Chapter 25: Shock and… Recovering Stamina

Not only that girl was suspicious, but many others also shook their heads vigorously, stirring slightly:

"What? What are the people up front saying?"

"That great hero... he said his name is Jiayu..."

"No way? Seems like there's only one person named Jiayu in our school..."

"Mm, it should be Li Jiayu... his facial contours are a bit like Li Jiayu's. No wonder I felt a sense of déjà vu."

"With my manly intuition, he must be Li Jiayu, no doubt."

"How is that possible? Are you blind! Li Jiayu is nowhere near as handsome as him!"

"Kill me and I still won't believe it... Li Jiayu wasn't even considered class eye-candy before! Compared to the few campus heartthrobs in the art department, he's just trash! How could he possibly be this white-haired swordsman? You must all be mistaken!"

"It really is a male! He has an Adam's apple... Sigh, the female sword immortal is gone, what a pity..."

"Li Jiayu? Isn't that the guy from the etiquette department? I heard he's very scholarly, a standard pale-faced scholar, and very polite to people... In contrast, this benefactor strikes without mercy, every move ruthless. How could they possibly be the same person?"

"That's right! It's that sissy. Heard his health isn't great either. During freshman year, he was forced to participate in the 5000-meter race at the school sports meet and collapsed halfway through. With his frail constitution, it's absolutely impossible for him to possess the benefactor's superb swordsmanship..."

Most people expressed doubt, but a small portion gradually pieced things together:

"Stop arguing, he really is Li Jiayu!"

"I'm his classmate, if I say it is, it is!"

"No wonder, I started suspecting when I saw that octopus... It's just that seeing Li Jiayu's hair turn completely white and his facial features become unfamiliar, I didn't dare confirm it. But now, the more I look, the more I feel he is Li Jiayu. Besides, he admitted it... You don't know, Li Jiayu had already summoned that octopus in the classroom earlier, and he was already very strong..."

"Aiyo, I regret it so much! If I had known earlier, I would have stayed in the classroom. We abandoned him alone to face so many spiders. Even if he doesn't say anything, he might be very unhappy inside, right?"

Hearing the crowd behind discussing Li Jiayu's identity in low but intense voices, Xiao Wanqing's eyebrows also twitched. She was the vice principal. Although usually busy with affairs, she had seen Li Jiayu's magic performance during the freshman anniversary celebration.

At that time, her eyes lit up, feeling that Li Jiayu had a strong stage presence. The eighteen-year-old Li Jiayu was still slightly immature, but his eyes were very spirited, leaving a deep impression on Xiao Wanqing.

She parted her lips and tentatively asked:

"You are Li Jiayu from the art department? But looking... you don't seem like him..."

"Then who do you think I look like? Do you also suspect I'm from the Dragon Group?"

Li Jiayu felt amused and exasperated by the suspicion surrounding his identity. He casually grabbed a chair, set it upright, sat down, and panted slightly:

"Do you think I need to impersonate Li Jiayu? Principal Xiao, this is our first meeting, shouldn't you give me a banner for being 'happy to help others'?"

"Banner? Hehe, however many you want, I'll give you. Your merits are enough for Xijiang University to be grateful for hundreds of years..."

Xiao Wanqing smiled faintly. Her mature and graceful body unintentionally exuded a fatal attraction. She said:

"Speaking of which... if you really are Li Jiayu, how did you suddenly end up in this attire? Could it be... like Superman changing, or Spiderman, you have to dress strangely to come out and save the world?"

"What? Could it be Principal Xiao isn't satisfied with my white hair?"

"No, that's not what I meant... I just feel that you are full of mysteries. I can rack my brain and still not understand how an ordinary student like you could suddenly become so incredible. The strangest thing is, how could a master like you be hidden in the school? And that octopus, that's simply a strange creature that subverts Darwin's theory of evolution..."

Just then, a girl behind Xiao Wanqing finally couldn't hold back, boldly walked to Li Jiayu's left side, looked at him with fervent eyes, and asked in a low voice:

"Great hero, are you really Li Jiayu? You're not lying?"

Li Jiayu's expression remained normal, showing neither the arrogance of taking advantage of his favor nor the pretentiousness of acting profound. He just nodded casually:

"No need to doubt. Li Jiayu, Art Department, Third Major, Class Two, of Xijiang University. Also the sissy, pale-faced scholar you were just talking about."

"Uh..."

Although this girl was already half-believing, hearing Li Jiayu admit it directly still made her breath catch involuntarily, unsure what to say.

One must know, this girl was the head of the etiquette department! Of course, she knew Li Jiayu, a member of her department. It's just that she had high standards and wasn't particularly warm towards ordinary boys, so she wasn't familiar with Li Jiayu. But now, looking at him – she couldn't help but feel some regret. Why hadn't she noticed him before?

Some others who had an impression of Li Jiayu also froze as if hit by a petrification spell.

Honestly, before this, everyone except Li Jiayu's classmates had already guessed a thousand, ten thousand times in their minds who this impossibly handsome young man might be.

A transforming Superman? An envoy sent by God? A white-robed swordsman transmigrated from ancient times? The ace operative of a superpower organization?

No matter who, they absolutely wouldn't have thought it would be that polite and gentle sissy from the etiquette department!

That frail boy who always smiled so nicely!

That boy who even girls dared to bully, who didn't know how to resist!

Couldn't even play basketball! A loser who had to be carried to the infirmary by others after running 5000 meters!

It was actually him?

Really him?

Was something wrong?

For a time, the atmosphere in the hall became extremely strange.

Li Jiayu's faint admission brought a shock to the students no less than the shock of seeing him easily kill the Acid Bugs!

