Chapter 159 -
"I knew it!"
Shen Wushuang smiled with confidence. "There's always a bigger fish. Study hard, and try again next year!"
The two of them chatted the whole way back to the Beast Taming Arena.
...
In a villa on the north side of Nanjiang City.
A group of people were chatting and socializing, exchanging pleasantries about this and that.
The screen at the front of the room had turned into a garish mess of colors — clearly not a legitimate website.
Everyone glanced over and their expressions instantly shifted. None of them had expected this outcome.
"Chen Shu actually lost? Wasn't he supposed to be invincible in Nanjiang?"
"Dammit, that was money straight down the drain!"
The group erupted into heated chatter. Every single one of them had bet on Chen Shu steamrolling all six schools.
One man shot to his feet, voice brimming with righteous fury: "It's all a scam! I swear on my life — I am DONE with gambling!"
"..."
The room fell into collective speechlessness.
Someone spoke up: "Huang... you didn't exactly include your name in that oath..."
The man coughed and tried again: "I, Huang, swear on my life — I am DONE with gambling!"
"Oh, give it a rest..."
Though they'd lost money, this had always been more about entertainment. Nobody was too bothered — the real purpose of gathering here was to rub shoulders with Nanjiang's upper crust.
Chen Shu had won fifty million in total, but it was spread across hundreds of bettors. Each person had only lost a hundred thousand or so — pocket change for the wealthy.
...
That evening, Chen Shu's balance had indeed grown by sixty-three million yuan.
Five million had been skimmed off by Fang Si as her "handling fee," and another two million went to the platform's transaction charges.
"Charge +1!"
Chen Shu had also received the System's option reward. A true harvest on all fronts!
"Xiao Xing, does your family have a large stock of Beast Taming Pearls?"
Xu Xingxing, who was in the middle of changing into his psychiatric ward uniform, paused. "How many do you need?"
"About forty million yuan's worth!"
At that, Xu Xingxing — mid-psychiatric-uniform — froze solid. Xie Sunan, who was sharpening his butcher's knife, wore an equally dumbfounded expression.
"Are you insane? That many? What the hell do you need them for?"
"Leveling up! I need to push for Level 9 Beast Tamer before the exam!"
"..."
Both of them shook their heads in unison. This was absolutely unhinged. They'd never seen anyone blow money like this.
Xu Xingxing spoke up: "I think you'd be better off using that to comprehend a skill or two."
"You can gain levels through regular cultivation."
By normal logic, anyone with that kind of money would prioritize skill upgrades first, then potions, and only then Beast Taming Pearls.
But unfortunately for normal logic, Chen Shu didn't lack skills, and his potion development was already near-perfect.
The critical thing was that he wanted to reach Black Iron rank before the College Entrance Exam — and then shock all of Huaxia in one fell swoop!!
"Forget it — buying skills takes way too long."
Chen Shu shook his head. Lord-tier materials were extremely scarce resources. You couldn't just buy them on demand.
Especially specific skills — those required time and patience to source.
Chen Shu had sold the Frost Giant Wolf Lord's heart to Ouyang Bao at a premium, but the buyer hadn't gotten a bad deal either, because it saved him an enormous amount of time.
"Let me check. We should have them — Beast Taming Pearls are always in demand."
Beast Taming Pearls came from Variant-tier fierce beasts, so they were naturally far less rare than Lord-tier materials.
Chen Shu mentally reviewed his remaining spending plans. He had zero intention of saving any of it.
Money wasn't spent — it just changed form to stay by your side...
The next morning.
The trio arrived at the cafeteria for breakfast. Quite a few students kept stealing glances their way, eyes full of admiration.
Suddenly, a male student shouted at the top of his lungs: "Pi-shen! I want to have your babies!"[1]
Immediately, a crowd joined in on the commotion.
"Reporting in! Reporting! Requesting fencing!"[2]
"A sharp sword! Sharp eyes! I crave a worthy opponent!"
"..."
The three of them wolfed down their breakfast at record speed and fled the scene. This was getting into forced-man-trapping territory.[3]
"Dammit, why are they ALL guys?!"
