Kill one monster, stack one poison, and I alone will poison my way across the world!

Just as everyone was in shock.

"Buzz—"

The portal in the center of the hall, which was originally shrouded in black mist, suddenly burst forth with a blinding white light.

The black energy melted away like ice and snow, and the spatial passage stabilized again.

"The passage is open!"

Song Yi shouted.

The next second, a white light flashed.

More than ninety disheveled candidates were spat out of the portal like dumplings being dropped into a pot.

He stumbled and fell to the ground in the lobby.

The hall instantly erupted in excitement.

Medical staff and military personnel rushed to the scene immediately.

"Quick! Check the injuries!"

"Monitoring team, has any abyssal contamination been brought out?!"

"..."

Song Yi and the major general walked quickly to the center of the crowd.

These top geniuses from Jiangnan Province were all pale-faced and had unfocused eyes.

Some were even trembling.

"Is everyone... alright?"

Song Yi's voice was dry.

More than a hundred went in, but only ninety-odd came out.

China's geniuses have suffered considerable losses.

He sighed, raised his head, and cupped his hands in a gesture of respect to the air. "Thanks to Elder Zhan's timely intervention, the future of our nation was preserved. He truly deserves to be called a pillar of China; such power directly wiped out the Abyss army..."

"No...no..."

A trembling female voice interrupted Song Yi's reflections.

The girl looked up at Song Yi, her eyes filled with shock.

"Director Song, it was indeed Elder Zhan who saved us, but..."

She swallowed hard, her voice hoarse.

"But what?"

The major general frowned.

Wasn't it Zhan Lao who saved them?

What exactly happened inside the instance?

The girl took a deep breath and pointed with a trembling finger to the back of the crowd.

There, a boy wearing a black hood was slowly walking out of the portal.

Unlike the disheveled students, there was no trace of fear or panic in his expression.

"Old Zhan protected us with his light shield; he was the one who killed the monsters..."

The girl's voice suddenly rose, "It's Su Chen! He single-handedly... wiped out thousands of level 30 Abyssal Flame Demon Guards with just one move!"

"Not only that, but that level 30 epic bone dragon... was also killed in a second!"

"..."

Dead silence.

Everyone in the hall froze.

They all turned their heads in unison to look at the calm-looking boy.

"It matches up perfectly, it matches the previous scoreboard exactly."

"Several thousand level 30 Flame Demon Guards, and epic-level dragons..."

Song Yi stared intently at Su Chen: "Without a doubt, this is the most prestigious and terrifying national champion in the history of the Great Hua Empire."

He Kaishan nudged Li Zhiyong's shoulder: "Old Li, are you convinced or not?"

"...I give up."

Li Zhiyong shook his head with a wry smile.

How could I not be convinced?

His student is still so frightened that his legs are weak and he can't even stand up.

"Old He, even without that bet, I'm going to give that qualification to this kid."

He looked at Su Chen and said sincerely, "This kid... is the future of China."

On the periphery of the crowd.

Su Chen had just landed and hadn't even had a chance to look at his panel.

A fragrant breeze wafted over.

"Little Su!"

Lin Shiqing broke through the medical staff's blockade and rushed towards Su Chen like a small cannonball.

She grabbed Su Chen's arm, looked him up and down, her eyes red-rimmed.

"Are you hurt? Does anything hurt? I... I thought you..."

Su Chen looked at Lin Shiqing, whose tears were almost falling, and smiled.

"What could be wrong with me? There was just too much sand in there, and I got all dirty."

"Don't lie to me. Have you been corrupted by the Abyss? I've heard that the Abyss's mechanisms are disgusting, and some curses are lifelong and can't be washed away."

"Young Miss, you've been reading too many Rotten Tomatoes novels, haven't you?"

"Yes, I'm very serious!"

"..."

"Holy crap! Dust!"

