Chapter 93: Igniting the Whole City  

Ash Editor: Geoffrey

Principal Mao stood on his toes behind the crowd as he forcefully waved both his hands. Without uttering a single sound, in hopes to remind Li Yao, he mouthed the words, "Don't be fooled! These reporters just want breaking news, don't look for trouble!"

Li Yao slightly smiled at Principal Mao, indicating he had a sense of propriety. However, in his heart, he secretly apologized.

"Principal Mao, I'm sorry. I know you are looking out for me. You don't want me to openly offend the Crimson Nimbus Second Senior High School and bring harm to myself..."

"But you are too honest and too good. How could you understand the kind of person Helian Lie is?"

"Even if I am just a point ahead in the college entrance exam… For someone like him, it would be the biggest insult. No matter how low-key I remain, how I gloss over things to stay on good terms, or how much good will I express—it will be all in vain as it will be impossible for him to give up any thoughts to go against me!"

"Any compromise from my side will only be interpreted as me being weak. It would only encourage him, even more than he already has, to take revenge on me."

"If so, then why should I have any second thoughts? An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. Since I have the opportunity to slap him in the face, I should use all my strength to ruthlessly slap—this is how I, Li Yao, do things!"

Clearing his throat, Li Yao grabbed the crystal mic and loudly said, "Of course, there is an underlying reason!"

"What?"

The spirit of every reporter rose as if they were wolves that had gotten a whiff of the scent of a lamb. In an instant, they all became completely awake as they stared at Li Yao with their glossy and sleek eyes.

They had thought that Li Yao would just casually say a few words or simply say "no comments".

How could they have expected that this young man would say such a thing and had even wanted to give such hot news!

In an instant, the reporters simply wanted to burst into tears. They could not wait to loudly applaud and cheer for Li Yao.

Principal Mao, on the other hand, heaved a sigh. With one hand massaging his temple, his face was filled with helplessness.

He knew that this brat was simply someone one shouldn’t mess with. Give him an inch and he’d take a mile.

"Zhao Shude, Zhao Shude... The guy you have offended is really not someone to be trifled with. You should not have offended this 'Fiend Star'. This time, your Crimson Nimbus Second Senior High School is going to have a hard time!" Principal Mao secretly shook his head. He could not help but heave a sigh.

With a sharp glint in his eyes, Li Yao spoke with a clear and mellow voice, "As you all know, two months ago, I represented the Crimson Nimbus Second Senior High School in this year's Limit Challenge Competition. Because of an accidental injury, my Spiritual Root Development Quotient fell sharply, which had even sent me into a coma. Only after an entire month did I finally wake up!"

"It is reasonable to say that I went to win glory for the school. After my injuries, don’t you think it’s reasonable for the school to take good care of me no matter the circumstances? But after Crimson Nimbus Second High School's management discovered that I was injured and wasn't able to cultivate, the very day I woke up, they heartlessly asked me to leave the school and told me that whether or not I could continue would depend on my recovery!"

"And all this is just because I had once offended the son of Crimson Nimbus Second Senior High School's trustee, Helian Ba—the Crimson Nimbus Second Senior High School's student council president, Helian Lie!"

"Helian Lie and I have old grudges. On Devil Flood Dragon Island, he was eliminated from the competition by me and also had his spotlight taken away from him. This new hatred along with the old grievances made him disregard everything as he started to take revenge against me frantically!"

"Everyone in Crimson Nimbus Second Senior High School knows about this. You can casually pick any student and interview him. Even the aunt responsible for cleaning the canteen is clear about this!"

"Fortunately, the heavens never seals off all paths of retreat! The Mining Clan High School's Principal Mao had discerning eyes that could distinguish greatness from mediocrity; he was able to discern whether a person had potential and whether they could be trained. He took a big risk to protect me. Over this past month, I have been undergoing intensive training, and fortunately, I was able to recover to my previous form, allowing me to obtain a good score in the college entrance exam!"

"For sure, I'm happy to become Floating Spear City's champion of the college entrance exam, but there are two things I’m more happy about."

"First, I didn't disappoint Principal Mao, who trusted and cared for me, and won the supreme honor for Floating Spear City's Mining Clan High School. In the future on my road of cultivation, I will keep the identity of 'Mining Clan High School' graduate as I continue to tread forth!"

"Second, I have used the facts to prove that the Crimson Nimbus Second Senior High School's management is as blind as a bat. Them asking me to leave school was not my loss; on the contrary, it was their biggest lost—they can now regret without any hesitation!"

