Chapter 212: Shocking News

Lu Ran advanced to River Realm, Stage Two on the eleventh day of the second lunar month; naturally, over the following days, he needed to adjust his mindset and prepare thoroughly for the coming battle.

But on the thirteenth day of the lunar month, something happened.

Early that morning, the official website of "Prodigies" announced the second batch of participating student names.

From this moment on, public opinion was completely ignited.

The popularity of "Prodigies" reached an outrageous height!

Especially after the first season of "Prodigies" aired, the formidable strength and demeanor displayed by the participating students far exceeded everyone's expectations!

It was no exaggeration to say one could describe the post-broadcast atmosphere as "national jubilation."

For a long time, the growing power of the Demonic Race had been an indisputable fact.

In these years of continuous warfare, what people saw and heard seemed to be nothing but bad news.

Outside which shelter had another Moon-Watcher sacrificed their life.

How many casualties this city suffered, what kind of economic losses that city endured.

People lived in terror, spending anxious nights, able only to hope by sheer luck to see the sun rise and witness the damaged urban districts after battle, as if no hope could be seen anywhere.

The emergence of "Prodigies" became an outlet for people's emotions and a highly effective shot of adrenaline.

The Great Xia government stepped in, presenting the real and brutal battlefield scenes clearly before the world's eyes.

Every sword thrust by these fifty talented youths of Great Xia, every demon they eliminated—

all seemed like a rebellion against fate!

They represented even more the human race's desire to survive.

Across every TV channel, every major program, and throughout the internet, discussions about "Prodigies" were everywhere.

In the midst of long, dark lives, people had found a special form of spiritual sustenance.

In just one night, this sustenance became a source of reliance, even becoming the spiritual pillar for countless people.

Some wept with joy, as if grasping a life-saving straw.

Some had bloodshot eyes, following the first-person perspective as if they themselves were slaying their enemies.

Others argued until their faces turned red, debating which of the prodigies was stronger or weaker.

Regardless of the specifics, "Prodigies" had already exploded across this world.

And when the large list of the second batch of fifty people was released, countless people rushed crazily to the official website to scrutinize the detailed profiles of the participating students.

People searched for the individual who might become their object of spiritual reliance, while also comparing these fifty people against the previous batch of participants.

Among these fifty, one person very quickly stood out!

That was an extremely unique existence—Lu Ran!

This world exploded.

It exploded completely.

In a list where participating students were generally twenty-two or twenty-three years old, an eighteen-year-old kid had slipped in.

In a list mostly composed of believers of First, Second, and Third-Rank Gods, a believer of the Ninth-Rank God, Xiang Xiang Xianyang, had slipped in.

In a list filled entirely with elite students at River Realm, Stage Five, a rookie at River Realm, Stage One had slipped in.

Above the names of prodigy after prodigy sat the titles of major universities.

From Jingcheng to Chang'an, from Guangfo to Shanghai...

University after university was either top-tier in Great Xia or the absolute best within its province.

Only one person was the exception!

Above his name was written a special line of text: Wu Lie River Province, Yunshan City, Deng Yuxiang City No. 1 High School!

What the hell is this called! Explosive!

Any single one of the points mentioned above would be enough to leave people dumbfounded.

Yet so many of them converged upon a single person.

From this moment on, major news outlets, various programs, and netizens everywhere plunged together into a grand carnival!

An unprecedented spectacle!

Who is Lu Ran?

A high school student, a believer of Xiang Xiang Xianyang at the initial stage of River Realm, on what grounds could he squeeze into the ranks of the "Top One Hundred Prodigies of Great Xia"?

Of course, people were unwilling to question the "Prodigies" production team, but the problem was that Lu Ran was an egg full of cracks.

All over his body, damn it, there were nothing but cracks!

It was simply unbearable to look at.

Since the list was announced, Lu Ran's phone had been buzzing incessantly.

He answered several calls in a row; Deng Yutang, Tian Tian, Chang Ying, and others all expressed their congratulations.

