Rival in Love

Only after An Ning took Lin Zhen's hand did she realize how inappropriate the gesture was.

Her delicate little face flushed red. She wanted to let go, but felt too embarrassed to do so.

Lin Zhen was also stunned for a moment, but the next instant, he clasped An Ning's hand in return and smiled at her. "An Ning, what's the hurry? We haven't eaten yet. Sit for a while longer."

An Ning's mind was almost completely blank. She nodded muddle-headedly and obediently sat back down, even forgetting that her little hand was still held in Lin Zhen's large one.

Li Tianhao could no longer keep his expression under control. The veins on his forehead throbbed faintly as he stared fixedly at Lin Zhen. "Lin Zhen, it seems you didn't hear a single word I said just now."

"I heard you. It just didn't make much sense, so I let it go in one ear and out the other."

"Good! You'd better let go of your claws right now, or you'll regret it soon enough."

In Li Tianhao's eyes, An Ning was his future wife. How could he tolerate Lin Zhen, this Little Brat, holding her hand? He stood up furiously, seemingly about to make a move.

But just as he rose, Meng Dong reached out and pressed him back down.

"Sit still. Can't you see they're dating?" Meng Dong blurted out.

An Ning's heart had already been racing from Lin Zhen holding her hand, leaving her in a dazed state. But when she heard Meng Dong say they were dating, she immediately snapped awake and hurriedly pulled her hand free from Lin Zhen's.

Lin Zhen was speechless. Meng Dong, that idiot, really was good at ruining things sometimes.

Yet Meng Dong's words provoked Li Tianhao even more. Unable to suppress the rage in his heart any longer, he picked up his phone and made another call. The moment it connected, he shouted impatiently, "Ma Dong, where the hell are you? Why aren't you here yet? Someone's humiliating me. Get over here and cripple him!"

"Mm-hmm! He's just a Warrior Level martial artist. Don't tell me you can't handle him—you definitely can, right? You'll be here in one minute? Good, I'll wait for you."

After hanging up, Li Tianhao looked at Lin Zhen with a sinister grin. "Lin Zhen, since you're so blind to what's good for you, I can only fulfill your death wish. Once Dongzi gets here, you'll know what true terror is."

With that, Li Tianhao leaned back in his chair, looking as though they were already doomed.

"Lin Zhen..." An Ning was a little worried.

"It's fine. Dongzi, order some food. I'm hungry." Lin Zhen was completely unconcerned.

Meng Dong also stood up, preparing to call a waiter over to order, but at that moment, the door opened and a lean, capable-looking young man strode in.

"Brother Hao, who's got the nerve to mess with you? Watch me cripple him!"

"Over here. Ma Dong, come here." Li Tianhao immediately perked up and called to him.

Ma Dong strode over. Li Tianhao pointed at Lin Zhen. "It's this kid, from Raging Wind Martial Hall. Don't worry about Raging Wind—they won't fall out with Myriad Hao Corporation over some insignificant student. Whatever happens, I'll back you up."

"Brother Hao, with those words from you, I can go all out. But you'd better take that beautiful lady outside first. If I accidentally tear this bar apart later and hurt you, that wouldn't be good."

Li Tianhao immediately said to An Ning, "An Ning, martial artists don't know their own strength when they fight. You should come outside with me first. Don't concern yourself with these savages."

An Ning rolled her eyes at Li Tianhao and instead moved even closer to Lin Zhen. She said nothing, but her actions said it all.

"You don't know what's good for you. Ma Dong, do it."

As he spoke, Li Tianhao had already left his seat. He had no intention of getting caught in the crossfire.

Seeing his opponent come right to his door, Lin Zhen also stood up and said to Meng Dong, "Dongzi, keep an eye on An Ning. I'll deal with this kid."

"Don't worry. I won't let sister-in-law lose a single hair."

Lin Zhen nodded and faced Ma Dong. "Helping a tyrant commit evil—you deserve a lesson."

"Stop talking big. I'm at the Level Nine Warrior Peak, almost a War General. Ever since I reached Level Nine, I've never lost against anyone at the Warrior Level. I've always looked down on you people from Martial Halls. Today, I'll show you... Huh?"

Before Ma Dong could finish, he suddenly looked at Lin Zhen with confusion. "I feel like I've seen you somewhere before."

Lin Zhen snorted coldly. "I've never seen you."

But Ma Dong did not move. He stared at Lin Zhen's face in confusion, studying him carefully for a while before his expression suddenly changed.

