Chapter 184: How Did You Manage To Survive Until Now?
The School Champions.h.i.+p Compet.i.tion.
At the administrative center of the compet.i.tion venue.
“Start spreading the word.”
The chair of the judging panel sighed at the report in front of him.
The report was from the marketing department. They wanted to know if they should organize events to publicize the compet.i.tion. After all, they had delayed this for a very long time…
It was alright if they did not publicize the games at the branch venues, but this was at the main venue!
If they did not publicize it, the sponsors would be angry.
As for the compet.i.tion…
“How’s the ability re-evaluation for Lu Ming going?”
“He is a bogus three-star peak. As he has surmounting abilities, he can skip levels to defeat a four-star. The four-star Swordsman was defeated by his Sword Plunge last time.”
“How about a five-star?”
“No chance!”
“Is this the data given by the evaluation center?”
“Considering the existence of Lu Yan, there is a 0.00001% probability of failure!”
“Very good.”
Qing Ming City.
Lu Ming worked hard on creating the cards.
His opponent this time was too powerful.
Five-star…
He was the strongest opponent that Lu Ming encountered so far.
Even in the legacy site, Lu Ming’s best result was to kill a row of four-stars instantly. As for five-star, it was a problem for him.
However…
Fortunately…
He had time to prepare himself.
Shus.h.!.+
Shus.h.!.+
Lu Ming drew the card seriously.
Although he merely fooled around in the previous compet.i.tions, he had to treat this compet.i.tion very seriously this time!
As for the college…
Well…
Although the higher-ups said that there would be a re-examination, in fact, once there was a re-examination, most of the students of the college at the crossroad would have no school to go to.
Because—
This was a college where students graduated when they reached a two-star level!
The students could not enroll in other schools and therefore came to this school. They merely learned basic survival abilities like ma.s.s-creating cards at the school.
One had to understand…
This was a training inst.i.tution that charged a very small amount of school fees.
That was all.
Would other colleges be willing to take in students from this school?
Among the few colleges in Qing Ming City, this college ranked the lowest. No college would want to take in these students, notwithstanding colleges in other cities!
Of course.
Lu Ming was not fighting because of this.
The reason why he was willing to partic.i.p.ate in this compet.i.tion was due to Old Jiang’s promise, as well as the secret behind this college!
In short, there was something amiss with this technical college.
“Brother Lu, Brother Lu!
Are we really going to compete with them?”
Zhang Xiaopang was almost crying.
The opponent was a five-star!
How could they defeat them?
The opponents were four-stars on average, while their team was two-star on average. Even if they had some trump cards…
It was useless!
The gap in their abilities was really too big!
“Don’t worry. All you have to do is to do your best.”
Lu Ming thought about it before saying, “We must go all out to fight. Leave the rest to me.”
“Are you confident?”
Xia Yu looked toward Lu Ming.
“30%!”
Lu Ming sighed.
True.
He was only 30% confident.
Although the cloud shuttle could bring everyone out of the arena, he had already used it once. If the opponents were smart, they would be prepared for it.
Was he bluffing everyone?
No way.
Therefore, he was only 30% confident!
As for the remaining…
They had to rely on themselves.
“Will it work to win one match?”
Zhang Xiaopang was very doubtful.
What was the point in winning one match in the top one hundred matches?
Wait a minute.
He remembered that there was a team in the past that underwent surgeries to change their biological s.e.x to garner popularity. They debuted as the ‘celebrity cultivators’ and became idol stars…
They caused a huge sensation.
“Could it be that…”
Zhang Xiaopang turned green. “Are you telling us to castrate ourselves and debut as idols?”
Everyone was speechless.
What the h.e.l.l was going on in this guy’s head?
“The team was forced to undergo surgery to change their s.e.x as they owed money.”
Chang Liang had heard of this news as well.
“What’s on your mind?”
Lu Ming glared at this guy. Who did he think he was?
The fatty of the backstreet?
Look at his size!
“It’s good that this is not what you are thinking of.”
Zhang Xiaopang wiped away his perspiration. He was fine with anything as long as he did not need to undergo surgery to change his s.e.x.
“Just go all out on your combat skills,” Lu Ming a.s.sured them. “We will decide what to do next… if we win.”
Feng Zhou City.
The duels among the top one hundred colleges had begun.
Lu Ming arrived at the venue on time.
Due to the publicity, there were many advertis.e.m.e.nts placed all over the venue. Lu Ming and his team did not expect that the School Champions.h.i.+p Compet.i.tion would arrange for them to go first…
“It seems that the judges are very fond of us.”
Lu Ming was filled with emotions.
Look.
How thoughtful of these judges.
