A Piece of Work

"Zhou Zhe! You've got a death wish!" Yang Yi rushed over, yelling as he shoved his way through the crowd;

He'd just finished eating and gone to the restroom when a classmate told him Zhou Zhe had brought people to cause trouble for Chu Yuan.

He hurriedly pulled up his pants and ran over...

Chu Yuan had a great talent for martial arts, but everyone had only been practicing the Essence Tempering Technique for a day. How strong could he be already?

Zhou Zhe wasn't very bright, but he was tall and burly, with plenty of muscle. He had the physical advantage!

If anything happened to Chu Yuan and delayed his cultivation... it could ruin his entire future!

Hearing the screams from within the crowd, Yang Yi's anger flared even hotter;

"Zhou Zhe..."

But when he finally pushed his way in, the scene before him left him dumbfounded;

Nothing like what he'd imagined had happened. Instead, Zhou Zhe was on the ground, clutching his right leg and howling. His lower leg bent backward at a horrifying angle... It was clearly ruined!

Meanwhile, Chu Yuan was crouching beside him, gripping his hair as he asked, "Who sent you to cause trouble!?"

It was like a textbook case of a bully terrorizing someone at school...

Chu Yuan hadn't expected it either. He'd simply instinctively coated his leg with a wisp of spiritual energy, and that had been enough to kick the guy's leg clean in half;

But broken was broken. What did the guy expect, trying to sneak up on him?

He couldn't help feeling a little helpless. He'd known all along that fame brought trouble. In the past, it had been fine... but after revealing his talent, some idiot was bound to come looking for trouble!

After all, he could make sure he wasn't an idiot, but he couldn't control whether other people were;

Maybe someone would pick a fight just because they thought, "What gives you the right to be more talented than me?"

But Zhou Zhe's mind was consumed by the agony of his broken leg. He hadn't heard a word Chu Yuan said.

"Make way! Make way!"

Just then, Huang Bo and the homeroom teacher of Class One arrived, roughly forcing their way through the crowd;

They both froze at the sight...

Huang Bo asked, "Chu Yuan, what happened?"

"He attacked me first, then couldn't beat me. That's all there is to it."

"..."

The Class One homeroom teacher snapped, "Do you have any idea what you've done!?"

Chu Yuan glanced at him and calmly replied, "He dared to sneak up on me. Why shouldn't I fight back?"

"You didn't have to go that far!"

That was true, but Zhou Zhe's right leg was ruined, which would seriously affect his cultivation;

This was a matter that could determine the course of his entire life!

All because of a minor conflict between classmates...

"I've only just started practicing martial arts. I'm not used to my own strength yet, and I couldn't stop in time..."

Only then did Huang Bo remember what he'd been overlooking all along;

For Warriors in the Internal Breath Realm, breaking someone's leg with a kick was naturally easy.

But Chu Yuan had only started cultivating yesterday. How could he already have so much strength and such a tough body?

"You've reached the Blood-Qi Realm!?"

"By luck... Thanks to the Blood Qi Pill you gave me yesterday, teacher."

Huang Bo was utterly shocked. In just one night, plus the morning's practice... Chu Yuan had made more progress than many people managed in a month!?

Sure, the principal had provided him with resources... but this was still far too fast!

If Zhou Zhe's broken leg weren't an issue, this would have been wonderful news.

But now, Huang Bo had a headache and didn't know how to handle the situation;

Miao Jun, the Class One homeroom teacher, opened his mouth, then understood what Chu Yuan meant to First High School;

But Zhou Zhe was still his student. Even if he was an unlikeable student, Miao Jun was still his teacher and had a responsibility to protect him.

"Whatever the circumstances, you shouldn't have crippled Zhou Zhe!"

Huang Bo tried to smooth things over. "I don't think Chu Yuan can really be blamed for this..."

"At the very least, he should apologize and pay compensation!"

Chu Yuan cut in before Huang Bo could respond. "Not happening."

Just then, another commotion rose outside the office, mixed with a woman's shrill cries:

"Teacher Miao! Teacher Miao, where's my son!?"

The office door banged open, and a middle-aged couple barged in!

Miao Jun recognized them as Zhou Zhe's parents, and his eyelid twitched;

He hadn't even had a chance to notify the parents. How had Zhou Zhe's parents heard the news and gotten here so quickly?

But now wasn't the time to worry about that. He hurriedly tried to calm them down:

"Zhou Zhe's parents, please don't panic. Zhou Zhe's been taken to the school infirmary. He's not in any serious danger..."

"Not in any serious danger!?" The woman raised her voice. "The students in his class told me Zhou Zhe's leg is broken! And you call that not serious!?"

Only then did she seem to notice Chu Yuan. She cursed furiously:

"You're the one who beat up our Zhou Zhe, aren't you? Teacher Miao, what kind of school is this? Why do you keep turning out little animals!"

The three men all frowned at her words;

Chu Yuan was especially speechless. Didn't she realize she was insulting her own son too?

Huang Bo couldn't help saying, "Zhou Zhe attacked Chu Yuan first! He just couldn't beat him, and that's how things ended up like this!

"I understand how you feel, but please watch your language!"

"So what if he attacked first? That doesn't give you the right to break his leg!

"Our Zhou Zhe just started practicing. So what if he hit you a couple of times? It's not like he could kill you." The woman's words grew more outrageous, and she grew angrier with every sentence. "You little bastard! If our Zhou Zhe can't get into a martial arts university, I'll make you pay with your life!"

Chu Yuan was so angry he laughed;

There was a saying: when you thought a child in a family was sick, that child was often the least sick one of them all...

"Even if Zhou Zhe's leg weren't broken, he still wouldn't get into a martial arts university. He's just as brain-dead as you. How's a brain-dead person supposed to practice martial arts?

"You'd be better off saving the money you'd spend on martial arts and using it to get your heads examined."

"..." Huang Bo had a headache. He shoved Chu Yuan toward the door. "All right, that's enough. Go back and cultivate."

"You little bastard! How dare you insult me!" The woman's eyes instantly reddened. She raised a hand and swung at Chu Yuan's face!

Smack!

A tremendous slap rang out. The woman crashed into the door with a clatter, then landed hard on her bottom...

Chu Yuan casually took a tissue from the desk and wiped the makeup and grease from his palm, feeling that the world had grown much more peaceful.

"You little punk! How dare you hit my wife!" The man, who'd barely said a word until now, finally lost his temper and swung a punch at Chu Yuan's head!

There even seemed to be the hint of a martial technique behind it...

But Huang Bo and Miao Jun didn't move. They simply watched coldly!

After another crisp crack of breaking bones, the man cried out and sank to the floor too.