The worse you are, the stronger you become: My summoned beast is a photographer.

"Austin," the goat-orc professor pushed up his glasses, staring sharply at him, "please present your evidence."

Austin's fingers trembled slightly. He had no proof; the source was the information he obtained from his summoned beast's mind reading—but he couldn't reveal this source.

"I..." His voice was stuck in his throat, as if something was blocking it.

All eyes in the stadium were on him. The whispers in the audience grew louder and louder, like a swarm of bees buzzing.

"Is he unable to produce any evidence?"

"To report someone without evidence—isn't that slander?"

"Is this all the class at the Royal Noble Academy has to offer?"

"They can't afford to lose."

Those words pierced Austin's ears like needles. His face went from pale to ashen, then from ashen to flushed.

Amos sat in the contestant's seat, looking at Austin with a furrowed brow. He didn't speak, but a hint of anxiety flashed in his eyes—if Ming Luochen was eliminated, he would have a chance to win first place and obtain the legendary SSS-level championship reward.

Morton grinned and muttered, "Damn it, we lost, so what? Why resort to such underhanded tactics?"

The sound wasn't loud, but it was loud enough for people in the front row to hear.

Austin froze. He turned sharply to look at Morton, a fierce glint flashing in his vertical pupils, but he quickly suppressed it.

On the judging panel, Benuna leaned back in her chair, her fingertips lightly tapping the armrest. Her gaze was fixed on Austin, as if she were looking at a naive child.

"Austin Carter." Her voice wasn't loud, but it carried an undeniable air of authority. "Do you know the consequences of false accusation?"

Austin's snake tail coiled tightly under the seat, the scales rustling softly as they rubbed together. He opened his mouth, as if to say something, but found himself unable to utter a word.

"I..." He took a deep breath, trying to keep his voice steady, "I request that a lie detector be used."

These words caused another uproar in the room.

"A lie detector? Are they serious?"

"Could it be that Ming Luochen really plagiarized?"

Benuna raised an eyebrow slightly, her red hair cascading down like a waterfall under the lights. She looked at Ming Luochen: "Aura, would you be willing to undergo a lie detector test on your summoned beast?"

Aura gripped Ming Luochen's hand tightly, her voice trembling with nervousness. She knew what a lie detector was; no lie could hide from it.

Ming Luochen was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "Okay."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over Austin, a slight smile playing on his lips: "However, I have one condition."

"What are the conditions?" Benuna asked.

Ming Luochen stepped to the front of the stage, facing the judges, his voice not loud but firm and resolute: "A lie detector test is fine. But please provide evidence to slander me first. This isn't the first time I've been targeted. Is it because I'm better than everyone else? Or is the liberal arts competition controlled by royal aristocratic high schools? Why should I believe that a lie detector can always detect the truth? Can't a lie detector be tampered with? If you don't want me to compete, you can just say so. Don't use fabricated charges to slander my noble character."

He spoke each word slowly and deliberately, with a powerful and resonant tone, like a hammer striking a steel plate.

Austin's pupils contracted sharply.

The room fell silent for a moment, then erupted into even louder discussion.

"Yes! This isn't the first time; he's right!"

"The Royal Noble Academy has been targeting him!"

"If you dare to report someone, you should have evidence. This is clearly a sore loser resorting to dirty tricks!"

Amos closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He knew that, regardless of the outcome, the Royal Noble Academy had utterly lost face today.

Benuna looked at Austin, her tone calm yet carrying an undeniable authority: "What is your evidence?"

Austin's fingernails dug into his palm. He noticed the look in Amos's eyes—a look that clearly said: Quick, get Ming Luochen out of here.

He remained silent for a long time, so long that everyone in the room thought he was about to give up.

Then, he slowly raised his head, his voice hoarse but resolute: "My summoned beast can read minds. So I am the proof."

His voice was soft, yet it was like a knife, cutting away all escape routes, including his dignity.

