The weakest martial artist? One punch and he's leveled up a whole realm!

The classroom fell silent again, even quieter than before.

Ye Xiao's eyes sharpened, as if he could see through the soul of everyone present.

"What's the situation outside the city right now? The army is fighting a bloody battle with the Crimson Abyss demons, and people are dying every second. Don't those soldiers want to go home? Don't they have parents and family to care for? They know better than you how dangerous the battlefield is, but they haven't run away."

"The school deans and senior students were sent out on a mission, facing a near-certain death. Didn't they know they might not come back? They did. But they didn't run away."

Ye Xiao's voice wasn't loud, but it was like a dull knife, cutting into everyone's heart again and again.

Why? Because they know in their hearts that some things are more important than life itself.

He held up one finger.

"First, how many people have you stood on to get to where you are today, able to cultivate, become stronger, and become so-called 'geniuses'? The army stood in front, the academy's higher-ups took the lead, and the senior students charged ahead—they shouldered the most dangerous battlefields, fought the toughest battles, and left the easiest tasks to you. What do you think this is? Is it something you should take for granted?"

Some people lowered their heads in shame.

"Secondly," Ye Xiao held up a second finger, "you think you're really safe just because you've run away? The Crimson Abyss's rift is in Jiang City, and the Shadow Rift's rift is in the North China Plain. If Jiang City falls today, tomorrow the demons will flood the whole country through the gaps in the defenses. You run home, but does that mean your home isn't on the front line anymore? You run to the east, but does that mean the east isn't a battlefield anymore? You think you're escaping for your life, but in reality, you're just postponing your death."

The air in the classroom grew heavy.

"Third," Ye Xiao raised his third finger, his voice softening but gaining more weight, "you are cultivators! You are not ordinary people. When ordinary people encounter danger, their first reaction is to run, that's their duty, because they don't have the ability to fight. But what about you? How many years have you cultivated? How many resources have you consumed? How many battles have you fought? Yet when it comes down to it, your reaction is no different from that of ordinary people—you also run."

He suddenly smiled, a very soft smile.

But that smile was more painful than any sarcasm.

"Then what is the point of your cultivation? What is the point of the country nurturing you? What is the point of the school providing you with so many resources?"

silence.

Dead silence.

Wang Hou sat in his seat, his hands clenched into fists, his eyes slightly red.

He recalled the first time he practiced cultivation when he was a child, when his father patted him on the shoulder and said, "Practice hard, and you will protect others in the future."

He recalled his mother's words of advice to him on the day he enrolled in school: "With great power comes great responsibility."

He used to think that was just polite talk.

He understands now.

Su Muyun sat there quietly, her eyelashes slightly lowered, her expression unreadable.

But her hand was clenched into a fist under the table, her nails almost digging into her palm.

She recalled what she had just said to Ye Xiao: "The school is putting you on the hot seat."

Only now did she realize that perhaps it wasn't the school putting Ye Xiao in such a predicament, but rather Ye Xiao himself who walked into it.

He could have refused.

He could have said, "I'm just a student, I can't control these things."

He could have been like everyone else, thinking about how to leave this place of trouble.

But he didn't.

Why?

Because she just said herself, "I support you."

Because he had already figured it out outside the classroom: he would have to shoulder far more than he had imagined in these fifteen days.

Because some battles always have to be fought by someone!

Some responsibilities have to be shouldered by someone!

If everyone shrinks back, there will be no front line in the world—because the front line is everywhere.

Zhao Xiuxiu bit her lip, tears welling up in her eyes.

She recalled that when she first entered university, she always felt that she was a chosen one with unlimited potential.

But now she understands that true strength is not about how talented someone is, but about taking a step forward when everyone else chooses to retreat.

This one step makes all the difference.

Wu Xiaorui lowered her head, her fingers twisting the hem of her clothes tightly.

She didn't dare to look up at Ye Xiao, because although she had verbally expressed her support for him, she was actually thinking to herself – maybe we should just go home.

She feels ashamed now.

Deepest shame!

The boy with glasses turned pale and his lips trembled a few times, but in the end he didn't say anything.

He wanted to refute, to find loopholes in Ye Xiao's words.

But he found that every word was like a nail driven into his head, and he couldn't pull it out.

He wanted to say that his home was in an eastern city, where there were no cracks and it was safe.

But Ye Xiao is right.

If Jiang City falls, the cities to the east will become the new front line.

He can run for a while, but he can't run forever.

He wanted to say that he was just a student and shouldn't have to bear these responsibilities.

But Ye Xiao is also right.

After cultivating for so many years and consuming so many resources, in the end, all you can do is run like an ordinary person. What is the point of cultivation then?

He couldn't answer that question.

The other students in the classroom also looked embarrassed. Some lowered their heads, some turned their faces away, and some stared intently at the tabletops as if they wanted to see a hole through them.

No one dared to meet Ye Xiao's gaze.

The feeling of being drenched in sweat rose from my spine and spread to every part of my body.

It wasn't because of the heat, but because of a deep-seated shame.

Ye Xiao looked at the faces below the stage, some with their heads down and others avoiding eye contact, and remained silent for a few seconds.

He didn't continue speaking.

Some things only need to be said once; saying them too often makes them seem cheap.

He has already expressed the attitude he needed to express, and he has already made clear what he needed to clarify.

The rest is up to each person to choose.

He turned around, stepped down from the podium, and walked past the silent students without pausing.

As he reached the door, he suddenly paused, turned his head to the side, and spoke in a flat tone as if he were saying that the weather was nice today.

"I'll be here for the next fifteen days. You can leave whenever you want; the school gates won't be closed. But if you want to stay—" He paused, "I won't let you regret this decision."

After saying that, he pushed open the door and went out.

The classroom remained quiet for a long time.

Then, someone in the corner whispered, "I want to stay."

Then came the second, and the third.

The sound wasn't loud, but it spread out in concentric circles like ripples.

Wang Hou rubbed his eyes hard and shouted in a hoarse voice, "Nonsense, of course we're staying! Anyone who leaves is a dog!"

Su Muyun didn't say anything, but quietly stood up and followed Ye Xiao.

As she walked out of the classroom, sunlight streamed in through the corridor windows, falling on the boy's silhouette.

He walked steadily, his back ramrod straight.

Su Muyun suddenly recalled the scene when she first met Ye Xiao.

At that time, she only felt that this person was a little special, but she didn't think he was that special.

Now she knows.

Some people are born to stand at the forefront of everyone else.

It wasn't because he was the most capable or had the highest talent, but because when everyone else was looking back, he was the only one looking forward.

Look ahead, and then move forward.

Even if there are mountains of knives and seas of fire ahead, they will not turn back.