Chen Shu's mouth twitched. He couldn't help but shake his head.
Xie Sunan grinned. "Chen Pi, who knew you were this popular!"
"I'd rather NOT have this kind of popularity!"
Despite his defeat, Chen Shu had still become famous overnight. At the very least, every student in Nanjiang knew his name.
Especially those who'd been on the receiving end of his beatdowns — they probably had nightmares about a "giant turd" chasing them in their sleep.
The three of them walked arm-in-arm, watching students stream past.
Xu Xingxing piped up: "Huh? How come everyone's heading toward the main auditorium?"
"Maybe there's some kind of event?"
Chen Shu sighed. "Too bad it's got nothing to do with us."
The trio headed to the Beast Taming Arena. The Special Training Class had already assembled.
"No class this morning. Everyone head to the auditorium!"
A collective cheer erupted, and the students poured out of the arena.
As long as it meant no class, anything was fine...
By the time they arrived, the auditorium was already packed to the rafters. Standing room only.
Xu Xingxing's eyes went wide. "The entire school is here? Something big must be happening! It's not bad news, is it?"
"Always look on the bright side."
Chen Shu patted him on the shoulder. "Maybe the school's just going bankrupt."
"..."
That would indeed be good news...
"Spouting nonsense again? Want to go commune with nature?"
Shen Wushuang appeared behind the trio. "Chen Pi — this one's about you!"
"About me?"
Chen Shu's eyes spun as a sly grin spread across his face. "Don't tell me they're screening my show?"
The timing made sense — the TV station should have finished editing by now.
"All homeroom teachers, please guide your students to their seats in an orderly fashion!"
The pot-bellied principal waddled up to the stage and addressed the crowd: "Today, we will be watching a video! Starring our very own senior, Chen Shu!"
"I'm sure many of you already know the general story. Through sheer strength, Chen Shu crushed school after school, bringing glory to Nanjiang Second High!"
"Although he ultimately fell due to overconfidence, there's no denying that he remains the pride of Nanjiang Second High!"
The auditorium erupted in thunderous applause, eyes blazing with excitement.
One man had singlehandedly toppled every major high school in Nanjiang. A true role model for the ages!
Chen Shu cleared his throat and sat ramrod straight. Whoever glanced his way received a warm, gracious smile.
He looked so approachable. So refined and elegant!
The projector screen at the front of the auditorium flickered to life, displaying the edited video from Nanjiang TV.
The hall fell deathly silent. Every eye fixed on the screen, eager to witness Chen Shu's dashing heroics.
However, once the video began playing, every student in the school lost their minds...
"Hello everyone! I'm Chen Shu from Nanjiang Second High!"
The opening introduction was perfectly normal. But as the video continued, something went horribly wrong...
The interviewing reporter's voice was normal. Everyone else's voices were normal.
But every single time the camera turned to Chen Shu — an unrelenting barrage of "BEEP BEEP BEEP" erupted one after another.
Word after word was bleeped out. You couldn't find a single complete sentence in the entire thing.
"What the hell did you say in that interview?!"
Shen Wushuang's mouth twitched. He could feel a headache forming.
"Just... my normal everyday words. I feel like they should've been fine..."
Chen Shu hadn't expected this either. So THIS was what they'd meant by "editing."
In truth, the TV station's post-production editors had been driven to the brink of madness. Chen Shu's footage was an all-or-nothing proposition — either you cut nothing, or you cut everything.
To ensure the video could actually air, they had no choice but to apply profanity filters on every flagged word. And so... this masterpiece was born.
The principal stood on stage looking equally shell-shocked. He hadn't previewed the video. If he'd known it was this outrageous, he never would have organized today's assembly.
Chen Shu faced the crowd's collective stare, spread his palms in a shrug, and said with perfect innocence:
"What did I do wrong? I'm just a humble telegram operator with professional standards..."
The auditorium fell into dead silence. The only sound echoing through the hall was "BEEP... BEEP... BEEP..."
If an outsider had witnessed this scene, they'd have called the Spirit Suppression Bureau immediately. Screening this kind of video for the entire student body? How was this not a bandit training camp?!
At long last, the video reached a turning point...