On a drill ground in the academy.
“Look, it’s Qi Ying! It’s that idiot that challenged Duan Renshan over An Ruyi two days ago, only to be knocked flying!”
“He was trying to show off in front of An Ruyi, but all he did was shoot himself in the foot!”
A burst of ridicule erupted from the drill ground.
The noble disciples naturally found Qi Ying’s actions to be quite amusing. Among the disciples with more humble upbringings, many of them were also feeling quite bitter and jealous. After all, Qi Ying had at least attracted An Ruyi’s attention, whereas An Ruyi had never even looked at them before. Thus, they also joined in and began to hurl some insults at Qi Ying in order to vent their frustration.
Whoosh!
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Qi Ying completely ignored the insults that were being hurled at him and began to unleash a series of ferocious fist techniques on the drill ground. As he did so, he swept up gusts of powerful wind which forced the bystanders to take evasive measures.
“What cultivation method is he using?”
“It appears to be the Dark Wolf Cultivation Method.”
“Dark Wolf Cultivation Method? I don’t think that’s one of the free cultivation methods provided by the academy. Where did he get the crystals to purchase the cultivation method from?”
“Haven’t you seen him ditch classes all the time to complete academy missions? He must have sold all of the Great Strength Pills he received as rewards!”
Many of the disciples present weren’t cultivating and were instead gathering together to insult Qi Ying.
“Does he think that he’ll become more powerful just by switching to a slightly better cultivation method? What an idiot.”
“Exactly. He would be better off consuming some pills to improve his cultivation base.”
“He must be so infatuated with An Ruyi that he has gone insane!”
“He’s delusional!”
“There’s no way an idiot like him can ever progress in cultivation. It’s over for him.”
Many people were degrading Qi Ying in order to show everyone how superior they were. They would then bask in the admiring gazes of the newbie academy disciples, feeling quite good about themselves.
Bam!
An explosive boom erupted from the drill ground.
“What was that?”
Everyone turned and was shocked to discover that the sound had come from Qi Ying.
Qi Ying’s robes were billowing out around him and his hair was in a disheveled state, as if he had been withstanding gale-force winds. He leaped up about ten feet into the air before landing on one foot after another in quick succession. Then, he stood as still as a statue, poised like a ferocious Dark Wolf ready to pounce at a moment’s notice.
Many of the disciples who were situated relatively close to Qi Ying were given a fright by his aura and they took a step back, as cold sweat poured down their faces.
“Did he just make a breakthrough?”
Everyone could sense that the aura emanating from Qi Ying’s body had become stronger. Furthermore, his footsteps were a little heavier and his motions were a little exaggerated, clearly indicating that he had experienced a sudden increase in strength which he was yet to become accustomed to.
The disciples who were showing off their superiority at Qi Ying’s expense just a moment ago now felt like their cheeks were burning, as if they had just been slapped in the face.
In order to hide their embarrassment, they began to hurl insults once again.
“He’s only at the Eighth Strength Martial Stage. Only Energy Martial Stage disciples can be considered to be noteworthy in the academy!”
“This is just a coincidence. He must have taken a lot of pills in order to forcefully elevate his cultivation base.”
Someone offered a rebuttal. “But he’s only fifteen years old! He has been attending the academy for less than two months, and has already been able to make two breakthroughs. If he makes two more breakthroughs and reaches the Energy Martial Stage at sixteen or seventeen years of age, he would be treated as a core disciple by the academy.”
Someone else immediately countered. “Ha! He’s always ditching classes in order to earn more pills, missing out on many classes where teachers have imparted correct cultivation protocols. As such, he’s bound to encounter insurmountable issues in his cultivation sooner or later. He might be progressing quite quickly now, but later on… Hehe! I’m willing to bet that he won’t ever reach the Energy Martial Stage!”
“Hahaha! You’re right!”
“There’s no way Qi Ying will ever amount to anything. Let’s all wait and see.”
Everyone recovered from their shock and a joyful atmosphere returned once again.
Even after making a breakthrough, Qi Ying remained completely expressionless and didn’t refute his detractors. In fact, he didn’t even take notice of them as he exhaled, before making his way toward the mountain behind the academy.
Why would he argue with a bunch of retards? There was simply no point.
