Chapter 203: 15 Seconds of Fame
Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_
“Ojiisan, have you ticked off any bigwigs recently?” Wang Tong put on a smile as he probed Mr. Wannabe for more information on that full METAL suit.
“I have no idea. I’m not feeling well. See you later.”
“Waite a second! Let’s talk about it.”
“I’ll talk nothing. I know what you are thinking, but it is simply IMPOSSIBLE!” Mr. Wannabe shouted out grudgingly.
“A former Einherjar turned into a suit of armor, what a despicable act!”
Wang Tong watched as Mr. Wannabe disappeared. He marveled at the amazing crystal Old Fart had given him as he tried to pull all the threads together: the crystal, Mr. Wannabe, Blade Warriors, the Tactics of the Blade, and the golden glow, what was their connection?
“Am I destined to be a great power or am I simply lucky?”
“Where did Old Fart steal the crystal from? The Great Houses? No…it can’t be. If anyone of the five houses possessed the power inside the crystal, the balance of power within the Confederation would have been disrupted.”
“Where did this mysterious crystal came from then? Mysterious… hum… could it be the Hall of Valhalla?”
“Nah…Nah….the Hall of Valhalla is a sacred place. Not even the Einherjar dare break in without permission, much less the Old Fart.”
Wang Tong rolled around on the bed, unable to find an answer and eventually fell asleep.
When Wang Tong woke up, he felt that what had happened last night seemed like a dream. It was a pleasant dream nevertheless, one that had set Wang Tong’s mood for a nice and productive day. He decided to set the matter aside for now since he would rarely use a METAL suit while in school, and neither could he bring himself to force Mr. Wannabe to turn into a suit of armor unwillingly. Above all, he didn’t want anything to distract him from dating Samantha.
Wang Tong’s classmates started to see him differently ever since he came back from Capth. Every morning, he received pink envelopes containing girl’s love letters. He might not have noticed any changes in himself, but to the girls of Ayrlarng, he had transformed from a sheepish no-account into a brave and charming lover. Looking at the pile of letters ridden with unwanted affection, Wang Tong suddenly understood how Hu Yangxuan had felt.
At lunch, Wang Tong grabbed a seat next to Hu Yangxuan and consulted him humbly on methods of dealing with girl’s unwanted attention. His question led to a burst of laughter among his friends.
“Hey, I never thought that you would beg me for an answer. Do you remember you had just thrown me under the bus?” Hu Yangxuan jested loudly.
“We were under reduced circumstances. If I didn’t do what I did, I might be kicked out already, am I not right Sisi?” Wang Tong said half-jokingly as he shot Zhou Sisi a glance.
“Wang Tong! Don’t you dare mention that!” Zhou Sisi chided.
“Haha! Cao Yi had already contacted us. He said we could hang out; maybe we will watch a PA show together or something. It is a good way to learn combat skills anyways.” Karl said.
Almost every student at the tournament got their fighting styles named after them, except for Wang Tong. The debate was fierce among the experts if Wang Tong’s technique was truly unique.
A few of Wang Tong’s friends felt indignant for the lack of recognition for Wang Tong, but he didn’t care about trifles such as the name of his fighting style. He knew that as long as he continued perfecting his skills, there would be many other opportunities for him to prove himself.
The Old Fart had helped Wang Tong nourish such a healthy attitude towards unfair treatment as he grew up. As a result, Wang Tong firmly believed that things such as other people’s opinion were out of his control, and therefore, he would never be swayed by it either.
Wang Tong’s friend started to regard him even higher because of the forbearance he had displayed. If it were anyone else, he or she would have thrown a fit in front of the official committee for such a biased treatment.
Ma Xiaoru had become much quieter ever since she came back from the Capth. Her temperament was tender as always, but she seemed to be less lively and kept things to herself. Hu Yangxuan noticed her changes but was unable to help her, which made him feel sad and pity her even more. Zhou Sisi, on the other hand, seemed to have adjusted well to the Wang Tong’s affair.
Perhaps Wang Tong was the only person who had not yet sensed the changes in these two girls. He had been too busy enjoying his first true love and had no time to pay attention to anyone else. And even if he did, he was too insensitive to understand why their mood had been so low.
