You Can All Come at Me Together!

Li Qunfan hadn't had a good few days.

Ever since that new kid who'd just joined the sect beat him up, his fellow disciples had started looking at him differently.

He had spent over two years painstakingly cultivating in the Inner Sect. His strength had already broken through the first Mysterious Pass; he could lift a massive cauldron and crush a skull with his bare hand.

Yet with all that strength, he'd been knocked unconscious by a kid who'd been in the sect for less than two days.

Sure, his hands had been bound, he'd let his guard down, and the sect rules had prevented him from fighting back. But it was still humiliating.

But that wasn't what upset Li Qunfan most. What hurt him most was this:

"Does Xiao Fang really not like me?" Li Qunfan lay on his side in bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep.

For the past few days, every time he closed his eyes, Fang Can's mocking words echoed in his mind:

She never loved you!

Never loved you!

You...

Li Qunfan's goal in practicing martial arts was to become strong enough to be worthy of her, so they could fall in love and be together.

But Fang Can's quiet words had cruelly exposed the truth: Xiao Fang had never liked him.

"That's impossible. Xiao Fang must like me!"

Li Qunfan's bloodshot eyes widened. He tried to use the Role-Playing Method, but it had no effect.

Fang Can's calm words were like a sharp knife driven deep into his heart, leaving the wound to bleed without end.

Idealist Martial Dao meant finding a goal, finding a conviction, and then pursuing it without wavering.

But once a martial artist began to doubt himself, there was no turning back.

After days of frenzied self-training, Li Qunfan was horrified to discover that his martial arts realm had not improved. Instead, it was gradually declining.

As his martial will faded, the proportion of new blood in his body dwindled step by step.

In just four or five days, his physical strength had permanently diminished by a full tenth. If word of this got out, he might be sent to the Menial Servant Courtyard.

"Fang Can! It's all that Fang Can's fault! I'll break every one of his limbs!"

Seething with hatred, Li Qunfan smashed the table in his room with one punch, his eyes bloodshot.

"One month. In just one month, the rules will allow regular sparring again."

Li Qunfan practically roared, "I'll beat him until he admits Xiao Fang loves me!"

At the thought, Li Qunfan finally calmed down a little. Feeling the weakness in his body, he drifted off to sleep in a foul mood.

His sleep was still poor that night.

"Why am I on the floor?"

The next day, Fang Can slowly opened his eyes and looked around. Only then did he realize he'd woken up on the floor.

He gently rubbed his heavy head and tried to recall what had happened the night before.

"I remember practicing before I passed out. Since I took ten pills of arsenic at once, the more I trained, the worse I felt. I thought I'd sit down and rest for a bit, and then I lost consciousness."

At the memory, Fang Can more or less understood what had happened. He'd probably overdone it with the pills and passed out.

Pushing himself up from the floor, Fang Can changed into a fresh set of clothes and thought, "I'd better take it easy next time. I won't die, but if I pass out, I can't train."

Looking at his progress of 9.2%, Fang Can tightened his belt. He hadn't forgotten what he needed to do today.

He left the little house, felt the cool morning breeze of this otherworld, and set off for the Martial Arts Hall.

Along the way, he met fellow disciples. They exchanged cool nods, then headed together toward the Martial Arts Hall.

Though it was early morning, some people were already training in the courtyard.

But compared to seven days ago, Fang Can could now easily make out their moves. Actions that had once been indistinct were now clear as day.

"None of the senior disciples in the Martial Arts Hall have more than 20% Flesh Alienation. Most are hovering around 10%," Fang Can speculated.

After all, the Martial Arts Hall was only meant to train new disciples. Once they'd practiced for three years, they would be sent out on assignment.

And if they could break through the 20% threshold of the second Mysterious Pass within those three years, they'd be considered quite talented—one in a hundred.

As Fang Can pondered, his gaze drifted ahead.

In the distance stood Li Qunfan, sporting dark circles under his eyes and glaring at Fang Can with murderous intent.

The two companions who had tried to extort him before were standing with Li Qunfan, staring at him with ill intent as well.

Of course, they didn't dare approach. They were afraid they'd end up not only unable to fight, but also getting so riled up by Fang Can that they'd lose it.

"Perfect timing."

Spotting his target, Fang Can was about to step forward when Instructor Yang Lie called him over. "Fang Can, come here a moment."

"Hm?" Fang Can turned his head and saw Yang Lie strolling over.

"What is it, Instructor Yang?"

"It's nothing much. There's a rule I forgot to tell you."

With both hands behind his back and his right hand gripping a wine gourd, Yang Lie said unhurriedly:

"The rules of the Martial Arts Hall require a sparring session once a month, so the disciples can test their skills against each other."

"I heard you and Li Qunfan's group had some trouble a while back. Once the month is up, they might come looking for trouble. Be careful."

"You were recommended by Hall Master Li, but as long as they don't leave you seriously injured, there's not much I can do."

Fang Can nodded with a smile at Yang Lie's warning. "Thank you for the advice, Instructor Yang. But what if I want to spar with them right now?"

"What are you getting at, kid?" Yang Lie's leaning posture straightened instinctively. "Are you tired of living? If you provoke them, the sect rules can't protect you."

Fang Can already understood Yang Lie's attitude. He simply walked past him and headed straight for Li Qunfan.

"What are you trying to do, kid? Looking for trouble? You really think I wouldn't dare hit you?"

Seeing Fang Can approach, Li Qunfan ground his teeth in hatred, but truly didn't dare make a move.

He watched helplessly as Fang Can strode right up to him. Li Qunfan widened his bloodshot eyes, trying to make Fang Can see the killing intent in them and back down.

What greeted him was a plain, unadorned slap from Fang Can.

"Bam!"

Like a cannon blast, Fang Can's right palm slammed into Li Qunfan's face.

In that instant, Li Qunfan felt as if a hard lump of iron had crashed into the left side of his face. His whole body went flying sideways.

"Boom!"

To the horror of everyone watching, Li Qunfan's body slammed straight into the stone wall of the Martial Arts Arena. He hit the ground with a smack and couldn't get back up, like a dead dog.

At the sight of the clear cracks left in the wall by the impact, the entire Martial Arts Arena fell silent.

Yang Lie instinctively rubbed his eyes in disbelief. "He's developed a sense of qi? No, he's at least close to the first Mysterious Pass. How is that possible? How is that possible?!"

As everyone watched, Fang Can walked over to Li Qunfan, grabbed him by the hair, and yanked him upright. Li Qunfan had already fallen unconscious again.

Fang Can tossed Li Qunfan's body aside with little interest, turned around, and grinned. "Senior brothers, why don't you all come at me together?"