Chapter 288: Please Take Care of Me
[The open qualifiers will begin in a little over half a month. That should be about when the main team members return from the Lost Lands, right?]
[The teachers arranged it long ago. The timing should line up perfectly.]
[Let the qualifiers come sooner!]
All the students were eagerly awaiting the start of the open qualifiers.
Once the qualifiers began, the curriculum would change accordingly. From the start of the competition onward, daily classes would be replaced with match viewings.
The intelligence department of Lian City would analyze which time slots featured the most worthwhile matches. All students would watch those matches during class, after which teachers would provide commentary or pose questions.
The City Ranking War was not broadcast live. Although it was the most important event, it was conducted with extreme secrecy. The public usually only learned the final results. So despite being the highlight, it didn’t attract especially high day-to-day attention.
The League, however, was different. It was fully livestreamed, with countless derivative industries and entertainment built around it. Every season was tremendously lively—nothing less than the grandest spectacle, practically a nationwide carnival.
In fact, as long as someone performed brilliantly in the League and became a “star player,” even if their overall strength was mediocre, they could still attract investments and endorsements from numerous companies. Getting rich overnight was almost guaranteed—though the price was signing what amounted to a contract of servitude.
One thing was certain: the League was absolutely fair. There were no hidden manipulations. Even if someone wanted to control the outcome, it would be impossible. As for why—that seemed to be a secret. The public only knew that the League was unquestionably impartial.
After leaving her dormitory, Xu Zhi rode for about half an hour before arriving at Building A. The vehicle wasn’t slow—the Inner Academy was simply enormous.
A-05 referred to the fifth floor of Building A. The building itself covered roughly eight thousand square meters. Lower-year students rarely had classes there; it was said that upper-year students often used it for practical courses.
Outside the building, Xu Zhi didn’t see many people. Presumably, due to the Lost Lands selection, no classes had been scheduled there today.
The first morning class had already started. Aside from those participating in the selection or who had taken leave, everyone else was already in the classroom.
As Xu Zhi stepped into Building A, her classmates were wondering why she hadn’t appeared.
“Did she take leave?”
“No, her name isn’t red.”
In the class app, students on leave had their names displayed in red.
“Did she oversleep?”
“Oh no, the teacher’s already here!”
No one thought Xu Zhi had gone to participate in the Lost Lands selection. There had never been a precedent of first-year students taking part. Not even second-years did. The minimum was always third-year.
Everyone simply assumed Xu Zhi was late. So when the teacher entered the classroom and completed roll call, the class collectively believed she was doomed for this session.
An unexplained absence as a freshman was serious trouble.
Unexpectedly, after finishing attendance, the teacher glanced at his wristband, looked up, and said, “Everyone’s here. We’ll continue with what we didn’t finish last class.”
Everyone’s here??
Confusion spread across the room. But soon, many students reacted—
If someone were absent, the teacher would definitely receive a notification. He wouldn’t say everyone was present. And Xu Zhi’s name wasn’t marked as on leave. The only situation where someone could be absent without being marked absent was participation in the selection.
“…”
“No way…”
“Are you serious?”
“….Did we get that wrong?”
“Come on, I know she’s ridiculous, but this ridiculous?!”
Even Meng Chuanling, who had personally witnessed Xu Zhi thrash a second-year senior, couldn’t suppress the shock on her face. Was it really what they were thinking?
“Quiet.”
The teacher tapped the desk at the podium.
He scanned the students’ complex expressions and eager, questioning eyes, cleared his throat, and said, “I know what you’re thinking. Student Xu Zhi is indeed participating in the selection.”
—Boom.
The classroom, which had just quieted down, erupted once more.
“Holy—my classmate is in the selection? Did I hear that right??”
“Now I can really say I know her…”
“How can the gap between people be this—”
“I refuse to accept this!!”
“It’s fine. Think about it—usually we’re the ones who can’t accept getting crushed by her. Now she’s going to the selection. The others probably can’t accept it either!”
“That makes sense. We shouldn’t be the only ones suffering.”
“This is unreal. How did she even get the qualification? Aren’t first- and second-years never given slots?”
“Do you think she’s an ordinary first-year?”
“….Weren’t we considered geniuses too?”
The speaker sounded increasingly unsure. Someone patted him on the shoulder.
“Look on the bright side. Even among geniuses, there are differences.”
The teacher waited for the noise to die down before signaling for silence again.
“You’re all aware of Xu Zhi’s situation. She’s… different. The school didn’t grant her the Lost Lands selection qualification casually. All right, discuss it after class. For now, focus and return to the lesson.”
In truth, he wasn’t entirely sure why the school had granted it either. He was just placating this restless group of students.
The Academic Affairs Office’s official explanation was “special talents receive special treatment.” Considering Xu Zhi’s usual performance, she certainly qualified as special.
The real question was how her combat ability measured up. The Lost Lands selection wasn’t something one could pass based on aptitude alone.
The elevator doors opened. Xu Zhi arrived at A-05 with five minutes to spare. On the way up, she hadn’t encountered anyone and had wondered where the other participants were.
It wasn’t until the guide waiting by the elevator led her to the selection site—and she saw the forty-nine people already standing there—that she understood.
So she was the only one who had cut it close?
Everyone else was quite enthusiastic.
And Xu Zhi, who clearly wasn’t enthusiastic enough about even the Lost Lands selection, naturally drew attention.
Of the forty-nine present, it wasn’t an exaggeration to say that even if they weren’t familiar with one another, they at least knew each other’s names and had some understanding of each other’s extraordinary attributes or abilities.
Only Xu Zhi—the girl who arrived last—looked completely unfamiliar.
Almost the moment they saw her, everyone concluded that she was definitely not an upper-year student.
Among them, someone with a good memory who frequented the forums and had seen the debates about Xu Zhi immediately recognized her and exclaimed in surprise, “First-year?!”
That single remark made the gazes falling on Xu Zhi even more peculiar.
You’ve got to be kidding. A first-year???
Under the scrutiny of the entire group, Xu Zhi remained remarkably composed. After that senior blurted out “first-year,” she even smiled and looked over politely, greeting him.
“Hello, seniors. It’s my first time participating in this selection.”
“Um… please take care of me?”
