Top-notch Master Masquerading As Cannon Fodder Female Companion

161-170

Chapter 161: Number 79

Lin Fuxi immediately closed her eyes. She held her tears in. She couldn't cry. That would mean she was a loser.

After realizing that Tan Mo had ranked first in the exam, the class slowly shifted toward looking at the top ten and then searching for their own placings also.

There was no need for them to search row by row for this. Right below the table that displayed the actual marks were the ranking lists.

It was filled with numbers. As long they weren't at the very bottom, then most people were satisfied with their grades. Rankings didn't matter that much to them in this test.

But they were also desperate to know Lin Fuxi's ranking.

It seemed as if Lin Fuxi should've done well. And, of course, someone did indeed find her place: Lin Fuxi was ranked at number 79.

It definitely was her name that was written on the site. It was in between the names of students from the Chinese Department.

If it hadn't been for the entire ruckus caused by Tan Mo, many of her classmates would have been praising her now.

The only names that weren't from the Chinese Department that were ranked in the top 100 were Tan Mo and Lin Fuxi. Tan Mo had ranked first! It took everyone's breath away.

Once they all saw where Lin Fuxi was placed, they all scrolled directly to the very bottom.

"Hey, that's insane! To think that someone got only three points." Someone laughed in the crowd. It really did prove how some people hadn't studied or revised at all.

Some people had really just pushed their luck after signing up for this. Weren't they worried that they'd be made into a laughingstock?

That was another kind of bravery.

Lin Fuxi closed the tab. She then proceeded to shut down her computer.

If it hadn't been for Tan Mo, she really would have been ranked first for the students outside the Chinese Department.

Who could see that and not praise her?

But now, with all that had happened, the spotlight that was supposed to be hers had shifted to Tan Mo. She had really been left with none of the attention.

Someone's voice from outside the door echoed into the room. "Is Tan Mo here?"

The crowd looked up. It was Wang Yuemu and Guan Ruyue.

Everyone knew who Wang Yuemu was, especially those from the first-year Finance class. She had gone to find Tan Mo during the early days of their military training.

On the other hand, not everyone knew who Guan Ruyue was. But it seemed as if her relationship with Wang Yuemu was deeper than met the eye.

"Sister Wang, Sister Guan!" Tan Mo stood up and waved at them enthusiastically.

"Give me a second to just shut off the computer. I'll be right with you," she said. The two waited outside the door.

Meng Yuxi and Jin Yuelin nodded as Tan Mo told them she would be leaving first.

She met the two who were waiting outside. "What are you two doing here?" she asked excitedly.

We were just in a classroom upstairs," said Wang Yuemu. "We all waited for the ranking lists to publish before leaving, so we thought that you probably had done the same. Plus, we were gonna pass by here anyway, so we decided to drop in and ask about you. And no kidding, you're really here."

"We all saw the published list. You got full marks and ranked first!" Guan Ruyue exclaimed excitedly.

"As your senior, it's embarrassing, really." Despite what Wang Yuemu said, there definitely weren't any serious hard feelings between them.

Tan Mo heaved a sigh of relief. "Thank God you all ranked in the top ten. That means that I won't have to suffer from any scoldings."

If even one person hadn't made it, Professor Guo would've lost face.

Guan Ruyue echoed the sentiment. "Definitely. We all worked really hard this time round since none of us wanted to anger Professor Guo."

It indeed was scary when the professor got angry. Just thinking about it sent shivers up Tan Mo's spine.

Around them, everyone was turning off their computers as they eavesdropped on this conversation.

They couldn't really understand that much about the scoldings and the pressure, but they could tell that the relationship between the three ran deep.

Those from the first-year Finance class were all aware of the story about how Wang Yuemu, who represented Professor Guo, had come to look for Tan Mo. But after that, Wang Yuemu had never appeared again, which was why this deep bond between them was unexpected. It was clear that this wasn't a relationship that had been built in a day or two. They'd even brought up Professor Guo by name.

Could it be that Tan Mo had been in contact with Professor Guo this entire time?

Looking back, Guan Ruyue had said the words, "Professor Guo'll be extremely happy with your grade this time."

Their voices got quieter and quieter as the distance between themselves and the classroom gradually grew larger and larger.

Everyone in the classroom had turned their computers off. And finally they started the long-awaited discussion about the elephant in the room.

"Since when has she had any relation with Professor Guo?"

"I thought Tan Mo hadn't switched majors?" Someone from the first-year Finance class piped up.

No one could really answer that question, so they just shook their heads.

"Yuelin, don't you know anything about that? Aren't you in the same dorm room as she is?" someone asked.

Meanwhile, Lin Fuxi was wallowing in emotional turmoil. Upon hearing this question, she turned toward Jin Yuelin and she snapped out of her morose thoughts.

"I'm not too sure either." Jin Yuelin laughed. "We have different schedules anyway, so we're not always together."

"Class president, do you not know either?" Someone asked Lin Fuxi.

Lin Fuxi put on a face that looked as if she had been seriously wronged and said, "Even though we're in the same dormitory, Tan Mo avoids me at all costs. If Yuelin and Yuxi don't know, how would I know?"

She herself had definitely been left out in their dorm. If this had been before, everyone would've pitied her, surely. Everyone leaving her out? That was just wrong. There were only four people in their dorm rooms. With the other three heading out together every now and then, just imagine how awful it'd be for the one remaining.

But today Lin Fuxi had slipped up by showing a small part of her true colors. Most people now probably thought they could understand just why she had been left out.

If you put yourselves in this situation, and had a Sister Lin around you every day, that would've been annoying enough. But to be with someone who made themselves look as if they'd been so badly wronged and bullied and then gossip behind your back as well...

Tan Mo and the others didn't treat Lin Fuxi with any respect or even in a sincere, polite manner.

In front of all these people, Lin Fuxi hadn't held back. But in their dorm room, with only four people, who knows what was going on...especially realizing that Jin Yuelin and Meng Yuxi had good connections with the rest of the class.

And even they didn't like Lin Fuxi.

It seemed as if Tan Mo didn't anger them or do anything that caused a fuss. Yet now, the class finally saw Lin Fuxi's true colors. Everyone felt they would've made a fuss about her also.

Thankfully, Lin Fuxi was only our temporary class president. Now that we all know what she's really like, we can recast our votes for our class president was what almost everyone thought.

It's not even confirmed if she could still be reappointed.

It's not like anyone would vote for her again anyway.

...

Tan Mo, Wang Yuemu, and Guan Ruyue were all headed to the research lab.

Professor Guo was already there checking out the ranking lists. He had been staring at the top ten for the past ten minutes.

Especially the very first line: ranked first, Tan Mo, who had achieved full marks.

Chapter 162: Level of Perfection

Professor Guo was smiling so widely that he couldn't even open his eyes anymore.

"Tan Mo really was determined in this round of exams." Professor Guo beamed from ear to ear.

It seemed as if they were really going to put on a show for Professor Liu at this year's competition. It was their time to shine.

Tan Mo met up with Ying Siyuan and the others.

Their team of ten had already been assembled. Tan Mo hadn't been there on the first day. They all entered the research lab.

Professor Guo was now in the brightest of moods. Upon seeing them, he said, "Okay. We're all here."

"The publication of the ranking lists were all done around the same time, so we waited around for Tan Mo so we could come all together." Ying Siyuan smiled as she explained to him what they had done.

Under Professor Guo's instructions, this competition's quota had been filled by them. They were all quite relaxed so far.

"All right." Professor Guo nodded and smiled at them. "You all did well, but don't get too cocky. Even though I've never explicitly stated this, being a part of my team also means entering a brotherhood. This includes Tan Mo, who isn't from the Chinese Department."

She had never even attended one lesson. Thinking about it, it was a shame.

At least she had attended some of Professor Zhao's lessons. But despite that, she had never been part of his research team. So this was nice.

With her fantastic capabilities, Professor Guo was worried about Professor Zhao. He must be regretting not recruiting Tan Mo into his team.

But wouldn't Tan Mo then be conflicted between the teams?

"Now, even though Tan Mo hasn't ever properly attended one of our classes, she has joined us in our research tasks. I hope everyone can interact and learn from one another. I'm not just casually saying that Tan Mo is my disciple. This is a serious matter. The information I have gathered really proves how this wasn't a forced decision of mine." Professor Gu said as he looked at Tan Mo.

