Evan Chu streaked forward like a shadow, overtaking countless people as he rushed straight toward the scene of the incident.
"Ryan Ouyang, do you have no shame? She doesn't like you, yet you keep pestering her—seriously, have you no self-respect?"
"Gus, did you forget yesterday's lesson? You actually dare to stand up again today? I wouldn't mind giving you a few more bruises."
At Heavenly Dragon Academy, fights between regular students are usually ignored. In fact, the academy encourages this, believing it spurs motivation and helps students improve their strength.
Both the Ordinary and Elite Classes have dedicated fighting arenas—the Sparring Platform, and another place called the Life-and-Death Stage.
The Sparring Platform is simply a place for combat; if students want to test each other's strength, that's where they go.
The Life-and-Death Stage, however, is for those with deep hatred—when it comes to this, only one person leaves alive; the other is destined to die.
"Enough talk, Ryan Ouyang! Yesterday I only lost because I wasn't paying attention. Today I'll show you what I'm really made of!" Gus Bullard shouted angrily, embarrassed to have his defeat called out in front of so many people.
Roxanne Lin's expression remained calm. She glanced at Gus, then at Ryan Ouyang, and smiled. "Gus, there's no need to bother with someone like him. So what if he got into Heavenly Dragon Academy before us? Big deal. I don't care at all. If anything happens, we'll wait for Evan to come out and handle it!"
Roxanne Lin had gone out of her way to ask the dean about Evan Chu's whereabouts, learning that he was cultivating inside the Stellar Cultivation Chamber. But she couldn't understand how he'd managed to stay inside for so many days, or where he'd gotten all those Starstones to burn.
"Roxanne Lin, don't be ungrateful! My big brother taking a liking to you is your good fortune—there are plenty of girls who would kill for a chance to get close to him!" one of Ryan Ouyang's classmates jeered, full of arrogance.
Roxanne snorted. "Heh, I couldn't care less. Honestly, he's not even qualified. If he wants to be my man, he should take a good look in the mirror first."
Ryan Ouyang was stung by Roxanne's words, his face darkening in anger. "Don't think you're so special! I hear you and Evan Chu are close—if I take an interest in you, it's your luck. Who knows if you're still pure, daring to look down on me!"
The crowd swelled, and more and more people cast strange, suspicious looks at Roxanne Lin—doubt about her purity was written all over their faces.
A rare anger flashed across Roxanne's beautiful face. "Scoundrel! You must have a death wish!" she spat.
Roxanne unleashed Ocean of Blossoms in an instant, attacking Ryan Ouyang directly, not caring if bystanders got caught in the blast.
Seeing Roxanne dare to attack, Ryan Ouyang barely reacted. "You think you can hurt me with that? Today I'll show you what real strength is!"
Ryan Ouyang had already given up on Roxanne—after being rejected again and again, his pride was in tatters. Plenty of girls in the ordinary class would throw themselves at him, but she acted all high and mighty, looking down on him.
He swung his palm with seeming ease, but it brimmed with stellar power. If he couldn't have her, he'd at least teach her a lesson—no mercy, no pity.
Roxanne saw that, despite its plain appearance, Ryan's palm carried terrifying force. After unleashing Ocean of Blossoms, she hurriedly retreated several steps.
Bang! The stellar sword-qi of Ocean of Blossoms collided with his palm force, erupting in a surge of energy between them.
Though Roxanne retreated several steps, the backlash forced her back even farther. Her chest heaved, and she glared at her opponent, furious.
Ryan Ouyang stood unmoving, his face twisted in arrogant disdain.
"Ha! With strength like yours, you dare look down on me? Think you're hot stuff just because you're pretty? If I can't have you, no one else will!" Ryan sneered.
Roxanne was secretly shocked—her Ocean of Blossoms was leagues above what she used to wield. After days absorbing star power from Starstones, she’d reached ninth-level Xuanwu, and with an Earth-tier technique, her attack should rival first-level Earth Martial strength.
But he broke it with casual ease—the number one of the ordinary class really was something else.
Gus hurried over to check on Roxanne. "You okay? That bastard really isn’t human!" he cursed.
"I'm fine. Someone at third-level Earth Martial is way beyond us—we'd best not provoke him." Roxanne replied, knowing Gus’s personality meant he’d still stand up for her.
Sure enough, once he saw Roxanne was okay, Gus charged up to Ryan Ouyang. "Bullying a girl? What kind of man are you? I'm going to teach you a lesson!"
"Oh? Will it be the Sparring Platform or the Life-and-Death Stage?" Ryan Ouyang sneered, clearly not taking Gus seriously.
"I'm not going anywhere—I'll stand right here!" Gus said, then threw a punch.
Gus attacked in anger. He considered Evan Chu a friend, and with Evan’s fiancée being bullied, he had to step up—even if he wasn’t a match for Ryan.
"Not bad—your punch even has the sound of wind and thunder, probably second-level Earth Martial power. Too bad you’re up against me!" Ryan laughed, throwing his own punch.
His punch looked just as casual, but the stellar force inside was even stronger than what he used on Roxanne. Off the Life-and-Death Stage, he couldn’t kill a student—but he could still cripple one.
Most of the time, the Sparring Platform is just for show. Students rarely use it to settle grudges, unless it’s for something special, like a title or a competition.
Gus was confident in his punch. Seeing Ryan strike so casually, he thought, "If you look down on me, I’ll show you how strong I am!"
Their fists, brimming with stellar force, collided—Bang! Another thunderous crash rang in everyone's ears.
Gus felt a wave of overwhelming force, sending him flying several meters before crashing to the ground.
"Overestimating yourself! You think a first-level Earth Martial can act tough in front of me? You’re asking for it!" Ryan sneered and flashed forward to stand over Gus.
Gus slowly climbed to his feet, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, his arm trembling. "You cheated!" he said, staring in disbelief.
"Cheated? You’re not even worth it! Today, I’ll make you pay for meddling!" Ryan said, throwing another punch.
At such close range, Gus couldn’t dodge—his only option was to swing his fist again, but in his haste, his strength was lacking.
Just when everyone thought Gus was about to be badly hurt, a shadow flashed by and whisked him away at the last possible moment…