Sun Qian’s gaze lingered on Lin Ye for less than two seconds before shifting to Chen Meng. With a smile that did not reach his eyes, he said,
“Teacher Chen, what exactly are you trying to do, bringing your student here… to challenge my gym?”
Although Sun Qian’s tone remained polite,
anyone could hear the smell of gunpowder in his words.
Because of this sudden confrontation, the atmosphere in the entire third-floor training hall turned subtle.
The students who had been sparring fiercely all stopped one after another, their gazes sweeping back and forth between Chen Meng, Sun Qian, and Lin Ye. The air was thick with gossip and the scent of a good show.
At the side, Class Two’s homeroom teacher, Xu Zhisheng, saw the strange atmosphere and hurriedly took several steps back.
His posture clearly said: if you’re going to fight, then fight—just don’t splash blood on me.
Chen Meng did not care in the slightest. His large hand patted Lin Ye’s shoulder, producing a dull thud.
“Not at all, not at all. Teacher Sun, you’re exaggerating.”
“This student of mine has trained himself stupid recently and insisted on seeing what real experts are like.”
“So I thought, in all of Dongjiang No. 1 High, aside from your Class One and Class Two, there isn’t anywhere else that could be called a gathering of experts.”
“That’s why I brought him here to broaden his horizons, and to let him understand that there’s always a higher mountain beyond the next, so we can temper this brat’s edge a little.”
Chen Meng’s voice was loud and clear, without the slightest attempt to conceal it, instantly spreading throughout the entire hall.
On the surface, these words were modest praise.
But in the ears of Sun Qian and the group of top students, they took on a different flavor.
What did he mean by broaden his horizons?
What did he mean by there’s always a higher mountain?
Wasn’t he basically saying: my student thinks he’s hot stuff, so I specifically brought him here to challenge your gym!
Sun Qian’s expression instantly darkened.
He had long found Chen Meng unpleasant.
Always acting so damn impressive, arrogant as if he owned the place.
Everyone here was a highly paid martial arts teacher. What right did Chen Meng have to wear that sour face every day, ignoring everyone, acting like he was above them all?
Just because he had been on the battlefield?
As for the students he taught, none of them seemed particularly outstanding. Weren’t they still all stuck in a bottom-tier class like Class Seven?
Yet the principal and the school’s upper management treated this guy with great respect.
The jealousy and resentment in Sun Qian’s heart had been building up for a long time.
He admitted that in a one-on-one fight, even ten of him put together might not be a match for Chen Meng.
But!
This was not a contest of whose fists were harder.
They were teachers!
A teacher’s face was earned back through their students!
And today, Chen Meng had actually dared to bring his student right to him on his own initiative…
This was practically sticking his face out for Sun Qian to slap!
Sun Qian suppressed the secret delight in his heart and squeezed out a false smile.
“Teacher Chen, you jest. We’ve merely benefited a little from the school’s resources.”
“Since Student Lin Ye has such an interest, of course we welcome it.”
“A friendly exchange, mutual improvement and all that.”
He agreed so readily that Chen Meng was instead stunned for a moment.
But Chen Meng was too lazy to think too much about it. He had come today precisely to stir up trouble.
Lin Ye wanted to fight.
And he loved watching a good commotion.
They hit it off at once!
Sun Qian looked toward the field, his gaze sweeping over the students in his class as if selecting a suitable weapon.
His eyes skipped over the top ten pillars of the class.
Why use a butcher’s knife to kill a chicken?
Using an ace to crush a student from Class Seven would not be glorious even if they won. Instead, it would make him seem as though he were making a mountain out of a molehill.
What he wanted was a performance that seemed evenly matched, but ended in an easy victory.
He wanted everyone to see that even a random student picked by him, Sun Qian, could steadily suppress the so-called dark horse Chen Meng had carefully trained!
In the end, his gaze landed on a boy who was wiping sweat with a towel.
“Wang Hao, you’re up.”
The boy whose name was called suddenly raised his head, a flash of excitement and fighting spirit passing through his eyes. He quickly answered, “Here!”
A wave of quiet discussion rose among the surrounding students.
“Why did Teacher Sun choose Wang Hao?”
“Why not choose Zhang Yuqing? If not her, Liao Donglai would work too!”
“The intent to challenge us is already this obvious. Wouldn’t it be better to let Sister Yu suppress him with one hand?”
“You don’t know shit! If Sister Yu makes a move, that would be an unfair victory!”
“Although Wang Hao isn’t at the very top of our class, he’s definitely the one who has improved the fastest recently!”
“Isn’t this just right? Dark horse versus dark horse!”
Wang Hao was over 1.85 meters tall, as strong as an ox, and his bronze skin was covered with tiny scars left behind from years of bitter training.
He was not the strongest in Class One.
But he was the most desperate, and also a publicly acknowledged battle maniac.
Hearing his teacher’s summons, Wang Hao tossed his towel aside and strode toward the central ring.
His gaze was like that of a hungry wolf locking onto its prey, nailed firmly onto Lin Ye.
There was no contempt in that gaze, only pure fighting spirit!
Sun Qian nodded in satisfaction, then turned to look at Chen Meng, his tone carrying a trace of barely perceptible arrogance.
“Teacher Chen, Wang Hao is about mid-level in our class. He’s been in excellent condition lately. Letting him practice with Student Lin Ye shouldn’t count as bullying, right?”
Chen Meng grinned.
“Sure.”
He turned his head and looked at Lin Ye, who had remained silent beside him the entire time, then asked in a low voice,
“This Wang Hao is mid-level in Class One, but he’s ranked 39th in the entire grade.”
“Just over two months ago, he had only just been promoted from Class Three. Back then, his ranking was 89th. You could say his progress has also been extremely fast.”
“Got confidence?”
Lin Ye raised his head, glanced at Wang Hao’s aggressive gaze, then looked around at the curious or scrutinizing eyes of the top students around them.
He calmly shook his head.
“Teacher, if I beat him until he cries, will no one want to fight me afterward?”
Lin Ye was somewhat worried.
After all, his mission required a full ten thousand negative emotion points.
If he beat one kid until he cried, what if the others stopped playing with him afterward?
Chen Meng was startled when he heard this, then burst into hearty laughter.
“Hahahaha!”
“You brat, win first and then we’ll talk!”
“Knock one down, and I’ll let you fight ten!”
Lin Ye nodded, immediately began stretching and warming up by the side of the field, and only then slowly walked onto the ring.
The vast training hall fell completely silent.
Everyone’s gaze was focused on this ring.
Wang Hao rolled his wrists, his joints letting out a series of crisp crackling sounds. He sized Lin Ye up and down, the corner of his mouth curving into a cruel arc.
“Class Seven, I heard you were pretty impressive in the placement test?”
“Too bad this isn’t an exam room.”
“I’ll let you know that theory and actual combat are two different things.”
Lin Ye did not speak. He merely looked calmly at Wang Hao.
Above the boy’s head was an LV7 level marker.
There was already no need to say anything.
Being looked at with that gaze made Wang Hao’s heart seize, and an inexplicable surge of anger shot straight to his head.
What he hated most was precisely that kind of gaze!
Monthly tickets, please~!