Absolute Choice 10

by Pear Lands In The Autumn Spring

  He surveyed his surroundings and confirmed that his peers were resting. He was elated that he was the first reporter to receive the news. He hurriedly took out his cell phone and made a call!

  "Hey, President. About that…Shi…Shi Xiaobai has entered…the eighth…the eighth level!" said the suited reporter nervously and excitedly while holding his cellphone in one hand as he repressed his voice.

  "What did you say? You fool, can't you speak louder! Did you find some retarded news again? How many times have I told you? You should do things in a prim and proper manner, clean and clear. You better watch it if you find trash news like 'Hen Climbs a Tree' or 'Sow Enters the Sea'. Hmph!"

  The president yelled angrily. In fact, he was rather displeased with the suited reporter. The reporter had no looks or powers. Every day, he would find some unpopular piece of news. If not for his services rendered to the news agency for so many years, he would have long been fired.

  The suited reporter frowned as he turned his head to the side. He placed the cell phone further away from his ear.

  To him, the president was lacking in everything. He was lacking in build, heart and tolerance. However, there was one thing that was not lacking in any way. His voice was louder than everyone else.

  Hmph! Do you think it's easy for a 'hen to climb a tree' or a 'sow to enter the sea'? How can you call that trash news? What lacking foresight you have.

  No matter how angry the suited reporter was, he did not forget the original goal for making the phone call. He immediately composed himself and said with a smile by raising his voice,

  "President, Shi Xiaobai has reached the eighth level of the trial tower!"

  "Ah!? Shi Xiaobai has finally reached the eighth level!"

  The president had heard it clearly this time. He had exclaimed first before falling silent for several seconds. Suddenly, he praised with a cheerful tone, "Not bad. Good job. As expected of our Donglin News Agency's future star. Keep up the good work and continue working hard. Your 'hopes and dreams' will be fulfilled and there will be no lack of promotions and pay increments!"

  After the president said those words, he smiled and said to the busy editor-in-chief in the office, "Editor Liu, that shall be headlines of the evening paper tonight. Try to get it done in the shortest possible time. This is first-hand news. Haha. There definitely won't be any news more explosive than this."

  Editor-in-Chief Liu gave a strong nod as he looked excited. Donglin News Agency was just a tiny news publication agency. The field reporters were mostly the bottom of the barrel after they were eliminated by other news agencies. The news that they submitted to him made him want to kill himself. Every time, he had to showcase his 'literary talent' and come up with some 'philosophical' title, for example, "Breaking! A Particular Village Leader Repeatedly Climbs a Tree to Find Chickens!" or "Could it be that only beauties can enter the sea? No! Watch as a sow bravely dives into the sea!"

  But unfortunately, the news itself was considered unsought. Even a 'philosophical' title could not save it. Instead, it earned itself as the infamy as 'shameless clickbait title'.

  And today, was Donglin News Agency welcoming in a new era?

  Shi Xiaobai enters the eighth level—It was a matter of national attention. It was a news that could even shock the entire world!

  If they could be able to publish the piece of news first, Donglin News Agency's reputation would benefit from the situation as well!

  Without any delay, Editor-in-Chief Liu began to rapidly type on his keyboard while writing the article with verve and flair.

  Outside the auditorium, the suited reporter had swung his fists. The other reporters ate their meals at regular times or they would return home to sleep when they were tired. As for him, in order to await the piece of news, he had eaten bread and snacks daily. He even laid out a mat to sleep in the auditorium at night. And indeed, just as Providence helps those who help themselves, his hard work had not been in vain!

  Yeah! A celebration is in order tonight!

  The suited reporter thought to himself as he began to suffer a dilemma. "Should I go to a brothel or a massage parlor?"

  At that moment, there was a brouhaha from the exit to the trial tower. Following that, several medical personnel that was stationed nearby rushed to the tower's exit.

  The suited reporter watched in a daze at the strange actions of those people. Before he realized that something odd had happened, he had a vague feeling that another piece of breaking news had happened.

  He quickly ran over and held a female doctor back and asked loudly, "What happened!?"

  The female doctor had panic written all over her face. In her nervousness, she glanced at the reporter and said with a trembling voice, "Spee…Speechless…Li is dead!"

  "What? Speechless Li is dead!?" The suited reporter did not notice that he had not hung up his phone call and he had accidentally yelled into the phone.

  "Beep! Spee…Speechless Li is dead!?" The president was still drinking his coffee leisurely. He had been fantasizing the scene of his newspapers being snatched up by every Chinese citizen. With the sudden yell, he nearly spat out his coffee from shock.

  When the reporter heard the president's voice, he realized that the call was still connected. Taking a deep breath, he tried his best to calm down and looked at the exit of the trial tower calmly. By putting together the abrupt situation, the panic of the medical personnel, the horror of the female doctor, and the commotion at the trial tower's exit, it was very likely that Speechless Li had died. The impact this news was likely more shocking than Shi Xiaobai's entry into the eighth level. After all, Speechless Li came from a mysterious large family clan. He was a descendant of the Li family!