The crowd was silent as they listened to him. If you weren't staring at Tan Mo the entire time, it would be hard to believe.

Tan Mo nodded vigorously. "Of course! I learned a lot from all of you here, and I'm definitely Professor Guo's disciple. If there's anyone who says otherwise, I'll definitely have to correct them on the spot."

"You're right, it's exactly like that. You need to keep this attitude up, Tan Mo!" Professor Guo smiled and he flashed his teeth.

The crowd stayed silent once again. They all thought that Tan Mo was starting to stray under his bad influence.

Such a pure, lovely young girl would now be corrupted, and it would be because of Professor Guo and his antics.

They all acknowledged to themselves that this was definitely not their doing.

Professor Guo felt that Tan Mo showed no signs of discomfort or displeasure, and he was extremely satisfied with her current behavior. Everything seemed to be going according to what he had planned.

"As my disciples, it was a given that you all would rank in the top ten. It would only be strange if you hadn't, so please would you all get off your high horses. The only thing you passed was an internal exam.

"While it's true that the questions were selected from the competitions over the years, you all were only competing among yourselves. These rankings do not say much when looking at the bigger picture, among other universities and colleges," Professor Guo sternly told them. "Is that understood?"

"Yes!" They all collectively replied.

"All right then, according to the official rules, you ten will be the representatives of Beijing University in the Ancient Chinese Language Competition," said Professor Guo. "Make sure to prepare well so we can achieve a splendid win. Even if we lose, we most certainly cannot lose to Professor Liu's students!"

Because of this one exam, Tan Mo's name and reputation had become widespread not only throughout the Chinese Department, but also throughout the entire school.

Who on earth is Tan Mo?

She's from the first-year Finance class, and she ranked first on this exam when, logically, someone from the Chinese Department should have come in first.

She even scored full marks.

She's also only a first-year student.

Those from the Chinese Department must be embarrassed to death. No one is sure how Wang Yuemu and the others feel about this so-called defeat.

Most important, those from the Chinese Department all had mixed feelings about this. Those majoring in the subject itself couldn't even compare to someone who didn't? Well, other than Wang Yuemu and some others who did do well, they supposed...

Some scores by other students from the Chinese Department only seemed average.

Especially compared with that Finance student Tan Mo. She's an outlier. Someone special that no one had expected. One of a kind, truly.

Someone from the Finance Department outdid everyone else, even those from the Chinese Department, who were majoring in the subject?

And so naturally, those from the Chinese Department had a few opinions here and there, about this one student who had surpassed them.

How could someone who majored in Finance cause such a ruckus?

It was even repeated by someone that she'd entered Professor Guo's team to represent the university in this latest competition.

"What?" Someone was shocked upon hearing this. "She's not even part of our department, how could she enter Professor Guo's team?"

This question was met with a shrug of the shoulders. "I don't know that either, I just heard that from someone in the History Department, I think."

"What the h*ll? Let me get this straight. We people from the Chinese Department are hearing about a student from the Finance Department from the History Department? That's messed up."

"We're not sure about the details. We just know that he said that a senior from Professor Guo's team spoke those words. Maybe she really is just gifted in the subject. I mean, how else could she have scored full marks?"

"Even though she's not in the Chinese Department, her work clearly shows her talent, we can't deny that. Come on, either way, even Wang Yuemu didn't score as high as she did."

"I heard from those in the Finance Department that even before the term started, during the military training, no, a day before that, Professor Guo personally went to find Tan Mo to try to convince her to switch majors, from Finance to Chinese. And during the military training itself, Wang Yuemu also tried to talk to her specifically about that."

"Oh, my gosh. Then why on earth didn't she switch majors like Professor Guo suggested?"

"No one really knows. She just didn't, but then Professor Guo still let her into his research team. In my books, she's plenty smart and well off enough for us to admire."

"Oh, well, I don't mind either way." Someone else sighed. "But other departments don't know that, and all they do is diss on us all the time. It's so bloody depressing."

"Ack. Who cares about them? It's not as if they could rank first either. Other than Tan Mo, everyone else who ranked high was from the Chinese Department, am I right? It isn't our problem. It's just Tan Mo, who's too smart. Does everyone really think that we can all be like her and achieve that level of perfection?"

As the discussion came to an end, the room gradually quieted down.

Meanwhile, Tan Mo and the others on the team were doing research and enriching their knowledge within the lab.

Chapter 163: Learn from the Seniors

Tan Mo was relying on her very long past lifetime, as well as her experience under the tutelage of her Master.

Regardless of how proficient one is at history, nothing can beat personally having experienced past events.

As ancient languages evolved, Tan Mo had journeyed throughout the changing times and personally witnessed all of it.

However, as a little snow fairy, she was unable to move around everywhere. Thus, even though she knew a bit about what had gone on, she didn't understand everything.

She had heard about a lot of it from her Master. But there were other events and happenings that her Master had never mentioned.

At this time, Tan Mo was producing outstanding results. She knew that this was largely because of her photographic memory.

However, there were still holes in her knowledge when it came to literature she had never read, as well as parts of history she had not personally experienced.

So Tan Mo truly had a lot to learn from Professor Guo. She had already learned a lot from him.

She progressed quickly under the tutelage of Professor Guo.

Until the day of the competition...

Early that morning, Tan Mo had met up with Wang Yuemu and the rest of the team. Together, they had set off toward Tsinghua University.

A male teacher from the Chinese Department led the group. He wore a pair of spectacles as well as a plain white shirt.

This time, Professor Guo also came along with them.

The group boarded the bus that had been arranged by the school and set off for Tsinghua University.

Tan Mo was the only one who had yet to meet the teacher who had been put in charge of them.

The teacher held a microphone and stood at the front of the coach. He introduced himself to Tan Mo, "Let me introduce myself. I am Mr. Lao. I graduated from Beijing University and remained here after graduation. During my student days, I was fortunate enough to have Professor Guo as my teacher. So in a way we're all fellow mentees. Everyone is already familiar with me. Since you never attended classes in the Chinese Department, you probably don't know me.

"All the other students already know me well. I'm quite a chill person, so please be at ease when you're with me, Tan Mo. Feel free to tell me anything.

"Apart from Yuemu and Siyuan, this is everyone's first time participating in this competition."

In order to ensure their comfort, the school had arranged a 30-seat bus for them.

Everyone had two seats. That gave them a chance to spread out and there was quite a distance between their seats.

Thankfully, the vehicle had been equipped with a PA system. This way, Mr. Lao didn't have to strain his voice to speak in order for everyone to hear him.

"Don't be too stressed." Mr. Lao chuckled. "Relax and perform as you usually do. Don't put yourself under too much pressure. It will cause you to screw up.

"All right, I won't talk too much. They'll announce the specific rules once all the six groups have gathered at Tsinghua University. Everyone should relax for now." After he had said all this, he took his seat.

Unexpectedly, Professor Guo picked up the microphone a few moments later. "But don't relax too much. Become the champions of this competition!"

Mr. Lao: "..."

Everyone: "..."

From the looks of it, the effects of Professor Liu's provocations were quite potent.

No one dared to breathe too loudly at that point. Everyone was utterly silent.

Finally, they reached Tsinghua University.

Mr. Lao got off the bus first. He stood by the door and got ready to help Professor Guo off.

However, Professor Guo seemed to be the picture of health. His steps were light, comparable to that of a youth. He did not give Mr. Lao a chance to help him.

Following which, Ying Siyuan and the rest of the team also got off the bus, one by one.

Everyone arranged themselves into an orderly line. Since Tan Mo was the youngest, her seniors protected her by sandwiching her in the middle of the line.

This was how the team arranged themselves into formation.

"Nice to meet you, Professor Guo." A teacher who was in charge of ushering the guests came forward to welcome them. "Hello everyone, I'm Mr. Liao. Welcome to Tsinghua University. Professor Guo, we are happy to have the opportunity to seek your guidance."

Before Professor Guo could reply, he heard the sound of hearty laughter. "Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. Old Guo, I already guessed that you'd make a personal visit this year. Hence, I specially came over to take a look at you. I can't believe that my guess was right. I didn't make this visit in vain."

Professor Guo couldn't stand his arch enemy Professor Liu's arrogant expression. He smirked and said, "It's been many years since I last visited. This time, most of our students are competing for the first time. Hence, I decided to follow along and watch them."

"Oh, you came over for the sake of these students?" Professor Liu clearly didn't believe Professor Guo's claims.

