TCFGBH Chapter 115

The unexpected conclusion threw the crowd into a frenzy.

News about Xia Yan and Huo Ruihe flooded the internet. Photos of Huo Ruihe kneeling on one knee to pledge his loyalty were spreading like wildfire, and some people even quietly started “shipping” the two.

Unsurprisingly, this battle would propel Xia Yan’s reputation to its peak.

However…

A stack of strange papers suddenly rained down from the sky like snow, scattering everywhere. A middle-aged man abruptly stepped forward, his sharp voice cutting through the commotion:

“Xia Yan Gardner is a fraud! He’s not an S-level at all!”

“This match was nothing but a performance between the two of them!”

“Huo Ruihe is stronger than him!”

“They’ve deceived everyone!!!”

Cameras swarmed from all directions, projecting the man’s face onto the large screen. He flinched slightly but quickly steadied himself, staring directly into the lens while holding up the papers in his hands.

“It’s all clearly written here: Xia Yan was only detected as A-level back then and relied on illegal drugs to fake his S-level status.”

The interstellar cameras didn’t flip the image, so every word on the document was clearly visible.

The audience on-site lowered their heads to examine the papers, which were filled with “evidence.”

Meanwhile, people online were furiously screenshotting.

Under the spotlight, the young man stood with his head lowered, his expression unreadable. He caught one of the identical sheets drifting in the air and glanced at the identical accusations written on it.

Beside him, Huo Ruihe looked shocked. “…Xia Yan?”

“…”

Xia Yan tossed the paper aside, raising an eyebrow as if he had just touched something filthy. He clapped his hands forcefully, his voice cold and clear.

“Nonsense.”

The photocopied papers indeed contained evidence of the original owner sneaking into the black market to purchase banned drugs.

But after so many years, who could prove that the cloaked child back then was him? Would they rely solely on the seller’s word? As the saying goes, innocent until proven guilty. As long as he didn’t admit to it, the accusations wouldn’t stick.

Of course, Xia Yan knew this wouldn’t be resolved so easily.

Sure enough, the middle-aged man seized on his response and eagerly shouted:

“Then do you dare undergo a mental power test in front of everyone?!”

Xia Yan: “…”

The original owner’s abilities, while not reaching true S-level after using the drugs, were slightly above A-level, and the testing machines defaulted him as S-level. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to fool everyone for so long.

But the man’s confident demeanor made Xia Yan uneasy.

He consulted the system: [I don’t recall this happening in the original plot. What’s going on? The storyline is collapsing! What do I do?!]

After a brief pause, the system responded somberly: [It’s not the first time the storyline has collapsed.]

[…]

[Anyway… as long as you complete your tasks, what does it matter?]

The system, recalling Ian hijacking the spaceship and Huo Ruihe’s public pledge of loyalty, had already given up trying to salvage the storyline.

Xia Yan twitched his mouth.

Great. Even the system had thrown in the towel.

He opened the system interface in his mind and stared at Task Six and the yet-to-be-refreshed Task Seven. Unsurprisingly, the final task would likely also be related to the mecha tournament.

As long as he could participate in the tournament, the rest of the storyline deviations wouldn’t matter.

As for the original owner’s reputation—it was terrible in the original plot anyway. Even if it inexplicably improved and then worsened again now, it would just be a return to the original trajectory.

The middle-aged man continued to clamor:  “Xia Yan, why are you silent? Are you afraid?!”

The large screen cleverly split into two sections.

One half displayed the man’s twisted, ugly expression; the other half showcased the young man’s strikingly flawless features. Both sides dominated their respective halves.

First impressions matter.

Regardless of the truth, those present first developed a distaste for the middle-aged man.

“Can’t this guy speak normally?”

“We just witnessed Xia Yan’s strength. He’s clearly powerful, even among S-levels. This man calling it a sham is ridiculous.”

“Why wait until after the battle to come out with these accusations? Clearly intentional.”

“By the way… doesn’t this feel familiar?” one military academy student mused. “Back when Xia Yan first shone in live combat, someone also jumped out to accuse him of cheating.”

“Same process, word for word!”

The crowd sighed in unison.

The middle-aged man struggled to maintain his composure upon hearing this.

Did they really have to prioritize appearances?!

Sure, he wasn’t ugly, but compared to Xia Yan… he did fall a teensy bit short.

Worried that if he allowed the crowd to continue talking, he’d fail his mission, the man gritted his teeth and sneered:  “Are you scared? Afraid to be tested? Is that an admission of guilt?”

“Ha! Who’s afraid? Let’s do it now.”

Thanks to Grover’s prior arrangements, a new testing machine was swiftly brought out.

Xia Yan eyed the familiar yet strange device suspiciously. “This is a testing machine?”

“Yes,” the staff explained. “The research institute developed a more accurate machine and sent one to the school for students to use.”

