Changing Channels

Teacher Fang was the homeroom teacher for the elite class at No. 1 High School.

Bai Wushuang, in whom he had placed such high hopes, had unexpectedly failed.

He was naturally devastated.

Yet, he still offered comfort: "It's alright. With your talent, there is no need to settle for a secondary profession. Just repeat the year and take another shot at it! You must learn from this experience and ensure you never let your guard down again!"

"Yes, Teacher Fang!" Bai Wushuang could only pull himself together and nod heavily.

He still had the chance to repeat the year!

He would not be content with choosing a secondary profession.

Nor was he willing to settle for an ordinary academy. In the next college entrance exam, he would compete for the city-level top spot! He was going to pursue advanced studies at a key university!

Zhong Wenshan, the principal of No. 1 High School, looked grim after witnessing Bai Wushuang's failure.

Bai Wushuang was the face of No. 1 High School, yet he had actually been defeated!

The director standing nearby whispered, "Principal, although Bai Wushuang lost, we still have Sun Ze, and we also have that dark horse, Ling Zhan."

Upon hearing this, Zhong Wenshan's mood improved slightly.

However, he still said with a hint of dejection, "Sun Ze's current results remain to be seen, but Ling Zhan... let's just forget about him."

"He managed to handle the previous stages by utilizing his rich combat experience and perfect skill execution, but the penultimate stage features an elite monster!"

"Whether it is HP, defense, speed, or skill power, it is countless times more difficult than the previous stages!"

"And Ling Zhan is merely a classless freelancer... it is difficult for him to go far!"

The director beside him fell silent as well.

He knew the principal was speaking the truth.

On the contrary, Qi Mu, Ling Zhan's homeroom teacher, said with conviction, "Principal, let's still look forward to it. What if he succeeds?"

Zhong Wenshan and the director said nothing more.

Clearly, in their eyes, when facing such a powerful assessment stage, the possibility of a "what if" simply did not exist!

Bai Wushuang collected his thoughts and arrived at the spectator stands.

He was ready to receive comfort from countless underclassmen.

Because Bai Wushuang had dominated the top spot for years, the freshmen and sophomores worshipped him to the extreme.

They had even established a Wushuang Fan Club.

With his failure, surely countless underclassmen would come up to console him.

Bai Wushuang didn't care much about the male students; he was interested in the beautiful and charming female students.

When he walked to the stands, ready to put on a pained expression to seek comfort from his female fans, he suddenly realized that absolutely no one was paying him any mind!

Not a single person!

Every student was looking up, staring intently at the light screen.

At the same time, they were muttering to themselves.

"Damn it, why hasn't the broadcast switched to Ling Zhan's situation yet?"

"Exactly! Senior Ling Zhan is probably already fighting the elite monster!"

"Change the channel already!"

Bai Wushuang: "..."

He stood alone, ruffled by the wind.

Why was no one looking at me?

I am the Wushuang senior you all love and admire the most!

But why are you all ignoring me now?

Have I become an insignificant existence in your eyes?

It was all a mistake in the end.

And also.

Who is Ling Zhan?

Is he some top genius from another school?

"Teacher Fang..."

Bai Wushuang turned to look at his homeroom teacher with a pitiful expression.

Teacher Fang actually felt like laughing when he saw the once-popular Bai Wushuang being given the cold shoulder.

But he suppressed his amusement and waved his hand: "Wushuang, come over. Let's watch together."

Teacher Fang was actually very curious about Ling Zhan's combat situation.

He really wanted to know if that dark horse, who had performed so brilliantly earlier, truly had the qualifications to compete for the city-level champion title.

As for competing for the provincial champion... that was out of the question.

That required testing one's speed in clearing the BOSS stage!

That's right, it wasn't just about passing the BOSS; it was about your clearing speed!

Because for those geniuses in the provincial rankings, defeating a BOSS was child's play!

What they pursued was how to finish off the BOSS at the fastest speed possible!

In Teacher Fang's eyes, Ling Zhan's journey would likely end at this elite monster stage.

If he could win, a spot in the top ten of Haicheng would be guaranteed.

If he could clear it faster, there might even be hope for the Haicheng city-level championship!

The other students, the principal, and the teachers were thinking exactly the same thing as Teacher Fang!

In truth, if Ling Zhan had always been a favored child of heaven, he might not have been so eye-catching.

But the key was that he was a classless freelancer! And he was soloing the secret realm!

Furthermore...

His usual assessment scores were as ordinary as they could possibly be!

It was precisely because of these factors that when Ling Zhan stunned everyone, he attracted an immense amount of attention.

To put it bluntly, there was a genius and a suddenly appearing dark horse.

People would naturally prioritize their attention on the dark horse!

Amidst the expectant gazes of the crowd, the fragmented images on the light screen finally merged back into one.

At the same time, the camera finally focused on that thin, slender figure!

"It's here!"

"Senior Ling Zhan's tribulation battle in the elite stage!"

Inside the Evil Emperor Desert Secret Realm.

The third stage: the Desert Palace.

Countless scorpion corpses lay silently in a vast pool of blood.

The stench of monster blood permeated the entire palace, making one feel nauseated and disgusted.

If one didn't know better, they would think this was some kind of hell.

Amidst this mountain of corpses and sea of blood, a slender, lean figure stood proudly.

He looked down at the bow in his hand and found that the string was nearly snapped.

Countless draws had completely depleted the durability of this beginner-level archer weapon.

Snap!

Ling Zhan gave a light pull, and the bowstring broke with a sound.

"Goodbye, my old friend."

Ling Zhan tossed the completely ruined bow into the pool of blood, then turned to look at the deepest part of the Desert Palace.

There, a towering bronze gate stood firm.

From the cracks in the door, a ghostly blue light seeped out.

Also seeping out was the sharp, shrill roar of a monster.

It felt as if that place did not lead to the next stage.

But rather to a hell filled with agony.

Ling Zhan did not hesitate. With a light tap of his toes, his figure drifted before the bronze gate, and he reached out to push open the massive doors.

Stench!

A foul stench!

This smell was like flesh that had been rotting for days, mixed with the fishy odor of some monster, finally permeating the stage until it was nauseating.

Beyond the stench, there was a pitch-black darkness where one could not see their own fingers.

Clack!

Clack!

Clack!

The lamps around the room ignited without fire, emitting a ghostly blue light.

The originally pitch-black environment revealed its true form under the illumination of these blue lights.

When Ling Zhan used the lamplight to see the environment of this stage clearly, his eyes narrowed instantly.

And the spectators outside the arena let out cries of horror when they saw this scene!

For in that stage...