These were all excuses.

Professor Guo had been provoked by him. Hence, he decided to lead the team personally.

"Are these really all your students?" Professor Liu asked.

"Listen to yourself. Such poor discernment." Professor Gu flattened his lips. "I'm a professor of the Chin-... I mean Beijing University. If they're not my students, then who are they?"

Professor Gu almost said the words Chinese Department.

Just as the words left his mouth, he suddenly remembered that Tan Mo wasn't a student from the Chinese Department

If other people found out about this, it would be quite embarrassing for him.

He quickly changed his words.

"I can't believe you're a professor at Tsinghua." Professor Guo took the chance to trample on Professor Liu. "At least there are no strangers here. Otherwise, it would be a huge joke. Such poor discernment from a Tsinghua professor? Is this the standard of Tsinghua University?"

On the side, Mr. Liao was sweating buckets.

Every time these two individuals met, they were at loggerheads.

Professor Guo had even taken the chance to take a jab at Tsinghua University. He couldn't just watch it happen.

He hastily smoothed things out. "Professor Guo, Professor Liu. Shall we talk on the way there?"

"Let's go." Professor Guo nodded his head.

As Professor Liu walked, he said, "Old Guo, we're all literary scholars. Yet, you have been affected by my playful choice of words. You know what I'm implying. Are these students your mentees?

"What? Why are you scared to admit to this? Are you worried that you'll be humiliated if they lose?" Professor Liu raised his brows and intentionally provoked Professor Guo.

"You don't have to put in so much effort to provoke me." Professor Guo could see through what he was doing immediately. "Will I fall for your tricks? These kids are all good students. They are mentees who I'm proud of. I'll be excited to introduce them to you. Don't make them look like incompetent and embarrassing students.

"You're already well on in years. Why is your heart so malicious?" Professor Guo threw him a sidelong glance.

Professor Liu: "..."

What malicious heart was he talking about?

Old Guo had made bogus accusations and tarnished his reputation. He was the one with a malicious heart.

Professor Liu glanced back at him. Tan Mo was standing in the middle of the formation and stood out quite a bit.

"Why is there a child here?" From his quick glance, she looked like a student who had recently started university.

"What child are you taking about. She is my student." In his heart, Professor Guo was wondering if Professor Liu was underestimating Tan Mo.

HMPH! Just you wait.

"Hello, Professor Liu, my name is Tan Mo." Tan Mo flashed the most innocent smile she could manage and replied obediently, "I am indeed the youngest in the team. I followed my seniors here to expand my horizons."

"Are you competing?" Professor Liu could tell that Tan Mo was an obedient child. Who wouldn't like such an obedient and docile little kid?

Hence, his heart melted. He asked this question with a smile.

"Oh, I'm not sure if I'll be sent to the competition grounds," Tan Mo said. "Professor Guo said that I was here mainly to learn. I will learn from my seniors as well as from the seniors of Tsinghua University."

Chapter 164: Lots of Nerve

"I am a new student who Professor Guo has just accepted into his class. I lack experience compared with the other students, and I certainly have a lot more to learn," Tan Mo said humbly. "Professor Guo always says that I have a long way to go. He always encourages me to study more."

Everyone from Beijing University: "..."

Professor Guo: "..."

Had they misunderstood Tan Mo?

This girl was actually so good at acting like a wolf in sheep's clothing?

However, with this comment, Professor Guo really was having a hard time not yelling out to Tan Mo.

'Good acting!'

'My little Tan Mo, play them to the best of your ability!'

Wang Yuemu and the rest of the team kept staring at Tan Mo. They couldn't believe what they were hearing.

If they had been ignorant of Tan Mo's true capabilities, they would have really fallen for what she was saying.

Right in front of their eyes, Tan Mo had plastered a tender, docile smile on her face. She was speaking so unhurriedly and so softly. Yet, at the same time, she had uttered such deceptive words to Professor Liu.

How bold of her!

She had lied straight to Professor Liu's face, right in the middle of his home turf.

Wang Yuemu and the team were starting to have existential doubts.

Was this the Tan Mo that they knew?

Pu Xinyan immediately whipped out her phone. Since everyone's attention was focused on Tan Mo, she took advantage of this to ask in their group chat, "Senior Ying, did you lead Tan Mo astray?"

Ying Siyuan replied, "What nonsense! Why would I lead Tan Mo astray?"

Guan Ruyue replied, "Our little Tan Mo is so adorable. Why is she behaving like a wolf dressed in sheep's clothing? Some people on our team have probably been influencing her badly."

Some people referred to the boys on the team.

They must have definitely led her astray while the rest weren't paying attention.

All the boys: "..."

Such an accusation was too unfair to bear.

Professor Liu wasn't a stupid person. However, Tan Mo's expressions were so deceptive. What's more, she looked so young.

So Professor Liu believed her. Tan Mo was here to learn.

What's more, Tan Mo's reputation hadn't spread far and wide yet.

Wang Yuemu and Ying Siyuan were currently the most well-known members of the team.

"That's true. This is definitely a good learning opportunity." Professor Liu chuckled. "Professor Guo must really have looked favorably on you, since he gave you a spot on the team just so you could learn."

Every competing team had a cap of ten members.

Beijing University had sent a total of ten people. There weren't any substitutes.

Professor Liu had been thinking hard about the situation, and he had deduced that there were two possibilities. First, Beijing University was lacking in talented students to compete. Second, they were extremely confident in their members and didn't need substitutes.

However, judging from the fact that such a young student as Tan Mo was taking up a spot, Professor Liu felt pretty sure that the former deduction was more likely.

He wasn't trying to be arrogant. Tsinghua University had won so many times that he had naturally become quite confident.

Beijing University usually sent the same people every year.

However, there were quite a few new faces this time.

Wang Yuemu and Ying Siyuan were the only students who had competed in the past.

However, Professor Liu had a good grasp of their typical performance.

The rest of the team were younger. Compared to Yuemu and Siyuan, they were clearly weaker candidates.

This year, victory was imminent.

Professor Liu was in a very relaxed mood. He had always been quite a talkative person and was quite willing to continue conversing with Tan Mo, someone who had obviously been sent to fill up the numbers.

Professor Liu sighed to himself. Has the Chinese Department of Beijing University ever dipped so low before?

They had to give up a place to a new student in order to fill up the slot.

Unexpectedly, Tan Mo actually nodded her head. "That's right. Professor Guo said the same thing."

Professor Liu: "..."

Professor Guo said the same thing?

Was she referring to this being a good opportunity to learn or was she referring to Professor Guo looking favorably on her?

Professor Liu glanced doubtfully at her. She didn't seem to be such a thick-skinned person. She was probably referring to the former point, right?

Everyone from Beijing University: "..."

As they turned their eyes toward Tan Mo, a bizarre thought suddenly popped up in their minds.

Professor Liu's IQ hadn't dropped because of what Tan Mo was putting past him, right?

"Hee, hee, hee." Professor Liu chuckled dryly. "Professor Guo is right."

Everyone at Beijing University: "..."

His IQ had really dropped.

"Since you're already here, you shouldn't waste this spot." Professor Liu smiled. "Since you're here, you should participate in the competition, even if it means just getting a taste of the competitive atmosphere we enjoy in this competition."

Professor Liu then decided to give some advice to Professor Guo. "Since you've already given this child a spot on the team, you should let her have some actual practice. Otherwise, it'll be quite a waste if you don't use your slot. Losing is nothing to be embarrassed about. It's not like it's your first time losing. Training your students should still be the main focus, right?"

This time, Professor Guo didn't seem angry. He chuckled instead, "Hee, hee, hee."

'This child you are talking about is our killing machine!'

'Yet now you have voluntarily requested that we let Tan Mo compete.'

"I share the same sentiments." Professor Guo seized his opportunity to agree. "It's true that she's come all this way. It doesn't matter what the results of this competition are. It is important for her to experience the process. At the same time, I can test the results of my teaching aptitude."

Everyone from Beijing University: "..."

Professor Guo, you have also been led astray.

Initially, he would have reacted like a porcupine whenever he saw Professor Liu. They were always at loggerheads.

He would never give way to Professor Liu in this manner.

Yet, this time, he had intentionally acted weak in front of his opponent.

Everyone couldn't help but glance at Tan Mo.

This change in Professor Guo had only happened after Tan Mo had pretended to be a wolf in sheep's clothing.

