When the word "refuse" left Lin Xiao's lips, clear and calm, it was as though someone had pressed the mute button on the entire world.
The frenzy, jealousy, and envy on the faces of the tens of thousands of students gathered outside the dormitory area froze in an instant, turning into a forest of stunned stone statues.
Outside the door, Shi Lei's heart, which had been pounding so hard it seemed ready to leap from his chest, abruptly stopped. His mouth fell open as if he had heard the most unbelievable fairy tale in the world.
Su Yue's beautiful eyes, which had shone like stars with joy, were instantly filled with bewilderment. She simply could not understand why Lin Xiao would refuse this heaven-sent opportunity capable of changing the course of his life.
Standing before Lin Xiao, Chu Tianxing—the esteemed Vice Dean of the Outer Academy, who held the fates of countless people in his hands—slowly, bit by bit, drew back the kindly, chrysanthemum-like smile on his face.
An invisible pressure, heavy as a mountain range, slowly spread from his seemingly ordinary body and enveloped the entire dormitory. The air itself seemed to turn into a thick swamp, making it hard to breathe.
His cloudy old eyes narrowed slightly, and a terrifying glint flashed through the slits.
He did not fly into a rage. He merely looked Lin Xiao over again with a scrutinizing gaze full of oppression, as though seeing the youth who had repeatedly surprised him for the first time.
"Can you give this old man a reason?"
His voice was no longer gentle. It had become flat, so flat that it carried not the slightest trace of emotion. Yet everyone knew that beneath that calm lay thunderous fury capable of stirring up towering waves!
Under Chu Tianxing's terrifying pressure, Shi Lei and Su Yue had both gone pale, their legs trembling beyond their control.
Yet Lin Xiao, standing at the center of that pressure, remained straight-backed and calm-faced.
He knew that Chu Tianxing was testing him—and warning him. If he could not give a reason convincing enough, then not only would he lose all preferential treatment today, he might even be branded by the academy's upper ranks as "arrogant and unable to distinguish good from bad," leaving him to struggle at every step within the academy from then on!
This was a game of wits.
A bold gamble that used his own future and fate as the stakes!
But Lin Xiao showed no fear.
Meeting Chu Tianxing's scrutinizing gaze, he bowed deeply once more and spoke neither servilely nor arrogantly. "Vice Dean, this student is neither ungrateful nor arrogant. The reason I refuse is because I have three requests I wish to make of the academy, and of you. If these three requests can be granted, then I believe it will be a better choice for both the academy and myself than entering Heaven Class One."
"Oh?" Chu Tianxing's brows rose slightly. The chill in his eyes faded somewhat, replaced by a trace of genuine curiosity. "Let me hear them. I would like to see what kind of requests could be better than entering Heaven Class One and enjoying the finest resources in the entire Outer Academy."
Lin Xiao straightened, his gaze clear and resolute.
"My first request concerns my companions."
He pointed at Shi Lei and Su Yue behind him, who had long since been dumbstruck, and said calmly, "They are companions who went through trials of life and death with me in the Myriad Beast Mountain Range. I, Lin Xiao, never abandon my companions. So I ask that the academy give them the attention they deserve as well. Their talent may not compare to mine, but their diligence and loyalty are equally rare and precious qualities. I hope that no matter where I am, I can fight shoulder to shoulder with them."
Those words landed with the weight of gold!
The moment Shi Lei and Su Yue outside the door heard them, their minds buzzed and went completely blank!
They never would have dreamed that Lin Xiao's first reason for refusing such a chance to soar to the heavens in a single step would be for their sake!
An indescribable warmth surged through their bodies in an instant, washing through every limb and bone, and their eyes reddened uncontrollably.
A man would die for one who understood him!
Only at this moment did they truly understand the meaning of those words.
A nearly imperceptible trace of emotion also flashed through Chu Tianxing's eyes. He looked deeply at Shi Lei and Su Yue, their faces full of emotion, then at the calm-faced Lin Xiao, and slowly nodded.
"You value loyalty and righteousness. Not bad. This old man can agree to raise their resource treatment to the standards of the Mystic Class. State your second request."
"My second request concerns myself." Lin Xiao's gaze sharpened. "Although this student may be dull in talent, I still possess a martial heart unwilling to stand beneath others. I do not wish for my accomplishments to be built upon the academy's 'charity.' I want to use my own hands to win every honor that belongs to me openly and honorably!"
He paused, and his voice suddenly rose, brimming with incomparable confidence and heroic spirit!
"Therefore, I request to remain in Yellow Class Nine! I, Lin Xiao, want to prove one thing to the entire academy—the thing that determines a student's future has never been which class he belongs to, but whether he himself is strong enough! I want to lead Yellow Class Nine to become the strongest class in the Outer Academy!"
Boom!
Those words exploded beside everyone's ears like a thunderclap from the Ninth Heaven!
Lead the worst Yellow Class to become the strongest class?!
What arrogance! What dominance! What... stirring inspiration!
The students outside, who had initially looked down on Lin Xiao for "failing to appreciate kindness," now had their blood boiling after hearing his lofty declaration. The way they looked at him changed completely from awe to fervent worship!
This was the heart of a true powerhouse! Relying on no external things, accepting no charity, believing only in the sword in his own hand!
"Haha... Hahahaha!"
