Desperation and Serendipity

The setting sun, like a red-hot brand, pressed heavily onto the roof of Tianhai Third High School's dilapidated teaching building.

The air was thick with the murky smell of cheap boxed meals and sweat.

Lin Xiao shoveled the last bit of hard, dry rice into his mouth, his jaw aching from chewing.

He leaned against the greasy outer wall of the cafeteria, his fingertips toying with a crumpled piece of paper – a tuition fee reminder.

The number on it felt like a venom-tipped needle, pricking his nerves again and again.

"Tch, trying to hurry me to my death?"

He let out a scoff, casually crumpled the paper into a ball, and with a surge of frustrated energy, hurled it into the nearby trash can.

His action was dashing, but only he knew that the meager contents of his stomach had long since been digested, leaving him ravenously hungry.

He was genuinely good-looking, with sharp brows, bright eyes, and a nose that stood straight. His lips habitually curved into a faint, roguish smile, and even his washed-out school uniform somehow gave him an air of untamed wildness.

Unfortunately, in a place where fists and connections spoke louder than words, a handsome face was useless.

Everyone knew that Lin Xiao from Class 3-7, despite his good looks, was as empty as his pockets. He couldn't even afford the most basic Body Tempering Fluid and was the bottom-dweller of the Martial Dao class.

"Hey, Brother Xiao, still watching?"

His shoulder was nudged by his best friend, Fatty Wang, who crooked his eyebrows and gestured towards the cafeteria entrance. "Watching who? The campus belle, Su?"

A small commotion rippled at the cafeteria entrance.

Su Qingxue was walking out, surrounded by a few girls.

She wore a perfectly tailored white martial arts uniform, which made her skin appear even fairer and her posture as upright as a solitary bamboo on a cold mountain.

The golden rays of the setting sun fell on her cool profile, even her eyelashes seeming to be dusted with gold powder.

The surrounding clamor seemed to automatically part for her, and as she passed, the boys' eyes lit up, but they unconsciously held their breath, not daring to act rashly.

Lin Xiao's gaze also stuck to her, his eyes openly lingering on her slender waist and long, straight legs. His Adam's apple bobbed almost imperceptibly.

"Tch, she's really a sight for sore eyes," he clicked his tongue, pressing his tongue against his cheek. "But too bad, she's an ice mountain, freezing everyone to death."

His tone held a hint of sour envy, and a trace of numb unwillingness, crushed by the gap in social classes.

He knew his place; such a swan was something to be enjoyed only in dreams.

"Get out of the way! Are you all blind?!"

A rough roar shattered the brief silence like a broken gong.

The crowd parted like water disturbed by a thrown stone, creating a passage.

It was Zhao Hu!

This guy was nearly two meters tall, as bulky as a brown bear standing on its hind legs.

He had a buzz cut, and a small finger-thick gold chain hung around his neck, swaying with his brute steps.

His face was a mass of flesh, with a ferocious scar slashing diagonally from his brow bone to the corner of his mouth, adding a further touch of ferocity to his already fierce face.

He was the school bully, and more importantly, a genuine One-Star Martial Artist!

Among the third-year students, most of whom were still Martial Trainees, he was a beast that walked with impunity.

He had just finished playing ball, steam rising from his body. His sweaty, large hand grabbed the collar of a skinny boy in front of him and shoved him roughly aside like a chick.

"Get lost! Blocking your Tiger Grandpa's way?"

The boy stumbled against the wall, his face pale, not daring to utter a word.

Zhao Hu's gaze, like a searchlight, swept across the parted crowd, finally locking onto a petite girl beside Su Qingxue.

It was Su Qingxue's best friend, Zhou Xiaoya.

Zhou Xiaoya was delicate and pretty. Now, under Zhao Hu's undisguised gaze, filled with naked possessiveness, her small face turned pale, and she instinctively shrank back behind Su Qingxue.

Su Qingxue frowned slightly, a flicker of disgust in her cool eyes, but she remained silent.

She knew Zhao Hu's brutality and background.

Zhao Hu grinned, revealing his tobacco-stained teeth, and walked straight towards Zhou Xiaoya. His large, fan-like hand was about to land on her slender shoulder.

"Little Ya, why are you hiding? Come chat with Brother Hu..."