A collective gasp rippled through the audience. The meaning was crystal clear—Austin had violated the rules by using his abilities against other contestants, something absolutely unacceptable in the humanities. Otherwise, anyone could send two cannon fodder opponents to disrupt the competition and compromise its fairness.

"Austin, you're fired!" A roar came from the judges' panel.

An old lion-like orc stood up angrily, his mane bristling and the muscles in his face trembling. Even His Majesty and the Alliance Leader were here today; the Royal Academy had utterly disgraced itself.

"I admit I broke the rules," Austin's voice sharpened, his vertical pupils filled with a desperate madness. "But they cheated too! They must be dealt with seriously and disqualified!"

His Majesty, seated on the throne, frowned slightly. With so many people watching today, this matter must be dealt with seriously, and everyone must be given an explanation.

"Let's use the lie detector first." His voice wasn't loud, but it drowned out the noise in the room.

"Yes," the supervisor quickly replied, turning to call out to the staff.

Facing Austin's malicious gaze, Ming Luochen smiled contemptuously. So it was mind reading; he'd thought Austin was a time traveler. His last trace of doubt vanished, replaced by even greater confidence.

The lie detector was quickly brought to the stage.

It was a fist-sized, transparent crystal, its surface engraved with intricate magical runes, placed on an exquisite metal base. Two examiners stepped forward and connected the crystal to an amplification magic circle.

The goat-orc professor stood up, walked to the front of the stage, and explained to the audience: "The principle of the lie detector crystal is to detect the subject's heartbeat, breathing, and mental fluctuations. The subject only needs to place their hand on the crystal and answer the questions. The crystal will judge the truthfulness of the answer based on the fluctuations, and the result will be displayed on the loudspeaker array in real time."

He turned to Ming Luochen: "Are you ready?"

Ming Luochen released Aura's hand, walked to the lie detector, and placed his palm on the crystal. The crystal lit up slightly, emitting a pale blue light.

The goat-orc professor cleared his throat: "First question: Your name."

"Ming Luochen".

The crystal's luster remained stable and unchanged.

"Second question: Are you from another world?"

"Yes."

The crystal remained stable.

"Third question: Was the song you just sang a work from your hometown?"

Ming Luochen paused for a second, then calmly replied, "Yes."

The crystal remained stable, without any unusual movement.

The entire audience erupted in cheers.

"He admitted it! It's a song from his hometown!"

"What is this if not plagiarism?"

"Cancel the results! Cancel the results!"

Austin's lips curled up again, a hint of smugness flashing in his vertical pupils.

Amos opened his eyes and looked at Ming Luochen. The joy in his eyes was quickly suppressed by the smile on Ming Luochen's lips—how come that person isn't flustered at all?

Aura's face turned pale instantly.

However, Ming Luochen did not panic.

He withdrew his hand, turned to face the audience, and spoke in a low voice, yet it clearly reached everyone's ears.

"Yes, that's a song from my hometown."

The entire venue fell silent for a moment, then erupted in cheers.

"He admitted it! He admitted it!"

"Cancel the score!"

Ming Luochen raised his hand, signaling everyone to be quiet. His movements were unhurried, as if he were conducting a concert.

"But I have a question—" He looked around, his gaze sweeping over every shouting face, then placed his hand back on the lie detector crystal, "Which rule in the humanities competition states that one cannot use works from one's hometown for derivative works?"

The crystal remained stable, emitting a soft blue light.

The entire room fell silent once again.

Ming Luochen turned to the judges' panel, his voice steady and powerful: "The rules only require creation, not that creation must be completely 'original.' I sang a song from my hometown, and I adapted it, making it different from the original. Does that mean that adaptation doesn't count as creation?"

He paused, his gaze falling on Austin like a drawn sword.

"The Austin contestant said I plagiarized. Please tell me, who did I plagiarize? Did I copy everything verbatim? And now you're accusing someone of inventing a language? Please first understand the difference between 'borrowing' and 'plagiarism.' Besides—"

A mocking smile curled at the corner of his mouth.

