Chapter 121 #10 in the Battle Hall
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Cai Tan, 15 years old. Spirit-Refinement Realm with a total of 32 acupoints opened.
Strength: 13, your strength matches your body perfectly. You will be too muscular if you have a little bit more muscles and too skinny if you have fewer muscles. Right now, you are perfect. Intellect: 15, your combat intelligence is very high.
Agility: 18, the sentence ‘wave ripple steps, ethereal as an immortal’ is referring to you.
Endurance: 12, a small flaw. As long as you cure it, it will recover.
Will: o, completely lacking. Note: Your body is invaded by poison and is currently crumbling apart, leading you to the abyss of death.
Note: A pa.s.sionate man, your love will never stop even if death stands in your way!
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Sun Mo’s brows furrowed as he looked at the data. He was frowning so hard that a crab would be squeezed to death from the pressure.
Poison? How did this Cai Tang get poisoned? What was he poisoned with? Did he accidentally poison himself or did someone poison him?
In just an instant, many questions rose in Sun Mo’s mind. If it was the latter, things would be troublesome.
Cai Tan stared at the lake’s surface. Once again, his body leaned forward. As long as he exerted the slightest force with his leg, he would fall into the water.
Sun Mo decided not to wait anymore.
“If you want to commit suicide, can you change to another location? Your body will taint the lake!”
The night wind carried Sun Mo’s voice to Cai Tan.
Cai Tan’s expressions changed. He recovered his balance and turned toward the left.
A young man wearing an azure-colored teacher robe stood 30 meters away. He was stretching while gazing at the lake.
“In just the span of one night, your body would swell. But everyone would need at least two days to discover your corpse. So, your body would become even more bloated during that time. By then, even your parents wouldn’t be able to recognize you.”
Sun Mo ridiculed him.
If he said good things to persuade the other party, it would be useless. Only by mocking and ridiculing the other party would Sun Mo be able to negate the other party’s feeling of wanting to commit suicide. Cai Tan furrowed his brows. Evidently, he realized that Sun Mo’s words made sense. If his corpse was bloated due to drowning, it would truly be an ugly sight.
Sun Mo glanced at this male student. Che, he was indeed quite handsome. No...his appearance was better described with the word ‘scholarly’ instead.
The student robes were clad around a skinny body frame. His long black hair was tied up in a bun and he even had a scroll in his hand. In addition to his soft features, he really looked elegant and scholarly.
“I didn’t intend to commit suicide!”
Cai Tan tried to conceal it. This person in front of him was a teacher, if he were to know that he truly wanted to commit suicide. This matter would surely blow up.
“You dare to do it but don’t dare to admit it? Are you even a man?”
Sun Mo curled his lips.
Cai Tan furrowed his brows even more deeply. Although he felt unhappy in his heart, he had no way to retort. Because he hated disputes with others the most, he chose to turn around and walk away on the cobblestone path.
“Oi, if there’s something wrong with your body, just look for a doctor. Why do you want to commit suicide?”
Sun Mo shouted.
Cai Tan trembled, he then halted his steps and turned to look at Sun Mo.
“Don’t tell me you have no idea that there’s a problem with your body?”
Sun Mo counter-asked.
Cai Tan fell silent. During this recent half of the year, his cultivation base had stagnated and his body kept feeling a lack of strength. At the start, he didn’t notice this. He thought it was because he had cultivated too much; hence, he reduced his cultivation time and began to pay attention to his diet and sleep hours. However, his condition didn’t change for the better.
The most troubling thing was that he did look for doctors, and he visited more than one of them. However, all the doctors said it was due to fatigue and simply asked him to rest more.
Since after several doctors gave him the same answer, Cai Tan also began to believe them. Hence, he tried to sleep more and further reduce his cultivation hours by half. But even so, there was no change to his condition.
Staring at the ever-increasing disparity between him and Fang Yan, Cai Tan grew more and more anxious. Due to panic, he restored his earlier cultivation time, but due to a lack of energy, his cultivation base stagnated.
And about half-a-month ago, in the battle hall’s test, he had actually lost to a freshman named Zhang Yanzong.