The surrounding students dared not speak out in anger, lowering their heads one after another, fearing they might be caught in the crossfire.

Just as that hand, carrying the smell of sweat and brute force, was about to touch Zhou Xiaoya's shoulder.

"Hey, Zhao Hu."

A slightly lazy voice, yet with a texture like the friction of metal, sounded out. It wasn't loud but clearly cut through the oppressive air.

All eyes instantly focused on the source of the voice.

Lin Xiao!

He had moved away from the wall at some point, his hands shoved into his pockets. He tilted his head slightly, the roguish smile on his lips seeming to deepen, but his eyes were devoid of warmth, like ice-tempered blades, fixed directly on Zhao Hu's outstretched hand.

"The young lady isn't willing, isn't your hand reaching out a bit too far?"

Lin Xiao's voice was not loud, even a bit slow, but it was like a stone dropped into a stagnant pond, instantly stirring up a thousand waves!

Silence!

Absolute silence descended upon the entrance of the cafeteria.

Fatty Wang's eyes nearly bulged out of his head, his usually ruddy face instantly drained of color. His lips trembled as he tried to pull Lin Xiao back, but his hand recoiled as if shocked midway.

The surrounding students were frozen as if under a spell, their terrified gazes flitting between Lin Xiao and Zhao Hu, whose expression was visibly darkening by the second. They looked like they were watching a madman about to be crushed.

Zhao Hu's movements froze.

He slowly, incredibly slowly, turned around. His bell-like eyes first registered shock, then were instantly ignited by the fury of being provoked by an ant.

A ferocious aura erupted from his burly frame like a tangible cold wave, making the legs of the students nearby tremble and nearly buckle.

"What did you say?" Zhao Hu's voice was squeezed through his teeth, each word carrying a hint of bloodlust.

He stared intently at Lin Xiao, his gaze like that of someone looking at a piece of rotten meat about to be trampled into the mud.

Lin Xiao's heart lurched violently, a chill shooting from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head!

That was reckless!

He recalled Su Qingxue's cool, slightly helpless gaze, Zhou Xiaoya's trembling fear, and Zhao Hu's arrogant demeanor. A surge of inexplicable anger had welled up within him.

He had calculated: Su Qingxue had a significant background, and his "act of bravery" might help him connect with her. At the very least, it would leave a good impression on Zhou Xiaoya. It seemed like a win-win situation...

But now, looking at Zhao Hu's predatory glare, he truly understood that the wrath of a One-Star Martial Artist was far more terrifying than he had imagined!

However, with things having come this far, backing down? That would be worse than being beaten to death!

Lin Xiao forcefully suppressed the tremor in his heart, his hand, shoved into his pocket, clenching so tightly that his fingernails dug into his palm.

He forced himself to meet Zhao Hu's murderous gaze, his usual roguish smirk refusing to falter. Instead, it stretched wider, carrying a desperate, defiant ferocity.

"What? Ears deaf? I said you, Zhao Hu, have a damn dirty mouth!"

The last three words were almost a roar, the sound exploding in the dead air.

"You're asking for death!"

Zhao Hu was utterly enraged!

He felt his dignity as a martial artist, as the school bully, being ground into the dirt by this piece of trash before him!

A beast-like roar erupted, and his massive body generated a gust of foul wind as he exploded forward. His fist, the size of a sand pot, was utterly devoid of any finesse, carrying a suffocating gale that tore through the air, aiming straight for Lin Xiao's face!

A faint, earthy yellow glow pulsed around his fist – the true energy from his cultivation of Raging Bull Strength!

Too fast! There's no way to dodge!

Lin Xiao's pupils contracted sharply, every hair on his body standing on end!

Instinctively, he crossed his arms to protect his head, his muscles tensing to their absolute limit.

"Bang!"

A dull, bone-jarring thud echoed.

Lin Xiao felt as if he'd been hit head-on by a speeding truck!

An overwhelming force slammed into his crossed arms, his bones groaning under the unbearable strain!

His protective arms instantly went numb. His entire body, like a broken sack with its strings cut, was lifted off the ground and sent flying backward!

"Ugh—!"

The searing pain forced a short grunt from him as his body arced through the air in a pathetic trajectory.

"Clang! Splash—!"

