Chapter 105: A Stunning Debut

Two months later, the trio walked through the campus once more, yet the feeling was worlds apart from their first visit.

This time, no one was foolish enough to jump out and demand to settle scores with Le Kai. Following the previous incident, Le Kai had become a campus celebrity; by now, even a fool knew of his connection to the Lan family.

Lansca’s official announcement the night before had confirmed all speculations. Now, aside from the Xi family, the Hua family, and the lesser houses that relied on them, no one was stupid enough to provoke Le Kai. After all, the Mayor’s faction was not a force to be trifled with.

In the classroom, Xi Tiande glared with his beady eyes, staring in disbelief at the sudden appearance of Le Kai, Lan Bo, and Li Yan. After a long pause, he said with a gloomy expression, "I didn't expect you to dare show your face. Since you have, don't blame me for being professional. If you fail, even the principal won't be able to protect you."

Le Kai gave a cold smile and said dismissively, "Would you believe me if I said I’d rank first in the grade?"

"Hahaha, how utterly ridiculous! A person who hasn't even stepped through the school gates dares to spout such nonsense? Aren't you afraid of being a laughingstock?" Xi Tiande felt as if he had heard the funniest joke in the world and burst into wild laughter, drawing the attention of the entire class.

Le Kai acted as if he had been provoked, shouting, "You don't believe in my ability? Teacher Xi, do you dare to make a bet with me?"

Upon hearing this, Lan Bo lowered his head to hide a smirk. He thought to himself that his boss was putting on another show to trap someone. It looked like the fat pig was in for a rough time.

Xi Tiande sneered, "Why wouldn't I? I truly don't believe that a 'Wilder' could rank first in the entire grade. Isn't that the biggest joke of all? If you lose, you get out of this school and out of Huazhong City." While a homeroom teacher did have the authority to expel failing students, Le Kai’s confidence made him uneasy. He wondered if perhaps Le Kai had received private tutoring from Lansca, making a passing grade possible. But to rank first? Xi Tiande would never believe it even if he died. He had a sudden inspiration: wasn't this the perfect opportunity to drive him away?

Le Kai said indignantly, "Fine. If I don't rank first, I will never appear here again. But what if you lose?"

Xi Tiande laughed coldly, "How could I possibly lose? Don't be ridiculous."

Le Kai retorted, "Since it's a bet, there must be stakes. What if I win?" Without waiting for an answer, he continued, "Teacher Xi, you look quite portly, clearly lacking exercise. How about this? If you lose, you run naked around the plaza. How about it? Do you dare?"

"Run... naked?" Xi Tiande’s tongue tied in knots; he was so angry he nearly fainted. With his physique, even he himself felt nauseated at the sight of it. If he had to run naked in front of over ten thousand people, how could he ever show his face again? This brat was truly vicious. The students in the class felt a wave of horror, their minds filled with images of that bloated, quivering mass of flesh. Several girls immediately lowered their heads and began to dry-heave.

Li Yan looked at Le Kai with a flushed face. This guy was truly wicked. He was clearly holding the winning hand, yet he feigned fear to lure his opponent in, even demanding the teacher run naked. Still, this teacher did look disgusting—a face full of rolls of fat and sinister, narrow eyes. Given his attitude toward Le Kai, it was clear he was no good, and a little punishment was well-deserved.

Xi Tiande’s face cycled through shades of green and white for a long moment before he gritted his teeth and said fiercely, "Fine, it’s settled. You lose, you get out of school immediately and never return. I lose, I run a lap around the plaza naked."

Having said this, he refused to look at Le Kai again, fearing he would lose control of his temper.

Le Kai, Lan Bo, and Li Yan sat in the front row. Li Yan had taken Wu Qingyi’s seat, forcing Wu to reluctantly move to the back.

Seeing that everyone had arrived, Xi Tiande announced loudly, "This final exam is set by the Empire and administered simultaneously across all regions to prevent cheating. Furthermore, several monitoring devices have been installed in this room. Anyone caught playing tricks will be immediately disqualified. Now, turn off your communication watches and begin the exam."

The students powered down their devices, waiting for the papers to appear.

Xi Tiande walked down the aisles, distributing the stacks of test papers. When he reached Le Kai, he let out a cold huff, making it clear he would be watching him closely.

Le Kai remained unperturbed. As he had said, these children’s exams were of no difficulty to him.

The papers distributed were blank sheets; the questions would be projected onto the liquid crystal desks directly from the "Cosmic God Net," ensuring that no one knew the content until the last moment, completely eliminating the possibility of leaks.

At the command, the room fell silent as everyone began to answer.

Xi Tiande’s gaze was fixed firmly on Le Kai, his face twisted in a sneer. He watched as Le Kai carelessly pulled out the papers, glanced at them, frowned, and tossed them aside. He then pulled out the second one, looked at it, and tossed it aside as well. While everyone else was already halfway through their first paper, Le Kai continued to browse through the rest.