"I have said all I wanted to say. For the rest of the details, you can go to Crimson Nimbus Second Senior High School and interview the students, the principal—Zhao Shude, the school trustee—Helian Ba, and the student council president—Helian Lie. Maybe they will give you a different version of the story!"

After he finished speaking, Li Yao threw the mic and elegantly took his leave.

However, he had set off a mighty uproar which in just a few hours was enough to shake the entire Floating Spear City!

A month ago, a seriously injured, poor brat from the slums who could not oppose the rich and was kicked out of a famous school. However, after a single month, he mystically turned things around and entered some no-name, waste school, eventually winning the title of “College Entrance Examination Champion” in one fell swoop and giving a ruthless slap to the face of the famous school. Through twists and turns, the entire story had become a soul-stirring journey; it was simply more exciting than any novel. Upon listening to Li Yao’s words, every reporter felt an upsurge of emotion, and their blood was seething.

The reporters had a keen sense for breaking news. One by one, every one of them had realized that all of Li Yao’s experiences could be turned into a sensational story!

It was too late to return to the mobile production control room. All the reporters sat down on the ragged campus of the Mining Clan High School one after another. For a long time and with half-squinting eyes, the reporters wracked their brain as they assembled the information piece by piece, drawing a draft for their respective news channel.

The reporters from the formal media groups still took a relatively objective stand. Their focus was on either the recovery of Li Yao or the improvement of his Spiritual Root Development Quotient. The title of their drafts were also relatively restrained, many like the following:

"THE FIEND STAR RISES AGAIN!"

"THE BIGGEST MIRACLE IN THE HISTORY OF FLOATING SPEAR CITY'S COLLEGE ENTRANCE EXAMINATION!"

"WHAT TRULY TOOK PLACE PAST THIS MONTH?"

In contrast, the reporters from small media groups as well as media from the entertainment industry were not as reserved. Generally speaking, these reports would be more afraid of calm and peace in the world. Even if they had nothing, they would, out of nothing, piece out some breaking news, let alone the earth-shattering information that Li Yao had unveiled. So, titles without any ounce of integrity were born.

"BREAKING NEWS! THE BIGGEST CONSPIRACY IN THE HISTORY OF FLOATING SPEAR CITY'S EDUCATION! THE POOR GENIUS OFFENDED THE SECOND GENERATION WEALTHY AND GOT KICKED OUT OF THE SCHOOL!"

"REVENGE OF REGAL'S SON AFTER LOSING HIS GIRLFRIEND!"

"FIVE DAYS AND FIVE NIGHTS OF LOVE AND HATE—THE CHRONICLES OF DISPUTE ON DEVIL FLOOD DRAGON ISLAND!"

"THE BIGGEST JOKE OF THE COLLEGE ENTRANCE EXAMINATION!"

"HELIAN LIE—THE HALF-MINUTE COLLEGE ENTRANCE EXAMINATION CHAMPION!"

In this era of information where public attention was everything, it was the era of attention economic. Within just ten minutes, sensational articles upon sensational articles, like adding oil and vinegar, through the spiritual net had spread to every corner of Floating Spear City. The terminal of every crystal processor was featuring the video of Li Yao as he hurled all kinds of abuses at the Crimson Nimbus Second Senior High School. Some relatively smart media groups would feature the scene of Helian Lie kneeling down on the ground vomiting next to Li Yao's video, creating a very big impact. The headlines at the top of the screen were:

"GUESS WHO IS THE COLLEGE ENTRANCE EXAMINATION CHAMPION?"

In just a short period of time, the public was in an uproar. Every forum related to Floating Spear City was hustling and bustling with comments. In the blink of an eye, several posts burst forth with over ten thousand comments!

It was not that the users liked Li Yao or anything. A majority of the netizens simply took pleasure in other's misfortune. Not too long ago—when Li Yao was seriously injured, when he was given the nickname "Fleeting Fiend Star"—the netizens' comments were merciless, brimming with jeers and taunts; they belittled him and called him worthless.

But since Li Yao had staged such a gorgeous comeback, the netizens, almost without even blinking, instantly became his most loyal supporters.

The taunts and jeers that were initially pouring on Li Yao’s head like a storm had immediately expanded by a hundredfold, turned around, and fell upon the Crimson Nimbus Second Senior High School and Helian Lie’s head instead.