Was this the catalyst that had led Professor Guo astray?

Ying Siyuan speedily typed into their WeChat discussion, "Did you see that? Did you see that? We're not the ones who have led Tan Mo astray. Look, even Professor Guo has been influenced by Tan Mo."

Pu Xinyan replied, "Are you saying that it's all Tan Mo's fault?"

The moment Pu Xinyan sent this, all the girls on the team but Tan Mo stared at Ying Siyuan.

Ying Siyuan: "..."

All the girls were saying to themselves, "Don't you know that Tan Mo is our lucky star?"

The group walked toward the competition site.

It was one of the indoor stadiums within Tsinghua University.

"The site has been completely set up for the competition," Mr. Liao explained. "We have already tested all the buzzers repeatedly. We guarantee that there are no issues with them."

No one was worried about this.

Tsinghua University had a reputation to keep up. They wouldn't do any underhanded things just to ensure their own victory.

Although Ying Siyuan and Wang Yuemu had previously participated in two competitions in the past, those events had not been organized by Tsinghua University.

Hence, this was also their first time seeing the competition site at Tsinghua University.

Everyone looked around at it.

They saw five words—The Sixth Ancient Text Competition—was displayed boldly on a large screen.

Soon, the screen changed and started to play some clips from previous competitions without any audio.

Naturally, most of the screen time was focused on the exemplary performance of the Tsinghua team members.

Everyone from Beijing University: "..."

Had Tsinghua University always been such show-offs?

Hee, hee, hee!

This year, the stage would belong to Beijing University.

When the time comes, it will be so embarrassing for you!

Six podiums were arranged in the middle of the stage.

Everyone knew that these were for the representatives of the six competing schools.

"Everyone, follow me. These are the rooms we have set aside for you to rest in." Mr. Liao led the groups out of the competition site.

They reached the rooms where they were supposed to rest.

Chapter 165: The Competition or the Food?

Their resting room was also in the gymnasium, just off the field.

It was somewhat similar to a backstage.

Students passed by the five other schools' resting rooms when heading toward their own. The names of the schools were on signs hung on the doors:

Tsinghua University

Beijing University

Shuang University

Jiang University

Nan University

Tong University

Tan Mo glanced at all the signs. She realized that she had come into contact with all of these schools before.

All the principals except for the one from Shuang University had come to personally visit her at her graduation from Jixia Academy.

Principal Mu from Beijing University had won the contest of attracting Tan Mo to his school. It was a little embarrassing for the other principals, so they didn't speak of it much.

So Professor Liu knew nothing about Tan Mo because of this. His team wouldn't have been quite so complacent if he had known.

All the students were in the resting rooms.

The rooms contained one large sofa and two extra-large sofas. There were also a bunch of chairs. There was enough space for everyone to be able to sit. There was also a huge TV hanging from the ceiling.

This television will be streaming the competition in here for you lot," said the teacher, Mr. Liao, who seemed to be in charge of them.

The students nodded in acknowledgement.

All six schools had now set up their internal sites for this live-streaming service.

"Everyone can take a short break now, and snacks will be served shortly. Here's a lunch card for everyone. Just head to the canteen for dining services at mealtimes," Mr. Liao explained.

"Sir, how much money is on this card exactly? I don't want to run out of credits at some point," asked Tan Mo as she waved her card.

Mr. Liao looked at her curiously. This young lady was different from the rest. No one else ever asked such questions. It was weird that her attention was on these sorts of matters.

Mr. Liao's mouth twitched, and then he smiled. "These cards were made by the school especially so they could handle any overdrafts, so everyone can use them with no pressure of worrying whether you're going to run out of money. Your school will be paying back the canteen at the very end all in one go."

So the school wasn't exactly worried about any limits on these limitless cards then.

The prices at the school's canteen were already low in comparison to any restaurants outside, and actually none of these kids were probably going to overeat anyway.

With the tension of the competition, a lot of these kids didn't have much appetite, so they wouldn't need to overspend anyway.

No one would do anything too bold and presumptuous.

Tan Mo nodded seriously. "I see. I'll be able to eat all I want with no pressure."

Mr. Liao was speechless.

"Mr. Liao, which canteen would you recommend?" Tan Mo asked again.

They had a few canteens at Beijing University, so it would only make sense if there were also a number here at Tsinghua University.

All the canteens were run by different companies. Her favorite canteen at Beijing was run by a medley of different companies all on the same floor.

With each different company, there were different chefs. And with different chefs, the quality of food would differ too.

Even though Tan Mo wasn't someone who was overly dramatic, she still had at least some minor expectations.

Mr. Liao once again remained silent. What was the deal with this young lady?

Are we here for the competition or the food?

She'd even started a discussion about their own canteen in Beijing...

"I'm not too sure about that," said Mr. Liao. "I could ask a few of my students later on."

"Don't worry too much about it. I can find a few classmates and ask them instead." Right after replying to Mr. Liao, Tan Mo started investigating the lunch card thoroughly.

Mr. Liao smiled to himself. Seeing Tan Mo in such a state over lunch, it was a smart guess to predict that Beijing University was not in a position to win. They had come all the way here, only to worry about the food?

If they were to continue on like this, next year's ranking should be no problem for Tsinghua University: they would grab the title of champion again.

Mr. Liao was now brimming with sweet confidence. He thought it over for a while and then he ran into Professor Guo. "Professor, it seems as if all the schools have brought their professors also. I think the principal would like it if all you professors would join him for lunch."

There would then be no need for him to head to lunch with his students. Professor Guo only smiled politely. He was not someone who liked to cause conflict of any sorts.

He would have to attend if Principal Shi had invited him.

However, he was indeed slightly worried about his students.

Seeing him looking kind of concerned, Mr. Liao smiled at him and said, "Don't you worry. We'll take good care of the kids. I guarantee you we'll take them to the canteen and make sure they eat. And we'll bring them back too, of course."

Those from Beijing University were just watching from the sidelines as the events unfolded. They were being treated as children...

"All right then, I'm leaving them in your hands." Professor Guo nodded his head and spoke to the students, "There's more than enough time. If you all want to take a stroll around the garden, that's okay. Just make sure to stick together as a group and come back on time."

"Siyuan, Yuemu, you two are the seniors of the group. Make sure to look after the younger ones," Professor Guo reminded them once again.

"Don't worry, sir, we'll make sure to take care of them." They both replied simultaneously.

Professor Liu snickered. "They're not kids anymore, Professor Guo. What's there to worry about?"

Professor Guo answered him back silently. Not like you know that there's a 15-year-old on my team.

"Now, now, today Wu Siyu from Shuang University, Yao Shang Jing from Nan University, Wang Lixia from Tong University, and others all have personally brought their teams here. And, of course, they've brought assistants. No one has seen each other for a year. We've got to catch up today," said Professor Liu.

Upon hearing this, Professor Guo himself got actually slightly excited and proceeded to leave to have lunch with the other professors.

"Would everyone like to rest for a bit or would they like to take a stroll around?" asked Mr. Liao.

Most of the kids seemed to want to take a stroll around rather than rest, and they were all interested in finding the best canteen so they could go and grab lunch after.

Inevitably, quite a few people were chatting about the competition on their stroll.

"Are you going to watch the competition?"

"There's nothing better to do, so I might as well."

""We have won for quite a few years now, and it seems that it will be the case also this year, so of course we'll have to watch," said someone who had come from Tsinghua University to support the team.

"I heard from the student council that some students from Beijing University also came to support their team too."

"They don't have as many tickets as we do though, so they definitely won't have as many supporters as we do. It's still to our advantage."

"It seems like the students from Tsinghua University are really confident this year," commented Ying Siyuan.

"Of course they are. We have let them win the competition for quite a few years now. Unfortunately, we have lost several years in a row." Wang Yuemu sighed.

Right as they were discussing this, they suddenly heard a defiant voice from behind them. "How come all those from Tsinghua are acting like this? They only seem to see those from Beijing as their competitors. It's as if they think that if they can beat Beijing they'll automatically win the competition. They didn't even take a single look at the other four universities."

Tan Mo turned around as she heard this.

She saw a team similar to hers trudging up behind them.

It seemed like that must have been one of the other four teams.

"Well, as mad as we get about Tsinghua University grabbing the championship away from us, other schools are angry because they aren't even deemed as worthy opponents," whispered Xu Hongyu.

