Campus Unrest Begins

The morning sun filtered through the leaves of the tall plane trees, casting dappled light and shadow on the tree-lined path at Tianhai Third High School.

But today, the campus was filled with an unusual sense of restlessness.

The air seemed charged with invisible electricity, and buzzing discussions brewed and fermented in every corner.

"Did you hear? Su Qingxue! Su Qingxue broke through to become a martial artist! Just yesterday!"

"Really? Wasn't she stuck at the Martial Disciple peak? How did she suddenly..."

"It's absolutely true! Several people from the martial arts classes saw it with their own eyes! The aura at the cafeteria entrance back then... Wow! Bone-chillingly cold! It was definitely the aura of a genuine martial artist!"

"My heavens! How old is she? This talent is too terrifying! As expected of someone from the Su family..."

"Tsk tsk, the collateral branches of the Su family are probably going to hold their heads high now..."

Like a drop of water thrown into boiling oil, the news of Su Qingxue's breakthrough spread through Tianhai Third High School at an explosive speed overnight.

The entrance to Class 1 of the third year was even more crowded than usual.

Curious, envious, and jealous gazes, like searchlights, focused on the gradually approaching, cool figure.

Su Qingxue was still wearing her spotlessly white martial arts uniform, her posture as straight and tall as a pine tree in the snow.

But unlike before, a faint, almost imperceptible chill seemed to linger around her.

Her skin appeared even more radiant and translucent in the morning light, her eyes remained as cool as ever, but with a new, restrained sharpness, like that of ice crystals.

With every step, she seemed to carry an invisible aura, causing the noisy discussions around her to involuntarily quiet down.

She walked with her gaze straight ahead, through the path that parted automatically. Wherever she passed, students subconsciously held their breath, their eyes filled with reverence.

In this high school, still in its low martial era, the status of a martial artist itself represented absolute strength and status!

"Qingxue! Congratulations on your breakthrough!"

Several girls who were usually on good terms with Su Qingxue gathered around, their faces filled with unconcealed excitement and flattery.

"Sister Qingxue, you're too amazing!" "You have to look out for us from now on!"

Su Qingxue paused slightly, her cool eyes sweeping over the crowd, and she simply nodded slightly, not saying much.

The joy of her breakthrough had long been overshadowed by the earth-shattering experience of last night and the complex, strange "deal" with Lin Xiao, even cast under a lingering shadow.

She just wanted to get back to her seat as quickly as possible and escape these probing gazes.

However, an even more explosive and unbelievable "seasoning" was soon added to this boiling pot of discussion.

"Hey, hey, hey! That's not the main point!"

A tall, thin boy winked and said with exaggerated excitement, "Do you know what's even more explosive? The campus beauty Su admitted it herself yesterday! That she and Lin Xiao are friends!"

"What?! Lin Xiao? Lin Xiao from Class 7 of the third year?"

"You mean that Lin Xiao who's dirt poor, always acting like a hooligan, and was almost beaten to death by Zhao Hu yesterday?"

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible! How could Su Qingxue be involved with him?"

"It's absolutely true! Many people at the cafeteria entrance heard it! Su Qingxue said it herself! And after she broke through, the first person she looked for was Lin Xiao! Someone saw her coming out of the gymnasium, looking flustered!"

"Holy crap! What a bombshell! The ice queen and a bottom-tier punk? What kind of pairing is that?"

"Boom—!"

If Su Qingxue's breakthrough was an explosion, then the confirmation of her "friendship" with Lin Xiao was like detonating a nuclear bomb!

The entire campus erupted!

Countless gazes instantly shifted from Su Qingxue to another direction—the corridor in the secluded corner of the teaching building where Class 7 of the third year was located.

Shock! Astonishment! Disbelief! Jealousy! Contempt!

Various emotions, like an overturned paint bucket, mixed and twisted on everyone's faces.

"Lin Xiao? What right does he have?!"

"Could it be that he used some unsavory methods?"

"Is it possible that the eldest daughter of the Su family has a peculiar taste? She likes this kind of punk?"

"Nonsense! It must be that kid got lucky, who knows how he managed to butter them up!"

The clamorous discussions, like a tide, washed over every corner of the corridor.

Lin Xiao, amidst this surging tide of discussion, dragged his still tired and heavy steps, leisurely strolling into the teaching building.

The fixation on his right arm had been re-bandaged by Fatty Wang with relatively clean cloth strips, and he wore a loose, old jacket over it to conceal it as best as he could. However, the lingering smudges and traces of vegetable leaves on his face, as well as his unconcealable paleness and the deep fatigue in his eyes, all attested to his disheveled state last night.

Countless gazes instantly focused on him, like tangible needles.

There was curiosity, inquiry, but more than anything, there was undisguised contempt, jealousy, and schadenfreude.

