Chapter 95: Chapter 95: Take a Gamble

As soon as the words were spoken, everyone’s expression drastically changed.

The smiles of the admitted students, who had just been sharing their joy, froze on their faces.

The academy’s medical staff reacted swiftly, grabbing their medical kits and rushing over, trying to part the crowd.

The scene instantly descended into chaos. The area was packed tightly, a cacophony of gasps, discussions, and sighs intertwining.

After a while, the medical staff who had gone in to save him walked out with heavy expressions, shaking their heads helplessly at the academy administrators who had hurried over.

"He couldn’t be saved... The cut was extremely deep and severed his carotid artery. He lost blood too fast, too much..." the doctor whispered, unable to hide a trace of pity.

Fang Chen didn’t deliberately squeeze to the front to ask around, but he still pieced together what happened from the surrounding chatter.

"Sigh..." Wang Pan squeezed his way back from the dense crowd. His face was a bit pale as he whispered to his schoolmates from Jinchuan City, "I asked around. It was an examinee from Jiangde City. It seems that before the exam, the teacher leading their group gave him a heads-up. The information was similar to what we got, saying the second round tests comprehensive ability—which frankly means seeing if your family has money and is willing to spend it on you.

"His family’s situation was very average, and he was just an Ordinary Martial Artist. But he was ruthless and competitive by nature. He knew quite a few street thugs outside and borrowed a lot of high-interest loans. For this trip to Cyan Yang City, not only was his martial exam registration fee borrowed, but even the money to buy those expensive consumables at Jade Dew Hall was borrowed!

"The loan sharks lent him money because they figured he could buy some medicine like Qi Blood Needles in Cyan Yang City and smuggle them back to Jiangde City to sell. In the end, he didn’t buy those. He spent it all on these single-use Spiritual Consumables.

"He thought it would increase his chances of passing. Over the three rounds of exams, he used quite a few talismans, Burst Potions, and the like every time. They say he spent over a hundred thousand in total! And the result... he still didn’t pass.

"With no goods on hand, what could he use to pay back the money when he returned?

"He realized that not only was his hope of further education gone, but he also owed a mountain of Yama Debt that he could never repay. He wasn’t even in the True Martial Realm. When the debt collectors showed up after he went back, he wouldn’t be able to fight them off and would just drag his parents down... In a moment of despair, he just..."

Hearing this, the crowd fell into a moment of silence and sighs.

The cruelty of the Martial Dao had been laid bare before them in the most extreme manner.

Hearing this, Ren Lei subconsciously said, "This... this is too extreme. Borrowing money to pop potions and gamble on a future is too risky... And to just end it all like that is too irresponsible. What about his family..."

Her voice wasn’t loud, but it happened to be overheard by a passing examinee who looked utterly devastated, his eyes bloodshot.

The person abruptly stopped in his tracks. Like a lit powder keg, he immediately screamed at Ren Lei at the top of his lungs, "What do you know?!"

"Ah?" Ren Lei shuddered in fright.

"All of you come from privileged backgrounds! In terms of strength, we aren’t necessarily worse than you! Why should the spots go to you people who just stack money?! What’s wrong with us taking a gamble?! Huh?!"

His emotions spiraled completely out of control, roaring incoherently, "Fuck! Du the Dog from our class also told us we’d pass if we did this! And the result?! We didn’t pass! Fuck him! I’m going to hack him to pieces when I get back!!! Ahh!!"

He yanked his own hair forcefully, his face contorted. "Since I couldn’t pass, why did he tell me?! He should have just let me fail! He shouldn’t have even given me hope!!"

It seemed this was yet another person who had taken out loans to desperately buy a massive amount of consumables in a last-ditch effort, only to lose the gamble. The crushing disappointment and the looming pressure of debt had pushed him to the brink of a breakdown.

Terrified by his behavior, Ren Lei turned pale and subconsciously stepped back.

Wang Pan immediately took a step forward, shielding her behind him as he warily eyed the agitated examinee.

At this moment, Wu Jun walked forward with a furrowed brow. His tone was calm, even a bit cold and hard. "If you lack the ability, don’t blame the uneven road.

"I spent money too, and I didn’t pass either. But I don’t resent anyone. A teacher providing you with information is out of kindness, yet you don’t even know how to be grateful?

"Heh. With a mindset like yours, how far can you really go on the path of the Martial Dao? Who would ever dare provide you with information in the future?

"Now I finally understand why none of the teachers at our school dared to explicitly point these things out. It turns out... it seems things like this probably happen every year."

"What did you say?!" The examinee reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. His eyes widened into saucers as he clenched his fists, about to charge forward.

"What are you doing?!"

"Looking for a fight?"

Seeing this, the dozens of recently admitted students from Jinchuan City, whose morale was at its peak, immediately swarmed forward. They faintly formed a standoff, glaring unfriendlily at the examinee.

Looking at the dozens of united students before him, the man’s momentum instantly deflated by half. His lips trembled, and in the end, he just spat fiercely on the ground, cursing under his breath as he turned and shoved his way through the crowd.

The disturbance temporarily settled.

Several Jinchuan City students who had also spent money but failed to pass the assessment walked up to Fang Chen. With complex yet sincere expressions, they said, "Boss Fang, we’re not like them.

"We are endlessly grateful for the information you provided us. Even though we didn’t pass, that’s ultimately because our own strength and preparation were lacking. We can’t blame you for that. Really, thank you so much."

Fang Chen looked at them and calmly nodded.

Back in Jade Dew Hall, he had indeed judged their characters well. He had only mentioned his speculation to Wang Pan, Wu Jun, and a few other classmates who had decent family backgrounds and relatively steady temperaments. Moreover, he had repeatedly emphasized that it was merely a guess, and the final decision was up to them.

Thinking back on it now, the school teachers definitely knew about these unspoken rules and the potential consequences they could trigger. But they had no need, nor the courage, to explicitly point them out.

Before coming to Cyan Yang City, those purchasing agents would leak the information about Jade Dew Hall, and the examinees would naturally head there. As long as they had money on them, they would definitely try every means possible to buy resources to strengthen themselves; there was no need for anyone to specifically provide intel.

If the teachers gave special reminders, and a student consequently gave up everything they owned or even borrowed from loan sharks to gamble, only to fail in the end, all the resentment and fallout would likely be redirected at the teacher who provided the information, or even the school.

Fang Chen sighed softly in his heart. "It’s all because of money and resources... Every world is the same," he thought. "However, there is nothing inherently wrong with taking a gamble. Who doesn’t want to go further on the path of the Martial Dao?"

Fang Chen looked at the surrounding examinees; some had passed, and some had failed. But it couldn’t be ruled out that among those who passed, some had cleared the exam by borrowing money to buy Spiritual Consumables.

It wouldn’t be difficult for the academy to investigate a student’s financial resources. Perhaps, having the courage to give it their all in a gamble was also a part of the exam.

It was just that they had to bear all the consequences themselves.

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