We Martial Warriors

Early the next morning, Li Fei got up early as usual and went for a morning run.

He had already asked Hao Yi for leave today, so he did not need to train at the Military Academy. Instead, he was going with Li Tianyu to school for the Graduation Grand Exam.

At eight in the morning, the two arrived at Xingcheng Secondary Vocational School on time.

However, they did not enter the school right away, instead waiting at the main gate.

More than ten minutes later, someone rode over on a bicycle from the distance.

The moment he arrived, Li Tianyu complained:

"Chen Dog, why are you late every single time? You even dared to be late when we're taking our Graduation Grand Exam today."

The newcomer was also very young, with an utterly ordinary face. He wore black-rimmed glasses and looked exceedingly honest.

He wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"Even if I came early, I'd just stand there listening to the leaders lecture us. What's the point?"

His name was Chen Lixin, a good friend of Li Fei and Li Tianyu's at school.

He studied business and did not need to take the Graduation Grand Exam. His outstanding usual grades had already earned him the title of "Excellent Graduate," and he planned to take the university entrance exam next.

Though he looked honest, he was actually full of crafty schemes. Sly and cunning, he was well suited to becoming a shady merchant, so Li Tianyu had nicknamed him Chen Dog.

Today, Li Fei and Li Tianyu were taking the Graduation Grand Exam, and Chen Lixin had come as their friend to cheer them on.

"Come on, let's go in first."

Li Tianyu called out.

The three entered the school and headed straight for the sports field.

The sports field was bustling with people. Some were students from the Conflict Mitigation Department, while many others had come to watch the excitement.

Nine circular arenas had been set up around the edges and in the center of the sports field. They were the venues for the Graduation Grand Exam.

The leaders' speeches had already ended, and the Graduation Grand Exam was about to begin.

"Tianyu's here?"

"Sister Tianyu."

"Sister Tianyu, good luck later!"

After arriving at the sports field, quite a few Conflict Mitigation Department students took the initiative to greet Li Tianyu, and she smiled as she returned their greetings.

Li Fei and Chen Lixin were long used to this.

Li Tianyu was lively and cheerful, generous and warm toward others. She could easily mingle with anyone, so she had many friends and was very popular.

"That show-off is putting on airs again."

Li Tianyu suddenly said.

Li Fei followed her gaze. Someone ahead was surrounded by a crowd, chatting and laughing with great ease.

The man's features bore some resemblance to Chen Lixin's, but he was more powerfully built, and his bearing was far more flamboyant.

The man Li Tianyu called a show-off was Chen Lixin's cousin, Chen Lixin.

The Chen Family was Xingcheng's foremost aristocratic clan. Chen Lixin was the Chen Family's eldest legitimate son, while Chen Lixin was merely an illegitimate descendant of the third branch. Their statuses were as far apart as heaven and earth.

Li Tianyu was friends with Chen Lixin, but she found Chen Lixin extremely unpleasant to look at, feeling that he was far too pretentious.

As the Chen Family's eldest young master, even the teachers at school had to flatter Chen Lixin. Yet Li Tianyu, a girl, constantly competed with him and gave him no face at all, which infuriated him as well.

The two often clashed at school.

Over there, Chen Lixin also spotted Li Tianyu and the others and immediately walked over.

A group of people followed at his side.

"Tianyu's here."

"Little cousin, you're here too."

Chen Lixin greeted Li Tianyu and Chen Lixin.

As for Li Fei, he ignored him outright.

"I've already obtained an exempt-admission slot for Wu'an University's Zhi Ge Department. I heard Tianyu, you're planning to apply to Wu'an University too. Then you'd better work hard. I hope we can keep being classmates in the future."

Chen Lixin spoke with a flamboyant grin.

Xingcheng lay within Datong Prefecture of Feng Province, and Wu'an University was located in Datong Prefecture's capital city. Thus, the first choice for Xingcheng Secondary Vocational School students applying to university was Wu'an University.

With the Chen Family's influence, obtaining an exempt-admission slot was nothing unusual.

Chen Lixin had deliberately brought this up to flaunt it. It made Li Fei feel as though he had returned to his student days in his previous life, when someone in class would parade around after school with the latest Fruit phone.

