Only moments later, all the classmates fighting in pairs had settled their victories and defeats.
Long Yusheng swaggered over with a dark bruise around his left eye and laughed. "Zuo Xiaoduo, I won! My share of those free points has been delivered!"
Behind him, Wan Lixiu, her face bruised and swollen, snorted.
"But the others might not all have turned out as you wished." Long Yusheng smiled and began calling names. "Jia Junwen, Wang Juan'er, Xie Kuangwen..."
Those he named were precisely the people Zuo Xiaoduo had given predictions for earlier.
Jia Junwen said, "I won!"
Wang Juan'er said nothing.
Xie Kuangwen snorted.
An excited voice rang out. "I won!"
The owner of that voice was Wang Zhenshan.
This fellow had tried several times to reach eighteenth place without success, but in this fight, he had fought as though aided by the gods, taking down his opponent in one stroke!
And he was one of the people Zuo Xiaoduo had said would win!
After checking all ten predictions against the results, Long Yusheng froze!
Wan Lixiu froze too, as did everyone else!
Even their homeroom teacher, Qin Fangyang, was stunned.
Because the victories and defeats in those predictions were-every single one correct!
Not one was wrong!
Thirty-six pairs of eyes turned toward Zuo Xiaoduo in unison.
Zuo Xiaoduo looked unbearably smug. "I told you ages ago, I'm the sole living heir of the Heavenly Secrets Way. My ironclad pronouncements never fail; a few words determine life and death..."
"Stop!"
Long Yusheng looked as though his head hurt. "Can you leave out that Heavenly Secrets Way of yours... I wouldn't believe it even if you beat me to death. But this thing you do... there is a little something to it."
Long Yusheng was only fourteen or fifteen himself.
At that moment, frowning in puzzlement, he actually looked quite like a little grown-up.
It was hardly just Long Yusheng who stood rooted to the spot. Every single student in the class was stunned.
He had really predicted them all correctly!?
Was this genuine skill?!
Was it really the legacy of that Heavenly Secrets Way or whatever it was?!
Yet at the sight of Zuo Xiaoduo's smug face, all they could do was fall speechless, then more speechless still.
He really had gotten them all right. What could they do besides be speechless!?
Qin Fangyang sighed softly and shook his head.
These students were still young and inexperienced. Such a tiny bit of craftiness had fooled them!
True enough, these children might be exceptionally gifted and possess considerable cultivation, but at the end of the day, they were still just a bunch of half-grown children aged thirteen to sixteen, several years younger than that slippery little operator, Zuo Xiaoduo...
Zuo Xiaoduo's predictions... well, call them predictions. They had been perfectly accurate, so it was only reasonable for him to show off for a while.
But as the students' gazes gradually shifted from astonishment to awed admiration and even worship, Qin Fangyang could not help speaking up. "When martial artists fight, they first examine their opponent's bearing and aura to judge their cultivation, strength, and combat prowess. Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will win a hundred battles-is that merely an empty saying?! With shallow cultivation like yours, you can hardly conceal the level of your strength. To someone with a discerning eye, every last thread and fiber is visible. What is so difficult about judging a mere victory or defeat?"
After saying this, he could not help sighing inwardly again.
This Zuo Xiaoduo not only has combat experience far beyond that of his fellow students, but also quite a discerning eye for reading people's expressions and behavior. With just a glance, he saw everyone's strength clearly and thoroughly, taking it all in at once. This... it seems he could...? Hmm, better keep observing him.
"Tch!"
The students, who had already begun admiring Zuo Xiaoduo's miraculous face-reading, immediately changed their attitudes again after hearing Teacher Qin expose the "secret." Every one of them rolled their eyes. They had thought this fellow really had some ability, but in the end... heh.
Long Yusheng, Wan Lixiu, and Yu Moyan exchanged glances, but none of the three spoke.
The little fatty Li Chenglong, who still ranked last, also narrowed his eyes at Zuo Xiaoduo, looking thoughtful.
Long Yusheng readily pulled out twenty Star Origin Coins. "Here. Whatever means you used to win the bet, that was your own ability. A bet's a bet, and I accept my loss! You won this time."
Zuo Xiaoduo did not stand on ceremony in the slightest. He snatched the money over in a flash, his face blossoming into a smile. "Thank you, boss! How generous of you, boss! Come again, boss!"
Then, with another swish, he stuffed the money into his trouser pocket as swiftly as thunder that left no time to cover one's ears.
Long Yusheng's hand remained suspended in midair. Once again, he was dumbfounded.
We're classmates, and you won't even offer a token refusal? If you'd just casually said, "Oh, there's no need," I could have gone with the current, taken it back, and we could all have treated it as a joke... Those twenty coins were my entire allowance for the week...
If anyone familiar with Zuo Xiaoduo had been there, they would certainly have said, "You're really overthinking it. Stand on ceremony? Zuo Xiaoduo has never stood on ceremony when it comes to money!"
A long while later, Long Yusheng raised a hand and scratched his head, still somewhat dazed.
Wan Lixiu blinked and suddenly said, "Zuo Xiaoduo, when we start going out on missions, I can team up with you."
Yu Moyan nodded steadily. "Me too."
Long Yusheng coughed. "Brother Xiaoduo and I forged our friendship through a bet. I've even paid for it."
He had actually started calling him brother.
Several other classmates spoke up in turn, including the little fatty Li Chenglong, all expressing their warm welcome to Zuo Xiaoduo.
Although Teacher Qin had exposed a certain someone's so-called Physiognomy, his considerable ability had also been firmly established. Clearly, another leading figure in their class was about to rise, so building a good relationship with him was quite necessary!
Besides, with his powers of observation, Zuo Xiaoduo was precisely the kind of talent any team needed!
Qin Fangyang watched it all and took note.
Hmm, thirteen people spoke up altogether. Their heads work reasonably well; they could even be called shrewd. Almost immediately, they recognized the value of the classmate beside them.
A welcome for the strong, a welcome for talent.
These thirteen have nimble minds. Even if they find themselves in dangerous circumstances with complicated surroundings in the future, they might be able to use every resource around them to weather the crisis. At the very least, they'll be better at keeping themselves alive.