Chapter Fifty-One: The Pinnacle of the Warrior

Ninefold Tower, ninth floor, grand hall.

A wager of fifty billion had drawn a crowd; students of every complexion gathered here, mostly yellow, white, and black. They murmured among themselves, but none favored Qin Ming. After all, he was a newcomer—how long had he been training?

“This is another victim of William’s schemes, but this time he's trapped too many!”
“Fifty billion—even a War God would need a long time to earn that!”
“When it's over, we must make William treat us; we'll squeeze him dry!”
“Maybe we should try tricking newcomers too?”

Most were gloating, taking pleasure in someone else’s misfortune.

At that moment, an electronic voice echoed through the hall:
“Challenge ended, Qin Ming is victorious!”

The voice reverberated, and all chatter ceased in an instant.

“How is that possible?” Candice leapt up, crying out in disbelief.

He wasn’t alone; surprise appeared on the faces of all present. If it had ended quickly, they’d have assumed Qin Ming was hopelessly outmatched. But the outcome was precisely the opposite!

“He was pretending to be weak,” Chu Qiang smiled faintly, glanced at Candice, and turned to leave. Knowing the result was enough.

“This Qin Ming must be hiding something,” Chu Qiang mused inwardly.

“Yeah!” Zhao Ruo exclaimed in delight, “This kid really shocked everyone with his debut—no, he blazed onto the scene! It’s only his second day at the elite training camp.”

“He’s really brought honor to us!” Shi Jiang grinned broadly.

The door opened, and two figures emerged. Qin Ming led, William followed, ashen-faced.

“How did you lose? You said there was a ninety-nine point nine nine percent chance of victory!” Candice grabbed William’s collar, face twisted with rage. “But you delivered the one-in-ten-thousand!”

William opened his mouth, eyes red, nearly in tears.

“Speak! What happened? Even if you lost, it shouldn’t have ended so fast!” Candice demanded, almost roaring.

The others watched, listening intently.

“He—he—he bullied me!” William pointed at Qin Ming, sounding like a wronged child. “His combat power amplitude was superior!”

“Superior?” Candice was dumbfounded. “He’s only been here a day—how could his combat power amplitude be superior? We all know he only bought the first four levels of the Ninefold Thunder Blade, and he's trained for just half a month!”

“You ask me, who am I supposed to ask?” William quivered. “Two hundred and fifty billion—my two hundred and fifty billion, gone just like that!”

“And my two hundred and fifty billion!” Candice gritted his teeth.

He had lent William two hundred billion, and invested two hundred and fifty billion himself.

Ding…!

A chime sounded. Qin Ming glanced at his watch; one billion had already been credited to his account. With a few taps, he transferred six hundred million to Yang Hui, along with a message: Uncle Yang, earned a hundred million in a day—not bad business, right?

Ding…!

A hundred million was returned, with Yang Hui’s reply: My business is good, yours is better. I bet you’re quite pleased with yourself now. But giving Uncle Yang a hundred million—is that meant to embarrass me?

Qin Ming smiled quietly.

The other students crowded around him, introducing themselves one after another. No more mockery—only enthusiasm remained. William and Candice were already forgotten.

Qin Ming finally made his way downstairs, heading toward Jiangnan Pavilion.

“Feels good to make a name for yourself, right?” Zhao Ruo laughed. “Most of them come from powerful backgrounds and are tasked with recruiting other talents. Don’t take it to heart!”

“I understand,” Qin Ming replied. “It’s human nature to step on the weak and flatter the strong.”

“Junior Qin, you’d better be prepared. Soon, all sorts of factions will invite you. Eighteen years old, advanced war general, superior combat amplitude—tsk tsk, even I’m jealous. I suspect some groups will offer you a yearly activity fund of five hundred million. Prepare yourself!”

“Junior Qin, can I cling to your coattails?” Zhao Ruo crossed his arms, looking pitiful.

“I could use a maid to make my bed—how about you?” Qin Ming waved his hand grandly.

“Get lost!” Zhao Ruo laughed.

