Ren Song strode toward Evan Lin with a group of guys and girls trailing behind him, his steps long and purposeful.
Evan was standing in front of a vendor stall, watching a group of people open up some stones when Ren Song and his crew blocked his way.
"You’re Evan Lin, right?" Ren Song looked down at him from above. He was about 1.8 meters tall, a bit taller than Evan.
"Who are you?" Evan frowned slightly, then glanced around and spotted Ren Qiang and Lynn Chen nearby. He instantly understood the situation.
"I’m Ren Qiang’s brother. Heard you’re pretty cocky, huh? Daring to steal my brother’s girl?" Ren Song’s tone was icy as he crossed his arms.
At that, Lynn Chen’s expression changed slightly. "I have nothing to do with your brother, Ren Qiang. Don’t talk nonsense!"
"Lynn, don’t say anything right now. Don’t worry, whatever happens, just let my brother handle it." Ren Qiang stepped in front of Lynn Chen, blocking her from view.
Evan looked at Ren Song calmly. "Before you stand up for your brother, shouldn’t you first figure out if you’ve got what it takes?"
"I know exactly what I’m capable of—and more importantly, I know what you’re capable of!" Ren Song sneered.
"I’ve seen plenty of punks like you—think you’re hot stuff just because you can fight a little, huh? Let me tell you, your moves might cut it with those school kids, but out in the real world, you’d be dead a hundred times over!"
Ren Song looked Evan up and down with utter disdain. "Just look at those skinny arms and legs. If you can knock me down with one punch, I’ll admit you’ve got skills!"
Ren Song was pretty sturdy, and usually nobody could put him flat on the ground.
"Bro!" Ryan Ren was stunned by Ren Song’s words and immediately got anxious.
He’d expected Ren Song to just beat Evan up without a word, but now he was actually asking to get punched? Was he out of his mind?
"Relax, Ryan. With this kind of loser, not to mention one punch—even if I let him hit me two, three, or four times, it wouldn’t matter!" Ren Song waved his hand with a cocky flourish.
He turned to Evan, full of arrogance. "Forget you—even if Mason He, the sanda club captain from Capitalview First High, was here, I’d let him kick me and he still couldn’t knock me down. Tell me, you impressed yet?"
"Kid, Ryan says you’re a real poser. Let’s see if you can act tough in front of me today! I mean what I say—I’ll let you punch me. Go ahead, show me how much of a joke you are trying to act cool around me!"
As Ren Song said this, he sneaked a glance at Lynn Chen, who was being shielded by Ryan. Seeing the shock on Lynn’s face, Ren Song felt even more smug inside.
There’s nothing more satisfying in this world than showing off in front of a pretty girl.
"You really want to try it?" Evan asked, amused.
"Stop talking and just watch. You probably don’t know how strong Ren Song really is—he’s actually trained in real martial arts!"
"That’s right, there was even a master who wanted Ren Song as a disciple, but Ren Song turned him down!"
"You really dare take a swing at Ren Song? Kid, you must’ve hit your head!"
The people around all stared at Evan Lin with contempt in their eyes.
"Just do it already! Why so much pointless talk?" Ren Song waved impatiently, not even bothering to hide his annoyance.
Then he planted himself right in front of Evan, took a deep breath, tightened his abs, put on a fierce face, slapped his chest, and yelled, "Come on! Hit me right here! Use your fist and smash my chest! Today I’ll show you just how laughable a punk like you really is!"
"You really think you can steal my brother’s girl? Act tough in front of him? You little bastard!"
Ren Song’s voice was loud, and soon a bunch of people turned to watch what was happening.
Feeling all those eyes on him, Ren Song got even more smug. Right now, he felt like the ultimate tough guy.
Evan stepped up, clenched his fist, and looked at Ren Song with curiosity. "Not afraid of pain?"
"Less talk, more action! You think that little fist of yours can hurt me? What a joke! Bring it on!" Ren Song shouted angrily.
As soon as he finished, Evan threw a light, almost lazy punch at Ren Song’s chest.
"With a punch that soft, you think you can knock down Ren Song?" someone jeered as Evan swung.
But before he could finish, Evan’s punch, which looked weak and powerless, landed square on Ren Song.
The next second—
Bang!
Ren Song was sent flying by the punch, landing flat on his back. He clutched his chest, rolling on the ground, groaning, occasionally spitting out white foam, his limbs twitching in a way that looked like an epileptic fit.
The whole place went dead silent.
Ryan Ren was the first to snap out of it.
"Bro!" He rushed over to Ren Song, only to find his cousin rolling his eyes and shivering in pain on the ground.
"He’s killed someone!"
"Damn, that was way too brutal!"
Seeing Ren Song in such a sorry state, a lot of people looked at Evan Lin with newfound fear.
Lynn Chen stood frozen, unable to say a word for a long moment.
"He won’t die. He’ll just twitch for about an hour—that’s normal." Evan shook his head slightly. "I’ve climbed mountains and crossed rivers, met countless geniuses and idiots, but I’ve never seen anyone so desperate for a beating as this guy."
"This time, consider it a lesson. Next time, if I hit him again, he’ll spend the rest of his life crawling like a reptile, never able to stand up."
Evan’s words were icy, and the atmosphere suddenly turned heavy.
A bunch of people nearby were watching. Ren Song’s earlier chest-thumping bravado now seemed even more ridiculous.
"Is the guy lying there Manager Ren’s son?"
"Looks like it. His voice sounded like him too."
"No way, Manager Ren’s kid can’t be that dumb, right?"
A few security guards, drawn by the commotion, hurried over. When they saw Ren Song twitching on the ground, they rushed even faster, finally getting a clear look at his face.
"Holy crap! It really is Young Master Ren! Someone actually dared to throw hands at White Crane Manor? That kid must have a death wish!"
"Manager Ren knows all kinds of big shots. One word from him and that kid’s finished!"
"Move, move! Hurry, everyone out of the way!"
In an instant, the security guards rushed forward, surrounding Ren Song and glaring fiercely at Evan Lin, who stood there looking perfectly calm.