  "President, this piece of news shouldn't be wrong. Speechless Li has really died!" said the suited reporter.

  "Great. Well done!" The president was extremely shocked. He did not have the time or effort to praise the suited reporter for his 'extraordinary' performance.

  At that moment, Editor-in-Chief Liu, who was preparing the headline article asked, "President, is there a need…to change the headline?"

  "Of course it needs changing! The person who died is Speechless Li!"

  The president was first to bellow before he realized that something wasn't right. He said softly, "That's not right. Shi Xiaobai has reached the eighth level. That is the Nine Revolutions Transcendental Tower's eighth level. There have only been three people in history that have succeeded doing so. This is a huge matter that will go down in the history books. Furthermore, Shi Xiaobai is recently one of the most popular people trending on search engines. This matter might not lose to Speechless Li's death in terms of explosiveness."

  Editor-in-Chief Liu wiped the sweat of his brow as he asked, "Then what should be done? There can only be one headline…"

  The president wrinkled his brows as he began weighing the importance of the two pieces of news. Immediately, he had a headache and found it difficult to compare. In frustration, he shouted at Editor-in-Chief Liu, "You are the editor-in-chief. You do it as you see fit!"

  Editor-in-Chief Liu was left helpless. This was the first time he realized that having too many pieces of useful news had its pains too!

  Sigh, being an editor-in-chief sure was an arduous profession. It's so much better being a president.

  Editor-in-Chief Liu grumbled inwardly but he began racking his brains, as usual, to resolve the problem that the news agency's president had given him.

  There were two big pieces of news but there was only one headline.

  Who should be the headline?

  Suddenly, Editor-in-Chief Liu's eyes lit up.

  "Damn I'm stupid! Can't I just merge the two articles into one!?"

  At that moment, Editor-in-Chief Liu felt that he was truly intelligent!

  He chuckled and with a flash of brilliance, began tapping his keyboard. He wrote the title for the headlines for the evening papers.

  "Shi Xiaobai ascends to the eighth level. Speechless
Li descends to hell. The number one junior has changed!"

  -------

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  Chapter484 Bunny Cao and Handsome Chen

  Beijing City, Peihua University's Dragon Summer Stadium

  The academic tournament that had lasted nearly a month had finally ended half an hour ago. Although the contestants at the stadium had long left the scene, the audience outside remained without any intention to leave. They were still immersed in the exciting final round. The blood in their bodies was stirring with no way for them to calm down.

  "How astonishing. I completely can't believe that it was a battle among Psionic Mortal Realm rookies. Probably ranked tournaments at the Psionic Soul Realm, or even Psionic Might Realm, aren't as exaggerated as this, right? I almost slunk away after being frightened by Bunny Cao. How can that girl's magic be so terrifying? I had a nagging feeling that she could tear apart the stadium at any time. However, that boy called Chen…Chen-something was also rather impressive. He seemed invulnerable and unmovable. He resembled a humanoid monster. He was engaged in a stalemate with Bunny Cao for more than ten minutes. If not for Bunny Cao's mental energy turning 'perversely' strong, allowing her to constantly cast magic without any signs of exhaustion for more than ten minutes and then use some unknown trump card, the outcome would have been impossible to predict!"

  A middle-aged man exclaimed with praises in the audience stands. He had an excited expression as he reminisced the stunning match half an hour ago. The stadium grounds in front of him that was filled with marks of the aftermath seemed to indicate how astounding the battle had been.

  "Pui! Pui! Pui! The outcome has not been decided. Didn't you see Bunny Cao looking relaxed during the match? She was casting spells in an unhurried manner. Furthermore, she was eating meat…meat buns in satisfaction at the same time? That's clearly because her opponent was too weak so she had been perfunctory with him.”

  “She just did not wish to show her true strength too early. It was to create certain highlights in the match. She had the interests of the audience in mind! Bunny Cao had only turned slightly serious eventually. That adonis, Chen…Chen-something did not even have the ability to put up a resistance!"

  A freckled boy sitting beside the man retorted in disagreement.

  As a university rookie that had paid attention to the academic tournament selection, she had long had a gauge. From the beginning, he was certain that Bunny Cao, who was ranked on par with Speechless Li as the 'North Cao, South Li' duo, would clinch final victory. It was even possible that it would have been a wipe out in every match, but he never expected the final match to last more than ten minutes. Her opponent was an adonis that was completely unknown previously.

  And what he found completely unacceptable was that many people like the middle-aged man beside him had equaled the adonis with Bunny Cao!

