14: Chapter 14 Review

The next day, the opening ceremony was held grandly on the Battle Academy playground.

All the teachers and students of the school gathered, a dense sea of people.

On the high platform, school leaders sat in order, and the proceedings went according to plan: the principal gave an encouraging speech, a teacher representative spoke to inspire, and an outstanding student representative shared their experiences...

Just as the agenda was about to conclude and the host was preparing to announce the end of the ceremony,

Director Gao, the Dean of Students, suddenly stood up and took the microphone.

"Teachers, students, before the ceremony concludes, I have a few words to say."

Director Gao cleared his throat, his expression serious.

"Our Battle Academy is a place that cultivates the pillars of the Federation to resist magical beasts and protect our homeland! School spirit and discipline are of paramount importance! Unity and friendship are basic requirements! If you have any conflicts, you can compete in practical combat classes or go hunt magical beasts! What kind of ability is it to waste your energy on infighting?"

He raised his voice and scanned the audience: "Just yesterday, an extremely vicious case of mob fighting occurred at our school! The impact is terrible! After careful consideration, we have decided on the following handling for the primary responsible party, Qin Ce of the freshman Elite Class: he is ordered to make a profound self-criticism in public to see how he behaves in the future!"

As his voice fell, the entire crowd was in an uproar.

Countless gazes turned in unison toward the freshman area, searching for the new student named Qin Ce.

They had all seen the scene yesterday, and there were already eight versions of the rumors circulating.

"Now, I invite student Qin Ce to come on stage and make his self-criticism!" Director Gao said in a deep voice.

Qin Ce walked out from the freshman formation, his steps steady, and headed toward the high platform with a calm expression.

Wherever he passed, the freshmen automatically cleared a path, their eyes filled with various emotions—curiosity, schadenfreude, and sympathy.

Just as he was about to step out of the formation, a boy standing next to Wang Yu, who had participated in the siege yesterday and still had bruises on his face, suddenly grabbed Qin Ce's sleeve. Lowering his voice, he pleaded, "Qin Ce... Brother Qin! I beg you, please don't read my name on stage, okay? It was my fault yesterday, I apologize to you!"

As soon as he spoke, several students around him who had been thrown down yesterday were stunned. Read names?

Then, everyone realized, and their faces turned deathly pale in an instant.

That's right! A public self-criticism! If Qin Ce read out the names of everyone who participated in the siege yesterday one by one, wouldn't they lose face in front of the entire school again?

That would be even worse than getting beaten up!

"Qin Ce, include me too. I didn't actually strike, I just stood up..."

"Brother Qin, please show mercy..."

"Brother Qin, I beg you..."

Qin Ce expressionlessly brushed away the hands grabbing him, did not stop his pace, walked straight onto the high platform, and took the microphone from Director Gao.

Director Gao looked at him, his eyes filled with a warning.

Below the stage, thousands of eyes were focused on him.

The principal also leaned forward slightly, showing a look of interest.

Qin Ce stood still, swept his calm gaze across the audience, cleared his throat, and began:

"Respected leaders, teachers, and dear students, hello everyone. I am Qin Ce, a freshman from the Elite Class."

His voice carried across the playground through the loudspeaker, clear and steady.

"Yesterday, in the Elite Class classroom, I committed a serious mistake."

The audience quieted down, waiting for his "confession."

"My mistake was," Qin Ce paused, his tone suddenly taking on a peculiar "sincerity," "that I should not have remained silent when student Wang Yu asked me to give up my seat for no reason. I should have stood up immediately, respectfully offered him the seat, and thanked him for giving me an opportunity to demonstrate the virtue of modesty."

"?" The crowd below was stunned.

Director Gao frowned.

Qin Ce continued: "My mistake was that when student Wang Yu and his four friends tried to have 'intimate communication' with me using physical language, I should not have engaged in 'excessive defense' and 'invited' them out of the classroom. I should have stood still, patiently accepted their 'guidance,' and reflected on why I could not understand their urgent desire to get close to a classmate."

Low murmurs and suppressed laughter began to emerge from the crowd. This self-criticism... something felt wrong, didn't it?

"My even greater mistake was," Qin Ce raised his voice slightly, "that when student Wang Yu generously promised favors and pet beasts as rewards to invite over twenty students to come up and have a 'friendly sparring session' with me, and even when some students used their pet beasts to 'deepen the exchange,' I should not have been 'unappreciative' and engaged in 'inappropriate' self-defense. I should have proactively laid flat, cooperated with everyone's 'practical combat drills,' and felt honored to be a 'living target' for so many students to practice their combat skills."

"Pfft!" Finally, someone below couldn't help but laugh out loud. This wasn't a self-criticism! This was clearly a sarcastic reenactment of what happened yesterday! And a high-level roast at that!

Director Gao's face was as black as the bottom of a pot; he hadn't expected Qin Ce to dare to play it this way!

He stepped forward, about to snatch the microphone.

At this moment, a hand from behind held him down.

"However!" Qin Ce's tone suddenly shifted, becoming "somber" and "firm," "After the patient instruction of my homeroom teacher, Teacher Sun, and deep reflection last night, I have fully realized the root of my mistake—my strength is not strong enough! If I had stronger strength, perhaps I could have still gained student Wang Yu's 'friendship' without giving up my seat; if I had a decent family background, perhaps I could have made these thirty-plus students my friends directly, without them needing to use the power of their pet beasts to 'passionately communicate' with me, which resulted in them risking violations of laws and school regulations!"

"Therefore, I solemnly submit my self-criticism here!" Qin Ce spoke into the microphone, his voice carrying far and wide, "I apologize for not being gentle and kind enough, thereby giving my classmates the opportunity to make mistakes! I apologize for being a mere commoner, causing the Dean of Students difficulty, unable to provide me with fair treatment. He even had to waste his 'painstaking efforts' and 'careful consideration' to persuade me! I express my most 'sincere' apologies to all the classmates who felt 'physically unwell' or had their 'moods damaged' because of this incident!"

"At the same time, I promise," Qin Ce's gaze swept over the pale-faced Wang Yu and the others below, his mouth curling into an extremely faint arc, "In my future academic career, I will definitely strive to improve my strength, so that the next time I encounter a similar situation, I will have the status not to embarrass the leaders, and the courage not to let my classmates take risks."

"Finally," Qin Ce looked at the livid Director Gao, then turned to the principal and other leaders who had strange expressions.