216: Chapter 216 The King is Crowned, Standing Alone at the Top

As Xie Fuyao's figure dissolved into white light, the ten seconds of dead silence in the Virtual Combat Center were finally shattered by a system notification sound that nearly blew the roof off.

[Server-Wide Announcement!]

[Congratulations to the freshman of Class F, Jiang You!]

[With an impressive record of 7 wins and 1 loss, he has successfully secured the first qualifying spot for this year's Hundred Schools League internal selection tournament!]

[The King is crowned, standing alone at the top!]

"BOOM!!!"

The entire Magic City Martial Arts University was in an absolute frenzy!

"He won! He actually won!"

"A mid-stage Third-Order beating a Peak Fourth-Order! And it was a one-sided crushing, complete with slapping! You wouldn't even dare to film something like this in a movie!"

"What Chief Xie? From today on, the heavens of Magic City Martial Arts University have changed! Jiang You is the only god!"

Inside the combat pod.

[Brain] pushed up its glasses with satisfaction: "Job done. Returning control to the Slacker Ruler. I hope he's satisfied with our handiwork when he wakes up and sees this record."

As the organs receded like a tide, Jiang You's consciousness regained control of his body.

"Ugh..."

Jiang You opened his eyes groggily, rubbing his slightly sore shoulders, his mind still a bit blank:

"That guy Xie Fuyao hit way too hard. Did he give me amnesia?"

He pushed open the pod door, and the moment he poked his head out, he felt a wave of overwhelming enthusiasm rush toward him.

"Brother Jiang!! You are my god!!!"

Gou Fugui was the first to slide onto his knees in front of Jiang You, holding up his phone. The screen was filled with a series of transfer notifications, and he was so excited that a snot bubble was about to pop out:

"Brother Jiang! We're rich! When you landed that slap just now, the real-time extreme betting odds outside the arena exploded! Not only is our marriage fund safe, it's tripled!"

"Big Brother is amazing!" Bai Lan hopped over and hugged Jiang You's leg, her fox eyes sparkling: "That bad guy in white got beaten until he cried! Does that mean my two-dollar ice cream is secured?"

Xiang Batian was flexing his biceps while frantically scribbling in a small notebook:

"It's so scientific! Brother Jiang, to think you could use technique and micro-management to defeat an opponent so many realms higher than you. How do you usually train? Are there any secrets other than sleeping a lot?"

And at the very back of everyone, Lu Xingye stood facing the wind, looking up at the ceiling at a forty-five-degree angle, his tone deep and tragic:

"No need for words. The moment the Demon King tore through the firmament, the hypocrisy of the old era crumbled. Jiang You, you have finally revealed your unspeakable terror to the world..."

Jiang You looked at this group of "hidden dragons and phoenixes" chirping around him, the corner of his mouth twitching wildly.

"Stop, stop, stop!"

Jiang You quickly covered his ears, looking disgusted: "What power techniques? What Demon King? I only remember taking a nap. Didn't I lose?"

Jiang You's memory was still clearly stuck on the moment Xie Fuyao's black water fist, carrying the weight of ten thousand tons, was about to smash into his forehead.

He had been exhausted at the time and had even prepared to close his eyes and wait for death, but then everything went black, and when he opened his eyes again, he was already out of the combat pod.

Therefore, he was absolutely certain that he had been one-shot by Xie Fuyao's punch!

Watching everyone, whose faces were flushed with excitement, Jiang You sighed and patted Gou Fugui's shoulder with some emotion:

"Fugui, brother knows you all want to comfort me, but there's really no need to force the praise."

"Losing to a Peak Fourth-Order isn't shameful. At worst, I'll just be a substitute and bring you tea and towels."

"As for that marriage fund you lost in the betting pool... sigh, let's not talk about that for now. Let's talk about buying ice cream for Little Bai."

Gou Fugui: "???"

Xiang Batian: "???"

Lu Xingye: "..."

The entire Class F stared at each other, looking at Jiang You as if he were an idiot.

Gou Fugui swallowed hard, pointed a trembling finger at the massive, golden-glowing holographic screen in the center of the hall, and said cautiously:

"Brother Jiang... did the water pressure of the Weak Water squeeze your Brain into water while you were in the virtual pod?"

"Look at the big screen! You won!"

"Not only did you win, you pinned Chief Xie to the white jade platform and slapped him like crazy, and in the end, you even cruelly drained his Fourth-Order spiritual power dry!"

"Huh?"

Jiang You was stunned.

He followed Gou Fugui's finger and turned his head stiffly.

When he clearly saw the dazzling [7 Wins 1 Loss, First to Qualify] text next to his name on the big screen.

Jiang You's Brain completely crashed.

"What the f*ck? I won?"

Jiang You widened his half-open, dead-fish eyes, a storm raging in his heart.

"How the hell did I win?! I clearly didn't even have the strength to lift my hand back then!"

"Slapping? Draining spiritual power? Is this something a mid-stage Third-Order like me could actually do?"

Jiang You looked down at his hands, recalling his own extremely absurd "dark history," and a thought that made his hair stand on end instantly struck his mind:

"It's over..."

"Could it be... my sleepwalking disorder has flared up again?"

"And this time, not only am I sleepwalking in reality, but I can even sleepwalk inside a mentally connected virtual pod?"

Just as Jiang You's mind was filled with thoughts of "Who am I, where am I, and what kind of heinous things have I done?"

Meanwhile, on the other side of the lounge.

"Hiss—"

Accompanied by a heavy hydraulic sound, Xie Fuyao's combat pod door slowly opened.

His face was as pale as paper, his eyes hollow and lifeless, and he walked out unsteadily like a walking corpse that had lost its soul.

"Chief Xie!"

"Senior, are you okay?"

Several upperclassmen from Class A rushed over, trying to support him, but were rejected by Xie Fuyao with a dull wave of his hand.

He ignored everyone's comfort, just stood there, staring intently at his own hands.

He lost.

Lost completely, lost without a shred of dignity left.

Under the crushing weight of absolute power, realm, and even rules, his so-called "genius" pride was simply ridiculous.

"Why did I lose so miserably..."

Xie Fuyao took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the humiliation in his heart.

He wanted to ask Jiang You, to ask him exactly how he had defeated him.

He took heavy steps, pushed through the crowd, and walked toward Jiang You.

However.

When he reached the edge of the Class F area and just opened his mouth, preparing to ask with the humble attitude of a seeker of truth...

He saw an extremely abstract scene ahead.

Jiang You was impatiently flicking Lu Xingye's forehead with his finger: "Stop adding drama for me! What Demon King? I went to compete, not to destroy the world!"

He then turned his head and kicked Gou Fugui in the ass: "Split the money! You have to split half of that betting money with me! Don't think I don't know you opened a private betting pool in my name!"

Xiang Batian was still on the side, vividly imitating Jiang You's slapping motion, causing Bai Lan to clap and cheer.

"..."

The "question of truth-seeking" that had reached Xie Fuyao's lips was stuck firmly in his throat; he couldn't swallow it down, nor could he spit it out.

Looking at this group of Class F students who had absolutely no air of peerless experts and even seemed to be missing some Brain stems, he once again fell into deep existential doubt.

"I... was I just rubbed into the ground like a grandson by this kind of person?"

Xie Fuyao closed his eyes, an indescribable sense of absurdity sweeping over his entire body.