Chapter 42

Chapter 42 "Someone's coming out!" someone shouted, and the crowd quickly turned their gaze toward the arena. Zhou Renjie and Wu Mingbai walked out one after the other, with Zhou Renjie in front, his face pale and his expression grim. Su Bei had never seen the usually rosy-cheeked fat man look so defeated and disheveled. The outcome was obvious. "You lost?!" Ai Baozhu widened her eyes in disbelief. "How is that possible?" Although she didn't particularly like Zhou Renjie, she had confidence in his strength. Otherwise, she wouldn't have let him get close to her. She had assumed the top three would definitely be the three of them, but unexpectedly, one of them had already been eliminated before the final day. Zhou Renjie had lost his usual arrogance. He hadn't expected to lose either. His plump face twisted in frustration as he angrily retorted, "That Wu Mingbai used such despicable tactics! He's a cunning scoundrel! I just slipped up this time." Hearing this, Ai Baozhu shot him a skeptical glance. "You're a man, he's a man—how could his tactics be so underhanded?" Zhou Renjie was left speechless by her remark. "It's not like that, it's..." Before he could finish, Si Zhaohua interrupted, "Enough. A loss is a loss. Hmph, so what if they won a round? I won't lose, no matter what." "Me neither!" Ai Baozhu chimed in immediately, refusing to believe that those commoners could break her [Elegant Domain]. Unlike the tense atmosphere on their side, Wu Mingbai's side was practically celebrating with drums and fireworks. The crowd was large, and red flags fluttered in the air. (Not really.) "You're amazing, Mingbai!" Mo Xiaotian was the first to cheer. "I want to have a match with you! If we don't get to face each other in the exam, let's have a secret match afterward, okay?" Wu Mingbai grinned happily, but his words were sharp. "It's not even nighttime yet, and you're already dreaming?" "Today's matches are over, and we've all won. Let's have a good meal," Jiang Tianming interjected smoothly, diffusing what could have turned into an awkward argument. Lan Subing raised her hand and said, "I'll treat." Seeing everyone's eyes, especially Su Bei's, turn to her, she added quietly, remembering the last group meal, "To celebrate that I can finally use my [word spirit] ability when facing someone one-on-one." Indeed, this was the reason she'd been so successful in her matches these past two days. She had finally overcome part of her severe social anxiety, so in one-on-one battles without an audience, she could speak and use her ability. Hearing this, Jiang Tianming and the others lit up and eagerly asked, "Have you really overcome it? How did you do it? You should tell your parents right away!" Lan Subing's parents had been extremely worried about her social anxiety. If they knew she was improving, they would be thrilled. "I plan to tell them after the exam tomorrow, along with my test results. It'll be a surprise," Lan Subing said with a bright smile, clearly pleased with her progress. The most surprised by this news was Su Bei. He had thought she'd only overcome her limitation when facing Ai Baozhu on the last day. But had she already broken through? If that's the case, wouldn't she easily defeat Ai Baozhu? That doesn't fit the design of this manga world, does it? Glancing thoughtfully at the blue-haired girl, Su Bei shifted his gaze away. He suspected Lan Subing still had some weaknesses she hadn't revealed, but it made sense—they might become opponents tomorrow, so keeping something in reserve was wise. "Speaking of which..." After a long silence, Mu Tieren hesitantly spoke, "There are only nine people left in tomorrow's matches. How will the school arrange our pairings?" Exactly! At his words, everyone froze. Like Mu Tieren said, how would the school pair off nine people? If one person is left out, they would have to sit out until the very end to reshuffle the matchups. Seeing everyone deep in thought, Su Bei snapped his fingers to bring them back to the present. "That's for the school to worry about. Right now, we should be deciding where to eat." That made sense, so they stopped fretting over the school's problem and went out to eat together. After dinner, Su Bei spent his time practicing mental power. He knew very well that if he wanted to appear composed tomorrow, he needed to become a true advanced mental power user. There was no conventional method to quickly master this newfound power, so Su Bei had to resort to some extreme and rather uncomfortable techniques. In the dormitory, the blonde boy sat on his bed, a small mountain of exquisite gears piling up before