"Junior Zichen, teach him a lesson, I hate boys who like to morally blackmail others the most!"

"Junior Zichen, later I’ll cheer you on loudly!"

"Junior Zichen, go for it, I’ll capture some handsome photos of you!"

"..."

When Lin Zichen stepped forward to face his opponent, the whole place instantly erupted in noise.

Most of it came from Lin Zichen’s fangirls.

Hearing this one-sided support, Zhang Kai felt no pressure at all, he even felt like laughing.

‘You all think I’m just some brainless hothead? Wrong! Completely wrong! I am hiding wisdom behind foolishness!

You are at the third belt level and you think I’m only at the first belt, but actually I’m already at the fifth belt! I’m taking this chance to beat down this genius junior while he’s still undeveloped, to leave behind a glorious record in my martial arts career!’

Over the past month, Lin Zichen’s overwhelming martial talent had not escaped Zhang Kai’s notice.

He knew very well that if Lin Zichen was given another half year, no one on the team would be his match.

So, he had to seize the chance while Lin Zichen had only just started training, before his strength fully grew, to openly spar and crush him.

This way, the greater Lin Zichen’s martial achievements became later, the more he could brag.

He’d boast to everyone, saying, back then, I was the man who thrashed Genius Lin on the martial stage!

Lin Zichen had no idea Zhang Kai’s head was full of such thoughts.

He dismissed the floating text in the air, handed his clothes back to Shen Qinghan, then walked toward the martial stage, saying as he went:

"It’s already late, I need to go home for dinner, let’s finish this quickly."

"Come!"

Zhang Kai answered, raising his leg to head to the martial stage.

Coach Guo Xiangyuan, seeing this, followed them over.

On the stage, when both had taken their positions, Guo Xiangyuan said to them, "I’ll be the referee for this spar. Remember, friendship first, sparring second, don’t hurt the harmony."

Lin Zichen said, "Mm, understood, coach."

Zhang Kai didn’t reply, instead he looked toward the audience and shouted, "Xiao Li, record our sparring process!"

He wanted to preserve today’s record on video so that when Lin Zichen achieved something in the future, he could brag about it endlessly.

"Alright." Li Shutong, one of the martial arts team members, gave him an OK gesture, then took out his phone and started recording the stage.

Shen Qinghan, also in the audience, pulled out her phone too, recording Lin Zichen’s match.

But unlike Zhang Kai, she knew how strong Lin Zichen was, she was recording to keep a memory of his victory.

"Are you both ready?"

On the stage, Guo Xiangyuan looked at the two competitors.

“Ready."

"We can start, coach."

Seeing them prepared, Guo Xiangyuan retreated to the stage’s edge, raised his right hand high, then chopped it down hard:

"The spar officially begins!"

As soon as he spoke, neither moved immediately.

Zhang Kai looked at Lin Zichen, putting on airs with full confidence:

"Junior, you’ve only been on the team for just over a month, while I’ve been here almost two years. I’ll let you have three moves first, so you don’t say afterward that I bullied you."

"Fine."

Lin Zichen answered with few words, then suddenly stepped forward in a flash, instantly closing in on Zhang Kai and with one kick, sent him flying off the stage.

Zhang Kai was perplexed, "???"

The six teammates below, "Holy shit!"

Guo Xiangyuan was dumbstruck.

That milk tea senior sister (one that offered the milk) screamed, "Aaaah! Junior Zichen, you’re amazing, my soul’s been stolen by you!"

The other fangirls screamed in infatuation too.

* * *

On the stage.

Lin Zichen ignored the noise below, his focus all on the floating text before him.

[You defeated a rival, successfully captured the affection of the opposite sex and obtained priority mating rights]

[Total rivals eliminated: 1/1000]

Still need to eliminate 999 rivals...

Thinking this, Lin Zichen dismissed the text and looked at the six teammates below, "Do you six want to come spar with me too?"

"..."

But no one answered.

Everyone was still stunned by what had just happened.

The first to react was Zhang Kai, the one just kicked off the stage.

He endured the pain in his lower abdomen, struggled back up onto the stage and protested, "That one doesn’t count, I wasn’t ready, let’s go again!"

Guo Xiangyuan came back to his senses, frowned at Zhang Kai and said with displeasure, "Zhang Kai, you lost fair and square. Don’t disgrace the martial spirit by refusing to accept it."

Zhang Kai opened his mouth to argue, but Guo Xiangyuan gave him no chance, immediately looking toward Li Shutong in the audience, "Xiao Li, get up here and spar with Zichen."

"Oh, oh, okay!" Li Shutong put down his phone and climbed onto the stage.

* * *

In the time that followed.

Lin Zichen sparred with every teammate on the squad, winning all as expected.

But to keep his strength looking normal, he didn’t finish them instantly like he did with Zhang Kai.

Instead, he exchanged a few moves first, then defeated them.

This way, his exaggerated power in instantly beating Zhang Kai could be explained, avoiding unnecessary trouble.

Everyone would just think Zhang Kai was arrogant and careless, not that Lin Zichen actually had the strength to instantly defeat him.

"Genius, Zichen, you truly are a genius! You’ve only been on the martial arts team just over a month and already you’re the team’s ace! This year’s district martial arts tournament, our Shanhai Middle School will definitely beat the other nine schools and take first place!"

Guo Xiangyuan clapped Lin Zichen on the shoulder, grinning from ear to ear.

Meanwhile, Zhang Kai, who had originally been unwilling to accept it, now fully submitted.

He had carefully watched Lin Zichen’s spars with the others and realized there really was a gap between them, nothing more to say.

"Zichen, I, Zhang Kai, accept my loss. Even if you sat on my head to shit, I wouldn’t complain!"

Zhang Kai shouted to Lin Zichen, loud and proud, as if making an oath.

He thought this made him look cool, a man who admits defeat, who keeps his word, sure to win the girls’ favor.

But when the girls heard him say the crude word "shit," they instantly felt disgusted, not wanting to look at him at all.

Lin Zichen didn’t bother with Zhang Kai, he was frowning slightly at the floating text.

[Achievement: In an official competitive setting, by the most primitive biological means, eliminate 1000 different rivals.]

[Reward: Gain biological attribute—Natural Selection]

[Total rivals eliminated: 1/1000]

Only beating Zhang Kai had advanced the progress. Defeating the other six hadn’t.

Linking this with the earlier text after defeating Zhang Kai, Lin Zichen thought carefully and quickly reached a conclusion.

Not just any duel advanced the achievement task. It had to involve conflicting interests, a truly competitive duel, to progress.

And that first spar with Zhang Kai had been judged as the most primitive battle for mating rights.

“Looks like to finish this achievement, I’ll have to enter more tournaments.”

Lin Zichen murmured to himself.

Matches always carried competition.

Competition for ranking.

Competition for prizes.

So, as long as he won in tournaments, the achievement task’s progress would definitely advance.