Xia Yan: “…”

So this was the trap.

But at this point, he couldn’t back down.

The testing machine was a sleek, three-meter-tall, one-meter-diameter silver cylinder. As soon as he stepped inside, he was surrounded by a soft blue glow.

On the external display, a dark blue line climbed steadily, bypassing C-level and B-level, stopping briefly at A-level before pausing.

The crowd: “!!!”

The middle-aged man laughed triumphantly:

“I told you he’s—” a fake.

Before he could finish the last words, the blue line suddenly shot past A-level, straight to S-level, and then kept going!

???

The audience held their breath as they stared at the screen.

Only then did they notice that the new machine displayed two additional levels above S.

SS-level and SSS-level.

“…SS?”

“No, it’s SSS!!!”

“Holy crap! So strong! No wonder he’s always been the top student—it’s well-deserved!!!”

Xia Yan couldn’t hear the chatter outside. Once he entered the testing machine, he felt enveloped by a gentle, soothing current, which left him utterly relaxed.

[Host!!!]

[Hmm?] Who’s calling me?

[Host, wake up!!! This is a disaster! You can’t be this strong! Lower your mental power immediately!!!]

The system’s persistent cries snapped Xia Yan out of his strange state. He asked internally, [What’s wrong?]

[We made a mistake,] the system sighed, exhausted. [Mental power is determined by the state of the soul. You’ve traveled through two worlds, and your soul has strengthened. You’re no longer the same as the original owner.]

This had been foreshadowed all along.

Every time Xia Yan competed with Ian, their wins and losses were evenly split.

This was the protagonist shou of the novel—the chosen one. Even if his greatest talent lay in mecha design, he shouldn’t have been defeated by a mere fake S-rank.

However, Xia Yan and the system had been too close to the situation to see the bigger picture.

It was fine for a cannon fodder character to have a bad reputation, but they shouldn’t be viewed too positively either!

Xia Yan seemed to understand vaguely: [So what should I do now?]

[Try pulling back part of your mental strength,] the system suggested.

[…I’ll try,] Xia Yan replied, not very confidently.

His understanding of mental power was superficial at best. Treating the detector as if it were a mecha, he cautiously tried to pull back, release, and then retract his strength again… Ugh! It wasn’t very easy to control.

As a result, those outside saw the blue indicator bar on the detector fluctuate wildly like a bungee cord—jumping back and forth between D-rank and SSS-rank.

?

The scene descended into a stunned silence. After a long moment, someone finally muttered shakily: “Could the detector… be broken?”

–

Grover’s emotions were mirroring the bar’s frantic jumps.

When his people intercepted Xia Yan and forced him to publicly test his mental strength, Grover was quietly smug, confident that this move would bring him down completely and clear the way for his own ascension to power.

But when Xia Yan’s mental strength was revealed to be SSS-rank, Grover was utterly dumbfounded, his mind reeling with disbelief.

Later, as the detector’s behavior became erratic and it seemed to malfunction, Grover finally exhaled a breath of relief.

Although his plan hadn’t gone exactly as intended, it was still better than having Xia Yan confirmed as an SSS-rank. At least now, doubt had been planted in everyone’s minds, and Xia Yan would undoubtedly face a storm of rumors and gossip.

As for the Huo family… Previously, Grover had considered aligning with them. Now, that possibility seemed out of reach.

While sipping her tea, Aina suddenly remarked, “I recall that the research institute’s device was still in its prototype stage. How did it end up at the school?”

Grover’s heart skipped a beat, but his expression remained composed as he answered, “Dr. Bolton sent it over specifically for the students to test. If there were any issues, they could provide feedback to help refine the program further.”

The woman smiled at him meaningfully and said, “Grover, you seem to know quite a lot about the research institute’s affairs.”

Sweat began to bead on Grover’s forehead, but he forced himself to reply calmly, “Because my mental strength is not very high, I have always hoped that technology might improve my condition, so I’ve been paying some attention in this area.”

The word “also” in his statement was particularly nuanced.

Everyone present was a seasoned political player, and they all understood the underlying meaning of his words.

Duke Xia’s lips curled into a subtle frown, a disappointed glimmer in his eyes. Such a pity—why hadn’t they gotten rid of Grover earlier?

“The matter with Xia Yan has yet to be fully clarified, and yet you’re already in such a hurry to condemn him. Isn’t that a bit inappropriate?” Huo Shan remarked with a smile as he glanced at Grover.

Grover’s voice stiffened as he responded, “…Apologies, my wording was improper.”

Regardless of the situation, Huo Shan was one of the king’s closest confidants and most trusted allies. Grover wouldn’t dare to argue with him in front of the king—especially since the Queen herself had already chastised him twice today.

Although it was Xia Yan who was currently embroiled in scandal, Grover felt as if a massive mountain was pressing down on him, leaving him struggling to breathe.