After another night of painstaking cultivation, with fewer distractions, Qin Xuan felt his internal cultivation base inch up ever so slightly. If all went smoothly, given the spiritual energy on Yue Ming Mountain, it would take a mere twenty days for him to coalesce a spiritual sea stretching three zhang.
"Had I but ten low-grade spirit crystals, I could amass a four-zhang spiritual sea and vault to the middle stage of Qi training within three days," Qin Xuan lamented with a shake of his head. Alas, the spiritual energy on Earth was so pitifully scarce that his progress seemed agonizingly slow.
Having tidied himself up, he set off for school. In the early morning light, students ambled along in pairs or small groups, making their way towards the teaching building. Qin Xuan, however, walked alone, heedless of the myriad glances cast his way.
Yesterday's incident had sent shockwaves through the school. Word that he and Xiao Wu were an item had spread like wildfire. A rumor could be dismissed, and leaving school together might be brushed off as coincidence, but hand-holding? That was a dead giveaway. Someone had even snapped a photo of Qin Xuan clasping Xiao Wu's hand and plastered it all over the school's online forum.
It was as if a boulder had been lobbed into a placid pond, sending ripples in every direction. Overnight, Qin Xuan's name was on everyone's lips.
"Qin Xuan, hold it right there!"
Suddenly, several figures materialized in front of him. Qin Xuan glanced up, and with a cursory sweep of his eyes, he pegged the identities of the five interlopers. They were all from the school basketball team, each one a veritable behemoth. The tallest, a hulking lad nearly six foot three, towered over Qin Xuan like a grizzly bear.
If memory served, this brute was Liu Ming, the team captain, nicknamed "Black Bear" and a bit of a local celebrity on campus. In his previous life, when Lu Yunfan had issued his warning, Liu Ming had been right there, chortling at his expense.
Qin Xuan hadn't banked on running into him again.
"Yes?" he replied curtly, unfazed by the imposing presence of the five hulks.
The students en route to class scattered to the sides like startled pigeons, eager to avoid the impending confrontation.
"What's Liu Ming up to so early in the morn?"
"I heard Liu Ming and Lu Yunfan are as thick as thieves. Bet Qin Xuan pissed off Lu Yunfan, and now Liu Ming's here to teach him a lesson."
"Qin Xuan's in for it now. With Liu Ming and the team backing him up, even the local toughs steer clear. What chance does Qin Xuan stand?"
Whispers filled the air, and some watched Qin Xuan with a glimmer of smug satisfaction. After all, he'd managed to win the heart of the school's brightest star. That rankled with many a male ego, and now, seeing him on the brink of a drubbing, they couldn't help but relish the prospect.
"Qin Xuan, you've been strutting around like a peacock lately, huh? Think Xiao Wu's up for grabs?" Liu Ming sneered, closing in with his intimidating height.
"So what if I did?" Qin Xuan's lip curled in a defiant smirk.
Liu Ming stooped down, his mouth hovering near Qin Xuan's ear. "You little punk, you're toast today. Young Master Lu sends his regards..."
Before he could finish, a hand shot up like a bolt of lightning and cracked against his skull. With a whoosh, Liu Ming's head hit the ground as if it were a deflated football, his nearly two-hundred-pound frame following suit with a dull thud. Qin Xuan planted his foot on Liu Ming's bloodied noggin and drawled, "I can't abide people getting in my face."
The playground went dead silent, as if time itself had hit the pause button.
"This... this is unreal!" someone gasped. Liu Ming, sprawled beneath Qin Xuan's foot?
The other onlookers were equally gobsmacked. Qin Xuan stood a mere five foot seven, dwarfed by Liu Ming's stature. Yet here he was, subduing the giant in the blink of an eye.
Could it be he'd had martial arts training?
The thought ricocheted through the minds of many. When the remaining four team members snapped out of their stupor, they erupted in fury.
"You punk, you got a death wish?"
"How dare you lay a hand on us?"
Four hulking forms barreled towards him. Qin Xuan, foot still firmly planted on Liu Ming, seemed to regard the charging quartet as little more than a mild nuisance.
Around them, timid girls shrieked and hid their eyes. Even passing teachers, after a moment's hesitation, balked at intervening.
Boom, boom, boom, boom.
Four muffled thuds rang out as Qin Xuan's hands flashed like streaks of lightning, unerringly connecting with the faces of his assailants. Not a single step did he budge, his right foot maintaining its vice-like grip on Liu Ming's head.
"Ah!"
In an instant, the four burly team members were clutching their bruised faces and howling in agony as they hit the dirt.
The scene was so jarring that it left the bystanders slack-jawed once more.
Even Xiao Wu, who'd been passing by on her way to class, paused, clutching her notebook and regarding Qin Xuan with a mixture of surprise and admiration.
Liu Ming writhed beneath Qin Xuan's foot, but it was like trying to move a mountain. No matter how he thrashed, he couldn't break free.
Qin Xuan swept his gaze over the crowd, sending students scurrying back in fear. One man had single-handedly dismantled the school team, including the fearsome Black Bear Liu Ming. Holy cow, this guy was a bona fide hidden master!
Those who'd been secretly gloating now wished they could vanish into thin air, terrified that Qin Xuan might turn his wrath on them.
"These five incompetents!"
Inside the teaching building, Lu Yunfan peered through the window, his face a thundercloud. Five men, laid low by a mere kid? It was humiliating.
"Qin Xuan, you got lucky this time. But don't think you'll skate by so easily next time!" Lu Yunfan seethed, sucking in a deep breath. He realized he'd underestimated Qin Xuan. The kid was clearly a trained fighter.
No wonder he'd been so brazen!
On the playground, Xiao Wu watched the drama unfold and shook her head gently. She stepped forward, her eyes meeting Qin Xuan's. "Sorry for dragging you into this."
Qin Xuan flashed a wry smile. "With them? Hardly what I'd call trouble."
Xiao Wu couldn't help but chuckle at his bravado and nodded in agreement.
Qin Xuan glanced down at Liu Ming, lifted his foot, leaving a vivid purple shoe print on the fallen man's face.
"By the way, do pass on my regards to Lu Yunfan," he said with a nonchalant grin, his eyes locking onto a window in the teaching building.
He and Xiao Wu then strolled off side by side, disappearing from sight.
Lu Yunfan watched them go, his face contorting with rage. "Qin Xuan, I'll make sure you pay dearly! Just you wait. I'll see how long you can keep up this cocky act!" He slammed his fist into the bluestone windowsill, startling passing students, who scurried away to put some distance between themselves and the irate young man.