These idiotic hillbillies were merely pitiful fools who were trying to improve their sense of self-worth by insulting others. They were the ones who were destined to not amount to anything. Trash like them had no sense of moral compass and were capable of stooping to unimaginable lows. As such, retaliating against them was potentially akin to playing with fire.
Qi Ying had only just made his way out of the schoolyard when someone called out to him from behind.
“Qi Ying!”
Qi Ying came to a halt and turned around to discover a gorgeous figure standing behind him.
Under the radiant sunlight, An Ruyi appeared particularly beautiful. She made her way over to Qi Ying and said in an apologetic voice. “I’m really sorry for the trouble I caused you two days ago. I had mistaken you for someone else and put you into a very awkward situation.”
“No problem.” Qi Ying shrugged and continued, “Thanks for your concern, Young Mistress.”
He didn’t want to establish any ties with her so he immediately turned to leave.
“Wait!”
An Ruyi suddenly grabbed Qi Ying’s left hand.
Qi Ying instinctively tugged his hand free and the increased strength he was not yet accustomed to caused his hand to fly upward before flicking something that was quite soft.
Oh crap!
Qi Ying immediately came to his senses and turned to apologize when he received a vicious slap to the face.
Slap!
Qi Ying pressed a hand to his cheek while An Ruyi glared at him with an enraged blush. “Pervert! B*stard!”
Qi Ying was just about to offer an explanation when an enraged roar erupted from the side. “Qi Ying, I challenge you to a duel!”
…
“Come and have a look, everyone! Duan Tianshan has challenged Qi Ying to a duel!”
“Qi Ying again? Didn’t he just fight Duan Renshan two days ago?”
“Duan Tianshan? Isn’t that Duan Renshan’s little brother? Why is he fighting Qi Ying?”
“Holy sh*t! Did you not hear the breaking news? Qi Ying tried to sexually assault An Ruyi in a secluded location but was caught red-handed by Duan Tianshan!”
“What?! Then I really do have to see that duel.”
On the dueling platform.
Duan Tianshan was glaring at Qi Ying like an enraged enforcer of justice while Qi Ying looked back at him with an exasperated expression. “Look, this is all a misunderstanding. I nudged An Ruyi unintentionally and was just about to apologize to her… Surely, there’s no need to cause such a big fuss!”
Duan Tianshan glowered and retorted. “What a load of nonsense! You’re telling me that you unintentionally nudged her… there? B*stards like you are the scum of the human race! To think that you would even dare to assault a female disciple; I shudder to imagine the heinous crimes you’ve committed in the past! I must teach you a lesson on behalf of the hundreds of female disciples in the academy!”
An Ruyi’s brows furrowed as she looked on from below the platform. “I also believe that his actions were unintentional. Hurry up and get down from there!”
Qi Ying turned to Duan Tianshan. “Even An Ruyi has accepted my explanation; do you still insist on fighting?”
Duan Tianshan clenched his fists and cracked his knuckles. “Hmph! An Ruyi is far too kind for her own good. She’s only saying that as you’re such a weakling and she’s afraid that you’ll be injured by me. You have just reached the Eighth Strength Martial Stage and I’m also at the Eighth Strength Martial Stage. According to academy rules, you are obligated to accept a challenge from a disciple of the same cultivation base!”
“Heh.”
An Ruyi chuckled with resignation before murmuring to herself. “You can’t blame anyone else seeing as you’re the one piling pain upon yourself…”
The bystanders who overheard this thought that An Ruyi was referring to Qi Ying and her words began to spread like wildfire. Soon, all of the disciples came under the impression that Qi Ying was a brazen pervert and they all threw their support behind Duan Tianshan. Furthermore, all of them vowed that even if Duan Tianshan couldn’t defeat Qi Ying, they would challenge Qi Ying and teach him a lesson in order to maintain order within the academy.
…
“What? Tianshan is dueling Qi Ying?”
Duan Renshan’s face immediately paled upon receiving this news and he sprang to his feet before rushing into the distance. He passed through several courtyards and finally arrived at the dueling platform.
Duan Renshan looked up at his little brother, who was facing off against Qi Ying on the dueling platform, and his face paled even further as he yelled. “Duan Tianshan! Get down here right now!”
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