"Junior Brother Su!"
"Junior Brother, you were missing for a few days! Did you go into seclusion?"
"..."
While walking, Su Yu encountered some other students. Many of them took the initiative to greet him. And he returned the greetings with a friendly smile on his face.
Suddenly, his voice transmission talisman vibrated. He did not take it out and continued heading back to the research center.
But after taking a few steps, someone appeared in front of him. With a wide smile, that person said, "Su Yu, you have skipped classes for several days. Why hadn't you applied for a leave?"
Su Yu narrowed his eyes and plastered a smile on his face as well. "Teacher Liu! You sure have a lot of free time nowadays! It almost feels like I can encounter you everywhere I go!"
Liu Hong replied, "Not at all. I've been very busy. After all, I'm in charge of organizing the tournament. This is a mere coincidence. By the way, are you signing up for the tournament? If you are, just tell me directly. You don't need to waste your time taking the trip over there to sign up."
"There is no need to trouble you, Teacher. I can go there and register myself."
Su Yu said nothing else after that.
Liu Hong's tone shifted as he said, "Aim to enter the Skysoar Realm as early as possible. That is the real start of the path of cultivation. Don't you think that it's boring to keep staying at the Mental Tempering Stage?"
"I will."
"Good. By the way, Shan Tianhao's grandson is on his way to Great Xia. What a pity that your teacher is now a cripple. I wonder if that fellow will challenge me when he arrives now that Bai Feng is already a cripple. I'm quite worried, you know? Both Wu Qi and Hu Wensheng are on the verge of advancing, leaving me as the only suitable target in the Skysoar Realm. This is really quite scary..."
Su Yu smiled, "Teacher Liu is mighty and formidable. How would you be afraid of a little kid?"
A toying look appeared on Liu Hong's face as he said, "However...he's your enemy. Not mine. Su Yu, why don't you take him on? It might be fun."
"You overestimate me, Teacher. I am only at the Mental Tempering Stage. Why throw my life away like that?"
"What a pity."
Liu Hong smiled and started walking away. Before leaving, he said, "Oh yeah, I'm planning to change the tournament rules into something more fun."
Su Yu turned his head and looked at Liu Hong.
Liu Hong continued walking away while indifferently saying, "To make things interesting, I have decided to change the format into team battles. Thus, the final winning team will get all five of the slots. Wouldn't that be a lot more fun? With this format, even a weakling stands a chance to get a slot. Won't things be a lot more unpredictable this way?"
Liu Hong smiled, "That way, no single strong individual will be guaranteed a slot. I am not allowing strong individuals to dominate the tournament. I am forcing everyone to fight in teams of five. If I want to go even crazier, I can even force everyone to fight with random teammates. For example, I can get you into a team with Di Feng. Won't that be fun?"
"..."
Su Yu stared at Liu Hong, his eyes turning cold.
Liu Hong continued smiling as he said, "Of course, that's only an example. Di Feng has been banned from all academy grottos. But the single character faction does not lack students. Meanwhile, your faction does not have enough student. Secret Character Grotto...isn't this an interesting tournament?"
"You will have to take your enemies alongside you as you crush all competition and win the slots. How fun."
"..."
Su Yu frowned. Just what was this fellow trying to do?
Liu Hong said, "How about taking Yang Sha, Liu He, and Lin Yao with you? Win and get a few slots for them. What do you think?"
Su Yu's eyes turned frosty.
This bastard!
Liu Hong continued, "This is interesting, right? If you win, I will benefit from it. If you lose, I won't lose anything. It's not like they would be able to win anything if they join the tournament alone. I can even tell the others that I'm doing this to drag you down. Tsk tsk. What a beautiful plan."
"..."
Fuck!
Su Yu wanted to punch someone in the face.
How could someone be so shameless?
Liu Hong was right. By assigning those students to Su Yu's team, the single character faction would believe that he was deliberately dragging Su Yu down. With these teammates, there was no way Su Yu could win a slot.
All by himself, he had to carry four trash teammates to victory during the tournament. How could someone even win in such a situation? And even if Su Yu ended up winning, nobody would blame Liu Hong. They would only blame Su Yu's opponents for being too useless.
After all, with his trash teammates, each match was akin to one versus nine. If they could lose even in that situation, what would they be except trash?
Su Yu gloomily asked, "Just what are you trying to do, Teacher Liu?"
"Nothing."
Liu Hong smiled and explained, "We are enemies. Isn't this normal? However...the truth is that I am giving you an opportunity."
Su Yu frowned.
"Think about it. With such weak teammates, you have to be more heavy-handed in order to protect your teammates, right? Nobody will blame you if you hurt your opponents too much. After all, with four deadweights dragging you down, nobody can expect you to hold back, right? But if you fight alone and harm an obviously weaker opponent too much, your reputation will be ruined."
At this point, Liu Hong switched to voice transmission, "We're on the same side. Have you forgotten? Those fellows dare to rob my teacher's grave. I have to take revenge, right? Little Su Yu, I'm doing this for your own good!"
Su Yu cursed inwardly. Good his mother! This bastard was obviously laying down a trap for him. In this situation, regardless of his result, Liu Hong would be the one to benefit.
If Su Yu won, his people would win some slots. If Su Yu lost, he could claim the credit of suppressing Su Yu. Thus, regardless of the result, Liu Hong would not be blamed.
On the other hand, if the tournament was held with the regular format and Su Yu won, as the organizor, the single character faction would definitely place the blame on Liu Hong.
"Teacher Liu, do you want me to start loudly announcing your plan?"
"Feel free to do it." Liu Hong grinned, "Will anyone trust you? Stop dreaming. Su Yu, who would believe that an ally would assign four deadweights to your team? I'm the only one who will do this. Because I trust you. I am confident you can win. Can't you see the trust I'm placing on you?"
"..."
Su Yu felt like he was going to get a heart attack from his anger. He really wanted to beat this bastard to death.
"Don't worry. How about this? I'll assign three of them to you instead. You can decide on the final member. Don't pick someone too strong and I will be able to get it done. If you win, you can get someone on your side a slot as well. Do you feel better now? I only want three slots. In any case, I already have a slot for myself so I don't really care."
With an unfriendly gaze, Su Yu said, "Teacher Liu, you're too smart to stay a teacher. You should join the Myriad Race Cult instead. I believe you can even become a sect master in the cult."
Liu Hong replied, "You're right. I can really give this a try. Maybe I can establish a sect and scam some resources from the myriad races. Yes, I can really do this. In fact, a lot of people are doing this. Thanks for the reminder. Do you want to join me? Let's found a small sect together! What do you think?"
"..."
Su Yu was getting tired of talking to Liu Hong. He felt like he was already quite a smart person. A lot of people in the academy felt like idiots to him. But this fellow...had he won even once against this fellow in a battle of wits?
Sure, he had scammed a lot of merit points with his fake formula, but one should remember that Liu Hong had participated in that transaction with zero cost. The single character faction was the one paying while Liu Hong himself had earned a lot as well.
"Don't look at me like that." Liu Hong smiled, "We're on the same side. I will keep the final spot of your team empty. Feel free to contact me when you make up your mind. If you don't contact me, I'll have no choice but to assign the final team member for you as well. Don't worry. I'm a fair person."
Su Yu ignored Liu Hong and walked away.
Behind him, Liu Hong laughed and said, "Remember to win! I only have one little brother and two students. Their lives have been too hard. I am not capable enough to send them into the grotto. I'll have to trouble you. Thank you, Student Su Yu!"
"..."
Su Yu cursed endlessly as he stomped off.
Bastard! Asshole! Scoundrel!
He swore to beat that fellow to death one day!
He would definitely do it!
No one was better at annoying others than that fellow.
He had planned to fight steadily and grab a slot for himself. But with this arrangement, how could he still guarantee a victory? Even if he did win, he still needed to let Liu He and the others benefit from his hard work. That wasn't even a victory he would celebrate. He would only be willing to carry his teammates to victory if all of them were his own people.
"Right, Lin Yao can already be considered my own people. As for Liu He and Yang Sha..."
Looking in Liu Hong's direction, Su Yu snorted. Fine. Since they were going to compete in acting, so be it! He could play the game as well. He would turn everyone around Liu Hong into a member of the Mutual Aid Club! Let's see how Liu Hong would like that!
