Lu Huan's eyes threatened to split. At this moment, both his body and mind had suffered severe blows.
No matter what, he was an SS-class awakened being, one of the three SS-class geniuses of Ji City. How could he always fail so suddenly?
At least when he fought Shi Yifeng, their strengths were comparable, and Shi Yifeng was only slightly stronger than him, benefiting from a realm advantage to barely win. How could he be so easily defeated by Zhao Ke?
And without any power to fight back!
He couldn't understand it, nor was he willing to believe it was true.
Zhao Ke paid no attention to his emotions. Having defeated him, a cold light flashed in her eyes, and she said, "Why did you challenge Lin Yu? Did Lin Yu provoke you?"
Zhao Ke, who had just emerged from seclusion, did not know that Lin Yu had already become a prominent figure in Ji City. The moment she asked this, Lu Huan's expression changed.
"Good, you two deskmates are deliberately here to humiliate me, aren't you?"
He glared angrily at Zhao Ke and retorted, "The two of you are going too far!"
With that, he turned and left. His dejected back and his constantly heaving shoulders made one suspect he was crying.
Zhao Ke was completely bewildered. She asked the surrounding students again, only then did she understand the reason.
After hearing the students' description, she was slightly stunned and froze in place.
Lin Yu was very strong, she had known this for a long time. But she had always believed that Lin Yu's strength came solely from his realm advantage, just like during the fire locust beast tide.
However, she now understood that Lin Yu had not displayed his full strength in front of her, or perhaps Lin Yu had broken through again during her seclusion these past few days!
Upon thinking this, she was both shocked and delighted. If Lin Yu became stronger, they could walk this path of cultivation together.
Thinking of this, her face blushed, and she smiled brightly, walking towards the school gate.
As soon as she left the school, the news of Zhao Ke emerging from seclusion and easily defeating Lu Huan spread like wildfire online, creating a considerable buzz and enriching the city's gossip.
"Goddess emerges from seclusion, Lu Huan adds another defeat!"
"Lu Huan is practically becoming their stepping stone now."
"Even if he fails again, he's still not someone you guys can compare to."
"Yes, yes, yes, we can't compare, but at least our knees are hard, unlike someone whose knees are soft!"
Endless arguments were a characteristic of the internet. No matter the viewpoint, once it was thrown in, it became like a sewer, either dirty and vile or malicious remarks from the unthinking, all while believing themselves to be right. Who could truly know the reality behind it all? This was also why Lin Yu rarely browsed the internet or participated in discussions.
At this very moment, Lin Yu and his senior brother had finally eaten their fill.
With their bellies full, they sat on a park bench to digest.
This meal had cost over ten thousand star coins. Lin Yu looked at his wallet and helplessly realized he could only support his senior brother for another month.
He wondered when the fifty million compensation promised by the principal would arrive.
Just then, Lin Yu's wristband beeped.
Opening it, he saw it was a call from Zhao Ke. His heart filled with joy, and he quickly answered.
"Lin Yu, I'm out of seclusion!" Zhao Ke's delighted voice came from the other end.
"Where are you? I'll host a welcome banquet for you," Lin Yu said.
"No need. I heard about your exploits. You're doing really well now, keep it up. Why don't you come to Chaos Element Academy?"
Before Lin Yu could reply, his languid senior brother suddenly sat upright and said into the wristband, "Little sister, Lin Yu is part of our Supreme Academy now. Give up on that idea."
"Who are you?" Zhao Ke's cold voice came from the other end.
The senior brother, hearing the voice as crisp as a midwinter wind, was slightly taken aback. He glanced at the helpless Lin Yu and understood; this girl was only gentle with Lin Yu.
"Zhao Ke, did Professor Wang ask you to persuade me?" Lin Yu suddenly asked.
As soon as he spoke, the other end fell silent for a moment. Then, a slightly aged voice came through.
Professor Wang said, "Lin Yu, I hope you'll reconsider!"
Lin Yu was about to say something more, but the call had already been hung up.
Lin Yu sighed helplessly, unaware that his senior brother beside him was furious to the point of smoke coming from his ears.
"Outrageous! This scoundrel still hasn't given up and dares to snatch people from me? Junior brother, I'm going out for a bit, I'll be back soon!"
"Senior brother, don't be impulsive."
