Chapter 26 Champion

"Stop! Fang Che wins!"

The two referee instructors hurriedly leaped forward. "The match is won, stop fighting!"

One of them flashed out swiftly, caught Huo Churan, and shoved a medicinal pill into his mouth, then flew back to the stage with him in tow.

With two swooshing sounds, two sabers descended from the air simultaneously. Huo Churan's saber lay flat across the stage, while Fang Che's blade came down, shearing right through the tassel of Huo Churan's saber before embedding itself straight and upright into the wooden flooring.

The red silk ribbon fluttered in the wind.

A medical team had already rushed forward and carried Huo Churan away.

After a brief check of his pulse, the medic immediately smiled. "He's fine, still breathing. Fang Che kept his attacks under strict control. You can tell he knew what he was doing!"

Huo Churan had long since lost consciousness. Seven or eight out of ten bones in his entire body were shattered, hardly any teeth remained in his mouth, and the bridge of his nose had not only been crushed but completely caved inward.

It was a picture of utter misery.

The students in the front row closest to the stage simultaneously twitched at the corners of their mouths.

What the hell? You call this kind of injury 'keeping his attacks under strict control'?

Pray tell, where is this so-called control?

Yet they did not know that ever since Huo Churan employed that bizarre set of palm techniques, virtually all the martial academy instructors had already grown somewhat disgusted with him!

Under such circumstances, how could anyone possibly defend Huo Churan?

In fact, that intense beating just now should have been halted halfway through.

Yet no one stopped it at all!

It was simply to let this fellow take a few more beatings.

Huo Churan was under heavy suspicion; if he truly turned out to be a demonic spawn, beating him to death was no injustice.

And if he wasn't... well, consider it a lesson learned. Don't go around using any and all martial arts in public. This time he was just a freshman and you got the upper hand, but if you pulled that stunt during the inter-school grand tournaments and were beaten to death on the spot, you wouldn't even have anywhere to air your grievances!

Having won the match, Fang Che once again revealed a youth's sunny, amiable, gentle, and shy smile on the stage, looking well-behaved, handsome, and utterly endearing.

With refined grace and effortless poise, he cupped his fists toward the direction where Huo Churan had been carried off. "Classmate Huo, I accept your concession."

Down below, everyone had just witnessed this guy pummeling Huo Churan as if he were hitting a sandbag. Now, seeing him look so gentle and elegant once more, everyone felt a sense of contradiction fused with unity.

In their hearts, they all felt as though they were seeing him in a completely new light.

"So handsome..."

The female students, on the other hand, had stars in their eyes.

Able in both literary and martial arts, equally adept at playing the gentleman or the scoundrel, capable of fighting, enduring, and showing tenderness—Campus Belle Fang was truly... tsk tsk, so man-ly.

A heavy cloak flew up from beneath the stage.

Fang Che calmly draped it over his shoulders and shook his sleeves.

A faint, mesmerizing starlight immediately shimmered.

He bowed slightly. "Thank you for your hard work, teachers."

The two referees smiled and nodded. "Step down and rest."

"Alright!"

Right at that moment.

A shout rang out from beneath the stage. "Hold on."

A figure in white flew up.

It was none other than Qiu Yunshang.

Everyone froze. What was this about?

Qiu Yunshang flew onto the arena, cupped his fists in salute, and said to the referees, "I concede!"

"You concede?"

The corners of Qiu Yunshang's mouth held a bitter smile. "I can't beat him anyway. Senior Brother Fang has already broken through to the fifth tier of Martial Master, and I, Qiu Yunshang, am not foolish enough to overestimate myself. A surge of hot-blooded passion is ultimately no match for absolute strength. Going up on stage would only mean getting beaten up again. Rather than that, it's better to concede now and preserve my dignity."

He paused, then turned to Fang Che. "I need to save my strength so I can beat up Huo Churan later!"

A roar of laughter instantly erupted from the audience.