For Lu Ran to participate in "Prodigies" was an extremely honorable matter.

Naturally, those close to him had been stationed in front of their computers or holding their phones, waiting for the list to be announced.

There were many other incoming calls, but since they were from unknown numbers, Lu Ran did not answer them.

Lu Ran's grade group chat and class group chat had likewise exploded.

"@Ran, Brother Ran! Brother Ran!!!"

"@Ran, is that you, Lu Ran? Are you going to be on Prodigies?"

"Nonsense! It's written clearly right there, Wu Lie River Province Deng Yuxiang City No. 1 High School! That's our school, and our school only has one Lu Ran!"

"Only one hundred prodigies selected from all of Great Xia! Just 100 spots! And my Brother Ran actually managed to get in?"

"Holy crap! God Ran! Awesome! You are my god!"

"What's happening, what's going on, what happened?"

"So that means, on the first day of school, I personally witnessed a duel between prodigies?"

"Damn, I just realized it too; what virtue or ability do I possess?"

Ma Ma Tianchuan said: "I should be the one saying that; what virtue or ability do I possess? Hahahaha!"

"Scholar Ma, you'll have something to brag about for the rest of your life! Fighting evenly with a Great Xia prodigy and still escaping unscathed!"

"Oh! I suddenly remembered, Jiangjiang Meiren even defeated Lu Ran!"

"I told you it was a fixed match! You just wouldn't believe it."

The grade-level group chat was buzzing with discussion, but Lu Ran had no time to look.

Because he received another phone call.

"Brother!!" A girl's shrill cheer erupted from the receiver, vibrating painfully against Lu Ran's eardrums.

"Keep it down, keep your voice down," Lu Ran said with a pained expression.

"I saw the list!" Jiang Qiao Jiang Qiao Yuanxi could not suppress the joy in her heart. "The day after tomorrow, you're going to become a prodigy and head to the battlefield!"

Lu Ran switched to speakerphone and placed his mobile phone on the computer desk. "Didn't I tell you that long ago?"

Jiang Qiao Jiang Qiao Yuanxi complained dissatisfiedly: "Oh, my smug big brother!"

"Can't you be a little happier? Why pretend to be so deep and serious!"

"Mm-hmm, happy, happy." Lu Ran's response sounded perfunctory, yet the corners of his mouth lifted slightly with a smile as he continuously scrolled the mouse wheel.

At this moment, he was sitting before his computer, reviewing the profiles of fellow trainees participating in the same campaign.

Jiang Qiao Jiang Qiao Yuanxi said: "Among all these older brothers and sisters, you stand out so awkwardly."

"How am I awkward?"

"Everyone else has such an imposing presence; their official photos are more spirited than the last, while you look just like a little younger brother~"

Lu Ran: "."

Jiang Qiao Jiang Qiao Yuanxi puckered her small lips. "Don't you have any good photos? Why are you using an ID card picture?"

Lu Ran said irritably: "When would I have had time to take a photo? Isn't the student ID photo fine?"

"No! Change it, oh please, my good big brother~"

"Change it, I'll change it next time!" Lu Ran hurriedly replied, feeling his head swelling with stress.

"Hee-hee~" Jiang Qiao Jiang Qiao Yuanxi immediately broke into a sweet smile. "It's a promise then."

In just those few words, the girl's voice grew quieter and quieter.

Lu Ran asked puzzledly: "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, it's nothing." All mirth vanished from Jiang Qiao Jiang Qiao Yuanxi's words; her mood seemed somewhat depressed.

Lu Ran, being quite sharp, asked with concern: "What happened?"

"Um, someone is talking about you." Holding her mobile phone, Jiang Qiao Jiang Qiao Yuanxi spoke to Lu Ran on speaker while scrolling through comments on the official website.

In the forum section for "Prodigy," the number of posts was skyrocketing, with all manner of dubious characters emerging together.

Little Jiang Qiao Yuanxi was not skilled at hiding her emotions.

