"Test what? You want to let someone try you out?"
Outside the door, Ray Lei swaggered in, leading the group. He tilted his head and shot a disdainful look at Wei Wenhui, who was standing there. "Some nobody who popped up out of nowhere dares to come here and shoot his mouth off?"
"Kid, looks to me like you walked into the wrong place today."
Ray Lei snorted coldly, his brows furrowed and his stare icy.
He'd been in a rotten mood these past few days. Ever since the Illustrious Gate incident, the Lei family still hadn't managed to get back in Haizhou Master Lin's good graces.
Ray Lei had been right there in the stands that day, watching with his own eyes as Dylan Hu got soundly defeated.
Even now, Ray Lei still hadn’t gotten over the fear from that day.
That kid was just way too terrifying.
"Ray Lei, you’re here."
Tony Tao saw Ray Lei arrive, smiled, and nodded in greeting. He glanced over at Wei Wenhui and Guo Feng standing nearby, then said, "Almost forgot to introduce everyone—this is Ray Lei, Brother Lei."
"Students like you probably don’t get many chances to meet someone at Ray Lei’s level, but there’s one thing I can remind you about."
Tony Tao purposely paused for effect at this point.
He saw Wei Wenhui, Guo Feng, and the others like Sun Jie all looking toward Ray Lei, and only then did he slowly continue.
"Not long ago, in Illustrious Gate, Haizhou Master Lin’s disciple Dylan Hu swept through all challengers, racking up win after win. I’m sure you’ve all heard about it."
Tony Tao said this while looking at Wei Wenhui and the others.
"Dylan Hu entered Illustrious Gate as Ray Lei’s protégé."
He spoke again, his tone calm.
Chen Linyan looked completely lost, a bit confused. She still didn’t really understand Dylan Hu’s or Ray Lei’s status, but she felt a vague unease in her heart.
Tony Tao finished speaking.
"Haizhou Master Lin’s closed-door disciple!" A tall, long-legged girl from Beijing Film Academy exclaimed, her eyes lighting up as she looked at Ray Lei. "I’ve heard about him! He hasn’t been in Beijing long, but in Illustrious Gate’s underground ring, he dominated for ages. Pretty much everyone who fought him got crippled, and the unlucky ones were killed right there in the ring!"
"Last time I went to Illustrious Gate with a friend, I saw Dylan Hu in action—he punched a guy’s chest so hard it caved right in!"
"He’s a total super-fighter! Too bad I never got to meet him in person. Can’t believe you actually know him, Ray Lei."
Chen Linyan watched the usually quiet Beijing Film Academy students get so excited—it definitely didn’t look fake. Her heart started to worry a bit.
She turned to Sun Jie and Zhao Xin beside her, noticing their faces didn’t look so good either. She quietly asked, "Is that guy really that strong?"
She spoke softly. Chen Linyan had barely gone out lately—just sleeping, eating, and reading—so she wasn’t up to date on any outside news.
"Really strong."
Sun Jie nodded, glancing at Guo Feng—who looked pale—and at Wei Wenhui, who was trying to act calm but whose eyes kept darting around. She quietly explained to Chen Linyan, "You can think of Ray Lei as having a super enforcer backing him."
"The kind of enforcer who, if he came to our school, could probably knock out every single security guard by himself."
Zhao Xin nodded as well. "I heard about all this on the school BBS forum—he’s really strong, and dangerous too. But for now, there’s nothing to worry about."
Chen Linyan felt totally lost. Before she could ask why that guy was so strong, or why Zhao Xin said not to worry for now,
Guo Feng, whose face was a bit pale, looked at Ray Lei and tried to steady himself. He stiffened his neck and forced himself to speak, facing the swaggering Ray Lei: "I’ve heard of Dylan Hu too, but no matter how tough he is, didn’t he lose to the Young Boxing King?"
"If you’re so great, call Dylan Hu over! I heard he got wrecked by the Young Boxing King!"
Guo Feng had only heard this stuff secondhand, but now he was stuck and had no choice but to say it.
As soon as he said that, the Beijing Film Academy students, who’d been so enthusiastic, all shut their mouths and turned to look at Ray Lei, their eyes asking for confirmation.
The rumor wasn’t baseless.
A few girls were already wondering if they should try to get close to Ray Lei later.
"He already lost. Waving his name around now just to show off? That’s pretty laughable."
Wei Wenhui looked at Ray Lei, thinking hard but managing to keep his composure. At least he wasn’t totally crushed by Ray Lei’s swagger.
"Yeah, he lost, but his master—Haizhou Master Lin—didn’t!"
Ray Lei snorted. "If I know Dylan Hu, of course I know his master, Haizhou Master Lin!"
"Don’t you know? Haizhou Master Lin has been in Illustrious Gate these days, challenging the Young Boxing King and vowing to make him pay in blood—to kill him right there in the ring!"
Ray Lei puffed out his chest, full of confidence.
Truth was, with his current status, Ray Lei had no real chance to talk to Haizhou Master Lin. But nobody else knew that right now.
Just bluffing.
In this world, it’s all about who has the biggest reputation.
Ray Lei didn’t have to worry about being exposed. "Now that Dylan Hu lost, I’m working for Haizhou Master Lin."
"Haizhou... Haizhou Master Lin?"
Only now did Chen Linyan notice the name Ray Lei mentioned. Earlier, she’d focused more on Dylan Hu, and vaguely caught the Young Boxing King’s name.
Hearing that name, Chen Linyan froze and stared at Ray Lei, spacing out for a moment.
Suddenly, her mind flashed back to that day at the foot of Thousand-Saints Mountain, looking up at the peak, where a young man fought someone who seemed almost immortal, descending from the clouds.
That day, the boy was surrounded by fire, blazing fiercely, hands behind his back as he faced his opponent atop Thousand-Saints Mountain.
He won, utterly undefeated, triumphant.
That day was the first time Chen Linyan truly saw the rising star Haizhou Master Lin.
That day was also the first time Chen Linyan saw someone defeated by Haizhou Master Lin’s power.
It was Moyang of the Finger-Xuan Realm.