...

Challenging for the D-List championship.

Moreover, the challenge had been issued even with the knowledge that the opposing team had switched out members. Naturally, this challenge match between the Invincible Team and the Moon Wheel Team became the hot topic of the entire Eastern Capital Military Academy.

However, aside from the D-List championship match, another event caught the attention of all the students at the Eastern Capital Military Academy today.

Lin Ying was back.

The true number one student of the Eastern Capital Military Academy, leader of the Hunt God Team—ranked first on the A-List of the battle rankings—had successfully returned from the battlefield after a three-month deployment.

As the student council president of the Eastern Capital Military Academy. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Lin Ying wasn’t just number one in terms of strength; his influence at the Eastern Capital Military Academy was number one as well.

When Gao Neng, Fang Tangtang, and the others left their dormitory, they saw a large crowd of students surging toward the school gate. Even some of the instructors had gone out.

"Lin Ying is a third-year, at Tier Five Late Stage. According to the latest intel, he single-handedly killed a Tier Six Mid Stage Barbarian on the battlefield this time. As for the Hunt God Team as a whole, they’re estimated to have taken down at least several dozen Tier Five enemies," Feng Qingqing announced the latest information she had gathered.

"He’s that strong?" Kong Kun was astonished.

"Of course! He’s the number one student at the Eastern Capital Military Academy, after all. Plus, I heard Lin Ying might be on the verge of a breakthrough. If he reaches Tier Six, he’ll probably be stronger than many of the instructors!" Feng Qingqing said with certainty.

"Let’s go. We’ll head to the gate and see for ourselves." Hearing this, Gao Neng also felt a flicker of curiosity toward this legendary figure among the students of the Eastern Capital Military Academy.

He was determined to claim the top spot on the A-List.

Therefore, defeating Lin Ying was naturally part of his plan.

Getting an early look at his future defeated opponent was a form of wisdom for someone who had gotten this far on his own merit.

It was still early.

Fang Tangtang, naturally, had no objections.

The group blended into the crowd and made their way to the entrance of the Eastern Capital Military Academy. Everywhere they went, the upperclassmen were gossiping, while the freshmen were full of admiration.

Celebrities always have an aura about them.

Of course, this was Lin Ying’s moment in the spotlight. Although Gao Neng was a rising star, his accomplishments and influence couldn’t yet compare to Lin Ying’s.

Just as he was thinking this, several military jeeps pulled up to the school gate.

Soldiers in black military uniforms got out. Judging by the insignia on their shoulders, they were all at least Lieutenants. After dismounting, they all walked toward the last military jeep.

A moment later, four students stepped out of the jeep.

Three men and one woman.

"The one in the front is Lin Ying." Feng Qingqing had clearly gathered intel on the Hunt God Team, as she recognized Lin Ying at first glance.

Gao Neng looked over.

His brows furrowed slightly. This was a little different from the "return of the king" he had imagined.

Lin Ying was quite fair-skinned and had long hair. He was about 1.8 meters tall with a slender build, completely lacking the sun-weathered tan one might expect.

If Gao Neng’s handsomeness was breathtakingly divine...

...then Lin Ying belonged to the cool, refined type. And he was very refined.

But this refinement wasn’t the gentle disposition of a scholar. His body was covered in blood, and a crudely wrapped bandage was tied around his arm.

As for the other three...

Chen Qing was a short guy with a buzz cut.

Qiao Yaqiu could be considered a beauty, but unlike Feng Qingqing, Qiao Yaqiu seemed more intellectual. Her long hair fell to her shoulders, and her features were bright and sunny.

As for the last one, Han Yuping...

...he had more of a soldierly air about him.

He was all muscle, with dark skin, a square face, and stood nearly two meters tall. He looked like the type to charge headfirst into battle—or was he the cannon fodder sent to die?

This information was all recorded in Feng Qingqing’s little notebook. Gao Neng only needed a glance to guess the identities of all four.

"Lin Ying!"

"President! President!"

"..."

Seeing Lin Ying get out of the car, the students began to cheer.

Just then, Gao Neng saw a group of people approaching from a short distance away. It included Gui Zian, Vice Principal Wang Qixing, and several instructors from the War Academy.

When Gui Zian passed by Gao Neng, he paused for a moment but said nothing, walking straight toward Lin Ying and the others.

"Vice Principal Wang, Teacher Gui, Teacher Qin..." Upon seeing Gui Zian and the others, Lin Ying immediately stopped and greeted them respectfully.

"Mm, it’s been a tough deployment." Wang Qixing offered his sympathies on behalf of the Eastern Capital Military Academy.

"Vice Principal Wang, everyone from the four major military academies on the battlefield has been recalled. Even those few from the Western Alliance Military Academy have gone back. Did something happen?" It was Qiao Yaqiu who spoke.

Lin Ying and the others said nothing more.

Vice Principal Wang didn’t seem surprised, his gaze quickly shifting to Qiao Yaqiu.

"Something has come up. It’s good that you’ve all returned safely. Go back and get some rest. The school will make a formal announcement tomorrow," Vice Principal Wang replied.

"Thank you, Vice Principal Wang. Here are the battlefield statistics." Qiao Yaqiu nodded, then took out a record book and handed it to Vice Principal Wang.

