Moreover, some of them had known that Qi Fu Ren cheated by consuming a Qi Burst Pill. They didn"t think I would still somehow overcome that unfair advantage and disarmed him in such a violent fashion.

"Oh my goodness…he actually cut off not one, but two of Qi Fu Ren"s arms."

"Well, that b.a.s.t.a.r.d was asking for it. Always looking down on others and bullying people weaker than him. Hah!"

"Yeah, he has gotten his just desserts!"

After a moment of stunned silence, a few of the students began speaking. Despite Hu Shuo and Ba Dao glaring at them, they began to boldly cheer and taunt Qi Fu Ren.

"Ha ha ha! Serve you right!"

"Let"s see if you can still bully anyone after this!"

"This should teach you for being such an arrogant jerk!"

"Let"s see how you feel now that your positions are reversed!"

While some delighted in seeing Qi Fu Ren humbled and crippled, a few of them didn"t forget me. Especially my friends.

"Great job!" Zhu Jiao hollered. "You did it!"

"Hah! I always believed in Fei Wu," Tong Xue declared proudly. He was lying, of course. Otherwise he wouldn"t disappear every time I had a confrontation with Qi Fu Ren.

"I"m so glad you won!" Tang Qi Hong was waving excitedly. Even though I couldn"t hear her, I could see her gesturing animatedly, so I waved back at her.

"You guys…you do realize that Fei Wu can"t hear you, right?" Ban Zhang sounded exasperated. Zhu Jiao merely grinned.

"Maybe not, but he can still hear us!"

Since there was no reason for me to remain behind and waste my time in the arena, I turned around to leave. However…

Crash! BANG!

The supposedly shatterproof reinforced gla.s.s was smashed by a single attack as a powerful expert destroyed it and jumped into the arena.

"You trash! How dare you cut off both of my disciples" arms! Do you not want to live anymore? I"ll cut off all your limbs!"

It was Elder Hu Lao from the White Tiger Sect. he landed next to the crippled Qi Fu Ren and helped him up, then turned to glare at me. In that single motion, his qi flared up exponentially, like a dormant volcano erupting into life. The entire air was filled with static as he unleashed his rage on me, saturated the arena with his electric qi.

Faced with such a terrifying qi aura, I felt as if a mountain was weighing down on me, crushing my body with its enormous weight. Gritting my teeth, I fell to my knees and clutched at the ground, desperately trying not to topple over onto my face. The gravity had seemed to increase a hundredfold, immobilizing me completely.

"Master…" Qi Fu Ren had turned white from the ma.s.sive loss of blood and was on the verge of losing consciousness.

"Don"t worry, Qi Fu Ren, if we bring you to the infirmary, we"ll get your arms reattached. With Wu Ling Academy"s medical facilities, an injury of this extent is nothing. You won"t be crippled permanently, I a.s.sure you."

After a.s.suring Qi Fu Ren, Hu Lao turned to glare at me. But I could detect some sort of unease on his face. He never thought that Qi Fu Ren, even after consuming a Qi Burst Pill, would still lose to me. It was completely incomprehensible.

"You b.a.s.t.a.r.d, it was just a match, and you were still so brutal and merciless? How dare you! You"ve revealed your true nature!"

Hu Lao flung out a hand and unleashed a Lightning Blade. My eyes widened when I had a glimpse of how powerful that attack was. It was like facing an onrushing shinkansen, its momentum unstoppable, and its speed and power immense. I had no way of dodging it, not even with my footwork techniques. Hu Lao"s Lightning Blade literally covered the entire s.p.a.ce of the arena between me and him, hurtling forward at a speed too fast for me to react to.

Frost Barrier!

I used every ounce of my qi to conjure an ice shield that completely towered over me, freezing all of the water vapor in the atmosphere to create a barrier that was several meters thick. This was my ultimate defense, one that theoretically could withstand a missile.

Against Hu Lao, it was nothing. The Lightning Blade shattered my Frost Barrier instantly and struck me, throwing me across the arena and flinging me against the wall. Even as I slammed into the reinforced concrete, cracking it and leaving a small crater, and slid down, the devastating electricity continued to electrocute me.

