31: Chapter 31 Who is Su Bai?

Su Bai?

The whole venue fell silent for a beat.

Immediately after, many people began to discuss it heatedly.

"Su Bai? Who is Su Bai?"

"Quick, check it out. Which master is this that even the Supreme is interested in!"

"Wait a second, Old Zhou, is Su Bai that person in your class?"

"That's unlikely, isn't he the one ranked dead last?"

"..."

The teacher group was asking frantically, while the chambers of commerce and some old professors were searching wildly to see if there was any professor named Su Bai in the world, checking to see if he had published any relevant papers.

Li Qingyue was even taken aback: "Who is Su Bai?"

Given her experience, she had absolutely no impression of this person in her mind.

She looked at Vice President Wu Molin beside her, and he quickly shook his head to indicate he didn't know either.

Finally, everyone's gaze converged once again on Zhao Dahai.

"Su Bai is, is just a classmate in my group—I'm not bragging! Really! I'm in the same group as him. Three days ago, I saw the card circuit he designed, and then I realized something—just a little bit! Less than one-thousandth! But that little bit made me redesign all my circuits!"

Zhao Dahai was incoherent, but he didn't need to explain clearly.

Because the name "classmate" was enough.

Everyone's gaze in the venue—including Li Haoran's, including the examiners', including those chamber of commerce executives', including Li Qingyue's own.

All of them. As if drawn by a magnet, they turned to the young man standing at the edge of the queue. Su Bai.

Su Bai felt the gazes from all directions stabbing at him like daggers, and he subconsciously took half a step back.

[Su Bai, the mental fluctuations you are producing right now are very interesting. If you sign a contract—]

"Shut up." [Understood.]

On the high platform, Li Qingyue rested her chin on one hand, her crimson eyes staring at the young man below. Her gaze seemed to pierce through Su Bai's body, looking directly at the magic card in his hand.

Then she smiled. That smile made Vice President Wu Molin's spine turn cold.

"Interesting," Li Qingyue said softly.

"Zhao Dahai's Spatial Circuit is a brand-new structure. It doesn't look like his own original creation—he said he realized it from this Su Bai. He said he realized less than one-thousandth of it."

"One-thousandth. It allowed a student ranked last to execute a spatial compression self-detonation."

She paused. "Then what kind of thing is his own card?"

Vice President Wu Molin opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but he didn't know what to say. Because he was thinking about the same thing.

This was absurd. Theoretically, their school did have geniuses. After all, neither Li Haoran's nor Lin Xiao's families were lacking. Even though Lin Xiao's craftsmanship was a bit poor, her theoretical talent was there; she should have been able to produce something eye-catching.

But... who the hell knows who this Su Bai is!

He hadn't even heard of this name. Seeing Li Qingyue interested, he didn't know how to respond for a moment, so he had to look at the principal beside him.

The principal beside him wiped the sweat from his forehead, his gaze toward Su Bai becoming complicated.

He had an impression of this person, but it was limited to just a tiny bit...

Why did he remember that this kid seemed to be the student ranked last in the school? That shouldn't be right!

He tried hard to recall this student's file—on the report card for the first semester of the second year, this Su Bai ranked 169th out of 170 students in the grade... No, that seems to be second to last? It didn't matter, he was someone about to be expelled anyway...

And now, Master Li Qingyue was looking at this student with the eyes of a hunter discovering brand-new prey.

Seeing both Vice President Wu Molin's and Li Qingyue's gazes turn toward him, the principal's brain spun frantically. Soon, his eyes lit up as he thought of a reasonable explanation: "This student Su Bai is one of our school's... um, poor students. The school was completely unaware of this Spatial Circuit. However, to be able to let Zhao Dahai create such a commotion, this student named Su Bai must have had some fortuitous encounter and obtained a brand-new prototype of a Spatial Circuit."

A brand-new Spatial Circuit prototype was the only reasonable explanation at the moment. Only something like that could allow a poor student to have such an earth-shaking change in a short period of time.

A look of realization flashed across Vice President Wu Molin's face: "So that's how it is. Then we really must reward him well."