They arranged for them to be in the first game that had the highest popularity!
Teacher An was speechless.
Whatever.
It was good if the match would be over as soon as possible. After all… he had an interview in the afternoon.
“Feng Lin!”
“Feng Lin!”
Loud shouts sounded at the venue.
Feng Lin College ranked in the top forties in the compet.i.tion last year. One could tell that they were very popular. The cheering seemed like huge waves that made people cower in fear.
All around them…
Dozens of large screens were suspended in the air.
It was more than ten times larger than the venue at Qing Ming City!
The team from Feng Lin arrived then. Powerful energy surged in the air. These were four-star and five-star auras. The spectators went crazy over them.
Shus.h.!.+
Their personal information and abilities were displayed on the screen!
Five-star!
Four-star!
All of them were surprised.
In comparison…
Lu Ming and his team looked miserable. Other than being ordinary, the crowd gasped when their information and abilities were displayed on the screen.
“T-two-star?!”
“Goodness, I have never seen a two-star in the top one hundred matches…”
“This is unprecedented.”
“Goodness, how did the two-star team manage to get into the top one hundred?”
“I heard that it is from the Qing Ming City branch…”
“Oh, it seems that this area is relatively weak…”
“True.”
The audience was shocked.
Look, this was the problem of competing at the branch. Over here, all the three-star teams had been eliminated, while the team that advanced in ranks from Qing Ming City was a two-star…
It seemed that resources were scarce in the north.
Everyone was full of curiosity.
There was no choice.
n.o.body watched the compet.i.tions in Qing Ming City.
Regardless of how popular Lu Ming was, to them, the matches in Qing Ming City were akin to local games.
“This match might be boring…”
“Of course. The team with an average four-star and a team with an average two-star… And the leader of Feng Lin’s team is a five-star… there is no need to continue with the match.”
“Is the team from Qing Ming City here to play innocently?”
“G.o.d knows.”
“The person that is called Lu Ming is quite handsome. However, this is the School Champions.h.i.+p Compet.i.tion, this is not a beauty contest. So what if he has good looks?”
“Exactly.”
Everyone thought so too.
So what if he was handsome?
He was merely a two-star!
True enough, heaven was fair. One might be given good looks, but one did not have talents.
Heh.
Two-star…
And right then.
The judges entered the venue.
They swept their gaze over the crowd and they saw Lu Ming in person for the first time.
“Are you Lu Ming?”
The female judge looked at Lu Ming, sizing him up and slightly nodded. “You look energetic. It is no wonder you made me lose sleep for several nights…”
Shus.h.!.+
Zhang Xiaopang and the rest turned to look at Lu Ming.
Was there anything going on between them?
There was a look of shock on Lu Ming’s face.
Madam!
Please be careful of what you say!
“Do your best.”
Another judge in his fifties pa.s.sed by and he was reminded of the alarming speed at which Lu Ming created the cards. He could not help but sigh. “It’s good to be young. One has good stamina.”
Shus.h.!.+
Zhang Xiaopang and the others were surprised.
This…
What made him say that?
Lu Ming was expressionless.
Seeing that a judge in his seventies walked past, he hurried to back away.
The judge cast a long glance at Lu Ming. He sighed as he knew that Lu Ming had no chances of winning tonight. “We can finally have a good night’s sleep today.”
Zhang Xiaopang and the rest were appalled.
This…
He even targeted him?
Lu Ming turned sullen.
d.a.m.n!
d.a.m.n the judges. Couldn’t they say something else?!
The judges had pa.s.sed by where they were and reached the stage. Lu Ming stood far away to avoid them. However, even so, the judges who pa.s.sed by would glance at him.
Everyone gave him meaningful stares.
Zhang Xiaopang was shocked.
That was crazy!
“Brother, you are my idol.”
Zhang Xiaopang was in awe.
It was true.
Back then his idol was Princ.i.p.al Jiang Feng. Right now, it was Lu Ming! Look, he had targeted every single one of them, from men to women and in all age groups!
He was domineering!
Lu Ming was speechless.
He swept his gaze over the judges and turned to glare at Zhang Xiaopang. There was a menacing look in his eyes. He might not be able to defeat the judges, but he was able to beat him.
Cough.
Zhang Xiaopang was about to say something.
Bang!
A powerful force hit his head. It was painful.
Who was that?!
Zhang Xiaopang was furious. “How dare someone attack me…”
Shus.h.!.+
He turned to see a familiar face and he cowered behind Lu Ming, shouting in fear. “d.a.m.n, Brother, why did you bring the Little Devil King with you?!”
Hehe.
Lu Ming pursed his lips.
You are the Little Devil King. Your entire family is a bunch of Little Devil Kings!