Seeing this, Xi Tiande felt a thrill of joy. *So you like to show off, you brat? Hit a wall now, haven't you? Hahaha!*

Le Kai had gone through all the papers. With his photographic memory, all the exercises were already stored in his mind, and he began to solve them. Once finished, he picked up his pen and moved like a whirlwind. Without even appearing to look, he scribbled away, finishing one sheet and tossing it aside before moving to the next.

While others had to pause and think for a long time, he just kept writing, his speed even more fluid than someone copying down answers.

*What the hell? Is this kid cheating?*

Xi Tiande stood up abruptly, looking at Le Kai with a furrowed brow. If he were cheating, the alarms would have sounded. Therefore, the kid was just putting on a show, knowing he had no hope and deciding to scribble nonsense out of spite.

Xi Tiande sat back down, smiling even more smugly.

There were eight papers in total. By the time the others were struggling with the third, Le Kai was already organizing his papers, preparing to hand them in.

*It’s impossible to finish all these exercises this quickly, not even for the most talented student.* Xi Tiande was completely at ease. He thought about how driving Le Kai out of the academy would be revenge for Xi Runsi. Once the boy lost his eligibility, the Xi family could deal with him at any time.

At the thought of his illegitimate son being cruelly murdered by Le Kai, Xi Tiande felt his body burn with the urge to turn the boy into ash.

Beside him, Li Yan shot Le Kai an annoyed glare. She naturally knew that Le Kai wasn't just scribbling; he had actually finished. To be an entire paper ahead of her—this guy was truly formidable. Li Yan was well aware of her own prowess; she had been hailed as the most outstanding genius the Li family had seen in nearly a century.

Compared to Le Kai, she felt a sense of overwhelming shame.

*Why didn't he double-check? What if he made a mistake or two?*

Li Yan began to worry for him, though it was entirely unnecessary. With Le Kai’s unique memory, which could store even the vast, boundless knowledge of the Alchemy Master, a few exam papers were nothing. He had solved and verified them in his mind during his first pass. The workload didn't even amount to the data of a single battle for him, so it was effortless.

After Li Yan finished, she and Le Kai sealed their papers together and walked out of the classroom, leaving Xi Tiande dumbstruck.

"Le Kai, you are truly wicked. What will Teacher Xi do now? You don't really intend to make him run naked around the plaza, do you?"

Li Yan spoke with a playful pout, not truly angry, but finding it rather amusing. Being with Le Kai always brought surprises.

Le Kai laughed, "Of course. This Xi Tiande has been harboring ill intentions from the start. Making him run one lap is letting him off easy." Le Kai recounted his first experience at the school, and upon hearing it, Li Yan’s anger flared, and the last shred of pity she felt for Xi Tiande vanished.

Exams no longer took a long time to grade. Once everyone was finished, the "Cosmic God Net" began processing the results immediately, with astonishing efficiency. The results were essentially released on the spot.

Now, it was time for the announcement.

Xi Tiande felt his voice trembling, his heart inexplicably nervous. Thinking of the consequences of failure—even knowing the chance was slim—he couldn't help but feel a wave of terror, praying silently.

The giant blackboard served as a screen. Xi Tiande tapped it lightly and stood to the side to wait for the results.

Below, the students looked dejected. The difficulty of this exam had been immense; much of the knowledge was beyond their current level, and many had left large portions blank. In such a situation, it was no wonder no one could muster a smile.

The "Cosmic God Net" connected every planet. Blue Star was no exception; ever since the firmament was established, receivers had been in place, so the data it compiled was comprehensive, broken down by region and level.

Li Yan whispered, "I really want to see the look on Teacher Xi’s face when he sees the results. I’ve decided to record it and keep it."

Le Kai chuckled, "What’s the point of recording that? Let’s broadcast his naked run on the God Net. Let hundreds of millions of netizens witness his unique physique. That would be interesting."

Xi Tiande glared fiercely at Le Kai. Sitting in the front row, they couldn't avoid being heard even when whispering. He was so furious he almost shouted.

Finally, the time for the announcement arrived. Data cascaded down the giant screen like a waterfall, shifting constantly. Usually, it would first display the grades of the class, followed by each individual's ranking within the school, the grade, and the entire star sector.

The screen finally stilled and began to display the specific scores for the class.

All eyes focused on it, and a uniform gasp of astonishment rang out. Almost everyone wore a look of horror. Witnessing this, Xi Tiande felt a sudden, inexplicable tightening in his chest. He turned his head to look, and at a single glance, the world began to spin—it felt completely unreal. He rubbed his eyes vigorously and looked again. The screen remained unchanged, but the information displayed caused him to nearly collapse.

While the rankings hadn't started yet, the scores were there, displaying a number that left him in despair.

100 points!