The dense killing intent mingled with Dou Qi coalesced around Fen Tu Kuang Ge’s fist. Hall Tie’s coarse fur shot straight up from his back, and his feet scuffed backward, step after hesitant step.

Fear! Yes, genuine, bone-deep fear! Hall Tie suddenly tasted the metallic tang of death. If he didn't flee immediately, death itself might erupt from that very punch.

"You think you can just leave after you’re done?"

Beneath Fen Tu Kuang Ge’s feet, the Angry Lotus Dou Qi bloomed. Each step, though seemingly unhurried, rapidly sealed off Hall Tie’s planned escape route. The punch landed mercilessly into Hall Tie’s lower abdomen, instantly folding the man-bear over like a shrimp, his legs kicking uselessly off the ground.

The One Hundred and Eight Dou Aperture Secret Technique! A supreme Dou Qi secret passed down from Uncle En Lake, coupled with Fen Tu Kuang Ge’s desperate cultivation. Though the time spent grasping it was short, reinforced by life-and-death struggles and unexpected fortunes, his strength surged forward rapidly. If he could truly assimilate the essence of the Lucifer Heart within his Body, breaching the Golden Dou Heart would surely be just around the corner.

Fen Tu Kuang Ge struck Hall Tie, sending him airborne. With a slight tilt of his left shoulder and a swift upward lift of his right leg, he swept towards Hall Tie’s massive ursine head, sending the entire body sailing sideways before he swiftly reached out, snagging the bear’s ankle and yanking him back in.

Elbow… knee… side sweep… shoulder charge…

Not long before, everything Hall Tie had thrown at him, Fen Tu Kuang Ge mirrored perfectly, peeling away the Bloodline Battle Form in an instant. The number of broken bones in Hall Tie’s body was uncountable, before he was finally slammed heavily onto the ground.

Bang!

Hall Tie’s robust frame collided with the earth, making a dull thud reminiscent of a heavy sack hitting a dockyard floor, jolting the stunned onlookers back to their senses.

The Bloodline Warriors were bested again!

Few students had ever seen the true application of Qian Jin.

But this time, a massive audience of Warrior disciples had witnessed exactly how Hall Tie was defeated by Fen Tu Kuang Ge.

Defeated? It was less about a loss and more about being toyed with and brutalized by Fen Tu Kuang Ge, the Rampage Bear Bloodline Warrior. This was hardly a battle.

Dak stood amidst the gathered crowd, quietly observing Fen Tu Kuang Ge on the stage, radiating an aura like a God of War—this person who Hall Tie used to beat around for sport—had now so easily crushed him!

What… why? Dak stared blankly at Fen Tu Kuang Ge. He heard that this man had only recently encountered Qian Jin upon arriving at the academy. Afterward, he had followed Qian Jin everywhere. Could it be because of Qian Jin?

Could it be? Was it simply because he had accompanied Qian Jin during his travels? Had Qian Jin single-handedly elevated him to such terrifying strength? How could it be? How could this be? Dak instinctively rejected the conclusion his mind had already settled upon: Fen Tu Kuang Ge’s current stature was entirely tied to his association with Qian Jin.

Christine glanced at Dak beside her. Qian Jin had once offered him a hand, but Dak had refused! He had wanted to become an attendant to a Bloodline Warrior, yet no Bloodline Warrior had extended an invitation to him.

Now, the very man he rejected, Qian Jin, had defeated the Thunder Lion King—ranked number one in the War Conquest Academy—and seized the top spot on the Hundred Battles Ranking!

And Fen Tu Kuang Ge, who hadn't spent an excessively long time with Qian Jin, had undergone such a monumental transformation! Unconsciously, he was now carrying the banner for the ordinary warriors!

Christine yearned to know if Dak, given a glimpse of Qian Jin’s current achievements back then, would still have rejected him. Today, Qian Jin wasn't just formidable in personal combat; what was more terrifying was the influence he wielded!

From having nothing, Qian Jin had risen to become the leader of one of the strongest factions in the True Strategy Dynasty, a force that could challenge the large Bloodline Power Families and even command the respect of the Imperial Family—a goal most achieve only after countless generations, Qian Jin reached in a mere flash.

"No… it won't be like this…" Dak shook his head repeatedly, his eyes vacant. "It absolutely cannot be this way! I know Qian Jin too well; he couldn't possibly be this strong…"

Christine sighed, offering no further consolation. Though Qian Jin had left the academy, in the intervening time, the Torrent Fortress had dispatched seasoned commanders who had survived numerous wars to mentor her. Even the Nine-Headed Serpent Bloodline Family had sent over esteemed military strategists as counsel.

Compared to her previous military understanding, Christine had made immense strides, and those instructing her continually praised her swift progress and keen aptitude.

It wasn't just Christine! In fact, the entire Freaks Alliance—who among them hadn't received aid lately? Help flowing directly from the Nine-Headed Serpent Bloodline Family, and it was substantial help at that.

Not only the Nine-Headed Serpent Family’s assistance, but various major Guilds had also sent personnel ahead to lend support.

