NOVEL NEXT Ch. 31
Chapter 31: A Brutal Narrow Victory, Reputation Soaring to the Peak!
Zhang Daniu’s face twisted between agony and excitement, nearly unrecognizable, his expression distorted as he almost pressed it against Lei Qianjun’s.
Then came that whistling wolf-tooth mace.
In Lei Qianjun’s pupils, it grew larger and larger.
“For the Group! Lie down for me!”
“Bang—!”
A dull impact resounded, the kind that made one’s teeth ache.
Lei Qianjun, the Inner Sect prodigy at the peak of Qi Refining Eighth Level, didn’t even manage to fully deploy his protective spiritual energy before that unreasonable strike landed squarely on his shoulder.
“Crack!”
The sound of bone shattering was terrifyingly crisp.
A muffled groan squeezed out of Lei Qianjun’s throat as his body flew out like a torn sack, crashing heavily against the edge of the arena before instantly losing consciousness.
Once the commander fell, the remaining members of Thunder Hall completely lost their fighting spirit.
Within moments, they were all “escorted” off the stage by the members of the Ascension Group.
“Clang—!”
The bell signaling the end finally rang.
On the arena stood the twelve members of the Ascension Group—every one of them injured and disheveled, yet still standing!
As the bell echoed, the entire Martial Arena fell into dead silence.
If the first victory had left everyone shocked and bewildered—
Then this one was different.
Now, there was awe… and even a chill rising from the depths of their hearts.
The Ascension Group had won. Again.
And this time, their opponent was Thunder Hall—the publicly recognized favorite for the championship!
Though the victory was tragic and messy, with nearly half their team knocked off the stage, in the end—they had won!
“The twelfth group: all members of Thunder Hall have lost combat capability. Ascension Group—victory!”
The Host Elder’s voice carried a trace of complexity.
His gaze fell on the young man standing calmly below the stage, the one who had remained composed from beginning to end. His eyes glimmered with deep thought.
That menial disciple named Chu Feng—and his so-called “Ascension Group”—could no longer be described as a “dark horse.”
They were a rising tide, one powerful enough to overturn the entire Qingyun Sect!
“They won… again…”
“Good heavens, am I seeing things? They really took down Thunder Hall?!”
“Too ruthless… these guys are like a pack of mad dogs! With such a desperate fighting style, who wouldn’t be terrified to face them?”
The crowd erupted into chatter once again, but this time, no one dared to mock them as “unorthodox” or “third-rate.”
Victory—was the hardest truth of all!
On the main platform, several Elders exchanged looks, their astonishment impossible to hide.
“This one… is not simple.”
One Elder stroked his beard, muttering to himself.
“To triumph over stronger foes twice in a row, using completely different strategies—that’s not luck. That’s leadership!”
“Hmph, just some underhanded and dishonorable tricks!”
Another Elder, one close to the Li Aotian family, still refused to concede.
“If they were to fight properly, they wouldn’t withstand even one move from Thunder Hall!”
“But they won.”
The Sect Master, who had remained silent all along, finally spoke.
His gaze pierced through the crowd, landing on Chu Feng for the first time.
“Within the rules, all is fair.”
“The process doesn’t matter. What matters—is the result.”
“This Ascension Group… is quite interesting.”
With that single sentence, the Sect Master’s words sealed the matter.
If even the Sect Master found it “interesting,” who would dare to speak otherwise?
Elder Liu Changqing, standing nearby, was utterly overjoyed. His back straightened, his chest puffed up—it almost looked as if the Sect Master had praised him personally.
He glanced at Chu Feng, barely containing his delight.
I’m rich, I’m rich! This investment—its return isn’t just a hundredfold, it’s a thousandfold! This brat’s a walking gold mine!
On the other side, Li Aotian’s face darkened until it was nearly dripping ink.
The Sect Master’s evaluation was like an invisible slap across his face—burning and humiliating.
What he prided himself on—“righteousness and integrity”—was reduced to merely “the process.”
What he despised—“schemes and manipulation”—was recognized as “results.”
It felt as if the sky had collapsed, leaving him dizzy and powerless.
Beneath the arena, in the corner belonging to the Ascension Group—
The atmosphere there was completely different from the noisy crowd outside.
The injured members were being treated swiftly. Leng Yanran, assisted by a few meticulous female disciples, had set up a makeshift “field hospital.”
She was personally tending to Zhang Daniu’s shoulder and chest injuries.
The “Instant Hemostatic Ointment” truly lived up to its name—once applied, the bloody wound stopped bleeding instantly and formed a layer of dark medicinal scab.
“Hiss… ow ow ow! Cold… Cold CPO, go easy, please!”
Zhang Daniu grimaced in pain.
“Shut up.”
Leng Yanran’s words were cold as ice, but her hands had indeed gentled.
Watching this scene, Chu Feng didn’t rush to celebrate. Instead, he walked before all the participating members and bowed deeply.
“You’ve worked hard, my family.”
His voice wasn’t loud, but it carried genuine sincerity.
“Today, with your blood and sweat, you’ve defended the Group’s honor! You’ve shown the entire Sect that we of the Ascension Group are not cowards—we’re men!”
All the members, even the ones lying on the ground groaning in pain, struggled to sit up. Their eyes reddened, and a surge of heat swelled in their chests.
“President, it wasn’t hard!”
“For the Group—it’s worth it!”
“Yeah! Crushing those arrogant Inner Sect brats felt amazing!”
Chu Feng smiled faintly, straightening up as his voice rose sharply.
“I hereby announce: all warriors who fought in the second round will have their ‘War Bonds’ contribution points doubled from the originally promised amount!”
“All injured warriors will have their entire healing medicine expenses covered by the Group, plus an additional five hundred contribution points as ‘work injury compensation’!”
“Boom!”
At those words, everyone’s blood ignited!
Double points!
Injury compensation!
They bled, they fought—and the President saw it all! The rewards were solid and real!
In that moment, something unprecedented took root in the hearts of every member of the Ascension Group.
It felt like… they were no longer fighting merely for pills and profit.
They were truly fighting for the words—Ascension Group!
While the Group held their “post-war commendation meeting,” the second round of matches was nearing its end.
Fewer and fewer teams remained on stage, and not a single one of them was weak.
Li Aotian’s “Aotian Alliance” too had easily swept aside their opponents, advancing smoothly.
It was obvious to all that the next round would be the semifinals—where the final four would be decided.