him. Each gear was intricately patterned, with various shapes and designs. These were all gears Su Bei had conjured, each one a [gear of destiny] capable of predicting the future. The patterns were meticulously carved with his mental strength. A [gear of destiny] could only be used once per week, but that "use" referred to making a prediction. Simply creating a [gear of destiny] had no limit, though it consumed much more mental energy. And that was precisely what Su Bei wanted— to use up all his mental energy. Su Bei's strategy was to exhaust the massive reserve of mental energy stored in his mind. Only by completely depleting it and allowing it to regenerate could the new power truly become his own. He hadn't done this before because he hadn't thought of the idea, and secondly, because it wasn't an easy or pleasant process. In fact, it was downright painful. Overusing mental energy can cause dizziness, weakness, and headaches. If one continues in this state, exhaustion sets in—not merely a loss of strength but a sensation like the body and mind are being utterly drained, as though the brain is being squeezed dry. By the time the pile of gears had grown as tall as he was, Su Bei's face had turned pale. Sweat beaded on his forehead, and he could barely remain upright, nearly falling over. The overwhelming desire to stop, to cease the outflow of mental energy, tempted him constantly, but he resisted. One gear, then another, and another... Finally, his mental energy was completely drained, and Su Bei blacked out. "Ring ring ring ring!" When he awoke the next morning, his pre-set 7 AM alarm had gone off. Due to yesterday’s exhaustion, his head throbbed as if suffering from a hangover. Today’s match was scheduled for 8 AM. After shutting off the alarm, Su Bei rubbed his head and checked his phone to see the match schedule. The school had indeed addressed the issue Mu Tieren raised yesterday. Zhou Renjie, who was defeated by Wu Mingbai, would have to fight again, but the result would not affect the rankings. If he won, he would remain in tenth place, while his opponent could advance to ninth place. If his opponent won, they would progress. However, this solution posed a new issue: if Zhou Renjie’s opponent won, the second round would have five participants, leading to another problem of odd-numbered participants. The school had foreseen this and arranged for Mu Tieren to be Zhou Renjie's opponent. Among the remaining students with diverse abilities, Mu Tieren, whose ability was [physical enhancement], was considered the best match for Zhou Renjie. Of course, Mu Tieren had agreed to this arrangement. Regardless of the outcome, he would earn 100 points. His willingness came from not wanting to face familiar opponents and believing Zhou Renjie, who had already been beaten, was his most winnable match. Su Bei glanced at his own opponent: Feng Lan. Other pairings were equally intriguing. Mo Xiaotian versus Si Zhaohua, Jiang Tianming against Wu Mingbai, and Lan Subing facing Ai Baozhu. Yet, Feng Lan had another question. “You should know you didn’t need to do all this to win, right?” After all, Feng Lan wasn’t a fighter or a defender. Once his mental power ran out, Su Bei would easily win. Moreover, although Su Bei had used the gears for the attack, Feng Lan didn’t think they were his real trump card, just like Si Zhaohua, who typically attacked with feathers but saved his true power for his ultimate move. “I know,” Su Bei answered casually. “So why then...?” “Winning by exhausting your opponent’s mental power? Sure, but why bother?” Su Bei squinted and smiled. “Isn’t this more fun?” The two walked off the stage together. Su Bei seemed to be in a good mood, while Feng Lan, though expressionless, looked quite battered. Although Feng Lan could foresee the future, evading fatal attacks had been incredibly challenging under Su Bei’s fierce offensive. He had no choice but to take hits in less vital areas. Despite the bruises on his face, Feng Lan’s appearance wasn’t affected much. If anything, his injuries gave him a bad-boy look, transforming his image from a good student to a school bully, creating a strong sense of contrast. Mo Xiaotian and Si Zhaohua had already finished their match, and both of them looked pale, clearly drained from a psychic battle rather than physical combat. “Wow, are you guys okay?” Mo Xiaotian exclaimed, eyes wide with surprise at the sight of Su Bei and Feng Lan. Even Si Zhaohua, usually calm and composed, couldn’t hide his surprise at their appearance. Both Su Bei and Feng Lan usually appeared composed and rarely looked this disheveled. Feng Lan's expression remained