Chapter 129: An Unexpected Challenge

"So that's how it is!"

Inside the library, Lin Fan looked at the book he had just set down, a bright gleam in his eyes. He had finished reading the final volume on River Realm cultivation techniques, and he now had a general understanding of the differences between this world and his own.

The differences were, in truth, extremely subtle—so subtle that once one reached a certain height in cultivation, they could be ignored. Of course, his current cultivation was far too weak to manage that.

Yet, having read through all the techniques, he was now capable of integrating his own martial arts and cultivation methods.

In his past life, the technique he practiced was called the Heaven-Swallowing Method. It absorbed the essence of heaven and earth with the momentum of a whale gulping the ocean; the amount of energy drawn in with every breath was truly astonishing.

In swordsmanship, he possessed the Nine Styles of the Blade.
In movement techniques, he had the Rainbow Transformation and the Willow Following the Wind.
In footwork, he had the Inch Step, the Nine Steps Against Heaven, and the Four Extremes Walk.
In combat skills, he had the Heaven-Shaking Force and the Soaring Dragon Seal.
And among his divine abilities, he had even more...

Now, he could finally modify these earth-shattering, powerful techniques from his past life. Even if he only adapted them to the lower levels, it would be enough to make his cultivation and combat prowess skyrocket!

Lin Fan pondered for a moment. He had read every book accessible in this library; there was no point in staying, and it was highly impractical to waste academy credits every day. Naturally, he couldn't integrate his techniques here.

Without further ado, Lin Fan descended from the fifth floor of the library. He soon reached the second floor, only to find the area packed with people.

"Finally!"
"He's down!"
"Damn, heaven truly rewards the diligent!"
"Is that Lin Fan? Doesn't look like much—only at the Qi Pulse Realm!"
"Go tell the boss! Don't let someone else snatch him first!"

The moment Lin Fan appeared, countless voices erupted. The crowd blocking the library looked at him as if they had found their long-lost relatives, their eyes flashing with excitement.

"What's going on?"

Lin Fan scratched his head, feeling a bit awkward. It seemed these people had been waiting for him, and for a moment, he didn't know what to say. He felt it would be polite to greet them, but at a loss for words, he paused for two seconds before his eyes brightened. "Have you guys eaten?"

Pfft!

The sound of internal vomiting echoed in the hearts of countless people.

*Eaten your grandmother!*
*Do you have any idea how long we’ve been waiting for you?*

"Negative emotion points from Beibingyang: +333!"
"Negative emotion points from Wang Han: +333!"
"Negative emotion points from Murong Cun: +333!"
"Negative emotion points from..."

Countless negative emotion points surged, and in an instant, the tally in Lin Fan’s system backend increased by over eight thousand.

"Cut the crap! You’re Lin Fan, right? I’ve been waiting for you for days. I challenge you!" A burly man with a head of bright red hair stepped out from the crowd, looking at Lin Fan with a provocative gaze.

They had been at the academy for seventeen days now. After picking their techniques and skills from the library, they had gone to the Mind-Clearing Tower to cultivate. Their two thousand credits were long gone, and their cultivation had improved significantly.

However, two thousand credits were only enough for twenty days in the tower, and they had already spent hundreds just selecting their techniques. They weren't like Lin Fan, who possessed the soul strength of a Pulse-Connecting Realm expert and the high-level cultivation of his past life, allowing him to scan and instantly comprehend every technique.

For them, choosing suitable techniques from thousands of books was no easy task. It had taken them two or three days, or even longer, costing them many credits. In reality, they had only spent about ten days cultivating on the first floor of the tower before coming out.

Once they emerged, they realized how difficult it was to earn credits. They had tried going to the back mountains to hunt fierce beasts, but a full day only yielded a few Tier 3 beasts and two or three credits. They tried taking on tasks, only to find them too difficult or not worth the effort. They even tried bribing upperclassmen to learn that breaking academy records—such as having the highest strength, attack, or speed for their cultivation level—could earn credits. Unfortunately, they had all failed.

Finally, they remembered the challenge rankings the Dean had mentioned during the entrance exam.

Everyone grew excited and began inquiring about the rankings. They realized the rankings were based purely on credit count, not actual strength. It was said that some Pulse-Connecting experts had only a few hundred credits, while some in the Qi Pulse Realm had thousands, making the rankings a very inaccurate measure of power.

Now, seventeen days into the term, with thirteen days left until the next credit distribution, they saw this as their only path. After investigating, they were shocked to find that the top-ranked student, Lin Fan, was only at the early stage of the Qi Pulse Realm. Apparently, that cultivation level was achieved in the Trial Space, and he had entered the academy at the early stage of the Qi-Induction Realm!

What a joke.

Many of them were at the early, middle, late, or even peak stages of the Qi Pulse Realm, and some hadn't even made it into the top hundred. Yet this Lin Fan had taken first place with only Qi-Induction Realm cultivation? Even if he had broken through in the Trial Space, what did that prove? Luck?

In their eyes, it was impossible for a Qi Pulse Realm beginner like Lin Fan to have secured so many credits. There was only one explanation: he had received an inheritance that included a massive amount of credits.

They could challenge those ranked above them as many times as they liked, and those ranked higher were obligated to accept two challenges per month. If they successfully challenged Lin Fan, they would become the top student of their year and receive twelve thousand credits during the next distribution. There was no easier way to earn credits.

Without a second thought, they had started searching for Lin Fan. They weren't acquainted, so they had to investigate until someone who had seen him in the Trial Space identified his appearance. They scoured the academy, checked the Mind-Clearing Tower, and finally heard he was in the library, leading them to swarm the entrance.

Unfortunately, their tokens were mostly Bronze or Silver, with only a few Gold, and none reached Purple-Gold or Crimson-Crystal, so how could they possibly bypass the formations guarding the fourth and fifth floors? Tokens only upgraded automatically in the Trial Space; outside, it was incredibly difficult.

Below 100 credits was Bronze, 100 was Silver, 1,000 was Gold, 10,000 was Purple-Gold, 100,000 was Crimson-Crystal, and 1,000,000 was Blood-Crystal. And you couldn't just have the credits; you had to donate them to the academy to upgrade the token, effectively spending the credits to buy a higher status.

They had been waiting for days, exhausted and jealous of Lin Fan’s ability to enter the upper levels. Seeing him finally descend, they were thrilled—only to be met with that ridiculous question. *Can't you see we're waiting for you? "Have you eaten?" We want to eat you!*

Listening to the burly man, Lin Fan scratched his head. "Just because you challenge me, I have to accept?"

"You can choose to refuse, but don't forget that you must accept two challenges a month. I'm only at the early stage of the Qi Pulse Realm. Since we are at the same level, you wouldn't refuse me just to accept a challenge from someone stronger, would you?"