Down below—
The moment Su Ba spoke, the crowd erupted into laughter, noisy like a pot boiling over!
"Silence! What's with all this ruckus?!"
A thunderous shout echoed from the platform. The headmaster's face had turned darker than the bottom of a pot!
Damn it!
Couldn't these brats see that the esteemed recruiters from the martial institutes were present?! This kind of chaos was utterly disgraceful!
Seeing the headmaster lose his temper, the crowd immediately quieted down.
Just then, the headmaster caught sight of Su Ba about to line up with the others. His brow furrowed sharply as he instinctively barked out—
"Su Ba! What do you think you're doing?!"
Su Ba paused mid-step, looked up at the platform, and replied with a calm smile.
"Doing? Headmaster, I'm here to participate in the assessment."
"You? Participate?"
The headmaster's expression sank. Just then, he noticed Yan Hua jogging in from outside the hall. Their eyes met, and Yan Hua gave a subtle shake of the head, his face like a storm cloud.
Damn it!
The headmaster instantly understood.
This little bastard really doesn't know what's good for him!
"What's the matter, Headmaster Xu?"
A nearby martial institute recruiter frowned and asked, "If this student is here to take the assessment, let him in. Don't waste our time."
Even the representative from Yunmeng Martial Institute, seated at the center of the recruiters, didn't speak—but gave Headmaster Xu a cold glance.
Xu straightened his back stiffly and quickly responded:
"Esteemed recruiters, this student is no longer enrolled at our academy."
"Oh? Expelled?"
"Yes," Xu said with forced politeness. "He blatantly violated academy rules, skipped class for seven days in a row, and has a history of misconduct—so he was expelled."
After explaining, he turned and pointed a stern finger at Su Ba.
"Su Ba, you've been expelled! What are you doing here? Leave immediately! Don't interfere with the others' assessments!"
The surrounding crowd stepped aside, exposing Su Ba to the sunlight.
All around, students cast him looks of pity and sympathy.
Wang Quan smirked coldly.
And Jiang Lu Wan's eyes flickered with smug delight.
Up on the platform, Xu assumed his authority and loud reprimand would scare Su Ba into fleeing with his tail between his legs—as he always did.
But instead—
He saw Su Ba standing motionless, eyes calm, fearless, even carrying a trace of amusement as he looked back at him.
"Headmaster Xu," Su Ba said lightly, "you want to expel me? Fine. But I paid this semester's tuition in full. There's no reason I shouldn't be allowed to take this final assessment. Am I wrong?"
"You—!"
Xu's eyes bulged in anger. He hadn't expected this brat to actually talk back to him!
But then, seeing the recruiters starting to look irritated, Xu forced a mocking sneer and said coldly:
"Fine. Since you're no longer a student, just finish the assessment and get out."
He turned back to the recruiters with a respectful tone.
"What do you think, gentlemen?"
"Let him get it over with," one of them said with a frown.
The others nodded silently, faces unreadable.
Su Ba gave a faint smile, clasped his hands behind his back, and strode confidently toward the testing area.
"Su Ba!"
As he passed by Wang Quan and his group, a low, icy voice reached his ear.
Su Ba paused and glanced sideways. Wang Quan was staring at him coldly, eyes filled with venom.
"You've got guts," Wang Quan growled. "You kicked Lu Wan's ass and beat up my guys. You'd better watch yourself."
Beside him, Jiang Lu Wan didn't say a word, but her sultry eyes were now burning with shame and rage. She stared at Su Ba as if she wanted to tear him apart with her teeth.
This was the first time in her life anyone had humiliated her like this!
But Su Ba didn't even spare her a glance. He looked at Wang Quan and replied flatly:
"Daddy's waiting."
Then, with a chuckle, he stepped forward, breaking through the crowd and into the spotlight.