Chapter 12 - Chapter 12 My Humble Effort

Yu Sheng looked at the burly man in genuine confusion, firing the question right back. The man, who had been icy cold a moment before, burst into a hearty laugh. "Hahaha, Old Liu! This student of yours is a character!" "Not bad, not bad at all!" With that, he clapped Liu Qingfeng's shoulder hard for the third time. Liu Qingfeng frowned slightly and stepped back silently, two paces. These guys from the Spiritual Martial Academy were all built like oxen—nothing but a bunch of brutes. Watching the warm rapport between Liu Qingfeng and the burly man, the leading teachers from the other two schools frowned and exchanged a glance. If they had this kind of connection... Would No. 2 Middle School not completely overshadow No. 1 and No. 3 in this assessment?! Yet they chose to stay silent. This was the rule of the new world. Even if the burly man did cut corners for No. 2 Middle School, it was all earned by Liu Qingfeng, who had fought tooth and nail on the battlefield, dancing with death countless times. In fact, they had never even set foot on a battlefield. They'd always hidden in humanity's rear, living in the comfort bought with other people's lives. What right did they have to demand fairness when vying for benefits? "We'll drink our fill tonight!" The burly man was clearly elated now. Seeing his bear-like hand raise to clap him again, Liu Qingfeng—who'd been ready—dodged nimbly to the side, sparing his poor shoulder a moment's reprieve. "Tch, still the same old prude." The burly man rolled his eyes, turned around nonchalantly, and his face instantly sobered into a stern expression. "Brats!" "Let me introduce myself. Luo Tian, Captain of Team Three, Jiangbei Provincial Monster Extermination Pavilion!" "Fifth-Generation Awakened!" "Don't care to rattle off my other merits—pointless, no need to show off to a bunch of kids like you." "As for today's assessment content..." "Let me think." And with that, Luo Tian actually fell into deep thought, motionless for a long while. It was as if... he'd genuinely given zero thought to what the assessment would be before he got here. In the monitoring room, the two men stared at each other, struck dumb, a deathly silence hanging between them—like a bolt of lightning had hit both of them at once. "I knew it! The Monster Extermination Pavilion is just a bunch of idiots!" Finally, one of them could hold back no longer. He clutched his head and exploded. The other heaved a faint, resigned sigh, quickly composing himself. "We should be used to this, shouldn't we?" "Fair point." "We are used to it." They consoled each other, struggling to keep their emotions in check. The next second, Luo Tian's rough, booming voice blared from the monitor again. "Hahaha! Real men!" "Charge forward without hesitation!" "Tournament style! Winner stays, loser steps down!" "That's it!" There was even a hint of pride and satisfaction in his voice. As if he was mighty pleased with himself for coming up with such a brilliant plan. "Goddamn it! This assessment is supposed to test their response to sudden incidents, their caution, their temperament!" "This idiot! I can't take it anymore!" "Why the hell did the higher-ups let him out? Where's the Tactician from his team?" The man who'd just been consoling the other snapped instantly, screaming curses at the monitor. A Tactician... every team in the Monster Extermination Pavilion was almost always assigned one. The true mastermind and strategist of the team—the one who did the thinking. Of course, some team captains took on this role themselves. But Luo Tian was clearly not one of them. The other man covered his face, looking miserable. "Haven't you heard about what happened in Xinhai City lately? Their team's Tactician led a squad there to help out." "And here I thought he showed up late on purpose to test their temperament." For a moment, the monitoring room was filled with utter despair. ... Liu Qingfeng remained silent the entire time. Even knowing his old comrade was the chief examiner for the assessment, he didn't go over to chat—if anything, he grew quieter, standing off in the corner. Zhao Zicheng and the other two, however, could barely contain their joy. Their eyes sparkled as they looked at Liu Qingfeng. Though he was their school's teacher, Liu Qingfeng had always kept a low profile, and they'd known very little about him. Never would they have guessed he was this formidable. "I assume you all get the rules now." "Let's get this started." A faint phantom of a green wolf suddenly materialized behind Luo Tian, and four gemstones glinted faintly in the center of its brow. In the next instant, the green wolf vanished without a trace. Dust swirled up once more, obscuring everyone's vision. When the dust settled, a huge circle had been drawn onto the ground. "This is the arena." "Tap out, or step outside the circle, and you lose." With that, Luo Tian leaped up and sat on the hood of his off-road vehicle—one couldn't help but wonder if the flimsy metal would cave under his weight the next second. He lit another cigarette for himself, and as smoke curled around his face, he pointed at random. "You two—fight." Thankfully, Luo Tian had at least a modicum of sense. He could tell the different school uniforms apart, and hadn't made students from the same school fight each other right off the bat. The two boys' expressions turned solemn. They stepped slowly into the circle, taking deep breaths to steady their nerves. "Xiao Zifeng, No. 1 Middle School!" "Enlighten me." Seeing the other boy move to attack at once, Xiao Zifeng's eyes darted, and he suddenly shouted the words loud and clear. Then, while the other boy was still dumbfounded, he lunged forward in a flash. The other boy quickly regained his wits, mentally cursing Xiao Zifeng's trick, and opened his mouth to shout his own introduction too. But it was too late. Xiao Zifeng threw a fist straight at his face. The boy gritted his teeth and stepped back two paces, narrowly dodging the punch. He was about to counterattack when Xiao Zifeng suddenly lifted his foot and kicked out. For a moment... the battlefield... Well, there was no murderous aura, no tense atmosphere to speak of. It was just two unawakened kids fighting—how could they possibly pull off any spectacular moves? Besides, they weren't from the big cities, where kids learned a little martial arts from birth. So the whole thing was nothing more than a cheap show. Luo Tian, however, watched with rapt attention. Drinking in every second of it. Until Xiao Zifeng, his face black and blue with bruises, still stood tall and proud in the circle. "Xiao Zifeng, No. 1 Middle School." "My humble effort." He shouted the words again, his gaze sweeping casually over Luo Tian. Luo Tian chuckled, saying nothing, and pointed at two more students at random to step up. Ever since Xiao Zifeng's shout, the mood of the assessment had shifted somehow. Every single student yelled their name with all their might. Their voices boomed across the yard. Echoing one after another. Luo Tian quickly lost interest, yawning repeatedly, lighting one cigarette after another. Zhao Zicheng and the other two from No. 2 Middle School stepped up to fight too. Only Zhao Zicheng won. A narrow victory. His face was swollen and red, and he stood at the back, muttering nonstop to himself.