Inside the private box.
Lance Xuanyuan stared intently at Leon: "Do you know about the border battlefields?"
Leon nodded. "I do. There are seven border battlefields along the Human–Devil border, and three along the Human–Demon border."
Lance continued, "Good, since you already know. The Human–Demon border is mostly peaceful, and battles are rare there. But the seven battlefields on the Human–Devil border see fighting all the time. Our contest this time will be to go to the Blood River Battlefield and kill Devils."
The Devil Race is naturally strong. Even without training, once they reach adulthood, their physical strength matches that of Qi-Refining martial artists.
The Devil Race is divided into ten great lineages: the Three-Eyed Devils, Strongarm Bull Devils, Nightmare Devils, Yaksha Devils, Devil Apes, Blade Devils, Primitive Devils, Winged Devils, Thousand-Eye Devils, and Shadow Devils. Each lineage has its own unique talents. For example, the Three-Eyed Devils can channel all their power into a single devastating beam from their third eye; the Strongarm Bull Devils possess overwhelming strength; the Nightmare Devils excel at creating illusions; the Yaksha Devils are bloodthirsty killers; the Blade Devils are natural saber masters; the Winged Devils can fly and serve as archers on the battlefield; the Thousand-Eye Devils have thousands of eyes all over their bodies and are peerless scouts; and the Shadow Devils are born assassins.
The Blood River Battlefield we're heading to is separated from the Strongarm Bull Devils' territory by nothing but the Blood River itself. The Strongarm Bull Devils often sneak across to launch surprise attacks on us, and every year, more than twenty thousand human warriors die there.
Of course, plenty of Strongarm Bull Devils meet their end at our swords too."
Leon asked, "So how do we determine the winner?"
"It's simple. Killing a Strongarm Bull Devil soldier earns you 1 point. Taking down a ten-man leader gets you 10 points, a hundred-man leader is worth 100 points, a thousand-man commander is 1,000 points, a ten-thousand-man commander is 10,000 points, and slaying a Devil general nets a whopping 100,000 points.
This time, we'll each lead a hundred soldiers to the Blood River Battlefield. The contest will last for three months, and whoever earns the most points in that time wins.
Also, I'll have my grandfather seal my cultivation at early Grandmaster. What do you think?
Leon shook his head at Lance's suggestion. "Your contest sounds interesting, but I don't need you to seal your cultivation. I may only be early Grandmaster, but with all my methods, I might not be weaker than you. If we're going to compete, let's go all out. That'll be much more exciting!"
Lance was briefly stunned, then laughed. "Alright, you're bolder than I thought. But let me make it clear—whoever loses can never approach Lynette Ji again. Do you agree?"
"No problem," Leon agreed without hesitation.
The next day.
No one knows who leaked the news, but word of Leon's contest with Lance quickly spread through the entire academy.
Early Grandmaster versus late Great Grandmaster!
The gap was enormous—even though Leon had formed a Heaven-Rank Domain, and it was the legendary Five-Element Domain, nobody thought he had a chance.
Some people sneered:
That Leon Huang is just reckless—he actually dares to challenge Lance Xuanyuan!
He's way too overconfident!
Yeah, he really thinks he's invincible!
Because of this news, students all over the academy started talking. Most people mocked and belittled Leon, while his friends secretly worried about him.
Even his most devoted fan, Shentu Wan'er, didn't think Leon had any chance of winning this time.
Soon after, another rumor started spreading.
The real reason for their contest is actually to compete for the academy's number one beauty among senior students—Lynette Ji.
No matter who loses, they'll never be allowed near Lynette Ji again.
As soon as this news got out, people started mocking Leon again:
Haha, that Leon Huang is such a womanizer—he actually dares to compete with Lance Xuanyuan for a girl!
Lance Xuanyuan and Lynette Ji are a perfect match—what is Leon Huang, a mere toad, doing trying to eat swan meat?
Low-level student courtyard, where Harriet Gu lives.
Suddenly, frost condensed in an eight-meter radius around her room, and the temperature dropped sharply.
Her two roommates immediately realized it was Harriet Gu condensing a domain—she had officially stepped into the Grandmaster realm.
The Ice Frost Domain faded quickly, and Harriet Gu walked out of her room.
Compared to before, her presence was even colder, her face paler, and she seemed even harder to approach.
"Congratulations, Junior Sister Gu!"
"Congratulations on reaching the Grandmaster realm, Junior Sister Gu!"
Her two roommates stepped forward to offer their congratulations.
"Thank you!"
Harriet Gu replied coolly, then walked out.
Her roommates weren’t upset—they knew this was just Harriet’s personality.
As she walked through the courtyard, voices from nearby drifted into her ears.
Normally, she wouldn’t care what others were saying, but this time, the repeated mention of 'Leon Huang' caught her attention, and she subconsciously listened instead of tuning out the voices.
Heh, that Leon Huang is just a toad—he thinks he can chase after Senior Sister Ji.
That's right, only Senior Brother Xuanyuan is worthy of Senior Sister Ji!
Yeah, Senior Brother Xuanyuan is only twenty-four and already late Great Grandmaster. He'll probably become a Martial Saint before he's thirty!
There's probably only one Martial Saint under thirty in the whole world! Even though Leon Huang has formed a Heaven-Rank Domain, he's still far behind Senior Brother Xuanyuan!
......
All these comments kept drifting into Harriet Gu's ears, and for some reason, she felt uncomfortable.
Was it because people were belittling Leon Huang?
Or was it because Leon Huang was pursuing Lynette Ji?
She couldn’t even figure out the reason herself.
"Oh, Junior Sister Gu, you’ve come out of seclusion!"
Just then, Yoon Zhengyang and his group came down the path and bumped into Harriet Gu.
"Mm." Harriet Gu nodded coolly.
"Did you break through to Grandmaster?" Yoon Zhengyang continued asking.
Harriet Gu nodded.
Seeing her nod, Yoon Zhengyang and the others congratulated her, their eyes full of envy.
After the congratulations, Yoon Zhengyang said, "You came out at just the right time. We were about to go see Junior Brother Huang—come with us!"
"Not going."
Harriet Gu shook her head, bypassed the group, and kept walking. The group left behind looked surprised.
Rose Changsun couldn't stand it and, watching Harriet Gu's departing back, muttered coldly, "Some people are just too heartless. If not for the bottle of spirit-restoring pills Leon gave her, she might not have broken through to Grandmaster!"
"Little sister, don't talk nonsense," Howard Changsun scolded.
Rose retorted, "It's true! I'm just telling it like it is. She always acts cold, like everyone owes her something. Leon's always been good to us, and now he's in trouble. As his friends, shouldn't we help him or at least comfort him? But her—she got Leon's help and doesn't care about him at all. I really think he deserves better!"
Everyone fell silent at Rose's words. It was true—Harriet Gu really was too cold.
Harriet Gu paused slightly at Rose's words, but then kept walking as if she hadn't heard.