Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
No. 60 High School’s midterm exams were officially over by noon, and Wang Ling was pretty satisfied with his performance. As long as there weren’t any unforeseen circumstances, his grades should place him seventh or eighth in class; whether it was one or the other would be left to fate. In a class of just fifteen students, seventh or eighth place didn’t make a difference.
There were times when even Wang Ling himself felt that he had to let nature take its course.
Noon also happened to be when No. 60 High School ushered in the first school activity after the nerve-wracking midterm exams — the district sports meet.
This sports competition this time wasn’t as troublesome as the previous spirit sword exchange meet had been.
Like the military training for the six schools, it was also a major event that involved a lot of planning.
The district sports meet would be employing a system where the adjudicators would go to the schools. Except for the battle of soul pets, which was more for entertainment value, the other events would be scored by professional referees invited by the city education branch of the General Administration of 100 Schools. The tabulated scores would be published online straightaway; the competition points system would be made public and transparent, and it would even be possible to check the results and rankings instantly.
Thus, there wouldn’t be any running to and fro in this district competition this time; the students would all remain in their own schools.
Only the battle of soul pets would take place at the spirit beast assessment center downtown, which Loopy Toad and Wei Zhi had been to before.
For the competition, the spirit beasts would battle it out in the assessment center’s specialized arena.
The event Wang Ling would be participating in that afternoon was the relay with Fang Xing and the others.
There were ten people in a team for the ten thousand-meter relay with swords, and each person would run one thousand meters.
At half past one in the afternoon, a lot of people gathered on the sports field at No. 60 High School; students from various classes sat down according to their year and class in circles that had been drawn on the ground outside of the sports track.
Wang Ling noticed that the referees that had been sent by the city office were already all in position. There were four people in total, including Odd Zhuo. Supposedly, three of them were referees while the fourth would act as an arbiter.
Odd Zhuo was the arbiter.
At the moment, the three referees were speaking with Old Antique at a distance. Old Antique now played a very important role; given his way with words, he wasn’t just a history teacher now, but was also basically responsible for all of No. 60 High School’s “diplomatic activities”… How did people communicate with each other? By talking big!
Who was more glib a talker than Old Antique?
A history teacher’s brain was full of classical quotes.
…
According to the schedule, Headmaster Chen was about to give the opening address for the sports meet, but some of the classes weren’t in position yet. The students who were already waiting on the sports field whispered to each other, causing the scene to be a little noisy.
“Look! Senior Odd Zhuo!”
“Senior Odd Zhuo is getting more and more handsome! He looks a lot more mature than when I saw him the last time.”
When Odd Zhuo appeared, Wang Ling heard a lot of guys and girls cheering for him.
Previously, their impression of Odd Zhuo had merely been that of a legendary senior who had killed a demon king with one strike, but after the series of major incidents that had happened and the arrest of several major criminals, his image in the minds of a lot of students at No. 60 High School had instantly grown several thousand times over.
“I heard that when they busted up the Demon Hunters Association the last time, it was Senior Odd Zhuo who received the tip-off and personally took the lead as they went in and arrested people. Thanks to him, every branch of the Demon Hunters Association was shut down and who knows how many spirit beasts were rescued. This truly is a huge service to the country!”
“But it’s a pity that the boss behind the Demon Hunters Association is still at large.”
“Also, did you realize… first it was that Shadow Stream assassins group, then it was the Master of Shadow Stream Jiang Liuyue. After that it was the old demon, the Master of Immortal Mansion, and then the capture of Evil Sword God… it was Senior Odd Zhuo who caught all of them, too amazing! He must have a very high IQ!”
“How can you tell?”
“Just think about it. With cultivation at the peak late Golden Core stage, how else can he have survived until now!”
“…”
After saying this, this boy suddenly stood up and started doing a wild cheer for Odd Zhuo as he yelled in a loud voice, “Senior Odd Zhuo! Do you know! I have always! Liked you!
“My brain and my heart! Every organ in my body from head to toe is telling you! I like you!
“Senior Odd Zhuo, do you do online relationships?! The kind where we’ll never break up!”
“…”
Everyone was terrified by this scene, and Wang Ling sighed.
In broad daylight before heaven and earth, what kind of courage was this…
This guy was then dragged off by his teacher-in-charge to be lectured.
Sitting on either side of Wang Ling, Super Chen and Dopey Guo were also stunned stupid by this scene for a bit.
Super Chen: “Who’s that?”
Dopey Guo whispered, “That’s Hu Su from Grade Three… He’s in the same class as Senior Yu. I heard that he was held back for four years, and during the Shuigou Sect incident, his mother even dissed Teacher Ye.” (Note: To read this again, please look at Chapter 365: “Parents and Teachers”)
Super Chen was startled. “That’s odd. Why didn’t the school expel him?”
Dopey Guo shrugged. “Because his grades improved by leaps and bounds!”
Super Chen was blank. “Why did they suddenly start to improve?”
At that point, Dopey Guo couldn’t help turning to look at Odd Zhuo in front of them. “That’s the power of a role model!”
“A weak student… became bent just like that…”
Super Chen heaved a sigh. “Actually, I don’t feel that Senior Odd Zhuo is as amazing as we think. Maybe it’s luck, or he’s reaping the fruits of someone else’s labor… I’ve always felt this is the case. Then again, for one person to be able to take all the credit without fail time and time again doesn’t seem very realistic…”
Wang Ling: “…”
Five minutes later, the noisy sports field had settled down.
Headmaster Chen stood on the platform with a microphone in his hand. “Students, let me say a few simple words.”
And then, half an hour passed…
During the speech, Odd Zhuo looked very modest as he stood behind Headmaster Chen with his hands behind his back and a slight smile on his face.
Super Chen and Dopey Guo noticed that Odd Zhuo’s gaze was fixed on one spot the entire time; it looked like he kept glancing in their direction.
Super Chen asked Dopey Guo in a low voice, “What is Senior Zhuo looking at…”
Dopey Guo: “He must be looking at girls. Indeed, there are a lot of pretty girls in our Senior Grade One.”
Super Chen shook his head. “Senior Zhuo isn’t that kind of person – he wouldn’t target female juniors from his alma mater. His expression doesn’t seem right for it; he looks very modest and respectful, as if his shifu is here.”
Wang Ling: “…”
Dopey Guo: “Headmaster Chen might not have taught Senior Zhuo, but he was already the leader when Senior Zhuo was in No. 60 High School. I think it’s pretty normal. Senior Odd Zhuo is one level higher than Headmaster Chen in office, but he’s still this humble and sincere; that’s not easy to do.”
Super Chen narrowed his eyes and felt that only a small part of this respect was for Headmaster Chen…
As for Dopey Guo’s reasoning, Super Chen could only accept it reluctantly. “Senior Zhuo seems to be looking over here all the time. That expression… Anyone would think that his shifu is sitting among the three of us!”
Wang Ling: “…”
