How to Lose (Continued)

The main reason the two were asked to leave was because of their medication use.

Of course, the two were not caught on the spot. Because of the Internal Cultivation in this world, it is very difficult to detect doping after the competition. Unless a surprise test is conducted before the competition, it is possible to catch them on the spot. Considering the reputation of Linked Mountains University, they generally will not deliberately conduct tests without solid evidence. Otherwise, the other party will claim that doing so affects the athletes' performance and accuse the organizers of deliberately targeting Linked Mountains University.

The evidence of drug use by the Wang brothers was discovered during regular training. In order to protect the school's reputation, the Martial Arts Club internally expelled them.

The boy couldn't help but say, "Rules are established to ensure fairness."

"Fairness my ass! There's never fairness in fighting. You kids who grew up in schools, once you've been out in the real world, you'll know how ridiculous fairness is. In real combat, nobody talks to you about fairness. You fell for their trick because you're stupid."

Wang Ya scoffed and said, "Who dares to say they've never cheated on an exam? What's the difference between cheating on an exam and cheating in a competition? If you don't get caught, there's no problem."

The boy was speechless for a moment and could not refute it.

"It seems no one really welcomes us brothers, but it doesn't matter. We look down on you anyway. We're only back at the Martial Arts Club to complete the deal," Wang Qing said, looking at Chu Gengyin. "President Chu, is the previous agreement still valid?"

"Of course, my reputation should be guaranteed."

"That's fine then. See you all tomorrow. By the way, with your abilities, you can't beat the Second Martial Arts Club. Cheating would give you a sliver of hope. It's up to you whether you choose pride or victory."

The Wang brothers laughed heartily and strode away.

After everyone left, the boy protested angrily to Chu Gengyin, "President, you're not really going to make everyone take drugs, are you? If so, I'm not participating in tomorrow's competition."

Others echoed his sentiments, and all the pent-up discontent erupted at once.

Chu Gengyin first gestured for silence, then said, "Everyone has misunderstood. Please let me explain. Tomorrow I hope everyone can take the medicine, but not the pill in my left hand, but the pill in my right hand."

As he spoke, he opened his right hand, revealing several pills in his palm that were identical to those in his right hand.

"President, what's this?"

"The Banana Delay Pill, one pill is equivalent to one banana. This is an officially approved energy-replenishing elixir, and there is no suspicion of any violation."

Chu Gengyin demonstrated by taking one pill himself. The others, with some skepticism, each took one from his palm and swallowed it. Sure enough, they only felt a slight feeling of fullness, with no other effects.

"President, since it's just an ordinary pill, why...?"

"Why did you give the Wang brothers a different one?" Chu Gengyin smiled and explained, "No one is perfect. The Wang brothers have made contributions to the Martial Arts Club, so I wanted to give them a chance to mend their ways. I thought that after a year, they would have learned their lesson and become more restrained, but alas... old habits die hard. The pill incident was my last chance for them, but unfortunately, they still didn't seize it. After tomorrow's competition, I will proactively report them to the organizers and have them disqualified from participating in all official competitions, so that they can never harm others again."

Everyone suddenly realized and echoed in agreement:

"The president is truly kind-hearted, but a leopard can't change its spots. These two bastards shouldn't have been given the chance!"

"Being reported by others does damage the image of our Martial Arts Club, but if we report it ourselves, it shows that we are strict with ourselves, keep our integrity, and will never associate with those who break the rules. If word gets out, people will only praise us for doing the right thing."

"But isn't this a bit unethical, like deliberately setting a trap for others to fall into...?"

"Where is the unfairness? The president gave them a chance, but they didn't cherish it. Besides, after being expelled from the Martial Arts Club, these two haven't done anything good. They've been forming gangs everywhere, extorting protection money from others by relying on their strength, and always using our Martial Arts Club's name, ruining countless reputations. We can't be merciful to these kinds of people; we must eliminate them completely and make sure they can never hold their heads up again."

Chu Gengyin pressed his hands down to quiet everyone down, then said, "I had everyone swallow the pills to dispel these two's suspicions. Just do your best in tomorrow's match, there's no need to feel guilty. We're all from the same school, and whoever wins or loses will bring glory to the school."

Everyone sighed with admiration, saying that Chairman Chu was indeed resourceful and had a strong sense of justice.

After asking everyone to remember to keep it a secret, Chu Gengyin adjourned the meeting, and soon only he and a curly-haired boy remained in the meeting room.

"Young Master Chu, why did you suddenly change your mind?"

