Lin Shen! The Dream Rival in Every Male Student's Heart!

The next morning.

When the first ray of sunlight streamed through the enormous floor-to-ceiling windows into the teaching building of Capital Martial Arts Academy.

The entire academy was shrouded in a strange atmosphere, mingling excitement, awe, and tension.

Countless students gathered in twos and threes, whispering among themselves as heated discussions broke out everywhere.

And without exception, every topic revolved around the same person.

Lin Yuan!

"Have you heard? During yesterday's league finals, that dark horse Ye Xuan was taken out by Senior Lin Yuan in a single move!"

"Holy shit! I heard too! They said Ye Xuan used demonic arts and tried to kill Goddess Gu Ningxue, but Senior Lin Yuan descended from the sky and suppressed him with a single streak of Sword Qi! That scene was like an immortal descending into the mortal world!"

"So handsome! Seriously, unbelievably handsome! What realm is Senior Lin Yuan even in? A casual streak of Sword Qi crushed a peak Marrow Cleansing Realm cultivator who had burned his life force? He had to be a Big Shot in the Spiritual Manifestation Realm—no, perhaps even the Qi Sea Realm!"

"Who knows? Senior Lin Yuan's strength is beyond anything we can fathom! He's a living legend!"

"Sigh, from today onwards, Goddess Gu Ningxue is probably completely out of our reach. With a mountain like Senior Lin Yuan standing there, ordinary mortals like us don't even qualify to be his romantic rivals!"

The discussions were filled with shock and worship toward Lin Yuan's unfathomable, ghost-and-god-like strength.

Just Then.

A lazy figure strolled over from the distance, yawning as he went.

It was Lin Yuan.

The moment he appeared, the noisy discussions around him came to an abrupt halt!

Everyone's gazes converged upon him at once!

There was awe in those gazes, curiosity, worship, and even a faint trace of Fear!

It was as though they were not looking at a senior of their own age, but a Divine Being walking among mortals!

Yet Lin Yuan seemed completely oblivious to those looks, enough to make any young man float on air.

He did not even show an extra expression.

Still wearing that sleepy, languid look, he walked straight into his classroom without so much as glancing aside.

Then, amid the nearly frozen breaths of his classmates.

He expertly made his way to the corner of the last row.

Pulled out a chair.

Lay down.

And went to sleep.

The entire sequence flowed like drifting clouds and running water, completed in one smooth breath, as though he had practiced it thousands upon thousands of times.

The classroom fell utterly silent.

Every student held their breath, sitting ramrod straight. Even when turning pages, they unconsciously softened their movements.

A few minutes later, the class bell rang.

A middle-aged male Teacher with a balding hairstyle and gold-rimmed glasses entered the classroom, lesson plans tucked under his arm.

Out of habit, he cleared his throat and prepared to begin the lesson.

But his gaze inadvertently swept over the figure sleeping soundly in the corner.

The Teacher's body suddenly stiffened!

A layer of fine cold sweat instantly broke out across his forehead.

Of course he knew what had happened yesterday!

What a joke!

This was a lord whom even the Chief Referee of the Martial Dao Alliance treated with the utmost respect!

Never mind sleeping during his class—even if this lord tore the classroom apart right now, he would not dare let out a single fart!

In that instant, countless thoughts flashed through the experienced old Teacher's mind.

Should he pretend not to see it?

Or...

In the end, he swallowed hard and gave the whole class a smile uglier than crying.

"Cough, cough... Um... students, today we... we'll have self-study!"

After saying that, he slipped out of the classroom as though fleeing for his life.

The classroom once again sank into an eerie silence.

All the students looked toward that figure in the corner as though they were looking at an immortal.

Awesome!

Fucking awesome!

Ruthless and a man of few words—he slept until the Teacher voluntarily dismissed class!

After sleeping until he woke naturally.

Lin Yuan stretched lazily, then, under the respectful gazes of his classmates, sauntered out of the classroom.

He was planning to head to his usual spot in the Back Garden and continue his grand midday nap.

However, just as he reached the garden entrance, a beautiful figure blocked his path.

It was Gu Ningxue.

Today, she had changed out of her valiant martial arts uniform and into an elegant white dress. She had lost some of her Cool and Aloof air, gaining a touch more of a young girl's softness.

"Um..."

Gu Ningxue stood before him, seemingly a little nervous. Her fair fingers unconsciously twisted the hem of her dress.