"Gah…ugh! Ah…!"

Despite the instant demolition, my Frost Barrier had absorbed most of the impact behind the Lightning Blade, or I would have died from that single hit.

"This brat…he"s still alive?!"

Hu Lao"s expression darkened when he saw me twitching and coughing out blood. Despite the excruciating agony, I crawled to my feet and rose up shakily but defiantly.

"f.u.c.king b.a.s.t.a.r.d. Even though you"re still so young, you"re already so ruthless and evil. You bring shame to Wu Ling Academy. I"ll take responsibility on behalf of the sect and destroy your dantian and break your limbs."

"Why are you telling me all this instead of…you know, actually attacking me?" I asked dryly. I knew it wasn"t a good idea to provoke the son of a b.i.t.c.h, but if I was going to die like this, then I would die fighting.

Hu Lao"s vein twitched and he glowered at me. So speechless with rage that he ended up listening to me and unleashing not one, but five Lightning Blades this time. One was aimed at my dantian, and the other four were targeted at my four limbs.

The f.u.c.ker was really carrying out what he threatened to do.

"Hey! You can"t do this!" Zhu Jiao shouted. "You can"t just intervene in the fight like this!"

"You"re breaking the academy rules! Even though you"re an outsider!" Ban Zhang hollered.

"Stop!" Tang Qi Hong screamed.

Even as my friends yelled in impotent outrage, the rest of the spectators were aghast at the blatant atrocity that Hu Lao was pulling in front of them. Furthermore, they were outraged by Hu Lao"s shamelessness and sheer hypocrisy. Qi Fu Ren was clearly trying to kill me, and even when I gave him a chance to surrender, he refused to. Moreover, he cheated by consuming a Qi Burst Pill, and was on the verge of crippling me until I turned the tables on him. Yet Elder Hu Lao did not step in or say a single word when I was getting beaten up.

Why was it all right if Qi Fu Ren beat up, cripple or even kill me, but I was not allowed to disarm him out of self-defense? How was this fair?

Despite their outrage, none of them could do anything about it. None of them was a match for the enraged elder, so even if they jumped in, they would get killed along with me. Hu Lao didn"t care about the lack of logic or his shamelessness. He was too carried away by his fury that he was determined to destroy me, and anyone who dared to stand in his way.

"Hu…"

I took a deep breath and constructed another Frost Barrier. I knew deep down it was useless. Hu Lao destroyed my strongest defense with a single Lightning Blade, and this time he was firing five Lightning Blades at me. They would shatter my wall of ice instantly and pierce through my dantian and limbs without being as diminished as the single Lightning Blade earlier.

Even so, I wasn"t going down without a fight. I was going to defy this b.a.s.t.a.r.d to the very last second if I had to…!

The Lightning Blades never made contact with my Frost Barrier.

Instead, a newcomer jumped in and deflected the Lightning Blades with his staff, but just barely. The electricity exploded ineffectively, but the newcomer staggered backward.

"Huff…"

"Teacher Cai?"

I gaped at the teacher who was supposed to be refereeing the match. Realizing that I was in trouble, he had finally stepped in.

"Elder Hu Lao," Teacher Cai Pan said as he bowed formally. "I must ask you to leave the arena. This is the Wu Ling Academy, not your White Tiger Sect, and the rules stipulate that no one is allowed to interfere. Fei Wu has won fair and square."

"Fair and square? What a joke! He obviously cheated!"

Hu Lao lashed out with another five Lightning Blades. Teacher Cai gritted his teeth and blocked them by coating his arms with ice-cold qi, but the lightning disintegrated his frost armor. But he managed to just barely block the attack.

However, he wasn"t able to defend against Hu Lao"s next attack. As he staggered backward, the White Tiger Sect elder struck him with a devastating Lightning Fist, causing him to double over. Teacher Cai attempted to retaliate, but Hu Lao dodged his hook and slammed his fist into the former"s abdomen, unleashing Thunder Break.

"Ugh!"

Teacher Cai was sent flying and crashed into the wall, vanishing in a shower of rubble.