"Getting into Wu'an University by relying on your family—what's there to be proud of?"

Li Tianyu shot back, her face full of disdain.

"I can rely on my family to get into Wu'an University. What can you do by relying on yours? Oh, right, I heard your little brother went to the Military Academy. Is it that your family can only afford to send one person to university, so the elder sister snatched her younger brother's spot?"

Chen Lixin laughed loudly.

He had never managed to completely suppress Li Tianyu at school. Now that graduation was near, he could finally display his superiority over her in the matter of getting into university, and he could not help feeling immensely pleased with himself.

He looked at Chen Lixin. "You too, little cousin. You knew the Li Family was struggling, yet you never told me. I could have lent them some money, so their sister and brother wouldn't have to fight over it."

"You motherfucker!"

Li Tianyu had already felt guilty over Li Fei being unable to apply to university. Hearing this, she flew into a towering rage and was about to rush forward to fight Chen Lixin.

After all, she had done this many times before.

Li Fei grabbed her by the arm.

To him, what was happening before his eyes seemed somewhat childish. But for seventeen- or eighteen-year-olds, it concerned their pride.

At that age, everyone still took face very seriously.

It was unrealistic to expect Li Tianyu to swallow it, so Li Fei decided to use the situation to secure some benefits for himself.

He looked at Chen Lixin and said calmly:

"I heard the Chen Family sponsored this Graduation Grand Exam?"

Chen Lixin froze for a moment, then smiled smugly. "That's right. The prize money for the top eight in this Graduation Grand Exam is being provided by our Chen Family."

This was the Chen Family's usual way of winning people over and building its reputation. In recent years, the prize money for Xingcheng Secondary Vocational School's Conflict Mitigation Department Graduation Grand Exam had all been covered by the Chen Family.

Li Fei looked at him. "You just said you were willing to lend us money, but we Martial Warriors would rather rely on ourselves than on others. Would Young Master Chen be willing to add another prize on top of the original reward, so we can earn this money with our own abilities?"

We Martial Warriors would rather rely on ourselves than on others. The surrounding Conflict Mitigation Department students' eyes lit up at those words. For no reason at all, they found them incredibly stirring—their youthful chuunibyou souls had been touched.

Those words also took a swipe at Chen Lixin, who had relied on his family background to enter university, and his face immediately darkened.

At the side, Li Tianyu looked at Li Fei in surprise. She had not expected him to respond like this.

Chen Lixin also glanced at Li Fei in surprise and secretly nodded.

In his view, Li Fei had handled this beautifully. Not only had he preserved his dignity, he had also dug a pit for the other side.

Though Chen Lixin was overbearing, he was not stupid. He sneered. "Fine. Then I'll personally put up three hundred yuan as prize money. Whoever takes first place in this Graduation Grand Exam will receive double the prize!"

The top eight in the Graduation Grand Exam all received prizes, but he was not going to add prize money for all eight. He would only add it for first place.

With Li Tianyu's strength, reaching the top eight was a sure thing, but taking first place was another matter. When the time came, that money might even end up back in his own pocket.

"Fine. Then I'll thank Young Master Chen in advance for the prize money."

Li Fei smiled faintly, as though first place were already in the bag, then pulled Li Tianyu away.

"Hmph!"

Chen Lixin felt as though he had thrown a punch into cotton.

"Who would've thought? That kid usually acts like a stuffy gourd and only knows how to trail behind his sister. Today, he suddenly seems to have grown up."

A companion beside Chen Lixin said.

"Idiot, does he really think his sister is guaranteed to take first place?"

"Tch, he's just putting on a brave front. What 'we Martial Warriors would rather rely on ourselves than on others'? It's only because they have no one to rely on."

Someone mocked.

"Enough!"

Chen Lixin shouted with a dark face.

He actually cared a great deal when others said he only knew how to rely on his family background.

He was clearly very talented too.

But since he had already locked horns with Li Tianyu, Chen Lixin absolutely could not let her take first place in this exam. The extra three hundred yuan was nothing; what mattered was the Chen Family's face.

"The Chen Family's face stands above all else."

This was the teaching Chen Lixin had received since childhood.

After thinking for a moment, he called someone over and gave a few quiet instructions.