Chapter 50: Commendation on the Podium
On January 7, 2043, the day after the Yuan month examination, Guanshan District First High School held a school-wide assembly. The theme was to commend students who performed excellently in the examination.
At nine o'clock in the morning, the entire school gathered on the playground. On the podium, Principal Tan Zhenlong and several school leaders were lined up.
Exiting the virtual network capsule, Li Yuan began his martial arts training for the day, starting with basic exercises and then practicing his spear techniques. This had become a habit for him. It wasn't until 3:30 in the afternoon that Li Yuan took a hot shower in the rest area and left the martial arts room.
According to what Teacher Chen said in the morning, there would be a school-wide assembly at four o'clock in the afternoon, and all students had to gather on the playground without being late.
Just as he closed the door to the martial arts room, he heard a cheerful voice from not far away: "Li Yuan? You're still in the martial arts room? Hurry up, I thought I was the only one left."
"Little Qiang, you haven't left yet?" Li Yuan smiled, spotting the delicate-looking boy at the end of the corridor.
Students often liked to have a buddy to accompany them when eating, going to the bathroom, going to the playground, or leaving school. Boys were no exception.
After nearly a semester, Li Yuan and Gu Qianghan often met up, and they had become quite familiar with each other.
Having interacted frequently, Li Yuan had long realized that Gu Qianghan, despite his impulsive nature, had no bad intentions and was quite straightforward, making him a good friend.
"Call me Gu Qiang! Gu Qiang!" Gu Qianghan jumped, "That's what my sister calls me."
"If your sister can call you that, why can't I?" Li Yuan laughed as he approached, "Let's go, downstairs."
"My sister can call me that because she's my sister. You're not my brother-in-law, so why can you call me Little Qiang?"
"And what if I do? You can't beat me anyway," Li Yuan joked.
"Your bare score is higher than mine," Gu Qianghan retorted.
Indeed, he had seen the score sheet and knew Li Yuan's terrifying score in the Yuan month examination, ranking second in bare scores, far ahead of the third place. In terms of real combat, higher bare scores often meant a greater advantage and higher victory rate.
"Tch!" Gu Qianghan raised his middle finger, "So what if your bare score is higher? I have spiritual bonuses, and my total score is second in the grade, while you're only sixth..."
Seeing Li Yuan's indifferent reaction, Gu Qianghan realized it was not appropriate to say that and quickly waved it off, "Okay, I forgive you for tricking me during the exam. Remember to call me Gu Qiang from now on, not Little Qiang."
"Got it, Gu Qiang~~han," Li Yuan deliberately dragged out the last syllable.
"You're not going to have any friends if you keep this up," Gu Qianghan glared.
...
Li Yuan and Gu Qianghan continued their "friendly banter" as they walked to the playground. It was only two minutes before four o'clock when they arrived. Most of the classes had already lined up in an orderly fashion.
Class 1 and Class 2 of the senior year stood next to each other.
"Lanyue," the chubby girl Peng Qiqi nudged Lin Lanyue's hand, "Look, your brother is getting along so well with Li Yuan. They're late together."
"Is Li Yuan trying to get close to you by befriending your brother?" Peng Qiqi teased, winking.
"Qiqi, have you been reading too many romance novels?" Lin Lanyue playfully pinched her friend's neck, making Peng Qiqi giggle.
Many boys around them couldn't help but glance over. In the martial arts class, many liked Lin Lanyue, but no one dared to confess.
"Hehe," Peng Qiqi laughed, "Then why is he so close to Gu Qiang?"
"You know Gu Qiang's personality," Lin Lanyue shook her head, "If you can pin him down a few times, he'll be willing to be your friend too."
"Did Gu Qiang spar with Li Yuan?" Peng Qiqi was surprised.
"Yes, their individual martial arts rooms are next to each other," Lin Lanyue nodded, "They've fought several times in virtual battles, and Gu Qiang lost every time."
Peng Qiqi pondered, "That makes sense. Li Yuan's bare score ranked second this time, over 900 points, not much lower than yours."
"28 points lower," Lin Lanyue emphasized.
She was indeed very attentive to Li Yuan's scores. Her culture teacher had told her about his scores and ranking first thing in the morning, also mentioning that Li Yuan's technique score was the highest in the district and second in the city, which had shocked her.
However, she didn't want to admit this in front of her friend.
"You remember his score so clearly," Peng Qiqi giggled, "By the way, you said you only like those who stand on the podium. Next time, Li Yuan might surpass you in bare scores."
Lin Lanyue blinked her long eyelashes, "We'll see when he surpasses me."
"Even if he does, his total score will still be lower than mine. The one who stands on the podium is the total score champion, not the bare score champion," Lin Lanyue said calmly.
Subconsciously, she felt that Li Yuan had a chance to surpass her in bare scores.
"You're so stubborn," Peng Qiqi laughed, then suddenly stuck out her tongue, "Old Xia is here."
Xia Laoshi was the culture teacher for Class 1 of the senior year.
...
