The burly freshman forced his way forward from the back of the line with three classmates, cutting through the queue and causing a commotion.
But although the line was in disarray, hardly anyone complained.
Even those who were unhappy held their tongues.
When they heard the burly freshman shout, many people silently moved aside.
"Make way, everyone. I have E-grade intermediate authority, and I'm in a hurry!"
"Make way, everyone. I have E-grade intermediate authority, and I'm in a hurry!"
Personal authority had been written into the Covenant Law, and over the century since the Gene Great Era began, it had become deeply ingrained in people's minds.
Under the Covenant Law, those with higher authority were entitled to priority access to ordinary public facilities and services.
Many businesses even noted in their terms of service that customers with higher authority would be served first.
Of course, "higher authority" was relative.
E-grade authority didn't offer much convenience in society at large.
E-grade authority was hard to come by mainly for students. Many people could work hard their entire lives and still have no trouble getting E-grade authority.
For example, government employees could receive E-grade authority once they reached a certain rank or completed a certain number of years of service.
Even in the most ordinary position, twenty diligent years on the job were enough to guarantee E-grade lower authority.
But seniority could only get you as high as E-grade upper authority.
At school, among high school students who all had F-grade blank authority, E-grade authority was a powerful weapon.
And this was E-grade intermediate authority, no less.
To rise from F-grade to E-grade lower authority required ten merit points. Fifty points earned E-grade intermediate authority, while one hundred points earned E-grade upper authority.
Under the current authority system, there were only two reasons a young man like this could have E-grade intermediate authority.
The first was that his father had been very powerful—but had died in the line of duty.
Under the Blue Star Alliance Covenant Law, if someone with D-grade or higher personal authority died, one of their children could inherit that authority, either as specified in the will or as designated by the relevant department of the Gene Committee.
The inheritance was reduced by one full grade.
That was only a rough explanation, of course. The detailed statutes governing the inheritance of personal authority filled an entire book.
In other words, if this burly young man's father had been powerful but had died in the line of duty, then making way for a hero's child was a duty of every citizen in the Gene Great Era.
The second possibility was that the burly young man himself was formidable, having earned more than fifty merit points through his own efforts and been awarded E-grade intermediate authority.
That possibility, too, deserved respect.
Merit points weren't something you could earn just by catching a random thief.
What counted as merit?
Making contributions and sacrifices for the public, the nation, the people, or humanity as a whole—that was what earned merit.
Since merit represented privilege, it was awarded under extremely strict standards.
Either way, the burly young man's E-grade intermediate authority meant that every blank-slate college student present, all of whom held F-grade authority, had to make way for him.
Under the circumstances, even Chai Xiao, the student who had just come to find Xu Tui, had to press himself against the railing to let them pass.
That was the importance of authority levels.
So when the burly young man showed his authority level and shoved his way through the crowd, no one got angry or tried to pick a fight.
Quite a few students moved aside of their own accord.
A few were too slow, and the burly young man simply shoved them aside. All they could do was glare at him resentfully.
They could have demanded an apology for being shoved.
Personal authority granted convenience and privilege; it didn't give anyone the right to bully others.
But making a fuss about it would have been pointless.
They could mutter a few curses under their breath and let it go.
And so the crowd in the queue parted like a tide, letting the burly young man reach the very front.
By then, Xu Tui had already handed all his documents to the teacher and was waiting for permission to enter the testing area.
After passing the documents to the teacher with both hands, Xu Tui took a moment to glance at his Personal Communication Device.
Eight or nine messages had come in one after another. Who could be so bored?
But after one look, Xu Tui froze.
Almost at the same time, the burly young man's shout came from behind him. "I have an urgent matter. Make way. I have E-grade intermediate authority!"
Hearing that, Xu Tui quickly turned around with a smile. "Classmate, I've already handed my documents to the teacher. Just wait a moment."
The burly young man at the front frowned but said nothing. However, another student beside him, a dark-skinned fellow, started cursing first.
"Brother Yuan told you to move. Are you deaf or something?"
At the insult, Xu Tui's smile vanished, replaced by a cold expression.
