And the day of the tournament finally arrived. About a month later, the students gathered in the great fields of Divine Path Academy, a stadium-like area filled with grass and arenas. Entire coliseums that were vast enough to house interclass wars, they probably covered about 250,000 square meters. Almost a whole district on its own.
The Divine Path Academy was pretty much a miniature neighborhood in itself, with its own facilities, stores and other amenities. Though not all the students lived in dormitories, those that did inhabited a condominium styled building that was divided into two wings. One for guys, one for girls. Personally, I preferred to live with my family and be a filial son, so I didn't bother with dormitories. I preferred sticking with my parents and brother.
"I hope you all will compete in good spirit and honor. Winning may be important, but it's not everything. You should display excellent sportsmanship and not resent each other over the results. Compete intensely but fairly. Any misconduct, such as cheating, will not be tolerated. Is that understood?"
The principal stood on the podium, his voice magically magnified by an artifact. All the students chorused their understanding, standing in rows that were separated by classes. I was in the regular class, and looking over at where the elite class was standing, I was reminded of the past when I was in there.
Aside from Li Wang, I didn't really have any real friendship with most of the people there. Not like I did with Tong Xue, Hao Ren and Qin Ying. Even Long Fan Xue was someone who was distant, a cold beauty who appeared to look down on almost everybody. It was no wonder I kept my distance from her.
Around me, though, most of my classmates didn't seem interested. They had already given up right from the start, resigned to defeat. Even though Qin Ying tried to rally them and get them to work with us, they refused. None of them showed up during the strategy meetings or deigned to speak to us about the tournament.
"Why bother?" Mi Sheng had asked, pushing us away. Like the others, he had refused to hear us out, which was why they didn't know I was offering to help with spirit stones support. "We are going to lose no matter what we do. There's no way we can beat the elite class."
Normally, he would have a point. Now that I thought about it, the system was highly flawed. The elite class was at an overwhelming advantage, and so I had no idea why the school thought it was a good idea to pit two classes with opposite abilities against each other. Like, what was the point? There was no even playing field, it was almost like throwing zebras into a den of lions.
Perhaps this was just a public display to make the elite class look good, butter up their egos and instill more confidence (and arrogance) in them? But why do this at the expense of the regular class's pride? What was in it for us? Sure, the prizes were amazing, but the odds of us winning were beyond miniscule. It was as if the tournament had been rigged right from the start.
Oh, and I had helped Tong Xue, Hao Ren and Qin Ying with their training. Qin Ying, not as much, though she had quit her parttime job at the bar to focus on cultivating. She had talent, and now that she didn't have to worry about money or helping her parents against loan sharks, she could fully focus on training. She didn't need any assistance from me at all, and on her own, she made tremendous progress. My suspicions were right – if it weren't for her family circumstances, she would have become an elite student.
That didn't mean talent or genius was everything. Hao Ren was a diligent and determined worker, and he improved by leaps and bounds under my direction. All he needed were resources and several instructions. I had brought him and Tong Xue over to my house to receive training from my dad, who was more than happy to teach them.
"You know, you gave me a good idea," he had said after the two of them went home one night. "I should open my own dojo."
Well, that was something for the future, I supposed. For now, Tong Xue and Hao Ren were the very first disciples of my father, excluding me and my brother. I wasn't sure if this was the start of the Song Dojo, but it was kind of funny, now that I thought about it. I only asked dad to help out because I needed my friends to become as strong as possible within a month.
Tong Xue wasn't as hardworking as Hao Ren, but he was more cunning (and better at running away), so he should be fine. I wasn't worried about him, but I couldn't totally rely on him. It wasn't that I didn't trust him. On the contrary, I could trust him to run away once things look disadvantageous for the team.
Fortunately, that was what my summoned spirit beasts were for.
"You guys ready?" I asked when the principal wrapped up his speech. Qin Ying nodded, steeling her resolve.
"Yeah."
"I'll do my best!" Hao Ren slammed a fist into a palm, flexing his arms. He produced a sword. "I won't let you and your father down! I'll show them the fruits of my training!"
Tong Xue grimaced. "I'll help as much as I can, but no promises."
"Please don't run away too early," Qin Ying chided him. "Or we'll punish you after the match."
"Don't worry, class rep. In some ways, you guys are scarier than the elite class." Tong Xue gulped and turned to me. "Don't tell your dad if I get owned, okay? I don't think I can bear his punishment if he finds out."
"Hey, my dad is ex-military. You should have seen how he was when I was younger. I'd say you are lucky he mellowed out."
While we bantered, Long Fan Xue swaggered over, accompanied by her entourage.
"I suggest you forfeit the match," she said. "There's no reason anyone should get hurt in a simple school tournament."
"Don't decide that on your own," Qin Ying retorted, taking a step forward. "You seem to think that you've already won."
"The disparity in strength between our classes is clear for all to see. You can't just overcome the difference with sheer grit." Long Fan Xue then stared at Qin Ying coldly. "But if you're that desperate to be crushed, then I'll gladly oblige you."
I didn't know why she was so hostile toward Qin Ying, but I stepped between them. "Whatever the case, we aren't forfeiting yet. Why bother having a tournament and competing if you're just going to look at evaluations and analyses or just measure power levels, ranks or whatever? You might as well compete with records and evaluation reports instead of holding an actual tournament."
"The tournament is just a sham, to put on a show for the public. And investors. It's just an excuse to award the elite class resources."
"Aren't you guys looking down on the regular classes too much?" Tong Xue grumbled. Kuang Zhe burst out laughing.
