On the arena.

After testing Li Moyu’s reaction speed again,

Lin Zichen lightly leapt backward, opening distance with Li Moyu.

Next, he would test the last of Li Moyu’s attributes—strength.

Li Moyu didn’t know what Lin Zichen was thinking. He assumed Lin Zichen suddenly retreated because he realized his attacks weren’t working and was forced to stop and pull back.

Thinking that, he couldn’t help but laugh, “Lin Zichen, I underestimated your speed. But unfortunately, your strength is too weak. Even if your speed is fast enough to hit me, you can’t inflict any real damage. This duel—you’re destined to lose. Next, it’s my turn!”

As his words fell, his calves exploded with force and his whole body shot out like a cannonball, swinging a fist as big as a cooking pot straight at Lin Zichen’s face.

Since Lin Zichen liked punching people in the face so much, he would return the favor and let Lin Zichen taste what it felt like to be smashed in the face by a heavy fist!

Facing the lightning‑fast charge, Lin Zichen stood where he was without moving, showing no intention of dodging.

He would take Li Moyu’s attack head‑on to test his strength.

“Lin Zichen, dodge!”

The Ordinary Class students below the stage, seeing him still standing there, shouted themselves hoarse on the spot.

On the second‑floor corridor, the school leaders were all smiles, pleased at the hundred credits they were about to win.

Especially Ma Zhenhe—his lips were curled up so high it looked harder to press down than an AK’s recoil. He was already prepared to mock Liu Chuanwu.

On the arena, Li Moyu closed in on Lin Zichen and slammed his fist toward his face.

As the fist flew, the speed and power were so great that it rubbed a crackling boom out of the air itself—pure explosive force to the ear.

Everyone knew that if that punch landed on Lin Zichen’s face, he would be doomed.

But just as they thought the duel was over—an unbelievable scene unfolded!

With a bang, Li Moyu’s power‑laden fist smashed heavily into Lin Zichen’s face!

And Lin Zichen didn’t budge an inch; he wasn’t blasted off the arena at all!

Instead, Li Moyu’s expression suddenly changed drastically and he let out a miserable scream.

“My hand! My hand! It’s shattered!”

Li Moyu dropped to his knees, clutching his right hand. His forehead pressed to the floor as he curled up, howling in unbearable pain.

His entire right hand—along with his wrist and part of his forearm—had suffered a comminuted fracture.

The reason: his hand wasn’t as hard as Lin Zichen’s face. At the instant his fist struck, the bones in his hand went crack—shattering in several places.

In a flash, heart‑piercing pain flooded his whole body, making him bare his teeth and scream as saliva and snot ran uncontrollably.

“What’s going on?!”

“What happened to Li Moyu? What exactly just happened?!”

“Did Lin Zichen… win?!”

At that moment, the whole gymnasium erupted into noise.

Everyone was dumbfounded; no one could make sense of the scene on the arena.

It was clearly Li Moyu who had punched Lin Zichen in the face—so why was Li Moyu the one screaming?

It was too bizarre…

Looking at the kneeling Li Moyu, Lin Zichen evaluated.

‘The Demon‑Eyed Giant Ape Gene Fuser’s strength is immense—so great he even shattered his own hand. Strength exceeds defense.’

Then he looked toward the still‑stunned medical staff below and called out, “Li Moyu’s right hand should be a comminuted fracture. Hurry up and come treat him.”

‘His right hand has a comminuted fracture?’

Hearing Lin Zichen say that, a flicker of surprise crossed the faces of the medical team.

Immediately after, they rushed up onto the arena to examine the injury.

When they saw the whole of Li Moyu’s right hand had deformed, they were all shocked, unable to believe their eyes.

“Make way.”

A cool female voice was heard from the arena.

It was Yuan Dongzhi.

Without a sound, she dropped from the second‑floor corridor onto the arena.

The medical staff quickly stepped aside.

Yuan Dongzhi stopped before Li Moyu, lifted his right hand and used her spiritual power to examine the injury.

When she discovered that Li Moyu’s entire right hand—together with the wrist and part of the forearm—had suffered a comminuted fracture, she was inwardly stunned.

‘How did he get hurt like this? His hand struck Lin Zichen’s face and the backlash from his own power injured him? Then how hard must Lin Zichen’s face be?’

With that thought, Yuan Dongzhi produced a snow‑white little pill and flicked it precisely into Li Moyu’s mouth, helping him quickly heal the injury.

At the same time, she silently released her spiritual power and invaded Lin Zichen’s body, carefully probing him.

Lin Zichen’s senses were razor‑keen—he immediately detected Yuan Dongzhi’s probing.

But he could only act as though he hadn’t noticed, letting her examine him.

He only hoped the biological attribute Natural Camouflage could fool her.

After a round of probing,

Yuan Dongzhi learned that Lin Zichen’s Biological Level was Ordinary Tier 6, his skin hardness far exceeded others of the same tier and the strength of his facial bones and muscles was absurdly high.

Aside from those points, there was nothing special.

But that was odd.

‘Why were the facial bones and muscles so exceptionally strong while the rest of the body was normal? That didn’t fit normal human physiology.’

Yuan Dongzhi frowned slightly, puzzled.

She thought for a moment but couldn’t figure it out.

Soon, she leapt away, returning to the second‑floor corridor.

As soon as she landed, the other school leaders asked what had happened below.

She didn’t say much.

She only stated that Li Moyu’s right hand had a comminuted fracture, that Lin Zichen’s Biological Level had reached Ordinary Tier 6 and that his facial bones and facial muscles possessed an extraordinarily high innate strength.

She said those three points mainly to explain the bizarre scene that had just played out on the arena.

As for Lin Zichen having completed one round of Skin Tempering via the Blood‑Tempering Art—she chose to keep that to herself.

Hearing her explanation, the other school leaders were incredulous.

‘Lin Zichen’s Biological Level is actually Ordinary Tier 6?’

But how could a just‑enrolled freshman—without Gene Fusion or Mechanical Modification—evolve to Ordinary Tier 6?

‘He must be a beast in human skin!’

The more they thought about it, the more absurd it sounded.

Liu Chuanwu also found it absurd, but outwardly he still feigned calm, “This is the power of the Pureblood Human Path—this is the power of the Blood‑Tempering Art.”

The others’ lips twitched; in their hearts they silently roasted him.

‘Give it a rest, Liu Chuanwu. You were just pale with fear of losing and now you’ve got the face to claim credit for the Pureblood Human Path?’

Beside them, Yuan Dongzhi watched Lin Zichen on the arena in silence, lost in thought.

‘Could this Lin Zichen be the same kind as Qianxue? No. Probably not. Aside from physical toughness far beyond their peers, those two have nothing else in common.’

* * *

Seeing Yuan Dongzhi leave, Lin Zichen knew the effect of his biological attribute Natural Camouflage had successfully fooled the Vice Principal of Shan University.

His heart lifted slightly.

The attribute’s effect was stronger than he had imagined.

On the other side, Li Moyu—whose right hand had just been a comminuted fracture—had already fully recovered.

He flexed his right hand. Seeing it whole again, he couldn’t help but feel shocked.

‘What miracle pill did Yuan Dongzhi just feed me? How can it heal so powerfully?’

He didn’t think much further. Soon, his gaze fell on Lin Zichen again.

The moment he recalled punching Lin Zichen’s face, his right hand started to tremble uncontrollably, the trauma lingering.

That punch had hurt too much—so much it felt like his nerves were convulsing.

After steadying his mood a little, Li Moyu looked at Lin Zichen like he was a monster and asked, “What is your true strength?”

Lin Zichen didn’t answer. Instead he asked, “Is your hand okay now?”

“It’s fine—good as new.”

Right in front of him, Li Moyu flexed his right hand to prove it had healed.

Lin Zichen nodded, “Good.”

As the word fell, he lunged, instantly closing on Li Moyu and driving a kick into his abdomen, booting him clean off the arena.

“???”

Still flying backward through the air, Li Moyu’s head was full of question marks.

‘So you asked if I was okay just so you could kick me down without any psychological burden?’

[1s]

[2s]

[3s]

[4s…]

The moment Li Moyu was kicked off the stage, a stopwatch immediately appeared on the big screen and began counting.

When it reached [10s], Li Moyu climbed to his feet and shouted up at the arena, “Lin Zichen, when my Gene Fusion advances further, I’ll come challenge you again—and I’ll beat you in the arena!”

He Yu mercilessly cut him off, shouting even louder, “You think only you can do Gene Fusion? Lin Zichen can too—he’ll sit on your head for life!”