"Very good." Vice Principal Wang personally accepted the record book.

What followed was some pleasantries between the instructors and the Hunt God Team. However, the instructors all seemed to know Lin Ying’s personality, so no one tried to ask him many questions.

Qiao Yaqiu took on the role of the main spokesperson.

The other two team members were also off to the side, answering questions to some extent.

As for Lin Ying, he looked toward Gui Zian.

"Teacher Gui, I hear we have some new junior brothers and sisters. Could you introduce them to me?" Lin Ying didn’t address Gui Zian as Vice Dean but as Teacher, indicating he was also one of Gui Zian’s students.

"Oh? Weren’t you always uninterested in this sort of thing before?" Gui Zian seemed a bit surprised.

"After returning, one inevitably hears things through the information network," Lin Ying explained, though his expression remained impassive.

"Mm. Gao Neng, you lot, come over and meet your senior brother." Hearing this, Gui Zian was no longer surprised.

After all, Lin Ying was the student council president.

Besides, now that he was back from the battlefield, communication lines were re-established. It was normal for him to have heard about Gao Neng.

Gao Neng and the others exchanged a look and decided to give Gui Zian some face.

The four of them stepped out from the crowd.

The gazes of the surrounding freshmen and upperclassmen all focused on Gao Neng’s group. Even the few instructors who had been chatting fell silent.

The top-ranked team on the A-List of the Eastern Capital Military Academy had finally met the academy’s rising stars.

’Will they start fighting?’

"Do you think Gao Neng will be reckless enough to challenge Lin Ying directly?"

"He’s not an idiot. One’s just barely Tier Two, while the other is about to break through to Tier Six. If Gao Neng challenges Lin Ying now, he’d probably be crippled in a single move, right?"

"Hahaha... that’s true."

The upperclassmen chuckled.

The freshmen, however, were unconvinced.

"When Lin Ying was a freshman, he didn’t form his own team and fight his way up the D-List! He got onto the D-List with a few second-years!"

"Exactly! In a few years, who knows who will be stronger!"

"He just has the advantage of age."

The freshmen now saw Gao Neng as their role model, so they were rather displeased to hear the upperclassmen’s gossip.

’Even if the two geniuses were to fight, it should at least be when their strengths are equal, right?’

...

The two teams came together.

There were no sparks as one might expect; instead, there was a hint of curiosity between them.

Feng Qingqing’s gaze was fixed on Qiao Yaqiu—the publicly acknowledged number one campus belle of the Eastern Capital Military Academy, a Tier Five Mid Stage expert, and the top-ranked female student.

Meanwhile, Kong Kun was looking at Han Yuping.

Han Yuping, the "Wild Bull." His fighting style lived up to his name—as wild as a bull. It was said that he once fought a Demon Race Wild Bull in close combat for half an hour on the battlefield without being defeated, thus earning his moniker.

As for Fang Tangtang and Gao Neng...

...both of them had their eyes on Lin Ying.

The short, buzz-cutted Chen Qing felt a little frustrated. He had heard about the Invincible Team from Qiao Yaqiu, so he knew that Fang Tangtang was a long-range attacker.

’So, according to the normal script... Everyone else is looking at their counterparts. This little loli should be looking at me, right? But why isn’t she looking at me?’

"You’re Gao Neng?" Lin Ying’s gaze landed on Gao Neng. He didn’t even glance at Kong Kun standing nearby, recognizing Gao Neng instantly.

"You’re Lin Ying?" Gao Neng returned the question.

"Mm. I heard you have a D-List championship match today. I’ll be watching." Lin Ying nodded, said nothing more, and left directly.

Seeing Lin Ying leave, Qiao Yaqiu and the others immediately followed.

Gui Zian glanced at Gao Neng.

"Are you confident?"

"I hear you’ve already placed bets outside, Teacher. Isn’t it a little late to be asking that question now?" Gao Neng gave a faint smile. ’You’ve already bet on me to win, don’t you have any goddamn clue?’

"So confident. If you lose, I’ll beat you to death!" The corner of Gui Zian’s mouth curved up slightly. He really had bet on Gao Neng to win—with his entire fortune.

If he really lost, he felt he probably wouldn’t be able to go on living.

So how could Gao Neng possibly be allowed to live?

...

「4:30 PM」

At that moment, the D-List championship match between the Invincible Team and the Moon Wheel Team officially began under the watchful eyes of the entire academy’s students and faculty.

Song Tianyun, Wang Qixing, and Gui Zian were all present.

Even the other vice principal, the dean of the Research Academy, who rarely made an appearance in the viewing hall, had taken a seat in the stands.

And there were far more students than usual as well.

Lin Ying had arrived early with the three other members of the Hunt God Team.

It wasn’t just Lin Ying. The second, third, and fourth-ranked teams on the battle rankings... all the teams that had been deployed to the battlefield had returned today.

The viewing hall was packed with people.

But unlike usual, the buzz of conversation was not loud.

Everyone’s eyes were fixed on the screen.

Soon, a line of text appeared on the screen.

Challenge Mode Selected: Hunt.

Battle Scene: Jungle.

"Four Tier Twos versus four Tier Threes, and they actually dared to choose Hunt?!" In the silent viewing hall, the first cry of surprise finally broke the quiet.