"I heard... Ye Xuan withdrew from school."

"Oh."

Lin Yuan's reaction was as bland as if he were listening to the Weather Forecast.

He walked around Gu Ningxue, intending to continue inside.

"Wait!"

Gu Ningxue hurriedly blocked him again. Gathering her courage, she asked, "Don't you care at all where he went? A person like him holds grudges over the smallest slight. After suffering such a huge loss this time, he definitely won't let it go!"

"Care?"

Lin Yuan finally stopped. He turned around and looked at Gu Ningxue as though she were an idiot.

"An ant I stepped on vanished from before my eyes. Why should I care which garbage heap it crawled into?"

With that, he ignored the stunned Gu Ningxue and walked straight to the familiar Lounge Chair deep in the garden, lying down comfortably.

The sunlight was just right, and the breeze was gentle.

It was the perfect time to sleep.

As for where Ye Xuan had gone, how the Huangfu Family would react, and that supposedly impending Beast Tide...

Even if the sky fell, it could wait until this Young Master woke up.

After all, lying flat was the first principle of life!

Lin Yuan slowly closed his eyes.

Huangfu Family, Council Hall.

Smash—!

A priceless antique blue-and-white porcelain vase was viciously hurled to the floor, instantly shattering into four pieces and eight fragments!

"Trash! Utter, complete trash!"

Huangfu Zhuo's face was livid, his chest heaving violently. His handsome features had twisted somewhat under the sheer extremity of his Rage.

"How many resources did the Huangfu Family invest in him? We even gave him Thousand-Year Fire Lingzhi! And what was the result? Not only did he fail to win the championship, he even turned himself into a cripple by using a forbidden technique!"

"And in front of viewers across the entire country, he was trampled beneath Lin Yuan's feet like a Dead Dog! That piece of trash has thrown the Huangfu Family's face away completely!"

Below him, the Huangfu Family's core members all remained silent as cicadas in winter, not daring to even breathe loudly.

They all understood that this plan had failed completely.

Ye Xuan, the Chess Piece they had carefully selected.

Not only had he failed to become a sharp blade aimed at Lin Yuan and the Gu Family, he had instead become A Huge Joke, dragging the Huangfu Family down with him to become the laughingstock of Flame Capital's upper circles.

They had tried to steal a chicken, only to lose the handful of rice used to lure it!

"Young Master, there is no use saying these things now."

An Old Man with White Beard and Hair spoke in a deep voice.

He was the only person present who dared speak while Huangfu Zhuo was in a fury—the Huangfu Family's chief retainer, Uncle Chen, a Spiritual Manifestation Realm Ninth Tier expert.

"That Ye Xuan is already a discarded Chess Piece, not worth worrying about. The most crucial issue now is Lin Yuan!"

At the mention of that name, Huangfu Zhuo's pupils abruptly contracted, and deep wariness flashed across his face.

The scene of that man lying in a chair, making him kneel and cough blood with one movement, remained his nightmare to this day.

"That bastard... what exactly does he want?"

Huangfu Zhuo gritted his teeth. "He clearly has the strength to crush everything. Why does he still hide behind the scenes? Did he cripple Ye Xuan to uphold those so-called 'Rules,' or... was he deliberately targeting our Huangfu Family?"

"Hard to say."

Uncle Chen shook his head, his aged face filled with gravity.

"This Lin Yuan acts entirely without following common sense. No one can see through him. But one thing is certain: since he made a move, it means he already knows about the connection between Ye Xuan and us."

"This is a warning! A naked, undisguised warning!"

"Are we just supposed to let this go?!"

Huangfu Zhuo roared unwillingly.

"Of course we cannot let this go!"

A cold, sinister glint flashed through Uncle Chen's eyes.

"We are no match for him in a direct confrontation. But that does not mean we have no other methods."

He slowly said, "Young Master, have you forgotten? Before long, it will be the annual... Wilderness Hunt."

"The Wilderness Hunt?"

Huangfu Zhuo was stunned at first.

Then, as though he had thought of something, a look of sudden realization appeared on his face before turning incomparably vicious.

"I understand..."

"Uncle Chen, you mean..."

"That's right."

"On the Wasteland, Demonic Beasts run rampant and danger lurks on every side. Every year, quite a few geniuses 'accidentally' die within it. When the time comes, as long as we plan properly..."

"Even if Lin Yuan has a background reaching the heavens, if he dies beneath the claws of a Demonic Beast, who could say anything?"