Chapter 93

Principal Mao stood on tiptoe behind the crowd, waving his hands vigorously and mouthing a warning to Li Yao: "Don't fall for it, these reporters are just looking for big stories, don't get yourself into trouble!"

Li Yao smiled slightly at Principal Mao, indicating that he knew his limits, but in his heart, he felt a twinge of regret.

"Sorry, Principal Mao. I know you're doing this for my own good, not wanting me to completely fall out with Chixiao No. 2 High School and bring trouble upon myself."

"But how could someone as kind and honest as you understand the thoughts of someone like Helian Lie?"

"For someone like him, even if I score just one point higher than him in the college entrance exam, it's the greatest insult to him. No matter how low-key I am, how much I try to avoid conflict, or how much goodwill I show, he will never give up on trying to get back at me!"

"My compromise would only be interpreted as weakness, and it would only fuel his more疯狂的报复！"

"既然如此，我还有什么可顾忌的？以牙还牙，以眼还眼，有机会可以打脸的时候，就用尽十二万分的力气狠狠打下去——这才是我李耀为人处世的风格！"

Li Yao snatched the megaphone, cleared his throat, and shouted loudly, "Of course there's a hidden story!"

"What?"

All the reporters were instantly energized, like wolves that had caught the scent of a lamb, their eyes glowing green.

They had expected Li Yao to give a perfunctory response or say something like "no comment."

But they never expected the young man to be so cooperative and actually reveal a big scoop!

In an instant, the reporters were almost in tears, wanting to applaud and cheer for Li Yao.

Principal Mao sighed deeply, his hand on his forehead, his face filled with helplessness.

He knew this kid was a troublemaker, and if given a chance, he would dare to poke a hole in the sky!

"Zhao Shude, Zhao Shude, why did you have to offend this 'demon star'? This time, Chixiao No. 2 High School is in for a rough ride!" Principal Mao shook his head and sighed continuously.

Li Yao's eyes sparkled, and he spoke clearly and confidently:

"As everyone knows, two months ago, I represented Chixiao No. 2 High School in the Extreme Challenge, but I was injured in an accident, my spirit root development dropped significantly, and I was in a coma for a whole month, barely waking up!"

"Logically, I went out to bring glory to the school, and after being injured, the school should have taken good care of me, right? But when the management of Chixiao No. 2 High School found out that I was severely injured and seemingly unable to cultivate, they coldly demanded that I take a leave of absence on the day I woke up, and whether I could continue my studies would depend on my recovery!"

"And all of this was because I had offended the only son of Chixiao No. 2 High School's board member, Helian Ba, the student council president, Helian Lie!"

"Helian Lie and I had a grudge from before, and on Devil Dragon Island, I kicked him out of the competition and stole all the limelight. This new and old resentment made him go to any lengths to take revenge on me!"

"This is common knowledge at Chixiao No. 2 High School. You can interview any student, even the cafeteria cleaner, and they will know everything!"

"Fortunately, the heavens did not abandon me. Principal Mao of the Miners' Children High School recognized my potential and took me in, despite the great risk. After a month of intensive training, I managed to recover and achieved a good score in the college entrance exam!"

"Being the top scorer in Foguo City is, of course, a great honor, but what excites me the most are two things."

"First, I have not let down Principal Mao's trust and guidance. I have brought the highest honor to the Miners' Children High School, and I will continue to walk the path of cultivation as a graduate of 'Miners' High'!"

"Second, I have proven that the management of Chixiao No. 2 High School is blind. Making me leave the school is not my loss, but the greatest loss for Chixiao No. 2 High School—go ahead and regret it!"

"That's all I have to say. For the rest of the details, you can interview the students of Chixiao No. 2 High School, including Principal Zhao Shude, board member Helian Ba, and student council president Helian Lie. They might come up with a completely different story!"

After Li Yao finished speaking, he threw the microphone aside and walked away with a flourish.

But the storm he had unleashed exploded across the entire city of Foguo in just a few hours!

Severely injured, kicked out of a prestigious school, and then, a month later, making a miraculous comeback to represent a lowly school in the college entrance exam and winning the top score, slapping the prestigious school in the face—this story was full of twists and turns, stirring and moving, more exciting than any novel. The reporters were moved to the core, their blood boiling.

The reporters' news sense was extremely sharp, and they all realized that Li Yao's story could be hyped into a major event!

Without even returning to their interview vehicles, the reporters sat in the dilapidated campus of the Miners' Children High School, half-closing their eyes, their minds racing, and their thoughts swirling. In no time, they pieced together a series of vivid and dramatic special reports.

Reporters from major media outlets maintained a relatively objective stance, focusing on how Li Yao recovered his cultivation and improved his spirit root development. Their headlines were more restrained, mostly like this:

"The Demon Star Rises Again!"

"The Greatest Miracle in Foguo City's College Entrance Exam History!"

"What Happened in That Crazy Month?"

On the other hand, reporters from smaller and entertainment media outlets were less upright. These reporters were always looking for trouble, and even if there was nothing, they would fabricate big news. Now that Li Yao had revealed shocking insider information, a series of sensational headlines emerged:

"Shocking! The Biggest Scandal in Foguo City's Education History! Poor Genius Offends Rich Second Generation, Suffers Expulsion!"