Behind him, Li Tianhao was growing impatient. He urged Ma Dong, "Ma Dong, what are you dawdling for? Hurry up and cripple this kid. I want one of his legs!"

Ma Dong turned to Li Tianhao. "Brother Hao, is this Martial Artist named Lin Zhen?"

"Yes, Lin Zhen. What, do you know each other? Let me tell you, even if you do, it changes nothing. Today, I'm not giving anyone face. You have to cripple him for me."

"So it really is Lin Zhen from Raging Wind..."

Ma Dong took a deep breath, closed his eyes for a long while, then opened them again as if he had made up his mind. Turning to Li Tianhao, he said, "Brother Hao, I'm afraid I can't help you with this. You should find someone else."

"Have you lost your mind? Do you know what you're saying? It's not that I can't find someone else—even if I could, I wouldn't bother. You take the salary I pay you. If you can't even handle an ordinary little student, what use are you?"

Ma Dong said bitterly, "That's right, Brother Hao, I take your salary, but the job has to be within my capabilities. You brought me an opponent I can't beat at all. Isn't that just another way of trying to cripple me? If Lin Zhen beats me half to death, you'd probably kick me aside immediately."

"What did you say? You can't beat Lin Zhen? Is your Level Nine Warrior rank just for show? You can't even beat an Level Eight?"

Ma Dong did not dare offend Li Tianhao too much, so he could only continue, "Brother Hao, ask around. Among Ice City's new generation of students, whose reputation is greater than Lin Zhen's right now? Forget a Level Nine Warrior like me—even a famous War General was nearly killed by one strike from Lin Zhen's spear. Do you think my Excellent rating is something special? He received Private Customization with a 99% improvement rate. There isn't even a record like that in the entire country. Asking me to fight someone like him—isn't that sending me straight into a fire pit?"

"This kid is that strong?" Li Tianhao looked at Lin Zhen skeptically, then said to Ma Dong, "I don't care. You took my money, so you work for me."

Ma Dong's expression turned serious. "Brother Hao, among martial artists, money can't solve everything. What martial artists value most is strength. I joined Myriad Hao Corporation not entirely for money. A large part of it was because your father, Li Wanfeng, is a War God powerhouse. Knowing this corporation has a War God backing it gives people confidence. If your family were merely ordinary businessmen, then forgive my bluntness, but no amount of money would make me join. Without a powerful martial artist in charge, no matter how much money you have, your foundation is unstable. Any expert could wipe out your corporation overnight. So, Brother Hao, can you stop bringing up money all the time? If you insist on using money to pressure me, then I can only resign."

Ma Dong's words left Li Tianhao stunned. As the young master of the corporation, protected by God of War Level parents and with more money than he could ever spend, he had never encountered such a situation before.

Under his parents' training since childhood, he had reached the Level Three Peak and was now at the point of taking a Gene Potion.

His father, Li Wanfeng, wanted him to take a Private Customization potion, with a success rate of nearly sixty percent.

Because Li Wanfeng himself had undergone Private Customization, Li Tianhao, as his son, was more compatible with it due to inherited genes. Their genes were similar, so the success rate was naturally high. This was the advantage of families practicing martial arts.

But even with a sixty percent success rate, Li Tianhao did not dare take the risk. He had proposed taking a Universal Potion, but Li Wanfeng rejected it. In Li Wanfeng's eyes, his son naturally had to become an excellent Martial Artist. Something as commonplace as a Universal Potion simply would not do. Father and son had been butting heads over this for the past few days.

Li Tianhao was not only cowardly but also rebellious. Over the last few days, he had simply decided he wanted to be someone who commanded from behind the scenes rather than a Martial Artist who fought personally.

But at this moment, he suddenly realized the importance of strength.

Ma Dong did not dare attack Lin Zhen, and no amount of money Li Tianhao offered could change that. This was the manifestation of strength.

Lin Zhen merely sat there without moving, yet Li Tianhao's side had already lost all face. Seeing the mocking smile on Meng Dong's face, Li Tianhao felt his cheeks burn. He did not even dare look at An Ning.

So the real reason he had always thought himself so impressive was because he had good parents. What others saw was his parents, not Li Tianhao himself.

He liked An Ning, yet An Ning had never given him a pleasant look. But she had allowed Lin Zhen to hold her hand. The thought cut into Li Tianhao's heart like a knife.

The person who had humiliated him today was Lin Zhen. He had never suffered such humiliation before, nor had he ever hated anyone so much.

After staring fixedly at Lin Zhen for a while, Li Tianhao suddenly turned and left the bar.