In reality, everyone had intended to issue their challenges on the second day, but their bodies were so sore and exhausted from training that they simply couldn't manage it, and so they waited until the third.
The reason the group collectively challenged An Jing had nothing to do with Instructor Li calling him the "peerless leader." Over the past half-month, everyone had seen An Jing’s capabilities quite clearly. To put it simply, he was proficient in both letters and arms. When it came to intellectual pursuits, those who were better than him lacked his martial skill; when it came to... well, there was truly no one who could outmatch his martial prowess.
To put it briefly: once, during a training drill in the village, a big fellow named Zhan Feng got into a conflict with another child. Though Zhan Feng was only twelve, he stood eight feet tall; his opponent, while appearing lean and dark, possessed shocking strength. When the two began to fight, the air whipped around them, and no one else dared to get close. Yet, An Jing had simply pressed one hand onto each of their shoulders, pinning them to a table until they were unable to move and were begging for mercy.
Therefore, even if his status had initially been only "tacitly accepted," after half a month, everyone acknowledged An Jing as the de facto head senior student. The results of the limit tests also showed that An Jing possessed the greatest stamina among everyone present.
However, this recognition was predicated on the absence of any conflicting interests.
On the day of the test, An Jing’s dinner included an extra bowl of braised pork ribs and a bowl of green vegetable and tofu soup. The steaming ribs were incredibly fragrant, the brown sauce carrying a hint of spicy medicinal herbs that was enough to stir anyone's appetite. The soup, while seemingly ordinary, appeared to have been boiled from bones, carrying a rich, savory aroma that would satisfy even a professional chef.
Xuanming Village provided plenty of food—millet porridge, bean rice, and occasionally egg or tofu—not much, but consistent. But that was all. The moment that large bowl of braised pork ribs appeared, its greasy, savory aroma sent the entire dining hall into turmoil. An Jing did not even turn his head, but from the sound of rapid breathing, he knew that everyone looking at him had eyes glowing green with envy. In reality, his own eyes were glowing green, too.
Without a moment’s hesitation, An Jing finished the meat as quickly as he could. That night, the sound of teeth-grinding in the dormitory was twice as loud as usual, and the sleep-talking was dominated by words like "roasted meat" and "pork ribs." The palpable resentment nearly kept him awake. He was amused. He knew very well that he wouldn’t have a moment of peace for the foreseeable future.
But An Jing was not afraid. Competing for meat with him? Ha, what a joke! No matter who it was, he would not lose!
An Jing had enjoyed his pork ribs for three days. Once everyone had recovered and, under the instructor's supervision, finished the full course, ten of the thirteen candidates demanded to challenge An Jing.
"Consecutive battles?"
Upon hearing the rules announced by the instructor, Gu Yeqi, who had been trailing behind An Jing, widened her already large eyes. She asked with some confusion, "Instructor Li, this doesn't seem fair, does it? Does Brother Jing... does An Jing have to defeat every single challenger in a row to remain the head senior student?"
This girl, who hailed from the same place as An Jing, had a lively personality. Every time she saw him, she would happily call out "Brother Jing," and after training, she would often bring him a bowl of water. This sensation was quite novel for An Jing, who had never had a younger sister, so he was willing to look after her and often offered pointers on her martial arts. They had a good relationship. Of course, An Jing also knew that if he truly had a sister, she would never be as thoughtful and easy to care for as Gu Yeqi.
"That's right," added Zhang Ying, who was following behind An Jing with a bruise on his forehead. "And isn't this too advantageous for those who challenge later? Even if someone wins, I doubt anyone will be convinced!"
"If his stamina runs out, it only means his training is insufficient. If the others remain unconvinced, they can naturally challenge him again in the next ten-day cycle," said the One-Eyed Instructor, whose surname was Li. He looked at An Jing with a playful glint in his eyes, clearly intending to test his limits. "For you trainees, it doesn't take long to determine a winner. There is no possibility—and no one here has the skill—to drag this into a prolonged stalemate. A single mistake will decide the outcome."
"If you truly have the talent, defeating ten people in a row won't take even half an hour."
"Wanting to be the head senior student, the 'leader' of this batch? It isn't as simple as you think."
