120: Ellie

Due to the inter-academy exchange competition, various academies held their own internal exchange competitions, and videos of these matches circulated widely online.

The geniuses from each academy also became popular on the internet.

The internal exchange competitions of Beiling Academy and Nanhua Academy, two highly anticipated academies, were naturally released on their official websites.

After countless comparisons, people enthusiastically declared that Beiling Academy had entered a “golden age”!

This was because this year, three super geniuses—Bai Mo, Wen Yu, and Yi Yun—had emerged, and before them, there was Zhang Qier, who single-handedly overshadowed the entire academy.

Unfortunately, Zhang Qier, being a new student last year, inadvertently missed the exchange competition with other academies, but in the days that followed, her growth was terrifyingly rapid.

Now in her second year, videos of the new and old student exchange competition have also circulated, showcasing Zhang Qier’s overwhelming strength, and as the captain, she will lead Beiling Academy’s team to represent Beiling Academy in the competition.

For a time, her prominence was unmatched.

Wen Yu and Bai Mo’s reputations also soared, especially after they were dubbed “Immortal Couple,” leading countless people to ship the “Noble Daughter” and “Humble Son” CP.

This drew the special attention of Wen Yu’s father, the head of the Wen family, who tried to talk to Wen Yu, but his countless words were swallowed back by a single glance from Wen Yu, eventually forming into one sentence: “Daddy loves you! Keep it up! Do you still need money? Tell Daddy whatever you need!”

In the Wen family, Wen Yu, the princess of the Wen family, was actually the true “head” of the Wen family.

A father’s little cotton jacket usually has the power to control him completely.

...

In Vinodea World, Allie walked cautiously through the alley, wearing old, faded, and tattered clothes.

She was an orphan; more precisely, her last living relative had passed away not long ago.

Born into extreme poverty, she lived in the slums.

At only fifteen years old, she was malnourished and looked like she was only twelve or thirteen.

Many scars were faintly visible on her fragile body.

Clearly, her life was not easy.

Her only possession was a small home here, less than twenty square meters.

Allie walked cautiously through the alley; the slum area had many alleys that were interconnected.

She tried hard to change her life, going out every day to find work: moving bricks, handing out flyers... anything that could earn money, she would try.

Unfortunately, constantly bullied, she didn't know if it was just her bad luck.

No matter what she did, she couldn't last more than a few days before being paid, and even then, it was after deductions.

And then... very likely, it would be stolen...

Like now!

“Ah!” Three big boys darted out from the side, blocking Allie’s path.

“Look! This trash made money for us!” The three big boys blocked Allie.

Allie looked at them in terror, instinctively protecting the few hard-earned Dragon Power coins hidden in her chest.

“Hand it over, huh? Of course, we won’t take it for free! Here! This is what we left over from eating, take it as an exchange! You’ve never eaten this, have you? Such good white steamed buns!” The big boy smiled at Allie and said, then took out a transparent bag containing several bitten steamed buns and threw them directly onto The Ground in front of Allie.

“It’s best to be cooperative!” Another big boy said to Allie.

“You... you…” Allie gritted her teeth, holding back tears; she couldn’t take it anymore, she was on the verge of collapsing.

Her mother’s death, not enough food, not enough warm clothes, being bullied and beaten every day, and the hard-earned money not even belonging to her...

Perhaps she would never be able to escape this slum, perhaps she would die like this at some point.

Why was the world so unfair to her!

Allie looked up, staring intently at them.

She wanted to resist!

“Oh? What kind of look is that! What? You’re not thinking of not giving it, are you?” The big boy stepped forward, reached out, and pinched Allie’s face.

All three of them had cultivated Dragon Control Power; although they hadn't yet contracted a dragon, their strength was incomparable to outsiders, but in the slums, it was considered quite good.

Although Allie hadn't cultivated, she also had a trace of Dragon Control Power within her; she didn't know what it was, it was innate.

It was both good and bad; because her Dragon Control Power was pitifully small, but precisely because of this trace, she was able to survive until now on “garbage can food.” Otherwise, Allie might have died from illness long ago.

But the bad part was that precisely because she hadn’t died...

The big boy lifted Allie from The Ground by pinching her, and with his other hand, he felt around Allie’s body: “Where did you put the money? Tsk, damn it, this pile of bones really hurts my hand!”

The big boy felt something different near Allie’s chest.

“So it was hidden here!” The big boy tore Allie’s clothes apart, then picked up the Dragon Power coins that had fallen to The Ground with the fabric, and threw the emaciated Allie onto The Ground: “For the sake of the money, I won’t bother about you hurting my hand!”

“Get lost!” One of the big boys nearby kicked Allie away.

Allie fell to The Ground, rolled twice, and curled up, clutching her stomach, her forehead pressed to The Ground, motionless.

...

Allie recalled her life.

Since she was old enough to understand, she lived with her mother; she had never seen her father and had lived here since she was young, enduring a very difficult life.

But she never seemed to go hungry, though she didn't eat much either.

Her mother was very beautiful, even without dressing up.

However, her mother seemed to be ill, coughing every day.

The people here bullied her, thinking she had no father and a dying mother.

And many wicked women pointed at her, calling her mother a “slut” and accusing her of seducing their men.

Everyone bullied them!

Allie couldn’t understand why.

When her mother died, she watched... three men leave their home.

With tears in her eyes, she cleaned her breathless mother’s body, Allie laboriously half-carried, half-dragged her mother out.

Along the way, she had to endure the pointing fingers and various vile words from many women who saw her, not just directed at her, but also at her mother.

As Allie buried her mother, she wondered if she should have gone with her…

But her mother had told her to live on… but she really couldn’t bear it anymore!

Although what happened today had occurred many times, this time, Allie felt she couldn’t hold on.

The three big boys looked at the motionless Allie; they were about to leave but suddenly exchanged glances: “She looks like she’s done for… how about we sell her? Earn a bit more.”

“With her bony, useless body, how much money can she sell for? It’s a question if they’d even take her; I’m afraid they’d think we’re causing trouble! It wouldn’t be good to get a beating then!” The big boy who had taken the money earlier shook his head and waved his hand.

“You’re right!” The others nodded in agreement: “Never mind, let’s go!”

The three were about to leave.

“Hey! This place, it’s my first time here… and… my first time seeing it!” Suddenly, a voice rang out.

The three big boys turned their heads and saw a dazzling blonde woman standing not far away.

The three big boys looked at the newcomer; they had never seen such a person and were instantly stunned.