Chapter 299 - Competition (1)
The next morning was the Herbalist Division’s monthly competition.
However, the number of students who turned up to spectate the competition had far exceeded the usual amount.
They had all decided to abandon their warm beds to watch the competition. Most of them were there because of the wager that was made at the registration point the day before.
In only one night, news about Tang Nazhi and Shangguan Xiao’s wager had spread to the entire academy. Even those who did not usually like to watch a show turned up at the venue that morning.
All of them wanted to see what the first-year student could do that Tang Nazhi would agree to such a wager.
The Herbalist Division’s monthly competition usually had nothing to do with the first-year students as most of them would have unconsciously removed the competition from their minds.
They did not expect to see the appearance of a courageous little kid that year.
The young master of the Black Tortoise family had offered a hundred thousand gold coins to anyone who could win against Shen Jue, a first-year student in the Herbalist Division. The stake of the other bet was that if Shangguan Xiao were to beat Shen Jue, then Tang Nazhi would leave the academy.
None of the students from the Herbalist Division could comprehend it.
Did Tang Nazhi have too much money that he was feeling charitable, or was his brain flooded?
How did he have the confidence to place such a massive bet on a first-year student?
The first-year students had only been at the academy for half a year, and most of them only had access to the fundamentals of herbalism. They rarely got to try their hands on junior-level potions, but the second and third-year students would have already started their practice on intermediate-level potions.
How vast was the difference between them?
They had not seen the shadow of a first-year student in any of the competitions from the previous months.
“Haha, I’m curious to find out how much money Tang Nazhi would have to pay out today.” A certain second-year student stood at the outskirts of the venue as he watched the other students enter the site in succession.
“I reckon that he would have to pay a huge sum. You didn’t even see the number of students in a mad rush to register themselves in the competition after he made that offer.” Another student revealed a sickening smile.
“Exactly. Since someone is willing to be a charitable buddha, why should we reject his goodwill? Would we expect a first-year student to overturn the heavens?”
“A first-year little kid should stay obediently in their turf. They should not go around, doing things to disgrace themselves.”
A group of first-year students had gathered to enter the competition venue. The moment they stepped into the arena, they were surprised to hear the condescending jabs from those second and third-year students. They were stunned for a brief moment, and even though they felt furious, they did not dare to say anything.
“Hey, are you sure there’s no problem for us to be here?” A first-year student nervously pulled the sleeves of the student in front of him.
“There are no rules that state we cannot be here. Shen Jue will be participating in the competition today, and he represents us, the first-year students. So we should cheer for him.” The youngster that led the group turned back to comfort his classmate’s anxiety. He was none other than Lin Xu, who was from the same dormitory as Shen Yanxiao and Tang Nazhi.
1“Do you think Shen Jue could do it? The rest of the competitors are all our second and third-year seniors. Shangguan Xiao will also be participating, perhaps that is why I feel fearful?” Another student felt his heart thumped like the beatings of drums.
They were all first-year students, but all of them were from different classes. That was why the color of their robes also differed.