Rules

That day, sanshou class ended.

Chen Feng took a shower, then changed into his clothes in the locker room.

Lin Hao stood beside him, still talking about their earlier topic.

"Do you know the rules for this Core Disciple assessment?"

"What?" Chen Feng had put on a loose black T-shirt and was drying his hair with a towel.

"A free-for-all."

Lin Hao smiled. "Everyone fights at once, and the last person standing gets the spot."

Chen Feng was surprised.

He had thought it would be a one-on-one contest, something like a boxing match.

"All right, I'm only telling you because we get along. Don't let it slip."

Lin Hao waved a hand. Seeing Chen Feng's curiosity, he offered no explanation.

He turned and left in just a few strides, his baseball bag slung across his shoulder.

"This guy."

Chen Feng raised an eyebrow, already sensing that Lin Hao was far from ordinary.

He even felt that Lin Hao might have known the free-for-all assessment rules long ago, yet had deliberately kept quiet.

Only now, after realizing Chen Feng was no weakling, had he told him the truth.

"A free-for-all, then."

"There are still five days. I can get even stronger."

Chen Feng shook his head and stopped dwelling on it.

After dealing with the supermarket incident and defeating Zheng Qiang, confidence had quietly taken root in his heart.

As long as they settled things with their fists, there was no one in the entire sanshou training class he feared.

After packing up his clothes and putting them into his tote bag, Chen Feng planned to leave early and head to the supermarket to take over his shift.

Tap, tap!

Just as he was about to leave, Xu Dongtai walked in.

The burly figure brushed past him, while Zhou Xin beside him avoided Chen Feng's gaze.

Thinking of how he had glared at and provoked Chen Feng that day, Zhou Xin still felt somewhat intimidated.

Chen Feng's expression remained calm. He was not familiar with either of them and had no intention of interacting with them much.

"Chen Feng."

Suddenly, at the instant they passed each other, Xu Dongtai stopped and spoke first.

Chen Feng halted and turned his head to look at him.

"Did not expect you to hide yourself so deeply."

"If not for today's sparring, you probably planned to keep hiding until assessment day, didn't you?"

His voice was low, carrying more regard than usual.

Yet Chen Feng sensed a trace of malice within it.

There was mostly coldness, mixed with suspicion.

Clearly, Xu Dongtai had mistaken him for someone who had concealed his strength from the start, intending to catch everyone off guard during the final assessment and snatch the spot.

Chen Feng shook his head, not wanting to answer.

Xu Dongtai already had his own answer. Explaining would be pointless.

Besides, why should he explain himself?

He immediately moved on, quickly walking out of the locker room.

The tapping footsteps faded into the distance. Xu Dongtai stood where he was, his face dark as water as the displeasure in his eyes slowly sank deeper.

He had not expected Chen Feng to dare ignore him.

For a moment, he wanted to stop him and give him a proper beating in the locker room.

"Dong Ge."

Seeing this, Zhou Xin barely dared breathe. He could only cautiously test the waters. "Chen Feng really doesn't know what's good for him."

"How about we call a few people and teach him a lesson one night?"

"Do you think Coach Lu is an idiot?"

Xu Dongtai turned and shot him a sideways glare, his grim, impatient expression making it seem as though he were looking at a fool.

"Yan Wu Academy hates nothing more than people striking in secret and harming fellow disciples."

"If I did that, I'd never enter the core of the martial arts hall for the rest of my life."

His tone was gloomy. Zhou Xin choked on his words and did not dare make another sound.

"You don't need to worry about this."

"Only the weak hide themselves. The strong have never feared anything."

Xu Dongtai spoke impatiently, then withdrew his gaze. In a low voice, he said, "I saw his strength today. Though he still held back some tricks, he's no more than Amateur Fourth Dan."

"Five days... Heh. When assessment day comes, I'll beat him to a pulp myself."

The bus has arrived. Passengers, please exit in an orderly manner through the rear door.