Christine had initially found it odd why all these major powers were offering guidance. Now it was obvious: the Serpent Emperor was manipulating events from behind the scenes, connecting everything.

Opportunity, sometimes, is but a fleeting moment. Christine sighed. She had seized hers. But Dak, since suffering that initial blow, had stubbornly fixated on the idea that only by following a Bloodline Warrior could one rise, abandoning everything he once held dear.

If only he had persisted for just a little longer, success would have been within reach! Christine couldn't help but lament for Dak, a peer from the same academy, who had suddenly given up right as the dawn was about to break.

Lilizago rubbed his eyes frantically. He knew Hall Tie might face a tough fight, and he knew Fen Tu Kuang Ge had become strong, but this level of strength? The one Hall Tie used to dominate casually was now the one doing the dominating.

"That day, your brother used vile tricks to defeat my elder brother. In the coming Newcomer King Tournament, I will utterly annihilate the honor of your Hall family!"

Fen Tu Kuang Ge didn't spare another glance for the still-conscious Hall Tie lying on the ground, who hadn't truly blacked out. He jumped off the stage and walked forward, stopping directly in front of Lilizago. "You, do you want to fight me too?"

Lilizago moved to the side like a serpent gliding away, clearing a path for Fen Tu Kuang Ge.

Fen Tu Kuang Ge calmly walked out of the War Conquest Academy, the feeling akin to being trapped in a dream. Hall Tie, who once stood before him like an insurmountable mountain, now seemed so weak? He had stood still, letting the brute strike him, and in the end, it was the opponent whose bones had snapped?

That Rampage Bear Bloodline Warrior, Hall Tie, the one who once knocked him flat with a single punch, was now as fragile as soft tofu.

It felt like a dream! Fen Tu Kuang Ge knew this was real, yet he struggled to believe it—that he had become this powerful without realizing it. Watching Gan Jin and the others grow stronger through battle day after day, he hadn't noticed how much he, too, had improved.

"Perhaps… I really can…" Though Fen Tu Kuang Ge had always strived, his mentality had sometimes wavered, comparing his pace to that of Duan Feng Bu Er and the others. But after this recent fight, the wavering certainty solidified once more.

As long as he could absorb more of the Lucifer Heart’s essence, breaking through to the Golden Dou Heart stage… Fen Tu Kuang Ge was beginning to grasp the sheer uniqueness of the Great True Gold Dou Qi. It not only refined the Dou Qi but made it extraordinarily solid. Among peers at the same level, few could condense their Dou Qi to such an impregnable degree.

If he reached the Golden Dou Heart, the Dou Qi would become even more compacted, perhaps even approaching a near-solid state!

Enter the Golden Dou Heart! Enter the Golden Dou Heart! Fen Tu Kuang Ge had never possessed such a burning, urgent desire to reach the Golden Dou Heart stage.

However, after entering the Golden Dou Heart, Fen Tu Kuang Ge identified a crucial dilemma concerning the Great True Gold Dou Qi. Its intense solidification meant his Golden Dou Heart would be far tougher than most others.

This presented a problem: to break through that hardened shell and generate a Dou Soul? Others might reach the necessary threshold for condensing a Dou Soul, but for him, breaking through might prove impossible.

Yet, if he did manage to forge a Dou Soul, its quality would surpass that of others, potentially reaching a level comparable to that of a Bloodline Warrior's Dou Soul.

Lost in this chain of thought, Fen Tu Kuang Ge unknowingly returned to the Torrent Fortress, completely unaware that the War Conquest Academy had descended into chaos the moment he left.

Ordinary warriors had once again defeated Bloodline Warriors of the same age group, and this victorious warrior, Fen Tu Kuang Ge, had previously been as defenseless as tofu against his opponent.

As time crawled on, the gap between the two sides in their previous encounters had completely inverted. Fen Tu Kuang Ge's name echoed through the academy's corners, but any astute observer saw the shadow standing behind him: Gan Jin!

This battle had occurred entirely without Gan Jin’s presence, yet it was steeped in his influence! News traveled quickly from the academy outwards to all directions.

Soon, these reports reached every major Family, every Merchant House, every Bloodline Clan… Students seeking knowledge in the academy were simultaneously burdened with the duty of gathering intelligence for their respective clans.

"Fen Tu Kuang Ge? Gan Jin!" Gan Wu Qing smashed the table beside him with a clenched fist, glaring hatefully out into the courtyard. He had desperately pushed his own cultivation, coming to this academy specifically to defeat Gan Jin and restore his own honor, and his father's!

But just as his strength finally reached the peak of the Golden Dou Heart realm, the news that arrived stated that Gan Jin had defeated Tian Lian Ling Guan, the Thunder Lion King—a powerhouse who had dominated the personal combat ranking of the War Conquest Academy for years.

Instead of closing the gap, the distance between them had quietly widened further and further.

"Is it possible… that I truly have no chance of winning?" Gan Wu Qing stared intently at the ground before him. "There are only three or four months until the Newcomer King Tournament. My time is running short. What should I do? I can’t defeat Gan Jin here. Go back to the Gan family? No…"