"Love Triangle! Rich Second Generation Loses Girlfriend, Launches Vengeful Campaign!"

"Real Record of Five Days and Five Nights of Love and Hate on Devil Dragon Island!"

"Foguo City College Entrance Exam Ends, Chixiao No. 2 High School Becomes the Biggest Joke!"

"Helian Lie—The Half-Minute College Entrance Exam Top Scorer!"

This was the information age, and the economy was all about capturing attention. Within ten minutes, one sensational and exaggerated special report after another was transmitted through the spirit network to every corner of Foguo City. Every crystal brain terminal displayed videos of Li Yao angrily denouncing Chixiao No. 2 High School. Some clever media outlets even paired these videos with images of Helian Lie kneeling on the ground, vomiting, creating a stark and impactful contrast. The headlines read:

"Guess Who the Real College Entrance Exam Top Scorer Is?"

For a moment, everyone was in an uproar. Every forum related to Foguo City was flooded, and countless netizens left comments, with several threads exploding to over ten thousand replies in an instant!

Most netizens were gleeful, not because they had any particular fondness for Li Yao. A month ago, when Li Yao was severely injured and became a "fleeting demon star," netizens had mercilessly mocked and ridiculed him, reducing him to nothing.

But now that Li Yao had staged such a spectacular comeback, netizens almost didn't blink an eye before becoming his most loyal supporters.

The ridicule and mockery that had once been directed at Li Yao now multiplied a hundredfold and rained down on Chixiao No. 2 High School and Helian Lie like a storm.

"Ha ha ha, did you see that? That guy Helian Lie thought he was the top scorer, jumping around excitedly, but when the final results came out, he looked like he had been struck by lightning, and then he vomited all over the place!"

"Yeah, I saw the video too. Everyone should check it out, it's absolutely amazing!"

"I heard Helian Lie is a rich second generation, and he's very arrogant. This time, he's in for it!"

"The principal of Chixiao No. 2 High School is blind. Can't tell the difference between a genius and a waste of space? A genius who could become the top scorer in the college entrance exam was kicked out by him? If I were him, I'd gouge out my own eyes!"

Most netizens were ordinary people from the working class, with no good feelings toward the expensive private high school Chixiao No. 2 High School, and they were both envious and jealous of rich second-generation kids like Helian Lie.

This time, Li Yao, a poor kid from the slums, had given Chixiao No. 2 High School a clean and spectacular slap in the face, which was a sight to behold.

Other threads focused on Li Yao, and videos of his performance on Devil Dragon Island were rediscovered and posted online. Many netizens were seeing them for the first time and were thoroughly amazed by Li Yao's elusive yet fluid attacks.

"Is this for real? One person took out an entire enemy command post!"

"Powerful, incredibly powerful, no wonder he became the top scorer in the college entrance exam!"

"I heard Li Yao single-handedly fought a mutated giant-eyed ape injected with stimulants and cut off its head. Is this even human?"

"Compared to him, Helian Lie is just a piece of trash!"

"Idol! From today, Brother Yao is my only idol! We're all poor kids from the slums. If Brother Yao can do it, I can do it too! From today, I will train like Brother Yao and become the top scorer in the college entrance exam in three years!"

"Just you? Do you know how Brother Yao trains? Come, come, come, I'll show you a special training schedule that leaked from Chixiao No. 2 High School. They say Brother Yao trained like this."

"This—this is Brother Yao's daily training load? That's insane, he's like a demon beast! Impossible, absolutely impossible!"

"What, a day? This is just half a day's training load!"

Li Yao was like a spark that ignited the entire city of Foguo. From the dilapidated gray rock district to the golden and splendid Upper East Side, from the elderly to the elementary school students, from ordinary people to cultivators, everyone was enthusiastically discussing his story.

The entire city became a scorching furnace, with only one place as cold as an icehouse for storing corpses—the principal's office of Chixiao No. 2 High School!

Zhao Shude sat slumped behind his desk, a crystal brain terminal on it, the screen flashing with news reports from various media and a flood of netizen comments.

At first, he gritted his teeth and read through them one by one, but soon he was so angry that he almost lost control, unable to bear it any longer!

Zhao Shude's face was ashen, his breathing heavy, and beads of sweat the size of soybeans dripped from his forehead. His cloudy eyes occasionally shot out venomous glares.

The dozen or so school administrators he glanced at all lowered their heads, none daring to meet his gaze.

"How could this happen?"

Zhao Shude muttered to himself, closing his eyes and rubbing them vigorously, as if doing so could turn back time to two hours ago, to the moment when Helian Lie had just taken the top spot on the leaderboard.

He wished time could be frozen at that moment, when he was so full of spirit and vigor, and Chixiao No. 2 High School was so glorious and radiant!

Unfortunately, every time he opened his eyes, the screen always showed Li Yao's smug face.

This accursed demon star had ruined everything!

"Principal, it's bad, really bad!"

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