False Accusations

Li Yunjian was the Army Captain responsible for Third High School's field training. He was a 5th Rank Martial Artist.

Here, his words carried even more weight than the principal's.

The moment he spoke, the crowd below fell silent.

Everyone had no choice but to believe that Chu Han had killed the Black Stone Scorpion.

Even so, they were unwilling to believe that Chu Han possessed such combat power.

After all, Chu Han's circumstances were plain to see, and no one else had witnessed him make a move.

"Captain Li, what you said is true?"

The principal of Third High School still couldn't believe it and continued asking Li Yunjian for confirmation.

Li Yunjian nodded. "Chu Han is extremely strong. He killed a 1st Rank Mutated Black Stone Scorpion and a large number of ordinary Black Stone Scorpions, saving my men and several students. My men can all testify to that. There should still be a tail stinger from a 1st Rank Mutated Black Stone Scorpion in his bag that he hasn't taken out."

"That's truly unbelievable."

The principal and the other school leaders were all speechless.

If they continued questioning it now, they would undoubtedly be slapping Captain Li in the face.

They could only say to Chu Han, "Chu Han, are there any other materials in your bag?"

At that, Chu Han took another enormous dark-red tail stinger from his bag. Its quality was clearly higher, and it belonged to a 1st Rank mutated beast.

"It really is the tail stinger of a 1st Rank Mutated Black Stone Scorpion!"

One of the school leaders cried out in shock.

The tail stinger Chu Han produced also served to verify Li Yunjian's words.

"Now, can you continue calculating my points?" Chu Han asked.

"All right, all right."

Before long, the teacher tallying the results had finished calculating Chu Han's points.

Then, his voice trembling slightly, he announced, "Sixty-two Rotten Dogs, 186 points; 146 Black Stone Scorpions, 730 points; one 1st Rank Mutated Black Stone Scorpion, 100 points! Chu Han's total score is 1,016 points!"

The moment the result came out, the entire venue erupted.

"1,016 points! Even the extra sixteen points are higher than my score. Are you trying to leave us no way to live?"

"Over 1,000 points! One person's score is enough to match an entire class!"

"I thought Li Mengran's score breaking 100 already made her invincible under heaven. I never imagined Chu Han would be even fiercer than her!"

"..."

Li Mengran, meanwhile, was unexpectedly calm. She didn't believe the result, but she had no way to prove it unless she fought Chu Han right now.

At that moment, she suddenly spotted Sun Liqiang, who had just regained the ability to move outside the crowd. A glimmer of light immediately flashed through her eyes.

Aside from Li Mengran, the school leaders also didn't completely believe it.

Unlike their exuberant excitement when Li Mengran's result had been announced, everyone wore a fake smile.

Clearly, they still had some doubts about Chu Han's score.

It was just that, out of deference to Li Yunjian, they couldn't verify it publicly.

The principal then announced the ranking rewards:

First place: the C-rank martial skill Mysterious Ice Palm and twenty Blood Qi Pills;

Second through fifth place: the D-rank martial skill Collapsing Fist and ten Blood Qi Pills;

Sixth through tenth place: one of the E-rank Martial Skills Mountain Splitting Saber Technique and Shadowless Sword Technique, winner's choice, plus five Blood Qi Pills;

Eleventh through twentieth place: five Blood Qi Pills;

Twenty-first through fiftieth place: one Blood Qi Pill;

"Mysterious Ice Palm? So that's how it is."

Chu Han understood. The first-place prize, Mysterious Ice Palm, had clearly been prepared specifically for Li Mengran.

No wonder the principal and the other leaders looked so distressed.

However, Chu Han wasn't about to give up the first-place reward because of that.

Just as he stepped onto the stage to receive his prize, voices of opposition rang out below again.

"I don't agree to Chu Han receiving the reward!"

An arm wrapped in bandages, Sun Liqiang came limping over, his face filled with spite as he glared at Chu Han.

Chu Han's brows furrowed slightly. He had thought that punch of his would leave Sun Liqiang bedridden for half a month, but he hadn't expected him to recover the ability to move so quickly.

And the moment he appeared, he had come looking for trouble.

Onstage, the principal signaled for the award ceremony to be suspended and looked at Sun Liqiang. "Sun Liqiang, what objection do you have?"

Sun Liqiang immediately pointed at Chu Han and shouted, "I'm reporting Chu Han for taking banned drugs to forcibly increase his strength and for trying to kill a fellow student!"

The principal hurriedly asked, "Is what you said true? Do you have proof?"

