Dual Threats, Yuefeng's First Move

He looked up in astonishment and met Yuefeng's eyes, still calm, yet now seemingly covered by a layer of frost.

"Ishizaki," Yuefeng said, his voice several degrees colder than before, "I'd advise you to step aside. Some things do no one any good once all pretense is torn away."

"Tear away all pretense?" Ishizaki steadied himself, so furious that he laughed instead. "You? Some wimp who wormed his way into the research group with women and luck? Today, I'm tearing that fake face of yours apart!"

He stopped wasting words. With a low roar, his pot-sized fist tore through the air and smashed straight toward Yuefeng's face!

This punch was faster and fiercer than the one in the Garden, clearly thrown in rage without holding anything back!

Within Slow Motion's vision, the path of Ishizaki's fist, the exertion of his muscles, even the savage killing intent in his eyes, were all crystal clear.

But Yuefeng did not choose to evade completely. He knew that today, he had to make Ishizaki thoroughly "understand" certain things.

He tilted his head slightly. The fist brushed past his cheekbone, stirring up a gust of wind.

At the same time, his right hand shot out like a venomous snake. Rather than blocking Ishizaki's punch, he thrust forward in a flash, his five fingers forming a claw as they precisely seized Ishizaki's slightly raised left wrist!

Ishizaki's punch missed, while his wrist was caught. Startled, he instinctively tried to yank free and counterattack.

But Yuefeng's fingers were like iron pincers, pressing down on a particular point on his wrist. A wave of numb soreness instantly surged through him, draining all strength from his entire left arm!

"You..." Ishizaki was shocked and enraged as he threw another punch with his right hand!

Rather than retreating, Yuefeng advanced. Like a swimming fish, he slipped in along the direction of Ishizaki's restrained left arm, then drove his shoulder hard into Ishizaki's wide-open chest as he swung!

The same spot as in the Garden, only fiercer and more precise!

Bang!

A dull thud rang out. Ishizaki felt as though his chest had been struck by an iron hammer. Intense pain and suffocation crashed over him, his vision went black, and he staggered several steps backward. His back hit the cold brick wall with a thud, barely keeping him from falling.

Clutching his chest, he opened his mouth wide and coughed violently, his face filled with unimaginable shock and pain.

The two lackeys were completely dumbfounded.

They had not seen how Yuefeng moved. All they saw was their boss's fierce punch miss, followed by the boy getting close and ramming into him once—then their boss was forced back in defeat?!

"Boss!"

"Fuck! Get him together!"

The two snapped out of it and charged forward with angry roars. One threw a punch at Yuefeng's head, while the other viciously kicked at the back of Yuefeng's knee!

Yuefeng's eyes turned cold. He did not retreat. With Slow Motion's assistance, the trajectories of both men's movements were perfectly clear.

He lowered his body slightly, dodging the kick aimed at the back of his knee. At the same time, he raised his left hand and met the punch aimed at his head with the outside of his forearm at an angled trajectory!

Smack!

His forearm collided with the fist with a crisp sound. Yuefeng's arm went slightly numb, but he successfully deflected most of the force, sending the other man's punch off course.

At the same time, his right leg snapped out like a whip. He did not kick at a vital spot, but precisely swept the outside of the other man's supporting calf, where his footing was unstable!

"Ah!" The lackey cried out, lost his balance, and fell to the ground.

Seeing his companion fall, the other lackey became even more frantic. Ignoring everything else, he lunged forward, trying to grab Yuefeng.

Yuefeng turned sideways, and his right elbow came down like an iron hammer, smashing viciously into the hollow of the man's shoulder!

"Urgh!" The lackey cried out in pain. Half his body went numb, and he crumpled weakly to the ground, unable to get back up for the moment.

From Ishizaki's first attack to the two lackeys falling, only a dozen seconds had passed.

In the narrow alley, only Yuefeng remained standing steadily. Ishizaki leaned against the wall, gasping violently, while the two lackeys groaned in pain on the ground.

The last rays of the setting sun slanted through gaps in the high walls and fell across Yuefeng's face, turning half of it gold while leaving the other half in shadow.

He slowly straightened up, brushed nonexistent dust from his sleeve, and turned his gaze back to Ishizaki, whose face was now a mixture of shock, fury, and even a hint of fear.

"Now," Yuefeng said, his voice still steady but carrying an icy pressure Ishizaki had never felt before, "can you listen to me properly, Ishizaki?"

Ishizaki clutched his still-aching chest and glared fiercely at Yuefeng. A raspy sound came from his throat, but he could not manage a complete sentence.

He simply could not understand how this transfer student—who had needed Ibuki Mio to bail him out a few days ago and seemed only somewhat clever—had suddenly become such a capable fighter.

Those movements, those precise strikes... it was like he had become a completely different person!

"You... you..." Ishizaki finally forced out a few words, his voice hoarse.

"What about me?" Yuefeng stepped forward and looked down at Ishizaki against the wall, his eyes sharp as blades. "Are you wondering how I suddenly became 'so formidable'?"

He bent down slightly, drew close to Ishizaki, and spoke slowly in a voice only the two of them could hear.

"Just as I'm curious whether the 'business' at the Old Gymnasium Warehouse has been going smoothly for you, Ishizaki?"

