If the beggar kid thought he could remain undisturbed despite the noise in front of him, he couldn't be more wrong.
Ten minutes after he activated the Wish Me Luck item, a commotion erupted outside the Skyline Savory branch.
The shouting was so loud that the frown on Apollo's face deepened. What now?! He opened his eyes to witness two groups glaring at each other. He wouldn't have been surprised if sparks were flying from their eyes.
Apollo glanced at their outfits and couldn't help but sigh. The old cliché of two groups from different schools starting a fight once they see each other. Is there anything new? Shaking his head, he was about to go back to cultivating and tried to ignore them, but realization kicked in, making him watch the scene in front of him in earnest.
He recognized one of the groups wearing black and white uniforms with a serpent insignia on their chests. They were from the Great Serpent Cultivation School, and the man in front of them seemed to be the leader, sporting brown hair and brown eyes. His build was above average, but the way he carried himself exuded great confidence.
Moreover, the man's face could also be considered handsome.
The other group, on the other hand, wore dark blue uniforms with crossed swords on top of a shield insignia on their chests. Their group leader was a two-meter-tall man with muscles that threatened to burst from his uniform. He sported short black hair and hawk-like eyes, with a mustache adorning his mouth.
"Ha! I knew it, I can smell your disgusting face even from a mile away!" the mustache man said to the handsome man in front of him with a smirk on his face. "Why don't you guys scram?"
"Yeah! Go away!"
"Serpent my *ss! More like a worm!"
"Hahaha! Right!"
His companions shouted from behind the mustached man. They kept ridiculing the group in front of them, who shouted back.
The handsome man raised a hand for his companions to stop. "We are going to end up like dogs if we keep shouting like them."
This comment infuriated the mustache man's group, though they were silenced by their leader's glare. "Michael, two lions can't stay on the same mountain. You know that, right?" the mustache man said to the serpent group leader.
Michael nodded. "Of course, I know that idiom. That's why we will never leave. It's either you leave, or we fight."
"Boss Yohan, let's fight them!" Yohan's companion shouted from behind, but he just waved his hand, causing them to shut up.
"Haha, you really are daring," Yohan said with a laugh. However, in the next second, his expression became cold and serious. A threatening aura emanated from him, and his muscles visibly tensed up. "Can't wait till we meet at the Advancement Examination, huh? If you really want to fight, then let's fight!"
The normal humans watching from the side couldn't help but take a step back from the immense pressure the big guy emitted. Even the other martial students on the scene reacted the same way.
This pressure! Michael frowned as he felt the intense pressure. "You… have you reached the 4th step?"
"Spot on, my boy!" Yohan laughed aloud. "I was wrong when I said there were two lions here. In fact, there's not even a lion anymore—I became a f*cking dragon! So fear me! We are no longer equals, Michael!"
The serpent students behind Michael couldn't help but clench their teeth. Fear engulfed them as the pressure from Yohan was too intense. Just the thought of being beaten up by him made them hesitate. Some even took a step back and didn't dare to make another sound.
Michael noticed the movement from behind him and knew that if he lost here, they would no longer look at him the same way and would probably never see him as a leader anymore.
Yohan saw everything and a smile appeared on his face. He looked at Michael's companions and said, "You guys follow this guy? Can't you see that he is nothing in front of me? So, do you want to leave, or do you want to fight?"
Hearing this, Michael's companions looked at each other. They only followed Michael because, first of all, he is famous at the school and also a 3rd step Foundation Building cultivator who has a lot of potential to reach greater heights.
But in the next moment, their eyes widened.
"Don't turn my words on me," Michael said, his eyes looking seriously at the mustache man. "Do you think you are the only one who advanced?"
Apollo, who was watching and listening to all this, couldn't help but clench his fists in excitement. Here comes the twist! He had been watching the scene like he was watching a movie from his previous life. But the experience and drama that he was witnessing were definitely better because it was happening in real life!
"What… don't tell me?" Yohan appeared surprised.
With a smirk on his face, Michael's body was suddenly surrounded by a blue haze, accompanied by the sound of hissing from a snake. When the Great Serpent students heard this sound, they couldn't help but shout in excitement. "It's the Great Serpent Technique that only those who reached Qi Condensation can learn!"
"Really? Isn't that Battle Technique very hard to learn?" one of the serpent students asked with amazement in his voice.
"Yes, but once learned, their battle strength will increase exponentially! Even though it's still the beginner stage, Michael's strength should be enough to compare to a 4th-step Foundation Building stage!"
"But how come Michael can learn it even though he's still at 3rd step?"
"I was saving this for my Advancement, but I don't think I can hide it now," Michael said as a light blue translucent serpent emerged from the haze around him. It encircled his whole body, behaving like a real snake before glaring at the mustache man. "Although this technique is only for Qi Condensation, once one has enough understanding and talent, they will be able to learn it."
That's the twist I'm talking about! Apollo thought in excitement.
Yohan's face darkened. He wanted to humiliate the man in front of him, but reality proved him wrong. Both of them had something up their sleeves that made the situation even worse.
"What should we do?" one of his companions asked.
"Shut up!" Yohan glared and slapped the person who asked the question, causing the man to fly through the air and land beside the beggar.
"Eh?" Apollo appeared confused when the man landed beside him.
"You really are something. As expected of my rival," Yohan said to Michael emotionlessly. He glanced around and noticed they had already gathered quite a number of spectators. Even the manager of the Skyline Savory branch came out, a frown on his face, clearly very angry. "But we should stop here. We're disrupting the appetite of other patrons."
"What's with the sudden change in attitude?" Michael asked with a smirk on his face. "Afraid?"
"No, I'm more than eager to kill you right now, but I don't want to shed blood in this place and risk being banned from eating here," Yohan explained while glancing at the manager.
"I see," Michael nodded. "Let's settle this in the Examination, and I will make sure to crush you there!"
"Let's go! I've lost my appetite," Yohan waved his hand and walked away, followed by his underlings.
Michael also decided not to eat and left with his companions behind him.
"Wait! Are you just going to leave this guy here?!" Apollo shouted, but no one bothered looking in his direction. "What the hell?"