I can receive unlimited protection; my parents handed me over to the state.

Gao Yang and Shen Meng stood side by side in front of Lu Yuan's desk, their shadows completely enveloping him. They looked down at the still-sitting boy, their eyes filled with the air of victors.

The surrounding students wisely quieted down, craning their necks and straining their ears, afraid of missing a single exciting moment. This graduation ceremony, because of this sudden confrontation, became more captivating than any drama.

"Lu Yuan, didn't expect this, did you?" Gao Yang broke the silence first. His voice wasn't loud, but it carried clearly throughout the quiet back row. His tone was no longer simply mocking, but carried a condescending, condescending pity. "Our theory genius, how do you feel now? Don't you think all those densely packed data points you memorized over the past three years now look like a huge joke?"

Lu Yuan finally slowly raised his head.

His gaze didn't linger on Gao Yang's smug face for even a second, but instead passed over him and landed on the exquisite, doll-like girl behind him.

Shen Meng.

"Your new master," Lu Yuan's voice was flat, revealing no emotion, "is quite good at barking."

These words were like an invisible slap across Shen Meng's face. Her face turned pale instantly, and even her carefully applied makeup couldn't hide her embarrassment.

But she quickly regained her composure, a cold smile curving her lips as she retorted with a sneer, "Lu Yuan, don't talk to me with that sour tone. It only makes you seem more pathetic. People strive for higher positions, water flows downhill, and I've simply made the right choice for my own future. You can't give me what I want, but Gao Yang can."

She seemed determined to tear everything from the past apart, her voice rising several decibels, filled with resolve.

"What I want is to stand in the spotlight, to have a bright and promising future! To explore the magnificent world of Starsea alongside future leaders! Not to stay in a dilapidated blacksmith shop, spending my whole life smelling coal dust and rust!"

After saying that, she deliberately shook the mana-restoring ring on her wrist, which was shimmering with a faint light, as if that small ring represented the insurmountable class divide between her and Lu Yuan.

"Hahaha!" Gao Yang burst into laughter at Shen Meng's words. He affectionately put his arm around her shoulder, pulled her into his embrace, and said in an exaggerated tone, "Coal ash smell? No, no, no, baby, you've misunderstood. Our classmate Lu will be a great craftsman who forges divine weapons for us frontline warriors in the future!"

He bent down in a mock manner, leaned close to Lu Yuan, and said in a voice that only the few of them could hear, "Lu Yuan, if I go to the capital in the future, and that 'Wind Cutter' battle sword gets worn out, I might specially pack it up and send it back so that you, the 'Theory Emperor,' can personally repair it."

"Oh, right, I almost forgot," he slapped his forehead, feigning sudden realization, "An F-rank blacksmith, I don't think they're even qualified to repair excellent-grade weapons, right? Hahahaha!"

His followers immediately understood and echoed his sentiments.

"Brother Yang, please don't make things difficult for Brother Lu. If he can even forge a slightly sharper hoe in the future, that would be an extraordinary achievement!"

"Exactly! Just imagine, we'll be dominating the Starfall Academy in the capital, while Lu Yuan is still hammering away at the blacksmith's shop in the newbie village. Wow, just thinking about it is awesome!"

"Pfft..."

The sarcastic and mocking laughter rose and fell, like dull knives cutting into the hearts of every bystander. They seemed to have already foreseen Lu Yuan's bleak future.

"Gao Yang! You fucking went too far!"

Qin Shan could no longer contain himself. He slammed his hand on the table, stood up abruptly, and his massive body, like a mountain of flesh, blocked Lu Yuan's path. He glared at Gao Yang, his eyes practically spitting fire.

"Excessive?" Gao Yang's smile vanished instantly, his eyes turning cold. An aura belonging to an A-level Awakened, like an invisible wind pressure, suddenly emanated and pressed down fiercely on Qin Shan.

Qin Shan felt a tightness in his chest, as if he had been struck by a sledgehammer. His breathing became difficult, his face turned red, and his legs felt weak. This was even before Gao Yang used his innate abilities; it was merely a suppression based on level and rank.

"I'm just stating a fact," Gao Yang's voice was icy cold. "Useless people should be aware of their worth. This world has always been this cruel."

The atmosphere at the scene was extremely tense.

Just then.

"Squeak—"

A soft, untimely sound of a door opening came from the back door of the auditorium.

An elderly man, dressed in a faded gray Zhongshan suit and slowly twirling two walnuts in his hands, walked in unhurriedly, accompanied by a stern-faced adjutant.

The security guards responsible for maintaining order at the entrance frowned and stepped forward to stop someone from barging in during the ceremony.

"Sir, a graduation ceremony is in progress right now, you cannot..."

Before he could finish speaking, the adjutant behind the old man expressionlessly pulled out an ID from his pocket and flashed it in front of him.

It was a palm-sized notebook with a deep, dark red cover. A ferocious dragon head emblem and a line of small print were embossed on it in gold lettering.

The security guard's pupils contracted sharply, and he froze on the spot as if struck by lightning. He recognized it—it was the military's "Red Pass"! The highest level of emergency clearance!

The next second, without thinking, he snapped to attention and gave the old man a standard military salute, his body ramrod straight, not daring to utter a single word.

The old man's appearance did not immediately attract the attention of most of the students in the auditorium. Their minds were still completely absorbed in the grand spectacle of Gao Yang's public execution of Lu Yuan.

No one noticed the unassuming old man.

Except for one person.

On the podium stood the S-class Star Envoy, Canglong, who maintained composure and dignity as if Mount Tai would collapse before him without changing his expression.

The moment he saw the old man walk in, his pupils contracted sharply, and all the expressions on his face—composure, dignity, and expectations for the younger generation—vanished without a trace.

Instead, a complex expression, emanating from the depths of his soul, mixed with shock, awe, and a hint of fear, appeared on his face.

He didn't even care about the ongoing ceremony, nor the astonished gazes of the thousands of students and school leaders below the stage. He turned around and quickly walked down from the high platform.

He walked through the crowded throng, his steps quick and powerful, drawing everyone's attention.

Under the astonished gaze of thousands of eyes in the audience, Canglong approached the old man who was holding a walnut.

"Snapped!"

A crisp, clear sound of someone standing at attention.

This S-class Star Envoy, who slew the Void Whale above Jianghai City and was revered as a god by countless people, stood with his feet together, his posture as upright as a pine tree, and gave a perfectly standard military salute to the seemingly ordinary old man in front of him.

His voice was loud and clear, even carrying a hint of barely concealed excitement and trembling.

"【Prison-Suppressing King】! Old Chief! What brings you here!"