"Senior Ying, can we do rotations with each member during the competition?" asked Wu Jiazhen.

Chapter 166: Beijing University Will Always Be Best

"What? Even if it were possible, you don't actually want to let Tan Mo single-handedly handle the competition all by herself, do you?" Ying Siyuan kicked him in the shin. "You certainly have your head up in the clouds!"

PFFT! Shen Hongshan cleared his throat. "But remember, we can't win like she does... It's not as if we have an option..."

Ying Siyuan didn't have any reply for that.

"Even though winning like that would still be a win for us, it would also be a bit embarrassing for us, wouldn't it?" Ying Siyuan rubbed her chin as she thought about it.

"If worse comes to worst, I'll just pull an all-nighter and force myself to be prepared," said Ling Zimu as she clenched her fists.

"Also, that would mean that you all wouldn't get the chance to shine. Don't you care about that?" asked Wang Yuemu. "Siyuan and I have already entered competitions before, so it doesn't matter too much to us. But you all should have a chance to display your abilities and also see just exactly what rewards you could reap after all your hard work. In addition, if Tan Mo were to win the competition for us single-handedly, aren't you all afraid that we'll become a laughingstock?"

Chen Shihua shrugged his shoulders. "That doesn't matter to me. I'd rather get treated as a joke in school than by the majority of the public. It's better to win any way we can."

Pu Xinyan nodded; as did Guan Ruyue. "You have to understand that it's not that we lack confidence in ourselves. But if we do go onstage, there will definitely be questions that we can't answer. But Tan Mo is different from us. She knows the answer to all the questions. The only thing she'll need to worry about is how fast she can get to the buzzer. She really is our best chance at winning the competition."

"If that's what you all agree on, we can try it," said Wang Yuemu. "There aren't any strict rules on which competitors to send onstage. It's just that most professors wish to send all their competitors onstage so that they can gauge their abilities. It'd be a shame not to do this.

"To be honest, I don't think the other professors are necessarily like this. But to Professor Guo, winning or losing doesn't really matter all that much. His main aim is to experience this competition and learn from it." Wang Yuemu laughed. "Of course, this year it is different. With the provocations he's taken from Professor Liu, Professor Guo is really very much worried about losing face. If we do let Tan Mo make a clean sweep of a win, it would definitely shame the other opponents. Professor Guo'd be delighted at that.

"But then, after that fleeting moment of happiness, he'd be scolding you all too."

The crowd shut up at that.

Whatever... No matter... They'd thought this through already.

It was just that they felt they were useless compared to Tan Mo. And they realized if they wanted to win the competition, they'd have to let Tan Mo single-handedly win the competition for them. As seniors, they weren't ashamed either.

"No worries, we can take the scolding." Ying Siyuan clenched her teeth. "As your seniors, we deserve the scolding for letting Tan Mo win the competition for us since we're so incompetent. It's just as Zimu said, after this tremendous win, we'll just force ourselves to work even harder. Harder than ever!"

Pu Xinyan raised her hand and said, "Do any of you realize that our gap with Tsinghua University isn't actually that big? They think we're weak and have their eyes set on the first prize. But we're strong too. As long as Tan Mo goes onstage, we can steal a win."

"It's not a matter of could, it's a definite win for us if Tan Mo goes on stage," Wang Yuemu declared.

Pu Xinyan nodded as well. "I think so too."

If the students from Tsinghua could have heard this conversation, they would've definitely lost their minds.

"We'll just have to take a look at this year's rules book. If it's similar to last year, which said that we don't have to switch out people in every round, then we'll leave it all up to Tan Mo," Ying Siyuan said determinedly.

"Hold on," said their teacher, Mr. Lao, helplessly. "I'm still here, you know. You're really making this decision right in front of me without consulting me?"

They all looked directly at Mr. Lao. "Do you want to win the competition?"

He nodded his head. "Of course."

"If we want to guarantee this victory, we must follow through with this plan," said Wang Yuemu.

Mr. Lao had nothing left to say. It seemed as if he was now a mere figurehead with no say in the matter.

These students really didn't take him seriously.

Professor Guo, who was at the canteen, had no idea that these students had already settled on the competition's formation.

A few students saw that time was almost up so they finished their stroll around the school gardens. Then they walked toward the canteens, asking locals for the better canteens.

Soon after they'd grabbed lunch and sat down, five others sat down at the table next to them. They placed their water bottles to occupy the space and went to order their food.

Not long after, they came back and started talking among themselves.

"If Beijing University loses again, that will be so embarrassing."

"Agreed. I really think that the number one spot will just always belong to us here at Tsinghua University. They just can't compete with us at all."

"I heard that our team for this competition is one of the strongest for the past few years."

"Yeah, Zhang and Lin won the competitions last year and the year before. I also heard that teacher Zhao brought out all the questions from the past three years and had them recite them thoroughly until they made zero mistakes."

"We've also got Wang. He organized all questions from the past five years into different categories and researched all the rules for those categories. After that, he split the team up into these categories. Different people would be assigned different categories. They might not have a full straight streak of scoring perfectly, but they'll get at least 90 percent right."

"With us being this prepared, there's no way we won't win."

"We're really about to put on a show for Beijing University, aren't we?"

"That's right. It used to be a close call in these competitions. But it seems that things are different this year, for our seniors really were determined to win solidly and bring pride to our school."

Mr. Lao had initially wanted to reject the plan of sending Tan Mo as the single competitor to defeat the rest of the teams.

But now, as he heard these students gossiping, he put on a wooden face and whispered, "Tan Mo, this competition is entirely in your hands. Make sure you pull out a good win for us and let them have a taste of our abilities. Give them a good show and make sure they suffer as they watch us claim victory. We have to let them know that the first place will always belong to us, those from Beijing University!

"The other departments don't matter, but at least for the Chinese Department, Beijing University will always be the best," Mr. Lao whispered. "Let them know that our previous losses weren't because we weren't good enough, but because we hadn't sent out our best of the best."

The crowd around him was silent.

Mr. Lao, maybe your attitude is a bit too straightforward and blunt.

Shen Hongshan couldn't control himself and blurted out, "Mr. Lao, were our previous losses really because we didn't send out the best of the best?"

"Was it because they were too lazy and stayed at school to focus on research?" Wu Jiazhen eagerly asked.

"..." Mr. Lao looked at them with a shocked expression. "What are you all thinking? Professor Guo is very proud. There's no way he wouldn't send out the elites. Especially if it was against Professor Liu. Professor Guo has never taken this matter lightly."

Once again, the crowd around him was silent.

They now understood.

Their previous losses had been real losses.

They just hadn't been good enough. They just weren't at the same level as Tan Mo.

"But didn't Professor Guo tell Professor Liu that he hadn't sent out all of his elite competitors? Everyone was busy doing research and hadn't put in their all during the competition?" Chen Shihua, who understood the situation quite well, took this chance to ask a question of Mr. Lao, who couldn't be too harsh since Professor Guo wasn't around at this time.

Chapter 167: It's Good to Be Confident

"While it's true that everyone's been busy with lots of research and has had little time to give their all in preparing for this competition, you've got to pay some mind to the fact that researching is also a form of learning," explained Mr. Lao. "So really it's another way of learning. Please remember also that for someone who loves to save face, Professor Guo really can't admit that his students fare worse than others."

They had nothing to say to that.

"Especially when our opponent is Professor Liu and his students. There's no way Professor Guo would admit to that.

"So, remember, everything is just as Professor Guo has said." Mr. Lao gave them a stern look. "Make sure you all understand that."

They nodded along. They understood.

Shen Hongshan bluntly asked Wang Yuemu, "Weren't you the one who told us that Professor Guo didn't care about us winning or losing?"

It was obvious enough that they couldn't win anyway.

Wang Yuemu didn't reply.

You blabbermouth!

I was just trying to save some face for the professor, what's wrong with that?

Everyone around them was from Tsinghua University, and they were all discussing the competition that was going to take place that afternoon. They all had a look of supreme self-confidence. It seemed as if they didn't have a care in the world about these students from Beijing University.

Of course, the main reason for this was because they had a bunch of strong competitors this year.

When those from Beijing University noticed how arrogant everyone from Tsinghua University was acting, their appetites vanished almost immediately. After speedily finishing their lunch, they rushed back to their resting room.

Tsinghua University really had given one h*ll of a reception to the students from Beijing University.

