Long Hengxu's declaration that "Grade One Class Five wins!" was like a spark tossed into an oil drum.
The entire arena exploded in an instant.
"Holy crap!!"
"Ten seconds! It really was ten seconds?"
"Three elements! Wind, ice, and earth! She didn't even light up her Soul Ring!"
"Is Class Five trying to defy the heavens? Yao Chuan wasn't enough, so now they've got Gu Yue too?"
"Class Four had it so rough... Jialong's still sliding around on the ice, Lin Zunyuan's completely disoriented, and Musi... Uh, she's stuck like a hot dog in a bun..."
The crowd's astonished cries and chatter surged like a tsunami, nearly lifting the roof off the arena. Everyone was rubbing their eyes, wondering if they'd just had some absurd dream.
The scene on the stage was practically a disaster site.
Lin Zunyuan's hair had been blown into disarray. His eyes were unfocused, and he clutched a broken staff while trembling like a lost deer.
Jialong had finally managed to steady himself on the slick ice. Just as he tried to get up, his foot slipped. He fell flat on his face again with a splat, grimacing in pain.
Musi had it worst. Two hard, frigid boulders held her suspended in the air like a specimen. Forget fighting back—even breathing was a struggle. Looking at the frenzied crowd below, all she wanted was to shout: Put me down! I just wanted to see my idol!!
In the stands, the confident smile that had once lit up Kong Hanwen's face had shattered into a QR code.
His glasses hung crookedly on his nose, and his mouth gaped wide enough to fit an entire Soul Beast egg.
He mechanically turned his stiff neck, looking from his three disciples' pitiful state onstage to Gu Yue in the center of the opposite stage. She looked utterly calm, as if she'd merely dusted off her hands.
A sense of absurdity and profound humiliation shot straight to his head.
He whipped around and stared at Long Hengxu, who wore an equally complicated expression. His voice cracked as he blurted, "Director Long! Are... are you sure this is Class Five? Not some secret weapons class? Not the supposedly strongest... Class One?!"
Long Hengxu's heart felt more bitter than if he'd swallowed ten pounds of bitter herbs.
He took a deep breath, suppressing the urge to sew Kong Hanwen's mouth shut, and rolled his eyes. "Teacher Kong, accept reality! This is the real Class Five! A fresh-out-of-the-oven Class Five!"
He waved his hand forcefully, as if shooing away a fly. "Hurry up and take your students to the infirmary! Stop standing around here making fools of yourselves!"
Those words, "making fools of yourselves," landed like a resounding slap across Kong Hanwen's face. His smug taunts and threats before the match had instantly become the most mocking background noise.
Kong Hanwen's face went from green to white to purple. He visibly wilted like a punctured balloon, then dejectedly went to ask the student council to help carry his students away.
The Class Five competitors' section.
Wu Changkong still maintained his eternally unchanging iceberg expression.
His stern features and straight posture were as composed as ever.
The overwhelming ten-second victory, enough to go down in Eastsea Academy's Class Promotion Tournament history, seemed to him no more remarkable than taking a sip of water before a meal.
His icy blue eyes swept casually over the three who descended from the stage in turn.
His gaze lingered briefly on Gu Yue.
His lips, frozen like ice, moved ever so slightly.
He uttered two words, without the slightest fluctuation in his voice.
"Not bad."
The same casual praise landed very differently on different ears.
Xie Xie was the first to lose it.
He practically bounced back to the competitors' section, a brilliant grin plastered across his face as he hummed a tune.
"That was a free win! A free win, no question!"
He slapped his chest dramatically and shot Yao Chuan a knowing look.
"Brother Chuan, you have no idea. Gu Yue was so cool just now, she blew the roof off the sky! Wind blades, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh! Ice everywhere, crack, crack, crack! Rocks, boom, boom, boom! Tang and I hadn't even finished warming up, and the other team was already down for the count! That feeling..."
Xie Xie drew a blissful breath and spread his arms.
"One word: satisfying! Two words: insanely satisfying! It was the peak of life—if you lie flat enough, victory comes knocking all by itself! Jealous? Not a chance! We made a killing!"
He was as happy as a bear that had snuck a taste of honey, completely unconcerned that he'd done almost nothing onstage beyond striking a pose.
Meanwhile, Tang Wulin, standing beside him, looked like a cabbage struck by frost.
He hung his head, utterly dejected.
His hands, hanging at his sides, were clenched into fists, his knuckles faintly white with tension.
He walked back one step at a time, his feet heavy.
His face practically had the word "frustrated" written all over it.
His lips were tightly pressed together, his eyes lowered to stare at his toes.
