by Feng Yue
Then it was Mirror, which Ye Qingxuan was best at. A target was created beside him to attract the fire and shared most of his burden. Just as the foehn arrived, another ray of frost was shone on Ye Qingxuan, decreasing the Foehn’s heat.
Finally, it was the merciless Gas. It expanded the air pressure beforehand to lift Ye Qingxuan and helped him escape from the impact of the Foehn’s aftermath.
These deconstructions and attacks in that instant weakened the foehn too much to reach Ye Qingxuan’s.
Ye Qingxuan’s pathetic upending was all Charles…
“What’s the matter?” Charles sensed Bench Guy’s eyes and revealed a “shy” smile. “Are you really shocked, stunned, and want to compliment me? Come on, hero…”
Bench Guy suddenly did not want to talk to him anymore. Now, he needed to be prepared for James’s attack—that guy was the problem at hand.
After gathering the strength of his teammates, James had transformed into a miniature destructive giant. He sprinted at full speed down the field, continuously obliterating the dozens of obstacles set for him. Whether it was the stone walls rising from the ground or the pawn formation made by ice, they were all wrecked completely, leaving ruins scattered on the ground.
Under the cheers of Modifications, James sped across the field. No one could stop him. Well, if the slim figure before him did not count…Wait, there was someone before him?
Charles was stunned. Soon he realized who it was and his expression changed. “Bai Xi?”
Dammit!
Bai Xi stood blankly in the center of the field, directly ahead of James. She seemed have not reacted yet and gazed at the charging firelight. Charles had no time to speak and rushed toward Bai Xi, but it was too late.
Off-field, the spectators could not help but cry out. Concertmaster Ye received both praise and blame, but the people mostly praised this cute little girl. It was just that, in the few months after the start of school, it was mostly Ye Qingxuan who was always under the limelight. Bai Xi was not involved. Most people saw her when she was trampling flowers and walking the dog.
Facing the burning light, Bai Xi’s figure was silhouetted became incomparably miniscule in contrast. Like a reflection in the water, she would be crushed easily in the next moment.
James looked at the vaguely dazed face and his heart suddenly softened. He could not help but slow down. Maybe he would just blow her away. He turned the flames spewing around him into a storm shield, harmless in comparison. He decided to just blow the little girl away.
But in the storm that was enough to lift giant stones, Bai Xi remained unmoving. It was as if her feet were rooted. Only her dress, unsuitable for the occasion, fluttered like white petals blooming in the storm.
James’s expression became one of faint regret. He closed his eyes, not wanting to see what would happen next. “What a pity.”
Bang! In an instant, the two figures crashed. The storm and fire created a torrent, burning the grass within a few meters into ashes. Fire and frost intertwined, turning into a thick fog that engulfed them. The predicted scene of Bai Xi being knocked down and broken did not happen.
The spectators were stunned into silence.
Bang! There was another great noise, and a pained cry sounded in the fog. The voice sounded like James?
In the stands, Egor stood up in astonishment and looked at the field blankly. Others might not have understood, but he had seen it clearly. In that moment, he saw the little girl wearing a white skirt take a step back and stand firmly.
Then, she settled into a punching posture, waiting for the charging James. She shouted in a crisp voice, “Ta-da!”
198 Who Is Shameless?
“Ta-da!” She laughed as her first flew towards James’ nose, easily moving past the blazing flame, furious gale, and the armor of melted earth around him. It was easy, like a shovel digging into dirt.
Thud! James’s vision went black and he flipped over, falling on the ground as if he had crashed into a steel wall. In pain and confusion, he opened his eyes wide, not understanding what had just happened.
Did he just get upended by a little girl?
“No, this isn’t right…” He rubbed his numb face and raised his head dazedly to see Bai Xi before him. He vaguely saw Bai Xi striking a weird pose at him through the thick water vapor. He had never seen her stance before, but it seemed powerful, as if it contained some deep meaning or terrifying strength.
“Ta-da! Ta-da! Ta-dadadadada!” she yelled weirdly and rushed forward. Another first landed on James’s face. It was as if the defense was made of paper and was broken through again. James’s vision went black and he fell once again. Bai Xi mercilessly stepped on the ground and beat him with a flurry of punches and kicks.
Her moves seemed to be the real thing, but they had no pattern and were abnormally bad. If an Eastern martial artist witnessed this, he would definitely become furious and remove this horrible imitator. But here, it was indescribably useful.
Waves of Zhaodang were wrapped around Bai Xi’s hands like a steel chain. They followed Bai Xi’s movements and continuously destroyed the defenses around James. No matter if it was the windstorm enchantment, the melted earth armor, flames or frosts, none of them were effective.
Zhaodang was the talent at the top of the School of Modifications and was the power of turmoil within the Dragon Bloodlines. All of James’ team’s music scores put together were nothing compared to it. Before it, other than one’s own strength, it was impossible for music scores to retain their structure. They could only break down in the furious shaking. There was practically no way to fight back. In the end, Bai Xi’s hands started to hurt, so she pulled a wrench from her dress and started hitting with it. James could not even yell out anymore.
