Chapter 9

For the entire morning, Zhou Xian accompanied Su Wenlong at the hospital for his check-up. It wasn't until noon, when the results came back showing that he was completely fine, that Zhou Xian finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank you so much, classmate."

"It's nothing, just a small favor. I happened to encounter such a situation, so I couldn't just stand by and do nothing." Zhou Xian had wanted to smile, but then he seemed to think of something and couldn't manage a smile.

"Classmate, are you facing some kind of difficulty? Perhaps I can help you." Su Wenlong looked at Zhou Xian with a kind smile. However, even this kind smile made Zhou Xian feel a bit pressured.

"Uh, nothing much, I just forgot to sign up for the Middle School Cup." Zhou Xian had been so busy accompanying Su Wenlong that he had forgotten the most important thing. By the time he realized it, his silent communication terminal already had over 20 text messages and more than ten missed calls.

"That's not a problem. Special circumstances call for special measures. You can sign up this afternoon. I'll have someone write a report and add your name to the list. You can participate in our competition tomorrow."

"Thank you so much, Mr. Su!"

Zhou Xian felt a great weight lifted off his shoulders.

...

"Old Zhou, over here! Over here!"

After saying goodbye to Su Wenlong and returning to the competition venue, Zhou Xian found that his Dragon Tomb Society had already advanced and could participate in tomorrow's competition.

"Where are Old Zhang and Chuyu?"

Zhou Xian had just arrived and noticed that these two were not around.

"Old Zhang went back. As for Li Chuyu, she went to help you fill out the forms and also to complete the registration for our Dragon Tomb Society. It might take her the whole day, and she told us not to disturb her. Old Zhou, we thought you had forgotten to sign up, but it turns out you were doing a good deed. That's impressive."

"Saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda."

Zhou Xian felt much more relaxed.

Not only had he saved Su Wenlong's father, but he had also secured his place in the competition. Indeed, he was very lucky.

However, Zhou Xian's timing was not great. He hadn't even been seated for two minutes when the competition was almost over. He only managed to watch one complete match.

"Everyone, please be quiet!"

The competition had just ended, and the students hadn't left yet. At this moment, a loud voice suddenly echoed across the venue.

"It's Li Zheng from the Swallow Heaven Society!"

Lai Yiming watched as Li Zheng walked from the audience to the arena, his face darkening.

"Everyone, you may not know, but while you were competing, the sacred Middle School Cup has been tainted—someone has used the power of a school trustee to secure a place in the competition that they shouldn't have had!"

"What is this guy talking about? Old Zhou was just late because he was doing a good deed." Xu Tianyun frowned as he looked at Li Zheng, who was speaking righteously on the stage. "Besides, what's the problem with adding one more person? If they're not strong enough, they'll be eliminated anyway."

Although Xu Tianyun said this, someone in the crowd suddenly shouted, "This is an abuse of power! This is using power for personal gain!"

This statement caused a stir among the students.

As everyone knew, the students here were middle schoolers, a group known for their rebellious nature. With Li Zheng's incitement and manipulation, and the help of people planted in the crowd to stir things up, the situation quickly escalated.

"Everyone, as you all know, the prize for this competition is the right to suggest the reconstruction of the D District dormitory. This means that the appearance of the D District dormitory will be entirely up to us. But at this moment, a trustee has inserted someone who doesn't have the qualifications to compete. Do you know why? The reason is simple: this person once helped the trustee! Because of this, our respected trustee has used public power for personal gain, placing this person on our team!"

"Damn!" Seeing the other students' "righteous indignation" being stirred up, Xu Tianyun was furious.

"Brilliant. He didn't say a single lie, but he successfully misled everyone." Lai Yiming sneered. "The real meaning of 'no qualifications' is that they don't have the right to compete, but Li Zheng, by using the context, made it seem like 'this person might not be a student' or 'might be a relative who was inserted.' The use of 'we' is also clever, immediately pulling the students to his side. Hmph..."

Hearing Lai Yiming's words, Tao Shan said, "Now that you mention it, it's true. What should Old Zhou do?"

Xu Tianyun was also puzzled. "Old Zhou did a good deed, but now it feels like he's done something terrible."

Originally, Zhou Xian would have lost his qualification for not signing up on time, but with Su Wenlong's help, he had a chance. However, the current situation clearly showed that someone was trying to use the students to completely suppress Zhou Xian. Li Zheng had even twisted the good deed into something sinister.

"Is it necessary to go to this extent?"

Zhou Xian narrowed his eyes as he observed Li Zheng.

"Indeed." Lai Yiming glanced at Zhou Xian. "This Li Zheng is a person who will do anything to achieve his goals. I specifically looked into his background, and he has almost no blemishes. But I found something interesting—every school he transferred to during his time there experienced some form of student unrest, and some seemingly inexplicable fights and brawls."

"Li Zheng, what a fitting name. It captures both the image and the meaning."

Xu Tianyun's mouth twitched.

"Let's go! We'll find the principal... no, we'll go directly to the trustee to seek justice!"