All the determination he'd mustered before the match, his desperate urge to prove himself and test the surge of power after the Golden Dragon King's seal had been undone, had now leaked away with a series of pfft, pfft, pfft, like air escaping a popped balloon.
He felt like an extra who'd dressed up carefully and rubbed his hands together, ready to perform onstage, only for the curtain to rise and the main character to take their bow just as he struck his first grand entrance pose...
The stage? The big shot had already torn it apart!
The disappointment weighed on his chest.
He secretly glanced up at Gu Yue.
Gu Yue was walking back with a cold look on her pretty face, radiating an oppressive aura that said, "Stay away, or die."
The chill around her was more piercing than the ice that had frozen Jialong onstage.
Tang Wulin opened his mouth.
The words "Gu Yue... next time, could you let me go first?" rolled around in his throat several times, but in the end, her icy gaze froze them in place.
He chickened out.
He instinctively shrank his neck.
Not worth messing with. Not worth messing with.
The big shot was in a bad mood. He'd better bottle up his little grievance for now.
But... it was so frustrating!
The little man inside Tang Wulin was furiously scratching at the walls.
His gaze shifted to Yao Chuan, who stood nearby in a lazy pose, watching the show with interest.
Like a drowning man clutching at a lifeline.
Tang Wulin's eyes lit up, and he scooted over to Yao Chuan.
His face was seven parts aggrieved and three parts cautious flattery.
He lowered his voice and tugged at Yao Chuan's sleeve.
"Brother Chuan... help me!"
Yao Chuan raised an eyebrow, shifting his gaze from the stage to Tang Wulin's face, which practically screamed, "I'm suffering here."
"Hmm?"
"Look at Gu Yue... she's angry again!" Tang Wulin said miserably, frantically gesturing toward Gu Yue with his eyes.
"I feel like she's especially angry this time! Even more than when those girls from Class Four chased after you for autographs!"
Yao Chuan followed his gaze.
Gu Yue stood to one side with her arms crossed, the line of her profile taut and her perfect jaw radiating a hard edge.
The air around her was definitely icy.
"And?" Yao Chuan asked, baffled.
Tang Wulin edged closer, lowering his voice until it was nearly a whisper. He looked like he was sharing a world-shaking secret.
"Brother Chuan, I think... she's probably mad at you!"
Yao Chuan: "???" (Black-guy-confused.jpg)
What had he done to deserve this? He'd watched the whole thing unfold and hadn't said a word.
Seeing how confused Yao Chuan looked, Tang Wulin grew even more anxious.
"Seriously, Brother Chuan! Think about it. Wasn't that Musi after you? She entered the match just to see you! And what happened? Gu Yue straight-up turned her into a sandwich! The way she went after her... Tsk, tsk, definitely personal!"
"I'm pretty sure Gu Yue was... jealous! She was jealous of Musi!"
"Exactly!" Xie Xie had somehow joined them, nodding furiously as he transformed into a relationship expert. "Brother Chuan, Tang's analysis is spot-on this time! Gu Yue is usually cold, sure, but the look in her eyes today could kill! Especially when Musi said she wanted to see you..."
Xie Xie made a slitting motion across his throat.
"Killing intent! Tangible killing intent! Winning without lifting a finger feels great, but when the big shot's unhappy, the consequences are serious! Look at Tang—he didn't even get a taste of the action, and he's practically about to cry."
Tang Wulin nodded vigorously beside him, his eyes full of resentment and a fervent hope for a chance to fight next time.
Listening to these two clowns' analysis, Yao Chuan couldn't help the corner of his mouth twitching.
Jealous?
The Silver Dragon King, Gu Yue... jealous of a human girl?
And because of him?
Yao Chuan's first thought was that it was ridiculous.
Utterly ridiculous.
Where was the logic?
But... looking at Gu Yue's aura, which was clearly colder than usual, with a hint of displeasure at having been offended...
And thinking about how "considerate" she'd been when dealing with Musi—whipping away her staff with wind blades, making the Power Attack System fighter slip on the ice, and trapping Musi between boulders...
And then there was Musi, who'd entered the match because she was "after Yao Chuan"...
Yao Chuan fell silent.
It did seem... perhaps... maybe... possibly...
Like there was a little truth to it?
The logic chain was so strange that he wanted to rub his forehead.
But Gu Yue was in a bad mood, and it was very likely because of him.
As a (self-proclaimed) mature, steady person who needed to maintain good relations with his teammates...
Yao Chuan sighed.
Fine.
Cheering her up—no, calming his teammate down—came first.
He cleared his throat and walked straight over to Gu Yue.
Gu Yue shot him a cold glance but said nothing. Her eyes clearly asked, "What is it?"
Yao Chuan gave her what he considered a "gentle and harmless" smile.
"Gu Yue?"