-
In the stands, everyone waited with their breaths held and watched the patch of thick water vapor. In the patch of dancing whiteness, one could hear terrifying booms, followed by the earth’s shaking. Finally, an unfrozen soccer ball rolled out of the mist pitifully.
A little girl jogged behind it. Her expression was calm, as if nothing had happened. Behind her, the water vapor gradually dispersed, revealing James. He was on the ground and covered with bruises, as if he had been trampled by a stampede.
What had happened?
“That can’t be right.”
“James fell?”
The spectators rustled. Even the Modifications students were dazed and could not make any sounds, as if they had lost their voices. In the end, everyone’s gazes toward the School of Modifications turned strange.
“So everything from before was just for show?”
Modifications did not know how to refute these claims. Who would have guessed that the attack, which they were completely confident in destroying the history department with, would have been picked apart by a little girl?
Just as everyone was stunned, Bai Xi jogged and kicked the ball past more than half of the field. She passed by the dazed teammates and kicked the ball into the forbidden zone. Finally, she kicked the ball straight into the goal.
The goalie on the side had not even processed everything fully. He could not help it. The impact was too much. Who could promise that he would not be beaten up like James if he had tried to block it?
In the absolute silence, Bai Xi looked back at the similarly fossilized referee.
“This counts as a goal, right?”
-
The stands were silent, but someone began clapping and cheering. “Yes, yes!” The blonde man clapped excitedly and hit the principal, who was beside him. “This girl is so intelligent! I like her! Which school and department is she from? I don’t know who her teacher is, but she’s too amazing!”
“Ha.” The principal coughed and glanced at the man, then asked quietly, “Hermes…are you really this bored?”
Others would not know, but how could he, the controller of the enchantment, not know? The girl was practically covered in shining like a gold coin! She wore a hydrophobi
c necklace on her neck, firewalker boots on her feet and hid an eagle wing ring under her hair tie. The gloves on her hands were the invaluable tomb-digger hands. Things like breaking into tombs were nothing to her. Even a dog with such a complete outfit would be invincible to regular elemental damage, not to mention someone with Dragon blood like her.
“Ah, don’t look at me like that.” Hermes covered his mouth and snickered. “At the end of the day, it’s still because their melodies are trash.”
Egor, at the other end, heard the words, and his already gloomy face darkened further. “What do you mean?”
“Don’t you know what I mean?” Hermes glanced at him and stated, “Adaptations that abandon the essence are just hysterical venting. ‘Modification’ is the essence of the School of Modifications. Change fire to water, change water to wind, and change wind to dirt. This is a school born from the four element theory.
“But this symphonic poem by Liszt furthered the concept of hero Mazeppa’s death to turn mankind’s original sin into redemption. This is the ultimate goal of the School of Modifications—to change death to life.” Here, Hermes could not help but snicker. “Those kids started playing without even knowing where the road was. It’s so meaningless, and of course it’s natural that they lost.”
Egor’s face turned red and white, but could not refute Hermes’s words. Thinking of the man’s status, Egor could only swallow his anger and sit down silently, looking onto the field with a livid expression.
Soon, the professor beside the field received a message from the coach. “Tell those b*stards that if they don’t win this game, they can kiss graduation goodbye!”
The Modifications team quickly requested a five minute break to reorganize. The beaten James was carried over too. After treatment from the Choir musicians beside the field, he could finally move, but his eyes were still dull, as if he had not yet recovered from the shock. Soon, the other two who had become exhausted from the pressure of Mazeppa were replaced with two new players.
Seeing that they had withdrawn, the spectators began jeering. A group of fans took the lead and began stirring up trouble. “A retard for a retard, getting more retarded!”
Since the beginning of time, Anglo’s game manners had never been good. A game in a tavern could cause a mass fight. The drunken men did not care whether someone was an Avalon policeman or a demon. They would just hit and crash and burn anyway. They were practically cancers for security.
Now experiencing this for the first time, indescribable shame rose in everyone’s hearts.
Insulted like this, James actually became more clear-headed. He rinsed his face with clear water and his expression instantly grew somber. “We’re probably going to lose to the history department this time…”
“Are we really going to lose?” The students exchanged glances. Someone looked down at the time and found that the half-hour game was almost over. After all, this was not a standard ball game. There were thirty-seven teams in total and the principal had to think of the other games, so they were not given much time.
“Seems like we have to use that strategy.” James swept his gaze around his companions and drew a circle in the air with his finger.
His teammates’ expressions changed instantly. “Wait, if we use that strategy, won’t we be bashed and hated even if we lose?”
“Do you really plan on competing against them fairly?” James was furious and his expression was forlorn yet decisive. “If they’re shameless, then we’ll be even more shameless!”
The break ended soon. Everyone entered the field, ready to play and glared at the four people and one dog before them. The history department had now retreated to the defense and gave up on midfield.
