Inside the school.
Another flag-raising speech under the national flag.
Today’s focus was on Lin Mo and Tong Dong.
Although Tong Dong hadn’t made it past the international competition selection, getting to the second round still earned him a first-place prize in the national competition.
So both Lin Mo and Tong Dong had the same national first prize.
Shen Zhongping also mentioned Lin Mo’s participation in the international competition.
When it came to winning glory for the country, everyone’s feelings were aligned.
Finally, it was announced that both of them had secured direct admission to Qinghua University.
For Guangba to have two students directly admitted to Qinghua was truly impressive, even if Lin Mo had no intention of going there.
When it was time for Lin Mo and Tong Dong to go on stage to accept their awards, Lin Mo spoke up:
“Even though I’ve been recommended for admission, I still plan to take the final exams. After all, you only go through the college entrance exam once in a lifetime, and I want to experience crossing that narrow bridge too!”
Tong Dong, standing beside Lin Mo, also declared that he would take the final exams.
Underachievers might think the top students were showing off, ordinary students might find it troublesome that someone with a guaranteed spot would still bother with exams, but true high achievers would only admire their courage.
After all, there were plenty of people who choked under pressure during exams.
Class Eight thought it was normal, since Lin Mo and Tong Dong had said from the start that they would take the finals.
As people, the key was to be consistent in words and actions.
After morning drills, Lin Mo and the others returned to the classroom.
Ma Li and the others walked over, unable to resist saying, “Lin Mo, if you’d come back earlier, we could have racked up even more points in the school sports meet.”
“It’s fine. My absence just highlighted your strength—didn’t we still win a lot of first places?”
Lin Mo’s words were comforting.
Then, someone started talking about what had happened while Lin Mo was away.
Though Lin Mo already knew, he didn’t say anything and just nodded along with everyone else.
His gaze shifted slowly to the usually lively Fang Jun, who still looked a bit down, even though he was participating in the conversation.
“Didn’t everyone talk about it in the group chat?”
“What’s said in the group chat is nothing compared to us describing it in person.”
A few people kept babbling until the bell rang.
When class began, every subject teacher had to praise Lin Mo, even Chen Xiaoya.
By afternoon dismissal, Cai Junhuang slipped away quickly, and Lin Mo caught the whispers from the girls around him about Cai Junhuang.
“Look at her, she doesn’t even greet us anymore—just leaves without a word.”
“Ha, who does she think you are? She made it past the auditions and is about to become a big star.”
There were some sour remarks, and a few neutral voices:
“No, she’s always been like this, right? Going to dance practice after school—she’s an art student after all.”
“Well, just watch. If she gets selected, will she keep studying art or go abroad to be an idol?”
The whole class knew that Cai Junhuang had participated in a Korean entertainment company’s trainee selection competition and passed the auditions.
She had always been good-looking, but never too flashy, so her relationships with the girls in the class were decent.
But now that she was famous—even the whole school knew about her—some girls started turning bitter.
“Of course, she’ll become an idol. Isn’t that what studying art is all about—to become a star?”
“Ha, the entertainment industry? It’s a messy world.”
Words flew back and forth, and someone went even further: “But look at Fang Jun. He used to be close to Cai Junhuang, but lately...”
Gossip spread like wildfire. The class’s rumors would always go through a few rounds in certain people’s mouths.
Lin Mo glanced at Fang Jun again. Fang Jun looked a bit better than yesterday, but only marginally.
Xie Yuling could also hear these things with her spiritual sense, but she didn’t have a overly negative view of Cai Junhuang.
After all, she knew how much Cai Junhuang had sacrificed for her dream.
The only one who lost out was Fang Jun, and that was just unfortunate.
After evening self-study ended, Fang Jun quickly packed his things. An Yuexin had barely stood up when Fang Jun walked straight out.
