Chapter 352 - 350: Grand Gift

Chapter 352: Chapter 350: Grand Gift

The Global Freshman Tournament has come to an end!

But the buzz surrounding it was still spreading, and countless freshmen across the globe now knew Lin Qi’s name.

Everyone knew that Xia Country had produced another top-level genius who had set a new historical record.

In Xia Country, ordinary people might not know Lin Qi’s name, but every freshman at every Martial Arts University did.

His fame reached a new level; sophomores, juniors, and even graduating seniors all knew of him.

Not only that, but his reputation had swept over the battlefields like a gust of wind.

Many soldiers and even independent Martial Artists learned that their country had produced a super-genius named "Lin Qi" who had swept away the geniuses of other nations!

News like this made their blood boil with excitement. When they fought against the Calamity Beasts, they felt an inexplicable surge of strength welling up inside them.

...

At the headquarters of the Imperial City Red Dome Martial Arts Dojo, the long-awaited fallout had finally begun.

In a small conference room, a high-level meeting was urgently convened.

Meng Wu, the Southern Patrol Envoy and an Eighth Realm Martial Artist with sharp features, a resolute expression, and a burly build, presided over the meeting.

Seated around the circular conference table were all the high-level leaders currently at headquarters.

Projected onto the dark surface of the table was a tall, slender woman with an icy demeanor!

"Who would have thought that the S-level genius from back then would now so completely exceed our expectations."

"He defeated an Awakened genius in the National Freshman Tournament!"

"And in the Global Freshman Tournament, he went on to defeat multiple SS-level geniuses who had mastered a Little Divine Power!"

"To think we once put him on the same level as Li Zehao, tsk tsk..." someone remarked with a laugh.

The words were laced with sarcasm, and several leaders immediately fell silent.

Meng Wu also looked quite awkward. To be honest, he was also partly responsible for what happened back then.

With Lin Qi winning the Global Freshman Tournament, he suddenly had a bad feeling, as if his own position had become precarious.

"Zhang Tai really deserved to die!" someone cursed angrily.

"The man’s already dead. Cursing him now is useless!" another person retorted.

"Last month, on the North River Battlefield, Zhang Tai was slapped into a meat paste by a Level 8 Disaster Beast Golden Gang Tiger. He couldn’t be more dead!" a person explained.

The others had strange expressions upon hearing this. ’So he’s really dead?’

Just then, the projected, icy woman spoke slowly:

"Regarding Lin Qi, I have already received requests from Azure Sky Martial Arts Academy and the Celestial Sea Red Dome Martial Arts Branch about upgrading his contract to an SS-level Contract!"

"I don’t have the authority to handle this matter. We will wait for the Vice Hall Master to return and deal with it."

"I am here today to announce a few personnel changes: regarding the head of the investigation department, Qi Yao is to be dismissed and replaced by Jiang Weifeng..."

In one breath, she fired several high-level executives, while others were directly demoted.

The faces of many among them instantly turned pale!

Even though they were all High Realm Martial Artists, none of them dared to voice any objection to the woman’s words.

Many of them grew nervous. They all knew this was a settling of old scores!

Back then, the incident with Lin Qi only involved a few people. He was just an S-level genius, so the matter wasn’t pursued too deeply.

But now, he was someone who had defeated an SS-level genius. After the Global Freshman Tournament, his status was completely different.

His future was limitless; he was a true candidate for the Ninth Realm.

Naturally, the upper echelons of Xia Country were now going to start digging up the past.

After hearing the personnel changes and realizing his name wasn’t mentioned, Meng Wu breathed a sigh of relief.

The icy woman saw this and a disdainful smile touched her lips as she thought to herself, ’This is only the beginning...’

"Any other questions?" she asked.

"None, Special Envoy Qin!" Meng Wu replied with a smile.

After he spoke, Special Envoy Qin nodded, and her projection dissipated into particles of light.

The others also breathed a sigh of relief.

Because of this one genius, Lin Qi, the fates of so many people at headquarters had been completely changed. This was a massive upheaval, the likes of which hadn’t been seen in a decade!

...

「Martial Arts Calendar, Year 2047, May 2nd」

「Azure Sky Martial Arts Academy, Sixth Academy」

On the second day after the Global Freshman Tournament ended, all the students returned to their normal academic lives.

Lin Qi rode his electric scooter toward Cangjing Building, and every student he passed along the way greeted him proactively.

Lin Qi nodded back to each of them.

At the Azure Sky Sixth Institute, his status was already the highest. No matter how much stronger he got, it would only make everyone else admire him more.

A few moments later, the black electric scooter arrived at its destination.

Gazing at the building before him, which looked like a colossal blue whale emerging from the sea, he slowly walked inside!

A short while later, the elevator doors on the top floor opened.

Lin Qi stepped out and familiarly made his way to the dean’s office.

"BEEP!"

The office door opened automatically. Inside the office, which resembled an aquarium, Dean Liu, dressed in a white robe, sat at his desk handling some matters.

"Lin Qi, have a seat and wait for a moment," Dean Liu said.

Lin Qi nodded. His gaze fell to the floor, where two items caught his attention.

On the smooth floor sat two metal boxes gleaming with a metallic luster—one was a cube, and the other was a rectangular prism.

’Are these my rewards? They don’t look small at all!’

After a moment, Dean Liu stood up, moved to the sofa, and began to prepare tea.

"My apologies, the last few days have been incredibly busy!"

Dean Liu apologized.

"It’s no problem," Lin Qi said, shaking his head.

Dean Liu slowly began to speak with a smile, "You performed exceptionally well in the Global Freshman Tournament!"

"Yesterday, quite a few of the leaders who didn’t think highly of you were forced to eat their words."

