The Prodigies War

Chapter 140: Mixed Reception

As twilight descended, the quarterly assessment also came to an end.

A total of six hundred students participated in the quarterly assessment, but only two hundred and thirty-seven managed to kill a fire brute expert and passed successfully.

The other three hundred and sixty-three students were all eliminated!

It was no doubt a shocking number of people. The students able to make it to the quarterly assessment were already elites among the elites. They were outstanding whether it was in terms of qualifications, fundamentals, cultivation base and battle experience.

But even so, more than half of them had been eliminated. It could easily be imagined how brutal and pervertedly hard the assessment was.

The 39th Campground had a much lower elimination number. A total of thirteen people were eliminated and seventeen people passed the assessment. In contrast, more than half of the students had been eliminated in the other campgrounds. The performance of the students from the 39th Campground was remarkable compared to those in other campgrounds.

“The result is much better than in the past. At least, it was already very difficult to retain one hundred and fifty students in the previous quarterly assessment.” The middle-aged fatty sighed emotionally.

Xiaoke nodded. The performance of her current class of students was indeed outstanding, but her mind started to drift again at the thought of Lin Xun’s achievement.

Before long, Xiaoke was called away.

……

In the center of the temporary campground.

As the assessment came to a close, the instructors and the experts from all twenty campgrounds gathered.

They had already learned about the accomplishments of all the campgrounds. It was absolutely worth celebrating that two hundred thirty-seven students passed the assessment.

The atmosphere was very lively and loud but it was mainly due to quarreling and discussions centered around the student who was ranked first in the assessment.

“Three seconds? How can Lin Xun achieve that with his strength? He must have cheated!”

“Yes, he’s just at the True Martial eighth layer but he fought against a fire brute expert with a strength comparable to a Spirit Dipper cultivator. It’s impossible for him to win in three seconds. There has to be a problem!”

“Chief Xu, it’s not that we’re jealous of talent and like to target that little guy, but his record is really too ridiculous. If he hadn’t cheated, how could he, who was previously a nobody, do this?”

Disbelieving voices and criticism constantly rang out.

Among them, the most agitated was, of course, the instructor of the 7th Campground. In his opinion, his student Bai Lingxi would have no doubt ranked first in the assessment if Lin Xun hadn’t cheated!

Xiaoke frowned and said nothing. But she looked at Xiaoman with an indescribably complex expression.

On the contrary, Xiaoman stood gracefully beside Xu Sanqi. Her arms were crossed in front of her plump chest and her bright eyes were full of smiles as she glanced at the people around her. It was as though she didn’t notice the heated atmosphere brewing.

She enjoyed the feeling a lot. She grew happier and happier and amused seeing the exasperated looks on their faces.

Yesterday, they were laughing and mocking her like she was a joke and now it was her turn to laugh at them!

“Chief Xu, please say something.” Someone urged, quelling all the other voices and directed all gazes to Xu Sanqi.

Xu Sanqi had kept quiet ever since the final result was announced. It was as though something was on his mind and he couldn’t care about the farce.

It wasn’t until now that Xu Sanqi’s eyes regained their fierceness like he had awakened from a dream, and he swept the surroundings with his icy blade-like gaze.

The atmosphere suddenly became deathly still.

Xu Sanqi got up without wasting any time. He drew his finger across the air and formed a light screen, which showed the scene of how Lin Xun killed the fire brute expert. Everyone was able to see it very clearly.

The handsome youngster standing tall, the dreamy and enchanting shower of arrows, Bafu’s body riddled with bloody holes when he died…all of it combined to form a beautiful, bloody and spectacular scene.

Immediately, many people felt stifled. Their eyes widened and their hearts trembled. Even Xiaoke, Xiaoman, and the middle-aged fatty, who had already seen the scene, felt suffocated and couldn’t maintain their composures.

It was the Flying Star Crossbow, a completely new short crossbow they hadn’t seen before. It was a terrifying killing weapon with unimaginable destructive power!

“You all saw it. This is the truth.” Xu Sanqi uttered coldly.

Everyone looked as though they had just awoken from a dream. Someone couldn’t help but shout out, “Chief Xu, that might be the truth, but that short crossbow isn’t a standard aeth tool in the empire. There isn’t one in Blood Kill Camp. So, how did Lin Xun get his hands on one?”

“Yes, anyone with a great killing weapon like that would come first. It's no different from cheating.”

The others agreed.

“Have you ever seen that kind of short crossbow before?” As though he predicted their response, Xu Sanqi asked.

Everyone shook their heads. Indeed, they had never seen a spectacular short crossbow that resembled a star streaking across the sky.

“This is a crossbow that Lin Xun created and was completed by Old Mo. There is no rule in the camp that students can’t create their own weapons in the assessments,” said Xu Sanqi calmly.

He created the crossbow?