"Junior Brother Su!"
"Junior Brother, you were missing for a few days! Did you go into seclusion?"
"..."
While walking, Su Yu encountered some other students. Many of them took the initiative to greet him. And he returned the greetings with a friendly smile on his face.
Suddenly, his voice transmission talisman vibrated. He did not take it out and continued heading back to the research center.
But after taking a few steps, someone appeared in front of him. With a wide smile, that person said, "Su Yu, you have skipped classes for several days. Why hadn't you applied for a leave?"
Su Yu narrowed his eyes and plastered a smile on his face as well. "Teacher Liu! You sure have a lot of free time nowadays! It almost feels like I can encounter you everywhere I go!"
Liu Hong replied, "Not at all. I've been very busy. After all, I'm in charge of organizing the tournament. This is a mere coincidence. By the way, are you signing up for the tournament? If you are, just tell me directly. You don't need to waste your time taking the trip over there to sign up."
"There is no need to trouble you, Teacher. I can go there and register myself."
Su Yu said nothing else after that.
Liu Hong's tone shifted as he said, "Aim to enter the Skysoar Realm as early as possible. That is the real start of the path of cultivation. Don't you think that it's boring to keep staying at the Mental Tempering Stage?"
"I will."
"Good. By the way, Shan Tianhao's grandson is on his way to Great Xia. What a pity that your teacher is now a cripple. I wonder if that fellow will challenge me when he arrives now that Bai Feng is already a cripple. I'm quite worried, you know? Both Wu Qi and Hu Wensheng are on the verge of advancing, leaving me as the only suitable target in the Skysoar Realm. This is really quite scary..."
Su Yu smiled, "Teacher Liu is mighty and formidable. How would you be afraid of a little kid?"
A toying look appeared on Liu Hong's face as he said, "However...he's your enemy. Not mine. Su Yu, why don't you take him on? It might be fun."
"You overestimate me, Teacher. I am only at the Mental Tempering Stage. Why throw my life away like that?"
"What a pity."
Liu Hong smiled and started walking away. Before leaving, he said, "Oh yeah, I'm planning to change the tournament rules into something more fun."
Su Yu turned his head and looked at Liu Hong.
Liu Hong continued walking away while indifferently saying, "To make things interesting, I have decided to change the format into team battles. Thus, the final winning team will get all five of the slots. Wouldn't that be a lot more fun? With this format, even a weakling stands a chance to get a slot. Won't things be a lot more unpredictable this way?"
Liu Hong smiled, "That way, no single strong individual will be guaranteed a slot. I am not allowing strong individuals to dominate the tournament. I am forcing everyone to fight in teams of five. If I want to go even crazier, I can even force everyone to fight with random teammates. For example, I can get you into a team with Di Feng. Won't that be fun?"
"..."
Su Yu stared at Liu Hong, his eyes turning cold.
Liu Hong continued smiling as he said, "Of course, that's only an example. Di Feng has been banned from all academy grottos. But the single character faction does not lack students. Meanwhile, your faction does not have enough student. Secret Character Grotto...isn't this an interesting tournament?"
"You will have to take your enemies alongside you as you crush all competition and win the slots. How fun."
"..."
Su Yu frowned. Just what was this fellow trying to do?
Liu Hong said, "How about taking Yang Sha, Liu He, and Lin Yao with you? Win and get a few slots for them. What do you think?"
Su Yu's eyes turned frosty.
This bastard!
Liu Hong continued, "This is interesting, right? If you win, I will benefit from it. If you lose, I won't lose anything. It's not like they would be able to win anything if they join the tournament alone. I can even tell the others that I'm doing this to drag you down. Tsk tsk. What a beautiful plan."
"..."
Fuck!
Su Yu wanted to punch someone in the face.
How could someone be so shameless?
Liu Hong was right. By assigning those students to Su Yu's team, the single character faction would believe that he was deliberately dragging Su Yu down. With these teammates, there was no way Su Yu could win a slot.
All by himself, he had to carry four trash teammates to victory during the tournament. How could someone even win in such a situation? And even if Su Yu ended up winning, nobody would blame Liu Hong. They would only blame Su Yu's opponents for being too useless.
