Chapter 165: Blood Surging with Passion

Hearing Xiao Nan brazenly calling her Junior Martial Aunt, Ning Ruyue rolled her pretty eyes in a graceful manner. She did not take offense; instead, the smile on her face grew even wider.

Unlike Sun Zhongli, her spiritual cultivation was far superior. As early as two years ago, she had reached the late stage of Embryonic Breathing, and by now she had barely touched the threshold of spiritual manifestation.

Whenever she engaged in combat with others, as long as their auras touched, she could roughly discern whether her opponent was strong or weak.

No matter how well an opponent concealed their external appearance, the perception of their aura was never wrong.

Just as she walked past Xiao Nan, she felt something was amiss.

Then, reaching out to gently touch the wrist of this convenient Junior Martial Uncle—who always wore a nonchalant expression—she sensed that vast, majestic, and faintly surging vital blood, his vital energy forming a seamless, unified circle... Along with his breathing, it actually held a posture of contending evenly with her own spiritual power.

How could she not understand this?

"So everything he said about his injuries improving and not worrying about the national college entrance examinations was entirely the truth. To think that I initially assumed he was just a stubborn person refusing to admit defeat."

Upon discovering this result, Ning Ruyue could not help but be overjoyed in her heart.

She thought that this time, taking office in Yuanjiang, her first symbolic policy could be considered successfully set ablaze.

The matters of Yuanjiang No. 1 High School students fighting for training grounds indeed had little to do with her. Even if the entire school performed poorly on exams and the school's subsequent resource allocation was reduced, she, Ning Ruyue, would still remain the Prefect of Yuanjiang, responsible for the city's safety, education, and people's livelihood.

In the eyes of others, as a Prefect, rolling up her sleeves and rushing to the front lines to fight over matters concerning students was a severe loss of dignity. With such idle time, it would be far more profitable to build good relationships with colleagues and get to know more influential people.

Consequently, the heads of other cities could not even be bothered to argue with her, and not a single person spoke up on her behalf.

"Hmph hmph, if you don't fight now, later on you won't even have the chance to fight even if you want to." Ning Ruyue clearly understood the deeper inside story and sneered inwardly.

She had her own demands, but at this moment she did not wish to say much. She simply dropped a word to Xiao Nan and stood off to the side, smiling as she prepared to watch how Xiao Nan would handle this matter.

Xiao Nan did not rush forward in a huff to argue with people as she had imagined; this situation was slightly peculiar.

She could only inwardly sigh slightly that the other party did not seem much like a seventeen or eighteen-year-old high school student, but rather resembled a seasoned veteran who had spent decades navigating the martial world.

Yet she did not believe that the other party would disregard the school's reputation and academic results.

A person who could sacrifice himself by burning his blood and soul to fight desperately to the death—

To say that such a person was cold-hearted simply made no sense.

...

Xiao Nan glanced at Ning Ruyue and immediately understood what this newly appointed Prefect was thinking.

With a slight smile, he returned to the school's resting seats and walked over to Wei Yunyun's side.

Seeing that she was still aggrieved, burying her face in the back of her chair and secretly shedding tears, he spoke in a soft voice: "Is this all it takes to break you? Who was it that told me earlier that we would get into Lijiang University together, and later help me complete missions to raise my vital blood? You cannot lose your fighting spirit, classmate."

"They are going too far."

Wei Yunyun wiped away a tear, raised her head with red-rimmed eyes, and said: "This exam is already difficult enough to begin with. If I don't even get to familiarize myself with the venue, I'm afraid my chances of passing will drop even further..."

"It's fine. Come with me; I'll go take back the venue. Disappointment and sadness will only make others laugh at us...

In my view, fighting over venues and bullying students from other schools is fake; their true purpose is to build momentum. By boosting their morale, they can accomplish everything in one go during the upcoming exam and perform beyond normal limits."

A radiant smile still hung on Xiao Nan's face. Neither furious nor resentful, he spoke with calm and undisturbed composure. It sounded as casual as saying, "Let's go grab a table for lunch; the braised pork belly today tastes pretty good."

