Who is This Genius?!

Hah... hah...

Suddenly attacked, the man lying on the ground gaped his mouth wide, his throat struggling to draw breath.

"You motherf—"

Clutching his chest, he stood up fully, glaring viciously at Chen Yan by the window:

"Do you know who I am!?"

"Chen Yan, get out of here!" Wang Yang blurted out, finally snapping back to reality that Chen Yan had saved him.

"No one's saving him, Wang Yang, you animal!" the Suit Man roared, fixing his glare on Wang Yang and raising a hand to slap him across the face.

Another precisely aimed brick came flying in, smashing into the man's chest.

"Ahhh!!!" the Suit Man screamed in agony.

"You've got some nerve, some real nerve!"

He tried to sit up, only to find a figure standing before him—the Youth who'd thrown the brick.

"Do I have nerve?" Chen Yan said.

"You!" the man gritted his teeth, his eyes dark and brooding.

Chen Yan kicked him in the side, drove a knee into his chest, and raised his palm.

Like a thunderclap to the ears, the man's whole face went slack.

"Do I have nerve? I'm asking you," Chen Yan said again.

"How dare you!" the man roared in fury.

Shock and rage warred within him—he was a martial artist! Sure, he hadn't trained much since high school, and after starting work, he'd been too busy building his career to find the time.

But he was a martial artist.

Why couldn't he fight back? How was this kid so strong?

Chen Yan slapped him again, and the man's face flushed crimson.

"Do you know—"

Smack! Smack! Smack!

Chen Yan rained down a few more slaps:

"All I know is, you're weak."

From the side, Wang Yang grabbed Chen Yan, his eyes tense:

"Chen Yan, go. I'll handle this."

"Bastard, you motherf—" the Suit Man beneath them kept yapping like a dog.

Chen Yan glanced at Wang Yang but didn't stop his hands.

Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack!

The man went quiet, his eyes fixed on Chen Yan, filled with terror.

Until Chen Yan knocked him unconscious.

"Teacher, you can't handle this."

Chen Yan's face darkened as he looked at Wang Yang:

"In his eyes, we're not even people."

Wang Yang's mouth fell open. He squeezed his eyes shut and spoke, trembling:

"But you shouldn't have gotten involved, you shouldn't have... All I lost was a finger, just a finger...!"

Chen Yan pressed his lips together, watching Wang Yang, but a nameless fury still burned inside him.

He clenched his fists.

He wanted to kill.

Beside him, Wang Yang's lips quivered, feeling like a stone was lodged in his chest—he couldn't speak, couldn't breathe.

What now?

This man wasn't strong, didn't matter—but his master was Gong Qing, a Gong Family member.

"Secretary Ye, what's wrong?"

Someone suddenly spoke in the courtyard—another man in a suit, the driver.

The driver stood frozen in the yard, saw the scene through the window, his pupils contracting sharply, then bolted out.

Before long, Xin Gongxian, the head of Green Mountain Town's Town Martial Hall, arrived with a group of Martial Division officers.

They saw the scene inside the room, and every one of them gaped.

Luoshan County, First High School.

On the sports field, lights blazed. The Town Martial Class, 143 students in total, stood arrayed like a phalanx.

Beside the phalanx, the three high school principals—Chu Feiyuan and the others—stood alongside these students.

At the very front, four figures stood.

They were none other than Yin Yanjun, Chief of the Luoshan County Town Martial Division; Luo Puxin, Head Instructor of the Town Martial Class; and Chu Lan, Assistant Instructor. Yet these three stood slightly behind the person at the center.

The person at the center had white hair but a face that looked only thirty or forty years old.

He wore a black Town Martial uniform, exuding an indescribable aura that inspired awe.

Bai Yuyue, Minister of the Military Martial Department of the Yunmeng City Town Martial Division!

Behind Bai Yuyue and the others stood three stone tablets covered in white cloth.

These were the Origin Steles brought from the three high schools.

Inside the Town Martial Class.

"Zhang Qingsi, that guy at the very front is Chu Xuansheng."

Gao Yuan and Zhang Qingsi stood at the back, craning their necks to look toward the front.

Many students, like them, either casually or cautiously sized up the handsome youth in a black T-shirt standing at the very front.

They were either the geniuses of Luoshan County's three high schools or the top students from twenty-three township high schools.

But facing that person, they all seemed utterly mediocre.

Chu Xuansheng, son of the Chu Family, the strongest student in Luoshan County this year. Word had it he could even rank in the top thirty among geniuses in Yunmeng City.

"Only by getting into the Town Martial Class can you make friends with a genius like this!" Zhang Qingsi murmured, a look of pride flashing in his eyes.

He had won. He had entered the Town Martial Class. He could be in the same class as Chu Xuansheng. He was a genius too.

Nearby, someone was talking.

"Wu Chuhua, what's wrong with you? Your aura feels off."

"N-nothing."

"I heard you got wrecked by someone today. Even you have your days."

"Who said that? Zhang Tie? How dare he gossip about me!"