Ishizaki's pupils suddenly shrank to pinpoints! The color drained from his face in an instant, leaving him even paler than when Yuefeng had struck his chest! The warehouse! How did he know?! Could it be that night...

"Oh, right." As though he had not noticed Ishizaki's terrified expression, Yuefeng unhurriedly took out his phone, lit the screen, and waved it in front of Ishizaki's eyes. "To keep certain people from forgetting their place.

Or... trying to play tricks, I prefer to keep a few 'souvenirs.'"

He opened an audio file and adjusted the volume to a level just loud enough for Ishizaki and his two lackeys, who had barely managed to get up, to hear clearly.

"...Did you bring the goods?"

"...I-I brought them... This is the agreed amount... Ishizaki, c-can you really take care of it for us? If that person... finds out..."

"Bullshit! When have I ever gone back on something I promised?..."

Ishizaki's arrogant voice, discussing extorting "protection money," rang clearly from the phone's speaker!

Though there were only a few crucial lines, they were already enough to scare the soul out of Ishizaki!

"N-No way! You! You eavesdropped!" Like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, Ishizaki suddenly tried to lunge for the phone. But the pain in his chest twisted his movement out of shape, and Yuefeng easily dodged him.

"Eavesdropped?" Yuefeng put away his phone and looked at him coldly. "I was merely passing by and happened to hear something interesting.

Ishizaki, extortion, violent threats, even planning to frame fellow students... what do you think would happen if this recording were handed to the school? Or... sent directly to Ryuen?"

Ishizaki was struck as if by lightning, his entire body freezing. Hand it to the school? He would definitely be expelled!

He might even face legal consequences! Send it to Ryuen? Given Ryuen's way of doing things, he would undoubtedly abandon Ishizaki without hesitation to distance himself and preserve the class's "stability."

He might even personally "clean house"! Either way, he was finished!

Cold sweat instantly soaked Ishizaki's back. Looking at Yuefeng's calm, expressionless face, he felt a bone-deep chill for the first time.

This transfer student was far more terrifying than he had imagined! Not only had his fighting ability suddenly grown stronger, but he also possessed evidence that could utterly destroy him!

"W-What do you want?" Ishizaki's voice completely softened, trembling with despair. The two lackeys had also gone pale and stood silent as cicadas in winter.

"I don't want anything." Yuefeng put away his phone, his tone flat. "I only hope that Ishizaki will be a little more 'well-behaved' from now on.

Stay away from me. Stay away from Airi Sakura and Hiyori Shiina. Put away all those shady 'businesses' and thoughts of yours.

In Class C, be Ishizaki properly. Don't cause trouble for me, and don't cause trouble for Ryuen."

He paused, his gaze piercing Ishizaki's eyes like ice picks.

"If I find out again that you or your people are doing anything improper, or hear any harmful rumors about me, Sakura, or Shiina.

This recording will immediately appear where it belongs. Do you understand?"

Ishizaki's face was ashen. His lips trembled, and in the end, beneath Yuefeng's icy gaze and the deadly threat of that recording, he nodded weakly and squeezed out a word from his throat. "...U-Understood."

"Take your people and get lost." Yuefeng stepped aside, clearing the alley entrance.

As if granted a pardon, Ishizaki did not even care about the pain in his chest or his lackeys on the ground. He scrambled out of the alley.

The two lackeys also struggled to their feet and chased after him in a miserable state, quickly vanishing into the street outside.

The narrow alley fell silent once more. Only the lingering glow of sunset stretched Yuefeng's solitary shadow long across the ground.

He stood there and slowly unclenched the fist that had gone slightly pale from exertion.

His back was already soaked in cold sweat. The confrontation and intimidation just now had looked easy, but in truth, every second had walked along the edge of danger.

If Ishizaki had been driven into desperation, or if those two lackeys had fought more fiercely, the outcome might have been very different.

But he had succeeded.

He had intimidated them with strength and seized them by the throat with evidence.

He had not chosen to make the recording public and trigger uncontrollable consequences.

Instead, he used it as a sword hanging over Ishizaki's head, buying precious, relatively safe breathing room for himself, Sakura, and Shiina.

As for whether Ishizaki would truly behave... Yuefeng did not dare trust that completely.

But at least in the short term, Ishizaki probably would not dare provoke him or cause trouble so openly again. And that time was enough for Yuefeng to make further preparations.

He walked out of the alley and once again stepped beneath the evening light. In the distance came the laughter and chatter of students heading home together, as if it belonged to a completely different world from the tense standoff in the alley.

Yuefeng took a deep breath of the slightly cool air, feeling as though the stifling frustration that had weighed on his chest for so long had eased somewhat.

He knew this was far from over. Ishizaki's threat had only been temporarily suppressed, and Ryuen's "assignment" was still ongoing.

Sakayanagi Arisu's scrutiny still pricked at his back like needles. The shadow of his "father" still hung over him, and Kiyotaka's words about the "observation game" still echoed in his ears.

The road ahead remained fraught with danger.

But at least tonight, he had pulled back a point in his own way.

He started walking toward the dormitory district, where lights were gradually beginning to glow.

His figure looked lonely in the twilight, yet carried the upright resilience of someone made stronger by weathering the storm.

And Ayanokoji Yuefeng had begun to learn how to grip his own weapon tightly and forge his own path across this cold battlefield known as "the supremacy of ability."