"I have to say, it was immensely satisfying!"

Lin Qi smiled as well. ’It’s only normal they’d be proven wrong. After all, I’m just an ’Unawakened’ genius.’

"You’ve already displayed a Talent that far surpasses even Awakened S-level geniuses. Even SS-level geniuses are no match for you."

"Principal Xu, several other leaders, and I have reached a consensus. We will use all our resources to find an Awakening Fruit for you."

Lin Qi was startled to hear this. ’An Awakening Fruit?’

Every Martial Artist knew of the Awakening Fruit; its reputation was simply too great.

Eating one gave a 10% chance to Awaken, causing countless Martial Artists to flock after it.

Who hadn’t dreamed as a child of obtaining an Awakening Fruit and becoming a top-level genius?

He himself was no exception!

But Awakening Fruits were extremely rare, which made them exorbitantly expensive. For most, it was something they could only dream about.

"BUBBLE BUBBLE~" The kettle steamed as the water boiled.

Dean Liu continued:

"Awakening Fruits are scarce. In the decades since we humans entered the Otherworld, there have been fewer than a hundred documented Awakening Fruits found."

"With Azure Sky Martial Arts Academy’s connections, even if we spare no expense, we can only guarantee that we’ll find one for you within two years."

"For free?" Lin Qi asked.

Dean Liu nodded in confirmation. "For free!"

"This is the school’s investment in a genius like you!"

"If you don’t Awaken, it would be a loss for the entire Xia Country."

"The actual price of an Awakening Fruit is around 500 million Xia Country Coins, but rarity dictates value. Due to its scarcity, the price can soar to 700 or 800 million, or even a billion Xia Country Coins!"

Lin Qi let out a breath. ’In other words, I’m guaranteed to get an Awakening Fruit within two years.’

An Awakening Fruit worth hundreds of millions, for free!

He didn’t mention that he was bound to Awaken a Special Ability in the next month or two anyway.

Because the Awakening Fruit was just too tempting.

If he could get the Awakening Fruit before he Awakened on his own, he’d make out like a bandit.

’I might just be able to fleece this sheep.’

"Alright, that’s all about the Awakening Fruit for now."

Dean Liu handed the freshly brewed tea to Lin Qi and said:

"The reason I called you over today is to give you your reward for winning the Global Freshman Tournament!"

Lin Qi’s eyes lit up. The reward he wanted most was here.

"For most contestants, they only receive prize money."

"But for the talented contestants who make it to the semifinals, they not only get prize money but also a grand prize."

"A gift far more valuable than any prize money!"

After taking a sip of hot tea, Dean Liu stood up and walked over to the metal boxes.

"BEEP!"

He pressed his hand on the box. A green light scanned it and quickly turned red.

The black metal box slowly opened, revealing its contents.

Lin Qi looked over. The item inside the metal box was very familiar to him.

"Is this a Combat Suit...?"

Before his eyes was a full, jet-black Combat Suit!

"That’s right!"

Dean Liu nodded, lifting the black jacket out of the box.

"This is a complete Tier Six Combat Suit!"

Lin Qi was shocked. ’A Tier Six Combat Suit. That can’t be cheap.’

"As you know, with a full Combat Suit, the higher the tier, the rarer the materials and the more difficult the manufacturing process."

"At the same time, its ability to defend against the bites and claws of Calamity Beasts also increases."

"Of course, the price is also extremely high."

"A full Tier Six Combat Suit includes a jacket, boots, undergarments, and a Defense Vest."

"Normally, the Defense Vest would be an A-level Defense Vest, but we’ve upgraded it by one level, to an S-Class Defense Vest."

"This entire Combat Suit is worth 130 million Xia Country Coins. The jacket, boots, and undergarments together cost 80 million Xia Country Coins, while the S-Class Defense Vest is worth 50 million Xia Country Coins!"

Lin Qi listened in shock.

The one he was currently using was just a Tier Three Combat Suit with an A-level Defense Vest inside.

The total cost was around twenty million.

But the price of the Tier Six Combat Suit and S-Class Defense Vest in front of him was a staggering six times higher.

Once he put it on, his safety while fighting Calamity Beasts in the wild would be drastically improved.

"A Tier Six Combat Suit can effectively defend against the attacks of a Sixth-Level Calamity Beast."

"The S-Class Defense Vest is different, though. It can effectively withstand the attacks of a Seventh-Level Calamity Beast."

Dean Liu explained with a smile.

Lin Qi nodded. This was all genuine high-level equipment, the kind that only Sixth Realm or even Seventh Realm Martial Artists could typically own.

"There’s one more piece of equipment!"

Dean Liu smiled again as he opened the other rectangular metal box.

"BEEP!"

The box opened, and a cold glint flashed before Lin Qi’s eyes!

He focused his gaze and saw a long spear forged entirely in black, nestled inside. The shaft was inlaid with intricate, platinum-gold patterns that formed the likeness of a tiger’s head.

It was the Ninth-Level Calamity Beast, the Platinum Evil Tiger!

The sharp spear tip was like one of its razor-sharp fangs.

"This is your other reward, a Tier Six Weapon: the Demon Tiger Spear. It’s 2.7 meters long and weighs 500 kilograms!"

"A weapon forged from 60% Delta Alloy combined with other precious metals!"

As he spoke, Dean Liu took out the Demon Tiger Spear.

"VMMMM!"

He gave it a simple swing, but Lin Qi clearly heard a humming sound emanate from the spear’s shaft.

The sharp tip cut through the air, which seemed to part like paper being sliced!

Lin Qi could already sense the sharpness of this long spear!

This long spear was several tiers stronger than a Tier Three Weapon, and he took a liking to it instantly.

A top-level weapon could also enhance its owner’s strength.

...