Chapter 147: The Beginning of Conflict Escalation
It was already the eighth match on the field. Fortunately, this student from No. 1 High was quite skilled, steadily suppressing the opponent. Victory was only a matter of time.
This slightly reassured the group of principals from Tianhai.
Although many principals didn't have their own students on stage, at this moment, everyone in Tianhai was united. Glory or shame, they shared it together.
The other side came with great momentum, wanting to take away their resources. This was something no one could tolerate.
If this match was secured, it would be a 4-4 tie.
Even if they lost the next one, at least they still had Xu Luo. At worst, it would be a 5-5 draw, which wasn't too embarrassing.
Thinking this, Dongfang Cheng relaxed a bit.
On the other side, representatives from various cities sat together, smiling as they looked at Fang Xinglong.
They had sacrificed too much to win, so this time they must win!
"Principal Fang, what did they say?" As soon as Fang Xinglong came over, many people gathered around.
"It's clear they must have encountered some problem. Their number one hasn't shown up yet. We don't know if he'll arrive later."
Fang Xinglong sighed.
"To defeat Tianhai, this number one is crucial!"
Only by defeating the number one could they prove they were truly stronger than Tianhai and qualify for more resources.
"Fang Xuefeng will definitely succeed!"
Mentioning this, the others were very confident.
Fang Xuefeng was the top genius they had cultivated at great expense. They believed that his appearance this time would definitely astound everyone.
"Let's hope so!" Mentioning his grandson, Fang Xinglong smiled, but his heart was still somewhat uneasy. After being suppressed by Tianhai for so many years, even though they had used a cunning method this time to specially cultivate a few people, when it came down to it, he still felt a bit uncertain.
He couldn't help but smile bitterly. Had they been suppressed for so long that they didn't know how to stand up?
But with limited resources, how else could they get more without resorting to some tactics?
At this moment, the two on stage were fiercely exchanging blows, fighting very intensely. While watching the battle, the audience couldn't help but wonder why the people from other cities were so powerful this year.
Or was it that this year's Tianhai students weren't up to par?
The audience was puzzled, but the students were very nervous.
Especially the cheerleaders, who were constantly cheering for their own side.
In the crowd, Feng Xiaoxiao and Wang Xiaoling, also wearing cheerleader outfits, were cheering while whispering.
"Where on earth did that Xu Luo go? The special training was one thing, but after that, we couldn't find him at all. Now the competition has started, and he's still not here."
"Yeah, I heard the principal and others are looking for him... Oh, look, isn't that Xu Luo?" Suddenly, Feng Xiaoxiao pointed in a direction and asked.
"It really is him. He's finally here!" Seeing Xu Luo's figure, Wang Xiaoling immediately felt much more at ease.
At least Xu Luo's match was secure.
She cheered loudly for the unfamiliar student on stage, her emotions seeming to become more intense.
Looking at the sea of people, Xu Luo felt a bit uncomfortable.
In the past month or so, he hadn't been in contact with so many people at once.
"Hey, Old Xu, you finally showed up. I thought you had gone missing and was about to report to the police department!" A person suddenly jumped out from the crowd and patted Xu Luo's shoulder.
It was Cha Lei's slightly chubby face that came into view.
"What's the situation now?" Seeing Cha Lei, Xu Luo quickly inquired about the current situation.
Although he knew that battles were needed for the opening every year, he wasn't clear about the exact procedure.
After all, the rules weren't fixed and unchanging every year.
"It's similar to last year. Ten people from our side, and ten people from the remaining forty-one cities in the 11th District together, challenging our people on stage.
However, if they have strength left after winning one match, they can continue fighting on stage. On our side, only Qianqian, Xiang Lu, and Zuo Jiaojiao won three matches. The others all lost. Now Zhang Bei should be able to win. Only you and Zhao Jiguang are left!"
Cha Lei quickly explained the current situation.
"So, even if Zhang Bei wins this match, it's only 4-4?" Xu Luo frowned.
It's worth noting that in the past, although Tianhai didn't absolutely crush their opponents with strength, they usually maintained a 7-3 or 8-2 win rate. The gap was still very large. How did it suddenly become like this this time?
"Is the opponent's strength really that formidable?"
"Extremely formidable!" Cha Lei seemed somewhat indignant.
"They're too shameless! They directly reduced the resource share of other ordinary students, specially using it to cultivate a few geniuses. Moreover, more than ten cities pooled their resources together to cultivate just to nurture a few powerful people to beat us and get more resources."
"So that's how it is!" Xu Luo frowned.
Ordinary students already had difficulty getting resources, and now it would be even harder for them to rise.
The chosen ones were indeed strengthened, but that was at the cost of sacrificing everyone else. What about the others?
Under normal circumstances, everyone should have some resources. The future might be uncertain, but it wouldn't be too bad. With some luck, they might even rise up.
But now, with resources concentrated on cultivating one person, the result was destroying the future of others.
Even if they won against Tianhai this time and got a bit more resources, so what?
They were already behind at the starting line. One step behind means every step is behind. For the schools, such sacrifice might be worth it, but for the sacrificed students, were they willing?
Did anyone ask them?
Somehow, a surge of anger rose in Xu Luo's heart.
He didn't know where this anger came from, but he felt extremely displeased.
It was like the oppressive feeling he had when he first saw the environment of the lower levels.
In this era, everyone was living a difficult life.
God Fighters could be said to be the motivation for many people to persevere, believing they could change their future through this path.
Even if they couldn't become famous God Fighters, they could work in clubs, do behind-the-scenes work, become analysts, sparring partners, or logistics staff. There was always a job suitable for everyone.
But now, the future of 99.9% of students in these schools had been destroyed.
They might not be completely hopeless, but on the normal path, they had almost no chance of rising up. As for opportunities, who could predict those?