Zhang Qingsi glanced over, his eyes flickering. Wu Chuhua, a top-five genius from Second High—someone he needed to befriend.

He was about to speak when Wu Chuhua shot him a cold glare.

"What are you looking at? Get lost!"

Zhang Qingsi froze, anger rising in his eyes, but he quickly suppressed it. Wu Chuhua was not someone to mess with.

"Serves you right for getting wrecked," Zhang Qingsi sneered inwardly.

Just then.

"Unfair!"

A voice filled with a youth's boundless fury rang out from within the school. Zhang Qingsi and the others quickly turned to look.

"This Town Martial Class quota is unfair! I, Zhang Mancang, demand fairness!!!"

The entire phalanx—143 students—all turned their gazes toward the figure who had suddenly rushed onto the sports field.

"Unfair?" Bai Yuyue at the front frowned at Zhang Mancang, who had charged onto the field, then looked back at Luo Puxin.

"I have no idea," Luo Puxin said, his expression darkening. He stepped forward and looked at Zhang Mancang. "Your name is Zhang Mancang?"

"Yes!" Zhang Mancang spoke, a hint of nervousness in his voice. "I was the winner of the Zhang Ni Town Martial Bonus. The one who should have entered the Town Martial Class was me, but my spot was replaced by someone else!"

Gasps rippled through the crowd. Among the 143 Town Martial Class trainees, some looked surprised, others whispered among themselves. A few showed fear.

At the front, Yin Yanjun, Chief of the County Town Martial Division, looked startled. Bai Yuyue, Minister of the City Town Martial Division's Military Martial Department, frowned.

Within the Town Martial Class, many students stiffened instantly. Those like Zhang Qingsi stared fixedly at Zhang Mancang.

In that moment, sweat beaded on Zhang Qingsi's forehead. He grew tense.

He was the one who had replaced Chen Yan to enter the Town Martial Class. Zhang Mancang's appearance made his heart pound violently.

"Replaced!" Luo Puxin shouted in shock, then turned to Chu Lan, who stood silently beside Bai Yuyue. "Assistant Instructor Chu, you were the one who set the quotas."

At this, Bai Yuyue also turned a cold face toward Chu Lan. "Chu Lan, Luo Puxin just came down from the Frontline. He's new here.

If you can't find the book title, try searching for the author's name. Maybe it just got renamed!

The higher-ups only put you in charge of the Town Martial Class admissions, and you actually changed the quotas on your own?!"

The man named Chu Lan stepped forward calmly, bowing respectfully to Bai Yuyue:

"Yes, but I had my reasons for doing this."

Luo Puxin narrowed his eyes. Chu Lan seemed far too composed right now.

With the scene he had set up today, as long as things went as planned, Chu Lan would never be able to stay in the Town Martial Division.

"Reasons?" Bai Yuyue's authority radiated without anger:

"You changed your superior's rules without permission, and you call that having reasons?"

"Yes." Chu Lan said calmly:

"Minister Bai, Director Yin, the idea behind the Town Martial Class was to organize the county's most talented students to aim for the College Entrance Exam and bring glory to Luoshan County!

But the selection for the Town Martial Bonus has often been unfair."

Luo Puxin narrowed his eyes. Yin Yanjun, who had been silent, sighed:

"Competition on the Martial Dao determines winners and losers—that's already fair enough. The rules set by your superiors are best left unchanged; the more you alter them, the harder it is to explain.

You let others into the Town Martial Class for fairness, but others will think you took bribes."

Yin Yanjun's sigh seemed sympathetic, but every word was a needle aimed at Chu Lan.

Beside the Town Martial Class students, Chu Feiyuan's face turned ashen. In an instant, he felt like a knife was at his back, sweat dripping down his forehead.

How could he not see that the High Command was using the Town Martial Class quota to punish Chu Lan today?

Hadn't Luo Puxin taken their money? Why was he targeting Chu Lan now?

This was... a trap!

It was over.

He had changed several quotas himself.

Among the students, Zhang Qingsi clenched his fists, trembling all over.

He hadn't expected anyone to dare come here directly and expose the quota changes for the Town Martial Class. Even if it wasn't Chen Yan, he was still terrified.

"Zhang Qingsi, what's wrong with you?" Gao Yuan spoke up beside him:

"Don't tell me you also..."

"Shut up!" Zhang Qingsi barked, but the next moment he noticed many classmates looking at him and fell silent.

Zhang Qingsi was drenched in sweat, feeling like a rat being chased and beaten by everyone.

Earlier, he had thought himself a Heavenly Pride; now, he was nothing but a stinking bug.

Up front, Chu Lan spoke:

"It was wrong of me to change the quotas without permission, but even if I bear the blame, I still want true geniuses to enter the Town Martial Class!"

Chu Lan stepped forward, pointing at Zhang Mancang:

"Zhang Mancang, have you Awakened Blood Qi or not?!"

"No." Zhang Mancang shook his head.

"Have you walked the Body Tempering Path?"

"No... no." Zhang Mancang stammered, slightly panicked:

"But I did beat Cun Gao, who had Awakened Blood Qi!"