  From a long time ago, Bunny Cao was a 'female goddess' in his heart when he was still in middle school despite lacking in several aspects. Bunny Cao could only be considered to have delicate features and she had a terrible fashion sense by always wearing long pants under a short skirt. Although she had lived on campus for three years, she would often get lost but choose to travel afar. Recently, she had become obsessed with meat buns for some unknown reason. Despite her having an enviable S-class superpower and Mind Expanse, she was infatuated by magic. She only studied magic despite it being an era filled with Psionites and Espers. She became a proud oddity. Well…the more she was described, the more like the word 'nut' had to be added to the words 'female goddess'.

  In short, the freckled boy adored Bunny Cao because she was truly strong. She was so strong that she made her peers question life. Even Speechless Li, who was ranked alongside her as 'North Cao South Li', was absolutely not stronger than Bunny Cao from his point of view. Hence, although Bunny Cao wasn't pretty and she had a poor sense of fashion, odd personality and various flaws, it did not stop her from becoming the freckled boy's 'female goddess' because her breasts were really big. Uh, that's not right. It's because she was really very strong.

  Ahem. Anyways, the freckled boy was extremely displeased that the adonis, who looked as though he led a substantial life, could be comparable to his female goddess, Bunny Cao.

  However, the moment he said those words, a female classmate sitting beside him could not remain happy.

  "Bullshit! Bunny Cao looked more like she was the one using all her strength, alright!? The stadium was almost torn down by her, but Chen…Chen…Handsome Chen was completely unscathed. If not for Bunny Cao using some technique at the end, causing Handsome Chen to run out of the arena for some baffling reason, it would be hard to determine who was the victor! Hmph! Handsome Chen must have felt that it was meaningless to drag it out any further so he had deliberately lost!"

  The girl glared angrily at the freckled boy. After that, she took out her cell phone to check the information of the final match. She muttered to herself, "Strange. Handsome Chen is so handsome, but why can't I remember his name…Oh, there you have it. Chen Lingcun. Oh, I must remember my male god's name this time!"

  The freckled boy stared at his female classmate dumbfoundedly as he said with a stiff smile, "Lingling, aren't you a fan of Bunny Cao?"

  The freckled boy was stupefied. The female classmate sitting beside him was someone he had been constantly trying to pursue. As the both of them were Bunny Cao's fans, it was not easy for him to obtain two tickets. He had hoped to find an opportunity to confess to her in the euphoria after the end of the tournament. Why did it suddenly become like this?

  "Pui! Don't call me Lingling. Are we that close?"

  The girl glared coldly at the freckled male.

  The freckled boy opened his mouth, about to say something when his female classmate scoffed coldly and said, "Don't speak to me. It's affecting my memorization of my male god's name!"

  As the girl spoke, she coldly turned her head away, leaving behind an arrogant back view of her head.

  The freckled boy felt extremely aggrieved as he said sulkily, "Isn't he just an adonis?"

  The girl immediately turned around and gave him a cold glare of 'never talk to me in the future'.

  The freckled boy sulkily shut his mouth.

  By the side, a middle-aged man tried his best to hold back his laughter. Having almost failed, he shook his head and reflected,

  "This is what youth (a loser) is!"

  …

  …

  The sun was hottest at high noon. Most of the audience in the audience stands were sweating buckets. However, few left the stadium because there was not only a prize presentation ceremony after the final match, there was also the collective training expedition ceremony that many looked forward to.

  Although the officials had spent an additional half an hour to finish up their preparations as per normal, the audience did not lose their passion. The rousing atmosphere was still as feverish as ever. It was partly because they were still reminiscing the lingering charm of the intense battle from before. And the other reason was that the audience was looking forward to the gathering of the ten rookies who would participate in the collective training as academic faction representatives.

  The audience discussed the final match, the ten rookies, or the male gods or female goddesses in their heart to kill time.

  "Dang! Dang! Dang!"

  Suddenly, a rousing tune sounded and was spread throughout the stadium through the broadcasting system.

  A yellow-browed elder walked out of a passageway. As he strode to the center of the grounds, everyone stopped their discussions and cast their gazes at the old man.

  He was Peihua University's Principal Zhen, and also one of the leaders of the academic faction. He was considered one of the most esteemed figures in China.

  The audience involuntarily shut their mouths and even held their breaths in a daze. The yellow-browed elder was hunched and his footsteps were hobbled. However, every step he took to the middle of
the stadium appeared as though a hundred-meter-tall behemoth was striding through the lands in everyone's eyes.

  A repressive feeling that surged in every direction suddenly arose spontaneously. It made their breathing turn something to be taken with great care.

  Only when the yellow-browed elder came to a stop did the strange sense of pressure disappear abruptly.

  The elder stood alone in the middle of the stadium. He had a benevolent and kind countenance as his eyes squinted into a smile. He looked harmless.

  However, not a single one of the audience dared to break the silence at that moment.

  "Da Da Da…"

  At that moment, a series of footsteps could be heard from the passageway. It sounded extremely clear in the dead silence.

  As the audience turned toward the source of the noise, they saw the boys and girls that they had been eager to see walking out of the passageway.