By the roadside, the bus slowly pulled into the stop.

Holding his bag of clothes, Chen Feng took out an energy bar and bit into it, chewing and swallowing to replenish the stamina he had spent training.

A faint crunch sounded as his wary gaze swept from side to side.

It was not only because of the thugs, but also because of Xu Dongtai in the locker room.

Though he felt the chance of being attacked in secret was low, he was still more guarded than usual.

Just in case, he wanted to go farther.

Tap, tap!

Then, with steady steps, he crossed the crowd along the crosswalk at the traffic-light intersection and reached the other side.

The Yong Le Fu supermarket sign came into view, and once again, he arrived on time to take over his shift.

"You're here, Xiaofeng!"

"Mm, Aunt He, Aunt Zhang."

"Such a sweet boy. I heard from Sister Zhang that you were incredible last night!"

Though He Xiuping was already over fifty, she had taken excellent care of herself, and her eyes were bright.

Her voice was gentle as water when she spoke, and her praise made Chen Feng smile helplessly.

"Aunt He, I only did what I should have done."

"That may be true, but not everyone can do it."

Aunt He smiled warmly and continued praising him a few more times.

If she had not been in such a hurry to pick up her grandson, she might have gone on talking for quite a while longer.

"Xiu Ping is just like that. Don't mind her, Xiaofeng."

Aunt Zhang watched Aunt He drive away in her Flying Speed Sedan, then said with a smile.

What happened last night had left her in a momentary lapse for a long time. Even now, remembering it still made her feel afraid.

Though that thug had only wanted money, what if something had gone wrong?

If they accidentally angered him or he saw their physical features clearly, the danger would have been just as great.

At that thought, Aunt Zhang's attitude toward Chen Feng grew even gentler. She thanked him sincerely, "Xiaofeng, thank you so much for yesterday."

As she spoke, she specifically bought a whole box of Superman Brand energy bars and set it beside him.

"I don't know anything about fighting, but my son said this stuff is good for the body and helps with boxing practice and fitness."

"It's just a small token from Aunt Zhang. Please accept it."

Her attitude was sincere and earnest, so Chen Feng could only nod and accept.

"Thank you, Aunt Zhang."

"Ah, I should be thanking you. Why are you thanking me?"

The two chatted idly as Chen Feng quickly put on his red employee vest and took his place at the checkout counter.

At last, tapping footsteps sounded as Li Hongxia, who was taking over the shift, finally arrived.

"Sorry, Sister Zhang. I'm late again."

Li Hongxia was still wearing her yellow delivery uniform, sweat running down her sallow face.

Besides that, there was a young girl beside her.

She looked sixteen or seventeen, dressed in a light-colored long dress and carrying an old Pink Backpack.

Her long black hair was pinned behind her head with a white hair clip. Her bangs covered her forehead, and she had fair skin and delicate features, giving her a rather obedient appearance.

"It's fine, Hongxia. It's only been a few minutes. I'd just be sitting around doing nothing at home anyway."

"Oh, Xiao Yao came too?"

"Yes, Xiao Yao, hurry and greet her."

Li Hongxia quickly spoke up, signaling to the girl beside her.

"Aunt Zhang."

The girl called out, her voice somewhat soft.

"Yes, such a good girl." Aunt Zhang nodded with a cheerful smile.

"This is Brother Chen Feng, Mommy's coworker."

"This is my daughter, Xu Yao. Just call her Xiao Yao." Li Hongxia quickly took Xu Yao's hand and introduced her to Chen Feng with a smile.

She had also heard roughly what happened last night. As she looked at Chen Feng now, her gaze held far more goodwill and respect than usual.

"Hello, Brother Chen Feng."

Xu Yao hurriedly greeted him, looking somewhat timid.

"Hello, Xiao Yao." Chen Feng smiled and nodded.

His six-foot figure looked even more muscular under the lights, with faint shadows lurking behind him.

Seeing this, Xu Yao nodded timidly and unconsciously shrank back a little.