Xiaobai was so adorable!
“Master!
Way to go!”
Xiaobai waved her hands. “If the fatty says any more nonsense, I will beat him up.”
“Sure.”
Lu Ming smiled. Xiaobai was the best.
Zhang Xiaopang opened his mouth, staring at Xiaobai. He did not dare to mutter any more nonsense.
It was just that…
Why did Lu Ming bring her here?
“Have you forgotten that Xiaobai is a subst.i.tute?”
Lu Ming said lightly, “This is not Qing Ming City. It is better for Xiaobai to come here in advance. If we need a subst.i.tute, she can go on stage right away.”
Xia Yu and the rest were dumbstruck.
Xiaobai?
The young lady?
They glanced at her and were at a loss for words!
This young lady…
What was the point in her being a subst.i.tute?
“Would Xiaobai compete in the match?”
Zhang Xiaopang trembled.
“I am only saying what if.”
Lu Ming shrugged. “But from the looks of it, we won’t need her.”
Zhang Xiaopang was silent.
Very soon…
He took his cellphone and began to send lots of messages. “Old Liu, Old Liu, come out now! Did you place the bet with the money that I gave you yesterday? Change it for me!
I won’t bet on Feng Lin team, but on the Crossroads team! Hurry! Do it!”
At this very moment…
Feng Lin team walked over.
“Lu Ming.”
The leader swept his gaze over Lu Ming, with a serious look in his eyes. “I had the honor to meet Senior Lu Yan in the past. I didn’t expect to meet her brother in the compet.i.tion…
I will do my best in this contest,”
He said softly.
“Me too.”
Lu Ming smiled.
Unlike the previous matches, he took this match very seriously.
“Thank you.”
The leader of Feng Lin team smiled.
Seriousness.
This was the utmost respect that one could have for the opponent.
“As for you…”
The leader from Feng Lin team glanced at Zhang Xiaopang and smiled kindly. “If you want to surrender during the contest, do so early in the match. If you are late…
I am afraid I will not stop myself from killing you. I am serious. I never joke.”
Shus.h.!.+
The few of them walked past.
Lu Ming and the rest turned silent, turning to look at Zhang Xiaopang. They could tell that the leader of the Feng Lin team was serious.
This guy…
What had he done?
Cough, cough.
Zhang Xiaopang looked embarra.s.sed. “In fact, it is nothing much. As you know, these celebrity cultivators, particularly five-star cultivators, have a lot of fans and it is rare to see them in public. Therefore, I contacted his die-hard fans and took some money from them. I made use of the compet.i.tion to get the leader of the Feng Lin team to come…”
“That’s it?”
Lu Ming was skeptical.
Although his behavior was annoying, the other party would not have the urge to kill him because of this.
“Uh… Before leaving, I cast an illusion…”
Shus.h.!.+
Everyone turned silent.
The color-changing illusion?
“… Well… it should not have any impact on Feng Lin… It had no effect on the leader, but the fans… Just treat it as their luck with the opposite gender…”
Xia Yu thought about it. After all, they were his fans, it should be…
“Some of them were men.”
Zhang Xiaopang sighed.
Everyone glanced and faced each other.
It was true.
They had never seen someone who did themselves in to such an extent!
He was a five-star…
Everyone gave Zhang Xiaopang odd glances.
“It’s alright. I have a few photos with me just in case,” Zhang Xiaopang said feebly.
Everyone was speechless.
Lu Ming stared at the sky.
Well…
This was not the first time.
He had done something similar previously… Of course, the other party was a four-star… He did not expect that he would dare to con a five-star!
This was crazy!
What else could Lu Ming say?
“Be more careful.”
He patted Zhang Xiaopang on the shoulder. “I have the feeling that you will be beaten to death sooner or later.”
Xia Yu and the rest had the same sentiments.
How did he manage to survive until now?
Amazing!
The judges had settled down.
The few teams that would compete today had arrived. Lu Ming and his team received the notice to get ready for the compet.i.tion!
“It will start soon…”
Everyone grew solemn.
“I will go to the bathroom.”
Liu Yuan was nervous.
She was under immense pressure. She felt nervous and scared.
“Sure.”
Lu Ming nodded slightly.
Hence…
Liu Yuan went to the bathroom to wash her face to freshen up and to cheer herself up. “Way to go! Liu Yuan, you can do it! Don’t embarra.s.s your senior!”
Whoosh—
She finally felt better.
At this very moment…
Suddenly…
There was a cold breeze behind her.
She blacked out.
She could vaguely see something.
She seemed to see a shadow floating past, appearing in front of the mirror to cheer itself on…
Indeed…
It was cheering itself on.