"Yuhao."
Wang Dong cried out in alarm and rushed onto the stage immediately, supporting the falling Huo Yuhao.
Meanwhile, the moment Huo Yuhao collapsed, Caelus gave his eyes a deep look.
'Electrolux, the Holy Necromancer God? I have heard much of your great name.'
A meaningful smile played across the corners of his mouth.
Silence.
An oppressive silence enveloped the entire Soul Dueling Area.
Everyone's gaze was focused on the silver-haired boy with heterochromatic eyes in the center of the stage.
Just by standing there quietly, he seemed to become the focus; the chill radiating from him made everyone's breathing become cautious.
Caelus clapped his hands, the crisp sound breaking the deathly silence.
The layer of Diamond Ice Crystals covering his right hand quietly receded, as if they had never existed.
His gaze fell upon Wu Feng, who was still in a daze. His tone was flat, devoid of emotion, yet every word reached the ears of everyone present clearly.
"Alright, Wu Feng."
Wu Feng's body trembled as she jerked her head up, looking at him with a complex expression.
There was fear, resentment, and a hint of confusion that she herself was unwilling to admit.
"Whether you accept it or not, there are few among the freshmen who could fight you to this extent like Huo Yuhao did."
Caelus was stating a fact.
"From now on, stop looking for trouble with him."
He paused and added:
"We are all classmates. It's normal to have conflicts and friction. You can argue, or even come to the Soul Dueling Platform like today to have a fight and settle things with your fists. However, there's no need to make it a life-and-death struggle. This is Shrek Academy, not your family's backyard, and certainly not a place where you can kill people at will."
The first half of these words was directed at Wu Feng, but the second half was meant for all the arrogant young geniuses below the stage.
Wu Feng's lips moved as if she wanted to retort, but meeting Caelus's emotionless gaze, she ultimately swallowed her words and lowered her head in humiliation.
She knew Caelus was right.
If Caelus hadn't intervened, she might be an idiot by now.
After finishing with Wu Feng, Caelus turned around, his gold and green eyes sweeping over the students of new student class one, who were as quiet as cicadas in winter.
"The same goes for you all."
His voice wasn't loud, yet it made everyone's heart tighten.
"While Gu Yue and I were away, you've been messing around like this. What, do you think Teacher Wang Yan and Han Ruoruo are too good-tempered to control you?"
"You even started a gambling pool? Quite bold of you."
A faint, half-smile appeared on Caelus's lips.
"Who opened the bets? Step forward."
The students below immediately broke into a commotion, looking at one another, but no one dared to speak.
Caelus wasn't in a hurry, just watching them quietly.
"Boss."
Cao Jinxuan cleared his throat and shouted loudly, while simultaneously pointing his finger precisely at the friend beside him.
"It was Zhou Sichen who opened the gambling pool."
This shout was full of vigor and a sense of justice, as if he were some hero exposing dark and evil forces.
Being named, Zhou Sichen's body instantly stiffened.
He turned his head slowly, frame by frame, staring intently at Cao Jinxuan with eyes full of grief, indignation, and disbelief.
That look seemed to say: 'Aren't we life-and-death friends? Weren't we childhood friends? You're just selling me out like this?'
Cao Jinxuan returned a "good luck, brother" look of helplessness, even quietly moving two steps to the side, for fear of being implicated.
Zhou Sichen's heart turned cold.
Taking a deep breath, when he turned his head back to look at Caelus on the stage, his face was already filled with a fawning, almost sycophantic smile.
He trotted all the way to the front, looking up and saying in his most sincere tone:
"Boss, I was wrong, I was really wrong. I won't dare do it again. I just saw everyone's enthusiasm and wanted to liven up the atmosphere. I really didn't think that much."
Caelus glanced at him and said flatly, "You're thinking of having a next time?"
Cold sweat instantly poured down Zhou Sichen's face. "No, no, no, there will definitely be no next time. Rest assured, Boss."
Caelus ignored his assurance, his gaze sweeping over the crowd before finally landing on the spirit tool screen acting as a temporary odds board.
"Let me see... Odds for Wu Feng winning are 1 to 1.1, and for Huo Yuhao winning, 1 to 10."
As he read out these two numbers, many students who had bet on Wu Feng showed complex expressions of mixed regret and relief.
Regretful for losing money, yet relieved they hadn't bet much.
Caelus's gaze turned toward Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao, who were supporting Huo Yuhao in the crowd, his lips curling up slightly.
"Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao, how much did you two bet?"
Wang Dong was currently busy checking Huo Yuhao's injuries. Hearing the question, he said without looking up, "I bet one thousand gold coins."
Xiao Xiao also answered softly, "I... I also bet one thousand."
One thousand gold coins.
A collective gasp instantly rose from the crowd below.
This wasn't a small amount of money for these freshmen; after all, they had to spend money on various things at Shrek Academy, and their pocket money wasn't much.
Caelus nodded, his gaze returning to Zhou Sichen, looking at him as if he were a poor, bankrupt wretch.
"So, how should the result be counted, Sister Ruoruo?"
Caelus looked toward Han Ruoruo.
Han Ruoruo was also somewhat caught between laughter and tears by this sudden turn of events, but she quickly made a professional judgment:
"Technically speaking, it could be judged as a draw, but..."
Changing her tone, she said, "Although the final battle was stopped by you, Caelus, I can already determine that Huo Yuhao is the winner."
Caelus nodded in agreement and finally looked at Zhou Sichen, pronouncing his death sentence.
"Did you hear that? Huo Yuhao wins. At 1 to 10 odds, with Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao each betting a thousand, you need to pay them ten thousand gold coins each, totaling twenty thousand."
"As for the money from those who bet on Wu Feng..."
Caelus glanced at the total on the screen.
"It adds up to less than three thousand gold coins, which won't even begin to fill the hole. Zhou Sichen, do the math yourself."
"T-twenty... twenty thousand gold coins..."
Zhou Sichen's eyes instantly lost focus, and he seemed as if his Soul had been sucked out, turning gray from the inside out.
He felt like the sky was falling.
'Twenty thousand... twenty thousand gold coins... Where... where am I going to get that much money?'
His mind went blank.
'My entire net worth added together isn't even five hundred gold coins, and I still owe that bastard Cao Jinxuan three hundred...'
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