After a brief moment of shock, Chu Tianxing finally could no longer hold back and threw his head back in laughter!
He laughed heartily, laughed with the satisfaction of an elder whose heart had been comforted. The pressure weighing upon everyone's hearts also vanished like smoke in the wind with his laughter.
"Good! 'What determines the future is not the class, but the student himself'—well said! What courage! What spirit!"
He looked at Lin Xiao, and the admiration in his eyes had grown so intense it could hardly be contained.
He had originally believed Lin Xiao to be merely a cultivation prodigy blessed with extraordinary talent. Only now did he realize that he had still misjudged him!
The youth before him not only possessed talent that could astonish the ancients and illuminate the present, but also the heart of a true, unyielding king! That was ten thousand times more precious than talent itself!
"This old man is growing more and more fond of you." Chu Tianxing sighed with feeling, then abruptly changed the subject. "But your request is rather fanciful. The overall resources and teaching strength of the Yellow Class differ from those of the Heaven Class as greatly as clouds differ from mud. You..."
"And that is why this is my third and final request."
Lin Xiao interrupted Chu Tianxing. His eyes shone with startling brilliance.
"I ask the academy to give my team and me a fair 'platform' for competition!"
"A platform?"
"That's right!" Lin Xiao's voice was filled with power. "I do not need the academy to tilt resources in our favor. I only need an opportunity—an opportunity to obtain resources through our own efforts! For example, opening higher-level missions to us; allowing us to challenge those above our level; or even allowing us to... set our own wagers!"
Looking at Chu Tianxing, he enunciated each word. "I ask the academy to allow me, as the Chief Instructor student of Yellow Class Nine, to challenge any student from the Heaven Class! The stakes will be our cultivation resources! If they win, all of my Heavenly Class treatment will belong to them! If I win, their resources will belong to me! That way, resources will flow only toward the truly strong. That is the fairest law!"
Mad.
This Lin Xiao was truly mad!
When Lin Xiao voiced his third request, the crowd outside had already fallen completely into an uproar!
Challenging the Heaven Class as a Yellow Class student! And wagering all of his cultivation resources!
He was not challenging a single person. He was challenging the academy's rock-solid hierarchy itself! He was issuing the most naked declaration of war against every genius perched high above!
Chu Tianxing's breathing grew somewhat hurried as well.
He stared fixedly at Lin Xiao, as though he wanted to see through the youth's very soul.
He saw it.
Beneath those calm eyes, he saw ambition and confidence vast enough to overturn the heavens!
This was a true gambler! A madman who dared place his own fate upon the gambling table and wager against the entire world!
And what Cloud Creek Academy lacked least were rule-abiding geniuses. What it lacked most were heroes like this, who dared to shatter every rule!
"Interesting... truly interesting..."
Chu Tianxing murmured to himself. His heart, which had long been as still as an ancient well, began pounding violently again after so many years.
He knew that if he agreed to Lin Xiao's request, then from this day onward, the entire Outer Academy would know no peace! A colossal storm raised by this youth, one that would sweep everyone into its wake, was about to descend!
But that... seemed to be exactly what he had been hoping for!
A stagnant pool needed a catfish to stir the winds and clouds!
"Good! This old man will gamble this round with you!"
A brilliant light burst from Chu Tianxing's eyes, and towering heroic spirit surged into the sky!
"This old man agrees to all three of your requests! You may remain in Yellow Class Nine, and the treatment of your two companions will be raised to the Mystic Class! As for the challenge rules you mentioned, this old man will personally pressure the Academic Affairs Hall to make an exception for you!"
He looked at Lin Xiao, a solemn expression appearing on his face.
"But this old man has one condition as well."
"Please speak, Vice Dean."
"Words alone are no proof. This old man needs to see your true worth. Three months from now will be the academy's triennial Bloody Trial. At that time, every class in the Outer Academy will enter the Bloody Secret Realm for a ten-day contest of life and death. I require you and your team to enter the top ten of the overall rankings in that trial!"
"If you can accomplish that, this old man will personally petition the Dean to establish a separate class for you and your lawless team, which this old man will personally teach!"
"If you cannot..." Chu Tianxing paused, his gaze turning incomparably severe. "Then it will prove that everything you said today was merely arrogant empty talk! When that time comes, you must put away all your unrealistic fantasies and obediently get yourself into Heaven Class One to cultivate!"
"Well? Do you dare accept this pact?"
Faced with Chu Tianxing's final test, a faint smile finally appeared on Lin Xiao's face.
He bowed deeply to Chu Tianxing once more—for the last time.
"This student accepts!"
When Chu Tianxing's beast carriage slowly departed amid wave after wave of astonished cries, the details of Lin Xiao's conversation with the Vice Dean about the "three requests" and the "three-month pact" spread through every corner of the academy like they had grown wings, at a speed more terrifying than ever before!
The entire Outer Academy was completely thrown into an uproar!
And Lin Xiao, standing at the center of the storm, finally turned after seeing off the Vice Dean and looked at Shi Lei and Su Yue, who were already crying their hearts out and too excited to speak.
"Why are you crying?"
He smiled as he wiped the tears from the corners of their eyes, his voice gentle yet filled with unquestionable strength.
"I told you, we are a team."
"From today onward, prepare yourselves for hellish training."
"Three months from now, we will make the entire Outer Academy remember the name 'Yellow Class Nine'!"
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