Nie Yan had long since anticipated Fu Guangtao would lower his head. Few people would be willing to stick it out until the very end in the face of absolute strength.
Fu Guangtao had two paths ahead of him. The first was to continue butting heads with Nie Yan. There was only one possible conclusion to this path; he would be PKed back to Level 0 until he ultimately deleted his Conviction account. This was something he couldn't bear. Close to half-a-year's worth of blood, sweat, and tears would go down the drain. The second path was to plead for Nie Yan's forgiveness. But from then on, he could never raise his head in front of his fellow students again.
Even though Fu Guangtao was still internally quite conflicted, he still decided to lower his head to Nie Yan. This was his only option.
"Fu Guangtao, weren't you always so arrogant? When did you become so meek?" Xu Yan sneered.
Xu Yan's words cut like a sharp blade. Fu Guangtao clenched his fists. He was deeply reluctant, but he could only submit. He turned back to Nie Yan, who still hadn't given a response.
Xia Tianyu and Fei Zhe were about to say something as well. They also loathed Fu Guangtao and wanted to get a few jabs in too.
Nie Yan raised his hand, signalling Xia Tianyu and Fei Zhe to back down. He glanced at Fu Guangtao and said in an insipid tone, "If it happens again, you know the consequences."
"Thank you…" Fu Guangtao suddenly felt a huge weight lifted off his shoulders. Shooting a grateful look at Nie Yan, he made a deep bow, then quietly trudged away. He really didn't have the face to stay any longer.
After Fu Guangtao apologized to Nie Yan, Zhao Shiyu and Bai Jun couldn't hold back any longer either. They also went up to plead for his forgivenesses. From now on, these people would never dare to stir trouble with him again.
When Zhao Shiyu and the others left, Nie Yan withdrew his gaze. He pulled open his monitor and started browsing the web, the Top Military Academy's forums, and so on.
The drama in the command faculty had finally come to an end. Nie Yan lazily stretched his limbs. He could finally get some peace and quiet.
The sunlight shining through the window gave him a warm feeling. He let out a yawn, on the verge of falling asleep.
"Bo- er, I mean Nie Yan, quickly look at the forums!" Xu Yan quickly corrected himself after Nie Yan shot him a glare.
"What's up?" Nie Yan asked.
"The school's social board, you're famous!" Xu Yan exclaimed.
"What!? War God Lei Su challenges the command faculty's Nie Yan. Why is he challenging you all of a sudden?" Fei Zhe cried out in shock.
Xia Tianyu turned to Nie Yan and asked, "Do you know him?"
Nie Yan shook his head. This was out of left field for him too. He had heard a few things about War God Lei Su before. Lei Su was some kind of fighting champion and widely recognized as the strongest student in the Top Military Academy. He was undoubtedly an influential figure. However, why would a person like that suddenly challenge him? This was too strange. He was only a first-year student and kept to himself. By all rights, no one outside the command faculty should even know his name. The only exception, of course, was his love-dovey behaviour with Xie Yao.
"A love rival?" Xu Yan's eyes lit up. This was certainly a possibility. After all, Xie Yao was undoubtedly a top beauty among the first years. Meanwhile, War God Lei Su was a famous playboy. Perhaps he had set his eyes on her.
"Yeah, that might be it," Fei Zhe agreed.
"Stop making random guesses. We don't even know if this is really him," Nie Yan said. He still maintained a cool-head in this situation. Coming up with wild theories before getting the facts straight was definitely a foolish action.
News of War God Lei Su's challenge to Nie Yan spread like wildfire, quickly disseminating among the student populace. Practically everyone in the Top Military Academy knew Lei Su. As for Nie Yan, only a few had heard his name in passing. He was a freshman who scored first overall in this year's entrance exams. But how was he worthy of making the War God take action?
Nie Yan instantly became a hot topic of discussion. Suddenly, everyone in the school knew about him. The person in question only felt endless grief. This was the last thing he wanted. He rubbed his temples in annoyance, feeling a headache coming on. Just what the hell was going on!?"
Oftentimes, matters would develop outside of one's expectations. When it occurred, there was nothing you could do to run away.
After sulking over his bad luck, Nie Yan could only helplessly accept reality. Since War God Lei Su was challenging him, he would have to respond.
I should just directly refuse! This sort of pointless battle has no meaning anyway, Nie Yan thought.
If people knew what Nie Yan was thinking, the entire Top Military Academy would erupt into an uproar. He actually dared to ignore the War God's challenge!? This was the same as giving the other side no face!
Nie Yan suddenly recalled how Lei Su had approached Muslin about joining Asskickers United last time during the in-game school gathering. However, before joining the guild, Lei Su wanted to meet him face-to-face first. Just what was this guy planning?
Most of the students in the Top Military Academy weren't aware that Nie Yan was Nirvana Flame. Their information was fairly limited. However, people at Lei Su's level likely already knew his secret identity. Luckily, it was unlikely these individuals would go around telling others.