As they arrived back in their resting room, they noticed that staff members had already prepared hot water, tea bags, and biscuits, as well as other snacks for them.

Because they had just eaten lunch, most of them just had some tea instead of snacking on the biscuits. Not long after, Professor Guo came back.

Based on the look on their faces, their meal hadn't been any good at all.

"I can't believe I heard Professor Liu showing off during lunch just now," Professor Guo huffed as he downed the tea prepared for him by Mr. Lao. "He kept blabbering on about just how hard Tsinghua University's students worked, and how it would be wrong if they lost.

"What does that even mean?" continued Professor Guo. "No matter how hard you try, your guarantee for success and victory is never secured. The world is cruel, cold, and harsh."

The students all looked at him in stunned silence.

Read the room, sir! Is it really appropriate for you to speak so negatively right now?

Professor Guo suddenly looked around at the crowd. "Though based on what Professor Liu just said, you all really didn't work as hard as his students did. Other than Tan Mo, of course."

The group of students stared back at him. They had nothing to say to this.

Tan Mo was part of not only the Finance Department, but also the Chinese and History Departments. They really weren't as hardworking as she was.

"It doesn't matter whether we win or lose this competition. What does matter is that you all need to give it your all. I reckon that you all still don't spend enough time on your studies and research," exclaimed Professor Guo. "I've been too lenient on you all. After this competition and starting from tomorrow, all of you must spend at least four hours per day in the research lab."

Nobody said a word.

"We still must claim victory in today's competition," Professor Guo contradicted himself once more.

Everyone stayed silent, and they all looked at Tan Mo.

Everything depends on you today. Don't you dare let us down.

Professor Guo was just about to ask why everyone was staring at Tan Mo when a member of the staff came over and told them, "Everyone, please, would you make your way to the competition venue. Next up, I'll be explaining the rules for today's competition.

"This year's rules will be different."

Professor Guo didn't even have time to fully understand what the staff member had said.

"Professor Guo, could you please allow me to direct you to the distinguished guests' area. Mr. Lao, could you please head over toward the coaches' area. You will be in charge of the competitors during the competition."

Mr. Lao nodded his head. This indeed was his role to play.

Other schools had similar plans.

Despite all the professors arriving with their respective teams, many of them had only come to act as a stabilizing influence in order to assist their teams in remaining calm before the start of the competition.

"This way please, Professor Guo." A member of staff guided him toward the seats of the distinguished guests.

The same member of staff then returned and took the students to the stage and said, "Once you hear the host announcing Beijing University, you can walk over to your assigned spots."

Right then, Tsinghua University's team was already waiting.

Upon seeing those from Beijing University approaching, two members of the Tsinghua team waved at Wang Yuemu and Ying Siyuan. "The only faces we recognize are yours."

The teammates from Beijing University guessed that these two were the ones who had been chatting about their seniors at lunchtime.

"Yes. A lot of our old team have graduated, so it's only logical and reasonable that we're the only two left," Ying Siyuan laughed lightly, with a hint of sarcasm.

"Let me introduce you to these two." Wang Yuemu turned toward Tan Mo. "These two are Professor Liu's star students. This is senior Zhang and this is senior Lin."

What they had been thinking was right. It had indeed been these two who were at the other table that they had overheard at lunchtime.

Senior Zhang had worked hard to organize and categorize the questions in order to help out the other competitors to prepare.

"Senior Zhang took part in the competition last year," said Wang Yuemu.

Just like that, everyone was now present.

"How did your preparation go this time?" asked senior Zhang.

"Pretty well." Ying Siyuan tilted his chin slightly. "We're confident that we can beat you!"

Clearly, Ying Siyuan often acted like this, which was why senior Lin didn't pay attention to him at all. He scoffed, "It's good to be confident."

"I'm being serious. We've got a solid team this year." Ying Siyuan felt as if no one believed what he'd said and thought that he was trying to convince his opponents of his own team's strength.

From Tsinghua's team, someone they didn't recognize piped up. "That's what you said last year, but then..."

Senior Zhang stopped the boy from continuing to speak. "Would you please mind your manners?"

After saying that, he turned to Ying Siyuan. "We genuinely hope that you lot can reap the rewards you've sowed."

Ying Siyuan started to get impatient. "We really have grown stronger this year. Why won't you just believe that?"

He was telling the truth. They had grown stronger.

"All right, all right, we got it." Senior Lin was finding the entire situation hilarious.

Those from Beijing University had really been reduced to all talk and no action.

Ying Siyuan's mouth twitched in irritation. What I said was true! When you all lose, don't say that I was messing with you.

"Why do you keep blocking me from talking?" muttered the unrecognizable boy who had spoken earlier. His voice wasn't loud, but since the teams were standing right next to each other, the distance between them was only about the size of one single member.

Everyone had heard what he had said.

"Look at their lineup this year. They've even brought kids." It was obvious that their opponents were very young. "Are you here for a competition or just to make up the minimum number of competitors? Beijing University's standards for the Chinese Department have really stooped low, haven't they?"

"Okay, could we please just focus on ourselves rather than everyone else? This is your first competition, behave yourselves," said senior Zhang. "If we win this year, I'm sure the school will have plenty of prizes prepared for you all."

Chapter 168: New Rules

"After this, will our school's Chinese Department really be given the top spot in the university rankings?" someone asked excitedly.

"All right, we'll talk about this another time." It wasn't appropriate to talk about things that hadn't happened yet, especially in front of outsiders. "In any case, we will come first this time."

"The seniors put in so much effort to organize all the questions, you guys must perform well." Senior Lin was even more ostentatious than Senior Zhang. "Tsinghua University has won first place for the past few years. You can't break the streak this year."

"Don't worry." Everyone on the Tsinghua team chimed in. No one seemed to even consider Beijing University like a real contender.

They had even added a child to their team. Did the Beijing University team even have any hope?

At this time, the staff members came to notify the Tsinghua team to start preparing for their entrance.

Not long after this, they heard the host announce, "Let us invite the defending champions, the team from Tsinghua University!"

Before the Tsinghua University team even made their entrance, a thunderous applause echoed through the stadium.

The members of the Tsinghua team grinned. Their faces were overflowing with unquenchable pride as they stepped forward.

Ying Siyuan yelled at the top of her voice, "We are going to win!"

A member of the Tsinghua team turned to Senior Lin. "This year, the Beijing team must be under quite a lot of pressure. Has this affected their sense of rationality?"

The Beijing team heard this.

Mr. Lao's face got darker and darker.

However, the team members standing behind him didn't seem to take those words to heart.

They had learned this from Tan Mo.

A wolf dressed in sheep's clothing.

Go ahead and underestimate us.

In a moment, we shall bring you to tears.

Ying Siyuan asked everyone innocently, "I am telling the truth. Why won't they believe me?"

"Because they are dumb." Tan Mo smiled an innocent smile.

Everyone: "..."

They could no longer look at Tan Mo in the same way.

They had discovered that this little girl was actually quite naughty.

Another two or three minutes went by. Then they heard the host announce, "Let us welcome Beijing University, the team that came in second last year."

Shen Hongshan thought that was ridiculous. "They didn't need to announce that we came in second."

He had his suspicions that the host had intentionally phrased it this way.

Mr. Lao solemnly led everyone onto the stage.

The students from Tsinghua University were still being quite polite.

The stands in the stadium were filled with people. The majority of the audience were from Tsinghua University, while the minority were students from Beijing University.

The remaining four universities were not situated in B City. Hence, none of their students had made their way here.

They were all viewing the event through the school's online live-streaming platforms.

At the stadium, Tsinghua students made up the majority. However, they still clapped for the other teams out of politeness.

Once the remaining four teams had made their entrances, they lined up according to the results of the previous year's competition.

"The rules of the competition this year are slightly different from the previous years," the host announced. "In previous years, the contestants could be switched out every round. The representative sent forward could be chosen by the team."

The team from Shuang University was standing next to the Beijing team.

They heard the team leader speak to his team members. "If that's the case, it'll be a bit more flexible. We haven't really encountered all-around competitors before."

Since there was so much that needed to be studied, everyone would certainly put more emphasis on certain topics.

Even if they wanted to study everything, they would not be capable of achieving it.

There really wasn't enough time.

So most of them would most certainly focus on one topic.

"Hence, we will gauge the general direction in which the competition is heading and choose the most appropriate representative based on their level of expertise," the team leader from Shuang University explained. "This way, even if we encounter an opponent who is an expert in the topic at hand, our own team member will also have a chance of winning."