The students, likely planted by Li Zheng, quickly incited the crowd.

"Right! Let's seek justice!"

Seeing the crowd marching toward the principal's and trustee's offices, the members of the Dragon Tomb Society looked somewhat helpless.

"...I understand now. This guy is trying to ruin Zhou Xian completely!" Lai Yiming's eyes were practically on fire!

"Oh no, if Old Zhou's reputation is ruined by this guy, it'll be over!" Xu Tianyun was also shocked.

"Zhou Xian, you're in big trouble, do you know that?"

At this moment, Su Xiaoyue suddenly pushed her way through the crowd and approached Zhou Xian.

"It's Su Xiaoyue!"

Tao Shan and Xu Tianyun's eyes immediately lit up.

"Zhou Xian, what do you plan to do next?" Su Xiaoyue asked.

"...I haven't really thought about it." Zhou Xian shook his head honestly.

"..."

Su Xiaoyue, who was about to say something, felt extremely uncomfortable after hearing Zhou Xian's honest answer.

"Forget it, come with me now."

Zhou Xian asked, puzzled, "What for?"

Su Xiaoyue waved her communication terminal. "To watch a good show, of course. When Li Zheng was speaking, I called my dad right away. He heard the entire 'speech.'"

"Uh..."

Zhou Xian hadn't realized that Su Xiaoyue could be so devious at times.

"Alright, let's follow them!"

Su Xiaoyue then led Zhou Xian toward the office building, with Tao Shan and the others following discreetly.

"Hey, what will happen if our dance fairy Li Chuyu encounters this situation?" Xu Tianyun asked, somewhat gleefully.

"Probably a massacre... or a love triangle..." Lai Yiming glanced at Zhou Xian.

However, Zhou Xian didn't know that his teammates were secretly mocking him. At this moment, Su Xiaoyue, with a flushed face, was standing beside him, unsure whether to speak or do something.

"Anyway, thank you!"

After hesitating for a while, seeing that they were almost at their destination and that she might not have another chance, Su Xiaoyue finally said it quickly.

"Ah, no problem, it was just a small favor. I just didn't want to see you sad." Zhou Xian remembered the Su Xiaoyue who had cried and made a fuss in another scenario.

"..."

Su Xiaoyue's face turned even redder. "Alright, the office is just ahead. You can go on your own!"

With that, Su Xiaoyue ran off, leaving Zhou Xian and the others behind.

"What happened to Su Xiaoyue?"

"It's none of your business. Let's go see what Li Zheng is up to."

"...This classmate's act of bravery is very admirable. I believe it's completely fine to include this classmate in the competition—he lost his chance to sign up because of his act of bravery."

When Zhou Xian arrived, Su Wenlong, dressed formally, was facing off against Li Zheng and a group of students. Someone had even brought a megaphone to broadcast the conversation.

Su Wenlong, however, seemed unperturbed, calmly scanning the crowd with a steady gaze.

"This is an abuse of power!" Li Zheng said fearlessly. "This isn't true fairness! This isn't according to the rules! This isn't what we want!"

However, Su Wenlong remained calm, never once looking at Li Zheng.

"The purpose of the Middle School Cup is to cultivate students' competitive spirit and teamwork. While the concept of winning and losing is important, it is secondary. If our school fails to cultivate students into true talents with noble character, then I must say that our education is a failure, a disgrace. As a trustee of our school, I am deeply pained by this situation."

Hearing this, many of those who had been supporting Li Zheng lowered their heads.

Li Zheng was about to counter, but Su Wenlong spoke again: "Some say that without rules, there is no order. But I believe that rules are made by people, and they should be people-oriented. If a student who acted bravely loses their competition eligibility because of saving someone, then I must say that the rules are flawed. Some might say that if this student had saved someone else, they wouldn't have this eligibility. But I must say that because he saved me, I cannot use the shameful reason of 'avoiding suspicion' to deny this student their eligibility."

"Many students are participating in this competition. As Su Wenlong, a trustee of the school and a senior from twenty years ago, I have a duty to make you, the younger students, understand the purpose of our school's competitions—we are not cultivating learning machines or competitive puppets, but living, breathing individuals with character and will."

Su Wenlong's words made Zhou Xian feel a surge of passion.

He glanced at Li Zheng, whose face was alternating between green and white, like a chameleon. Zhou Xian was amazed at the speed of the color changes, thinking that even in a game, it would be hard to achieve such a speed.

In any case, when Zhou Xian returned to his dormitory, his mood finally relaxed.

"I never expected such a change to happen." Zhou Xian was deeply moved.

This mysterious power had brought him back a few days and altered a tragic event.

"Right, maybe Old Liu Yun knows something. I should ask him."

Zhou Xian thought of someone in the game who might be able to help him.

"I still don't know what changes have occurred in the game. I should log in and check."

Zhou Xian decided to log into the Dragon Tomb World first. After all, the "gift" left by his father was too astonishing.

However, as soon as he entered the Dragon Tomb World, Zhou Xian was stunned by the changes that had occurred to him.