The atmosphere in the meeting room was terrifyingly quiet.
At this moment, in a corner of the school.
Huang Hao from Class 1, Grade 10, was standing nervously in front of a handsome young man.
"Brother." Huang Hao gritted his teeth and said, "I really didn't mean to leak it!"
"I just mentioned it to a few good friends, who knew they'd spread it around the whole school!"
A trace of panic flitted across Huang Hao's face; after all, this matter could be said to have started because of him.
In front of Huang Hao, the handsome young man's face was dark as he suppressed his anger and said, "Is saying all this useful now?"
He was Huang Hao's older brother, Huang Yunxuan, who was in the top ten of the Grade 12 hundred-strong rankings from Class 2, Grade 12!
As Liu Kaiqi's student, Huang Yunxuan was, of course, aware of the importance of this matter; even the principal had personally ordered strict confidentiality!
At that time, he slipped up while he was with his brother, Huang Hao.
But he had only told Huang Hao.
Unexpectedly, this kid turned out to be a big mouth and spread it all over the school!
Thinking of this, Huang Yunxuan finally couldn't hold back and slapped Huang Hao across the face.
"Useless! Always ruining things rather than accomplishing them!" Huang Yunxuan scolded angrily.
Huang Hao held his face, not complaining.
After Huang Yunxuan vented for a few minutes, Huang Hao spoke in a deep voice, "Brother, you hit me and scolded me, so what do we do now? Will the school expel us?"
"Expel us? No way!"
Huang Yunxuan snorted coldly, "It's just a secret, does the principal really think he'll expel us for a useless talent?"
"Ultimately, it's Cao Yong's fault; he deceived everyone, leading to today's situation."
Upon hearing this, Huang Hao's eyes immediately brightened up.
Right, his brother was among the top ten in the Grade 12 hundred-strong rankings.
And he himself was also on the Grade 10 hundred-strong rankings, and his rank wasn't low!
Just for saying a few truths, does the principal think he'll expel them?
"Indeed, what I said was true; that's a wasted talent anyway."
Huang Hao breathed a sigh of relief, saying, "Everyone will know sooner or later; I just happened to speak the truth earlier."
He snorted, "It was Cao Yong spreading rumors; if anyone's punished, it should be him!"
Huang Yunxuan glanced at him coldly, saying, "You can say this to me, but don't say it to others."
"Don't worry, brother, am I that stupid?" Huang Hao laughed.
Initially, he was quite nervous, but now it seemed the situation wasn't as severe!
For a while, he relaxed.
However, Huang Yunxuan's face was gloomy as he said, "Because of you, I don't even know if the principal will allow me to visit the Forbidden Zone of the Thousand Demon Cave!"
"The Forbidden Zone of the Thousand Demon Cave?" Huang Hao said indifferently, "It's just a forbidden zone; if not, so be it."
"What do you know, you fool!" Huang Yunxuan cursed, "That's Jiangzhou's most famous forbidden zone with countless benefits inside..."
...
Turmoil continued within the school.
Because all the class teachers were called to a meeting, every grade's classrooms were abuzz with discussions, creating a noisy environment.
However, there was an exception in one of the Grade 12 classes.
Currently, Class 3, Grade 12, was incredibly quiet. No one dared to discuss the matter loudly, and those who did only whispered in secret.
Everyone in Class 3 kept glancing occasionally at the corner of the classroom, at the cold and stunningly beautiful girl.
Li Ruoxi slowly opened her eyes, frowning slightly as she glanced at the few classmates whispering.
Yet, she didn't voice any reprimands.
She understood the school's situation better than most.
As the class president of Class 3, even if she restricted her classmates, she couldn't stop the current turmoil from brewing further.
At this moment, a pretty and pure-looking girl quietly approached Li Ruoxi.
"Ruoxi, I found out."
Lin Shishi whispered, "It was leaked by Huang Hao from Class 1, Grade 10. It's said he heard it from his brother."
Li Ruoxi glanced at her best friend, "His brother?"