However, before Lin Yu's words could fully register, his senior brother had already left, moving at a speed that resembled teleportation, leaving Lin Yu stunned in place.
Such incredible speed!
Only Lin Yu remained. He sighed and sat there, lost in thought.
After a long while, he let out a breath.
"Forget it, I won't meddle in this. Senior brother should have his limits."
"Right, I still have a corporeal avatar. Should I create one now?"
When Lin Yu's talent upgraded to S-class, he could create a permanent avatar with an independent personality.
However, he had never made up his mind and had put it aside.
Furthermore, so much had happened from last night until today that he had no time to consider it. Now that things had finally quieted down, he began to think about the corporeal avatar.
"System, if the corporeal avatar kills monsters, will I gain upgrade points?"
"Yes!"
"Regardless of distance?"
"Yes, host!"
Lin Yu rejoiced and said with a smile, "Then let the corporeal avatar hunt outside the city, and I'll gain upgrade points while lying down! Anyway, if the corporeal avatar dies, it can be created again."
At this moment, Lin Yu truly understood the terrifying power of the avatar talent. If he had a thousand or ten thousand corporeal avatars, that would truly be a life of idle gaming.
The permanent avatar was the greatest highlight of this talent, equivalent to dividing one's life into two, and like giving oneself a cheat.
A corporeal avatar that ignored distance, possessed an independent personality, and was absolutely loyal was more reliable than any subordinate.
Lin Yu closed his eyes slightly and communicated with his talent ability.
"Use corporeal avatar!" he chanted inwardly.
The next moment, a cocoon of light formed outside Lin Yu's body, and the energy within him began to surge out, pouring into the cocoon. Not only that, but his mental energy was quickly depleted and also flowed into the cocoon.
Depleted mental energy was not enough; his life force began to be consumed, all of it pouring into the cocoon.
Ten minutes later, Lin Yu's appearance had completely changed.
His cheeks were sunken, his body gaunt, his hair withered, and his eyes were listless.
At this moment, he was utterly exhausted, hungry, and tired, seeing stars, his body completely drained, swaying as if he might collapse at any moment.
Looking at him, no one would believe this was the body of an eighteen-year-old boy; they would rather believe it belonged to an eighty-year-old man. He was simply too weak.
Lin Yu was very sleepy and hungry. He mumbled and reached for his wristband to call Zhao Ke, but his arms were withered and lacked strength. At this moment, an arm reached out and supported him.
"Main body!"
"Are you... the corporeal avatar?"
"Yes, main body!"
"Alas, help me home."
"Okay."
Upon returning home, Lin Yu collapsed onto the sofa and had the avatar buy food. As soon as it arrived, he began to feast.
Meal after meal was consumed, quickly digested and absorbed, his body like parched earth greedily soaking up moisture.
As food was continuously absorbed, Lin Yu's body rapidly recovered. His gaunt physique gradually filled out, his sunken cheeks plumped up, and his eyes regained their bright, piercing gaze.
Half an hour later, he stopped eating.
At this point, he had returned to his original appearance, though he was slightly fatigued, as eating itself was an energy-consuming activity.
Meanwhile, the corporeal avatar stood by his side, constantly buying food for Lin Yu and handing him water.
It was only then that Lin Yu had time to observe the corporeal avatar. He saw that it looked exactly like him, but Lin Yu noticed a difference in their eyes.
Lin Yu's eyes were reserved, steady, and cautious, while the corporeal avatar's eyes were lively, curious, and spirited.
If Lin Yu was mature and steady, then the corporeal avatar was agile and lively. The contrast between old and young was stark.
"This is good," Lin Yu mused. "If the corporeal avatar only had one life, I would dislike this personality because it's too prone to trouble. But since the corporeal avatar can revive, this personality is actually better. My surroundings are too quiet and somber; they need some lively elements injected."
Lin Yu could sense the existence of the corporeal avatar and could control its life and death. This feeling was the same as controlling a clone.
However, a clone was like a blank sheet of paper, easily controlled by him.
But the corporeal avatar had an independent personality. When Lin Yu exerted control, he was affected by its emotions, which created some resistance.
Yet, with a single thought, he could make the corporeal avatar disappear, and that too, regardless of distance. With this, he was at ease, no longer worried about the corporeal avatar being taken over in the future!
"Do you have a name?" Lin Yu looked at him and asked.