Li Qingyue raised an eyebrow and said noncommittally: "Come to think of it, there was a new paper yesterday that described a spatial prototype similar to the structure this child presented. The author of that paper is named Lin Weiwei. Do you two know her?"

"Lin Weiwei?" Hearing Li Qingyue say this, both Vice President Wu Molin and the principal were astonished. They both said simultaneously: "She is the eldest daughter of the Lin family."

The principal added: "Lin Weiwei herself is here too. Would you like to ask her personally? She is right there in the parents' seating area."

Li Qingyue nodded. She had figured out some of the puzzling parts, so she shook her head and said: "No need. Continue the test. It will be enough to finish testing the remaining two cards I'm interested in."

Her gaze looked toward the Mustard Seed Space again. "Zhao Dahai." Li Qingyue's voice rang out. "H-here!" "Your final evaluation—" She paused. "B+."

Boom! The whole venue exploded!

In the outside spectator area, the mobile phones of the chamber of commerce representatives began to vibrate crazily. [B+?! That fatty got a B+?!] [The materials he used weren't even a fraction of Li Haoran's, right?!] [Wait, B+ means—Master Li Qingyue thinks his card-making level far exceeds that of Li Haoran, who used money to stack his way to an A-?!] [Not just that! B+ is the highest rating in the venue so far—no, wait, Lin Xiao hasn't been tested yet—but Zhao Dahai! He was originally second to last!!]

The barrage comments went completely crazy. [Hahahaha, the fatty made a comeback!!] [My god!! Zhao Dahai!! B+!! Evaluated by Li Qingyue personally!!] [Wait, did you hear that—he said he learned it from Su Bai!!] [Who is Su Bai?!] [The one with 500-to-1 odds!! The student who made a ragdoll!!] [Holy crap!! The creator of the ragdoll taught a B+ student?!] [What kind of god-tier master-disciple combination is this?!]

Li Haoran stood under the stage. His dust-proof cloak remained motionless. But on that elegant face, his expression had completely frozen. C-. He got a C-.

Zhao Dahai, second to last in the class, using ordinary alloys and ordinary rune stones, got a B+. And it was evaluated by Li Qingyue personally. Furthermore—Zhao Dahai said he learned it from Su Bai.

Su Bai. The Su Bai who made a ragdoll.

The previous conversation flashed through Li Haoran's mind. Su Bai said: "Survival wisdom, that's a good term. I'll be able to use it later." At the time, he thought that was just the stubborn talk of the weak. Now... a layer of fine cold sweat seeped from his back. How on earth did this kid do it?

When Zhao Dahai walked down from the testing area, his legs were still shaking. But that kind of shaking was different from when he went on stage just now. Just now, he was shaking from fear. Now, he was shaking from excitement.

"Su Bai—Su Bai!" He rushed over and grabbed Su Bai's shoulders, his fat face smeared with tears and snot. "Did you hear that?! B+!! B+!! Did you hear that!! That Master Li Qingyue—she personally said B+!! She even said my Spatial Circuit is brand-new!! She said it was a stroke of genius!! A stroke of genius!! I've never been described with those four words in my entire life!!"

"I heard it, I heard it—let go—you got snot on my clothes—"

"I won't let go!!" Zhao Dahai choked with sobs, "My dad retired after being injured at the Abyss Front twenty years ago. His pension was a total of eighty thousand. He used to tell me that one should have self-awareness; if you aren't cut out for something, don't force it. I always thought I was the person who shouldn't be forcing it. But now—"

He looked up, tears streaming down his face. "Su Bai. Thank you."

Su Bai was stunned for a moment. Then he raised his hand and flicked Zhao Dahai on the forehead. "Don't be so sentimental. It's just a B+. Just wait and see my SSS."

Zhao Dahai broke into a smile through his tears. "Damn. You're at it again."

Beside them, Lin Xiao watched the two of them, the corners of her mouth slightly upturned. Then she stood up. Because that golden light in the sky—had already fallen on her and Su Bai.

"You two," Li Qingyue's voice came, carrying a subtle sense of anticipation, "take the stage together."