"Who ask you guys to be so weak? You deserve such treatment. In this world, only the strong has the right to rule! All the weak exist to be trampled upon by the strong!"
What was with this bullshit logic? All the criminals, such as the loan sharks, or scoundrels like Han Yi Qian always said the same damned thing, only to start groveling the moment they met someone stronger. What was worse was that this rhetoric was spouted by people with only a bit of strength. Like, they were only Yellow or Mystic rank, not even Earth rank, and yet they went around behaving as if they were the strongest and robbing people. Just because they were the big fish in a small pond and had yet to experience the map change effect where they had yet to meet stronger people in other parts of the world. Seriously, the "strong eat the weak" bullshit was just a justification for them to bully other people.
You rarely see the truly strong people behave like that. I remembered my dad and even the bar owner, who were Earth ranked cultivators. Yet they didn't put on airs and acted like they ruled the world. There was always a taller mountain, and once you attained such a high level of strength, you probably became aware of the responsibility put on your shoulders. They were above such earthly concerns like authority.
I bet the few Heaven ranked cultivators who dwelled in our world were only worried about the survival of humanity rather than behaving like kings and queens. I hadn't actually heard of any of them trying to take over as a sovereign or ruler of any nation, or carving out their own kingdom. Most of them were the heads of their own cultivator sects or organizations, which were dedicated to slaying spirit beasts and protecting people rather than…dominating citizens. Of course, you always had a few bad apples in the basket, cultivators who made use of their association with those Heaven ranked cultivators or their sects to bully others and grab advantages for themselves, but these were people lower down the ladder, and not actually the top cultivators themselves.
Perhaps they didn't do it because they knew it would break the balance of power. I wondered if I would ever reach their ranks. What would it be like to be a Heaven ranked cultivator? I still remembered the terrifying power of Long Wang when he was just unsealed, the unfathomable power that made him seem like a god. Just what would it be like to stand at the pinnacle of such strength?
"Song Jun Wen?"
"Huh? Oh. Li Wang."
While I had spaced out, not wanting to listen to the meaningless rabble of my former classmates from the elite class, they had moved on, annoyed at our refusal to forfeit, Li Wang had shown up. He smiled and nodded to my current classmates before turning to me.
"Don't pay Long Fan Xue and the others much attention. I believe in you."
"Thanks. I appreciate it."
"I hope for a good match, though…" Li Wang paused and shook his head. "I'm withdrawing from the fight. I don't wish to participate in it."
"Huh?" That took me by surprise. "Why?"
Li Wang sighed heavily. "This whole thing is a farce. The higherups only think of artificially crafting an impressive image for the elite class and create an excuse for giving us resources. Yet, I can't agree with the manner in which they do so. Is there a need to suppress the regular students like this?" He then smiled. "Don't worry, I'm not doing this out of sympathy or to give my class a handicap against you guys. I'm abiding by my own principles. I just refuse to be a part of this…corruption."
"I understand." I chuckled. "Already, we have students from my regular class pulling out or just being absent today." I glanced around, and there were just the four of us who showed up. The rest had moved away to inform a bemused Teacher Jiao that they were forfeiting their places. A few showed up with medical certificates, faking their illnesses, while the rest outright refused to participate.
Under normal circumstances, this would be a walkover for the elite class. All of them had shown up, for if you didn't participate – like Li Wang – you wouldn't be awarded the "prizes." Li Wang had sacrificed his right to the prizes because he wanted to take a stand, and I respected that. Though, personally, I was relieved that we wouldn't have to face a powerful cultivator in the tournament. He was second in the elite class, perhaps even on par with Long Fan Xue. I didn't know if he had already attained Mystic rank, but I could detect a firm strength underneath his calm demeanor. He would definitely be a formidable opponent if we had to fight him.
But he was the only elite class student absent from the match. The rest had already taken up their places.
"Good luck," Li Wang said, placing a hand on my shoulder. "Show them what you're made of, and prove all those higherups wrong. Make sure you slap their faces real good."
I smiled at that. "I'll see what I can do."
"He seems like a good friend," Tong Xue said after Li Wang left. He sighed. "Too bad he's not allowed to join our team, or I'll ask him to help."
"Let's go," Qin Ying said, and for some reason she was in a bad mood. Probably because of that taunt from Long Fan Xue. "Even without the help of anyone from the elite class, we can still do this."
"Hey, Song Jun Wen used to be from the elite class, you know?" Hao Ren reminded her. She blushed.
"He doesn't count! He's an exception! He's one of us now!"
"Right. Thanks." Not paying attention to them, I went toward the stage where the teachers were waiting. They mostly served in a referee capacity and would step in to ensure things wouldn't get too dangerous.
"Are you sure about this?" Teacher Jiao Shi asked, stopping the four of us before we could ascend to the arena. I nodded.
"Yeah. We're sure. We'll make you proud, Teacher Jiao."
"I don't care about pride, but I want you guys to be safe. Don't be reckless, and if you're in danger, surrender immediately."
"We'll be fine, Teacher Jiao." Qin Ying smiled reassuringly. "We'll prove it to you."
He studied us before he nodded. "I believe you. I've seen you guys work hard over the last few months, and I'm confident your efforts will bear fruit." He raised a hand and shoved me forward. "Show everyone your power!"
"Yeah." I took a deep breath and stepped onto the stage. The elite class was already waiting, the students' faces all filled with sneers or dismissive indifference, as if this was a complete waste of their time. I smirked, eager to wipe those expressions off their faces.
And thus, the match between the regular class and the elite class began.