Seeing this, Lin Mo blinked. He hadn’t caught Fang Jun texting anyone on his phone this afternoon.
He turned to look at Xie Yuling, who looked back at him with the same confusion.
“What are you two staring at?” Jiang Yunlu suddenly asked.
Because Lin Mo was back, Jiang Yunlu had decided to come back to school for evening self-study too.
Chu Miaomiao bluntly spoke up: “They’re watching Fang Jun. He’s acting weird tonight—he left too quickly!”
The three of them looked at Chu Miaomiao in unison. If even Chu Miaomiao had noticed, then Fang Jun was definitely in trouble.
They exchanged glances and nodded in agreement.
Follow him!
The four of them packed up and headed out of the school together.
Chu Miaomiao and Jiang Yunlu told their drivers not to follow.
They weren’t worried about losing Fang Jun, keeping a safe distance behind him the whole way.
“This direction... it’s the dance studio where Cai Junhuang goes,” Jiang Yunlu analyzed decisively.
“I figured as much,” Xie Yuling added.
The four of them hung far back, careful not to get too close and be spotted.
“It’s a bit far. I can’t see anything,” Jiang Yunlu complained.
It was indeed far—almost a hundred meters away.
Then, Chu Miaomiao pulled out her magic brush and drew four telescopes in an instant.
“Amazing, Miaomiao!”
Jiang Yunlu and Xie Yuling each took a telescope and looked through it.
The image was crystal clear!
Lin Mo didn’t need a telescope, since he had his spiritual sense.
Fang Jun was standing downstairs, kicking at pebbles, looking deeply troubled.
“He’s here to have it out with Cai Junhuang,” Xie Yuling hit the nail on the head.
“Probably. Or maybe he’s going to make a clean break,” Jiang Yunlu said.
“Why would he make a clean break? They like each other, don’t they?”
Chu Miaomiao sighed.
“If it were me, I wouldn’t cut ties. No matter what, I’d find a way to stay together.”
Hearing that, Jiang Yunlu and Xie Yuling both turned to look at Chu Miaomiao. That cat was definitely not being a good girl—falling for someone on the side, huh?
Then they looked at Lin Mo, who kept his eyes straight ahead.
Hmph. Pretending to be so straight-laced.
The two girls exchanged a glance and went back to observing Fang Jun.
At that moment, Fang Jun was just staring up at the sky after sending Cai Junhuang a message.
He’d been thinking about this all day.
He wasn’t her desk mate anymore, so he could only look at her from a distance.
But the more he looked, the harder it got.
After about ten minutes, Cai Junhuang came downstairs alone.
She spotted the gloomy Fang Jun right away.
He’d been like this for days.
But she knew that with time, he’d go back to normal.
So she took a deep breath and walked over.
“Have you been waiting long?”
Fang Jun didn’t answer. He just looked up, staring at her with an intense gaze.
After a long pause, he finally spoke: “Cai Junhuang, I like you. Can you give me a chance to stay by your side? I just need one chance.”

ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!

ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!

e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.

rowess are unmatched, commanding a million-strong army! Yet, the Emperor wants to depose him for the sake of a false prince? Hold on, are you throwing me into some female-oriented romance plot? How can I tolerate this? With a grand wave of his hand—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! Slander the Emperor? Very well, all of you shall die! ... The False Prince: "Although I am not the biological son, Father and Mother love me more. The throne should be mine!" The Female Lead: "Qin Xiao, you are the Emperor, and I am a commoner. If you wish to marry me, you must abdicate. Otherwise, you will never have me!" The Empress: "After we divorce, you must give me half the empire!" The Transmigrator Consort: "You worthless Emperor, why should I kneel to you? All men are equal—I advise you to be kind!" The Great General: "The enemy general is my childhood sweetheart. For her sake, I willingly abandon the frontier defenses!" The Retired Emperor: "Although Yu'er was adopted, I prefer him. Qin Xiao, you should abdicate and let him become Emperor!" ... Very well! So this is how you want to play? Facing this twisted world of female-oriented tropes, Qin Xiao grins and raises his hand to unleash—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! I am the Emperor. Why would I bother reasoning with you? Seal the gates! Leave none alive!