"Is there something wrong with my ears?"

"I feel like I misheard too..."

"It really is him! It really is him, absolutely no mistake! Heavens..."

"I thought he might be sent by the Tianchao Dragon Group to save our school... Never expected he's actually our classmate, a student who usually looks very ordinary..."

"Li Jiayu, you disguised yourself too well! Clearly so handsome, yet you never bothered to dress up normally. Clearly so strong, yet you deliberately pretended to be very fragile!"

"How embarrassing! How embarrassing! And I even called myself the number one campus heartthrob of Xijiang University! Compared to him, I'm just trash..."

"Unbelievable... so this is his true face... And I used to laugh at him for not being manly..."

If it was just a commotion before, now it was boiling over! Noisy and chaotic, they no longer needed to hide their guesses and surprise, but loudly expressed their shock and excitement!

Why the excitement?

Many couldn't understand it themselves!

Perhaps it was because the insects brought them too much pressure for survival, making them feel despair, and the former sissy suddenly transformed, becoming their guardian god with an invincible posture, bringing them new hope – this spiritual impact was simply too great!

"Jiayu! Are you okay? Are you injured?"

At this moment, Sun Weiwei, Han Xiaoqi, and the others had already entered the hall. Seeing Li Jiayu sitting on the stool panting incessantly, his hair slightly messy from sweat, and the Dark Octopus beside him collapsed weakly on the ground, its wounds oozing orange-yellow blood – clearly, Li Jiayu and the Dark Octopus didn't look too good.

"No need to worry, just a bit tired..."

Li Jiayu gave a forced smile. He felt very conflicted internally. His stamina was still too weak. He needed to find a way to strengthen his physique quickly. No need to become a humanoid fighter like a Berserker, but he couldn't just collapse from exhaustion after a bit of exercise, right?

"That's good... Actually, you don't need to push yourself so hard. You've already done well enough. What if you accidentally get injured, then what..." Han Xiaoqi looked at Li Jiayu's tired appearance and said with considerable heartache.

"Mm, I know my limits."

Li Jiayu nodded, then suddenly said to Xiao Wanqing:

"Principal Xiao, I will naturally find time to explain the details to you... Mm, if possible, could you let me hug you?"

"Hug?"

Xiao Wanqing was taken aback by Li Jiayu's excessive request. Astonishment couldn't help but appear on her beautiful face. Even though she was already a married woman and viewed etiquette between men and women lightly, she still felt somewhat flustered. She wanted to refuse immediately, but Li Jiayu's identity was too special, and she didn't dare offend him.

Even Sun Weiwei and Han Xiaoqi beside her changed expression, looking at Li Jiayu in surprise, not understanding – Li Jiayu didn't seem like the type to be overly eager, right? Why would he make such an abrupt request to the Vice Principal? Could it be he had secretly admired the Vice Principal for a long time and was just taking this opportunity to demand repayment for his favor?

"Hehe... Principal Xiao, you misunderstand. My stamina consumption is really too much, I probably won't recover for a while. Yet downstairs there are still many Scythe Beetles, Venomous Spiders, and Red-Crested Beetles rampaging. And the other academic buildings and student dormitories are even more overrun by the insect disaster. Who knows what kind of survival pressure they are still facing? So I must recover my stamina as soon as possible, you understand."

Xiao Wanqing glared at Li Jiayu, her eyes sparking with electricity:

"Understand what? Explain clearly... What does hugging me have to do with you recovering stamina?"

"You still don't know? You are a Light Priestess. Your Holy Light can not only help heal wounds and diseases, but if used skillfully, it can also help restore stamina. It's just that you've just awakened and don't know how to control Holy Light to change its properties yet... So, you can only have close contact with me, and I will use my mental power to guide your Holy Light, forming a simple recovery spell. Understood now?"

"What Light Priestess... what Holy Light... what recovery spell, I didn't understand a single word!"

A trace of embarrassment flashed in Xiao Wanqing's eyes. In front of so many students, how could she, the dignified Vice Principal, casually let a stranger hold her? But she quickly relented. She was someone who prioritized the bigger picture, but also very soft-hearted. If Li Jiayu could really recover his stamina quickly, she didn't mind trying. Compared to those students still facing immense danger, being hugged by him was nothing.

"No need for you to understand. In short, just listen to me, it's correct!"

Li Jiayu waved his hand, not caring if Xiao Wanqing agreed or not. In fact, her agreement wasn't needed. Li Jiayu knew her personality like the back of his hand, knew it in detail, even knew what color underwear she liked to wear. Sometimes, leaving a tyrannical and unreasonable image in her mind was actually a good thing – that way, she wouldn't always treat Li Jiayu like a younger brother needing care, right?

"You few, go to the other halls and bring back all the corpses of those Acid Bugs. Don't worry, they're already frozen, and it's not ordinary ice; it won't melt anytime soon, so you don't need to worry about corroding your hands... I have great use for those insect corpses. Mm, please do this for me."

Li Jiayu casually pointed at a few male students who were looking at him with admiration and fervor, assigning them tasks. However, they weren't unhappy at all; instead, they respectfully ran off to work. After all, being able to help their idol was exciting, and even more exciting was that they could trample on the corpses of the Acid Bugs!

"You few... go to the other halls and call over Sword Saint Ran Hongxia, Shapeshifter Lan Xiaoyue, Sonic Warrior Chen Kun, Dragonoid Chu Xiang, Fire Mage Feng Liaoyuan. What are you standing there stunned for? Didn't you understand what I said? You say I play too many games? Damn it! Just go when I tell you to, don't dawdle! When you see them, you'll know how powerful they are!"