Although Hu Yangxuan was younger than Wang Tong, he was much more experienced in things dealing with intimacy and love. The long period of secret crush on Ma Xiaoru had also made him more sensitive to others’ feelings.
Hu Yangxuan knew that the brighter the smile on Wang Tong’s face, the more hurtful it would be to Ma Xiaoru.
It had been a few days ever since they came back from Capth, and the excitement of the tournament still lingered as the students discussed new discoveries they made during the battle ceaselessly. Rumi communicated with the Zhang brothers every day and had gained help from them in improving her techniques. Quickly, the bond between the two schools strengthened and the communication no longer were limited to exchange students. Both schools supported the exchange of knowledge since both principals knew that it would be helpful to the students.
Seeing the students be motivated, Samantha pulled another trick under her sleeve as she glorified the deeds of the students who attended the tournament and made them superstars.
As the fighter who had turned the tides and defeated the Capth with one strike, Wang Tong was not only extremely popular in Ayarlng, but also in Bernabeu. Everyone was eager to find out almost everything about him, from his latest training routing to whom he was friends with. Wang Tong had practically become the leader of both Ayalrng and Bernabeu.
What made Wang Tong special was his unimpressive family background. He, like many other students, was an ordinary person from an average family. Therefore, most students find him more relate-able and easier to see as their idol. Martyrus was aware of that, and he would not let any selling point go wasted.
“Dream BIGGER, Work HARDER. You can be the next Wang Tong!”
Martyrus shouted out his new slogan during the school meetings, despite its cheesiness.
When Wang Tong and his friends first established the S club, it was half serious and half for fun. But now, it turned into a fully fledged student organization consisting of students from both Ayrlarng and Bernabeu, with Wang Tong as the elected club leader. Apache, Cao Yi and a few other students from Bernabeu also joined the group. Apache didn’t want to join the team since he was too lazy to partake in any group activities, but as soon as Cao Yi appeared at his doorstep and handed him the application form, he agreed to it right away. Apache had experienced Cao Yi’s persistence first hand, so he decided to accept his request rather than suffering his constant pestering.
In addition to that, Apache figured that sooner or later he would have to ask fo favors from Cao Yi, especially in collecting intelligence. Cao Yi was an excellent observer and was learned in many subjects. He could not only converse with Best about fleet management but was also able to exchange ideas on information warfare with the Zhang Brothers. He was a ‘jack of all trades, master of none’ kind of person. His well-rounded personality made him the perfect coordinator between the two schools.
Membership applications arrived at the S club’s mailbox like snowflakes in a blizzard. To control the number of members, Wang Tong raised the bar of becoming one. However, the higher requirement only motivated more students to apply, so much so that even some senior students had asked for memberships. The rising popularity had had certainly increased its influence within the two schools.
“Sisi, I don’t need an office.” Zhou Sisi stopped Wang Tong on his way to home. The latter was to inform him about the new installment of the club leader’s office.
“Shifu, you need to be responsible for what you have started. Do you know how many people right now are waiting for the membership? If we manage the club well, the S club could be the most successful student club ever in history.”
She had been calling Wang Tong “Shifu” whenever the two were alone for so long that Wang Tong had already gotten used to it.
“Not my business. Can you deal with it?”
“No worries! I can handle the small details. We just need you to decide on important matters, such as admissions.”
“I feel like your servant.” Wang Tong complained. Although Zhou Sisi had handled most of the errands for the club, there was still a lot of other business that needed the attention of the club leader.
“It’s not for me, it’s for everyone.” Zhou Sisi pressed Wang Tong down on a chair and handed him a pile of filled applications.
“Here are the twenty that I had handpicked among the other thousands of applications. Take a look.”
“Haven’t you agreed to handle this for me? I have full trust in your ability. I need to go somewhere else right now, urgent matters!”
Wang Tong slipped his shoulder out of Zhou Sisi’s hand and darted away before she could catch him again.
Zhou Sisi gritted her teeth as she watched Wang Dong disappear. She looked at the pile of applications and felt a sense of remorse for joining the S club. She joined the organization for Wang Tong, but even though he belonged to another woman, she still felt that she could not leave him.
“After all, he is still my Shifu. I’m still better off than Ma Xiaoru. She has lost everything.” The thought of Ma Xiaoru’s misfortune somehow made Zhou Sisi feel better about herself.
