TRWSB – Chapter 60 Thousand Faced Classmate

Qi Shaorong took a map from Shen Yuan. Every student entering the secret realm had been issued a map. Qi Shaorong and Shen Yuan’s maps were essentially identical, except that Shen Yuan’s map had nine additional moving points representing the positions of the other students from the Sacred Emperor Academy.

Qi Shaorong took the map and a few scattered rainbow stones from Shen Yuan, then activated his teleportation talisman, sending Shen Yuan out of the secret realm.

Watching Shen Yuan’s figure disappear, Qi Shaorong curved his lips into a brilliant smile and muttered, “Idiot.”

After a bout of dizziness, Shen Yuan was teleported out of the secret realm.

Sensing the eyes of the crowd outside the secret realm falling on him, Shen Yuan’s face flushed bright red.

His face burning with embarrassment, Shen Yuan looked terrible—so did Lu Ming. He never expected the first person eliminated would be the one he had high hopes for—Shen Yuan. He had thought it would be Qi Shaorong.

As the saying goes: “Before the army even sets out, the commander falls.” Shen Yuan felt like he’d been struck by lightning.

Hu Feng grinned at Shen Yuan and said, “Shen, my boy! You’ve got to learn to listen to others’ advice. See, Shaorong told you to put more effort into your training, but you didn’t listen. Now look what happened.”

Shen Yuan: “……”

Lu Ming: “……”

Lu Ming looked at Hu Feng and said, “Hu Feng, don’t get cocky. Our Sacred Emperor Academy has many strong competitors.”

Hu Feng nodded and said, “Yes, that’s true. But it’s a pity you didn’t remind them to be careful if they ran into my disciple.”

Standing beside Hu Feng, Vice Principal Li Hong looked at him admiringly. “Principal, your insight is truly sharp. I thought you were going to sell our academy for money.”

Hu Feng snorted, “Do you think I’m that kind of shallow person?”

“Of course not, Principal,” Li Hong replied awkwardly.

Shen Yuan looked disheartened. Zhuang Qian pulled him aside and asked, “Brother Shen Yuan, is that Qi Shaorong really strong? Why did he knock you out so quickly? Were you too careless?”

Shen Yuan: “He’s pretty strong…”

“I knew it! How could the Evil Doctor fancy a useless guy? Turns out he’s just been hiding his strength. If he’s that strong, then it’s going to be hard for my brother to pursue the Evil Doctor,” Zhuang Qian said, full of worry.

Shen Yuan: “……” He looked at Zhuang Qian, who was clearly more worried about Zhuang Hao’s love life than his own defeat, and thought bitterly: I got eliminated and this guy’s only concern is his brother’s romantic prospects. What a lousy friend.

…

Qi Shaorong’s sudden rise caught everyone’s attention outside the secret realm.

A participant wearing the Tianlan Academy uniform appeared behind Qi Shaorong.

“Is it over? I think I sensed some magical fluctuations just now.”

Qi Shaorong nodded. “It’s over. I just kicked Shen Yuan out.”

“Really? After that disgrace, I doubt Shen Yuan can keep his spot among the Imperial Capital’s Seven Elites,” said Yi Fan.

Qi Shaorong smiled brightly and took a deep breath. “I’ve disliked him for a long time. Kicking that guy out really cleared the air for me.”

Outside the secret realm, Shen Yuan saw Qi Shaorong’s mouth forming words and twitched violently. What did I do to deserve this?!

Li Hong asked with confusion, “Principal, did you inform the other participants about Qi Shaorong’s abilities?”

Qi Shaorong said he eliminated Shen Yuan, and the student didn’t even question it.

Hu Feng shook his head. “Nope!”

Qi Shaorong was his trump card. Hu Feng always thought that no one else in the academy knew about Qi Shaorong’s true strength.

“Who was that student talking to Qi Shaorong?” Hu Feng asked.

Hu Feng had been busy training Qi Shaorong and wasn’t too familiar with the academy’s selection process.

“A civilian student named Qian Mian. He’s been in the academy for three years but rarely shows his face and keeps to himself. Many students know of him, but none know him well. During my special training sessions, he got lucky and made it to the finals. He’s a Level 5 Water Mage,” said Li Hong.

Li Hong frowned. Among the nine remaining participants aside from Qi Shaorong, Qian Mian was the least noticeable. Li Hong had reviewed earlier matches and found that Qian Mian’s opponents always made mistakes at the last moment, letting him win by a hair. After what happened with Qi Shaorong, Li Hong now suspected that Qian Mian was another hidden powerhouse.

What Li Hong didn’t know was that Yi Fan had two identities at Tianlan Academy: Yi Fan and Qian Mian. Qian Mian’s identity was forged, allowing Yi Fan to pass as a water magic student and gain access to the academy’s advanced library.

Hu Feng frowned and thought: Qi Shaorong has quite a few secrets. He and Qian Mian must know each other from before.

Inside the secret realm.

