Establishing Authority on the First Day

"What? You must be joking, right? A scrawny runt like you dares to boast so shamelessly? Go back and drink your mother's milk for two more years before coming here!" Suddenly, a piercing sneer rang out from the crowd, as if trying to shred Lang Lei's pride to pieces. The voice echoed through the air, sparking waves of laughter from those around him. The laughter spread like ripples, making him the second center of attention besides Lang Lei.

Lang Lei's gaze remained indifferent as his eyes fell on the person who had spoken. It was a tall man with an arrogant expression, looking smugly at Lang Lei, clearly pleased with his own mockery. The corners of Lang Lei's mouth lifted slightly into a faint, barely perceptible smile, but that smile carried a bone-chilling coldness.

Zhao Qin stood to the side, rubbing his temples in frustration. He was equally astonished by Lang Lei's talent—after all, reaching the twenty-ninth rank at just six years old was extremely rare across the entire empire. It was so unbelievable that he even worried the child might be exaggerating. Yet, on one side was a student highly valued by the Crown Prince, and on the other was the son of an Imperial Count. Zhao Qin found himself caught in a dilemma.

Lang Lei clearly saw Zhao Qin's predicament. He sighed inwardly, realizing he would have to solve this himself. This teacher, though capable, seemed far too conservative when handling such matters.

He had no intention of hiding his true talent anyway. After all, he was no ordinary person without backing. Anyone who dared to scheme against him would first have to get past Snow Empress and Ice Empress. Besides, he himself was not without means—the techniques he possessed were more than enough to handle any danger that came his way.

"What's your name?" Lang Lei asked expressionlessly, his eyes as cold as if he were looking at a dead man. His voice was calm and low, yet it carried a suffocating pressure.

"Fleke. What of it?" Fleke felt a chill run down his spine under Lang Lei's stare, but he forced himself to answer steadily.

But before his words even faded, Lang Lei suddenly launched an attack.

"First Spirit Skill, Breath of Destruction!"

With a soft chant from Lang Lei, a surge of powerful spirit power erupted like a raging torrent. The energy contained within this spirit power was terrifying, far beyond what a Soul Grand Master should possess, as if it could destroy anything in its path.

Before the other students in the classroom could even react, Lang Lei's massive hand shot out like lightning, darting past student after student, heading straight for Fleke, who sat in the back row.

It all happened too fast—too fast for anyone to respond. In the blink of an eye, Fleke was firmly caught in Lang Lei's grip.

Earlier, when facing Xue Beng and Xue Xing, Lang Lei had held back from killing them. Partly because of their special status, partly because he still needed to study at Heaven Dou Royal Academy, and also due to the Snow Empress's dissuasion and the fleeting oath of the Nameless Wanderer in his mind—all these factors combined had made him temporarily set aside his murderous intent.

But only temporarily...

However, what was this Fleke supposed to be? How dare he mock him so arrogantly? The fire of rage ignited in Lang Lei's heart, and he decided he would show no mercy to this reckless fool.

Fleke struggled desperately in the giant hand, his body tightly bound. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't break free. The hand was as if forged from steel—unyielding and indestructible.

After all, this was a hand capable of catching a Thousand-Year Spirit Beast! Grabbing Fleke was as easy as crushing an ant for Lang Lei. If he could effortlessly control a beast of thousands of years, how could he fail against a pampered, useless young master?

Just as Fleke was sinking into despair, Zhao Qin finally snapped back to reality. He was stunned speechless by the two purple spirit rings on Lang Lei, completely forgetting what he should be doing. Only now did he realize the severity of the situation and quickly tried to intervene: "Lang Lei, the person you're holding is the son of an Imperial Marquis! Let him go!"

But Lang Lei paid no attention to Zhao Qin's words. He sneered and said to Zhao Qin, "Teacher Zhao, you chose to stay silent earlier, so you'd better keep silent now. I might not be able to beat you yet, but once I grow stronger, you'll be the first one I deal with!"

Liar. I can take you now too.

Hearing Lang Lei's threat, Fleke's face turned pale. He stammered, "You... bastard, let... me go, or else my... my father will make... you die a horrible death!"

Lang Lei was utterly indifferent to Fleke's threat. The corners of his mouth curled into a disdainful smirk. "Oh, is that so?"

With that, Lang Lei controlled the giant hand, transforming it into several thick chains that tightly bound Fleke. Fleke's body was wrapped so securely in the chains that he couldn't move an inch.

Then, Lang Lei activated the Breath of Destruction again. Several massive cleavers materialized in his hands, gleaming with cold light, razor-sharp, as if they could slice anything in two.

Lang Lei stepped toward Fleke one step at a time, each step carrying an overwhelming pressure. Fleke stared at him in terror, his eyes filled with despair and fear.

Having just caught his breath from the suffocation, Fleke was terrified but still tried to put on a brave face. He refused to believe anyone would dare use violence at Heaven Dou Royal Academy.

"My dad is an Imperial Count! My big brother is Imperial Prince Xue Beng! If you dare touch me today, you'll regret it!"

"Is that so?" Hearing this, Lang Lei, who had originally planned to cut off Fleke's tongue to teach him a lesson, darkened his expression and changed his mind.

During his two years of study at Heaven Dou Royal Academy, he couldn't casually kill members of the Heaven Dou royal family. But as for the rest, there were no such restrictions.

He never liked being timid, though he did find trouble annoying. But now, this fool had delivered himself right to his doorstep.

Sure, Xue Beng was already on his little blacklist, to be settled after graduation. But for now...

Consider this an advance payment of anger.

"In that case, you can repay part of my anger on behalf of that bastard Xue Beng."

"Stop right now!" Zhao Qin keenly sensed Lang Lei's killing intent. He cast aside all hesitation—if a student died in his class, his teaching career would be over.

Moreover, this student's background was far from simple, not someone a mere teacher could afford to offend.

The aura of a Soul Emperor burst forth, instantly surging toward Lang Lei to restrain him.

But just as it was about to touch Lang Lei, an extremely fierce and unreasonable force erupted from within Lang Lei's body. Following that, Lang Lei's even more arrogant voice rang out.

"The power is slowly returning... not much, but enough."