"LOL, did you see? The guy called Helian Lie began to think that he was the college entrance examination champion. He was jumping up and down in excitement, but when the results came out, it was like he was struck by lightning. He even started to vomit later!"

"Yes, I have also seen the video. Everyone go take a look, it's absolutely amazing!"

"I heard Helian Lie is second generation wealthy. He is very arrogant, but he is out of luck this time!"

"The eyes of the principal of Crimson Nimbus Second Senior High School are all just for show. Can't he even tell between a genius and a waste? A genius who had the strength to seize the titles of “College Entrance Examination Champion” was actually thrown out? If I were him, I would simply gauge out my dog eyes!"

As the majority of the netizens were all ordinary working class citizens, they didn't hold any goodwill towards expensive private high schools like Crimson Nimbus Second Senior High School. And towards a wealthy kid like Helian Lie, they felt even more jealousy and envy.

This time, Li Yao, a kid from the slums, had actually very neatly and brilliantly slapped the face of Crimson Nimbus Second Senior High School. This is something that they simply loved to see and hear about.

While some posts focused on Li Yao, videos of Li Yao’s ventures from Devil Flood Dragon Island were once again unearthed and posted on the net. Many of the netizens got to see his video for the first time and had all been completely shocked by his natural and fluent attacks that were sudden as well as mysterious as he continuously appeared and disappeared like some ghost.

"How is this possible? How can one person alone annihilate the opposing team’s entire command post!"

"Powerful... he is truly powerful! No wonder he could be crowned as the College Entrance Examination Champion!"

"Rumor has it that Li Yao had confronted a mutated large-eyed ape which had been injected with stimulant alone and even beheaded it. Is he really a human?"

"Helian Lie is simply nothing compared to him!"

"From now on, Brother Yao is the only idol for me! We are both poor kids from slums. If Brother Yao can do it, then why can't I! From today onwards, I will also start training madly like Brother Yao. After three years, I will also become the College Entrance Examination Champion!"

"You? Do you even know how Brother Yao trained? Come, come, come. Let me show you a copy of a special training chart secretly taken out from Crimson Nimbus Second Senior High School. It’s said that this is how Brother Yao trained."

"This—Is this really the amount of training Brother Yao did in one day? That’s completely crazy! He’s simply a monster! Impossible, that's absolutely impossible!"

"A day? That's only the amount of training he did in half a day!"

Li Yao was like a tiny spark that completely ignited the entire Floating Spear City. From the shabby Limestone District to the resplendent Upper East District, from the elderly to the young students, from ordinary citizens to the cultivators, every single one of them was cheerfully and energetically discussing his endeavors.

The entire city was like a hot furnace; everyone was either feverishly watching Li Yao's videos or having heated discussions of him. There was only one place that was as cold as a morgue—the principal’s office in Crimson Nimbus Second Senior High School!

Behind his desk, Zhao Shude sat as if he had lost his soul and as if his body had become paralyzed. On the desk sat a crystal processor; the hologram was constantly flashing, showcasing the news from major news channel as well as the comments of the netizens.

As he began to go through article by article, he first gnawed his teeth, but very soon, his heartbeat became erratic; he was not too far away from having a Qigong Deviation. He could no longer stand watching the hologram!

Zhao Shude's look was that of a loser as he wheezed like a cow. His forehead was covered in soybean-sized sweat, and his muddy eyes occasionally shot pernicious and furious brilliance.

As he glanced at the management staff, they lowered their heads one after another. Not a single one of them dared to look him straight in the eyes.

"How is this possible?"

Zhao Shude muttered to himself. More than once he had tried closing his eyes as he rubbed them with force, as if by doing so he could turn back time and return to two hours ago—to the moment when Helian Lie had just seized the first place ranking.

More than once he had hoped he could freeze that moment—the moment during which he was full of mettle, the moment in which he was in high spirits, the moment when Crimson Nimbus Second Senior High School's fame soared through the roof, and the moment where its brilliance had covered the entire Floating Spear City!

Unfortunately, every time he opened his eyes, the hologram would always be showcasing Li Yao's cheap face.

This damned Fiend Star ruined everything!

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

Notes:

[1] Fiend Star(妖星) - I once saw somewhere someone commenting that Fiend Star was referring to him killing the people from Demon Clan, but the Fiend Star as in Fleeting Fiend Star refers to a cultivator of the newer generation who is extremely powerful compared to his peers, whose glory has completely overshadowed others. There is also another meaning of Fiend Star, which means bad luck. But I don’t think the author meant that.