Nie Yan reconsidered for a moment before deciding to still refuse. This kind of duel wasn't his cup of tea. It was like two gladiators fighting in a colosseum for the entertainment of the crowd. It held no meaning. If Lei Su had challenged him in private, he might have been willing to accept. After all, this kind of opportunity was hard to come by. He wanted to experience Lei Su's strength first-hand and see where his own fighting skills were on the totem pole.
The student populace were all discussing the duel between Lei Su and Nie Yan. The entire Top Military Academy was bustling with noise and excitement. They all wanted to see if Nie Yan really was that outstanding for the War God himself to issue out a challenge on the forums without a care for his own status.
At this moment, in the governing faculty, Xie Yao and five of her female classmates were chatting together. They were talking this and that, anything that crossed their minds. After familiarizing themselves with each other, they'd become a lot less reserved around each other and so had much more to talk about.
Several of the girls in this group were especially lively. Xie Yao sat on one side listening to the others talk, maintaining a lady-like smile while occasionally chiming in with a word or two.
A few of the male students in the class repeatedly snuck glances at the group. The person attracting their attention was undoubtedly Xie Yao. Her temperament was refined and gentle. She was so elegant one couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. Although she was reserved, the other girls around her naturally paled in comparison, simply serving as background extras to compare her beauty to.
"Did you girls hear? Apparently, War God Lei Su issued out a challenge on the forums to a first year from the command faculty. The whole school is talking about it right now," one girl gossiped.
"Really? Challenged by the War God? Are you sure? Are you? Are you?"
"It should be, yes. His challenge is stickied at the top of the school's forums. The poster is confirmed to be him, no doubt."
"What kind of background does that first-year have?"
Hearing these girls mentioning the command faculty, Xie Yao's ears perked up as a trace of anxiety flashed across her face. That student couldn't possibly be Nie Yan, right?
"Ehh, Xie Yao, didn't you say your boyfriend is in the command faculty? His name is Nie Yan, right?"
"If I heard correctly, Lei Su is challenging someone called Nie Yan."
All the girls shifted their attention to Xie Yao.
"Yeah, that's him… I'll give him a call to ask what's going on," Xie Yao replied. She picked up her phone and walked off to a corner to call Nie Yan.
"What kind of person is that Nie Yan?"
"No idea."
These girls whispered to each other. They were quite curious about Nie Yan. Someone like Xie Yao naturally had to have an outstanding boyfriend. For him to be worthy enough of being challenged by War God Lei Su, he was definitely no ordinary person.
After talking with Nie Yan, Xie Yao hung up and walked back to the girls.
"I just asked, it's him," Xie Yao said, as if this were nothing out of the ordinary.
"Aren't you worried about your boyfriend?" a girl asked. Why didn't Xie Yao appear the least bit perturbed aftering finding out this shocking piece of news?
"Yeah, his opponent is War God Lei Su! The number one expert in the whole Top Military Academy! Your boyfriend is only a freshman. No matter how strong he is, how could he possibly be a match for Lei Su!?"
These girls were clearly fans of Lei Su. Then again, who wasn't?
"Right, Xie Yao, who do you think will win?"
They all stared at Xie Yao, their eyes glistening in anticipation as they awaited her reply.
"I don't really know much about Lei Su, but I think my boyfriend will probably win," Xie Yao replied. She had absolute faith in Nie Yan. Let alone Lei Su, even if the Top Military Academy's military instructor came over, she still believed Nie Yan would win.
"Ah, what else would you expect from a girl head over heels in love," a girl said, rolling her eyes.
"Yeah, I don't think Xie Yao's boyfriend will win. I heard ever since Lei Su first entered the Top Military Academy, he's never once lost a fight. It's been like this for four whole years."
Despite doubt being cast on her judgement, Xie Yao simply smiled. She still firmly believed Nie Yan would win. No one else could convince her otherwise.
"We won't know for sure until it actually happens."
Even though the girls were absolutely confident Lei Su would win, under Xie Yao's perseverance, a trace of doubt surfaced in their hearts. Xie Yao didn't seem like the type to delude herself. She likely had good reason for her confidence. They all wanted to see what Xie Yao's boyfriend was like, hoping he wasn't just another boy with a pretty face.
After finding out Xie Yao had a boyfriend, the male students in the class despaired. This was too much of a blow for their hearts to take. They all secretly hoped her boyfriend would get mercilessly beaten up by Lei Su. Only that would ease the pain of their broken hearts. And maybe, just maybe, if their luck was good, she would then even break up with him. They would suddenly stand a chance again! Oh, the thought!
Of course, these hopes were no more than fantasies, something that would never come to pass in reality.
The entire Top Military Academy was looking forward to seeing who would come out the victor. Would Lei Su continue his unbeaten streak of four years, or would Nie Yan create a massive upset and take the belt from the king of the cage?