When she saw people praising Lu Ran, Jiang Qiao Jiang Qiao Yuanxi's heart felt sweet.

When she saw curiosity, confusion, and high expectations, Jiang Qiao Jiang Qiao Yuanxi felt quite confident, believing her brother would surely conquer these spectators.

Inevitably, Jiang Qiao Jiang Qiao Yuanxi also encountered some questioning remarks, including comments brimming with malice.

"What is this? The first season's results were decent, and now he's gotten big-headed in the blink of an eye?"

"Shoving in a high school student from the first stage of the River Realm, who is also a believer of Xiang Xiang Xianyang! Isn't this a joke?"

"What happened to giving the common people confidence? This is just messing around!"

"Don't we all know what those believers of Xiang Xiang Xianyang are like? Just wait to see how he cries and begs for mercy up there, how he runs away in terror with his pants soiled, right?"

"Which Young Master's family is this? They must hold considerable power, coming here just to polish their resume? I'm truly witnessing something for the first time."

Jiang Qiao Jiang Qiao Yuanxi's small face flushed red with anger; she could no longer even hear Lu Ran's voice.

"Are you idiots? This is 'Prodigy'; without genuine talent and learning, coming here is no different from public execution!"

"Exactly, who would be stupid enough to come here just to polish their resume? Do you people have brains?"

Seeing this, Jiang Qiao Jiang Qiao Yuanxi felt slightly better, but the comments below made her even angrier.

"How bold! How can we lowly commoners question the decisions of the upper-class nobility?"

"Explosive news! Someone has leaked that back when Lu Ran was on the God-Worshipping Platform, the entity he worshipped into existence was a Demon Race Lady Lady Yanzhi Doll!!"

"Huh??"

"A Lady Lady Yanzhi Doll? That's exceedingly rare; in forty years, how many believers in the entire Great Xia have ever worshipped a demon into existence?"

"No wonder he could fight his way into 'Prodigy'; he is a heaven-defying genius!"

"Get lost, who are you trying to fool! If he could really worship a Lady Lady Yanzhi Doll into existence, he would inevitably become a believer of a First or Second-Rank God."

"I'm dying of laughter; who would believe that? If he truly worshipped a Lady Lady Yanzhi Doll, then my lord Liangye Jian Yi might even make an exception and accept him as her male disciple!"

"On the God-Worshipping Platform, powerful gods were surely gathered in clusters; why would he run off to worship Xiang Xiang Xianyang?"

Lu Ran called out: "Jiang Qiao Yuanxi! Jiang Qiao Yuanxi?"

"Ah, Brother." Jiang Qiao Jiang Qiao Yuanxi finally came to her senses. "Hanging up, hanging up; I'm going to go argue with them!"

"Jiang Qiao Jiang Qiao Yuanxi!" Lu Ran suddenly addressed his sister by her full name.

"What is it? You're so serious, it's quite frightening," Jiang Qiao Jiang Qiao Yuanxi whispered, feeling a bit aggrieved.

Lu Ran said in a deep voice: "Don't pay attention to those people; you will only anger yourself."

Jiang Qiao Jiang Qiao Yuanxi responded reluctantly: "Mm."

Lu Ran softened his tone and said: "Jiang Qiao Yuanxi, no matter how much you explain, it is useless."

"Trust your brother; after the fifteenth night of this month passes, everything will be fine."

"Mm-hmm!" Jiang Qiao Jiang Qiao Yuanxi suddenly perked up, gritting her teeth as she said, "Brother, you must make me proud!

I'll mark them first; after the fifteenth, I'll dig up every single one of their graves!

I'll unearth all their posts and whip their corpses one by one!"

"Good heavens—" Lu Ran was truly a bit stunned.

My mischievous and cute little sister,

does she harbor such a little devil in her heart?

Jiang Qiao Jiang Qiao Yuanxi muttered incessantly, "Brother, you absolutely must achieve excellent results.

Your little sister's cheeks are so tender; if someone were to slap them, it would hurt terribly~"

Lu Ran: "."

(End of Chapter)