LABMY CH84.1

Jian Yuanbai’s efficiency was impressive. He said he would establish a school, and three days later, it was done. Although the school only had him, Lu Qianyun, and Fan Youjin as its members, designing a school emblem was still a must.

In his office, Lu Qianyun, Li Wenshu, Fan Youjin, and Jian Yuanbai stared blankly at a whiteboard with large characters scribbled across it.

Lu Qianyun couldn’t bear to look directly at the school’s name on the whiteboard. He lowered his head and rubbed his temples.

Just thinking about competing under this name made his forehead throb with pain.

Clearly, he wasn’t the only one feeling this way. The three of them sat there, united in silent suffering.

Three people. How could the three of them fail to persuade one person?

Jian Yuanbai, the only one in high spirits, said, “If we’re choosing a school emblem, I think we should—”

“Stop right there,” Fan Youjin interrupted with a pained expression.

After some thought, he added, “Let’s keep it simple. A flower or some grass will do.”

“If that doesn’t work, just pick a single character and make it the emblem.”

Lu Qianyun agreed. If they let Jian Yuanbai speak, who knows what outrageous ideas he’d come up with. He said, “Why not use the character ‘lie’ (躺, meaning ‘lie down’) as the design? That will be our emblem.”

Li Wenshu was wary of Jian Yuanbai’s input, but he also didn’t want things to be too casual. He proposed his own idea: “Let’s use a gun as the emblem, with the design of a bullet piercing through the darkness. How about that?”

Fan Youjin shrugged. “I’m fine with it.”

Lu Qianyun nodded. “Good.”

And just like that, the design was finalized. Li Wenshu moved on to the next topic: “The academy’s grand selection tournament.”

Jian Yuanbai looked at the three of them in confusion and couldn’t help but ask, “I haven’t even given my opinion. How is this already decided?”

The three of them turned to look at him in unison.

Under the pressure of six eyes, Jian Yuanbai silently closed his mouth and gestured for Li Wenshu to continue.

Li Wenshu adjusted his glasses and calmly explained:

“This depends on the school rankings. The top 30 academies are exempt from the preliminary rounds. Unfortunately, our school isn’t one of them.”

He looked at the group. “So, starting the day after tomorrow, you’ll need to participate in the selection matches.”

Jian Yuanbai asked, “How does the selection work?”

Li Wenshu replied, “It’s simple. You draw lots to decide your opponent and fight in a standard arena. The winner advances to the next round.”

“The number of rounds depends on how many schools are participating. But with the number of academies on Imperial Planet, there will be quite a few.”

“Based on previous years, the selection phase lasts around half a month.”

“The final 20 academies will join the top 30 to compete in the Grand Tournament. Fifty academies in total will send their representatives to battle for the ultimate victory on a designated planet.”

Fan Youjin clicked his tongue. “Half a month? That sounds exhausting.”

He turned to Jian Yuanbai. “My old school wasn’t number one, but at least I didn’t have to suffer through this selection process.”

“Since I’m doing you a favor by competing, you’d better cover my appearance fee.”

Li Wenshu corrected him, “The selection matches don’t require the mechanics department. The rules are simple: the mecha combat students fight using their mechs, and the winner advances.”

He pushed a thick stack of documents onto the table. “These are the names and profiles of the participants we expect to join the selection. Time is tight, and this is based on our predictions, so it might not be entirely accurate.”

Jian Yuanbai ignored Fan Youjin’s complaint and extended his hand. “I’m fulfilling the dream you missed during your student years. Transfer the gratitude fee.”

Fan Youjin’s lips twitched. “Get lost.”

Meanwhile, Lu Qianyun flipped through the information and said, “I’ll handle the selection matches by myself.”

“I’ll fight through this half-month alone.”

Fan Youjin was stunned. “You’re not teaming up with Jian Yuanbai? Aren’t schools required to send two mecha combat students?”

Lu Qianyun calmly closed the documents and said, “They’re all small fries. I can handle them alone.”

Fan Youjin: “…”

He was starting to believe Jian Yuanbai’s words.

Maybe Lu Qianyun really did like that upcoming movie based on himself.

Jian Yuanbai secretly exchanged a glance with Fan Youjin that said: “See? This is exactly what I was talking about.”

The two of them tacitly averted their eyes.

Since Lu Qianyun had spoken, Jian Yuanbai didn’t object. He trusted Lu Qianyun to handle it.

After all, Lu Qianyun was destined to become the future Marshal of the Empire. The more he fought, the more battle experience he’d gain.

