The Merit Ledger

The first day of competition has ended. After preliminary rounds, semi-finals, and the final revival round, over five hundred lucky individuals remain—why are they considered lucky?

As the referee, Xue Ming saw everything clearly from the perspective of an observer, and became increasingly anxious.

He taught in Galahad for six months, imparting knightly combat skills to his students. Very few of them actually applied these skills to ring fighting and used classroom experience as a winning strategy.

It seems that such unethical fighting techniques are hard to accept, especially among older students.

They are thin-skinned, concerned with their image, possess pyroxene and clubs, and always dream of presenting themselves to the audience with a dashing demeanor and graceful bearing.

Therefore, Xue Ming believes that most of these students stayed on by luck.

Those with better luck may obtain powerful clubs and gems, and draw highly compatible items from the weapon pool provided by the BOSS, thus having a chance to survive.

Those with less luck can only become supporting characters, fighting a seemingly fair but incredibly arduous battle in the unprotected and helpless arena environment.

From the moment they stepped onto the arena, the elemental composition of both sides, their weapons such as clubs and radiant stones, etc., were like an incredibly simple addition and subtraction of combat power; the outcome could be determined simply by a touch.

As the revival rounds progressed, the competition intensified, as most of the students who reached this stage had experienced one or two failures.

Their mental strength had reached its limit; they were at their last gasp and were very likely to collapse due to exhaustion, leading to a knockout. Xue Ming didn't have the energy to observe the battles in other arenas.

Like Xue Ming was completely focused on observing the students' condition on the field. With the help of the [Phoenix], she was able to see the elemental state of both sides in the competition more clearly.

"Popsicle Boy, you seem disappointed?"

Xue Ming rang the final bell at the right moment, carrying the defeated opponent off the stage. When he heard Teacher A Ling's question, he made no attempt to hide his dejection.

"I'm their teacher, I specifically teach them how to fight, but unfortunately these kids are all too polite and too well-behaved."

Su Ling understood Xue Ming's implied meaning and immediately said, "What skill in the world doesn't require diligent learning and practice? Besides, you're teaching combat martial arts; you're being a bit impatient."

Xue Ming nodded helplessly. "It was indeed a bit too hasty."

Su Ling pulled the two contestants into the group, gave them White Lady's products to treat their injuries, and then spoke to Xue Ming.

"You came to Galahad with ulterior motives, didn't you?"

While giving the students a muscle massage, Xue Ming talked to Teacher Su Ling about the anonymous person's business.

"In the blink of an eye, I'm already twenty-four—about to start a family. Before, when I was on a mission, fighting for my life, I always felt isolated and helpless. Teacher Victor helped me a lot once again. When I returned to the BOSS, the BOSS asked me to come to Galahad to teach students."

At this point, Xue Ming escorted the students to the lounge, and only continued speaking when he returned.

"Now I understand Professor Victor's feelings, because you see things differently from different perspectives."

Su Ling: "Welcome to the world of men."

Xue Ming: "Indeed, I'm always worried that these students will go astray and stumble into a dead end—eight grades, thousands of students. They all have to call me teacher. Their family backgrounds are different, their origins are different, their personalities are different. I can't bring myself to talk about the unevenness of the world, so I just teach them some knightly combat skills that show equality to all beings."

Su Ling: "You seem like a different person since you got engaged."

Xue Ming: "I've just started talking more. I used to talk very little, I was just focused on doing things."

Su Ling: "And then?"

Xue Ming: "When I faced the Little Brotherhood in Forty-Eight District and fought alongside the soldiers of Guangling Zhixi, I realized how insignificant one person's strength is. There are so many terrifying monsters, so many frustrating things—how could I possibly kill them all and sort them out by myself?"

Su Ling: "Hmm?"

Xue Ming: "I went to instruct Tang Ning and Hasben, hoping they would take over some of the nameless people's affairs. I was the one who orchestrated the Van Persie family massacre; it was an act of war against the Madness Butterfly Sect and a provocation against the corrupt forces within the Homo sapiens camp—I need help."

Su Ling: "How are they doing lately?"

"If we follow the normal teaching schedule..." Xue Ming thought for a long time, and finally put aside his own transformation speed and learning ability to face other Homo sapiens. His concentration and mental strength were beyond the reach of ordinary people, and his reading speed and comprehension ability far exceeded those of ordinary people, so they could not be used as a reference.

