Kapitel 95: Tournament Epilogue
"...That's it?" "What the hell just happened?" "Everyone really got eliminated in the first round..."
Everyone was speechless, especially the principal.
Initially, he thought that Lan Xiang was being too Arrogant. After all, he was only an Elemental Mastery Realm cultivator. Against a horde of other cultivators ranging from Inner Practice Realm to Budding Spirit Realm, he definitely wouldn't be able to hold his own, much less defeat them all.
Of course, facts have proven him wrong and because of that, the tournament was cut short. It was supposed to take the whole day, but Lan Xiang decided to shorten it to just five or so minutes.
However, the principal didn't feel disheartened. In fact, he was extremely delighted.
"...So, what am I doing here?" Lan Xiang looked around the familiar place. "I didn't cause you any trouble by winning right away, did I?"
The principal turned his swivel chair around. "Don't worry, Student Lan. I didn't call you into my office for that. In fact, quite the contrary. Ahem, since you won the tournament, I'm here to give you your secret, special prize."
"Secret special prize?" Lan Xiang got excited. Is the principal actually some sort of descendant of an ancient sect with extremely powerful techniques?
"Behold, your special prize is... you get to participate in another tournament representing our school!"
"I'm out."
"W-w-wait! Why?" The principal could not comprehend Lan Xiang's refusal.
"I don't really wanna participate in a tournament against another countryside school..."
From Lan Xiang's perspective, this tournament in his school was a waste of time. After all, he never got to seriously fight.
"N, no, no! It's not another countryside school we're competing against. Do you know of the Annual Yanying City Tournament?"
Lan Xiang froze in his tracks.
"What of it?"
"You see, the second round is about to start soon, and the organizers decided that they wanted something else, like a wildcard."
"--! You mean?"
"Yes. They're inviting schools from all over the country, not just the major ones like they usually do, to compete for the wildcard slot. After that, the wildcard can participate in the actual tournament!"
"..."
The principal sensed Lan Xiang's hesitation. "Why? What's wrong?"
"I can participate. But on one condition."
"Go on, what is it?"
The principal thought it was a done deal. 'How hard of a condition can it be? At most he'd probably say to raise his grades at some subjects.'
He sipped on the glass of water on his desk.
"That is, I want to participate with a fake identity."
"Bleugghh--!" As the water splashed all over the desk, Lan Xiang swiftly dodging some of the drops, the principal looked at Lan Xiang with an 'are you serious' look.
'Why is it that his requirement just so happens to clash with mine?'
There was one aspect of Lan Xiang's participation in the capital's tournament that the principal didn't mention. It was Lan Xiang's prior reputation.
If Lan Xiang, the widely acknowledged trash of the Lan family, became a legend and won in the tournament after being sent to a countryside school, it was obvious where they were going to attribute that sudden increase in strength.
GeSun High School, a secret powerhouse. Zero to heroed Lan Xiang in just a few years.
The principal could already imagine the headlines in his head.
"Ahem, why do you want to hide your identity?"
"Well, first of all, the Lan family has sent me to the countryside for a reason. They probably don't want me sullying the Lan family name..." Lan Xiang felt discouraged whenever he thought about it.
"Then, isn't this the chance to prove them wrong?"
"No. They sent me here for 5 years, so I'm not going to come back until those 5 years are up."
The principal sensed Lan Xiang's determination and silently sighed. "Okay, then. I'll let you participate with another identity."
"Oh, make sure that my identity is female."
"...Why?"
"Erm, you'll see." Lan Xiang avoided the principal's gaze.
After an awkward silence, the principal and Lan Xiang headed back to the tournament venue.
The principal whispered a few words to Wen Hushui before going back to his seat.
Wen Hushui shrugged as she repeated the principal's words. "After careful consideration, the winner of the tournament will be Lan Xiang. However, he won too fast for this tournament to even be considered a tournament. As such, the tournament will be restarted with everyone aside from him. Everyone will be competing for 1st Runner-up."
When the students who were wallowing in defeat heard that, their eyes lit up. "Yes! There's gonna be a chance for me to show my power!"
The audience of students was also a bit relieved. If the tournament was finished, they surely would've been sent back to class.
"Uh, excuse me, can I take your seat?"
"Who the hell... Oh, Lan Xiang. Erm, sure."
Lan Xiang took the seat next to Ye Qingle. Meanwhile, the girl who just left had a weird sensation in her heart.
"Hey, rude." Ye Qingle gave Lan Xiang a captious look.
"What? She gave me permission." Lan Xiang shrugged.
"Abuse of power, more like it." Ye Qingle rolled her eyes in response.
"It wasn't like I was gonna force her out of her seat..." Lan Xiang felt like he was wronged.
"Hey, Xiang, you're here!"
Ren Weiwei and Zhang Xiaoqin greeted Lan Xiang, while Lu Xifa remained indifferent. She seemed absent-minded.
And so, the tournament commenced once more.
Without Lan Xiang, the free-for-all proceeded predictably, with the third-years taking most of the 8 spots for the bracket.
After that, Wen Hushui picked their names from a raffle box and placed them on the bracket. Soon enough, the bracket was filled out and it was time to start the second round of the tournament.
Lan Xiang watched without much attention. Instead, he was full of anticipation with regards to the Annual Yanying City Tournament.
"Lan Zhou... be prepared. You'll pay for sending my little sister to the hospital."
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein