"Ding Dong. Congratulations to the Host for earning a total of 3800 Villain Points."
3800!?
Wang Hao froze again. Just defiling a goddess once had landed him this many points? He was half tempted to get a job at a TV station and just grin into the camera every single day.
Xia Weiwei came charging at him, her tiny fists flailing. "Wang Hao, pay me back right now, or I'll beat you up every single time I see you!"
"Pay you back? Not a chance!" Wang Hao glanced at the steamed buns in his hand, then crammed one into his mouth in two quick bites.
"You… you insufferable jerk!" Xia Weiwei stamped her foot in fury, her tiny fists raining down toward him like hailstones.
Wang Hao weaved around her attacks effortlessly with his Lightning Step. "Come on, little Xia, we're classmates, after all. I'm a little short on cash these days. The least I can do is treat you next time. No need to make such a big fuss over this!"
"What do I care if you're broke!?" Xia Weiwei's cheeks puffed out in anger, her fists still swinging with unrelenting force.
Wang Hao kept his focus sharp as he continued to dodge her blows. "You're being completely unreasonable, little Xia! You were like this yesterday, and you're at it again today. Are you just dead set on making my life miserable?"
Xia Weiwei let out a cold snort. "You dare bring up yesterday? I was up all night dealing with the mess you made, and it's all your fault!"
Wang Hao froze. Up all night? Did something happen between her and Mai Mengmeng…?
Just then, Mai Mengmeng hurried over, her cheeks flushed bright red as she pleaded. "Weiwei, stop fighting! Brother Wang Hao isn't the kind of person you think he is!"
…
The surrounding students who'd gathered to watch heard the exchange, and their eyes lit up. This was gossip—juicy, scandalous gossip.
When they strung together the words "shameless lecher", "pay me back", "short on cash", "making a fuss", and "up all night being messed with", their imaginations ran wild.
Was it possible that Xia Weiwei and Wang Hao had gone to a love hotel yesterday, and he'd kept her up all night? Then this morning, he'd said he was broke and couldn't pay the bill, making Xia Weiwei foot the cost, and promised to treat her next time?
For the proud, tsundere campus belle of Number Eleven High School, being kept up all night and then forced to pay the bill was the ultimate humiliation. That had to be what was happening right now!
And judging by how red Mai Mengmeng's face was, she clearly knew all about it too. Yet she'd said Wang Hao wasn't that kind of person—did that mean when Mai Mengmeng went out with him, Wang Hao always paid the bill?
With that single train of thought, every student watching was utterly stunned. They were all high schoolers, so how could there be such a massive gap between them? And the three of them had done this right before the College Entrance Exam? Were they insane?
What made them even more furious was that Wang Hao wasn't just two-timing both girls—he'd even stiffed the hotel bill! He was the scummiest of scumbags!
"No way! There's no way Miss Weiwei would be with a scumbag like him!"
"I don't believe it! I'm gonna tear this bastard limb from limb!"
"Are we all just gonna stand here and watch this? Can you really stand by and let this scumbag defile our school's goddesses!?"
"Hell no! I'm part of Miss Mengmeng's Flower Guard! I'll rip this bastard to shreds today!"
"Everyone, charge!!"
Wang Hao stared in utter bewilderment as the crowd of onlookers all joined in the chorus of condemnation against him. Could someone please tell him what the hell was going on? Did stealing a couple of steamed buns from a classmate because he was hungry really warrant getting ganged up on by this many people?
"Ding Dong. Congratulations to the Host for successfully defiling the goddesses and inciting a siege by a hundred people. Awarded a total of 5000 Villain Points."
Tears of frustration welled up in Wang Hao's eyes. He hadn't even grinned this time! Why the hell was he still being charged with defiling the goddesses!?
In the distance, a white-bearded old man's face turned purple with rage, his beard bristling. These students were absolutely out of line! Brawling on school grounds like this? Did they really think Principal Zhongli of Number Eleven High School was just a decoration?
"Wait… that's…"
Principal Zhongli suddenly froze, staring in stunned shock at Wang Hao as he weaved and darted through the crowd. He was one of the few people on Earth who knew the truth of Wang Hao's background.
Years ago, after Wang Hao had been expelled from the Royal Academy, he'd gone through countless hurdles to end up at Number Eleven High School on Earth—the very same school his father had attended.
Zhongli had once believed Wang Hao would grow into a brilliant martial arts star, just like his father. But in the end, Wang Hao had fallen in love with alchemy, and his skill in the field was nothing to scoff at. Zhongli hadn't had the heart to force him down the martial path, and he'd even grieved the loss of that potential for a long time.
But what was he seeing today? A footwork technique at Peak Perfection! A high schooler who holed up in the laboratory every single day had actually mastered a skill to Peak Perfection? It was utterly unbelievable!
"A genius! This boy is an absolute genius! A peerless prodigy, even greater than his father!"
In that moment, Zhongli was overcome with excitement. He would never allow this kind of genius to waste his life away in a laboratory. Wang Hao's stage was the same as his father's: he was meant to be the brightest star in the martial arts world.
"ALL OF YOU, STOP RIGHT NOW!!" Zhongli roared. He tapped the tip of his toe against the ground, launched himself into the air, and landed right beside Wang Hao.
"It's the principal! Everyone, run!!"
The second they saw the principal, every student froze, then scattered in all directions, sprinting toward the school sports field.
Zhongli paid the fleeing students no mind. He turned to Wang Hao, nodding repeatedly with a look of deep approval on his face. "Impressive. Very impressive. Truly extraordinary."
Before Wang Hao could even react, Zhongli grabbed him and Xia Weiwei, one in each hand, then leaped through the air and landed on the high platform at the center of the sports field.
"A top student from the alchemy class and a top student from the martial arts class—chasing each other and fighting on school grounds? What kind of example is that? The two of you will stand up here on the platform and listen for the entirety of today's assembly." Zhongli scolded them sharply, then turned to face the students who were gradually sitting down across the sports field, ignoring Wang Hao and Xia Weiwei entirely.
Wang Hao shrugged his shoulders innocently, pulled out the remaining steamed bun, and devoured it in a few bites. This was his reward for teaching Xia Weiwei a lesson, after all. He had no guilt about eating it whatsoever.
At the same time, he questioned the System in his mind, asking why defiling the goddesses had earned him so many points.
"System Tip: A goddess is a spiritual totem. By defiling them, the Host has gravely violated the pure sacred space in the hearts of others. This inflicts far greater harm than any physical damage ever could. The System deems this an unmitigated act of villainy."
Cough! Cough!
Wang Hao choked on the bun. He hadn't even so much as touched Xia Weiwei's hand! How the hell had he violated anyone's sacred space? This was the most ridiculous bullshit he'd ever heard!
"System Tip: As long as others believe the Host has defiled their goddess, it counts as a violation of the sacred space in their hearts, regardless of whether the Host actually committed the act."
Wang Hao rolled his eyes. Truly, these teenagers were the future of the Interstellar Federation. You couldn't help but be impressed by the sheer power of their imaginations!
"Serves you right for choking!"
Xia Weiwei beside him was grinding her teeth in rage, silently cursing him to choke to death. He'd stolen her steamed bun, left her starving, and was an all-around shameless bastard.
Principal Zhongli glanced back at Wang Hao, who'd sat down on the floor behind him, but said nothing. He cleared his throat, then began speaking into the microphone.
"Today marks Number Eleven High School's 140th pre-graduation assembly. The first thing I want to say to all of you students about to take the College Entrance Exam is this: you must learn from the pride of our school—Marshal Tianwei, Wang Tianyi!"
The second his words fell, the entire field fell silent. Every student's face turned grave and solemn, their eyes all turning to the stone statue of Wang Tianyi standing at the center of the sports field.
He was not just the pride of Number Eleven High School. He was the pride of every commoner across the entire Interstellar Federation…