Chapter 169 Counter-Plundering Academic Credits

Stall him out! Wang Jinglong was convinced that if Lin Xiaobao attempted to withstand the deafening interference of the Heaven-Shattering Wheel, the drain on his spiritual power and mental energy would be astronomical. As long as he dragged the fight out, Lin Xiaobao was bound to lose.

Sensing this, Lin Xiaobao seemingly ignored Wang Jinglong entirely, thrusting the Seven-Colored Revolving Sword in his hand directly toward the Heaven-Shattering Wheel. Although the wheel moved with extreme agility under Wang Jinglong's skillful control, it could hardly match the blinding speed of Lin Xiaobao's blade, honed through relentless practice of the Dragon-Slaying Sword Technique.

Amidst a continuous barrage of metallic clashes, one notch after another appeared on the Heaven-Shattering Wheel. Realizing that maintaining this stalemate was a dead end, Wang Jinglong hardened his heart.

With a thunderous roar, he launched himself into the air, bringing his hands together sharply. The Heaven-Shattering Wheel emitted a series of shrill, eerie screeches, whipping up a powerful gale as it hurtled toward Lin Xiaobao. At the same time, Wang Jinglong spread his fingers wide, drawing countless strands of surrounding spiritual Qi to surge frantically into his body.

Profound Sun Divine Finger!

Fueled by abundant spiritual power, Wang Jinglong's fingers swelled visibly. With another fierce shout, he whipped his hands forward, sending ten streams of formidable, crimson-dyed spiritual Qi shooting rapidly toward Lin Xiaobao, tearing through the air with piercing shockwaves.

Clearly, Lin Xiaobao's relentless attacks on the Heaven-Shattering Wheel had thoroughly enraged Wang Jinglong, causing him to abandon all restraint.

Just as the Heaven-Shattering Wheel came hurtling in, the Seven-Colored Revolving Sword in Lin Xiaobao's hand split into seven in an instant, forming a sword array directly before him. The array's entrance swung wide open, and the moment the Heaven-Shattering Wheel flew inside, the barrier snapped shut.

Trapped within the brilliant seven-colored radiance, the Heaven-Shattering Wheel charged wildly in all directions, but to no avail as its luster rapidly dimmed. Hardening his resolve, Lin Xiaobao channeled a massive surge of spiritual energy into the sword array, firing seven distinct beams of colored light simultaneously into the wheel. Watching the Heaven-Shattering Wheel expand uncontrollably, Lin Xiaobao leaped backward in a rapid retreat while the seven swords merged back into a single blade resting in the palm of his hand.

At that exact moment, the force of Wang Jinglong's Profound Sun Divine Finger struck the swelling Heaven-Shattering Wheel. Retreating swiftly, Lin Xiaobao shifted sideways and took cover behind a cluster of large trees on the left.

A deafening blast shook the entire mountain as if struck by an earthquake. A flash of light swept across the protective barrier of the academy, silencing the tremors, while the overwhelming energy generated by the explosion vanished completely into thin air.

Even the massive trench carved into the ground by the blast began to heal and mend rapidly under the influence of the defensive formation.

Wang Jinglong had never imagined that Lin Xiaobao could neutralize his Heaven-Shattering Wheel in such a short span of time. The immense shockwave had blown him entirely off his feet, leaving his internal organs churning violently.

Not everyone possessed Lin Xiaobao's mastery of formations, granting him the ability to seek refuge behind the academy's protective array.

As the energy released by the bursting Heaven-Shattering Wheel was instantly swallowed by the barrier, Lin Xiaobao stepped out of formation with a look of awe. He glanced at Wang Jinglong, who lay on the ground with a crimson stain spreading across his chest—though whether blood stained the corner of his mouth remained hidden behind his mask.

Shrugging, Lin Xiaobao offered a hurried explanation, "Don't look at me, you destroyed the Heaven-Shattering Wheel yourself!"

With his beloved magical treasure destroyed and having suffered such sarcastic mockery from Lin Xiaobao, Wang Jinglong's eyes burned with intense fury, as if he longed to devour the boy alive. "You... cough... cough..." Driven to the brink of rage by his overwhelming anger, he coughed up several mouthfuls of blood.

