The appearance of Yu Qingcang drew everyone’s attention.
Yu Qingcang didn’t even show off his gear—he was just wearing casual clothes. His face alone was enough of a trademark!
The guild emblem of the Way of Heaven on his chest was also a trademark!
As he walked past the trainees from each class, all of them couldn’t help but stand up.
“That’s Yu Qingcang, the president of the Way of Heaven!”
“Oh my god, what’s going on today? The presidents of all four major guilds have shown up!”
“Red Mansion, War Banner Nation Guard, Mirror Flower Water Moon—all three of those guilds have recommended Lu Ran. Could the Way of Heaven be doing the same?”
“Just who is this Lu Ran? His connections are way too strong!”
“I give up, I’m completely convinced. Those four idiots actually made a gambling contract with Lu Ran—I have no words for that!”
…
Yu Qingcang walked up to the stage.
Behind him, the instructors of Blackfire City Academy all stood up in unison.
The crowd of onlookers gathered around the training ground was also completely dumbfounded.
They were professional fighters from Blackfire City who had only come to the academy to watch the excitement.
And it wasn’t even supposed to be anything major.
Just the academy announcing who would represent them in the Hundred Cities League.
But look at the result.
It was absolutely explosive!
As for the people from those four foolish guilds, they were so terrified by now that their hearts felt like they were about to stop.
“Everyone, please quiet down. Let me say a few words.” Yu Qingcang raised his hand.
Maybe it was because he’d been dealing with official business in the capital for too long, so his tone couldn’t help but be a little formal.
But the effect was remarkable.
The entire training ground, including the students below, fell silent in an instant.
“I wasn’t planning to show up personally, but since Lu Ran is a probationary member of our Way of Heaven and also the candidate recommended by the guild, I feel I have to step in now that this kind of trouble has arisen,” Yu Qingcang said.
Just as expected!
The Way of Heaven had also recommended Lu Ran and supported him!
On the opposite side, Song Xiaoya and the other three were completely blanking out right now.
Tears couldn’t help but roll down their faces.
Song Xiaoya instinctively opened her mouth, wanting to say something to beg for mercy.
That’s only normal. When death is near, people will say anything to survive.
But then she quickly shut her mouth again.
Because it was useless!
A gambling contract was the result of data-based rules. The rules were in control, unchangeable, uncancelable!
Since they’d already signed the contract,
they could only wait for the outcome and then honor the bet!
Either the four of them or Lu Ran had to die!
And given the current situation,
the four top guilds of Longxia jointly supporting Lu Ran was something that had never happened in Longxia’s history!
Even during the selection of Hundred Cities League candidates by the academies in various main cities, although the four major guilds had participated before, none of their presidents had ever shown up in person.
But today,
the presidents of all four major guilds had appeared together!
The spot would definitely go to Lu Ran, a hundred percent, no doubt about it!
And the four of them would definitely die!
Even if the gods themselves came, they couldn’t save them!
“Gambling contracts haven’t been explicitly banned, but they’ve rarely been used because they’re rule-based contracts that can’t be changed or undone. Signing such a contract so recklessly was really not wise,” Yu Qingcang said to Song Xiaoya and the other three.
But that was as far as he went.
There was no need to say more.
Since they had already graduated and awakened, and since they were all adults now, they had to take responsibility for their own actions.
Then,
Yu Qingcang looked toward the people from the four guilds.
He asked calmly, “Lu Ran will get this spot. If any of you have objections, you can speak up, and we’ll have a fair discussion.”
Good heavens, who would dare to have a discussion with you!
“No, no, no, no need for a discussion. We give up.”
“He’s just a probationary member. We don’t really know him anyway.”
“That kind of reckless behavior really doesn’t suit our guild.”
“Since the four major guilds are jointly recommending him, Lu Ran must surely have outstanding qualities. No discussion needed.”
…
The four of them said this, trembling.
This outcome was hardly surprising.
Yu Qingcang couldn’t be bothered with idle chatter. He looked directly at Jiang Zhenbei and said, “Announce the result.”
He really did just say a few words. Despite being the president of the Way of Heaven, he didn’t waste time with long-winded official speeches.
Jiang Zhenbei nodded and shouted, “Since no one has any objections, on behalf of Blackfire City Academy, I will announce the final result: Lu Ran from Class Three will represent Blackfire Academy at the upcoming Hundred Cities League in the capital.”
As soon as he finished speaking.
Buzz~
The contract in Song Xiaoya’s hand, as well as the contracts in the other three’s hands, began to glow.
“I don’t want to die, I don’t want to die!”
“Damn it, Lu Ran, this is all your fault! You bastard, I’ll kill you!”
“Damn it, we fell into his trap. No wonder he was so confident!”
“Sigh, we have only ourselves to blame. We went looking for trouble—what for?”
…
Nothing they said mattered anymore.
The contracts turned to dust in their hands and scattered away.
And their health points, amid their painful, desperate struggles, were instantly drained to zero.
Thud~
Their four bodies hit the ground almost simultaneously and lay motionless.
Watching the four corpses, Lu Ran sighed inwardly.
You came looking for trouble with Lu Ran. Even in a fair bet based purely on individual combat ability, the four of them would have lost anyway.
Both sides were on equal footing, relying on their own merits.
But although Lu Ran hadn’t killed them with his own hands, they died because of him.
It wasn’t that Lu Ran felt pity or regret—this was different from those Eagles guys; these were fellow Longxia people after all.
They’d talked big, been arrogant, thrown insults—did that really not deserve death?
Just then.
Liu Xinxin suddenly patted Lu Ran on the shoulder.
She said softly into his ear, “Adults have to take responsibility for their actions. Don’t dwell on it. Focus on your preparations.”
Leave it to Liu Xinxin to see right through Lu Ran’s thoughts.
Lu Ran turned his head and looked at Liu Xinxin.
He nodded and said, “Got it, Xinxin. I’m fine.”
But then,
it seemed someone still wasn’t convinced.
Someone in the crowd shouted, “Lu Ran is just a Necromancer. The four major guilds recommending him—that’s fine. But for them to jointly recommend a Necromancer, doesn’t that suggest some kind of connections? What’s the basis for that? Just because Lu Ran’s level is high enough?”
The crowd was noisy, and it was impossible to see who was shouting.
Maybe they were standing up for what they thought was right, or maybe they were just jealous that a Necromancer like Lu Ran could receive such an honor.
But to shout like that in front of the four major guild presidents—that took some courage!
At the same time,
the crowd began to murmur.
“Yeah, as impressive as this scene is, he’s still just a Necromancer.”
“I know this Lu Ran. He levels up extremely fast. And now it seems like with the four major guilds backing him, how could he not level up quickly?”
“What good is leveling up fast? If he gets eliminated in the first round of the Hundred Cities League, wouldn’t that be embarrassing?”
“Just how much influence does this Lu Ran have behind him?”
…
Everyone was speculating about Lu Ran’s connections.
But no one was thinking about his individual combat ability.
It was just that in this world,
classes were fixed, and the gaps in levels and skills weren’t that large.
No matter how much you thought about it, you couldn’t imagine a Necromancer being anything impressive.