The moment the Shuang University team leader said this, they heard the host say, "This year, the competition format will be changed to a knock-out style.

"That means that every team will send out one member. During the round, the contestant with the highest points will progress to the next round, while the other teams will have to swap out. Every round will continue in this manner. Once a team has no more players left, and once the team has no more representatives to swap for the next round, they will be eliminated. They will not be able to earn points the following round," the host explained.

Everyone, including the contestants, guests, and audience, gasped.

"This competition format is quite cruel."

"Indeed. This time, there will definitely be at least one team member who needs to compete in a round that they have no expertise in."

"Why? If they lose in the first round, they can just swap to a member that they know will probably have an advantage in the next round."

"But what if they win the first round? The winning contestant would have to progress to the second round. But if the second round is based on a topic that they are not familiar with, then their loss would be certain. Naturally, they would be able to swap with another player who has better chances in the third round. If that contestant wins again, they might encounter another unfamiliar topic in the fourth round. That's why I said that at least one player would have to play in a round that they are not familiar with. We might not even be able to defend well."

"Eh? The host mentioned that there was a chance one of our teams might not have enough players to progress to the next round. But even if we lost every round, there would still be enough members to compete."

Not long later, they heard the host's announcement, "Next, I'll explain the second change we've made. The previous competitions always consisted of ten rounds. Although the rules did not stipulate that a new contestant needed to appear every round, every team would usually choose to send out different representatives.

"But this year, due to the change in the competition format, we especially added another a round. There will now be 11 rounds instead of ten." The host continued, "If a team loses every round, then they will no longer have any players to play in the final round.

The host grinned slightly. "The probability of this happening is actually quite high."

After all, only one person could win every round.

Everyone finally understood.

"Who decided on this competition format?" The competition format had not changed for five consecutive years. Yet, such a huge change had been instituted this year.

"May I invite all the contestants to their seating areas. All six teams will have ten minutes to choose their first representative. However, the remaining contestants will no longer be given time to decide their representatives in the subsequent rounds," the host reminded them. "All the teachers will have to decide which student to send up before the next round commences.

"Additionally, since we've allotted ten minutes for everyone to decide their representative, we will not be announcing the topic for the first round. Once the representatives gather on stage, we will display the overarching theme of the first round. However, since we would not be giving everyone time to choose their representatives for the subsequent rounds, we would announce the theme in advance. The selection of team members can be done accordingly.

"This year's competition should be quite fun." On the stage, there were some students who weren't bothered by this. They were quite happy to observe the reactions of the other students.

All the teachers-in-charge led the students of their respective teams toward the competitors' seating.

The competitors' seating arrangements were located quite close to one another.

It would be quite easy to communicate and interact with one another if they had wanted to.

Chapter 169: Perfect for Tan Mo

Mr. Lao asked Mr. Chen, the teacher who was in charge of Shuang University's team, "Mr. Chen, what's up with the rules this year? Do you know anything about why they made these changes?"

Mr. Chen said, "Every year, the host university is allowed to set the rules. This gives the host university an advantage. Previously, I heard rumors that Tsinghua University would be making some changes to the rules this year. However, I didn't know the details behind the changes that were going to be made. Initially, I assumed that these wouldn't be big changes. However...

HMPH! Mr. Chen couldn't be bothered to hide his anger. "Tsinghua really did it this time. Within their team, Zhang Xiaosheng and Lin Zhenhui are well known to be all-rounders.

"These rules were clearly devised to give both of them an advantage," Mr. Chen uttered coldly. "I was wondering why Zhao Xiaoou had suddenly reorganized the question sets from the previous years. At the very least, both Zhang Xiaosheng and Lin Zhenhui will be able to successfully defend themselves for one round. The remaining topics aren't very content heavy, and once they are distributed to the rest of the team, they don't have much to memorize. For the remaining seven rounds, they'll simply need to select the strongest contenders among themselves to answer the questions."

Once Mr. Lao got an answer from Mr. Chen, he returned to the stands.

Everyone at Beijing University had heard what Mr. Chen had said.

So when Mr. Lao returned, he didn't need to explain any further. He spoke directly to Tan Mo, "Tan Mo, we're going to depend on you for tomorrow's competition. A knockout-style competition just so happens to suit our team very well."

"If we had kept you as our player even though we were able to switch every round, we'd be put in quite an awkward position. Now that we're obligated to, we won't have to feel embarrassed anymore." Wang Yuemu sneered. "The grand scheme that Tsinghua University came up with just so happens to align with our offense perfectly."

It was rare for Ying Siyuan to speak so solemnly. "Tan Mo, it's all up to you. Defeat them completely! Defend your position from the start to the finish. Beat them up till their faces become swollen!"

HMPH! "Switch out our representative?" Pu Xinyan was also angry. "Tsinghua has come up with such a good idea. Sure, we'll let them switch their representatives. On our side, Tan Mo will stay on from the start to the finish. Let's see who embarrasses themselves in the end."

"This time, they intended to embarrass us," Wang Yuemu said in a low voice. "They probably planned to obtain a landslide win and completely trample over us. That was why they changed the rules."

Chen Shihua nodded his head. "Although they have won previous events, it was always with a very tight margin. This time, they wanted a clear win in order to gain a better spot in next year's official university rankings."

"Mr. Lao, who comes up with the questions every year? It can't be the host university, can it?" Tan Mo asked.

"Of course not. They invite renowned professors to form a team and discuss the questions," Mr. Lao explained. "Once they decide on the questions, they lock them up. The password is divided up and distributed to the various principals of the universities. Right before the competition, the various principals put all the parts of the password together and unlock the question set.

"However, even if that was not the case, Tsinghua University would not stoop to such a low level and leak the questions in advance." They had more integrity than that.

Tan Mo nodded her head and said, "I can't guarantee that I will win from the start to the finish. However, I will try my best."

"All right." Everyone nodded their heads at the same time.

"Tan Mo, even though we are very confident in you, you shouldn't put too much pressure on yourself."

"Right. Just perform as you usually do. We were just trying to be enthusiastic when we asked you to win all the rounds. Those were flippant words," Ling Zimu said. She continued, "Don't take those words to heart."

Everyone nodded again vigorously. "Right! Don't take what we were saying to heart. We are just excited. We will back you up, no matter what you do. You can rest assured."

"In any case, we are your seniors. We are there for you." Guan Ruyue gently pinched Tan Mo's cheeks.

In the stands where the esteemed guests were seated...

The rest of the professors glared at Professor Liu. They were not impressed.

"Hey, don't look at me like that. I wasn't the one who set the rules." Professor Liu chuckled. "However, although I wasn't the one who set them, I don't think there's anything wrong with them. This is a better method of testing a student's knowledge base. Someone who only specializes in one area won't amount to much. All of us are trying to bring up well-rounded students, right?"

No one wanted to pick a fight with him. Although Tsinghua University had changed the rules, it didn't mean that it was to their advantage.

The other professors started to completely ostracize Professor Liu. They gossiped about him among themselves.

Professor Chen from Shuang University said, "To be honest, apart from testing the student's knowledge base, it will also test the ability of the teachers to choose a line-up."

Professor Lu from Jiang University was deep in contemplation. Suddenly, he finally spoke up, "To be honest, if you want a more dependable outcome, you should just give up on the first round. Since we won't know the theme of the first round, what would happen if the student representative encounters a question that they're not familiar with? Since the probability of losing is quite high, we should just give up on winning the first round. Once we find out the theme for the second round, we can send a student that has that area of expertise. At the very least, we can guarantee a round."

"But if that were the case, even if all the students who are sent forward win, we'll only be able to win five rounds at the very most." Professor Yao from Nan University shook his head. He frowned and continued, "Although this new rule sounds quite simple, it's actually very crafty."

Professor Wang from Tong University shook his head. "I have no idea who came up with this idea. Such a limitation would restrict the performance of the other schools while displaying the strengths of Tsinghua University at the same time."

Although they didn't feel like speaking to Professor Liu at this time, Professor Liu did not mind at all. He even took the initiative to join in their conversation. "Professor Guo, why have you remained silent the whole time? Are the rules so upsetting that you're no longer in the mood to speak?"

At this point, it was obvious that Professor Liu was rejoicing at his misfortune. It was written all over his face.