"I'll go to the principal and others first!" Seeing the match on stage was still intense, Xu Luo said goodbye to Cha Lei and headed towards Zhong Tianyue and the others.
"You'd better go quickly. The principal has been looking for you frantically these past few days. Be careful!" Cha Lei's neck shrank a bit, thinking of something.
Xu Luo paused for a moment but still resolutely moved forward.
Walking to where Zhong Tianyue, Dongfang Cheng, and others were sitting, Xu Luo obediently greeted them.
"You brat!" Seeing him appear, Zhong Tianyue was so happy he almost jumped up. He had never been so eager for someone to appear before.
But as a principal, he had to maintain composure.
"Well, if it isn't our busy person. Finally deigned to show up, huh?" Hearing Zhong Tianyue's sarcastic tone, Xu Luo dared not speak, let alone say that he had been sleeping for the past few days. If he said that, Zhong Tianyue would probably berate him to death.
"It's good that you're here. Old Zhong, no need to be like this!" Dongfang Cheng quickly advised.
"Xu Luo, the situation on stage is very unfavorable for us, so you must fight beautifully!"
"I understand!" Xu Luo nodded.
"There are two left, right? If I beat them all down, that should be enough, right?"
"Can you do it?" Not having seen him for a few days, his tone had become so big. Zhong Tianyue looked him up and down skeptically.
He felt this kid had changed a bit.
He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but before, although he had strength, he always liked to hide it, not at all like a young person. Instead, he was as mature and steady as an adult.
But now, Zhong Tianyue felt that before him was a youth full of youthful vigor, brimming with energy.
Less steady, more unrestrained.
"How could I say I can't?" Xu Luo laughed heartily.
"I came late, otherwise I would have beaten them all down, telling them this method is not good, not right, and useless!"
"Yes, this method is very wrong and not good!" Zhong Tianyue nodded deeply, feeling the sentiment.
"Resources are for cultivating students, not for them to give to whoever they want. If everyone did this, how would ordinary students have any chance to rise up in the future?"
They resisted those people's methods not only because they felt it was disgusting, but also because doing so would only lead to resources being concentrated on the children of wealthy families, with ordinary people getting nothing.
This society already had many unfair aspects. Education could be considered a relatively fair environment that ordinary people could access.
Although the current seed program focused resources on cultivating a strong genius, it wasn't like them, harming the interests of ordinary students.
The children of wealthy families already received better education than ordinary children from a young age, so most geniuses among humans came from wealthy families. At this time, if most resources were concentrated on cultivating these people, where would ordinary people have a chance to rise?
If this matter was exposed, it might even cause a huge earthquake throughout the Federation.
The conflict between the two classes had long been extremely sharp. At this time, such a move would directly intensify it.
But now that it had happened, Dongfang Cheng and others could only relay the matter to Wen Zheng. It was up to the Education Department to handle this issue next.
One large district, dozens of cities and counties, involving millions of students, this was no simple matter!
After greeting the two, Xu Luo ran to sit beside Zhao Jiguang.
Zhao Jiguang, who was sitting in the preparation area watching the battle, suddenly felt someone sit beside him. He turned his head and immediately smiled.
"Xu Luo, you're finally here. Seeing you, I feel relieved!"
With their side losing so many matches, Zhao Jiguang was truly under immense pressure!
Now seeing Xu Luo finally arrive, he finally had some confidence.
As one of those previously thrashed by Xu Luo, he knew deeply how terrifying this person was.
Although they were now comparing avatar battles, Zhao Jiguang, like everyone else, believed that Xu Luo's units were powerful, so his avatar must also be especially powerful.
However, although Xu Luo's avatar was weak at that time, after a month of trial special training, his avatar strength had already surpassed many people, so this perception wasn't wrong.
"When I go up next, you might not have a chance to show your face!" Xu Luo whispered.
"Go ahead, beat them hard. I don't want to go up there and embarrass myself." Zhao Jiguang smiled happily.
He was serious.
Going up, he might not win, and if he lost, it would just be embarrassing.
As for showing his face? There was still a long time ahead, with so many competitions. There would be plenty of time and opportunities for him to show his face.
"That's good!" Xu Luo nodded.
"By the way, Xu Luo, be careful of that guy in black clothes. He seems to be their number one. Earlier, he wanted to challenge Qianqian, but when he heard Qianqian wasn't the number one, he didn't make a move and let their number two go instead. Although he was thrashed by Qianqian, this person's strength should be very strong. I see others being very careful around him."
Zhang Jiguang pointed to the preparation area on the opposite side and explained the situation to Xu Luo.
Just then, that cold-looking youth over there looked up. Seeing that the originally single seat had become two people, he frowned.
He said something to the person beside him, and then someone got up and walked out.
"Looks like that's their trump card!" Xu Luo nodded.
"Let's test his mettle later, see how powerful they've cultivated him at such a great cost."
Thinking about how many students' futures were affected just to cultivate these few people, Xu Luo felt displeased.
This era was too oppressive. He didn't like this world.
But no matter how much dissatisfaction he had, he could only keep it to himself.
Because he was insignificant and couldn't do anything.
But now that things were happening around him, and he could influence it, why should he be polite?
Ordinary people already lived very hard lives, and now they were being exploited. Now even their hope was being buried.
If these schools used their own resources to cultivate these people, Xu Luo wouldn't have any objections. He might even support it wholeheartedly.
But the current situation was that they were using resources allocated by the Education Department, reducing the share of other students. He couldn't turn a blind eye to such things.
Although he couldn't change these schools' decisions or alter established facts.
But he could use his strength to shatter their ideas.
Tell them that this method wouldn't work.
Paying such a huge price, but in the end, it would all be for nothing.
No matter what, having come to this world, he should do something, right?