It seemed Qiu Yunshang held quite a grudge against Huo Churan.

The few insiders who knew the score couldn't help laughing heartily while recalling what had happened right before the match: Fang Che had extended a friendly gesture to Huo Churan, only to be met with a cold response, along with the words they had exchanged.

Huo Churan: "I don't have time to make friends with you."

Fang Che: "Don't blame me for hitting hard today, then."

Fang Che: Beat him up every single time I see him!

Recalling the outcome now, they felt an infinite sense of irony: You were the one who wanted to make friends with him, but were you even in his league?

When he offered you respect, you failed to cherish it, and now that you've ended up beaten into a coma, who else can you blame?

If you had just cracked a smile back then, how could you have ended up beaten to such a miserable state?

Thinking of the vow Fang Che had made—to beat him every time they met.

They vaguely suspected that this Campus Belle Fang probably wasn't joking after all.

Regarding Qiu Yunshang's concession, everyone felt both slightly surprised and completely unsurprised.

After all, when facing an invincible opponent, everyone understood.

Fang Che also smiled warmly. "Many thanks to Brother Qiu for yielding, sparing me another beating. Haha, I suddenly feel my heart isn't quite as heavy anymore."

Qiu Yunshang laughed heartily. "Don't be so modest. If I could beat you, I certainly would have tried. The problem is I can't, and fighting you means getting beaten. So... Fang Che, you truly deserve the championship of this tournament."

"Many thanks!"

Qiu Yunshang leaped off the stage.

As for the third-place winner, it essentially defaulted to Yu Zhongge.

Huo Churan was unconscious and had completely lost his combat capability. With injuries like that, it would be a stroke of luck if he recovered within a year or two, let alone fighting Yu Zhongge for a place.

And the champion, naturally, belonged to Fang Che.

Huo Churan had already lost, and Qiu Yunshang had conceded; there were no competitors left.

Champion: Fang Che.
Runner-up: Qiu Yunshang.
Third place: Yu Zhongge.

No one had any objections to Fang Che being the champion and Qiu Yunshang the runner-up.

However, the third-place winner, Yu Zhongge, left everyone utterly dumbfounded.

If they remembered correctly, this fellow Yu Zhongge had actually bypassed two rounds through sheer luck in the earlier crucial matches by drawing empty slots.

And now, he had won without fighting and directly secured third place!

What the hell kind of luck was this?

The crucial point was that, no matter what, Huo Churan was no longer in any condition to contend with Yu Zhongge.

As for the other formidable contenders like Ding Jiezran and Mo Gangyun... in terms of sheer strength, they were probably both stronger than Yu Zhongge, yet they had somehow been eliminated early on!

Yu Zhongge had claimed third place without even facing a single opponent.

"What kind of divine luck is this?!"

Tens of thousands of people were bewildered.

Even Fang Che, Qiu Yunshang, Mo Gangyun, Ding Jiezran, and the others glanced at Yu Zhongge over and over again, feeling that this guy was somewhat mystical.

Mo Gangyun smacked his wide lips, wearing an expression of utter disbelief. "Damn it... this kid is definitely freaky. With such incredible luck, without taking much of a beating, he basically just strolled around the grand tournament and ended up in third place!"

"I almost got beaten to death and didn't even make the top four..."

Fang Che's face twitched slightly as well. Compared to his own arduous struggles, Yu Zhongge hadn't even gotten much dust on his clothes and yet he was already third.

Damn it, why did it feel so unfair?

Facing everyone's gazes, Yu Zhongge wore a helpless expression, his forced smile growing stiff. "Luck, it really was just luck."

Every student who heard him speak wore the exact same expression.

Their feelings were identical, too: If anyone else said that, fine, but coming from you, I honestly can't even find a way to argue back.

***

Immediately afterward, the martial academy began the prize-giving ceremony.

Prizes for the top ten and top hundred were distributed simultaneously.