Professor Guo was trying his utmost to hold back his real feelings about the new rules. He merely snorted, HARRUMPH.

Are you sure it's because I'm not in the mood to speak?

I'm in such a good mood, I'm worried that I will let the cat out of the bag if I open my mouth.

Did Tsinghua think that these rules were implemented specially for their students?

Little did they know, those rules were perfect for Tan Mo.

Professor Guo was trying his best to appear angry. However, joy was bursting from his heart.

He had his doubts. Had President Mu sent a spy to Tsinghua University?

Was the person who set those rules someone from Beijing University?

At that moment, Professor Guo only had one worry. Would Mr. Lao send Tan Mo up for the first round?

After all, Mr. Lao didn't really know Tan Mo very well.

Professor Guo's eyes remained fixed on the Beijing team seated in the contestants' stands.

In his heart, he repeated the same phrase over and over again, "Please let them send Tan Mo up."

They had to send Tan Mo up!

Professor Liu could sense that Professor Guo was anxious.

"Old Guo, relax. This is just a small competition. It's not that important," Professor Liu said in a blase manner. "Our friendship comes first. The competition is secondary. Even if you lose, it doesn't mean much. In any case, you guys will gain experience, right? You all will be able to bear it this year. It's merely another loss for you. Your students are already used to it."

Chapter 170: The Sentence She Wanted Everyone to Hear

"Who said that we were going to lose the competition?" Professor Guo gave Professor Liu a stern look. "If anything, make sure you don't get too upset if you lose...since you have been so arrogant and all."

All the professors sitting in the distinguished visitors' area sighed to themselves. Based on the current situation, it was very likely that Tsinghua would claim victory again.

It seemed as if Beijing University wasn't going to be able to claim the title as champions within the Chinese Departments.

If these four other professors didn't believe in Professor Guo, neither would Professor Liu.

In his opinion, Professor Guo was simply clutching at straws.

As long as the competition wasn't officially over, he would not admit defeat.

"Hee, hee, hee." Professor Liu laughed as he took a sip from his tea. "My old friend, it's been so long! You haven't changed at all, have you? You still love to save face just as much as you always have."

HMPH! Professor Guo didn't dare to say anything more. He was worried that he might slip up and reveal something he shouldn't.

He'll just have to wait for the competition to be over to see the look on Professor Liu's face. That moment would just be fantastic!

Mr. Lao, on the other hand, was struggling a bit. He felt as if his stomach was full of gas. It was true that he didn't know Tan Mo as well as Professor Guo did.

However, since everyone else had so much confidence in her, Mr. Lao buried his suspicions and hesitations. He firmly said, "Tan Mo, you're up."

Tan Mo nodded and stood up. "Mr. Lao and fellow team members, please rest assured that I will not leave the stage until the very last round."

"No, not the last round. With a total of ten team members, the competition will have to end at the tenth round if I don't step down. There won't be any need for an 11th round," Tan Mo exclaimed with mighty confidence.

The competitors from Nan University sat beside those from Beijing University, while those from Tsinghua University sat to their right.

Everyone saw Tan Mo walking toward the stage, and they felt more relaxed than ever.

"It seems as if they've already decided to give up."

"I mean, it is one way for them to end the competition."

"Even if they are giving up, they should've sent a more decent competitor. Sending a newbie up there is just too embarrassing."

"Senior Lin, don't you get soft!"

The six competitors from the six different teams went on stage and took their places in front of the podiums.

Lin Zhenhui was coincidentally standing right next to Tan Mo.

He laughed and said, "I haven't asked you, junior, what's your name?"

Tan Mo obediently replied, "Senior, it's Tan Mo."

"Your team sent you as the first competitor up here. Does this mean they've already decided to give up in the first round?" Lin Zhenhui was brimming with self-confidence as he asked her this rude question.

The other four competitors all heard this and felt extremely uneasy.

These students from Tsinghua really were sometimes too full of themselves.

Were they really that sure that they were going to win?

Tan Mo nervously rubbed her hands together and said, "It's not like we're all very confident, so why not let me try my very best? It's my first competition too, so I'd appreciate your guidance along the way."

"What do you mean saying that? It's a competition, there's no way I can help you out. I, for one, am going to do my best to beat you," Lin Zhenhui replied curtly.

Tan Mo was afraid that the others couldn't catch his bragging words and asked him to repeat himself. "Senior, what did you say? I couldn't hear you clearly enough, do speak up."

Maybe it really was because of Tan Mo's apparent innocence, but Lin Zhenhui indeed raised his voice and yelled back at her, "I said, it's a competition, so of course I will do my very best."

Tan Mo was smiling like the cat who had swallowed the canary.

That's the sentence I wanted everyone to hear!

Once you lose, don't you dare say that you were going easy on me.

With that loud of a volume, it wasn't guaranteed that the entirety of the audience had heard him, but at least half must have.

"Please may the competitors test out their buzzers," said the host.

All six competitors pressed on their buzzers. There was no problem with any of them.

"All right, please look at the big screen. After the ten-second countdown, the first question will appear on the screen. Once the question is shown, you all will be able to compete for the answer. Since this is the new format of the competition, there will not be a sequence where the hosts will be reading out the questions," the host announced.

Then, with a DEET-DEET noise, the ten-second countdown appeared on the big screen.

The first question was written in a homogeneous script.

The title of it as well...

The crowd all sighed. "They just couldn't be nicer about these questions, could they? I can't even decipher what this question is asking."

Those from Beijing University sighed in relief.

"Thank goodness it was Tan Mo who has represented us from the beginning."

It seemed as if, other than Tan Mo, no one else on stage looked very happy with the question.

It was too hard of a question.

They couldn't even recognize all the characters on the screen.

It was ridiculous to set such a difficult question for the very first one in the entire competition.

Even the ever-confident Lin Zhenhui looked uneasy.

CLANG!

After just three seconds, when no one else had even fully processed the question in its entirety, Tan Mo pushed down on the buzzer.

All eyes were on her now.

Lin Zhenhui looked at her suspiciously. This Tan Mo, does she actually know the answer, or is she just clutching at straws?

"Tan Mo, let me remind you that you can't just press the buzzer randomly. If you're unable to answer the question, or answer it wrong, points will be deducted." Lin Zhenhui couldn't stop himself from saying.

He was worried that perhaps Tan Mo didn't understand the instructions and rules clearly.

There was no way she would've thought that if she pressed the buzzer first, she would take away other competitors' chances of answering, right?

Even if she wanted to exploit loopholes, didn't she think this through at all? Wouldn't the judges themselves have thought of these loopholes too and countered them?

How stupid!

"Beijing University, please answer," the host said.

Tan Mo ignored Lin Zhenhui and firmly answered, "Option A."

"The answer is correct!" The screen lit up as the host shouted it out.

"Please answer the second question." The host lowered his voice. Without a trace of hesitation, another CLANG!

The crowd looked. Tan Mo again.

"Option C."

"Correct." The host continued, "The third..."

The screen had already shown the question before the host could even finish his sentence.

The crowd had only had time to read the very first character.

CLANG!

Lin Zhenhui started to get angry. "Tan Mo, have you even finished reading the question?"

"Nope." Tan Mo was extremely honest.

That really angered him. "If you haven't finished reading the question, why are you in such a rush for the buzzer?"

"The rules never said that you must finish reading the question before pushing the buzzer. I press the buzzer and then read the question. As long as I answer within the given time period, then it's fine." She turned toward the host. "Am I wrong?"

The host was speechless and helplessly shook his head. It was indeed just as Tan Mo had said. She hadn't done anything wrong.

"You're so confident, aren't you? You're sure you can answer the question when you haven't even read it?" Lin Zhenhui asked her sarcastically.

But ironically, it was as if Tan Mo didn't even recognize or care about his tone. She simply nodded and said, "Yup."

Lin Zhenhui was taken aback. He had nothing left to say.

Tan Mo's reply to what he had said made the entire aim of his question useless.

"If senior Lin thinks that all his opportunities have been taken by me, he could follow suit and do the same as I do. Once you hit the buzzer, you can answer." Tan Mo smiled innocently and she tilted her head.

Lin Zhenhui was left speechless.

Whatever kind of a trick was this...?

If he could have done this, he would've ages ago. Wasn't he confident enough to do so? But if he hit the buzzer and got the answer wrong, points would be deducted from his score.

It'd be even worse if he ended up losing points rather than earning them.