At first, perhaps some people were not convinced, after all, Leaf was just a student like them. But in the face of facts time and time again, coupled with the negative effects brought about by the situation, people began to unquestionably admire and respect Leaf's judgment.
However, as a judge, Leaf did not attend according to a fixed schedule like others, he attended based on his own preferences, without a fixed time.
If there was a fixed pattern, it was Zhen Xiaoyan's trial, he would attend and escort Zhen Xiaoyan to smoothly advance. Some said that Leaf was being biased, and yet Zhen Xiaoyan also had some abilities that, so far, made it hard for anyone to point fingers at her.
Today, it was Zhen Xiaoyan's trial again, and it has now evolved from basic alchemical knowledge and operations to a showdown between the two.
This was similar to the martial arts trial, initially using basic skills to eliminate some people, then one-on-one eliminations. However, in general, the college would evenly distribute the strong competitors, not pitting them against each other right from the start.
Of course, those who believed they have the power to challenge the final list also have the opportunity, but they cannot challenge those who have lost to themselves.
After all, this is not a major competition, but a selection of the strongest among the students!
After many trials, today’s trial is the key to whether Zhen Xiaoyan can enter the competition team, and her opponent today is naturally not weak.
However, relatively speaking, her opponent is relatively weaker among the remaining students, and this is an expression of Leaf's bias, it was specially selected by him, and he had the power to do so!
Many people expressed their objections to this, but there was nothing they could do...
"Hmm, you treat her like a treasure, you will regret it sooner or later!" In the Alchemy College, a person gritted their teeth and said.
Perhaps no one has ever thought that if we compare the following situation with this, the degree of favoritism here is just minor compared to it.
"The match begins!" Yelian shouted, signaling the start of the competition between the two.
The two picked up the things in front of them, and began—cough, it's not a fight, just assembling an alchemy tool!
Alchemy trials are not as intense as martial trials, they're about skills, imagination, creativity; there won't be a life and death situation.
The competition is now about transforming some alchemical items in front of them into an alchemical tool that adheres to the given question in the shortest time possible. These questions are carefully designed, requiring a wide range of knowledge, as well as the aforementioned imagination and creativity.
For this reason, if you can come up with an interesting alchemical item with an imagination like a flight of fancy, you might receive special treatment, not eliminated just because you lost to the opponent, but with the condition that it adheres to the question.
Yelian entered the field at the beginning, seemingly to supervise the two in the competition. This had been a common sight in previous matches, but it was always someone else, Yelian had never entered the field before.
Therefore, this was a bit unusual, but no one had noticed.
"Fei Po... hmmm..." Yelian kicked Zhen Xiaoyan and then twisted his mouth, signaling to Zhen Xiaoyan.
"..."
Damn, this kid’s help is too obvious, is there a referee like you?
Although Yelian's actions seemed very subtle, like no one could see them, in this field, with just the three of them, with so many eyes watching, even the smallest actions would not escape notice!
Furthermore, Yelian's actions were not subtle and had no intention of concealing, it was clear that he was helping Zhen Xiaoyan!
Therefore, after Yelian's action, almost everyone confirmed the previous rumor, this kid was indeed favoring Zhen Xiaoyan and had been supporting her all along.
"?" Zhen Xiaoyan was momentarily baffled, not understanding what Yelian was saying. She had not expected Yelian to do this, and that too so blatantly.
"Stupid, go quickly and get that..." Yelian said.
"Oh..." Zhen Xiaoyan habitually responded, seeming not to have realized, just following Yelian's instructions to do what he wanted her to do.
"Yelian, it's been snatched, what do I do?" Zhen Xiaoyan asked blankly. Before she could get the things, her opponent had already taken them.
While she was dazed, her opponent was not, since Yelian had directed Zhen Xiaoyan, he could also receive guidance and was clever enough to take them and then think!
"Nevermind, take these, they're all the same anyway," Yelian pointed to some items.
"Oh... wait, this isn't right, Yelian, you're the referee, I'm the participant, you're not supposed to teach me these things! It's not like normal times!" It was only at this point that Zhen Xiaoyan realized.
"Who says a referee can't teach? If I want to, I will, and who dares to stop me!" Yelian stated nonchalantly.