Jian Yuanbai wouldn’t hold him back under the guise of protection.

Besides, with Lu Qianyun handling the matches, Jian Yuanbai could free up his time to focus on other things.

The brief meeting ended, and everyone went off to handle their tasks.

Li Wenshu, having taken responsibility this far, decided to see things through. He would contact people to create the school emblem, organize the information, and handle the registration for the selection.

Fan Youjin, having no immediate role, went back to practice his craft. With such an embarrassing school name, losing would be even more humiliating.

Lu Qianyun headed to the virtual training room to get himself into peak condition.

As for Jian Yuanbai, he quietly went off to take care of his “big plans.”

With everyone busy, time flew by, and soon, the day of the selection matches arrived.

Since Lu Qianyun had explicitly told them not to waste time cheering for him, the rest of the team didn’t bother showing up.

With the experience of the previous two worlds, Lu Qianyun was certain that although he participated in the Academy Grand Competition earlier than the plot’s timeline, as long as he won in the end, the result would be the same.

The selection match venue was similar to the traditional martial arts arena, a cylindrical building surrounded by spectator stands.

When Lu Qianyun entered the arena, he found that the crowd was even larger than he expected.

He arrived a bit early, and the arena was still empty, but the stands were packed, and the noise was deafening.

Amidst the anticipation of everyone present, two contestants slowly entered the arena from the inner entrance.

They were just a couple of students. Even though they tried to maintain composure, they couldn’t hide their excitement. Their eyes burned with eagerness, ready to knock down their opponent as soon as the referee announced the start of the match.

On the spacious arena, the referee held a card and read aloud:

“The first match: The representative of Tianfan Academy versus the representative of Shuren Academy.”

“Now, please enter your mechas.”

The referee’s voice echoed through the arena’s built-in sound system, loud and clear to every corner of the audience.

The mechanism on the arena activated, the gate opened, and two mechas slowly rose from the ground, appearing next to the contestants.

As the contestants entered their mechas and the battle was about to begin, the crowd erupted in cheers and excitement.

At this moment, Lu Qianyun quietly left the audience stand.

When he returned, the match was nearing its end. The boy from Tianfan Academy had won and was shouting excitedly on stage.

Due to the large number of participating academies, even with a lottery-based knockout system, each academy had at least two matches per day, which happened to match the number of mecha students.

After winning the match, it was now up to his teammate.

Without paying further attention, Lu Qianyun put on the mask he had bought and walked into the waiting area for the match.

As the previous match ended, Lu Qianyun stepped into the arena. The thunderous cheers and roars from the crowd filled the air as he calmly walked up to the stage.

On the high platform, he stood face-to-face with his opponent, with the referee standing between them.

Holding the contestant list, the referee, who had worked in this field for decades, was silent for two full minutes.

As the audience started to murmur in confusion, the referee finally spoke:

“In this match, one contestant represents Wen Shi Academy, while the other…”

He paused awkwardly and then reluctantly announced the name he had never seen in his life:

“…represents the ‘Fifty years of trash, lie down and rot Academy.'”

Through the high-quality sound system, the referee’s words echoed clearly throughout the entire arena.

In that instant, every spectator, contestant, and staff member froze and turned their eyes toward the stage.

To be precise, they all focused on that one person.

In the massive arena, which held 3,000 spectators, an eerie silence lasted for a full minute.

Who didn’t know that the Imperial First Academy was about to celebrate its 50th anniversary? Especially those who came to compete and watch the matches.

That was the Imperial First Academy!

After the brief silence, the entire arena exploded with laughter, boos, and jeers. Countless people shouted insults, and all eyes locked onto Lu Qianyun. Even his opponent stared at him in shock.

Lu Qianyun adjusted the mask on his face and silently praised in his heart:

“A mask… truly the greatest invention in the world!”

Regardless of what the audience, contestants, or even the referee thought, the match had to go on. As the referee announced the start, two mechas slowly rose from the ground.

When Lu Qianyun’s mecha appeared, the crowd erupted in laughter again.

There was one key difference between the selection matches and the finals: because of the large number of participating academies, the organizers wouldn’t provide free mechas for the selection rounds.

Maintaining and repairing mechas for so many matches would be an enormous cost.

Therefore, each academy had to bring their own mechas. This made the quality and performance of the mechas a hidden battle outside the arena.

An S-class mecha could easily crush a B-class or lower mecha in every aspect.

In this situation, the richer the academy, the better the mecha they could afford.