calm, showing no embarrassment at the surprised looks directed at them. Instead, he simply acknowledged the pain in his body: "I'll ask if I can go to the infirmary later." Before the final results were announced, no one was allowed to leave the field. Upon hearing Feng Lan say to leave this time, the other two immediately understood the outcome of the match. Si Zhaohua gave Su Bei a curious glance but quickly concealed his emotions. "Congratulations, it seems we’ll be classmates soon." Students who made it to the final day of competition were almost guaranteed a spot in Class A, even if some of their abilities were average. Often, sufficient combat experience and intelligence could compensate for weaker powers, as even the most ordinary abilities had the potential to improve. The next contestants were Zhou Renjie and Mu Tieren. Mu Tieren appeared unscathed, but his expression was sour. Zhou Renjie, pale and clutching his stomach as if injured, wore a noticeably smug expression. "I won!" Zhou Renjie loudly announced the result, which everyone had already expected. Mo Xiaotian hurried over, worried about Mu Tieren and wanting to support him. However, Mu Tieren quickly avoided his touch. "I'm not avoiding you," Mu Tieren explained, though his expression was unpleasant. "But for your own good, you’d better stay away from me for now." Not far away, Zhou Renjie, sitting on a bench, sneered at Mu Tieren's remark: "Stop being so dramatic. No one else is acting like you." "That's because they don’t know!" Mu Tieren, unusually, snapped back. Their interaction caught Su Bei’s attention, and he gave Zhou Renjie a thoughtful look. Suddenly, a realization dawned on him, and his expression turned strange. Seeing Mo Xiaotian was obediently keeping his distance but still clearly confused, Su Bei kindly offered an explanation: "The class president is doing this for your own good." Upon hearing this, everyone turned their gaze toward Su Bei. Mo Xiaotian, sensing Su Bei knew the truth, immediately asked, "What’s going on, Brother Bei? Tell me!" Since Su Bei wasn't Zhou Renjie’s opponent, he was free to share his guess. But instead of directly answering, he looked at Mu Tieren and asked, "May I?" Before Mu Tieren could respond, Zhou Renjie angrily interjected, "Shouldn’t you be asking me? It’s my ability, after all!" Su Bei shrugged as he turned back toward Zhou Renjie. "Well, I figured out your ability, didn’t I?" He asked Mu Tieren because they had a decent relationship, and if Mu Tieren didn’t want him to reveal the truth, Su Bei wouldn’t mind keeping quiet. In his view, it wasn’t that big of a deal—just a bit disgusting. But asking Zhou Renjie was a different matter. Su Bei had figured out his ability through his own deduction, so why would he keep it secret for him? Mu Tieren nodded indifferently. "Go ahead. I'll be fine once I take a shower." Seeing Mu Tieren didn't mind, Su Bei finally satisfied Mo Xiaotian's curiosity: "Zhou Renjie’s ability allows him to absorb people into his stomach." The "black space" mentioned by his previous opponents was, in fact, Zhou Renjie’s stomach. Entering it meant being covered in his saliva and stomach acid, which was, as expected, rather disgusting. "I see!" Mo Xiaotian suddenly realized, then earnestly told Mu Tieren, "You really should take a shower. You must have sweated a lot while struggling in his stomach." Everyone: "..." Si Zhaohua twitched the corner of his mouth and said to Su Bei, "I finally understand why I wanted to join your group." Su Bei disagreed, saying, "You can’t insult our group like that." After his remark, everyone couldn’t help but burst into laughter. Except for Mo Xiaotian, who remained utterly confused. As the mood lifted, Lan Subing and Ai Baozhu appeared. Ai Baozhu’s eyes were red, as if she had been crying. Upon seeing her, Si Zhaohua frowned. "What happened?" "I lost," Ai Baozhu replied, her tone aggrieved, and she even shot a glare at Lan Subing. Hearing it was just a loss, Si Zhaohua's frown relaxed. "No big deal. Lan Subing is the eldest daughter of the Lan family. It's normal for your ability to be temporarily ineffective against her." Lan Subing was well-versed in the hidden rules of high society and wouldn’t fall for Ai Baozhu's tricks. Ai Baozhu was just unlucky; out of the eight remaining participants besides herself, only Si Zhaohua, Lan Subing, and Feng Lan were immune to her ability, and she happened to run into them. As they spoke, Jiang Tianming and Wu Mingbai emerged side by side. Seeing everyone looking at them, Wu Mingbai grinned mischievously and tilted his head, asking, "Guess which one of us won?"