Before they even reached Jiangnan Pavilion, Qin Ming’s watch was flooded with emails from factions, like snowflakes piling up. The lowest offer was a hundred million a year. The Alliance Mall offered him six hundred million directly.

That number made Qin Ming’s heart skip a beat, stirring a hint of temptation. But only a hint.

His watch kept chiming; annoyed, he set it to silent.

“Junior Qin, don’t forget—on odd and even days each month, you must go out hunting to earn points. Otherwise, no matter how high your combat amplitude is, it’s useless!” Shi Jiang reminded him.

The elite training camp had rules: based on the students’ numbers, they rotated hunting outside on designated odd and even days. Usually, half the students went out each day, alternating to avoid overlap. Of course, it was optional.

“I remember,” Qin Ming nodded.

Returning to his quarters, he finally reviewed the emails and replied to all: Already signed with Extreme Martial Pavilion!

That afternoon, an S-grade battle suit and Blood Shadow Blade were delivered, along with eight hundred million worth of dragon blood—a reward from the Pavilion.

Qin Ming accepted without hesitation.

As for the dragon blood, he was advised to wait until his physique reached the peak of advanced war general for best results.

From that day on, he kept mostly to himself—except for meals, he rarely ventured out. Hunting? He’d long forgotten about it.

Others cared for points; he was indifferent.

July ninth.

Liu He came to visit.

“Teacher, other instructors give guidance every day, but you—it’s been a whole week since we met!” Qin Ming poured tea in the living room, face full of grievance.

“At my level, there are always many matters to attend to,” Liu He said sheepishly. “Today, I’ve made time—anything you don’t understand, I’ll explain it all!”

“Really?”

“Would your teacher lie to you?”

“That’s wonderful!”

“Don’t celebrate yet,” Liu He’s expression darkened. “Why haven’t you gone out to hunt beasts? Don’t you know that without hunting, your points will be last place? How will that reflect on your teacher?”

“Teacher, I’ve reached the peak of advanced war general—I plan to use the dragon blood today. Tomorrow, I’ll definitely be at War God level!”

“You’ve reached the peak?”

“Yes! I’ve already comprehended the sixth level of Ninefold Thunder Blade!”

“What?” Liu He was utterly shocked.

Improving physique was one thing—he’d advanced from quasi-warrior to advanced war general in two months, so reaching the peak after seven or eight days was reasonable.

But Ninefold Thunder Blade?

How many in the world have mastered the sixth level? Many War Gods who train in it never reach that far; no, it’s rare as phoenix feathers.

“Want to test it yourself?” Qin Ming flexed his fist.

“Let’s do it!” Liu He stood, one hand behind his back, the other before him.

Qin Ming threw a punch; a tempest whirled through the living room, sending cups flying and shattering them to dust. Even the coffee table was hurled against the wall.

Crack…!

His fist landed squarely in Liu He’s palm, echoing with a thunderous boom.

Liu He didn’t budge an inch, but awe lit his face: “That punch carried three hundred thousand kilograms of force—the peak of advanced war general, the amplitude of Ninefold Thunder Blade’s sixth level!”

“But the living room…” Qin Ming withdrew his fist and surveyed the chaos.

“We’ll have someone clean it up later,” Liu He dismissed it, eyes bright. “With your current amplitude, if you try the Trial Tower now, your combat amplitude could reach sixteen. Want to go? If you hit sixteen, Hong himself will meet you!”

“Better wait a bit,” Qin Ming hesitated. “Meeting Hong is a rare chance—I shouldn’t waste it. Teacher, I’ll wait until Ninefold Thunder Blade truly hits a bottleneck before seeing him, and then ask for guidance.”

“So you look down on your teacher, do you?”

“Teacher, what level have you reached with Ninefold Thunder Blade?”

“Seventh level—cough!” Liu He showed a hint of embarrassment. “But I’ve discussed the eighth and ninth levels with the Thunder God, so I know how to train them. Guiding you won’t be a problem.”

“That’s exactly the guidance I need!” Qin Ming was overjoyed.

“Good, today I’ll focus on teaching you Ninefold Thunder Blade!”

As for urging Qin Ming to hunt, Liu He no longer mentioned it.