I, Lu Jue, Have Decided!

It wasn't until Su Li had been gone for two to three minutes that the crowd finally snapped out of their shock.

All eyes turned back to Lu Jue. This time, however, there wasn't a trace of the previous contempt in their gazes. Instead, they were filled with an almost reverent awe.

They tried to find any clue on his calm, unruffled face that could explain why Su Li would act so "abnormally," but they found nothing.

The girls who had mocked Lu Jue earlier now felt their cheeks burning hot, wishing they could disappear into a crack in the ground.

So, his indifference wasn't him being aloof or clueless about romance. It was that his sights were already set on a height they could never reach.

With that thought, they exchanged glances, their excuses stumbling out awkwardly.

"Um, I, I suddenly remembered I have something to do..."

"My cultivation technique seems to be on the verge of a breakthrough, I need to go back!"

As they spoke, the girls lowered their heads and practically fled, their backs a picture of disarray.

Zhang Yang stood rooted to the spot, a fierce sense of shame warring in his eyes.

Damn it! Just a commoner!

Why?

That kind of woman, even I have to tread carefully around her. Why does he get Su Li's favor?

So what if he styled his hair in a little pompadour? He smells of poverty and that damned "manly scent"?

Besides these, what else does he have?

Strength?

So what if he has some strength! Even the top disciple in the Martial School's Fist Arts has to bow down and be a dog to us rich kids!

The more he thought, the more his face contorted. The reason he had forcibly pieced together shattered once more.

"Lu Jue, right! I knew you'd have the guts to step up! So you latched onto Su Li's leg!"

"Who do you think you are?! Just a commoner, no matter how strong, you're still just a dog!"

"I..."

Before Zhang Yang could finish his sentence, Lu Jue's figure suddenly closed the distance.

He took a step forward, twisted his waist, and his right fist shot out like lightning, carrying a fierce gust of wind straight towards Zhang Yang's face!

The ferocity of the punch made everyone around hold their breath.

But just as the fist was about to touch his skin, it stopped abruptly! It halted mid-air!

Lu Jue's gaze was cold, but his mind was crystal clear.

He wasn't stupid. A private brawl, once penalized, would inevitably affect the upcoming Quota Competition.

This punch was meant only as a deterrent, to shut the mouth that spewed foul words.

But just as he was about to retract his fist, a pungent, foul odor suddenly filled the air.

Lu Jue frowned and glanced down—

He saw that the color of Zhang Yang's crotch was dark and wet, a stain rapidly spreading, dripping onto the ground.

He had been so scared by this controlled, unfelt feint of a punch that he had lost control of his bladder!

"With just this much courage, you dare call others dogs?"

Zhang Yang froze in place, his face turning from red to white, then from white to green, finally settling into a look of disbelief, shame, and terror.

The surroundings fell silent for a moment, then a few suppressed gasps and snickers escaped.

"You..."

"Lu, you better remember this!"

Zhang Yang's eyes were bloodshot, his expression manic.

"Don't think you're the only one with backbone! How many of you so-called commoner geniuses only have a place to survive by being dogs to our circle?"

"Let me tell you the truth, Young Master Zhao already gathered everyone in our circle last night. We are determined to completely shatter the last backbone of you commoners in the Quota Competition!"

"By then, let's see what you stubborn bones will use to stand tall! What you'll use to compete!"

Lu Jue's gaze swept indifferently over the stain on the other man's pants, then slowly lifted to meet those bloodshot eyes.

He had long expected these rich kids to make a move, but he hadn't expected them to be so brazen.

A hundred thousand tuition fees, if it were six years ago, wouldn't have been an astronomical sum for many commoner families.

The saying goes, "Poverty in education, wealth in martial arts." The path of martial arts was simply a bottomless pit.

After nearly six years of arduous training, most commoner families had already poured everything they had into it.

Even if they could barely scrape together the money now, it would severely deplete their resources, affecting their investment in the final sprint.

This Quota Competition was originally the last narrow gate left open by the Jin Kingdom's government for commoner students.

If the rich kids were willing to compete fairly, it would be one thing.

It was clear from Zhang Yang's words that they intended to use some underhanded tactics to secure all the quota spots for themselves!

They weren't just trying to squeeze out the little remaining living space for commoners; they wanted to extinguish the last flicker of hope for the commoner students at this most critical juncture.

From then on, all commoner students would have only two paths:

Either they would have to attach themselves to influential families, living at their mercy, or they would exhaust their family fortunes and fall behind at the last moment.

And all of this was likely not their ultimate goal.

—What they truly wanted was perhaps to control the first round of selection for the Martial Arts Examination through this!

Thinking this, Lu Jue's expression remained unchanged, and he suddenly took half a step forward.

This tiny movement caused the shouting Zhang Yang to freeze like a rooster whose neck had been grabbed. His voice abruptly stopped, and he instinctively tried to step back, but his legs went weak, causing him to stumble, making him look even more ridiculous and laughable.

Then, he slowly spoke, his voice not loud, but carrying immense weight, striking clearly into everyone's eardrums:

"You think that by relying on numbers, by relying on those shady dealings behind the scenes, you can cover the sky with one hand?"

"These quota spots, I, Lu Jue, am taking them!"

"No matter how many experts you have, I'll match them!"

"No matter how many lackeys you keep, I'll crush them!"

"On the arena, anyone who dares to stand before me—"

"If there are ten, I'll crush ten!"

"If there are a hundred, I'll crush a hundred!"

As he spoke, he leaned forward, his gaze like a physical force pressing down on the trembling Zhang Yang:

"As for you, classmate Zhang Yang."

"I sincerely hope we don't meet in the Quota Competition."

"Otherwise, under the gaze of all the teachers and students, I will, openly and aboveboard—"

"Shatter your teeth, one by one, completely!"

With that, he suddenly stood up, an invisible aura of menace spreading out from him, as if causing the surrounding air to congeal.

He no longer looked at Zhang Yang, who was shaking like a sieve, as if he were a mere stumbling block that had been thoroughly crushed and was not worth mentioning.

His gaze calmly shifted to a spot in the crowd, landing on Liu Ga, who had yet to emerge from the shadow of his heartbreak.

"Liu Ga, let's go!"

With that, he turned and walked away.

It wasn't until his back, as straight as a spear, completely disappeared through the doorway that the pressure suffusing the area suddenly eased.

Many people simultaneously let out a sigh of relief, only then realizing they had been holding their breath. The suppressed murmurs spread like a tide.

The Quota Competition, before it had even begun, was already destined for a tempestuous clash.