"Cun Gao Awakened Blood Qi, but he lost to you because his Blood Qi was in disorder earlier, not because you're stronger than him!"

Chu Lan sighed, a hint of helplessness in his tone:

"I know you won, and by the rules, you should enter the Town Martial Class. But Cun Gao is more suitable!"

A clamor of discussion broke out among the students.

Bai Yuyue frowned. Luo Puxin looked at Chu Lan.

Something was off!

Chu Lan should barely remember the names of Zhang Mancang and Cun Gao, but he seemed to have prepared for this.

"I want to challenge Cun Gao again!" Zhang Mancang's face flushed red as he clenched his fists.

"Then let's have another match." Chu Lan said quietly.

"Nonsense!" Bai Yuyue said disapprovingly, clearly against another match. The problem was Chu Lan, so there was no need to give him a chance to argue.

"I think another match is a good idea."

Luo Puxin spoke, a coldness rising in his heart. This was exactly what he wanted.

He had secretly trained Zhang Mancang and knew his current strength.

In a moment, Zhang Mancang would crush Cun Gao, proving once and for all that Chu Lan was just making trouble and ruining people's futures!

Bai Yuyue frowned, glanced at Luo Puxin and Chu Lan, and sighed.

"Then fight again."

From among the Town Martial Class students, a tall, lean figure stepped forward, calmly watching Zhang Mancang.

It was Cun Gao.

Among the students, Zhang Qingsi stared fixedly at Cun Gao's back, his eyes gradually filling with helplessness.

He could almost picture himself—the one who had snatched someone else's quota—being grabbed by the collar and thrown out by an officer of the Town Martial Division.

Sweat kept pouring from Zhang Qingsi's body. He didn't even dare to watch the fight between Cun Gao and Zhang Mancang.

Even Gao Yuan beside him had shed his usual honest demeanor, his eyes toward Zhang Qingsi now carrying mockery and pity.

The next moment.

Whoosh!

A wave of noise erupted.

"Zhang Mancang is no match for Cun Gao." Yu Zhiwen, who had come to the Town Martial Class with Zhang Qingsi, frowned as she spoke.

"Huh?" Zhang Qingsi quickly turned to look.

Then came a thud.

Zhang Mancang was sent flying by a single punch from Cun Gao, landing on the grass in panic:

"I... lost."

Time seemed to freeze.

Luo Puxin looked behind him. Bai Yuyue's expression had turned grim, staring at him in disbelief.

"Minister Bai, after investigation, twenty-one student quotas were altered without authorization by Chu Lan." Luo Puxin quickly reported.

"You..." Bai Yuyue wanted to curse, but instead turned coldly to Chu Lan:

"I will report this matter when I return!"

"Yes!" Chu Lan bowed, his face still utterly calm:

"But though I was wrong, I have no regrets."

Hearing Chu Lan's words, Luo Puxin's face turned ashen. He then glared fiercely at Zhang Mancang, still lying on the ground.

Zhang Mancang had never fought at full strength. Anyone could see he was flustered, making mistake after mistake.

But the fact remained: Zhang Mancang lost, and lost badly.

"Minister Bai, those students whose Town Martial Class quotas were stripped..." Luo Puxin gritted his teeth and continued.

"We'll discuss that later." Bai Yuyue said quietly, shaking his head slowly at Luo Puxin.

The Oath-Taking Ceremony continued.

Inside the Town Martial Class.

Now, the students who had taken others' spots to enter the class breathed a sigh of relief.

Zhang Qingsi relaxed, but couldn't stop the smile creeping onto his lips.

Cun Gao had actually won—and so easily.

He had nearly thought he'd be thrown out of the Town Martial Class by the High Command on the spot.

"I lost to Chen Yan, sure, but I was a bit flustered then. Give me another chance, and I won't lose."

Beside him, Gao Yuan let out a hearty laugh, his meaning unclear.

Up front, Bai Yuyue and Yin Yanjun spoke in turn.

"I hope you will not disappoint our expectations. These three Origin Steles will stand here permanently for you to comprehend!"

Bai Yuyue declared with a wave of his hand. Chu Lan smiled and ran behind him to pull the white cloth off the three steles.

All the students looked on, smiling.

This year's Town Martial Class truly spared no expense!

"The Crimson Gang Body Tempering Canon is the foundational Breathing Technique for all Hard Body Martial Arts in the Summer Country. Students on the Body Tempering Path may all learn it. Those on the Qi and Blood Martial Path have..."

As Bai Yuyue spoke, he suddenly frowned, looking at the three Origin Steles behind him. His gaze stopped on one of them.

He walked closer, placed a hand on that stele, and suddenly asked:

"Which school does this Origin Stele belong to?"

"This one is from Second High." Chu Lan replied. Had Bai Yuyue noticed something?

At that moment, Bai Yuyue's brow furrowed deeply. He turned to Luo Puxin:

"Later, check who came into contact with this Origin Stele today!"

Bai Yuyue's pupils contracted sharply. The Origin Stele had been infused with Origin essence in a short period of time!

Who? Who was such a genius?