156: Chapter 156 Declaration of War! A Misinterpreted Provocation!

"Give me my money within three days. Otherwise, I'll keep fighting until you're bankrupt."

Lin Qi's voice wasn't loud, yet it was like an ice pick tempered to the extreme, piercing through countless live stream lenses and stabbing ruthlessly into the ears of every spectator in the Federation.

Facing that camera hidden in the shadows, he calmly stated a fact.

Around the perimeter of the arena, the reporters, who had been as frantic as a pack of sharks smelling blood, fell silent in unison.

It was as if someone had pressed the mute button in a movie; all the noise and clamor vanished into thin air at that moment.

Flashbulbs froze, microphones stopped mid-air, and faces were etched with bewilderment.

Their mental processors seemed to have crashed collectively due to the information overload of that statement.

A contestant, a freshman who had just finished his first round, after being accused of cheating by the official platform and having his funds frozen, didn't defend himself or show anger. Instead, in the tone of a debt collector at the door, he directly issued an ultimatum to the Federation's largest gambling giant?

Is this kid crazy?

This brief, suffocating silence lasted for less than three seconds.

Then, the whole world exploded.

The reporters on the scene were like robots activated simultaneously, instantly erupting with a frenzy ten times stronger than before.

“Contestant Lin Qi! What did you mean by that? Are you declaring war on the Tianji Pavilion?”

“What makes you think you have the ability to bankrupt the Tianji Pavilion? Do you know what the Tianji Pavilion represents?”

“Is this a threat born of shame and anger? Or are you admitting to cheating and using this method to divert attention?”

On the internet, an even more colossal wave was stirred up.

The bullet chats of major live platforms and the comment sections of social media were completely detonated at this moment.

“What did I just hear? Fighting until the Tianji Pavilion goes bankrupt? Hahaha, this is the funniest joke I've heard all year!”

“Arrogant! Too arrogant! Does this kid think he's invincible just because he beat one Xiao Kuangyun?”

“He doesn't get it! He doesn't understand the weight of those words at all! Who does he think he's talking to?”

The vast majority of people didn't connect Lin Qi's words with his frozen gambling winnings at all.

In their eyes, it was only natural for a cheater to be sanctioned by the officials.

Lin Qi's statement was automatically interpreted by them as a provocation of extreme arrogance.

A form of contempt for the existing order of the entire Federation.

Under the deliberate guidance of certain interested parties, the direction of public opinion was completely skewed.

“What does 'fighting until you're bankrupt' mean? Does he think the Prodigy Championship is run by his family? He can fight whoever he wants?”

“I get it! He means that he's going to beat every single contestant one by one until the entire competition can't continue because of him, causing all of Tianji Pavilion's betting pools to collapse! Isn't that bankruptcy?”

“Holy cow! He's declaring war on every single participant!”

“A Blank Slate with stats of all 5s, a cheating dog using hacks, wins one match by luck and dares to look down on all the Geniuses of the Federation? Who gave him the courage!”

Lin Qi's declaration was infinitely magnified and misinterpreted.

From its original intent as a 'debt collection declaration,' it became a madman's display of contempt for all Prodigies.

He became the lunatic who wanted to flip the entire table on his own.

For a moment, countless top Geniuses who were still observing or even slightly curious about Lin Qi saw their expressions darken after watching this edited interview.

They were the pride of the Federation, the hope of major top-tier academies, and the objects of worship for countless people.

They had reached this spotlighted stage through S-rank talents and day after day of arduous Cultivation.

Now, a Blank Slate, a guy officially labeled as a cheater, actually dared to spout such wild words about 'fighting until you're bankrupt'?

To them, these words were full of insult.

It was as if he were saying: 'You so-called Geniuses who rely on System data and equipment skills are all trash; I can crush all of you by myself.'

It was a trampling of their hard work and a desecration of the sanctity of the Prodigy Championship.

Inside the Kyoto University contestant lounge.

Li Pojun looked at Lin Qi's face on the holographic screen—so cold it lacked even a ripple of emotion—and his fingers gripping the alloy cup turned slightly white from the force.

The assistant beside him watched with fear and trepidation.

“Brother Li, this kid... is too arrogant.”

“Arrogant?”

A cold arc curled at the corner of Li Pojun's mouth.

He wasn't angry, only filled with a mockery as if looking at an idiot.

“This isn't arrogance; it's stupidity.”

Li Pojun let go, and the slightly deformed cup fell onto the table with a dull thud.

“For a few petty gains, he dares to publicly challenge the Tianji Pavilion, and now he's offended all the top contestants. He's frantically making enemies for himself and digging his own grave.”

In his view, Lin Qi's behavior was no different from a fool swaggering through a crowded market carrying gold bars.

A guy with no background and no backer, yet so high-profile and eye-catching, was destined to be swallowed by the torrent of world rules until not even his bones remained.

“A Blank Slate is a Blank Slate after all.”

Li Pojun leaned back in his chair, regaining his composure of being in control of everything.

“Even if he has some unknown little tricks, it doesn't change the fact that he's a moron. Someone like him won't get far.”

Meanwhile, in a heavily guarded underground building somewhere in the Federation.

Several well-dressed middle-aged men with steady auras were looking at the same screen.

On the screen, Lin Qi's face was magnified to a huge size.

“Heh, fight until we're bankrupt? What a huge joke.” One of the men with a goatee let out a disdainful sneer.

“Young people nowadays really don't know the height of the heavens or the depth of the earth. He wins one match and thinks he can challenge the rules?” Another fat man shook his head.

They were the high-level executives of the Tianji Pavilion.

To them, Lin Qi's declaration was nothing more than the powerless rage of the weak, the final howl of a defeated dog.

A young brat dares to threaten them?

The Tianji Pavilion had been operating in the Federation for hundreds of years with deep-rooted influence; its strength was far beyond what a mere contestant could imagine.

“Since he's so ungrateful, let's just shut him up for good.” The man with the goatee picked up a glass of red wine and swirled it gently.

“Notify the Competition Organizing Committee. For the next round, arrange a 'Sweeper' for him.”

“Let him know what the consequences are for offending the Tianji Pavilion.”

Not only did they have no intention of paying that massive gambling debt, but because of Lin Qi's words, they accelerated the process of stifling this 'unstable factor.'

They wanted everyone in the Federation to see that anyone who tried to challenge the authority of the Tianji Pavilion would have only one end.

And that was to disappear from this world entirely.

...

After making that declaration, Lin Qi left the noisy arena with Zhang Wei's support—or rather, being dragged along by him.

Zhang Wei was on the verge of collapse, his face pale and his body soaked in cold sweat.

“Brother Qi, my dear brother! What... what were you doing just now! You're making an enemy of the entire Federation!”

Zhang Wei's voice was trembling; he felt as if the world were spinning.

Lin Qi, however, acted as if nothing had happened, hands back in his pockets, his pace steady.

To him, the overwhelming curses and doubts from the outside world were nothing more than noisy static.

He couldn't be bothered to explain.

Playing the lute to a cow was meaningless.

He was simply stating a fact, a fact that was about to happen in three days.

The money—he would definitely get it.

No one should even think about reneging on his debt.

In an inconspicuous corner of the arena, Instructor Su Qing stood with her arms crossed, quietly watching Lin Qi's departing back.

On her face, which was frozen year-round, her brows were now tightly knitted.

She understood Lin Qi's personality better than anyone.

This youth never did anything he wasn't sure of, and he never spoke empty words.

If he said he would fight, then he would definitely fight.

“He's really going to go head-to-head with the Tianji Pavilion on his own.”

Instructor Su Qing murmured under her breath.

Things have truly blown up now.