Chapter 12: Front Page of the Academy Gazette

Chapter 12: Academy Newspaper Headline

Seeing Qin Zhe’s indifferent expression, Zhou Wentong’s mouth opened and closed a few times, unsure of what to say.

He was never good with words to begin with; everything he could say had already been said, leaving him momentarily tongue-tied.

Regarding the bet, Zhou Wentong naturally had no intention of truly following through.

Not only had he not expected to lose, but even if he did, how could he possibly bring himself to ruin his own body?

He lowered his head in thought, then pulled out an exquisite pouch.

“I’m not much of a talker, and I’ve already expressed my apologies. Now I want to show my sincerity. Inside this storage pouch are one hundred mid-grade spirit stones—consider it a token of goodwill. But don’t misunderstand; the grudges between us…”

Before he could finish, Qin Zhe snatched the pouch with a broad smile.

“Brother! Didn’t expect you to be so straightforward! Qin Zhe accepts you as a friend!”

“…”

Zhou Wentong was speechless, stuck once again.

He had wanted to acknowledge that Qin Zhe was a formidable martial artist and that when he grew stronger, he would reclaim his honor.

Who would have thought Qin Zhe was such a money lover, eagerly grabbing the pouch and proclaiming friendship…

Had he truly lost to this simpleton?

Zhou Wentong stood there stunned, beginning to question his life choices.

Qin Zhe, clutching the pouch, was in exceptionally good spirits, cheerfully saying,

“Brother, you’re generous! Come to me anytime if you need help. I’ll do what I can! I have to go on duty now, so I’ll leave first!”

With that, Qin Zhe quickly slipped away.

Nothing else mattered, but seeing Zhou Wentong’s miserable expression made Qin Zhe worry he might regret it.

He couldn’t take the one hundred mid-grade spirit stones from Zhou Wu yesterday—

That feeling haunted him in his dreams!

Now that Zhou Wentong was “sending money” again, how could he miss out?

…

Having scored a free one hundred mid-grade spirit stones, Qin Zhe arrived at the academy square in high spirits.

By now, many students had already gathered, with more trickling in intermittently.

The Discipline Department was maintaining order, making the scene very orderly.

As Qin Zhe took his place, he noticed many students looking at him.

At first, he didn’t pay much attention.

Defeating Zhou Wentong had made him famous in the academy.

Then Zhou Wu stirred things up on the forum, and now he was almost at the center of attention—it was only natural to be noticed.

But whether it was his imagination or not, Qin Zhe felt that the girls were looking at him strangely today.

Especially the girls from the Martial Arts Department—they eyed him like he was some kind of wolf, full of caution and distance.

Feeling their unusual gazes, a bad premonition stirred in Qin Zhe’s heart.

Just then, Liu Qingzhi appeared, descending gracefully onto the square and finally landing beside Qin Zhe.

The presence of the department head immediately eased Qin Zhe’s tension, and most people averted their eyes.

Seeing Liu Qingzhi arrive, Qin Zhe composed himself and greeted her.

“Good morning, Minister.”

“Hm.”

Liu Qingzhi nodded, gracefully producing a newspaper and handing it over.

“You made the front page of the academy newspaper.”

“Front page?”

Qin Zhe frowned, took the newspaper, and opened it—only to feel his vision darken.

Shocking! The new martial arts prodigy is actually cultivating the True Self Heart Sutra! The so-called counter-shock martial arts are fake! Girls, be careful!

Reading a headline reminiscent of some sensationalist news outlet from a past life, Qin Zhe nearly levitated on the spot.

Yu Shuangshuang!

Without even glancing at the byline, Qin Zhe instantly thought of that exceptionally pure-faced girl.

Liu Qingzhi, seeing his expression turn sour as he held the newspaper, asked,

“Did you offend that bitch from the news department?”

“Bitch?”

Qin Zhe was taken aback but quickly sensed something.

For the usually icy department head to utter such a word suggested this person was no ordinary character.

“The news department’s minister.”

Liu Qingzhi’s expression remained unchanged, showing no discomfort at the word.

Meeting her clear yet slightly cold gaze, Qin Zhe dared not pry further and shook his head.

“No, I don’t know the news department minister. But yesterday, a girl named Yu Shuangshuang from the news department came to interview me in the library. This headline is probably her doing.”

He hesitated before explaining further.

“At that moment, I happened to find a tome recording the True Self Heart Sutra. When I tried to activate it, something went wrong, and she happened to catch it.”

“Understood.”

Liu Qingzhi nodded.

“Focus on your duty and don’t overthink it. The news department has been sensationalizing headlines for a long time. People just read it for entertainment; it won’t affect you much.”

With that, Liu Qingzhi walked away.

Qin Zhe watched her leave, took a deep breath, and quietly put down the newspaper.

He understood the reasoning—but could he really tolerate this?

As if on cue, when Qin Zhe lifted his head, he unexpectedly saw Yu Shuangshuang hopping across the square, clearly in a good mood.

Qin Zhe almost ground his teeth to bits.

If he weren’t tied up, he’d rush over and pin Yu Shuangshuang to the ground, rubbing her back and forth!

Cherishing and protecting her?

No such thing!

Yu Shuangshuang, possessing a second-rank immortal cultivation, was quite perceptive and quickly sensed someone glaring at her.

Looking around in confusion, she soon spotted Qin Zhe maintaining order.

Meeting his glare that seemed to want to devour her alive, Yu Shuangshuang’s heart trembled and she abruptly stopped.

The look in his eyes was unmistakable—this was someone not to be trifled with!

Without hesitation, she decisively changed direction, giving him a wide berth…

…

As the assessment time drew near, more and more students from the three departments gathered in the academy square.

Looking over the bustling crowd, Qin Zhe made an estimate.

There were roughly over two thousand students present, nearly all the third-year students from the three departments.

Scanning the groups, Qin Zhe was surprised to find that the Martial Arts Department wasn’t the largest.

He roughly counted about nine hundred students from the Immortal Path Department, six to seven hundred from Martial Arts, and the fewest from the Demonic Path.

This discovery piqued Qin Zhe’s curiosity.

He had researched online before and learned that about ten percent of the world’s population possessed cultivation aptitude, divided between the Immortal and Demonic Paths.

The Demonic Path had a worse reputation than the Immortal, and some of its techniques caused practitioners to become volatile and unstable, so fewer people chose it.

As for Martial Arts, anyone willing to endure hardship could practice it.

Though those with talent found it easier, the essence of Martial Arts was enduring the hardest trials to become the best.

Excluding those with cultivation aptitude, Martial Arts should have been quite popular.

Even simply for future job prospects, those who had trained in Martial Arts would stand out more easily than ordinary people—so why were there so few?

If this were Qin Zhe’s old world, martial training would be a nationwide craze for survival.

Lost in thought, Qin Zhe saw the Student Affairs Director Liu Botao appear on the central podium.

Is it finally starting?

He gathered his thoughts and looked up.

(End of chapter)