"Hmm?" Her voice still had a few icy flecks in it.
"You worked hard just now. That was a beautiful fight—textbook-level control of the elements." Yao Chuan opened with sincere(?) praise.
Gu Yue's expression seemed to soften a little, but she still said nothing.
"To celebrate our victory and reward our great hero," Yao Chuan said, finally revealing his real intention, "I'm treating everyone tonight. You can pick the place."
The moment the words left his mouth.
It worked like a charm!
The icy expression on Gu Yue's pretty face began to thaw right before their eyes.
The corners of her tightly pressed lips lifted ever so slightly—a tiny curve, but enough to melt an iceberg.
The coldness deep in her eyes dissolved like snow in spring, replaced by a faint glimmer.
It was as if the clouds had parted to reveal a brilliant sliver of sunlight.
"Really?" Her voice sounded a little lighter.
"Of course." Yao Chuan nodded, feeling sure he'd won her over.
"Good." Gu Yue agreed briskly. The oppressive aura around her vanished in an instant, as if it had never been there.
Tang Wulin and Xie Xie watched, dumbfounded.
Xie Xie silently gave him a thumbs-up: Brother Chuan, you're amazing! One sentence and it's settled!
Tang Wulin let out a long breath: With the big shot in a good mood, maybe I'd get a chance to fight next time!
However, Gu Yue's good mood lasted less than three seconds.
Because Yao Chuan added:
"It's settled, then. We'll go to the stewed beef place on Snack Street."
As soon as Yao Chuan finished speaking, he saw the light that had just kindled in Gu Yue's eyes go out halfway with a little splat.
The smile that had just begun to form at the corners of her mouth froze, too.
Stewed beef? That was all right.
But...
"Just the two of us?" Gu Yue asked tentatively, holding on to her last shred of hope, anticipation in her eyes.
Yao Chuan hadn't even answered yet.
Xie Xie's ears were sharp. He immediately jumped in.
"Brother Chuan's treating?! Stewed beef?! Uncle Li's place?! I've got to come! I haven't eaten there in ages!"
The moment Tang Wulin heard "stewed beef," his eyes lit up, too!
All his frustration and sulking vanished into the clouds!
Uncle Li's stewed beef!
It was the kind of top-tier delicacy that haunted your dreams!
He immediately raised his hand, afraid of being left out. "Brother Chuan! Me too! I'm coming! I can eat... uh, I won't eat much!"
Gu Yue's expression visibly fell.
Like sunshine turning to clouds, clouds to drizzle, and drizzle to hail.
She pouted.
Her gaze at Tang Wulin and Xie Xie instantly escalated from displeased to "giant walking lightbulb"-level contempt.
Her eyes seemed to say: What's wrong with you two? If you've got nothing to do, can't you go find a class to attend? Do you really have to tag along?
The air instantly grew a little heavy.
Xie Xie was a sharp fellow!
He felt Gu Yue's resentful stare, practically a beam of solidified resentment, and his scalp prickled.
Even he realized that he might have... interrupted something?
He reacted as fast as lightning!
He grabbed Tang Wulin by the arm as he excitedly calculated how many bowls of beef he could eat.
"Old Tang! Move it! We need to save seats! If we're late, all the good ones will be taken!"
He practically dragged the bewildered Tang Wulin along, his feet flying as he zipped over to an empty table nearby and sat down.
His movements were swift as the wind. He knew the essence of "see no evil, hear no evil, and keep your head down to stay alive."
"Hey? Xie Xie, what are you doing?" Tang Wulin was pushed into a chair, looking bewildered and aggrieved. "Weren't we going to Uncle Li's? Why are we sitting here? Besides, I can eat a lot..."
"Eat, eat, eat! It's all you ever think about!" Xie Xie lowered his voice in exasperation and frantically motioned with his eyes toward the entrance. "Look up! See who that is?!"
Startled by his serious tone and expression, Tang Wulin instinctively followed his gaze and turned toward the entrance to the competitors' passageway.
A pretty figure stood there.
She was tall, with smooth wine-red hair and lovely features.
It was Mu Xi.
But at that moment, the daughter of the Forging Association's president and one of Eastsea Academy's goddess-level upperclassmen wore not the slightest hint of a smile.
She bit her lower lip slightly, her beautiful, wide eyes staring straight at... Yao Chuan and Gu Yue.
Her gaze held three parts resentment, three parts hurt, three parts unwillingness, and one part defiance that said, "I want to see what you're up to."
A thick, unmistakable aura of "I'm jealous" surrounded her.
She was like a delicate flower forgotten in a corner, with no one to admire it.
Or like a big dog neglected by its owner, looking utterly pitiful.
"Looks like... I came at the wrong time?"
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