Before this, there were already people who called him ‘Shang Zhongyong’*, saying that his apt.i.tude was inferior and his reputation was inflated. After that battle, the rumor became hammered into the minds of everyone.
That was right. If Cai Tan was really powerful, how would he have been defeated by Zhang Yanzong? When Cai Tan had first joined the school, he had partic.i.p.ated in the battle hall’s test and successfully defeated his opponent, becoming a member of the battle hall. After that, in the internal compet.i.tion, he won every single match and remained undefeated until he obtained the #10 rank.
Cai Tan held others in contempt. His only target was the #1 ranker of the battle hall, Fang Yan. But half a year ago, his momentum crawled to a halt. After that, he was defeated in the battle hall test by Zhang Yanzong and his reputation completely fell into the bottom.
Cai Tan became Zhang Yanzong’s stepping stone.
The person in everyone’s discussion was Zhang Yanzong. They said that under Gu Xiuxun’s guidance, Zhang Yanzong could definitely attain one of the top three rankings of the battle hall within a year.
As for Cai Tan, no one said anything on the surface, but everyone was mocking and ridiculing him behind his back. Through this period, he had heard just too many insults.
No one would pay attention to losers.
From a genius that was praised by every teacher, to insignificant trash. Through this half a year, Cai Tan had experienced too much criticism.
After all, he was just a 15-year-old kid. He wasn’t that matured yet and his will wasn’t resolute enough. In such an adverse environment, he didn’t manage to climb back up and even felt that he had no talent.
Yesterday, his girlfriend said a sentence that hurt him deeply.
“Genius has the glory of geniuses, but ordinary people also have their ordinary way of life.”
Cai Tan knew that his girlfriend said that out of good intentions, wanting to straighten him out. But he had no way to accept it. Wasn’t that equivalent to saying that he was an ordinary person?
Cai Tan exuded a scholarly aura and seemed to stand aloof from worldly affairs. However, he was extremely prideful in his heart. He was born to be the very best. But now, he was told that he was an ordinary person? He wasn’t able to become the very best?
Through this half a year, he fell from the heavens into h.e.l.l. Cai Tan could continue preserving on; he didn’t suffer a mental breakdown because his girlfriend had always believed in him and encouraged him, saying that he would definitely be able to climb back up and challenge Fang Yan, becoming the number one ranker in the battle hall...
But now, she changed her words. She felt that he was no longer a genius.
At that instant, Cai Tan’s entire world lost its colors.
Maybe death was a kind of release!
“Wh...what is wrong with my body?”
Cai Tan wanted to sound calmer and display an unconcerned att.i.tude. But when he spoke, his voice couldn’t help but tremble.
“You are poisoned!”
Sun Mo’s words were concise and comprehensive. Although his words were short, the content was extremely stunning.
Cai Tan’s eyes widened but narrowed again after an instant. He then started to frown, squeezing his brows so hard that the word ” seemed to appear there. He looked extremely vexed.
Sun Mo no longer spoke. He was waiting for Cai Tan to digest this truth.
After a long time.
Cai Tan finally spoke, his voice was filled with disbelief. He counter-asked Sun Mo, “How did I get poisoned?”
“No idea!”
Sun Mo’s lips curled while musing mentally that he wasn’t Detective Conan, so how would he know? Wrong, if he was Detective Conan, this male student would have already died.
Cai Tan fell silent. His listless eyes stared at Sun Mo as an additional trace of suspicion and resentment appeared.
“You should look for a highly-skilled doctor to do a check-up for you!” Sun Mo suggested. “I...”
Just when Cai Tan wanted to reply, a female voice suddenly called out, interrupting his words.
“Cai Tan, as expected, you are here!”
A girl with long hair was shouting as she ran over. She directly dove into Cai Tan’s embrace and hugged him tightly. “What were you planning on doing?”
The girl continued shouting, her entire body s.h.i.+vering. She was afraid that Cai Tan would commit suicide.
Usually, after dinner, they would head to the library together for revision. But today, Cai Tan said his body wasn’t feeling well; hence, he wanted to return to the dorm first.