"I come from another world, that's a fact everyone knows. My homeland, my culture, my memories—these are all part of me. I use them in my creations, where's the violation? Do you have sources for your work? If not, how can you prove I plagiarized?"

He turned to face the audience, switched hands and placed them on the lie detector crystal, his voice growing louder: "First, I borrowed and adapted, not plagiarized; it was a secondary creation. Second, to accuse me of plagiarism, you need the original manuscript and source. Third, even if I changed just one word, it's still my creation. What right do you have to accuse me of plagiarism?"

The crystal remained stable, and the blue light did not move an inch.

The audience was silent.

Ming Luochen suddenly laughed and shouted at the lie detector crystal, "I don't love my wife."

The crystal suddenly flashed a blinding, warning red light, accompanied by a sharp buzzing sound that echoed throughout the auditorium and pierced everyone's ears.

"Looks like the crystal isn't broken." Ming Luochen withdrew his hand with amusement, clapping his hands. "I thought it was completely useless."

Aura blushed and lowered her head in embarrassment—he had confessed his love to her in public again.

The goat-beastman professor pushed up his glasses, remained silent for a long time, and then slowly spoke: "The rules... do not prohibit borrowing from works from one's hometown for secondary creation."

Another owl judge nodded, his feathers slightly ruffled: "The essence of creation is expression. Ming Luochen is expressing his understanding of 'homeland,' which stems from the culture and emotions of his hometown. This does not constitute plagiarism."

"I second that." The third judge raised his hand.

"I second that." (Fourth person)

"I second that." (Fifth person)

All five judges voted in favor.

Benuna leaned back in her chair, her red hair cascading down her back, a slight smile playing on her lips. She didn't speak, but her eyes clearly conveyed two words—beautiful.

The host wiped the sweat from his brow, his voice trembling slightly: "After review by the judging panel, Aura's creation does not constitute a violation. The result is valid!"

Austin's face turned completely pale.

His snake tail drooped limply to the ground, his fingers clutching the parchment, his knuckles white, the paper crumpled in his hand.

He lost.

He didn't lose because of a lack of intelligence, but because of a problem he never considered—the rules didn't prohibit it. And his own violation became an indisputable fact.

Amos stood up, glanced at Austin, said nothing, and turned to walk towards the exit. His back was ramrod straight, but his steps were much faster than usual.

Morton also stood up, baring his teeth, and muttered, "Disgraceful."

Then he walked away without looking back.

Austin sat alone in the players' box, head down. No one looked at him, and no one spoke to him. His snake tail slid slightly on the ground, as if searching for a place to hide, but he couldn't go anywhere.

Ming Luochen took Aura's hand and walked back to their seats.

Aura's eyes were red, and her voice was choked with emotion: "You just... scared me to death."

"What are you afraid of?" Ming Luochen squeezed her hand, his palm warm and steady. "I haven't done anything wrong."

"But……"

"No buts." Ming Luochen interrupted her, a smirk playing on his lips. "Your husband never fights a battle he's not sure he can win."

Aura was amused by him and slapped him on the shoulder with a light touch, like a tickle.

The host stood on the stage, cleared his throat, picked up the microphone again, and said with a sense of relief that he had escaped a close call: "There was a slight hiccup in the competition, but let's once again congratulate Mr. Ming Luochen with a round of applause for achieving a perfect score in the first round of composition, winning the championship with 2472 points, and becoming the number one in this year's liberal arts competition!"

There was thunderous applause.

This time, no one questioned him, no one mocked him. Even if he didn't do the remaining two big questions, he was still the well-deserved number one.

There was only pure, unavoidable applause.

Ming Luochen sat in his seat, looking at those faces that had once been contemptuous, questioning, and angry, now filled with awe and admiration.

He glanced at Aura, who was looking at him with bright, sparkling eyes, like they were filled with stars.