"You must believe that with me here, Yuanjiang No. 1 High School has never been a pushover. Even at the site of the Lijiang preliminary examinations, it is only our turn to bully others; how could it ever be someone's turn to bully us?"

Wei Yunyun did not even clearly hear the latter part of his words. She only felt a surge of hot blood boiling in her chest, seemingly recalling the countless days and nights of desperate training from the past.

She abruptly stood up and followed behind Xiao Nan...

Over a dozen classmates in the same class, infected by the underlying fire concealed within Xiao Nan's calm tone at that moment, all involuntarily followed suit.

Not only that, but more than fifty other students from different classes also stood up, and the noisy commotion instantly died down.

At this moment, without knowing why, the auras within their bodies rolled like pearls, fusing into a single entity.

With Xiao Nan as the arrowhead, carrying a surging tide of anger, they marched straight toward the venue examination area.

If all the students of Yuanjiang No. 1 High School had previously been like a tray of scattered sand—a rabble devoid of spirit and vigor—at this very moment, they inexplicably exuded a few parts of fierce bravery.

At this instant, everyone seemed to remember the scene back at the vital blood examination grounds when Xiao Nan shattered a steel puppet with a single sword.

And they seemed to see him again by the grove in the back mountains, where his sword swept across the sky to execute the arrogant and supreme evil god apostle.

The thoughts of the crowd were deeply intertwined, advancing and retreating together.

This feeling was very familiar; it was called solidarity and shared purpose.

"Good grief, this kind of infectivity is truly an eye-opener. How on earth did he do it?"

Ning Ruyue watched from the sidelines with glowing eyes.

Sun Zhongli was left speechless, exchanging a bewildered look with two martial arts instructors, all of them completely baffled.

After a long while, he finally snapped out of it, and his face was filled with wild joy.

Spiritual power, this is advanced application of spiritual power; even I was infected by it.

Wasn't it said that his vital blood had collapsed, his spirit declined, and his strength had greatly deteriorated? There was not the slightest trace of decline in this situation; instead, he had advanced in leaps and bounds.

In this year's college entrance examination, with him here, at least one spot at a prestigious university was set in stone.

Even more likely, he would inspire all the students to perform exceptionally well, thereby achieving unimaginable scores.

The power of morale and fighting spirit is something no one dares to ignore.

...

Sensing the soaring fighting spirit emanating from the dozens of people behind him, the instigator, Xiao Nan, sighed inwardly.

Once upon a time, he too possessed such youthful temperament, unable to tolerate the slightest grievance and insisting on clarifying every single matter. When studying, he competed with classmates; when growing up, he competed with colleagues; when joining the army, he competed with comrades-in-arms; when entering battle, he competed with enemies.

Fighting to win, fighting for life and death.

Until one day, he simply lived out his days in plainness, lacking that boiling passion in his chest, leaving only the chilling blade of a cold, still mind piercing through the darkness.

"All those events of my past life should have long since turned into clouds of smoke. In this life, I am merely a young student marching at the very forefront, forging bravely ahead. Acting overly aged and mature would inevitably cause me to lose my sharp edge."

"Classmate Wei Yunyun, which school was it that just drove you away?"

Disregarding the surprised or suspicious gazes of all the schools and teachers around him, Xiao Nan's eyes grew somewhat sharper as he swept his gaze across the four competition passageways, each of which was guarded by a school team.

Donglin Affiliated High School, Nanhua No. 2 High School, Lijiang No. 1 Affiliated High School, and Yanghe High School.

It was precisely these four schools. Even though Xiao Nan did not pay much attention to the division of strengths among provincial high schools, he had still heard of these names.

"It's Wang Yang from Lijiang No. 1 Affiliated High School. His spiritual power seems to have reached the high stage of Sitting in Forgetfulness, gathering the strength of the crowd to suppress others with sheer spirit."

"There is also Zhu Xiangning from Yanghe High School. Her spiritual realm is also quite good, and she's fanning the flames from behind."

Xiao Nan raised his eyes and immediately spotted the two people Wei Yunyun pointed out.

Both of them were standing at the front of the students like the moon surrounded by stars, looking back expressionlessly at this moment.

However, from the mockery deep within their eyes, one could easily perceive the disdain in their hearts.