Qi Shaorong opened a box. Upon seeing its contents, Lu Ming twitched. “Hu Feng, what is your disciple trying to do?”

Inside the box were ten human-skin masks, each one modeled after a Sacred Emperor Academy participant.

Hu Feng gave an embarrassed smile. “I have no idea.”

Hu Feng frowned. He knew Qi Shaorong had placed a large bet at the gambling houses on Tianlan Academy taking first place. While Hu Feng also wanted to win, he thought Qi Shaorong was being too aggressive—betting on a top-five finish was already risky. Now it seemed Qi Shaorong had come fully prepared.

Qi Shaorong took out a human-skin mask and placed it on Yi Fan’s face, turning him into Shen Yuan.

Then he handed Shen Yuan’s map to Yi Fan. “This map will show you the locations of the others from the Sacred Emperor Academy. Try to knock out as many as you can. I bet a million gold coins on Tianlan Academy taking first. The Sacred Emperor Academy is a real headache.”

Yi Fan nodded. “Got it.”

“Do your best! If we don’t take them down, I’ll lose everything. I even borrowed money for this,” said Qi Shaorong.

Yi Fan nodded again. “I’ll do my best.”

Yi Fan’s eyes narrowed. With a wave of his staff, he cast a powerful ice spell. A hidden student who had been spying on them was instantly frozen into an ice sculpture.

Qi Shaorong’s eyes narrowed toward the distance. “Someone’s there?”

Yi Fan looked over. “Seems to be Jiao Xing from Fei Ling Academy. He’s contracted a Sky-Boring Rat—great at stealth.”

“Get rid of him,” Qi Shaorong said coldly.

Yi Fan broke the ice on Jiao Xing, took anything useful from him, then activated his teleportation talisman and sent him out of the secret realm.

Qi Shaorong looked at Yi Fan. “You sure know a lot about students from the other academies.”

“I did my homework before entering. Didn’t you?” Yi Fan asked.

Qi Shaorong shrugged. “I was too focused on figuring out how to deal with Zhuang Hao.”

“Got a plan?” Yi Fan asked.

Qi Shaorong smiled. “If all goes well, it won’t be a problem.”

Yi Fan smiled back. “Good…”

Li Hong’s eyes widened. “Principal, is this Qian Mian also one of our academy’s hidden aces? You knew about Qi Shaorong’s strength, so surely you knew about this student too?”

Hu Feng: “……” Qi Shaorong had come to him directly—otherwise, he would never have known what a ruthless figure the fourth son of the Qi family was.

As for Qian Mian, he honestly had no recollection. But judging from how he instantly froze a Level 5 Fei Ling Academy student, this guy’s strength likely wasn’t much lower than Qi Shaorong’s.

And if he wasn’t mistaken, the guy could cast instant spells—was he another Heavenly Grade spiritual talent?

Hu Feng frowned. Was I blind? How did my own academy have such a hidden powerhouse and I never noticed?

Qi Shaorong and Yi Fan split up and left the area.

Outside the secret realm, Shen Yuan trembled as he saw someone wearing his own face.

“That damn Qi Shaokang set me up!” Shen Yuan cursed bitterly.

If he had known how dangerous Qi Shaorong was, he would’ve avoided him! Why did he even listen to Qi Shaokang and try to knock him out? Now, he had been eliminated, and someone else was impersonating him.

Zhuang Qian blinked. “Brother Shen Yuan, that guy really looks like you. I can’t tell the difference at all. Are you sure you’re not twins?”

Lu Ming looked at Hu Feng and growled, “Did you teach your student such shameless tactics?!”

Hu Feng was unaware of Qi Shaorong’s plans, but when faced with the accusation, he stiffened his neck and said, “What do you mean, shameless? This is called strategy—ever heard of it?”

Lu Ming: “……”

…

Several members of the Qi family watching from the sidelines were stunned.

“Is that really Qi Shaorong?”

Qi Shaofu’s eyes widened. He had always pitied his fourth brother, especially after the family expelled the craftsman who made his prosthetics. No wonder Qi Shaorong wasn’t upset about being kicked out—someone with his strength didn’t need the Qi family at all.

Qi Shaorong frowned. “How did it come to this?”

“Was the family really that foolish?” Qi Shaofu couldn’t help but wonder.

Qi Shaoru pressed her lips together and slowly calmed down. No matter how talented Qi Shaorong was, he had already been expelled, and Zhuang Hao had already broken off the engagement.

A Qi family elder frowned and said, “Shaofu, when Qi Shaorong comes out, go talk to him. Tell him everything before was a misunderstanding—the Qi family will always welcome him back.”

Qi Shaoru protested, “Elder, how can we do that…”

“You should talk! If you hadn’t gone around spreading rumors that Qi Shaorong was being kept by the Evil Doctor, would the family have made that decision?” the elder snapped.

Originally, the elder had assumed the Evil Doctor’s fondness for Qi Shaorong was improper. But after seeing Qi Shaorong’s strength, he now believed it was likely a case of mutual admiration.