The Class's Underachiever

After hanging up the phone, Shi Feng quickly gulped down a few mouthfuls of instant noodles and rushed to school.

It wasn't until he was on the road that he remembered this incident, as it was one of the factors that led to his parents falling gravely ill.

In his previous life, because he and Heizi had joined the Shadow Studio, Zhao Ruoxi had called to notify him to go to school. He didn't go, choosing instead to keep playing God's Domain. Having finally gotten into the Shadow Studio, he knew that to climb the ranks, he had to perform well in God's Domain; he had no spare time to deal with trivial matters in his class.

As a result, he lost his university recommendation qualification. Although there was only one such qualification, it allowed the recipient to secure a better job. After all, the population pressure in society was immense, and jobs were extremely hard to find; such a recommendation was a stepping stone to the upper echelons.

When his parents found out about this, they were filled with worry.

This anxiety added significant mental stress to his parents, though they never showed it. Instead, they encouraged him, telling him not to worry about the family's debts. In the end, his physically and mentally exhausted parents fell severely ill a year later.

In this life, he did not want to repeat the same mistakes. Even if that recommendation qualification was of no use to him, he wanted to know what had caused him to lose it.

His academic grades were in the middle of the pack, so obtaining the recommendation should have been no problem at all, yet it wasn't his when graduation came. The only thing he could think of was the event happening today.

Walking into the university, Shi Feng noticed something quite interesting.

There were an unusually large number of students on campus today—a sea of people. Usually, the school wasn't this crowded; students would be out socializing, playing, studying in the library, or at worst, staying in their dorms playing games, rather than wandering the streets like this.

When Shi Feng entered Teaching Building No. 3, he found that the usually empty classrooms were packed to the brim, occupied by various classes.

What on earth is going on today? Shi Feng wondered to himself.

As soon as he stepped into Classroom 401, Shi Feng felt the atmosphere in the room was strange. His classmates shifted their gazes toward him, their expressions filled with surprise, as if something that shouldn't have appeared had suddenly shown up.

The boys just glanced at him and ignored him, continuing their conversations.

Some of the more gaudily dressed girls in the class cast looks of disgust his way. Although he was long used to it, when he looked back, they immediately turned their heads away.

"Student Shi Feng, you're here. Find a seat. Once Student Lin Feilong arrives, the whole class will be here." The female class monitor, Zhao Ruoxi, spoke with indifference, as if talking to him were merely a routine formality.

However, Shi Feng faintly sensed that in the glance Zhao Ruoxi had cast before turning away, there was a certain expectation—though it wasn't directed at him, but rather at the Lin Feilong she had mentioned.

"Alright." Shi Feng nodded and casually found a corner to sit in. As for sitting with the other boys to chat, one look at their expressions told him that was impossible.

Shi Feng could only offer a bitter smile at this; he really had been a failure in his previous life...

But there was no helping it. Every time there was a class gathering or activity, he would skip it to save money, long ago becoming a background character in the class. Perhaps in everyone's eyes, he was just antisocial.

"Why did this guy come?"

"The class monitor must have notified him. I didn't think he'd actually show up."

"He's just an underachiever in our class. It's annoying just looking at him. Look at how lecherous his eyes are. Don't tell me he's taken a liking to me? How disgusting."

The class began to whisper about Shi Feng. They were even more shocked by his arrival, as he never participated in any activities. Now that he had actually come, their words were filled not just with contempt, but with disgust. Because Shi Feng was thin and weak, he had often been bullied by students from other classes, and as an underachiever who couldn't even afford to attend class gatherings, his presence made the others feel embarrassed to be associated with him.

Although their voices were low, Shi Feng still heard them—or rather, they intended for him to hear.

In everyone's eyes, academics were secondary; what truly mattered was a robust physique. After all, in this era that placed great emphasis on physical training, the thin and weak Shi Feng clearly didn't fit in, naturally making him an underachiever.

However, Shi Feng just smiled it off. He was no longer a child; why would he get angry at these kids? He was only concerned about the issue of the recommendation qualification now.

Before long, a muscular youth, standing a full 1.9 meters tall, walked in.

This person was Lin Feilong.

In Shi Feng's memory, this man was quite capable. He was considered capable because, after graduating from university, he pursued the daughter of a major conglomerate's chairman and became the chairman of that group within three years. However, as the influence of the virtual world on reality grew, Lin Feilong also entered God's Domain. He sought out Shi Feng, his former classmate, wanting to collaborate.

At that time, Shi Feng was a team leader at Shadow Studio and the guild leader of the Shadow Guild. Back then, the Shadow Guild was barely considered a second-rate guild, but it controlled a major city with a population of 500,000.

Out of respect for their former classmates, he agreed. While Shadow made a decent profit later on, Lin Feilong made even more, while also cultivating many powerful subordinates. Later, he somehow managed to latch onto a first-rate guild and abandoned Shadow.

Seeing Lin Feilong walk in, the boys in the class stood up, showing great respect, while the gaudily dressed girls cast flirtatious glances his way. Even Zhao Ruoxi, who seemed quiet and reserved in Shi Feng's eyes, showed a change in demeanor. Having seen countless women, he could tell that Zhao Ruoxi had a bit of a crush on Lin Feilong.

What is going on here? Shi Feng was confused. The others were one thing, but Zhao Ruoxi was the class beauty—quiet, lovely, with a delicate face, a slender figure, and a good family background. He often saw boys from other classes chasing her, yet she never paid them any mind. How had she taken a liking to Lin Feilong?

Could it be that Lin Feilong had the life of a protagonist? Loved by everyone, adored by all?

"Everyone, please sit." Lin Feilong walked to the podium as if he were a leader, thanking them naturally. "Thank you all for coming to congratulate me today. Without your support, I wouldn't be where I am now."

"Brother Feilong, you're too modest. Out of over five thousand students in the school, you made it into the top ten of the School Fighting Tournament. That's the pride of our class! Now, without even needing to participate in the preliminaries, you've qualified for the Jinhai City Fighting Tournament. That's not something an ordinary person can achieve. When you become a martial arts master in the future, don't forget us."

"That's right, Brother Feilong! We're all rooting for you to become the champion."

The classmates began to offer their congratulations one after another, looking as if they were ready to throw themselves at him.

However, Shi Feng was the only exception in the class.

He was truly stunned. He had thought it was something major, but it turned out to be just the conclusion of the school's fighting tournament, and they were here to congratulate Lin Feilong on qualifying for the city-level tournament.

In the past, he might have been envious. After all, in this society, too many people loved the fighting tournaments. Even contestants who could participate in the city-level tournament were more popular than big celebrities. It wasn't easy to qualify for the city tournament; there was a strict selection system, and it was impressive if three or four out of ten thousand made it. If one performed well, they might sign with large corporations, become brand ambassadors, and land countless commercial deals—it was hard not to make money. Their future could be described as limitless.

However, with the growing popularity of God's Domain, people had become more fond of fighting and conquering within the game. After all, experiencing it for real was the best, and it was exciting without the danger. This had led many experts in God's Domain to become highly sought-after figures.