"Today, we have the honor of welcoming several distinguished guests to our school. They are Director Zhang from the Guanshan District Martial Arts Bureau, representatives from the Guanshan District Education Bureau, Deputy Chief Zuo from the Starlight Martial Hall Guanshan Branch, and Chief Song from the Starry Sky Martial Hall Guanshan Branch..." The host teacher introduced the guests on the podium.
There were more than ten people in total.
"Deputy Chief Zuo is here?" Standing in the lineup, Li Yuan looked at the woman with brown curly hair and a heroic air on the podium, slightly surprised. Normally, for an internal school assembly, why were there so many leaders? Even representatives from the two major martial halls were present.
"Yuan-ge, didn't you notice? There seem to be many reporters today," Yan Zhou whispered, pointing to the cameras on both sides of the podium.
"Yeah," Li Yuan nodded, realizing he hadn't noticed this earlier when he arrived late.
"Respected leaders, teachers..." Principal Tan Zhenlong began his speech enthusiastically.
Principal Tan read from his script while looking at the thousands of students below, seemingly envisioning a scene of vibrant vitality and prosperity.
As time passed, and one leader after another spoke, the students below began to yawn.
Finally, the most important part of the event began—the commendation assembly.
"In this January month examination, our senior year students have achieved outstanding results once again... Wan Qingling... and ten other students ranked in the top ten for culture scores."
"Lin Lanyue, Gu Qianghan... Li Yuan... and ten other students ranked in the top ten for martial arts scores. Let us all congratulate these students and strive to learn from them," the host teacher announced passionately.
Sparse applause followed from the students below, most of whom were now thoroughly uninterested and just wanted to return to their classrooms. Especially the junior and sophomore students, who felt like they were merely here as cheap "NPC audience," exchanging silent pleasantries with the leaders.
"Lanyue, it's almost your turn to go on stage," Peng Qiqi whispered, "Good luck."
As the culture and martial arts first-place student, Lin Lanyue was used to this process after three years in high school.
However, the host teacher on the podium did not introduce the two grade champions as expected. Instead, he handed the microphone back to Principal Tan Zhenlong.
"Today's assembly," Principal Tan announced solemnly, "besides summarizing the january month examination and commending outstanding students, we also have a very special commendation."
A special commendation? This immediately piqued the interest of many students.
"As all of you should know, just a week ago, our Guanshan District suffered a severe attack from astral realm creatures..." Principal Tan's voice was low and heavy.
At this moment, the previously dull atmosphere began to stir, and many students looked up at Principal Tan with curiosity. A special commendation? What did it have to do with the astral realm creatures' attack?
Even Lin Lanyue and Gu Qianghan were curious.
"... But when the astral realm creature charged at the crowd, in such a critical moment, a seventeen-year-old high school student, passing by, disregarded his own safety, picked up a simple weapon, and stood between the astral realm creature and the innocent people..." Principal Tan recounted the intense battle that had occurred not long ago.
The students below were listening intently, finding this far more interesting than the previous speeches.
"Wow! Fighting a astral realm creature? Who is it?" Peng Qiqi asked in surprise, "Lanyue, is it you?"
In fact, many senior year students from the elite class and other classes looked at Lin Lanyue, thinking that since Principal Tan was recounting this, the student who fought the starfield creature must be from their school. They believed that only Lin Lanyue could barely fight an entering starfield creature.
"No, it's not me," Lin Lanyue shook her head, curiosity flashing in her eyes, "Who could it be?"
In fact, she had fought astral realm creatures before, but always in controlled environments and against non-entering astral realm creatures. To voluntarily fight an entering astral realm creature? Lin Lanyue admitted she neither had the courage nor the strength for that.
"Finally, after a tough battle," Principal Tan continued, "this seventeen-year-old student managed to kill the astral realm creature and saved many innocent lives. To commend this student for his bravery and outstanding contribution during the starfield creature attack, the Jiangcheng Martial Arts Hall, Education Bureau, Strarlight Martial Hall Jiangcheng Branch, and Starry Sky Martial Hall Jiangcheng Branch have decided to jointly award him the title of 'Youth Hero' role model."
"Let us welcome Li Yuan from Class 2 of the senior year to the stage to receive this commendation!" Principal Tan announced with excitement in his eyes.
"Wow!" Applause erupted like a tide.
Junior and sophomore students craned their necks, eagerly looking towards the podium to see which senior student was so impressive.
Several classes near Class 2 of the senior year stared wide-eyed at the young figure slowly walking out of the lineup.
Dressed in white martial arts attire, with a well-proportioned build and confident demeanor, the young man walked onto the podium with a calm and slight smile under the eyes of all.
...
"Lanyue, Li... Li Yuan, he really made it onto the podium," Peng Qiqi looked at the white-clad figure with wide eyes, somewhat smitten, then whispered, "Do you really not like Li Yuan? If you don't want him, don't compete with me."
"Let's talk about it later," Lin Lanyue's gaze remained fixed on the podium, her eyes unblinking.