Chapter 57 – Sinisterly Killing Two Birds With One Stone
“Grai! My master!”
“Grai, my king! I want to give birth to your child; please accept this lowly body!”
… One could only imagine the absolute eruption in Grai’s popularity within Tianjing Academy after this fight. It was unknown when the arena seats had been filled as it seemed everyone there were basically girls…
Lu Zhan Tian was so gloomy that it seemed water was about to drip down his face. What happened? How could the dignified Holy Judgement actually get pushed into a final round in a KOF battle?
Ma Dong’s mouth quickly became crooked due to his smiling. He’d never dreamt that this virtually absent pretty boy was actually this fierce. This meant his Prodigy Society really had a chance of victory.
But for this last match… it had landed on Wang Zhong’s shoulders. Ma Dong was stunned and couldn’t even laugh. He’d never planned for Wang Zhong to enter the arena. This brat’s brain was full of ideas, but his combat standard was inferior to his own! Furthermore, looking at how mean and gloomy Lu Zhan Tian’s expression was…
Lu Zhan Tian’s expression was dark as he’d never imagined things would turn out this way. That Grai had disappeared amongst the crowd since he’d entered the academy, and no one knew what he’d been doing for all this time. Now he’d actually managed to climb right over his head and amaze the world with a single feat.
During that previous moment, Grai’s control over his power, speed, and combat awareness had reached a level similar to that of Reeves. At least, Lu Zhan Tian himself didn’t have the confidence to beat him.
This was definitely not a good piece of new for him. Luckily, he managed to remain steady as victory was still his. Prodigy Society only had his ‘old acquaintance’ left, the armchair strategist, Wang Zhong.
His victory was determined, yet when he looked at the cheers within the arena and the girls brimming with their superficial love, this victory seemed more like a defeat. This wasn’t something he could swallow.
Everyone had assumed he was only capable of sucking up to Reeves and was very rampant, but in actual fact, his yardstick was very accurate and he never provoked a fight with people who had stronger backgrounds than he. This allowed Reeves to feel no threat from him and also allowed him to build a fearless image of himself while he slowly expanded his sphere of influence.
It had to be said that Emily and Grai’s strength made his eyes sparkle. If these few people could be subdued by him, then he could take a qualitative leap forward in the future. Even toppling Reeves wasn’t an impossible task as Emily’s background would be extremely useful.
Grai’s victory had once again allowed the Prodigy Society to tie to score, two-to-two. This had also increased everyone’s anticipation as they wondered if the Prodigy Society would be able to perform a miracle.
Lu Zhan Tian walked up to the arena, empty-handed. This caused the entire arena to quiet down a bit. Wang Zhong also walked up to the arena. Everyone was filled with anticipation as they’d presumed this would have ended with a three-to-zero total victory for Holy Judgement. In the end, the Prodigy Society had actually managed to forcefully change it to a two-to-two tie. The performance of those two freshmen was incredibly spectacular. As for Ma Dong…
The last to act were still the seniors.
Ma Dong’s meaning was very clear. It was for Wang Zhong to go up and surrender after two clashes. This was adequate for Ma Dong as safety was his greatest concern when mixing with the outside world. There wasn’t a need to compare brute force with this simple-minded fellow.
Anyways, they’d reached the point where the Prodigy Society would still be glorious, even if they lost. What mattered was to not have any losses when doing business.
Lu Zhan Tian acted out of character as he smiled faintly. He began to clap and said, “Splendid. Those two freshmen of the Prodigy Society truly have a lot of potential. Even I’m feeling the pressure. Haha. But this is too drab. As this is the deciding match, let’s make it a bit more exciting. Wang Zhong, do you dare to make a bet with me?”
“I’d like to hear the details,” replied Wang Zhong. When he saw that cunning gaze, he knew this fellow had other plans. As a matter of fact, he also had some of his own…
“Simple. If I win, your Prodigy Society has to join our Holy Judgement. As for Grai and Emily, they can directly become members of the core line-up within Holy Judgement. I will personally provide guidance to them and ensure that they gain a better opportunity to learn and train,” explained Lu Zhan Tian.