Many people were stupefied. What does that mean? Lin Xun is a rune master with unbelievable abilities and skills?

However, when they heard that Old Mo was the one who completed the crossbow, many people realized that the crossbow, which they had never seen before, was inseparably linked to Old Mo.

“Chief Xu, Old Mo is a rune master. That kid clearly cheated if he made that thing with Old Mo’s help.” Someone said bitterly.

“If the students in your campground can design such a powerful short crossbow, let alone ask Old Mo for help, even if they ask me, I won’t refuse!”

Xu Sanqi frowned. He basically implied you can do it too if you are that capable!

Everyone could only shut up. Regardless of how unwilling they were to accept the result, they knew no one could take the first place away from Lin Xun.

Xiaoman grinned. She was about to settle accounts. She cleared her throat and said, “Everyone, do you still remember the bet we made yesterday?”

A strange expression of awkwardness and embarrassment came to many people’s faces. Xiaoman actually won the ridiculous bet. This is simply…absurd!

……

The first place in the quarterly assessment: Lin Xun, with a score of three seconds!

Second place: Bai Lingxi, with a score of 36 seconds.

Third place: Zhao Yin, with a score of 41 seconds.

Fourth place: Li Duxing, with a score of 44 seconds.

Fifth place: Zhangsun Hen, with a score of 45 seconds.

...When the results and rankings of the quarterly assessment were announced, it was like a storm had descended, it instantly set off monstrous waves in Blood Kill Camp. Uproar broke out as if a pot of boiling water had exploded in every campground.

“Lin Xun? Who is this bastard Lin Xun? How can he kill his opponent in three seconds? He must have cheated!”

“Yes! He must have cheated. Look at his score. He beat Bai Lingxi by 33 seconds. How could he be stronger than Bai Lingxi?”

“Damn it, I’m going to pay the 39th Campground a visit to see what kind of person this Lin Xun is, and see how he can get first place! I won’t leave this matter until I get a satisfactory answer!”

The same cursing and skeptical remarks were heard in almost every campground. Lin Xun didn’t receive the slightest praise or applause for achieving first place. Instead, he became the target of criticism. Even Xiaoman wouldn’t have imagined this would happen.

Even the people from the 39th Campground almost went crazy when they heard the assessment results. Lin Xun is first?

That’s too absurd!

It’s more absurd than the bet yesterday!

Some people couldn’t help but question the result.

Lin Xun was also there and he couldn’t help but smile coldly when he saw the strange gazes he received and heard the skeptical and angry comments.

These guys seem to be filled with indignation but aren’t they just jealous and bitter?

What’s more, even Instructor Xiaoke didn’t say anything about my result. This is undoubtedly a kind of acknowledgment of my result, but they have to accuse me of cheating. Are they really blind?

However, Lin Xun paid little attention to it all. Of course, he knew he had made too great of a scene. He had beaten both Bai Lingxi and Zhao Yin. Anyone would be unwilling to accept the result.

But Lin Xun didn’t regret his action. He would do the same even if it wasn’t to help Xiaoman win the bet.

Dissatisfied?

Okay, try creating a Flying Star Crossbow then!

This was what Lin Xun thought. Although he sounded a little arrogant, he was a little upset that he had become the target of accusation after he had finally achieved first place.

With a bang, a punch was slammed into Lin Xun’s shoulder, and then Lin Xun saw Ning Meng exclaiming in excitement, “Damn it, you are amazing!”

Lin Xun grinned. “Aren’t you worried that I cheated and would make you lose face?”

Ning Meng said disdainfully, “What do you mean cheated? Those guys are jealous. If they’re so awesome, they can try to cheat too. The instructors didn’t say anything, but they keep complaining, so annoying.”

Lin Xun laughed. He realized that Ning Meng seemed carefree, but the simpler a person, the better they were at seeing the truth of a matter.

“A scholar who has been away for three days must be looked at in a different way. I didn’t believe in this sentence before, but now, seeing you, I finally believe it.” Shi Yu suddenly came over with a smile and looked at Lin Xun with a strange gaze.

“Is this a compliment, or a fake praise?” Lin Xun asked.

Ning Meng was the first to laugh. “In my opinion, it’s neither a compliment or a fake praise, but Little White Face kissing up to you.”

Shi Yu’s expression froze, and his gaze turned hostile towards Ning Meng.

Lin Xun sensibly shut up and furtively moved away from the two. He knew that the two were going to smack talk again.

As expected, a battle of words broke out…

……

The monthly assessment came to a close amidst various discussions and doubts. Regardless, Lin Xun’s name had spread to every corner of the Blood Kill Camp overnight, and he had become well-known to all the instructors and students.

However, at the same time, his fame came with criticism. The controversy was endless, and Lin Xun became the most talked-about figure with mixed reception.

This was the price of fame.