Still confident yet stubborn, Li Moyu retorted, “My Gene Fusion adaptability is as high as 16%, with various special constitutions supporting me. Walking the Gene Fusion path—other than my brother Li Yijin—no one can surpass me!”

“Hilarious!”

A freshman of the Ordinary Class laughed, “First time in my life I’ve seen someone lose and still brag so righteously!”

A Gifted Class freshman shot back, “What are you so proud of? Li Moyu lost to Lin Zichen, not to you!”

“Heh, as long as I’m in the Ordinary Class and Lin Zichen’s in the Ordinary Class, I’ll keep laughing at you Gifted Class lot!”

“Trash—what gives you the face to laugh?”

Hot‑blooded youths—an instant later they were quarreling.

As more and more joined the fray, it slowly turned into a passionate shouting match between the Ordinary Class and the Gifted Class.

* * *

Lin Zichen stood silent and alone, waiting for the stopwatch to reach one full minute and secure the title of Freshman King.

During that time, no one dared step up to stop him.

People either traded shouts or stared silently at the ticking numbers, waiting for the birth of the Freshman King.

[57s]

[58s]

[59s]

[60s]

At the instant it hit [60s], a beam of phosphorescence shot from the big screen and fell upon Lin Zichen’s face for facial recognition.

As soon as recognition succeeded, Lin Zichen’s enrollment photo appeared on the big screen.

Above the photo, a conspicuous congratulatory message read:

[Congratulations to Lin Zichen of Martial Arts Class 1 for becoming this year’s Freshman King!]

Although he didn’t need to attend class with the cohort, his student record was still assigned to Martial Arts Class 1.

Next, the gym’s speakers also broadcast the congratulation:

[Congratulations to Lin Zichen of Martial Arts Class 1 for becoming this year’s Freshman King!]

At that moment, the entire gymnasium fell silent.

It all felt unreal.

The title of Freshman King had actually been taken by a freshman from the Ordinary Class.

In all the years since Shanhai University was founded, this was the first time a non‑Gifted Class freshman had crushed the Gifted Class to claim Freshman King.

It broke school history!

Right now, everyone was witnessing an unbelievable moment.

Not long after, the place erupted.

“Brother Chen, is so awesome!”

“Lin Zichen really took Freshman King—that’s outrageous!”

“God Chen—the glory of the Ordinary Class!”

A great many Ordinary Class freshmen cheered for Lin Zichen—and for their class.

The Gifted Class freshmen, however, felt ashamed, standing quietly without a word.

Lin Zichen ignored the cheers.

He used the biological attribute Eye of the Sky to swiftly locate Shen Qinghan in the crowd.

Then he leapt high, landed before her, wrapped an arm around her waist and in the next bound carried her back onto the arena.

Many onlookers didn’t understand what they were seeing.

Those who knew their relationship thought Lin Zichen was taking this highlight moment—having become Freshman King—to publicly declare it to the freshmen.

Shen Qinghan thought so too. Her pretty face flushed hot, her heart pounded and nervous anticipation gripped her as she unconsciously squeezed her legs together.

Just as all eyes fixed on the arena, Lin Zichen unexpectedly jumped back down, leaving Shen Qinghan alone on stage.

At the same time, a stopwatch instantly appeared on the big screen and began counting as usual.

[1s]

[2s]

[3s]

[4s…]

As the stopwatch started, Lin Zichen said to the Gifted Class freshmen below, “As for second through tenth place—I’m taking all of them.”

At those words, the whole venue fell silent.

Everyone was stunned!

Taking Freshman King wasn’t enough—he wanted to take second through tenth as well?

So greedy?!

Seeing him go so far as to try and monopolize the top ten credits for himself, someone in the Gifted Class couldn’t bear it and shouted in fury:

“Lin Zichen, you’ve gone too far! Gifted Class, all of us—go! Rush him!”

“Damn it, get him!”

“If we don’t cripple you today, I’ll write my name backward!”

“And that traitor on the arena—Shen Qinghan—beat her too!”

“Pin her to the arena and grind her down!”

In that instant, nearly all the Gifted Class freshmen moved as one—like gamers grouping up to fight a boss—swarming toward Lin Zichen and Shen Qinghan.

As for ganging up and outnumbering them—none of them cared!

They had only one goal now: put the overbearing Lin Zichen and the ‘traitor’ Shen Qinghan down together!