At this moment, hearing those words, Ryan Ling felt as if he’d been dragged back ten years—to the days when his uncle’s family bullied them, his parents couldn’t lift their heads, and behind their backs people called him a little bastard, always poking at his spine.
They were poor, yes, but always kept their dignity—never bowing and scraping for anyone. The only time they ever lowered themselves was borrowing money from Uncle’s family, and because of that, Linda Ling had mocked him countless times, her sneering face exactly like it is now.
"What’s wrong? Did I hit a nerve? Relax, I already said—I won’t look down on you. Besides, you finally made it into the city…" Linda Ling saw Ryan Ling staying silent, her sense of superiority swelling up. Her expression looked like she wanted to eat him alive.
But before Linda could finish, Ryan Ling whipped out his freshman admission notice, declaring, “Linda, don’t judge people with a dog’s eyes. Look closely—what’s this? I, Ryan Ling, have never been inferior to you. Whatever you can do, I can do. Whatever you can’t do, I can still do. Don’t think a few lousy coins make you so amazing. If it weren’t for the fact we’re blood relatives, just for what you said earlier, you’d already be a corpse!”
"What did you say? You little bastard, say that again!" Linda’s face flushed instantly. Her family had clawed their way up from Harbor City to Jinling, basking in the spotlight, and now thanks to her dad’s efforts, the whole Ling Family had squeezed into Jinling’s middle class, even climbing their way into the Tan and Xu Families—two of the city’s top ten clans. Their family was on the rise, everyone gave her face.
And now she’d gotten into Jinling University’s arts department, planning to break into the entertainment industry and become a star—everyone would treat her like royalty. But now, she’d actually been humiliated by Ryan, the little bastard she’d stomped on since childhood.
Linda couldn’t swallow this at all—she was on the verge of a meltdown, her spoiled rich-girl temper about to explode.
"You think you deserve to hear it a second time? Get lost!" As soon as Ryan said this, Linda was hit by a sudden force—she went flying headfirst, her clothes torn, hair messed up, and her face smeared with mud.
"Little bastard! Little bastard! Just you wait—I’ll never let you off! You think learning a bit of martial arts and getting into Jinling University means you’ve made it? You and your dead parents will always be trampled under our feet…" Linda was completely losing it, screaming at the top of her lungs. But Ryan was already gone.
......
Ryan Ling was pissed. His good mood at finally stepping onto campus had been totally trashed by Linda Ling. He’d planned to chill at Jinling University for a while, soak up some actual college life, take a break from all the killing, maybe even read a book or two and enjoy some peace and quiet—hell, that’s the real path of Immortal Cultivation, right? But the moment he walked through the gate, he ran into a trashy woman like Linda. Instantly, he didn’t even want to be here anymore.
But just as his thoughts were spinning, a familiar voice rang out nearby: "Jinling University Chinese Department, Class 3, Cohort 2018, gather over here! I’m your homeroom teacher, Tina Tian. Great to meet you all!"
Ryan froze for a second, then whipped his head around—wait, that really was Tina Tian from the plane! No wonder she had that scholarly vibe. Turns out she’s a teacher at Jinling University, and not just any teacher—she’s his homeroom advisor.
And right then, Tina Tian spotted him too. She blinked, totally stunned, and her face went bright red in an instant.
"Teacher, are you okay?" A few girls standing closest to Tina looked at her, puzzled, and quickly asked.
"It’s nothing, nothing, just—everyone, gather around me, please!" Tina was dying inside. She never imagined Ryan Ling would end up as her student, and he’d literally seen everything, even her embarrassing condition. Right now, Tina seriously wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear.
But fate’s a troll—she couldn’t just kick him out, especially since he’d saved her from disaster. If not for him, who knows what would’ve happened to her chastity...
Thinking about all this, Tina mustered up her courage and gave Ryan a tiny nod, even though her face was still burning red.
Ryan nodded back. The two of them managed to dissolve a bit of the awkwardness.
"Ryan Ling, you need to find a way to bag that Tina Tian!" The System suddenly piped up inside him.
"Are you nuts? Can you not? She’s my teacher now!" Ryan groaned, thinking the System was off its rocker again.
"I’m not nuts. Honestly, I was suspicious on the plane, but now it’s obvious—her thing isn’t a disease at all. It’s just that her body’s packed with some kind of special spiritual energy, and it overflows. That spray? It’s pure spiritual juice! And it’s super good for your Heavenwood Spirit Root." The System jumped in, sounding way too excited.
"Seriously?" Ryan’s heart skipped a beat. Ever since he activated the Heavenwood Spirit Root, it’d been dead quiet. Even with the Netherworld’s yin soil, he couldn’t get it to actually grow.
That ancient Heavenwood’s stored power was insane—Ryan’s strength boost depended on it big time, so whether it grew fast or not was a huge deal for his future.
"Why would I lie to you? It’s the real deal! Hurry up and figure out how to get her. Oh, and the stuff she sprays is premium loot—if you can, collect as much as possible!" The System was on turbo mode now.
"Buzz off, you perv! That’s just nasty, I’m not doing that. I’ll find another way to grow Heavenwood!" Ryan was completely speechless, immediately shoving the System out of his mind. Lately, its commentary was getting more and more shameless.
Anyway, Tina Tian started introducing the class to Jinling University and gave everyone a campus tour. Honestly, she really was a caring, thoughtful teacher. Forget what the System said—just for her enthusiasm alone, Ryan figured he might as well stick around at Jinling University a few more days.
After registration, Lily Yan called him up. She said they should all grab dinner that night—Angie Chen and Lily Liu had come to Jinling too. Everyone wanted to ‘study’ with Ryan.
Ryan sighed softly, thinking he’d probably get drained dry again tonight.
...
Night fell quietly, but someone was grinding her teeth in rage—and who else could it be but Linda Ling.
Ever since Ryan roasted her in public, she’d gotten more and more pissed. She’d never imagined getting bullied by him; growing up, it was always her bullying Ryan. When did he get to ride on her neck?
The more she thought about it, the angrier she got. She grabbed her phone and started calling for backup. After years running wild in Jinling, she knew plenty of thugs, and Jinling University had its own batch too. If she rounded them all up, that punk Ryan Ling was gonna get wrecked. What could one freshman do, no matter how tough he was? She was basically the campus queen snake now.
It didn’t take long—seven or eight thugs showed up at Linda’s call. They were clearly tight with her, and just hearing ‘bully a freshman’ got them hyped. That’s their favorite sport: freshmen have no background, so bullying them is the most fun. Once a newbie gets ‘broken in,’ they’re docile as sheep.
"Wait, Linda, that kid’s your cousin, right? Should we maybe go a little easy on him?" One thug was surprised to hear the target was Linda’s cousin.
"No need, go as hard as you want. That punk means nothing to me—his whole family’s trash, not worth being called relatives. Having them as kin is just embarrassing. You don’t need to hold back. If he dares lay a finger on me, even beating him to death wouldn’t be too much!" Linda spat, then added, "Of course, don’t actually kill him. That loser’s been dumb as a dog since he was little. You can play him to death—strip him naked, make him bark like a mutt in front of everyone, turn him into a stray so humiliated he wants to die. That’d be perfect!"
"Got it, no problem, Linda. Tonight we’ll do whatever you want—and we’ll bring some dog shit too. When the whole freshman class is watching, we’ll smear it right on his face. That’ll be satisfying, right?" one thug said, sounding way too excited.
"Just smearing it on his face isn’t enough. Best if we force him to eat it in front of the whole school!" Linda bit out, extra vicious.