Lin Qi in the arena. The more he looked, the more he liked him. ’Why couldn’t a Talent like this belong to our White Eagle Federation?’

He was so envious of Xia Country.

Why was Xia Country always able to produce top-level Talents!

...

In the stands, the leaders from various nations all watched Lin Qi with envy, jealous that Xia Country possessed such a Talent.

’If he were ours, the championship would belong to our country.’

Meanwhile, in the Xia Country leaders’ section of the stands, the air was filled with cheer.

"We won!"

Many of the leaders breathed a great sigh of relief, their faces immediately breaking into smiles.

"Thankfully, the final championship still belongs to our Xia Country!" one leader said with a laugh.

"Exactly! Who would have thought that Lin Qi would be the one to take the final championship!"

"With Lin Qi’s level of strength, who could have imagined his speed would be even faster than Havier’s!"

"His Talent is simply unbelievable!" Wu Yueze chimed in with a sigh of admiration.

The dean of the Ninth Institute, who had previously been pessimistic about Lin Qi’s chances, also spoke up.

"Who could have guessed that Lin Qi is still an Unawakened Talent? If he were to Awaken, he’d be unstoppable!"

A man with a gentle demeanor said, "I think it’s necessary to prepare an Awakening Fruit for student Lin Qi."

Dean Liu also spoke up with a cheerful laugh, "An excellent suggestion!"

"I was thinking the same thing!"

"Although an Awakening Fruit only has a one-in-ten chance of triggering an Awakening,"

"with Lin Qi’s Talent, it’s a gamble worth taking. There’s no loss if it fails, but if he Awakens, it’s a massive gain."

"However, Awakening Fruits are priceless and extremely rare. Countless people have their eyes on them."

"The most recent one was supposedly used by that kid, Huo Wanyang."

The others nodded in agreement. Awakening Fruits were far too rare. Each year, among the thirty-plus S-class Talents, many from wealthy families were waiting for an Awakening Fruit to Awaken.

Once they Awakened, an S-class Talent could leap to become an SS-level Talent, with limitless future potential.

But Awakening Fruits were truly just too rare.

Finding even one per year in the Otherworld was considered a rare event.

Mu Hong also spoke up, "I will contact my friends in the Otherworld and have them keep an eye out for any news about Awakening Fruits."

Dean Liu nodded. If Azure Sky Martial Arts Academy put all its resources behind it, they could obtain an Awakening Fruit in one year at the fastest, or two years at the latest.

...

「At the same time, in the stands for Xia Country’s Tenth Institute」

When Yu Zhuoran saw Lin Qi win, she also let out a sigh of relief.

"That was close! He finally won!" Wan Ming exclaimed.

"It wasn’t close at all. Lin Qi was suppressing Havier the entire time. It’s only natural that he became the champion," Xia Lian said with a smile.

"And some people thought he couldn’t win!" Xia Lian added, taunting Shen Zhenzhen.

"You..."

Shen Zhenzhen’s face flushed red, and she was at a loss for words.

The others also began to laugh, and the air was filled with cheer.

Xiang Long watched Lin Qi, no longer entertaining any thought of competing with him.

The gap between them was too vast; they were no longer Talents on the same level.

...

「Above the arena」

On the giant Pyramid, watched by everyone, the virtual figure representing Lin Qi stepped onto the very peak of the spire.

It then transformed into a gilded gold trophy.

The trophy slowly descended into Lin Qi’s hands in the arena.

"Contestant Lin Qi, congratulations on becoming the champion!"

Xu Wenji’s figure also shrank, landing beside Lin Qi.

A familiar place, a familiar person, and a familiar trophy.

Lin Qi gripped the trophy. This was his third one, but this one was much larger and heavier.

"Please share your acceptance speech with the millions of viewers from all around the world!"

Xu Wenji projected a microphone and placed it in front of Lin Qi.

CLAP! CLAP!!

Thunderous applause once again erupted from the audience.

Holding the trophy, Lin Qi scanned the sea of faces in the stands. He thought back on all the opponents he had faced along the way and began to speak slowly.

"I’m very grateful to my country for giving me a fair environment to grow."

"It has allowed me to grow stronger without any distractions!"

"Thank you to my country, thank you to Azure Sky Martial Arts Academy, thank you to the dean, thank you to my parents..."

The Xia Country people all smiled upon hearing Lin Qi’s acceptance speech.

After finishing his words of thanks, Lin Qi calmly added one last thing.

"The only real pity is that none of the other contestants gave me much pressure!"

After he said this, everyone, whether from Xia Country or other nations, had only one thought.

’Arrogant!’

’So damn arrogant!’

Didn’t the underlying meaning of his words just boil down to: "All of you here are trash"?

In the Japan section, Miyamoto Genichiro shook his head. ’That monster Lin Qi not only won, but he’s still trying to put pressure on us.’

’Looks like I’ll have to work even harder when I get back!’

It wasn’t just him; all the SS-level Talents felt the pressure.

Victor and Havier also shook their heads with wry smiles. ’It seems we were too weak. We couldn’t even give Lin Qi a satisfying fight!’

They really couldn’t ignore this kind of taunt. They would have to put even more effort into their Cultivation when they returned.

In the Xia Country stands, Kong Ruoxuan of Nether Sea Martial Academy shook her head.

"We’re still too weak. It seems we haven’t been working hard enough."

Wang Mingxi of Shanyu Martial Arts University gave a bitter smile. "Lin Qi’s words... they make me feel so ashamed."

...

In a corner of the White Eagle Federation section, a man and a woman appeared. The burly man asked curiously:

"You’re the same age as them. Why didn’t you participate in the Global Freshman Tournament?"

Beside him was a Caucasian woman with an impressive figure, blonde hair, blue eyes, and delicate features.

The blonde woman watched Lin Qi in the arena and remarked with admiration:

"This Lin Qi from Xia Country is really arrogant!"

"But he has the right to be!"

"An Unawakened Talent who can defeat all the SS-level Talents... he’s earned the right to say that."

"Mike, you ask why I didn’t participate!"

"It’s because we SSS-level Talents are no longer on the same level as them."

"I have already broken through to the Fifth Realm of Refining Inner Organs, and my Swordsmanship and Body Technique Realms have also reached Tier Four!"

"For me to fight against this group of Fourth Realm Talents, whose Martial Arts are only at Tier Three Mid-stage... it would simply be bullying them."

The blonde woman said proudly, tilting her head back.

The burly man, Mike, nodded after hearing this. SSS-level Talents were indeed on another level entirely.

No matter how strong this Lin Qi was, he was still within the scope of an SS-level Talent.

After a bit more casual chat, the two of them chose to log off.

...

「In the stands of the Azure Sky Sixth Institute」

"Brother Qi, you’re a total badass!"

After Lin Qi was teleported back, Jiangtao immediately lunged forward, grabbing his hand in extreme excitement.

"The champion!!"

"Brother Qi is really the champion!!" the others exclaimed, a mix of shock and joy on their faces, once again stunned.

Not far away, Yu Realm watched Lin Qi, the center of everyone’s attention, and his heart was filled with jealousy.

He too envied the achievements and status the other had obtained.

’If only I had better Talent, I could have all of this too.’

...