Sensing that there would be a fierce counterattack, Ye Qingxuan had decided after a detailed discussion to just defend this time. But when faced with the Modification’s offensive horn, he still could not help but be stunned. This time, he felt that something was wrong…
-
As before, James carried the ball forward alone. The remaining twelve students formed a strange formation…
How should one describe this formation…Uh, to put it plainly, they formed a moving ring and advanced. Yes, when the melody played, these guys carried the strongest shield and connected with each other. They formed a ring around James and pushed both man and ball forward. It seemed that they would steadily push the entire formation into Ye Qingxuan’s goal…
What could Ye Qingxuan’s team even do now? They could not even touch the ball!
“Wait, isn’t this formation against the rules?” Ye Qingxuan was completely stunned.
The referee glanced at them and calmly flipped through the rule booklet from ten years prior. He shook his head. “It may seem to be against the rules, but it’s not written here, so it doesn’t count.”
The Modifications strategy was on another level of shamelessness, but it had been forced onto them. After all, it wasn’t their fault that they were using rules from ten years ago.
In the stands, the students who had originally supported the School of Modifications began yelling too. It was not that they were not accepting enough. This game was just continuously setting a new low for their bottom line. Now, their bottom line had been pierced three times. Who knew what would happen next in this game?
Where was the soccer game that they had agreed on? Where was the fair competition? Where was the friendship?!
Now, Ye Qingxuan stared as those Modifications b*stards moved toward him like a steel wall. He was a little dazed. “Now who’s the shameless one?!”
199 Are You Satisfied Now?
“Now who’s the shameless one?!”
Charles stood out. He was shameless enough to put on a righteous expression and accuse the other side. “Where is your game spirit? Where is your shame?”
“It’s a good strategy if it helps us win!” James yelled back from behind the human wall. It was clear he did not care about his integrity anymore. He could not help it—he had been forced to do so. Especially since the authorities had sent the message, he had to do it, no matter how shameless it was.
What would he do if he could not graduate? Would he be held back a year in a prestigious school like the Royal Academy of Music? No, he would be looked down upon no matter where he went if this was included in his record!
If he would be looked down upon no matter what he did, he would choose the one that did not affect his future. The other side had done it first after all, so it was not as stressful if he continued.
Seeing that the other side had gone full out, Ye Qingxuan was a bit dazed. He glanced at Bench Guy. “Any solutions?”
“…You think I’m that weird blue cat from children’s bedtime stories?” Bench Guy glanced at him in annoyance. “The most famous technique from Modifications is divided coherence. Even someone from the musician level won’t be able to get rid of that steel shield made by the dozen of them. Do you want me to go over, ignite the aether within me and die with them?” The moment he uttered those words, he regretted it because both Ye Qingxuan and Charles’s eyes brightened.
“That’s…a good idea!”
“Bench Guy, we won’t stop you since you’re willing to sacrifice yourself. We’ll miss you!”
Bench Guy roared, “Is it not enough that I slave for you all? You want my life too? Where’s your humanity?”
“Society doesn’t even care about shame anymore. Why do we still need humanity? Is it edible?” Charles shrugged and eyed the “ring” coming for the goal. He could not help but sigh. “So all we can do is get out of the way?”
Bench Guy nodded. “If you don’t want to get trampled by the wall.”
“I can’t believe someone as invincible as me is going to fail before this human tank!” Charles sighed and gritted his teeth as he stamped his feet. “D*mmit, referee! We think this game…”
“Wait!” Ye Qingxuan uttered, cutting him off. He squatted in the forbidden zone in front of the goal and stared at the stee
l wall advancing toward him. His eyes changed but hesitated. “Let me think, there’s still a solution. There must be a solution…”
He used his peripheral vision to stare at the ten-year-old rule booklet in the referee’s hand and racked his brain, ignoring the fact that the steel wall was going to trample him. It was not the time to surrender yet. There was still a way.
If they lost now, there would be no room to struggle later. If they surrendered in every game, his points would be sapped dry from these continuous games. He might even go into the negatives.
If the opponent was more ruthless and requested for the wager of double the amount of points, the history department, already close to the edge, would be pushed to the brink of death.
That d*mn school board, d*mn graduation trials, d*mn game rules from ten years ago…Wait…ten years ago? Ye Qingxuan stared at the steel wall formation that would soon be on him and his eyes lit up.
“Hey, James,” he called.
“Begging for mercy now?!” James controlled the ball and advanced without hesitation. His voice was hoarse yet full of hatred. “Too late! It was already too late the moment you humiliated me and the School of Modifications!”
“That’s why I’m so annoyed at people who only look at others and not themselves.” Ye Qingxuan shook his head and sighed. “I just wanted to ask that you’ve read the game rules, right?”
“So what?!” James roared. His eyes grew cold. “Hurry up and run over this Eastern b*stard!”
Seeing that the Modifications players were about to roll into the forbidden zone and crush toward him, Ye Qingxuan could not help but laugh. “Old Phil, you’re turn!”
As soon as he spoke, he picked up the confused Old Phil and tossed it. The heavy golden dog bit him in the last moment, causing him to roll on the ground in pain. But Old Phil actually flew through the air in a short arc. He went past the Modifications steel wall and went within their ring.