After all, with his trash teammates, each match was akin to one versus nine. If they could lose even in that situation, what would they be except trash?
Su Yu gloomily asked, "Just what are you trying to do, Teacher Liu?"
"Nothing."
Liu Hong smiled and explained, "We are enemies. Isn't this normal? However...the truth is that I am giving you an opportunity."
Su Yu frowned.
"Think about it. With such weak teammates, you have to be more heavy-handed in order to protect your teammates, right? Nobody will blame you if you hurt your opponents too much. After all, with four deadweights dragging you down, nobody can expect you to hold back, right? But if you fight alone and harm an obviously weaker opponent too much, your reputation will be ruined."
At this point, Liu Hong switched to voice transmission, "We're on the same side. Have you forgotten? Those fellows dare to rob my teacher's grave. I have to take revenge, right? Little Su Yu, I'm doing this for your own good!"
Su Yu cursed inwardly. Good his mother! This bastard was obviously laying down a trap for him. In this situation, regardless of his result, Liu Hong would be the one to benefit.
If Su Yu won, his people would win some slots. If Su Yu lost, he could claim the credit of suppressing Su Yu. Thus, regardless of the result, Liu Hong would not be blamed.
On the other hand, if the tournament was held with the regular format and Su Yu won, as the organizor, the single character faction would definitely place the blame on Liu Hong.
"Teacher Liu, do you want me to start loudly announcing your plan?"
"Feel free to do it." Liu Hong grinned, "Will anyone trust you? Stop dreaming. Su Yu, who would believe that an ally would assign four deadweights to your team? I'm the only one who will do this. Because I trust you. I am confident you can win. Can't you see the trust I'm placing on you?"
"..."
Su Yu felt like he was going to get a heart attack from his anger. He really wanted to beat this bastard to death.
"Don't worry. How about this? I'll assign three of them to you instead. You can decide on the final member. Don't pick someone too strong and I will be able to get it done. If you win, you can get someone on your side a slot as well. Do you feel better now? I only want three slots. In any case, I already have a slot for myself so I don't really care."
With an unfriendly gaze, Su Yu said, "Teacher Liu, you're too smart to stay a teacher. You should join the Myriad Race Cult instead. I believe you can even become a sect master in the cult."
Liu Hong replied, "You're right. I can really give this a try. Maybe I can establish a sect and scam some resources from the myriad races. Yes, I can really do this. In fact, a lot of people are doing this. Thanks for the reminder. Do you want to join me? Let's found a small sect together! What do you think?"
"..."
Su Yu was getting tired of talking to Liu Hong. He felt like he was already quite a smart person. A lot of people in the academy felt like idiots to him. But this fellow...had he won even once against this fellow in a battle of wits?
Sure, he had scammed a lot of merit points with his fake formula, but one should remember that Liu Hong had participated in that transaction with zero cost. The single character faction was the one paying while Liu Hong himself had earned a lot as well.
"Don't look at me like that." Liu Hong smiled, "We're on the same side. I will keep the final spot of your team empty. Feel free to contact me when you make up your mind. If you don't contact me, I'll have no choice but to assign the final team member for you as well. Don't worry. I'm a fair person."
Su Yu ignored Liu Hong and walked away.
Behind him, Liu Hong laughed and said, "Remember to win! I only have one little brother and two students. Their lives have been too hard. I am not capable enough to send them into the grotto. I'll have to trouble you. Thank you, Student Su Yu!"
"..."
Su Yu cursed endlessly as he stomped off.
Bastard! Asshole! Scoundrel!
He swore to beat that fellow to death one day!
He would definitely do it!
No one was better at annoying others than that fellow.
He had planned to fight steadily and grab a slot for himself. But with this arrangement, how could he still guarantee a victory? Even if he did win, he still needed to let Liu He and the others benefit from his hard work. That wasn't even a victory he would celebrate. He would only be willing to carry his teammates to victory if all of them were his own people.
"Right, Lin Yao can already be considered my own people. As for Liu He and Yang Sha..."
Looking in Liu Hong's direction, Su Yu snorted. Fine. Since they were going to compete in acting, so be it! He could play the game as well. He would turn everyone around Liu Hong into a member of the Mutual Aid Club! Let's see how Liu Hong would like that!