This statement caused an uproar within the entire audience. While everyone thought this seemed like a good thing, how did the battle turn out like this?
Lu Zhan Tian was also an expert within the soldier department. Although he rarely took action personally, his strength was still widely known. Furthermore, he was vice-president of Holy Judgement. In everyone’s opinion, his victory was assured. They were all just thrill seekers. Yet, none of them would’ve imagined that Lu Zhan Tian was such an affectionate character.
“Looking from the outside, Lu Zhan Tian has a mean character, but it doesn’t seem like it. This is too good to be true. How good would it be if I were to join Holy Judgement…”
“A senior like that isn’t bad. This year, Holy Judgement only recruited a few people. This is a very good opportunity for them. Senior Lu isn’t bad. He appears cold on the outside, but is quite warm-hearted.”
They all felt it was slightly absurd. Lu Zhan Tian’s reversal managed to receive quite a number of favourable impressions. This clearly looked like he was giving an opportunity to the Prodigy Society.
Everyone looked at Wang Zhong and thought, This kind of fortunate event is simply like a pie falling from heaven. He should immediately thank Lu Zhan Tian.
Wang Zhong never would’ve imagined that Lu Zhan Tian would be so sinister. With regards to victory and defeat, it seemed as though Lu Zhan Tian would end up winning. He’d actually belittled Lu Zhan Tian’s eloquence before.
Just as he was about to issue his rebuttal, Judge Scarlet smiled and suddenly said, “Vice-president Lu Zhan Tian, the way you present your bet is a little insincere. The Prodigy Society is a cooperative partner with my Black Rose. For the sake of making the Prodigy Society our neighbour, Black Rose has paid quite a bit. Furthermore, even I wouldn’t dare say I could provide guidance to Grai and Emily.”
The students within the audience burst into excitement. There were a few who knew that it was the Prodigy Society that managed to snag up those large society grounds beside the Black Rose and become their neighbours. It seemed as though Scarlet truly regarded the other party well.
Everyone had thought that this Lu Zhan Tian would totally get a bargain while also showing off his cleverness. But in addition to the performance of Grai and Emily… it now didn’t seem like they were people Lu Zhan Tian could provide guidance to. This person now seemed a bit… shameless.
Ma Dong became stunned as he’d wondered why he’d managed to win such large grounds so easily. Usually, this wouldn’t be an issue of money. He’d just assumed it was his good luck, but in actual fact, Scarlet had been secretly helping him. No wonder… could she secretly like him?
Of course, not even Ma Dong Dong was this narcissistic. A hand could guess nine times out of ten that it was due to Emily’s face. Although this little brat didn’t care about her status, as the youngest generation successor of the Assassin clan, she carried around quite a bit of influence.
After Scarlet’s statement, Lu Zhan Tian’s complexion changed. This damn woman had to stir up trouble for me at such a critical moment.
In actual fact, there were a few who had seen through his plans but hadn’t dared to speak out against him. His plan wasn’t simple. If Emily and Grai became members of Lu Zhan Tian’s squad, then regardless of how flamboyant they were, they’d still have to call him Captain Lu.
Within the Freedom Federation, a captain of an official squad had some status attached to the title. Without mentioning the perks, just the fact that those two’s name would be recorded down as part of his team would be a victory. If they became incredible in the future, then it would only serve this ‘captain’. He’d be able to go anywhere and announce that he’d been the captain of both.
This was simply high-profit investing. Furthermore, one could easily enter or quit a society, but once one was recognized as a member of an official squad, they couldn’t be wilful anymore. This lure was actually using a soft knife to murder someone.
Wang Zhong shot a grateful look at Scarlet. In actual fact, he knew of his opponent’s plans. But it wouldn’t have mattered what Wang Zhong said; he’d never have the same level of persuasiveness as Scarlet.
Lu Zhan Tian, however, appeared unconcerned. He snorted coldly. “President Scarlet, don’t measure the stature of great men with the yardstick of lower men. I’m only looking at their potential. Enough of this nonsense. Wang Zhong, do you dare bet with me? If you have no balls, then just say it. Those who find excuses are not men!”