"You lost."
Ye Luochen pressed the Dark Iron Blade against his opponent's throat and spoke calmly.
Feeling the stinging pain at his neck, Yang Ming's expression turned extremely ugly, but he could only accept the result.
"Yes, I lost."
Though he had conceded, Yang Ming could not help adding:
"That annoying fly-style fighting method of yours really is..."
"Sigh, I don't even know what to say. If I'd been able to keep my cool, you might not have beaten me."
Ye Luochen did not refute Yang Ming's words.
He merely smiled.
To the onlookers around the arena, that naturally seemed like Ye Luochen agreed with Yang Ming.
Discussion immediately broke out.
"Yang Ming was too impatient. If he hadn't left the Soul Guidance Cannon formation on his own at the end, the outcome might not have been certain."
"That's true, but who could put up with that? He kept taking apart your components. Could you stand it?"
"But that's all there is to it. Ye Luochen won entirely by messing with his opponent's mindset. As far as actual strength goes, he hasn't earned my recognition."
"An unfair victory."
Naturally, neither of the two on the stage could miss those remarks.
Hearing them, Yang Ming's expression improved somewhat.
Though he had lost in terms of the result this time, in everyone's hearts, he had not lost!
Ye Luochen, meanwhile, did not care in the slightest.
After nodding to the teacher, he began walking down from the stage.
But before he could descend the steps, someone appeared in front of him.
It was Xiao Hongchen.
At that moment, Xiao Hongchen looked at Ye Luochen with great interest, as though he had discovered something fascinating.
"What's this? You clearly won, but it seems you still didn't earn everyone's approval. Aren't you going to explain or argue back?"
Ye Luochen shook his head.
"There's no need. My purpose was to verify my practical Soul Tool combat level, and now that purpose has been achieved."
"There's no meaning in wasting words on this."
Xiao Hongchen was somewhat taken aback by that answer, as though he had not expected Ye Luochen to respond that way.
But in the next moment, a mischievous smile appeared on Xiao Hongchen's face.
"Interesting. You want to keep a low profile? But as a genius, you can't keep a low profile."
"Because I, a fellow genius, won't allow you to."
As he spoke, Xiao Hongchen moved and walked up the steps onto the stage.
His gaze swept across the crowd below as he said loudly:
"Just now, it seemed that everyone didn't really approve of the new student's victory."
"You think he won unfairly? You think he lacks strength and only knows how to rely on tricks?"
Xiao Hongchen's voice spread throughout the area.
Though the students below were confused as to why Xiao Hongchen had taken the stage to say such things, they did not say anything.
Quite a few could not help nodding.
Because those words truly reflected what many of them felt.
But Xiao Hongchen's next words instantly stunned everyone.
"If that's what you think, then all I can say is that being classmates with you makes me, Xiao Hongchen, feel deeply saddened."
Saddened?
Hearing such wording, many people's expressions changed.
Sure, you, Xiao Hongchen, were talented, and you had the master of Mingde Hall backing you.
But wasn't it a little too much to openly say something so contemptuous of everyone?
The changes in the crowd's expressions naturally did not escape Xiao Hongchen's notice.
But he did not stop there.
Instead, he continued:
"Let me ask you: what rank Soul Engineer is Yang Ming, and what rank Soul Tools was he using?"
"Fourth rank. Isn't that obvious? It's not like we're idiots," someone below could not help answering quietly.
Hearing that, Xiao Hongchen chuckled.
"Heh, not idiots? Then let me ask you this: what rank Soul Engineer is Ye Luochen?"
"Second rank," someone below continued answering.
"Then let me ask: when you were second rank, could you dismantle nearly twenty fourth-rank Soul Tools with perfect accuracy and a one-hundred-percent success rate?"
"This classmate who's 'not an idiot,' could you answer me?"
Hearing that, the student below froze. His face reddened, and after holding it in for a long time, he could only shake his head.
"Obviously, you couldn't. But the new student, Ye Luochen, did."
"Not only did he do it, he did it while enduring the barrage of Soul Guidance Cannon beams from dozens of cannons."
"He didn't even suffer a scratch."
Xiao Hongchen spoke slowly.
Then his gaze shifted toward Yang Ming, who had already returned below the stage.
"That classmate who's 'not an idiot' didn't experience it personally, so I won't hold it against him. I'll ask you instead."
"After Ye Luochen dismantled more than ten of your Soul Tools, why didn't you replenish them and rebuild your Soul Guidance Cannon platform?"
Yang Ming stammered for a long while before finally forcing out a single sentence:
"I wanted to have a fair and square fight with him."
"Oh, so you're one of those 'fair and square' guys."
Xiao Hongchen laughed.
"Not bad. Your answer is much smarter than that 'not an idiot' guy's."
"But unfortunately, your fair and square fight did not end in victory."
"And even more cruelly, this so-called fair and square fight was merely an excuse."
"The truth was that, with Ye Luochen's terrifying speed, you simply had no time—and could never have had any time—to replenish your Soul Tools.
You could only watch helplessly, like an incompetent husband, as your cannon platform was dismantled bit by bit."
"In the end, you had no choice but to come out and fight, only to be instantly defeated in a single move."
"And if he hadn't held back at the start, you wouldn't even have had the chance to build your Soul Guidance Cannon platform."
Listening to Xiao Hongchen's incomparably sharp words, Yang Ming's earlier expression of refusing to admit defeat instantly faded.
He looked as though all the air had been let out of him.
No answer, brother. No answer.
The incompetent husband had been seen through.
"The Soul Guidance Cannon platform you were so proud of became nothing more than a tool for Ye Luochen to practice his Soul Tool techniques, while the pace of the entire battle was always controlled by him."
"And under those circumstances, you still think Yang Ming didn't lose and that Ye Luochen's victory was unfair?"
"Was I wrong to say that being classmates with you is deeply tragic?"
Xiao Hongchen swept his gaze over the crowd again and spoke loudly.
After hearing those words and seeing Yang Ming's dispirited state, the other students all wore expressions of sudden realization.
The way they looked at Ye Luochen gradually began to change as well.
Seeing this, Ye Luochen could only look helpless.
Good grief, he had directly exposed Ye Luochen's intention of using his opponent for practice.
This was practically making enemies for him.
Wasn't this just asking for trouble?
But before he could do anything, someone beside him voiced his thoughts for him.
Meng Hongchen lightly pushed off with her feet, her wine-red hair fluttering as she leaped from the crowd and landed steadily on the stage.
Then, she once again slapped Xiao Hongchen squarely across the mouth, where he stood proudly onstage, looking down on everyone.
"You're such a jerk."
"You don't actually think that makes you look cool, do you? What does someone else's match have to do with you? Why are you standing here flapping your mouth nonstop?"
"Attention seeker. Having a brother like you makes me, Meng Hongchen, feel deeply saddened."
Before you continue