Chapter Six Hundred Nineteen: Sigh, Parents, Sigh, Education
In the National Master’s residence, Class Three of the Earth Category.
“The path of cultivating one’s character lies in…”
On the podium, the teacher droned on, while the class below was already in chaos.
Compared to the elite A-Class filled with high-ranking officials’ offspring, the atmosphere in the Earth Class was evidently lacking. Most here were sent by their families to just coast through the National Master’s education, with a majority being spoiled brats who barely showed any interest in studying.
Students in the class disregarded the ongoing lesson, casually gossiping and messing around, even brazenly playing with their communication devices as the teacher pretended not to see anything.
Among the mess of students, the Foolish Child was boredly scrolling through the game “Original Immortal,” occasionally grimacing at pop-ups regarding the “Chen Zhang and Liu Ruyan” incident.
“This is so annoying… How did this Chen Zhang and Liu Ruyan thing become so popular?”
He couldn’t help but complain, “I just play games all day; why am I being fed this news?”
“If this keeps up, I won’t finish the event before class ends.”
Next to him sat a somewhat frail boy, silently staring at the ground.
The Foolish Child appeared to be quite skilled at the game. Before class was even over, he had completed the event and proudly passed the communication device back to the frail boy.
“Here, I finished it.”
“Thank you, Foolish Brother…” the boy said in a soft voice.
“Hey, it was no trouble at all.”
The Foolish Child waved his hand dismissively, “This event was too easy, no challenge at all. Even your awful team composition could breeze through it.”
“Just lucky to be in the same class as me. People online want to pay a lot for me to help them with events now.”
The frail boy looked at the Foolish Child with admiration in his eyes.
“Foolish Brother is really amazing.”
“I want to be able to support myself one day with what I love, just like Foolish Brother…” As he spoke, the boy’s voice dwindled, and a hint of dejection crossed his face.
Seeing him looking sad, the Foolish Child couldn’t resist asking, “Chen Xiaoming, do you really need money that badly? I’ve saved up quite a bit from helping others; I don’t really need it myself. If you need it, just let me know.”
“Not really.”
Chen Xiaoming muttered, “I just… feel useless.”
He didn’t elaborate further, which only made the Foolish Child more curious.
Chen Xiaoming had been his desk mate since he first entered Class Three of the Earth Category. Shy and introverted, yet kind-hearted, he was always welcoming to new students.
They became friends through playing “Original Immortal,” and their bond gradually deepened. The Foolish Child enjoyed having this introverted little boy as a devoted follower, always calling him “Foolish Brother.” He was one of the few friends the Foolish Child had made in the Abyss Realm.
However, these past few days, Chen Xiaoming seemed to be troubled.
The Foolish Child had asked a few times, but he wouldn’t open up, which frustrated him.
Hiding something from me? Does he think I, as a Primordial Deity, can’t solve a problem?
So, taking advantage of Chen Xiaoming’s distraction, the Foolish Child pulled out his communication device and checked the point shop.
Finding out what happened to someone recently required quite a few points. But the Foolish Child didn’t care too much about points; he was here for fun after all.
“…Hmm?”
Soon, a message from Chen Xiaoming came through, and the Foolish Child’s brows furrowed.
Chen Xiaoming was still distractedly playing “Original Immortal” when suddenly a voice questioned from behind:
“Chen Xiaoming, are your parents the infamous Chen Zhang and Liu Ruyan?”
That one sentence quieted the previously noisy classroom.
All the students turned to Chen Xiaoming, and even the teacher momentarily halted the lesson.
Feeling the weight of their gazes, Chen Xiaoming buried his head deep in humiliation, his face burning.
“N-no… it’s not…” His face paled, biting his lip tightly, desperately wanting to argue but unable to find the words.
The Foolish Child casually patted his shoulder, “What’s the big deal? Their shenanigans are their business, not yours.”
“Don’t think you’ll get judged just because you’re their kid. You’re you; your parents don’t define you.”
Though these words sounded like consolation to Chen Xiaoming, tears began to well up in his eyes. He shot the Foolish Child a glare.
“What do you know?!”
With that, he covered his face and ran out of the classroom, leaving behind a bewildered Foolish Child and whispering classmates.
The Foolish Child was completely lost.
To a Primordial Deity, parents didn’t even have much significance. They were just short-lived creatures trying to perpetuate their lineage, so what’s the big deal?
Yet, the sudden fallout with his little follower still made him a bit angry.
“What is he so upset about?” The Foolish Child said to himself, feeling a bit down.
For sure, Chen Xiaoming’s emotions started to spiral ever since the Chen Zhang and Liu Ruyan incident blew up online.
Initially, the Foolish Child didn’t care about this news at all, but now he felt compelled to search for details online.
Unfortunately, after several days of rampant rumors, the versions out there were all wild and varied. He read a few, but none matched up.
Finally, feeling frustrated and tired, the Foolish Child simply concluded:
“Well, their parents are probably scumbags.”
“So he must really hate them, right?”
In a different world, the Foolish Child knew exactly how to handle such issues: Simply get rid of the parents.
But in the Abyss Realm, where killing freely wasn’t an option, the Foolish Child was left to ponder effectively.
“Hmm… hey.”
He thought carefully about whether he could come up with some effective way to mess with these parents to help Chen Xiaoming feel better.
Then he realized he had one talent.
That’s right; he had a bit of fame among the “Original Immortal” player community.
Thus, he logged into the “Original Immortal” player forum. His account had quite a following due to his frequently updated event strategies, and many referred to him as “Foolish Big Bro.”
Before long, he made a post on the forum.
“Chen Zhang and Liu Ruyan are no good folks. Their poor kid has been abused for so long while playing ‘Original Immortal’ that he finally took his own life.”
Quickly, with his vivid description, comments poured into the post.
“Sigh, the tragedy of the communication device era’s educational system.”
“Parents before the communication device era were ignorant and narrow-minded, stuck in the outdated belief that games would ruin children.”
“My parents are just like that; they hit me for wanting to play ‘Original Immortal’ a bit longer. Just wait, one day when you’re old and lying in a hospital, I’ll personally feed you poison.”
…
Emotions flared up fast.
Before long, the whole forum seemed to be abuzz with discussions about this incident, players unloading their disdain for parents like Chen Zhang and Liu Ruyan, with outrage surging wave after wave.
The Foolish Child watched the uproar on the forum with a satisfied smile.