"Hasben very talented, Tang Ning is fickle, always likes to take shortcuts, and has many flaws in his personality."

Su Ling: "Take your time."

Xue Ming: "So I was thinking that when Teacher Victor was always following behind Meteor and me, when we first met and became teacher and student, perhaps he felt the same way. He wished Meteor and me would grow up overnight, but he was also worried and afraid of forcing us to grow too fast."

Su Ling used her hands to make an expression, feigning a disdainful sneer.

Within the VIP circle, everyone calls him the world's number one male mom.

Xue Ming responded with a wry smile.

"One day, I finally stood on the same level as Professor Victor, seeing the world from the same perspective—the monstrous beasts and cultists he had to deal with, the unknown lands he had to explore, the inner demons and spiritual pressure he had to confront. When all of this came before me, I could finally understand the feelings he had when he walked from Niflheim to the Golden Township, setting up signposts for us one by one."

Teacher Su Ling suddenly started talking about her master--

"--In comparison, my teacher was really despicable."

Xue Ming: "What do you mean by that?"

Su Ling: "I'm just a free-range apprentice; my psychic energy training relies entirely on my own comprehension."

Xue Ming: "Doesn't Daoist Master Ping'an care about you, Teacher A Ling?"

This Daoist Master Ping'an is none other than Su Ling's master, Luo Ping'an, the head of the Black Stone Council of Elders.

Su Ling: "He said that as long as I don't cause any trouble in the future, I'll have repaid the debt to my sect."

This conversation just felt a bit off-putting.

Xue Ming didn't quite understand the friendship between the Black Stone Man and his apprentice either.

So we simply changed the subject.

He adopted a gentle and mild attitude, serving warm tea and medicine to the next martial arts contestants, explaining the competition rules in advance, and helping the two children adjust their mindset. It was a complete 180-degree turn; he transformed from a cold, ruthless, and icy referee into a smiling tiger.

The two 17-year-old senior students looked as if they had seen a ghost. They listened to the gunsmith teacher's earnest advice and felt that there was some truth to it. From the perspective of tactics, the luster of muscles, and the enemy's physique and mental state, these combat techniques were indeed worthwhile.

However, the gunsmith instructor gave off a completely different vibe compared to his usual classroom teaching.

In the past, teachers emphasized how to "survive".

Now he said to the red side, "Your opponent is left-handed. If you approach with a stick, it will be hand-to-hand combat. If you don't maintain a good sense of distance, you'll lose the match. His stamina is not as good as yours. You need to figure out how to avoid the stick's damage and turn the stand-up fighting into a stalemate that wears you down. That way you can win, but it will be a rather ugly victory. However, if you lose, there won't be another match, so don't have any regrets."

Just a few seconds later, the teacher turned around and went to talk to Lan Fang.

"Your record is one win and two losses. You've already played three matches, and you're mentally exhausted and physically drained. Your last opponent used his wingspan and height to bully you, and the pressure distorted your movements. That wasn't your true level. This opponent is similar in build to you, so you need to finish this quickly and decisively. Win it, and win it beautifully."

Su Ling rubbed her face and grinned foolishly. "Manipulating the game, huh?"

After Xue Ming finished doing all this, he felt an indescribable sense of satisfaction when he saw the two students rekindle their fighting spirit and step onto the martial arts stage.

"No, I was just doing my job—perhaps that's the same feeling David Victor had when he talked to me, his silly student, about dance techniques, asking me to open my heart and dance clumsily."

He opened the log and wrote down the names of the students from both the red and blue teams.

Su Ling: "Why did you even write down their names? Are these two students promising for the future?"

Xue Ming: "It's the Book of Merit. I used to use it as an assassination list, or to record the kindness others had shown me, which I would repay when I was able to."

Su Ling: "Oh, you seem to have changed."

Xue Ming: "I often ask Meteor about the differences between me when we first met and how I am now, and I later realized that the changes are huge."

Su Ling: "What did he say?"

Meteor dashed over, beaming with joy after receiving her advancement badge. She happily hugged Ming Ge's neck and exclaimed to Teacher Su Ling, "You've changed so much! Back when Ming Ge and I hit it off, he was even embarrassed to take my phone!"