"Hmph. I don"t care who you are. If you get in my way, I"ll destroy you as well."

Dusting off his hands, Hu Lao sneered before he turned back to me. Mad glee cackled in his eyes as he prepared to finish me off, now that there was no one capable of standing in his way.

"Die!"

With a swing of his hand, Hu Lao sent a fresh wave of Lightning Blades arcing mercilessly toward my dantian and limbs again. I steeled myself, thankful for not dismissing my Frost Barrier even when Teacher Cai intervened.

It wasn"t as if I didn"t have any faith in Teacher Cai, but it paid to always a.s.sume the worst. The present crisis was a good example of that. clenching my fists, I threw out both hands to reinforce my Frost Barrier with whatever qi I had left remaining, which was alarmingly little. I had expended most of it during my fight with Qi Fu Ren, after all.

Boom!

My eyes widened when I saw a wall of qi shimmer to life in front of my Frost Barrier. The five Lightning Blades crashed impotently into the new barrier and dissipated harmlessly, the golden rays of electricity disappearing without a trace.

"Stop it, Hu Lao."

Xiao Zhang descended between me and Hu Lao, his expression grave and furious.

"What do you think you"re doing? This is my academy, Cai Pan is one of my staff and Fei Wu is one of my students. How dare you attack them?!"

Xiao Zhang glared at Hu Lao, but the latter stubbornly defied him. Gritting his teeth, he gathered his qi and launched another hail of Lightning Blades, but this time Xiao Zhang didn"t even bother with a wall of qi. With just his bare hand, he swatted the five Lightning Blades away like flies, completely obliterating them.

"Amazing…"

My jaw dropped as I watched Xiao Zhang, awestruck by his absolute strength and imposing presence. Xiao Zhang"s eyes narrowed as his fury increased. If Hu Lao was a volcano, then Xiao Zhang was a supernova, a red star on the verge of blowing up and hurling intense amounts of radiation across the galaxy.

"Cai Pan, are you all right?"

Without turning around, Xiao Zhang issued the question. There was a slight movement in the debris, and then Teacher Cai emerged, throwing the rubble off himself. Dusting himself off and wiping the blood off his mouth, the battered teacher-referee bowed his head.

"I am very sorry. I failed to stop Elder Hu Lao."

"You have nothing to be ashamed of," Xiao Zhang told him plainly. "The opponent is a venerable elder of the White Tiger Sect. there is a noticeable gap between your strengths."

He then turned to the struggling Hu Lao, who still emanated hostility and aggression.

"I warned you, Hu Lao. I won"t be giving you any other chances."

The next second, the entire arena seemed to implode. The air literally shimmered as Xiao Zhang"s qi expanded and crashed down upon everything like a tsunami, saturating the atmosphere with his incredible qi.

"Gah…ugh!"

This time, it was Hu Lao"s turn to fall. The Elder of the White Tiger Sect crashed onto the ground as the weight of Xiao Zhang"s qi slammed upon him like a gigantic hand, pinning him facedown onto the ground. Never mind kneeling like me, his prostrate figure was planted onto the ground, his face buried in the rubble and his lips kissing the dirt.

"As I said, this is my academy, not your home. How dare you interfere in a fight in the arena? Who do you think you are? You think you can just barge into my academy and break my academy rules?" Xiao Zhang snarled as he utterly and completely suppressed Hu Lao.

Hu Lao writhed about on the ground, helpless before Xiao Zhang"s overwhelming presence and power, but he managed to appeal desperately.

"Princ.i.p.al Xiao Zhang, this student of yours is so ruthless and merciless. Even though he is so young, he already resorts to such barbaric and vicious methods to cut off both of my disciple"s arms. If we let him off, in future, he"ll become a demon!"

Xiao Zhang stared at the pathetic, prostrate form of Hu Lao in disbelief, not sure if he heard the b.a.s.t.a.r.d right. "You do realize that your own disciple was basically trying to do the same thing, and he was the one who forced his opponent"s hands?"

