Su Quan was deeply unpopular, even within Xiangchu University.
The crowd watching naturally rejoiced at his misfortune, wishing Lin Ran had been even harsher.
Even those who had hoped to see Lin Ran fall from grace were cheering wildly.
It seemed that no matter how much someone disliked Lin Ran, when compared to Su Quan, they would unhesitatingly side with Lin Ran…
After all, the eldest son of the Su family was a complete and utter scumbag.
Oh, and he had an even more scumbag grandfather…
The only ones who weren't smiling at Su Quan's predicament were Uncle Zhang and Su Quan's tenth-order awakened grandfather, Su Lie.
From the spectator stands, Su Lie's eyes were wide with fury, staring intently at Lin Ran and Su Quan.
He looked as if he wanted to rip Lin Ran apart and devour him alive, his fists clenched and teeth gritted in anger.
Uncle Zhang was sweating profusely as well.
As experts, they could see at a glance that Su Quan was far from Lin Ran's match.
The only reason Su Quan had lasted this long was because Lin Ran had been deliberately holding back, toying with him.
And Lin Ran's purpose in doing so was clearly to humiliate Su Quan thoroughly.
"Doesn't this brat Su Quan realize he's being played with like a puppet?"
"Dragging this out is pointless and will only make him a laughingstock! He should just surrender quickly!" Su Lie growled in a low voice.
Uncle Zhang wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. "Young Master is probably too caught up in the moment… He still thinks he has a chance to fight back."
"Now that his senses are blocked, he can't feel it even more."
"Even if we wanted to help him, we can't."
"It's a done deal now, he's bound to lose… If we want to regain face, we'll have to rely on Su Chen…"
"After all, Su Chen is the captain of Xiangchu University! The strongest existence in Xiangchu University."
"He should be able to help our Su family regain some dignity."
Hearing Uncle Zhang's words, Su Lie's expression grew even uglier. "Since when has my Su family's dignity needed to be regained by some illegitimate bastard?"
"Even though the family head has acknowledged that bastard's status, in my eyes, Su Lie, he will never be worthy of being a Su family member!"
"I, old man Su Lie, will find a way to restore the Su family's honor! I don't need anyone else's help!"
"You keep a close eye on Su Quan here! I'm leaving first!"
With that, Su Lie no longer lingered in the spectator stands and left the scene immediately.
After all, watching Su Quan being utterly dominated by Lin Ran was too much of a torment for him…
Meanwhile, on the stage.
Seeing Su Quan struggling on his own, Lin Ran gave a cold smile and took out his new weapon, which he had been holding earlier—a brush.
The brush looked ordinary, with no special features, except for a trace of cinnabar on its tip.
However, any weapon enchanted by Lin Ran's "Knight Dies Not Empty-Handed" would undoubtedly possess extraordinary qualities.
Watching Su Quan, who was like a spinning top unable to dislodge the plunger, Lin Ran lightly waved his brush.
The cinnabar on the brush instantly transcended space and time, appearing directly on Su Quan's chest.
Furthermore, once the cinnabar landed, it began to burn intensely, causing Su Quan to want to yelp in pain, but he couldn't, only tears streaming down his face.
The burning cinnabar didn't inflict much damage, but the pain was extreme.
The areas it scorched felt itchy, painful, and stinging, penetrating deep into the bones and flesh, relentlessly eroding his consciousness.
Within just ten seconds, Su Quan, in sheer agony, passed out on the stage.
Lin Ran glanced at Su Quan, who was now enveloped in a green light, with a hint of regret.
Truly weak…
The so-called SSS-grade talent, the Dragon Spring Sword, was gone before Su Quan could even wield it.
He had originally wanted to test the power of the Su family's inherited talent.
"Beep! Preliminary round complete. Your final score is a perfect 20 points. Your completion time ranks first, granting you direct qualification for the next round."
The AI announcer on the stage reported Lin Ran's results impassively.
The crowd, witnessing Su Quan of Xiangchu University being toyed with to the brink of death by Lin Ran, couldn't help but murmur in awe.
"So, that absolute dominance we saw earlier wasn't because the opponents were weak, but because Lin Ran is that strong!"
"Even a top-10 contestant has fallen. Lin Ran's true strength is undeniable."
"Heh heh, I remember someone saying earlier that a master would come to teach Lin Ran a lesson…"
"Now that the master has arrived, he's the one getting beaten!"
"Hey, look, the burn marks on Su Quan's body are so strange…"
"Yeah, the shape and outline… doesn't it look like a '250'?"
"It really does! And this '250' is imprinted right next to the Xiangchu University team's emblem… How arrogant!"
"Hahaha, this is definitely Lin Ran retaliating against Xiangchu University for deliberately giving him the number 250!"
"Xiangchu University is petty, picking a fight with a student over pre-match trash talk and getting slapped in the face!"
"Exactly… I've never seen a host at any event deliberately target a participant, and over something as trivial as trash talk…"
"Or maybe, the person in charge at Xiangchu University has a personal agenda?"
"Could it be that the person in charge is from the Su family?"
"…"
The spectators who noticed this detail buzzed with discussion, enjoying the show.
Meanwhile, the person in charge of the stage at Xiangchu University had a grim expression.
On the surface, Lin Ran's "250" was targeting Su Quan…
But its actual meaning was likely a mockery of him.
Good! Very good! Excellent!
I'd like to see how long you can keep this up!
I refuse to believe there's no one in this competition who can handle you!
The stage manager shot a resentful glance at Lin Ran, who had already left the stage to rest and await the results of other matches, and quickly moved on to arrange the next one.
"Good kid! You fought beautifully, that's some well-deserved catharsis!"
Lu Qiufeng and Lin Miao, having slipped down from the stage after Lin Ran's match concluded, ran over to cheer him on.
Lin Miao excitedly ruffled Lin Ran's hair.
Lin Ran's feud with Su Quan and Xiangchu University's malicious assignment of the number 250 had united them in shared resentment.
Seeing Lin Ran's satisfying victory and securing first place felt immensely gratifying, like a resounding slap in the face to those two parties.
Lin Ran chuckled, shaking his head proudly.
"What's this? Just a small appetizer…"
"Let them wait! The main course is yet to come!"