"..." Zhen Xiaoyan fell silent for a moment. This situation also slowed her down, and Yelian was even slowing her down, and even allowing her opponent to receive hints.
As a result, Yelian's interference was actually counterproductive!
"I won't talk to you, I'm about to lose, don't bother me, I can handle it!" Zhen Xiaoyan suddenly realized that she shouldn't be lost in thought, she was already falling behind, so she shouted at Yelian, then buried herself in her search.
"You can't do anything, just do as I say now, or else you'll lose!" Yelian crouched down, directly picking up things and tossing them to Zhen Xiaoyan.
"..., leave me alone!" Zhen Xiaoyan said with a headache. "I want to rely on myself!"
"Rely on yourself? Your whole being is supported by me, it's not embarrassing to seek help from me, others can't even imagine it!" Yelian said bluntly, pulling Zhen Xiaoyan's hair.
"I know, but, look，others have almost finished! It's all your fault…" Zhen Xiaoyan noticed that her opponent was nearly done, and she started to get anxious, seeing the slow progress she was making.
"..." At this point, the opponent was almost done, while Zhen Xiaoyan had made little progress. Even if Yelian intervened personally now, it seemed unlikely to catch up. Additionally, if Yelian did intervene, it wouldn't comply with the most basic rule of the competition—doing it yourself, something Yelian would take into consideration.
At this critical moment, Yelian made a move that left the entire audience in shock...
Yelian ran directly to the person, then kicked apart what the person had made, stepping on it a few times, and then left.
"Done, Fei Po, you can continue!" Yelian clapped his hands.
"..." The entire room fell silent.
Although it was known that Yelian had been biased, and it was obvious, no one could have anticipated that Yelian would do this, directly destroying the opponent's work!
This had gone to an extreme, completely ignoring the rules of the competition, disregarding his own identity, using the power of the referee to aid Zhen Xiaoyan!
This was sure to incite public anger!!
...
"Yelian!! What do you think you’re doing? I can tolerate your bias towards Zhen Xiaoyan, but what you did is too much!" the player who was on the verge of winning was furious!
"I'm sorry, it was an accident," Yelian politely apologized.
"..."
An accident? Is that possible? Are you treating others like a three-year-old, or do you think they're as dim as you!
"Who are you trying to fool!" the player exclaimed angrily.
"Ah, you caught me, I did it on purpose!" Yelian had no choice but to honestly confess to what everyone already knew.
"..."
"Now that you've admitted, you should announce that I've won!" the player said.
"No, I refuse!" Yelian firmly stated.
"Why?"
"I am a very principled referee," Ye Lang said seriously, which drew disdain from many people, but he ignored it and continued, "For whatever reason, you have not completed the trial, so you cannot be considered victorious!"
"The reason is not because of you!"
"Let me say it again, no matter the reason!" Ye Lang emphasized again, and then, in a deep, and perhaps pretentious tone, he continued, "Child, remember this lesson, do not trust anyone, even the most intimate people, or those who appear to be honest, they may betray you, and damage your future. Do not trust anyone!"
"..."
Everyone fell silent. They all agreed with the statement, but they had a strange feeling about Ye Lang's behavior. Although it had an educational aspect, they felt that he was using this reason to justify his misdeeds.
"Ye Lang, are you saying that you appear to be an honest person?" Zhen Xiaoyan's voice came.
"Yes!" Ye Lang nodded.
"Which means you are only superficially good!" Zhen Xiaoyan continued.
"No, I appear to be honest, but I am not actually honest. I am still a good person!" Ye Lang defended himself, although everyone was a bit confused and could not fully understand.
What does this all mean?
Despite the confusion about the details, everyone understood one thing: Ye Lang claimed to be a good person!
However, are you really a good person to do such shameless things?
Who said good people can't be shameless? This is not just the prerogative of bad people!
"You...you are not a good person, you are breaking the rules of the competition!" The person pointed at Ye Lang, feeling somewhat speechless.
Ye Lang waved his hand and said, "When did I break the rules? Does it say in the rules that a referee cannot be biased? Does it say that a referee cannot interfere with the outcome of the competition? It does not!"
"..."
Indeed, there were no such rules because everyone believed that referees were fair. Even if there was some bias, it would not be as excessive as Ye Lang's behavior. Therefore, there were no specific rules targeting referees, all were unwritten rules!