"Didn't senior just say you wanted to teach me the academy's rules?" Facing the senior who had attempted to shake him down halfway, Lin Xiaobao's eyes held not a shred of pity. "Doesn't someone who loses a duel in the passageway have to surrender their academic credits, or am I mistaken?"

Reminded thus by Lin Xiaobao, Wang Jinglong finally realized he was currently in no condition to retaliate. Watching Lin Xiaobao step closer by the step, he had no choice but to begrudgingly hand over his jade token.

Gazing at the prominent figure of two thousand credits shining brightly on Wang Jinglong's token, Lin Xiaobao could not help but praise the much wealthier foundation of senior students. Without standing on ceremony, he took the token and transferred half of the credits into his own, bringing his personal balance up to fifteen hundred credits.

Wang Jinglong's heart was flooded with an inexpressible mix of bitter emotions. He had thought he was picking up easy prey, only to lose a thousand credits, destroy his high-grade spiritual weapon, and sustain severe injuries. His hatred for Lin Xiaobao burned fiercely, his eyes flashing with a sinister poison as he secretly plotted how to exact revenge in the future.

Yet, when he caught sight of the initial five hundred credits resting on Lin Xiaobao's token, his heart instantly chilled. He knew that with his current strength, retaliation was entirely out of the question—not to mention the fact that he had no idea what kind of face was concealed beneath Lin Xiaobao's mask.

As a senior student of Longxiang Academy, he naturally understood the true significance behind a freshman's starting credits. They represented a student's inherent potential; after testing, different levels of talent yielded different starting credits, with one hundred being the minimum and five hundred the maximum.

For Lin Xiaobao to complete the test in such a brief time and secure five hundred credits was not entirely unprecedented at Longxiang Academy, but every single person who had achieved such a feat in the past was a renowned titan on the Prestigious Roll.

The Prestigious Roll—its origin was lost in time, but it had endured through the generations at Longxiang Academy. Anyone who managed to secure a spot in the top ten of the Prestigious Roll invariably became a legendary, world-renowned figure upon leaving the academy and stepping out into the Longxiang Continent.

At this moment, Wang Jinglong felt a trace of regret, mingled with a heavy dose of jealousy. Fermented by his overflowing hatred, that jealousy rapidly expanded. Wang Jinglong knew he was no match for Lin Xiaobao, but within Longxiang Academy, martial power greater than his own was as numerous as carp crossing a river.

"You are indeed strong, but Longxiang Academy is definitely not a place where a mere freshman can run amok!" Wang Jinglong said through clenched teeth as he took back his token, which now held only a thousand credits.

Originally, Wang Jinglong had expected Lin Xiaobao, flushed with youthful arrogance, to boast loudly, thereby inadvertently casting himself into direct opposition with all the other senior students. However, Lin Xiaobao clearly refused to take the bait, smiling as he replied, "I don't know if I can beat everyone else, but at least I can beat you right now, can't I?"

Choking on his own breath from anger, Wang Jinglong began coughing violently once again.

Observing Wang Jinglong's pathetic state, Lin Xiaobao suddenly realized that continuous combat was actually an effective method to improve one's strength. With a chuckle, he remarked, "Since you dared to target my credits, you should have been prepared to be counter-robbed. No matter who it is, anyone who crosses my path will suffer the exact same fate!"

Youthful and arrogant indeed! Overjoyed to hear Lin Xiaobao speak in such a manner, Wang Jinglong immediately began scheming how to incite others to make things difficult for him.

To his surprise, Lin Xiaobao added, "Were you hoping I would say that? Well... I don't care!" With those words, a blur crossed the ground as Lin Xiaobao bolted toward the summit of the mountain.

Gazing at Lin Xiaobao's vanishing back, Wang Jinglong felt an unspeakable sensation rising in his chest—a feeling of utter insignificance, as if even his carefully calculated schemes were entirely beneath the boy's notice.

Yet, he deeply etched the image of Lin Xiaobao's seven-colored revolving sword into his mind. Though the youth's true face remained hidden, Wang Jinglong believed he could eventually unearth clues to Lin Xiaobao's identity. And when that day came...