Ch. 270 - I Was So Scared I Kept Shaking

"You sure have a way with explanations!"

The Chief Examiner's mouth twitched as he voiced his actual question: "What exactly did you throw back there?"

For a King-rank beast to abandon the chase, something had to have gone wrong with its body.

"Just laxatives. Homemade."

Chen Shu's expression didn't change in the slightest. The Explosion Potions had detonated inside the White Lion's body — the officials had no way of knowing the truth.

Du Ming's recorded footage only showed him tossing two potion vials. You couldn't even see the color of the liquid inside, since they'd been stuffed with gleaming medicinal materials.

"Homemade laxatives?"

"Ahem..."

Seeing the three of them looking so shocked, Chen Shu spoke up proudly: "In my humble capacity[1], I possess a slight gift for potion formulation!"

"I can brew some for you. Price is cheap. You want some?"[3]

"..."

All four of them wore extremely strange expressions. Standing before them were three Gold-ranks — the strongest individuals a city could produce.

And a high school senior was this casual about it, even daring to joke with them?

One of the Chief Examiners seemed to think of something and inquired:

"I don't suppose, classmate... those two stones of yours are for sale?"

Chen Shu raised an eyebrow. He immediately understood what the man was referring to — the treasures he'd taken from the White Lion.

Seeing a flicker of interest from him, all three — apart from Ye Qing — turned to him with expectant gazes.

What kind of money could a student have ever seen? They might be able to buy them for a million or two.

Chen Shu cleared his throat and said, "Since you seniors are interested, I'll make it cheap!"

"Ten billion."

"??"

The three of them bugged their eyes out, nearly choking on their own spit.

Ten billion Huaxia currency?! You've got some goddamn nerve naming that price!

"Alright! That's enough!"

Ye Qing shook his head. If they let this conversation continue, who knew what kind of tiger-wolf words[2] would come out of Chen Shu's mouth next.

There was a smile in his eyes. You three thought you could swindle the Nanjiang Bandit? Weren't you just daydreaming?

Hearing this, Chen Shu immediately scampered off gleefully.

The ten billion was really just him talking big. Even if they'd actually offered that much, he wouldn't have sold them.

He had the knowledge of high school Materials Science in his head, but he still couldn't identify the White Lion's treasures — which meant they were far from ordinary goods.

"This kid..."

All four of them sighed with mixed feelings. Times really had changed — young people these days were way too bold.

"This kid... he's way fiercer than Fang Si."

Ye Qing watched Chen Shu's departing figure, an involuntary smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

And in his heart, he made a decision: he would absolutely guarantee Chen Shu's admission to Huaxia Academy!

"Old Ye, what do you think?"

The other two Chief Examiners looked toward him, as if seeking his opinion.

Although the three of them held the same rank, Ye Qing's seniority and reputation were on a completely different level.

Ye Qing thought for a moment, then said, "I'll stay here. You two go check out the target location."

The two of them nodded, immediately mounting their flying Contract Spirits and heading deeper into the alternate dimension.

A King-rank beast — even Gold-rank Beast Tamers would find their hearts stirred by such a prospect.

Only the three of them had any real chance of taking one down.

A full two major ranks separated them from it, which spoke volumes about just how terrifying a King beast truly was.

"They probably won't find it."

Ye Qing shook his head. King-rank beasts were not something you could simply seek out and encounter.

Moreover, such creatures were innately sensitive to the presence of powerful enemies and would inevitably avoid them in advance — yet another difficulty in hunting a King.

The two of them were just going to try their luck. If they were fortunate, they might follow some faint traces and find the White Lion.

Ye Qing turned his attention away, focusing instead on overseeing the gaokao's wrap-up work.

Thousands of high school seniors filed into the Space Corridor, departing Lieyang Hills in an orderly fashion.

"Finally back."

Chen Shu let out a long breath. They'd been here less than ten days, but it had been thrilling beyond measure.

"Huaxia Academy's basically a lock now, right..."

Chen Shu rubbed his chin, his mind still dwelling on that earlier option. The Clone Divine Skill had him itching with anticipation.

The three of them had successfully escaped from a King-rank beast — that was sure to be worth a hefty bonus in points.

Especially Xu Xingxing's Mutant Thunderbird. Its performance had been even more impressive than Chen Shu's, honestly.

"Everyone back to the hotel for some rest!"

Nanjiang Second High's Special Training Class assembled in Xiaoyang Town. Most of them had joy in their eyes.

Clearly, they'd all performed at the level they were capable of.