The curly-haired boy was Chu Gengyin's confidant, and of course he knew that Chu Gengyin's invitation to the Wang brothers to join him was not for such a noble and righteous reason as "giving them a chance to repent and reform."

"It's simple, they're useless now, of course I have to kick them out... After watching today's match, I know I made a huge mistake, completely underestimating the strength of the Second Martial Arts Club. I thought we were only slightly inferior, and that bringing back the Wang brothers would give us a better chance of winning. But it turns out that a small mistake can lead to a huge error. We're not even in the same league as the Second Martial Arts Club. No matter how we scheme, we can't win. It's an absolute difference in strength, beyond the scope of what strategy can compensate for. Since we're going to lose whether we have the Wang brothers or not, what's the point of keeping them around? To ruin my reputation? Of course, we should kill them for the New Year."

"The difference in strength is absolute... I can tell the Second Martial Arts Club is no ordinary team, but are they really that strong?"

"Of course, and even more powerful than you imagine. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to describe it as unfathomable. Take the girl who fought in the second match today, for example. Only an incompetent fool would think she used illusion magic. In fact, she didn't use any Anomalies techniques at all. She simply suppressed the opponent with her Internal Cultivation. I estimate that this girl's Internal Cultivation is at least level twelve."

The curly-haired boy exclaimed in shock, "Level 12! Isn't that the Spirit Transformation Threshold?"

"Level twelve is my conservative estimate; her Internal Cultivation will only be above that, not lower."

Chu Gengyin walked to the blinds, parted a slat, and peered through the gap into the training ground. He said leisurely, "When I realized this, I knew I could never beat the Second Martial Arts Club. They're extraordinary... a bunch of monsters!"

In the end, unable to suppress his resentment, he clenched his fist so hard that he almost broke the blinds' cord, displaying a kind of indignation akin to "encountering the Communist Army piloting a Gundam."

But he was skilled at maintaining his composure and quickly calmed down, saying, "Since we can't win, we need to think about how to lose. You know, 'how to lose' is also a great art... Go and mobilize all your connections to spread a message that ' Linked Mountains University intends to take both of the competition spots, so the Martial Arts Club deliberately lost to the Second Martial Arts Club.' Hurry up and make sure everyone involved knows this before the competition starts tomorrow."

"I'll take care of it."

That evening, Si Ming put on his mask again and performed a street show with Yuezheng Qiong.

This time, not only were there a large audience, but there were also people from the TV station who were there to conduct interviews and record the broadcast, which will air tomorrow night during prime time on the local TV station in Linked Mountains City.

Having collaborated many times, the two had developed a tacit understanding. Moreover, being seasoned professionals, they didn't show any nervousness during the interview and performed as excellently as ever, winning applause from the audience and praise from even the television station staff.

This time, Si Ming finally played the xiao (vertical flute) for the performance. After all, there are only a few types of wind instruments, and he had already mastered all the others. In the end, only the xiao remained. Compared with the important matter of martial arts cultivation, the resistance in his heart had to be put aside. He was not someone who couldn't distinguish between primary and secondary matters. He would just play the xiao. Those who had impure thoughts were the ones with the most unclean minds.

"Today is the last street performance. The organizers of the Martial Dao League have invited me to perform on stage at the closing ceremony, and I've already accepted," Yuezheng Qiong said to Si Ming.

"Oh, so that means we've succeeded? After your performance, Sister Qiong, will you take off your mask and reveal your identity?"

Yuezheng Qiong paused for a moment, seemingly never having considered this question before. This puzzled Si Ming slightly. He had always thought that Yuezheng Qiong was doing street performances to prepare for her future debut and to try to diminish her sister's influence. Otherwise, if it was just to prove that she was no worse than her sister, she wouldn't be doing street performances at all. After all, Yuezheng Qiong often impersonated her sister and had never been recognized, which was enough to prove that her singing skills were no less than Yuezheng Yao's.

"Probably... Hmm, this is indeed a good opportunity. Let's seize this chance and reveal my identity to the entire city."

Yuezheng Qiong seemed to have figured something out, smiled and made a decision, then said to Si Ming, "You'd better do your best. There are still two more competitions to go, you must win the championship, otherwise it will be very embarrassing for you to perform on stage."

Si Ming waved his hand, full of confidence, and said, "Don't worry, judging from today's competition, the other two teams are no match for our Second Martial Arts Club. The gap in strength is so great that even jinxing won't work. I can declare here that the championship trophy is already in our pocket."