Su Ling took a few steps to the side, her actions prompting her to give way due to the strong smell of sweat emanating from A Xing.

Meteor continued, "Like before, when it came to the story of Canaan, my memory wasn't working so well, and I couldn't remember how to write the story in my journal. So I joked with Ming Ge —'Why don't you hug me like Canaan? Let me get a feel for it?'"

Xue Ming: "Get out."

Meteor hugged the short guy beside him, showing no intention of letting go. "Hahahaha! He's just like the BOSS, getting more and more stubborn."

After saying that, the boy took out Ah Ming's merit book and said in a strange, sarcastic tone.

"Hey! Ming Ge! Why are you still holding a grudge about the good things you did?"

Xue Ming stared at the students on the stage and saw the two students observe their opponents according to the mental techniques of knightly combat. When they advanced, they would engage in fierce fighting; when they retreated, they would conceal their strength and defend like turtles. Finally, they used their full strength, and smiles gradually appeared on their faces.

He told the meteor, "I rested in Galahad for half a year, and last time I wrestled with my Little Brotherhood."

Meteor immediately understood. "I'll become stronger, Ming Ge, unlike last time when I acted all effeminate. I won't hold you back."

"No. That's not what I meant." Xue Ming shook his head, dispelling all his fantasies and no longer hoping for a savior. "The governor of Forty-Eight District told me that weapons are inauspicious instruments, to be used only as a last resort. That's how I understand it. I've killed more than two thousand monsters, and I have indeed committed a lot of killing, but as long as I accumulate enough merit, I will be more adept at slaughtering monsters."

Su Ling: "So you're using this merit book for this kind of thing?"

Meteor: "When it comes to butchering techniques, Ming Ge has always had a top-notch understanding."

Xue Ming ignored Su Ling and Liuxing's banter and spoke seriously.

"To be honest, Galahad taught me a lesson. In Forty-Eight District, I lacked popular support, making things extremely difficult. These students are still young. In five or ten years, or even ten or twenty years, when they've all grown up and can stand on their own, perhaps I won't have to live in fear and worry about having no successors."

"I pleaded with Director Simmons to leave the Knight's Combat Techniques in Galahad —but now I've come to terms with it. This can't be rushed. I still have to live a life of wandering, slaying the most vicious criminals, and teetering on the edge of life and death."

Su Ling hugged Liu Xing's face. "How on earth can your older brother say such harsh words in such a cowardly tone?"

Meteor's face was distorted by A Ling- sensei's squeezing, and she pouted, saying, "I don't know."

At the same time--

--The outcome on stage has already been decided.

The blue team member gritted his teeth and endured the pain, sacrificing his left arm advantage to fight head-on with the red team's right-handed opponent, resulting in injuries to half of his torso and the left side of his face.

Without close-quarters, rapid-fire combat, the two engaged in a back-and-forth brawl while armed, both at the same metamorphosis level of pupa. The contest of physical essence devolved into a tug-of-war, turning into an unsightly floor wrestling match.

Sweat and blood were spilled on the floor tiles. The fight went from armed combat to physical exhaustion, culminating in a hand-to-hand grappling session after both sides had disarmed each other.

The red player was eventually defeated and locked in a leg lock by the blue player, but still refused to tap out. It wasn't until the red player's thigh was bent backward and the blue player grabbed the red player's foot and hooked it with his heel that the red player was locked in a final lock.

Xue Ming rang the final bell. "Blue team wins!"

In an instant--

Both sides were somewhat dazed, unable to believe the result.

The young man on the blue team was covered in cuts and bruises, his legs were weak, and he couldn't get up for a long time. After letting go of his opponent's ankle, he felt nauseous and dry heaving due to lack of oxygen, and his hand was still trembling as he picked up the stick.

"I won? I won?"

Meteor: "Well done!"

Xue Ming: "Well done! This move will cost you 68,000 yuan—the heel hook is an extremely vicious locking technique that can break an enemy's leg, leaving them with a lifelong disability. Even if they are cured with Universal Elixir, the psychological damage will last for several months."

The young man from the red team was limping, his face filled with resentment, anger, and hatred; he seemed to be still processing what had happened.

"I lost? Teacher! I lost!? This guy."