The group dispersed. It was already late, and everyone was a bit worn out.

"You three! Over here!"

Shen Wushuang called out directly.

He hadn't named anyone specifically, but everyone's gaze still swung straight toward Chen Shu and his crew.

The four of them found themselves on a quiet, deserted street, walking as they talked.

The gaokao students had all returned to their hotels to rest by now, and with Xiaoyang Town under strict military guard, there was naturally no one out celebrating.

Shen Wushuang asked, "Do you have a reasonable explanation?"

Xu Xingxing and Xie Sunan both turned their eyes simultaneously toward Chen Shu.

"To fight for the highest score!"

Chen Shu spoke with complete seriousness. "My Potential Rating was too low. To make absolutely sure, I had to pull something completely unexpected!"

"I was so scared at the time, I couldn't stop shaking. I mean, that was a King-rank beast!"

A look of "fear" flickered in Chen Shu's eyes as he continued:

"But could I back down? I was carrying the hopes of the entire school on my shoulders..."

"Stop! Stop right there!"

Shen Wushuang made a timeout gesture. You really are an absolute master at spinning complete bullshit, aren't you...

You? Scared? Kept shaking? You were too excited, weren't you?!

"Enough with the nonsense! You're giving me a headache!"

Shen Wushuang turned to him. "Do you have the confidence to get in or not?!"

"Barring any accidents... yeah, I'll get in."

Chen Shu answered. His only point deduction at this stage was probably the Potential Rating.

The other subjects basically wouldn't lose him any major points.

"Go back and rest."

Shen Wushuang nodded, a trace of a smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.

The three of them immediately scampered off happily back to the hotel.

"Nanjiang Second High has produced another Huaxia Academy student, huh..."

Shen Wushuang rubbed his chin, as if something had occurred to him. He let out a sigh.

If only Chen Shu and Fang Si could be a little more normal...

Chen Shu and the other two were utterly exhausted. They returned to the hotel and conked out immediately.

The next day, high noon.

The three of them roused slowly, the fatigue in their bodies completely swept away.

"Now that's comfortable~"

Chen Shu stretched lazily, then left the hotel with the other two.

"One PM, same spot as before! I'll take you all back to school."

Shen Wushuang happened to run into the three of them coming out.

The three nodded. They wolfed down lunch, then showed up at the meeting point.

By now, the Special Training Class students were already seated on the charter bus. Not a single person had met with any mishap.

In truth, casualties during the gaokao were basically nonexistent.

The nation had mobilized all these powerhouses specifically to ensure nothing went wrong.

Chen Shu stepped onto the bus and saw that his classmates were all hanging their heads, not a single one daring to meet his eyes.

Chen Shu was Black Iron rank now. Beating them up would be child's play.

"You don't see me, you don't see me..."

Tang Lie kept his head down, muttering continuously as if in prayer.

And yet, the mysterious Murphy's Law kicked in once more!

[1] 在下不才 (zàixià bùcái): A classical self-deprecating phrase combining 在下 ("one below," i.e., this humble person) with 不才 ("without talent"). Traditionally used in formal contexts to preface a modest statement about one's abilities. In modern usage it is almost exclusively ironic. Here, Chen Shu — wearing a psychiatric gown and facing three Gold-rank examiners — deployed this flowery classical phrasing to describe his "slight gift" for brewing lethal explosives and military-grade laxatives, before immediately segueing into a sales pitch. The comedy lies in the collision between archaic formal humility and shameless street-hustler bravado.

[2] 虎狼之词 (hǔláng zhī cí, "tiger-wolf words"): Originally from classical Chinese describing savage or threatening speech (the Xunzi, 3rd century BCE: "heart like tiger and wolf"), the phrase was explosively repurposed as internet slang around 2019. In modern online usage, it describes speech that is shockingly bold, outrageously inappropriate, or crosses social boundaries — things no reasonable person would dare say aloud. Here, Chen Shu casually joking about selling potions to three Gold-rank examiners already crossed the line; Ye Qing cut him off before he could produce even more brazen remarks.

[3] 你们配吗？ (nǐmen pèi ma?): An untranslatable pun exploiting the dual meaning of 配 (pèi). Chen Shu's preceding sentence used 配药 (pèiyào, "to compound/dispense medicine") and his closing question 你们配吗? simultaneously means "do you want me to mix some up for you?" AND "are you even worthy?" The three Gold-rank examiners' strange expressions confirm they caught both meanings — a high school senior in a psychiatric gown just implied the city's three strongest Beast Tamers might not be worthy of his products.