Dawnless Sovereign
Chapter 26: Champion

Chapter 26: Champion

"Stop! Fang Che wins!"

The two referees hurriedly sprang to their feet.

"Stop! You've already won!"

One of them flew forward to catch Huo Churan before feeding him a pill, then carried him back onto the platform.

Only now did the two sabers fall out of the sky. Huo Churan's saber fell flat onto the platform, while Fang Che's saber fell like a speeding arrow, snapping Huo Churan's saber into two before piercing into the platform, where it stood like a flag of victory.

A team of medics rushed onto the platform to carry Huo Churan away.

One of them felt Huo Churan's pulse for a moment, then smiled as he declared, "He's still alive! Looks like Fang Che went easy on him!"

Most of the bones in Huo Churan's body were broken, and he barely had any teeth left, while his nose had completely sunken in, leaving him in a horrific condition.

The spectators were stunned by this assessment.

You call that "going easy?" The guy's barely even breathing!

Unbeknownst to them, Huo Churan had drawn the ire of all of the academy staff ever since he used those strange palm techniques, and seeing him beaten to a pulp had been a cathartic experience for everyone.

They should've intervened far earlier than they did, but they chose not to solely because it was Huo Churan on the receiving end!

They strongly suspected Huo Churan of being aligned with evil forces, and in their eyes, he was thoroughly deserving of this brutal pummeling.

Let that serve as a lesson to you not to just show off any cultivation arts in public! You're lucky that you're a new student. If you used those palm techniques during an examination in any of the higher year levels, no one would've batted an eyelid even if you had been beaten to death!

On the platform, Fang Che put on a warm and shy smile that was equal parts friendly and adorable, and he cupped his fist in an elegant salute as Huo Churan was being carried away. "Thank you for the battle, Brother Huo."

It was quite jarring to see him looking so innocuous and amicable right after delivering such a brutal beating, and everyone felt as if they were getting to know him again for the first time.

As usual, the girls were enamored.

In their eyes, Fang Che was the perfect man, one that could be gentle and approachable, but also brutal and merciless when it mattered.

His cloak was thrown up at him by Fang Qingyun from beneath the platform, and he calmly put it on, then extended a salute toward the two referees. "Thank you for your hard work."

The referees smiled and nodded in response.

Right at this moment, a white figure leaped onto the platform.

It was none other than Qiu Yunshang, much to the surprise of all of the spectators.

What's he doing up there?

Qiu Yunshang cupped his fist in a salute toward the referees as he declared, "I surrender!"

"You surrender?"

A wry smile appeared on his face as he said, "There's no chance I'll be able to win against Brother Fang, particularly not after his breakthrough, so I may as well surrender now to spare myself a beating."

He then turned to Fang Che as he said, "I have to save my energy to beat up Huo Churan!"

Everyone burst into laughter upon hearing this.

It seemed that Qiu Yunshang had a burning vendetta against Huo Churan.

It seemed that Huo Churan was very hostile and abrasive to everyone, and that was already coming back to bite him.

Thinking back to how Huo Churan had turned down Fang Che's attempt at making friends at the beginning of their battle, everyone couldn't help but shake their heads in mockery.

At this point, he couldn't become Fang Che's friend even if he begged.

He rebuked Fang Che in front of everyone out of pure arrogance, so he couldn't blame anyone for the beating that he had just endured.

If he had reciprocated in an appropriate, friendly manner, he would've been subjected to far less suffering.

Everyone had a feeling that Fang Che's vow of beating up Huo Churan every time he saw him hadn't been a joke.

Qiu Yunshang's forfeiture was slightly unexpected, but also within reason.

After all, he was facing an insurmountable foe.

A warm smile appeared on Fang Che's face as he said, "Thank you for sparing me from a beating, Brother Qiu. You've really taken a weight off my shoulders."

"There's no need to be so modest," Qiu Yunshang chuckled. "If I had a chance, then I would've fought, but realistically, I have no chance. You are the deserving champion, Fang Che."