Ruan Yun, this girl, could tell that her boyfriend wasn’t in a good mood today Hence, she specially made supper and sent it to him. However, his dorm mates told her that Cai Tan hadn’t returned yet.
Ruan Yun grew anxious and began to frenziedly look for Cai Tan’s traces. She was deeply afraid that Cai Tan would take things too hard and have funny thoughts.
“I’m only here to enjoy the wind!”
Cai Tan hugged Ruan Yun. He could feel her worry for him as well as see her sweat-drenched body. Currents of warmth began to flow in his heart.
“Sorry to have made you worried.”
Cai Tan apologized and kissed Ruan Yun’s lips.
Ruan Yun also responded boldly with a kiss of her own.
“d.a.m.n!”
Sun Mo was speechless. (h.e.l.lo, I’m still a teacher, okay? You guys actually behaved so lovely-dovely before me. No...even if I’m not a teacher, you guys cannot abuse single dogs like that ya know!?)
However, the customs of Jinling of Tang Country weren’t like his previous world where love relations.h.i.+ps were forbidden on campus. “Don’t do anything silly, alright?”
Ruan Yun hugged Cai Tan tightly, her face leaning against his chest. “No matter what happens, I will always be by your side!”
“Mn!”
Cai Tan kissed her head. After that, the two of them leaned against each other and began to walk into the alley near the Sorrowless Lake.
Sun Mo felt like he was a piece of transparent gla.s.s!
“As expected, he’s a pa.s.sionate seedling!”
The system sighed with emotions. It was truly too difficult to find a good man in this era.
“That girl is very pa.s.sionate as well.”
Sun Mo felt that Cai Tan was blessed to have a girlfriend like this who wouldn’t forsake him no matter what.
“Why don’t you help to diagnose him?” the system asked.
“What? I’m not a doctor!”
Sun Mo stared at their silhouettes who were sticking close to each other as he shook his head. “In any case, do you think he would talk to me right now?”
“Nope!”
The system’s word was concise and comprehensive. A smart person would allow this couple to have some private time first.
“I’ll go back and sleep!”
Sun Mo stretched. He was feeling really tired. But at the very least, there was no need for him to worry that he would see a corpse floating on the waters of the Sorrowless Lake when he woke up tomorrow.
Ding!
“New mission issued. Please make the number of students attending your spirit runes cla.s.ses. .h.i.t 200 within three months. Reward: 1x black-iron treasure chest.”
Sun Mo was depressed. If the system had a physical body, Sun Mo really wanted to pull this fellow out to the real world and toss it into the ocean, soaking it until it got bloated.
Issuing a new mission at night? How would he be able to rest well then? How uncivilized.
The moon was bright, its gentle rays cascaded onto the couple.
Cai Tan and Ruan Yun didn’t return to their dorms. They sat within the small forest and held hands as they spoke words of love softly to each other.
“Oh ya, that teacher is so young. I don’t think I’ve seen him before. Do you know who he is?”
Cai Tan couldn’t help but ask after recalling Sun Mo’s words.
“I don’t know him.”
Ruan Yun shook her head. “Could he be a new teacher?”
“A new teacher?”
Cai Tan frowned. Recently, because his circ.u.mstances were bad, he didn’t pay attention to the various rumors circulating in the outside world.
“Mn!”
Ruan Yun didn’t continue with this topic because Zhang Yanzong defeated Cai Tan and Zhang Yanzong was none other than the personal disciple of Gu Xiuxun, a new teacher.
The name of this person would definitely cause Cai Tan to have a bad mood.
The two of them fell silent but an instant later, Cai Tan still felt conflicted. He couldn’t help but add a sentence. “That teacher said that I’m poisoned!”
[1] Shang Zhongyong is the name of a genius character in a written essay. His father didn’t encourage him to learn new knowledge and only wanted to use him as a tool to make money. In the end, he fell from a genius to an ordinary man. Moral of the story: One cannot depend on innate talent. Postnatal hard work and effort are needed. It encourages people to continue to absorb new knowledge and emphasizes the importance of education.