"Look! It's him! Lin Xiao!"

"Tsk tsk, look at him, he must have been beaten badly last night? He actually has the nerve to come to school?"

"I really don't know what Su Qingxue sees in him? Is it just because he can take a beating?"

"Shh... speak softly! He's now the 'friend' of the great martial artist Su!"

Fatty Wang trailed behind Lin Xiao, his round face flushed red. His small eyes nervously scanned the hostile gazes around them. His body was tense, like a mother hen protecting her chicks, and he kept muttering under his breath, "What are you looking at? Haven't you ever seen a handsome guy before..."

Lin Xiao, however, seemed completely unaffected by the stares that could pierce a person.

A signature, lazy, roguish grin still played on his lips. He even provocatively raised an eyebrow at a few girls pointing and gossiping, earning him disdainful snorts and quickly averted glances.

"Heh, fame is a double-edged sword, Fatty," Lin Xiao said, his voice carrying a husky, teasing tone, devoid of any nervousness.

"Brother Xiao! What kind of time is this to be smiling!"

Fatty Wang stomped his foot in distress, lowering his voice. "Look at how they're looking at you! And Zhao Hu's gang..."

Mentioning Zhao Hu, the roguish smile on Lin Xiao's lips slightly tightened, and a cold glint flashed deep within his eyes.

Zhao Hu was crippled, lying in the hospital, but his lackeys were still around.

In the shadowy corner of a staircase that was the only path to Class Seven's classroom, several pairs of eyes filled with venom and hatred, like lurking vipers, were fixed on Lin Xiao.

It was Yellow Hair and his crew, whom Lin Xiao had extorted yesterday!

Watching Lin Xiao's smug, "little man who's made good" demeanor, and hearing the surrounding chatter about Lin Xiao and Su Qingxue's relationship, then recalling the money they'd been extorted for and the bone-deep fear they'd experienced yesterday, a surge of wicked fire mixed with humiliation and jealousy raged in their chests!

"Damn it! This bastard!"

Yellow Hair gritted his teeth, his fingernails digging deep into his palms. "He got involved with Su Qingxue and now he thinks he's somebody?"

"Brother Qiang (Scarface Qiang) said we have to avenge Brother Hu! Su Qingxue is protecting him? Hmph, can she watch him twenty-four hours a day?"

A thug with bruises on his face said sinisterly beside him.

"Just wait. Once things calm down a bit, Brother Qiang has a plan! By then..."

Another subordinate made a throat-slitting gesture, his eyes flashing with fierce malice.

Lin Xiao's steps faltered slightly at the corner.

He clearly felt those venomous gazes, like maggots clinging to bone.

Without even turning his head, the roguish smile on his lips seemed to grow colder, more dangerous in the shadows.

He continued to walk as if nothing had happened, but his left hand, tucked into his pocket, silently clenched the few remaining, nearly depleted fragments of low-quality Energy Stone Shards.

Source Energy Points: [-1.3].

The overdraft warning still echoed like a low drumbeat in the depths of his soul.

The weakness of his body and the pain in his right arm served as constant reminders of the harsh reality.

Su Qingxue's halo was a double-edged sword.

It temporarily deterred petty troublemakers (like Yellow Hair's ilk) in the open, but it also pushed him into the spotlight, attracting deeper jealousy and the hatred of lurking vipers (like the Blood Wolf Gang's Scarface Qiang).

This "friend" title wasn't easy to bear.

However, the shield effect had shown initial results.

Lin Xiao's gaze, cutting through the bustling crowd, fell upon the distant, aloof figure standing by the entrance of Class One, Senior High.

As if sensing him, Su Qingxue, who was about to enter the classroom, also paused.

She slowly turned her head, her cool gaze traversing the noisy corridor, passing through countless eyes with varied expressions, and finally met Lin Xiao's gaze, which held a roguish smile and undisguised scrutiny.

Their eyes met.

Su Qingxue's expression remained complex, filled with the powerful confidence of her breakthrough, the cool aloofness of a martial artist, but deeper down, there was a trace of indescribable vigilance, apprehension, and the helplessness of being forcibly bound.

She looked at Lin Xiao's disheveled yet defiant appearance, at the roguish smile on his face that inexplicably annoyed her, and her brow furrowed almost imperceptibly. Then, she quickly averted her gaze, as if looking any longer would dirty her eyes, and turned to quickly walk into the classroom.

The smile on Lin Xiao's face deepened, tinged with playfulness and the pleasure of control.

He withdrew his gaze, and under the scrutiny of countless disdainful, curious, or schadenfreude-filled eyes at the entrance of Class Seven, he lazily, swaggering slightly, walked into his designated corner at the back of the classroom, like a king inspecting his territory.

The center of the storm had already formed.