"My entire team and I can testify! He relied on banned drugs to forcibly raise his strength, which is how he obtained this power comparable to a Martial Artist. I encountered him at Black Stone Mountain before, and he seemed like a completely different person. His vicious nature erupted, and he nearly killed me! If I hadn't run fast enough, I'd probably already be dead by now!"

As soon as those words came out, the principal, the other leaders, and the students below all turned extremely solemn.

This wasn't a charge to be taken lightly.

In martial arts cultivation, taking banned drugs was a major taboo.

Although they could rapidly increase one's strength, they would cause irreversible damage to the body and make the user's temperament change drastically, turning them cruel and bloodthirsty.

It was especially prohibited for students.

Once confirmed, the student would be permanently barred from taking the major examinations and expelled from the school.

The principal and the other leaders had already harbored doubts about Chu Han's score and didn't want him to receive the first-place reward.

Now, Sun Liqiang's report had handed them the perfect reason to cancel Chu Han's result.

Under ordinary circumstances, they might have treated Sun Liqiang's claim cautiously. But now, they were practically desperate to seize this handle.

The principal immediately declared righteously, "Chu Han, the school now has serious doubts about how you obtained your strength. Until you prove your innocence, this round of rewards will be counted starting from second place. Furthermore, you must immediately undergo a strict examination by the school and the Martial Artist authorities to prove that you haven't taken banned drugs!"

The moment the principal said this, he had essentially already treated Chu Han as a banned-drug user.

After all, according to their ingrained understanding, Chu Han hadn't awakened a talent back then. For his strength to improve by leaps and bounds now was far too abnormal.

Captain Li wanted to speak up for him from the side, but he had no way to begin.

He could prove that Chu Han had truly killed the Black Stone Scorpions, but he couldn't prove that Chu Han's increase in strength hadn't involved cheating.

According to the information reported by his men, Chu Han's various fundamentals were incredibly solid, even surpassing those of a 1st Rank Martial Artist. It was clearly impossible that he had taken banned drugs.

However, anyone with eyes could see the school's attitude. As an outsider, he couldn't change it.

At that moment, Chu Han's homeroom teacher, Wang Hao, stepped forward and pleaded, "Principal, and all the leaders, I understand this child Chu Han best. He absolutely would never use banned drugs. Besides, his family is extremely poor—how could he possibly afford banned drugs? I don't agree with this punishment."

Before the principal and the other leaders could respond, Li Mengran's homeroom teacher, Shen Ping, jumped out and said sarcastically, "Wang Hao, are you questioning the principal's decision? Maybe you were the one who bought Chu Han those banned drugs!"

Wang Hao retorted, "Why would I let my own student take banned drugs?"

Shen Ping let out a cold laugh. "That's hard to say. Over these three years, you've invested a great deal of effort in Chu Han. Since he didn't awaken a talent, you were probably even more anxious than he was."

"What did you say?"

Wang Hao flew into a rage and was about to argue with him, but the principal cut him off.

"All right! Stop arguing about this. Whether Chu Han is innocent will be clear once the examination is complete! This concerns fairness and justice in the martial arts world. We must treat it cautiously and handle it according to the rules!"

The principal's attitude was resolute, leaving no room for further objections.

"There's no need for such trouble!"

Suddenly, Chu Han sneered and pointed at Shen Ping as he shouted, "Have Shen Ping fight me. Let's see whether my strength came from taking banned drugs!"

"Ridiculous! Shen Ping is a 2nd Rank Martial Artist. You're no match for him!"

Wang Hao hurriedly tried to stop Chu Han from acting rashly. No matter how strong Chu Han was, it was impossible for him to defeat a 2nd Rank Martial Artist.

Shen Ping immediately let out a mocking laugh. "Hahaha, what a joke. You're merely a student, yet you dare disrespect your elders and even challenge a teacher across a rank. Just who gave you that courage? Your emotions are so agitated, and the viciousness and Battle Desire in your body have clearly grown stronger. This is plainly a side effect of taking banned drugs!"

He continued to sneer, "No matter how powerful the banned drug you took was, it couldn't turn you from a good-for-nothing into a powerhouse capable of fighting a 2nd Rank Martial Artist. It seems the banned drug also magnified your arrogance and made you lose your ability to judge!"

Shen Ping's words sounded logical and well-founded, immediately causing even more people to begin doubting Chu Han.

"Enough nonsense. If you want to fight, then fight." Chu Han spoke coldly.

The reason he challenged Shen Ping wasn't to prove himself. More than anything, he wanted to help his homeroom teacher vent his anger.

He knew that Wang Hao had always conducted himself uprightly and carried himself with dignity. He valued his reputation immensely and could not tolerate others casually slandering him.

Therefore, he had to win back this face!