He didn't look at the dark-skinned student. Instead, he looked at the burly young man surnamed Yuan. "Classmate, personal authority is a right, a mark of merit, and an honor. I hope you won't misuse it and bring it into disgrace!"
With that, Xu Tui shrugged. "I've already submitted my documents. How am I supposed to move?"
As soon as Xu Tui finished speaking, the burly young man surnamed Yuan hadn't even responded before the dark-skinned student started cursing again.
"Get out of the way! You think you're in a position to lecture Brother Yuan?"
Xu Tui showed no sign of moving.
"Damn it, you've got a lot of nerve."
When Xu Tui refused to move, the dark-skinned young man rolled up his sleeves and shoved him aside.
The force sent Xu Tui staggering backward. His lower back slammed into the corner of a table, and pain drained the color from his face as he sucked in a sharp breath.
Xu Tui didn't start swearing.
Cursing now would make him look weak.
He shot the dark-skinned young man a cold glare, rubbed his back, and firmly walked over to the window, standing beside the young man surnamed Yuan. He braced his legs and shoved hard.
"Move."
"Teacher, how much longer until I can enter the testing area?" Xu Tui asked.
The ordinary teacher, who had just set Xu Tui's documents aside, glanced at him, looking a little troubled. Still, he answered, "You're next in line. Probably three to five minutes."
Xu Tui's forceful shove pushed the group led by the young man surnamed Yuan half a step aside. Anger showed on their faces, and the dark-skinned young man chimed in again. "Brother Yuan, this guy's actually disrespecting you."
"You son of a—still looking for trouble?"
Losing face, Yuan Shu shot out his right fist and grabbed Xu Tui by the collar.
This guy was incredibly strong.
He lifted Xu Tui right off the ground by the collar.
In an instant, Xu Tui found it hard to breathe.
"Damn it!"
Xu Tui wasn't one to take things lying down. The moment he was lifted, his right hand shot out, and his fingers clamped around the right hand of the young man surnamed Yuan like steel bars.
More precisely, he trapped three fingers—the index, middle, and ring fingers—and half the palm between them.
Then he tensed his grip.
He twisted and pressed down hard!
A lock!
The young man surnamed Yuan let out a muffled groan. His entire right hand and forearm were pinned, and his body involuntarily crouched.
Xu Tui landed.
The young man surnamed Yuan was nearly forced into a kneeling position, as if he were about to kneel before Xu Tui!
But Yuan Shu was no pushover. Risking a fracture in his hand and forearm, he drove forward with his left elbow leading.
Yuan Shu came from the Limitless System. That shove earlier had already shown how strong he was.
In terms of raw strength, he was definitely a good deal stronger than Xu Tui.
Xu Tui had managed to get the upper hand because he had activated the Gene Points related to the strength of his fingers and palm. He had simply adapted them into his Bean Flicking Divine Ability.
If Yuan Shu's charge landed, Xu Tui would at least vomit blood, even if he didn't break any bones.
Xu Tui was no pushover either.
He had plenty of experience with fights in the woods back in high school.
And after the tracking incident and the killing of the Cyborg Ahu, Xu Tui had begun to change. He had grown more decisive and ruthless.
If he didn't act, he didn't act.
But once he did, he struck like thunder!
The instant Yuan Shu curled up and charged at him, Xu Tui's left leg shot out like lightning.
Thud!
Xu Tui's left leg struck first!
It slammed into Yuan Shu's groin in a flash.
Yuan Shu let out a scream that cut off abruptly. His body curled up like a cooked shrimp, his legs clamped tightly together.
His mouth gaped open, but he couldn't make a sound. The pain seemed unbearable.
Mucus and tears burst out of him in an instant.
Everyone froze!
The whole crowd was stunned!
Nobody had expected such a trivial argument to turn so violent in an instant.
After a brief moment of shock, the three students who had come with Yuan Shu immediately roared in anger.
"Holy shit!"
"Shameless!"
"That was a dirty move!"
"Let's get him!"
The curses rang out almost simultaneously. At nearly the same moment, the three students who had come with Yuan Shu—whether out of loyalty or for some other reason—attacked Xu Tui together, trying to beat him up.