Instructor Li was right. An Jing didn't feel it was unfair at all. In fact, it was a good opportunity. A perfect opportunity to subdue everyone who refused to accept his lead!
The challenge allowed weapons, and everyone could choose the training equipment they were best with—wooden staves, wooden swords, or wooden knives. After all, the martial spirit of Dachen was incredibly strong, and many of these youths had been influenced by it since childhood.
An Jing chose a short staff to serve as a mace, mainly to block the challengers' weapons.
The first challenger used a knife; it was likely a family heirloom from a butcher, and his strikes were quite ruthless. It wasn't that he bore any deep malice, but rather that he understood An Jing's strength and knew that if he didn't give it his all, he might be taken down in an instant. He didn't think he could win, but for the sake of the meat, he was going to try!
After they bowed, the challenger led with an attack, stepping forward and swinging the long knife in an arc, aiming for An Jing's inner circle from a tricky, low-slung angle. But An Jing saw immediately that the boy's style was suited for a shorter meat-cutting knife, not a long blade, which required him to close the distance for close-quarters combat. Because the long knife was too long, his momentum shifted off-balance as he lunged. Seizing the moment, An Jing moved, parrying the knife aside with his staff and stepping in to push his opponent, sending the off-balance boy tumbling backward.
The second challenger’s ancestors were likely woodcutters. He used his axe well, and the weapon felt like an extension of his arm. He swung it with such force that it would have shattered bone had it landed. Had An Jing taken a hit, he would have been knocked unconscious on the spot. The only problem was that An Jing wasn't a tree. He moved. An Jing easily dodged the heavy, thunderous swing and tapped the challenger under the arm, causing the boy to stumble and voluntarily concede.
The third and fourth were not much trouble. One used a sword, the other a short spear. After a brief scuffle, An Jing found their openings and defeated them in turn. Their stamina was good and their talent was not bad, but they had mostly survived the Frost Calamity through the protection of their parents or plain luck. Even those who had killed before had done so mostly by chance; their martial skills were merely "passable."
An Jing, however, had practiced martial arts since childhood. On the Northern Frontier wilderness, he had fought horse bandits alongside his mother, and had even fought off desperate, maddened refugees multiple times. Whether in ambushes or head-on combat, his actual combat experience was vastly superior.
An Jing even had to constantly remind himself to hold back, lest his short staff instinctively strike for a heart or slash at a throat. That was why he chose the short staff; defeating these challengers to rightfully earn the status of the "Meat-Eating Senior Student" was one thing, but accidentally killing a classmate was quite another.
"Too far apart," Instructor Li muttered as he watched An Jing dismantle the fifth and sixth opponents like he was chopping vegetables. He couldn't help but shake his head. "I wanted to test this kid's mettle, but I hadn't expected the gap to be this wide."
He looked at the remaining four challengers with dissatisfaction. "None of them will do." Among the remaining four, only one had decent technique; the others could only bully younger children. Even so, they were at least three or four levels below the proficiency An Jing had displayed. Moreover, judging by the expression of absolute awe on the girl's face, she clearly saw the gap and had lost all fighting spirit; she would likely concede immediately.
By then, An Jing had already defeated the seventh challenger—this time without even using a weapon. He had caught the incoming staff with his bare hand and kicked the boy back a full ten feet, causing him to cough and wave his hand in surrender.
Only a quarter-hour had passed. Ten people—let alone half an hour—would likely struggle to last even a quarter-hour and a half. Instructor Li frowned. He had come here with a mission. While it was good that An Jing was so skilled, crushing everyone's spirit ran counter to his purpose.
His gaze swept across the room. There were over two hundred Children of Calamity; surely there were some whose natural talent rivaled An Jing's. But precisely because they were talented, they had already realized their lack of practical experience and knew they were no match for him. Those with combat experience and decent strength could also see the gap.
Instructor Li scanned a few potential seeds he had favored, but they showed no sign of wanting to fight. After a full circle, he finally spotted a boy who, while watching the fights, hadn't been intimidated; instead, he was clenching his fists in excitement. He had decent strength and might actually pose a threat to An Jing.
"You."
Instructor Li walked directly over to the boy, patted his shoulder, and gestured toward An Jing. "Go and knock him down."