His back slammed heavily into several discarded empty food barrels piled against the outer wall of the cafeteria. The metal containers dented, and the greasy wastewater and leftover food within splashed out, drenching Lin Xiao from head to toe.

The pungent stench of decay instantly engulfed him.

Lin Xiao hit the ground and rolled several times before coming to a stop.

All his bones felt dislocated, and the fiery pain in his arms made his vision blur.

"Brother Xiao!"

Fatty Wang was terrified, his soul scattered. He tried to rush forward but was glared back by a fierce look from Zhao Hu, freezing him in place.

Zhao Hu walked over step by step, his heavy footsteps like the drumbeats of death, striking fear into everyone's hearts.

A cruel, sneering grin spread across his face as he approached Lin Xiao, who was sprawled on the ground. He loomed over him, his eyes filled with the playful cruelty and savagery of a cat toying with a mouse.

"A nobody who can't even afford Body Tempering dares to interfere in my business?"

Zhao Hu's voice was icy, carrying undisguised contempt.

He raised his foot, the thick sole of his steel-reinforced sneaker glinting with a cold metallic sheen.

Lin Xiao struggled to push himself up, but the piercing pain in his arms rendered them useless.

He lifted his head, his face smeared with oil and blood. Yet, his gaze remained fixed on Zhao Hu, the ingrained defiance and roguishness within him not entirely extinguished even in this desperate situation.

"Pah!" He spat out a mouthful of bloody phlegm, baring his teeth, stained with blood, his smile ferocious and wild. "Zhao Hu, this is all you've got? Bullying the weak?"

This sentence was the final spark that ignited the powder keg!

"Sharp tongue! I'll make sure that foul mouth of yours can't speak another word today!"

Zhao Hu's eyes blazed with ferocity. He raised his foot, imbued with immense power, and brought it down mercilessly towards Lin Xiao's chest!

If this kick landed squarely, he'd be crippled, if not dead!

Lin Xiao's pupils constricted to the size of pinpricks!

The shadow of death had never felt so palpable!

He instinctively tried to roll away, but the searing pain in his body and Zhao Hu's martial artist-level pressure made his movements sluggish, as if he were trapped in a bog!

It was over!

Just as the heavy sole of the shoe was about to land on Lin Xiao's chest, at the critical moment.

Hum!

Time seemed to hit pause.

Absolute silence. Absolute void.

In this suffocating stillness and darkness, a point of cold, pure light, a spectral blue, flared into existence deep within Lin Xiao's consciousness without any warning, like a supernova exploding!

The light quickly stabilized and expanded, outlining a perfectly rational, perfectly geometric rectangle radiating an inhuman, chilling aura.

Following this, lines of block text, also formed from spectral blue light, devoid of any emotional fluctuation, appeared clearly on the luminous screen, carrying a soul-piercing coldness:

[Life sign critical point detected… Mandatory activation protocol met…]

[Searching for compatible carrier… Confirmed… Biometric lock… ]

[Core Unit 'Martial Arts Modifier'… Loading… 10%… 50%… 100%…]

[Loading complete.]

A cold, concise, and toneless voice sounded not through his ears, but directly within the core of Lin Xiao's collapsing consciousness, each syllable like an ice pick striking his soul!

Simultaneously, the spectral blue screen fully stabilized before Lin Xiao's "eyes."

On the left side of the screen, a crudely drawn stick figure silhouette, depicted mid-punch, was clearly visible!

Beside it, a few glaring characters were displayed: [Target: Zhao Hu].

And within the stick figure, several lines representing qi circulation paths, shimmering with a faint earthy yellow light, were clearly discernible.

One particularly thick path, extending from the dantian to the right arm and converging at the fist, was flashing wildly, indicating Zhao Hu's impending, fatal strike!

Raging Bull Strength! Lin Xiao recognized that crude path!

But at a crucial juncture along this violent qi path – a minute turn on the inner side of his elbow – a glaring, pulsating crimson 'X' was clearly marked, like a bleeding wound!

Next to it was a tiny annotation: [Node: Quchi (False). Qi overload accumulation, structural weakness. Forced exertion may cause energy backlash, damaging meridians.]

Time, from the moment the screen appeared, seemed to stretch infinitely.

In the real world, Zhao Hu's foot, carrying the aura of death, was less than ten centimeters from Lin Xiao's chest!

