"Uh..."
Watching Tao Yun bawl as he left the ring, looking utterly devastated, Xia Ping was speechless. The guy looked like a pushover, but he was still a Martial Apprentice Sixth Heaven expert. How could he be so unable to take a hit?
He turned to the referee beside him. "Referee, what do we do about this?"
The referee had never encountered anything like it before. In past matches, contestants had been seriously injured, knocked out of the ring, or conceded because they knew they couldn't win.
But no one had ever been so scared that they cried and ran away from the ring. Today was certainly an eye-opener.
"Well, Tao Yun left the ring, so we'll count it as a voluntary forfeit. Xia Ping wins." The referee was a seasoned hand. His eyes shifted as he quickly found a rule that covered the situation, then announced the result.
But the decision set off an uproar among the spectators.
"Demon! Xia Ping's definitely a demon!"
"He actually scared Tao Yun into crying. What a heartless bastard!"
"He must've done it on purpose. He wanted to humiliate his opponent, so he deliberately didn't fight back and let him attack. But no matter how much Tao Yun hit him, it had no effect. Is there anything more despairing than that?"
"If I'd been in the ring, I'd probably have broken down and cried too. That was cruel."
"To enjoy the match, this guy wasn't satisfied with beating his opponent in a single punch. Now he's gone a step further and crushed his opponent's spirit, trampling his dignity until it's worthless. If he isn't a demon, who is?"
"No wonder he managed to get the school beauty and had a dozen girls on the side outside school, getting several high school girls pregnant. With tricks like his, any girl would fall for him."
"But why had no one heard about this guy before? He always seemed pretty low-key."
"Hmph, haven't you heard the saying, 'A rabbit doesn't eat the grass by its own burrow'? This guy must've known he couldn't let things get out of hand on his own turf, so he only went after girls from outside school and kept a low profile. But he couldn't resist the temptation of school beauty Jiang Yaru, so he finally set his sights on her. Then he got exposed, and all his other rotten deeds came to light too."
"Xia Ping deserves to die!"
The students under the ring were all furious. They'd made Xia Ping the enemy of the whole school, and every one of them wanted to beat the arrogant bastard senseless.
Hearing the crowd, Xia Ping felt utterly speechless. He'd only wanted to test the Northern Underworld Body Protection Art. How had he become a demon who enjoyed trampling on other people's dignity?
And where had the rumor come from that he'd had a dozen girls on the side, gotten several high school girls pregnant, and seduced countless others? He had no idea he'd ever done any of that.
Still, when he heard the system repeatedly prompt him that he'd gained Hate Points, he couldn't be bothered to clear things up. It didn't seem like a bad thing anyway.
At most, his reputation would take a hit.
Half an hour later, the list of contestants who'd made the top eight was finally announced. Xia Ping was on it, and so was Jiang Yaru.
There was no helping it. Jiang Yaru was a genuine martial arts prodigy and a favored daughter of heaven. In a sense, she was the top fighter at 95th Middle School, already at Martial Apprentice Seventh Heaven.
It was rumored that she was just one step away from breaking through to Martial Apprentice Eighth Heaven. With results like that, she had a good chance of getting into Yanhuang University, which was why she was so famous at 95th Middle School.
Jiang Yaru didn't just have looks; her strength was second to none. That was why she had so many fans at school, including plenty of girls who admired her.
She was the real favorite to win the School Fighting Tournament. Even Zhou Tai'an was nowhere near her level.
"Xia Ping made the top eight too, and he's reached Martial Apprentice Fifth Heaven? He even crippled Zhou Tai'an with one punch?!" When Jiang Yaru heard the news, she was so shocked she gaped at him.
She'd never imagined that Xia Ping could become so formidable all of a sudden. When had this man become so outstanding? Had he been pretending to be weak all along, and only now finally shed his disguise to reveal his true strength?
Jiang Yaru wasn't the only one shocked. The students in Class 16 of Grade 12 were stunned too. They couldn't understand how Xia Ping, who'd always seemed so ordinary, had become so powerful. It was simply unbelievable.
"How is this possible?!"
Liang Xiaoxue, Jiang Yaru's best friend, couldn't believe it either. When she heard the name, she thought it must be someone with the same name, or a mistake. But after checking several times, she confirmed that Xia Ping had indeed made the top eight.
Her face darkened. She'd been eliminated in the round of 32, yet this poor kid had made the top eight and even beaten Zhou Tai'an?! Didn't that mean he was far above her?
At the thought, she clenched her fists, feeling deeply bitter. Losing to a genius like Jiang Yaru was one thing, but now she'd lost to a poor kid too. What was that supposed to mean?
"We're done for. At this rate, can we still get revenge?"
Gao Wan and Yang Wei looked especially miserable. They were the most shaken of all. They'd watched Xia Ping from the moment he started his match against Zhou Tai'an, hoping he'd get beaten to a pulp.
But with every match, their hearts sank further. Now that he'd made the top eight, they finally understood that they and Xia Ping were no longer on the same level.
If things kept going like this, could the guy really get into Yanhuang University? Gao Wan and Yang Wei couldn't help wondering.
But the more they thought about it, the more hopeless they felt. It seemed there was no chance of revenge, and the gap between them and Xia Ping would only keep growing until it was impossible to bridge.
Before, Xia Ping had looked up to them. Now, they were the ones looking up to him.
Xiong Batian had heard the news too. His expression was gloomy, and the atmosphere around him was oppressive. None of the students nearby dared approach him, afraid of provoking his temper. He hadn't even made the top eight; he'd been eliminated in the round of 16. Yet Xia Ping had beaten Zhou Tai'an and made the top eight.
It was said that he hadn't said a word at the time. He'd simply turned and left without watching the rest of the matches.
"He made the top eight?!"
Homeroom teacher Qiu Xue was surprised too. Her impression of Xia Ping was that he was ordinary, with no particular qualities. The only thing she remembered was that, during the enrollment interview, he'd boldly declared that he would get into Yanhuang University.
But not much time had passed, and now this student had made the school's top eight. It was simply inconceivable.
"Could it be that he was keeping a low profile before, and hadn't shown his true level? Maybe the matter with Jiang Yaru finally made him reveal some of his abilities."
Homeroom teacher Qiu Xue couldn't help thinking.
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