"Thank you."

Qiu Yunshang jumped down from the platform, and with that, third place was also decided.

Huo Churan was still unconscious, and he would be lucky to recover from his injury even in a year, so there was no way he would be fit to fight Yu Zhongge for third place.

Fang Che was the champion, while Qiu Yunshang and Yu Zhongge came in second and third, respectively.

Fang Che and Qiu Yunshang's final placings were well-deserved, but that wasn't necessarily the case for Yu Zhongge in everyone's eyes.

He had benefitted from two byes in crucial rounds, and he had claimed third place without having to fight!

What kind of luck is this?

In terms of overall strength, both the likes of Ding Jieran and Mo Ganyun were superior to him, yet they had been eliminated early.

It was as if Yu Zhongge had been given a free pass to third place!

"I wish I had half his luck!"

Even Fang Che, Qiu Yunshang, Mo Ganyun, Ding Jieran, and the others were looking at Yu Zhongge with amazed expressions, wondering if he were somehow blessed by the gods.

Mo Ganyun was incredulous. "There's definitely some funny business going on here! That guy ended up in third place without even doing anything!"

"I was almost beaten to death, yet I didn't even make the final four..."

Fang Che was also feeling a little indignant at Yu Zhongge's blessed run to the top three.

In response to all of the scrutiny, Yu Zhongge could only give a resigned shrug as he stated the obvious: "I was just lucky, I guess."

***

The award ceremony was quickly arranged, and all of the top one hundred students received their rewards at once.

Fang Che received two premium Soul Pills, twenty Qi Gathering Pills, two Meridian Expansion Pills, two True Origin Pills, one hundred merit points, and a gold medal.

All of a sudden, he was rich.

He had received ten merit points upon enrolment, so he now had a total of 110 points.

Given that two merit points had been enough to purchase a lavish feast for around a dozen people, these 110 points would be enough to feed Fang Che for a year while also covering his costs for pills and other cultivation resources.

His newfound status of wealth instantly drew in many pairs of envious and expectant eyes.

Fang Che paid no heed to them. He was just relieved that he had completed his mission, and for his efforts, he would receive the all-important Blood Incineration Technique.

Following the award ceremony, it was announced that the new students would be split up into classes, and that lessons would officially begin the following day.

This was followed by the announcement that examinations for the other year levels would also commence the next day, and the punishments that Gao Qingyu had devised were also laid out.

A chorus of anguished wails rang out across the entire field.

Many students had just lost everything, and they were going to be further penalised in the upcoming examinations! Could their lives get any worse?

Countless older students began to try and get friendly with Fang Che.

"I'll be counting on you from now on. See you at the cafeteria tomorrow!"

"You lost, did you?" Fang Che asked.

"I did, I lost everything," the older student admitted in an embarrassed manner.

"In that case, you clearly didn't bet on me."

"You didn't even bet on me, yet you want me to serve as your free meal ticket? What's going on in that head of yours? You should go to whoever you bet on and get them to cover your meals!"

"C'mon man, you're rich now, is it really that hard to help a brother out? Don't be so petty!"

This was often a very effective weapon on new students and even some older students.

Generally speaking, a new student would concede and provide a free meal in order to avoid souring their reputation.

However, Fang Che was not such an easy pushover.

"What do you mean, Senior Brother? You make it sound like I'm to blame for your financial situation," Fang Che said in an innocent manner.

The older student was beginning to get a little angry. "Don't be so petty!"

"I could say the same to you, Senior Brother. Don't be so petty and get so hung up over a single meal! Are you a beggar?"

"You can refuse to shout me a meal, but there's no need to insult me!"

"Why should I shout you a meal? Do I owe you a favor? I don't even owe any favors to those who bet on me, seeing as they won because of me, yet I'm expected to provide free meals to people like you, who didn't even bet on me? You bet on someone else and lost all your points, so now, you come to the winner that you didn't bet on, asking for free meals. Have you no shame? Can someone explain this fascinating logic to me?"