His ferocious expression and violent killing intent were presented by the screen in an almost chilling "slow motion."

Run? Dodge? His body wouldn't obey!

Block? His arm bones might already be cracked!

Despair, like a cold tide, instantly engulfed Lin Xiao.

"No—!" A desperate will to survive, born from the instinct of life itself, erupted from the depths of his soul like a volcano!

It was the purest, wildest will, forged from the ultimate fear of death!

The moment the spectral blue screen appeared, all his spirit, all his intent, like a drowning man grasping for the last straw, flung itself desperately towards the crimson 'X' on the screen that marked the fatal weakness in Zhao Hu's technique!

"Change! Change it for me!"

This thought, though soundless, was like the most resolute cry of the soul!

The instant Lin Xiao's intent touched the crimson [X].

On the screen, the violent earthy yellow qi path representing Zhao Hu's fist trembled violently at the vulnerable node marked [Quchi (False)]!

It was as if an unseen, cold hand from the very fabric of rules had gently plucked a "string" that was already stretched to its limit, its internal structure bearing minute cracks.

Hum!

In the real world, the flow of time resumed.

Zhao Hu's kick, infused with all his Raging Bull Strength qi and aimed for a sure kill, was now only an inch away from Lin Xiao's grimy chest!

The sinister grin on Zhao Hu's face had contorted to its extreme; he seemed to already hear the pleasant sound of bone shattering!

However, in that split second.

"Ugh… Pfft—!"

A bizarre, strangled gasp, as if his throat were being squeezed, suddenly erupted from Zhao Hu's throat!

The qi in his right arm, which had been surging and about to unleash terrifying power, seemed to hit an invisible wall of sighs at the critical node on the inner side of his elbow, like a high-speed train crashing into it!

Boom!

A surge of earth-yellow energy, far more violent, chaotic, and utterly uncontrolled than anything that had previously bombarded Lin Xiao, exploded within Zhao Hu's own arm, especially at that vulnerable node, like an overloaded dynamite barrel!

"Crack!"

A bone-cracking sound so clear it made one's scalp tingle!

"Ah—!"

A howl, so piercing it sounded inhuman, ripped through the air!

Zhao Hu's mountain-like physique stiffened abruptly, then, as if his bones had been removed, he began to convulse violently and uncontrollably!

His right leg, which he had poured his full strength into, ready to stomp Lin Xiao to death, instantly lost all power and fell limply.

His right arm, meanwhile, twisted inward at an incredibly bizarre angle, his elbow joint visibly caving in with a large chunk missing. Bone fragments, stark white, pierced through flesh and sleeve, exposing themselves to the air along with a gush of blood!

Agony! An indescribable agony instantly consumed Zhao Hu's nerves!

The savage grin on his face froze completely, contorting into an expression of extreme pain and unbelievable horror!

Staggering, he stumbled back several steps as if drunk, leaving bloody footprints on the ground with each step. Finally, with a "thump," he knelt down on one knee, his left hand tightly clutching his right elbow, which looked like it had been smashed by a giant hammer.

Sweat beads the size of beans, mixed with blood, streamed down his pale face, and he emitted guttural groans like a wild beast from his throat.

The world fell silent once more.

This time, the silence was filled with extreme absurdity and deathly stillness.

At the cafeteria entrance, all the observing students, including Su Qingxue and Zhou Xiaoya, were petrified, their eyeballs practically bulging out of their sockets!

Their mouths hung open, but no sound came out. Their minds were blank, completely unable to comprehend the reality-shattering scene before them!

What happened?

How did the arrogant martial artist Zhao Hu, while stomping down with all his might, end up exploding the bones in his own arm?

And screaming so horribly?

Only Lin Xiao, sprawled in the sewage and garbage, wracked with pain and nearly suffocating, slowly, painstakingly raised his head amidst Zhao Hu's earth-shattering wail.

A cold notification sound, like the lingering echo of a judgment, resonated faintly in the depths of his mind:

[Command received… Target 'Zhao Hu' martial skill 'Raging Bull Strength' node 'Quchi (Pseudo)'… Parameter modification complete.]

[Source Energy Points: +0.5 (First effective interference).]

On the second floor of the abandoned gymnasium, behind a dusty, dilapidated window frame, a faint reflection from a lens silently vanished into the depths of the shadow.