Wang Xiaoli grabbed Su Chen's shoulder, so excited he was almost incoherent: "Brother Chen, you're amazing! You saved the whole world by yourself! Anyone who didn't know better would think you have a protagonist's halo, like the protagonist of some trashy web novel!"

"..."

Su Chen shook his head and smiled: "Just lucky."

"Hahahaha!"

Just then, a loud laugh rang out.

He Kaishan strode over.

The old man was beaming, and he had no idea where he had put his thermos.

He looked at Su Chen, his eyes filled with undisguised elation and pride.

"Good lad! Good lad indeed!"

He Kaishan patted Su Chen heavily on the shoulder: "I knew I hadn't misjudged him! The first national champion in Tianhe City's history! And he won it with such overwhelming force!"

He waved his hand dismissively, exclaiming with boundless pride, "Let's go! Back to Tianhe City! This old man's paying today, Tianhe Grand Hotel, eat whatever you want!"

Su Chen blinked and asked, "Is your leg better now?"

"..."

He Kaishan's smile froze.

Spicy!

"The power of this top national scorer is truly remarkable; he even healed Principal He's leg."

At this moment, the major general approached with a smile: "We'll be counting on Principal He to lend a hand in next month's city defense mission."

"Ugh."

He Kaishan sighed, "I know, I know. It's not that I'm unwilling to serve, it's just that... every time I step onto the city wall, I think of those brothers who died in battle."

Upon hearing this...

The major general put away his smile and sighed, "Then let's not force it. Principal He, please do what you can."

He didn't say anything more, but looked at Su Chen.

"You need to record the details of today's events. Also, this is temporarily classified as a Level 2 State Secret. Do not disclose it to any outsiders."

"Understood, sir."

"Alright, we'll talk about the statement later. Let's go celebrate first."

The major smiled.

With such a genius, how can our nation not prosper?

……

Tianhe City.

Private room at Tianhe Hotel.

He Kaishan waved his hand and ordered a table full of exotic seafood that Su Chen had never even seen before.

Wang Xiaoli ate with his mouth full of oil, while Lin Shiqing ate in small bites beside him, glancing at Su Chen every now and then.

As the eldest daughter of the Lin family, she naturally found these things nothing new.

Su Chen didn't stand on ceremony and only ate the expensive dishes.

Anyway, He Kaishan is paying the bill, and this exotic beast meat is said to be good for the kidneys, so why not eat it?

The meal lasted until after 7 p.m.

After a satisfying meal, everyone prepared to part ways at the hotel entrance.

Wang Xiaoli let out a burp: "Brother Chen, I'll head back now. Remember to come to my graduation banquet, okay?"

"Okay, I'll contact you then."

Su Chen waved his hand.

Lin Shiqing stood next to a stretch Lincoln and waved, saying, "Little Su, go back and get some rest. I'll contact you again in a few days."

Su Chen watched Lincoln drive away and shrugged.

Just then.

"Buzz—"

He Kaishan's specially made communicator on his wrist suddenly vibrated violently and emitted a piercing beeping sound.

The old man's face, which was slightly flushed from drinking a little alcohol, turned deathly pale the moment he saw the caller ID on the communicator.

He suddenly straightened up, and with a whoosh, his previously hunched back instantly became perfectly straight.

"Yes, understood! Don't worry, sir!"

After hanging up the call, He Kaishan grabbed Su Chen, who was about to turn and leave.

"Principal, what's wrong?"

Su Chen looked at He Kaishan's tense and wary expression and was very puzzled.

"Listen up, kid."

He Kaishan lowered his voice, his expression more serious than ever before, "Don't go anywhere tonight, just stay at home."

Su Chen raised an eyebrow: "What?"

"Someone wants to see you."

He Kaishan took a deep breath. "A...big shot."

Su Chen looked at He Kaishan's expression and his own expression turned serious.

The fact that someone could frighten an old school principal like that means the other party must be someone of considerable importance.

"Okay, I understand."

Su Chen nodded.

Big man?

Who is it?