"So what?!" Hu Lao snarled. "That One Star Const.i.tution student is just trash. He shouldn"t be standing up to my White Tiger Sect! Princ.i.p.al Xiao Zhang, you have to give our White Tiger Sect some respect! Or you"ll be suffering the consequences!"

"Give your White Tiger Sect some respect?!" Xiao Zhang thundered. "I already gave in regarding this disciple"s misbehavior throughout the past year. Even when he was under suspicion of murder, I conceded to your sect because of insufficient evidence – evidence that your sect refused to allow us to collect – and let you sweep it under the table. And he has only gotten more arrogant. Now he blatantly cheats in an official match, and you still defend him? And don"t think I don"t know…we have security cameras capturing footage of you handing over that Qi Burst Pill to him. An elder of one of the four major sects, actually encouraging his disciple to cheat! Not only that, you interfered in the duel and a.s.saulted my staff and one of my students?!"

Hu Lao fell silent when he realized he had gone too far, but Xiao Zhang had long since given over to his fury.

"You"ve gone too far! Did you think I wouldn"t dare to kill you for breaking the rules in my academy?"

"Y…you wouldn"t dare!" Hu Lao stammered. "Do you know which sect I"m from? If you kill me…"

"f.u.c.k your White Tiger Sect. I don"t care what sect you"re from, even if you"re one of the so-called four major sects. The moment you"re in my academy, you"re to respect and follow the rules I establish. I don"t care if you"re the Emperor himself, the same goes for him. I don"t barge into your White Tiger Sect, flout the rules there and attack your sect"s disciples, do I? Give your sect respect? Haven"t you not been giving me any respect at all?!"

He took another step forward, and the weight seemed to increase upon a groaning Hu Lao. The ground, unable to withstand the tremendous pressure of Xiao Zhang"s qi, broke and shattered under the invisible forces.

"Get out of my academy right now, or I"ll kill you."

"Let"s leave it at there."

A new voice spoke up, and everyone"s attention was drawn to the owner.

"That"s…"

"Lei Lie…"

"The Patriarch and Sect Leader of the White Tiger Sect?!"

"What is he doing here?!"

Whispers and murmurs echoed across the spectator box as the students and the recently arrived teachers whispered to each other. A burly man with short white hair, bulging muscles and silver eyes had descended into the arena, a maelstrom of qi swirling around him. He was dressed in a sleeveless vest and rough jeans, all the better to show off his abs, six-pack and pectorals. Electricity danced around him, combating against Xiao Zhang"s potent qi.

Thanks to that, Hu Lao was able to get up, the tremendous pressure weighing him down slightly abated by the arrival of the White Tiger Sect patriarch.

Xiao Zhang narrowed his eyes as he glared at Lei Lie.

"Are you here to break the rules of my territory as well?"

"Not at all. I wouldn"t dare." Lei Lie inclined his head slightly and cupped his hands respectfully. "As you say, this is your academy and we are just guests. Even I wouldn"t dare to disrespect the revered Princ.i.p.al Xiao Zhang in his own grounds."

"But Sect Leader, that brat…"

"SILENCE!"

With a single roar, Lei Lie sent Hu Lao crashing down onto his face again. This time, it was the White Tiger Sect patriarch"s qi that crushed Hu Lao into the ground, humiliating the beleaguered elder and pinning him to the floor.

"What you"ve done is inexcusable. You have shamed the sect with your misbehavior! Your manners are ill-fitting of that of an Elder of our sect!"

"F…forgive me…"

Hu Lao whimpered hoa.r.s.ely and miserably, unable to retort against his sect leader"s rage. The pressure slightly lifted and he was able to raise his head a little.

Swallowing, I studied Lei Lie, and noticed that he wasn"t alone. Bai Ning Xue had accompanied him, and hopped into the arena as well.

On the opposite side, Zhu Jiao and Tang Qi Hong rushed to my side. They had jumped through the broken hole that Hu Lao left in the reinforced window, and landed next to me. Tang Qi Hong helped me up, slinging my arm over her shoulder.

"We should bring you to the infirmary," she said, concerned.

"Yeah, after all this is done."