Xue Ming patiently explained the reasons for the defeat.

"--He stepped out of his comfort zone, gave up his left-hand advantage, and his adaptability, willpower, and speed of evolution are all superior to yours. I didn't teach him how to win; he found the decisive method himself."

He helped the blue team's winner, who had lost two consecutive matches and could barely stand.

"Red, your opponent's stamina is inferior to yours. You deliberately dragged him to the ground, trying to turn your stamina advantage into a winning position. You did a good job in that regard, but unfortunately, he wanted to win even more than you did."

The red team's lame kid, battered by joint locks, was unsteady on his feet. He took off his half-finger glove, saw the blood inside, and clung to his protective gear with reluctance as he approached the gunsmith instructor, his face full of regret.

At this moment, he was no longer on the red side; he had to say goodbye to the Sage's Cup.

For some reason, the student suddenly started crying, as if all his previous efforts, all the pain he suffered on the field, and all the training he received in class had gone to waste, and a huge sense of disappointment almost shattered him.

"Teacher, I'm not reconciled! I'm so unwilling to accept this!"

The gunsmith remained silent; he wasn't good at comforting students.

"Where does he get his strength? He's already made it to the third knockout stage, what makes him so special?"

"I only lost one game. Clearly..."

Right now, at this very moment--

The gunsmith grabbed the hand of the blue team's winner and asked the two students to shake hands and bow.

Xue Ming, "Well done."

The defeated red player reluctantly grasped the victor's hand, yet in those few seconds, he sensed a fierce competitive spirit and incredibly intense emotions emanating from the opponent's frail spirit.

The winner barely had the strength to shake hands. The strength he displayed when he locked his Achilles tendon and hugged his thigh earlier was nowhere near as weak as it was now.

The loser suddenly raised his head, tears streaming down his face, as if he were experiencing even more intense nerve pain from his opponent's spirit.

Xue Ming continued, "The Dean is right, the Philosopher's Cup can keep people forever young."

"That's great," Meteor smiled, her eyes narrowing into slits. "You can lose again and again, unlike life."

"I wasn't so upset. I wasn't so concerned," the losing red player sobbed, staring into his opponent's eyes.

"Brother, I understand you." The blue team's winner nodded weakly. "We've both been eliminated once, and I've even lost twice. If it's just a contest of psionic energy and clubs, it's not fair at all, and I wouldn't care so much. Losing is losing. But if it's about fighting, if it's a contest of knightly combat skills, it's about wrestling and hand-to-hand combat."

The defeated player from the red team turned to Xue Ming and asked, "Teacher, so knight combat techniques are this powerful?"

The winner on the blue team tried to grip his opponent's Five Fingers tightly, but he had used up all his strength and had none left.

"When I heard the teacher say 'leave no regrets,' it felt like a slap in the face, and it brought me to my senses. My duel with you will definitely not be just about sticks and spirits, it's much more than that."

The losing player from the red team finally handed over all the finger guards and protective gear with reluctance, and accepted the White Lady Coffee from the gunsmith instructor. Wiping away the snot and tears from his face, he seemed to have rested enough and headed to the lounge.

He took a few steps out, then immediately turned back. He didn't even know the names of his classmates, but he clung to the winner—as if he wanted to make everything clear, to give many instructions, and to express many thoughts.

"You win!"

The winner of the blue team had just caught his breath when his opponent's inexplicable request left him completely baffled.

Little Red insisted, "You must win! I'll only be satisfied if you're the fourth-grade champion! You're the one who took my gloves off! You have to win, it's not shameful for me to lose to the champion!"

Putting those things aside--

--Teacher Su Ling, clutching a bucket of popcorn, ate voraciously as she ran to another arena with assistant referee Xue Ming. Her eyes kept glancing at the pair of Little Red and Little Blue girls from before, revealing her true nature as a rabid gossip-loving group leader.

"Following you will allow you to discover many possible couples."

Xue Ming covered her face, a little embarrassed.

"Teacher, Morpho butterflies all possess incredible abilities, among which [flight] and [reproduction] are the most basic. For example, when nymphs see butterflies fluttering about, they will try to flap their non-existent wings. Teacher Victor used this method to teach me before—I think you can simply produce your own food and eat it yourself."