"From Class 2, Grade 12, Huang Yunxuan," Lin Shishi added.
"So it was that useless guy."
An icy glint flashed through Li Ruoxi's eyes.
She always had a chilly demeanor, and now with coldness all over her face, the surrounding temperature seemed to drop significantly.
Lin Shishi shrank her neck, hurriedly reminding, "Ruoxi, your ranking is higher than his; you can't attack him."
This was the school's rule.
On the hundred-strong rankings, those ranked lower could challenge higher ranks.
But if someone ranked high attacked a lower rank, it wasn't a challenge but causing trouble, which was a violation.
Hearing her best friend's words, Li Ruoxi nodded without commenting further.
Seeing this, Lin Shishi pursed her lips, hesitantly asking, "When your brother hears about this, will it be a blow to him?"
Everyone in Class 3 knew Xu Zhou was Li Ruoxi's brother!
That's also why Class 3 was so quiet.
No one dared to say in front of Li Ruoxi that Xu Zhou's talent was fake, though most privately thought so.
Hearing Lin Shishi's words, Li Ruoxi calmly replied, "If he can't take such a blow, it shows he's hopeless, destined to be a weakling all his life."
Hearing this, a trace of helplessness flashed across Lin Shishi's face.
Li Ruoxi always seemed to look down on her brother, but as her best friend, Lin Shishi knew how much Xu Zhou mattered to her.
If she really didn't care, why spend so much money to treat his illness?
Over the three years of high school, Li Ruoxi's expenses on Xu Zhou were over a hundred thousand yuan, as far as Lin Shishi knew.
If that money had been spent on herself, Li Ruoxi would have easily topped the hundred-strong rankings; otherwise, how could she be overshadowed by the current first rank given her talent?
Of course, these were Li Ruoxi's secrets, which perhaps even Xu Zhou himself didn't know.
Only a three-year-long best friend like Lin Shishi had some inkling.
Lin Shishi sighed inwardly, said nothing more, and turned away.
Remaining in place, Li Ruoxi glanced at her friend, unsure what Lin Shishi was thinking, but too lazy to guess.
Li Ruoxi gazed out the window, a hint of worry flickering in her apricot eyes.
She wasn't worried about Xu Zhou not bearing the blow.
Though Xu Zhou was soft in character from a young age, he was equally resilient, like an indomitable cockroach.
No matter how much bullying he suffered, he wouldn't fight back but would always muster the strength to get back up.
Li Ruoxi's real concern was the school's possible action against Xu Zhou.
Now that things had spiraled to such a point, the best resolution was to scapegoat Cao Yong and Xu Zhou.
Although Li Ruoxi believed the principal wouldn't do that, if no other solution emerged, the school might resort to it for reputation's sake!
In that case, Xu Zhou and Cao Yong would become the city's disgrace.
Thinking of this, Li Ruoxi's expression grew increasingly frigid.
"Huang Yunxuan..." Coldness surged in her eyes. "The Forbidden Zone of the Thousand Demon Cave is opening soon; you better pray we don't meet there."
You couldn't make a move in school.
But in the forbidden zone, anything goes.
...
Xu Zhou was unaware of the outside disturbances for now.
Neither did the people in the training room.
By now, Xu Zhou had grasped the whole story from these people.
The rumors initially stemmed from a student named Huang Hao!
"Huang Hao from Class 1, Grade 10? 24th in the hundred-strong rankings?" Xu Zhou murmured.
Then, his eyes narrowed slightly.
He had long wanted to challenge the hundred-strong rankings.
Unexpectedly, someone was now offering themselves to him.
Xu Zhou turned to Wen Yuehui, asking, "What's the strength of the 24th in the Grade 10 hundred-strong rankings?"
Wen Yuehui paused, about to answer, but suddenly realized something and quickly said, "Xu Zhou, you're not thinking of challenging Huang Hao, are you?"
Xu Zhou didn't hide it, nodding directly.
Once again, the training hall erupted into an uproar.