Fang Che received two top-grade Soul Pills, twenty Qi Gathering Pills, two Meridian Expansion Pills, two True Essence Pills, and a hundred contribution points, along with a championship gold medal.

They were handed directly into his hands.

In the blink of an eye, he had transformed into the wealthiest student at White Cloud Martial Academy.

Combined with the ten points issued upon entering the martial school, Fang Che now possessed a full hundred and ten points.

Based on the standard where fewer than two points could buy a lavish feast of fierce beast meat for a dozen people, these hundred and ten points were enough to sustain Fang Che personally for a whole year, with plenty left over to purchase pills and other auxiliary cultivation materials!

In an instant, he was rolling in wealth.

This immediately drew a large batch of envious, jealous, and resentful gazes.

Along with several eager, mouth-watering looks of anticipation.

Fang Che ignored them all.

He had only one thought: I've completed my mission!

The Blood-Burning Art, a life-saving secret technique of vital importance in this lifetime, was finally within his grasp!

Shortly after, the martial academy announced another piece of news: Tomorrow, the freshmen would be officially assigned to classes and begin their lessons.

A wave of cheers erupted.

Then, the martial academy announced yet another piece of news: Tomorrow, the second, third, fourth, and fifth-year students would begin their examinations!

Along with this, the penalty mechanisms were announced.

Instantly, the wails echoing across the grand parade ground shook the heavens!

Having just lost everything to become penniless, they were now facing exams! And worse, almost a hundred percent of them were guaranteed to be punished!

This truly was adding frost to snow, and running into a headwind on a leaking boat!

Those senior students who had lost their bets wore expressions that looked as though they were mourning their dead parents!

Countless senior students began approaching Fang Che to cozy up. "Junior brother, from now on, I'll hang out with you. See you in the cafeteria tomorrow!"

Fang Che chuckled. "Lost?"

The senior student wore a look of shame. "Lost. Cleaned out."

"Since you lost, you didn't bet on me, right?"

"Uh..."

"You guys weren't even willing to place a bet on me, and yet you still want to tag along for meals?"

Fang Che looked genuinely astonished. "Dear senior brother, what are you daydreaming about? Go eat with whoever you placed your bets on. Why are you coming to me?"

"Ahem... Junior brother, you're so wealthy now. Besides, is it really that hard to treat a senior classmate who's struggling financially to a meal? Junior brother, think about the bigger picture."

This phrase could be considered a lethal weapon when dealing with successive generations of freshmen.

It was even effective against certain senior students.

Very few people could withstand this line; most would eventually yield, thinking along the lines of, 'Well, having a meal is no big deal, let's just get through the present moment; a freshman shouldn't earn a bad reputation right after arriving at the martial school.'

However, Fang Che clearly did not fall into that category.

"Senior brother, you jest. Is your financial struggle something I caused?"

Fang Che looked innocent.

"..."

The senior student wore a look of annoyance. "Junior Brother Fang, why must you be so petty?"

"Senior brother, if you're not being petty, why come all the way to junior brother here to haggle over a meal?"

Fang Che said, "Senior brother, one shouldn't be too petty in life! You're trying to save even the cost of a meal? Really? Aren't you just begging? Are you a beggar?"

"Fang Che, if you won't treat us, fine, but why hurl insults?" Once again, a heavy accusation was pressed down upon him.

"What do you mean by 'treating you'? Do I owe you a favor, senior brother?"

Fang Che asked with a bewildered expression, "The people who bet on me can't even be said to owe me favors because they won along with me, so I don't owe anyone anything. How is it that you lot, who didn't bet on me at all, actually expect me to treat you?"

"Because you lost your bets on others and ran out of points for food, so you come make the winner who didn't even bet on you foot the bill? Where is your face?!"

"I just want to ask, under heaven, where is such logic to be found?"

Fang Che looked perplexed. "Can someone explain this to me?"