Chai Xiao, who had been watching from more than ten meters away, saw this and his expression changed. He lunged forward.
"Damn it, Yuan Shu! Have you people no shame?"
But the young men who had come with Yuan Shu ignored him. Their fists and feet were already flying toward Xu Tui.
High school students these days weren't simple.
Over their three years of high school, they underwent intensive physical training. Every now and then, their gym teacher would teach them a little about fighting or self-defense.
The joint lock Xu Tui had just used was something Class Mom Yu Zeping had demonstrated to them in his spare time.
What's more, students from well-off families didn't waste their money on physical training, martial arts, and fighting classes.
The three who had rushed in to gang up on Xu Tui moved with force and precision. Their punches and kicks kicked up sharp gusts of wind. They had clearly trained.
If those blows landed, Xu Tui would be in serious trouble.
That was why Chai Xiao, who had been watching from the sidelines, was so anxious.
Chai Xiao was frantic, but Xu Tui, the one in the thick of it, wasn't worried at all.
While taking Yuan Shu down, Xu Tui had already slipped both hands into his pockets, looking harmless as he prepared for the other three.
The instant the three moved to avenge Yuan Shu, Xu Tui whipped his hands out. As he fell back, he flicked his index fingers in quick succession.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The sound of air being torn through was sharp and brief.
Almost at the same moment, Black-faced Ma Zixu and the other two let out cries of pain. They clutched at their throats, staring at Xu Tui in terror.
Black-faced Ma Zixu was especially bad. A muffled sound came from his throat, and his face turned red as if he couldn't breathe.
Chai Xiao had just rushed over. He looked at Xu Tui, then at the four men Xu Tui had taken down, his face full of astonishment.
It was as if the Xu Tui he'd known until now had been someone else entirely.
The Xu Tui he'd known before.
He was always smiling when he spoke, warm toward others, and a handsome boy next door.
But the Xu Tui standing here now—
He was ruthless and decisive, with a streak of viciousness.
He looked more like a seasoned soldier!
"Tsk, tsk. These guys are all elites among this year's Limitless System freshmen. I heard Yuan Shu ranks in the top three among them.
"Brother, you're incredible!"
"You took down nearly half the Limitless System all by yourself!"
Chai Xiao gave Xu Tui a thumbs-up.
Xu Tui ignored Chai Xiao and kept his eyes fixed on Ma Zixu and the other two. A soybean was dancing nimbly between his fingers.
"Want to come at me again?
"This time, I won't aim for your throats. I'll go for your eyes!
"I'll gouge them out!
"Or even smash your heads!"
Xu Tui's voice was icy.
He had held back earlier.
But he wasn't bluffing.
They said that newborn calves weren't afraid of tigers.
And they said that the older the gangster, the more timid he became.
There was a reason for that.
When seasoned thugs ganged up on someone, they knew where to draw the line.
They might beat someone up badly and leave them in pain, but they wouldn't kill them.
But when young thugs or reckless youths ganged up on someone, a few punches and kicks could take a person's life.
They only cared about being ruthless and feeling good. They hit with all their strength, without thinking about the consequences.
It was all too easy to kill someone.
During the years Xu Tui had attended school in Jincheng Prefecture, there had been several incidents of students beating someone to death.
In truth, no one wanted or deliberately set out to kill anyone.
But when a brawl broke out, everyone was caught up in the heat of the moment. Who knew what might happen?
Xu Tui had even witnessed a fight between older students in a grove that had ended in a death.
After everyone had finished fighting and sat down to rest, someone finally realized one of them had stopped breathing.
Xu Tui didn't want to stake his life on luck, so he'd struck hard just now.
Of course, if those three accidentally killed Xu Tui while ganging up on him, they would face the full force of the law!
But what did that have to do with Xu Tui?
Even if it did—
It was already too late!
So.
The moment Xu Tui struck,
he aimed for a vital spot!
The throat!
The soybean pellets wouldn't be fatal, but they could stop the three of them—or even injure them!
Before you continue