For those who couldn’t afford mechas, there were standard rental mechas available, which were plain and average in performance.

Since the Academy Grand Competition was established, no one had ever used the standard rental mecha in the selection matches.

After all, between two contestants with equal skill, the one with the better mecha would always win.

So when Lu Qianyun’s dull gray rental mecha rose onto the stage, the entire crowd burst into laughter.

His opponent, on the other hand, piloted a sleek, blood-red S-class mecha.

An S-class mecha versus a B-class rental mecha—it was a total slaughter.

“I bet he’ll be knocked off the stage in less than ten minutes.”

“Ten minutes? You’re overestimating him.”

“Five minutes, I’ll bet on five.”

“Is this guy here for a joke? Does he think he can become famous this way?”

“He doesn’t even have the guts to show his face. Hiding behind a mask, huh?”

This was one of the rare matches where the entire audience unanimously agreed.

Even the betting houses in the arena refused to accept bets for this match.

As the referee signaled the start, the red mecha charged forward like a sharp arrow, leaving afterimages as it dashed toward the gray mecha.

Its left arm raised high, forming a fist, already envisioning the moment it would shatter its opponent with one punch.

But the moment it was about to hit the gray mecha, something shocking happened.

The gray mecha vanished from sight at an astonishing speed.

In the blink of an eye, the spot where the gray mecha once stood exploded with a burst of air distortion.

The red mecha quickly turned its head to look behind it, but it saw nothing. Behind it was empty.

“Look quickly!!!”

A sudden shout erupted from the audience, and a gray figure suddenly dropped from above the red mecha’s head.

Using the force of the fall, its elbow viciously shattered the core of the red mecha, executing a flawless airborne kill.

Amidst the scattering red fragments, the entire venue fell silent.

Lu Qianyun’s match was in full swing, and Jian Yuanbai’s filming was also progressing intensely.

In the filming location that had been extravagantly bought out, the director, who had a small braid and an artistic vibe, silently covered his eyes. He was wrong. He was truly wrong.

He shouldn’t have been blinded by money. He had betrayed himself, his lifelong learning, and the art of film.

The director looked at Jian Yuanbai, who was supervising beside him, and sincerely asked, “Mr. Jian, when this movie is released, can you remove my name from the credits?”

“I’m willing to refund 10% of your payment for this.”

The screenwriter and prop master standing nearby shared a complex expression. They had only ever heard of people paying to get their name in the credits. This was the first time they’d seen someone paying to have their name removed.

Truly, if you live long enough, you’ll see all kinds of strange things.

Jian Yuanbai looked at him in astonishment, “You’re willing to let me be the sole director on the credits? Of course! Keep your money, what’s yours is yours.”

With genuine emotion, he added, “You’re such a good person.”

Before hiring the director, he’d heard that people in the art circle had eccentric tempers and were obsessed with credit. He never expected to meet such a kind soul.

The director earned a “good person” card. As a nationally renowned director, he still had his principles. Since he took the money, he was determined to do his best to make a great film.

Movies rely on cinematography and visuals, but for a film about youthful passion and perseverance, the most important thing was the resilience to never give up in the face of adversity.

The protagonist could fail, but he couldn’t be defeated.

A young man’s burning passion, fearless spirit, and defiance against the heavens and injustice.

That was what he wanted to capture on screen. Even if it seemed arrogant, it was just the pride of youth.

Looking at the lead actor roaring in front of the camera, the director shouted, “Cut! Your emotions are too exaggerated here. You can’t release it all at once.”

“An abrupt outburst looks too deliberate. You need to use your expressions and voice to draw the audience into the story, to feel the protagonist’s pain and struggle.”

The lead actor wasn’t a rookie. He was already a well-known rising star, but due to his young age, his acting skills still needed polishing.

However, he wasn’t upset and listened carefully to the director’s advice, diligently reshooting the scene.

Everyone involved in this film knew it likely wouldn’t be released nationwide, but they all gave their best performance.

Firstly, the pay was so high it was equivalent to shooting two or three other films. Secondly, the big boss, Jian Yuanbai, was present on set every day. And thirdly, the crew’s atmosphere was fantastic.

Top-tier director, top-tier team, and the best equipment. Everyone treated this as a paid training opportunity.

Moreover, the big boss worked alongside them, ordered meals from five-star restaurants, and even comforted them when their performance wasn’t good enough.

There was even daily entertainment — watching the boss and the director argue over every scene, both refusing to give in.