Zhu Jiao was watching Bai Ning Xue keenly, and she returned his gaze coolly. I wasn"t sure but I believed that some sort of exchange pa.s.sed between them. Without my protagonist privilege, I didn"t dare to probe into their personal matters.

More importantly, I was more curious in the current predicament. Was Xiao Zhang about to clash with Lei Lie? But it didn"t seem that Lei Lie had come to fight. If anything, he had come to hold Hu Lao back before he did anything stupid.

"Please accept my humble apologies. The White Tiger Sect will compensate for all the damages incurred in the match today."

Lei Lie lowered his head. He then turned to glare at Hu Lao.

"Hu Lao, you"ll be stripped of your t.i.tle of Elder, and you will return to the White Thunder Pillar to receive your punishment."

The disgraced ex-elder could only hang his head in shame. Lei Lie then turned back to Xiao Zhang, still maintaining his humility.

"If that is all right with you, of course, Princ.i.p.al Xiao Zhang. Unless you would prefer to punish Hu Lao yourself."

"That is fine with me," Xiao Zhang replied tightly. "My only condition is that Hu Lao does not trespa.s.s and break any rules in Wu Ling Academy again. If he does, then there will be no second chance. I will kill him on the spot."

The last sentence was spoken with such murderous intent that everyone who heard it couldn"t help but shudder.

Lei Lie was the only one who didn"t tremble, being on par with Xiao Zhang. He merely nodded modestly as he remained with his head bowed slightly and his hands cupped respectfully.

"The White Tiger Sect will accept this condition and thank you for your magnanimous decision and mercy. In fact, if Hu Lao dares to come to Wu Ling Academy to make trouble again, we"ll personally extinguish his life."

Hu Lao whimpered again, but it was hard to feel sorry for him, especially after all the things he had done.

"One more thing…"

Lei Lie turned to the trembling Qi Fu Ren, who looked like he was just about to pa.s.s out. In the chaos, everyone had forgotten about him. Except his sect leader.

"Qi Fu Ren, you"re expelled from the White Tiger Sect. from today onward, you"re no longer one of our disciples. Bullying weaker students, cheating in an official match…while I have been lenient with you after listening to Hu Lao"s appeals, not only have you not reflected on your behavior, you even got worse."

His face a cold mask of contempt, Lei Lie spun away to leave.

"The next time you attempt to murder someone again, the White Tiger Sect will no longer be here to protect you."

With that, he disappeared, with Hu Lao in tow.

Bai Ning Xue lingered for a bit, and Qi Fu Ren desperately reached out to her.

"Wait…Ning Xue! I can explain! I…!"

Bai Ning Xue merely looked upon him with eyes frostier than even those of the White Tiger Sect patriarch.

"Disgusting."

That was the only word she said before she departed with the two masters of the White Tiger Sect. Qi Fu Ren turned extremely pale and sank to his haunches, and I knew his pallor this time wasn"t caused by the ma.s.sive loss of blood.

The bleeding of his stumps had stopped long ago, after all.

Xiao Zhang looked at him sympathetically. Even if he was a bully, Qi Fu Ren was still a student of Wu Ling Academy after all. Not only did he lose both arms and was humiliated in an official match, he was also disgraced and expelled from his sect. even I felt a little sorry for him.

"Teacher Cai, bring Student Qi Fu Ren to the infirmary and have Teacher Yi Liao treat his wounds and reattach his arms. While at it, have your own wounds treated as well."

"Yes." Teacher Cai nodded and obeyed. Picking up both of Qi Fu Ren"s arms, he led the poor bully away. Xiao Zhang then turned to me.

"You too, Student Fei Wu. Get to the infirmary and get your injuries treated, then rest up."

"Yes, sir," I replied while leaning on Tang Qi Hong. She was already helping me toward the direction of the infirmary.

"Be careful," she told me as she supported me. Zhu Jiao also followed closely, hovering behind like an escort.

"One last thing."

I turned to Xiao Zhang with a raised eyebrow, and the old man smiled. His eyes glittered under the illumination of the arena lighting as he delivered one last instruction.

"Once you"ve fully recovered, take the level 5 test."