I Want to Handle This Myself!

"Compared with Pang Hu, Li Ziyang was far outmatched. He'd been scared stiff from the start. With only his father facing the attacks from Pang Hu and his father, it would be difficult!"

"I wonder how Li Ziyang and his father will handle the attacks that come next."

Teacher Zhang speculated that in the next part of the match, Li Ran could only clutch his head and flee, relying on his agility to dodge Pang Hu and his father's attacks. That would leave him trapped in a passive position, constantly taking hits. Li Ziyang couldn't help him, and sooner or later Li Ran would make a mistake. Once he did, the match would be over.

That was exactly the outcome Teacher Zhang wanted.

Once Li Ran and Li Ziyang were dead, Su Bingyao would be alone again. Then Teacher Zhang could take advantage of the situation and return to Su Bingyao's side.

She would win Su Bingyao over with her sincerity and make her understand that they were the only ones destined for each other.

Sure enough, Li Ran was forced into a defensive state, dodging attacks.

Several times, he barely escaped the Giant Demon Tiger's claws.

Just as Teacher Zhang thought Li Ran and his son would keep dodging, Li Ran took out his dagger and stood his ground. He patted Li Ziyang on the back with one hand, reassuring him. "Son, watch how your dad takes care of them."

As he spoke, a trace of bloodlust surfaced in Li Ran's eyes, and blood煞 energy enveloped the Thunder Dagger.

As the Giant Demon Tiger pounced at him again, Li Ran gripped the dagger in reverse and slashed downward.

"Blood Sickle Flying Blade!"

A crescent-shaped slash of blood-red energy collided head-on with the tiger's attacking paw.

"Boom!"

The Giant Demon Tiger's massive body slid five meters backward, and a horrifying wound appeared on its paw. Blood flowed from the gash and dripped onto the ground.

Li Ran was pleased with the knockback and bleeding effects triggered by Blood Sickle Flying Blade.

"How is this possible?" Pang Hu's father's pupils trembled as he reassessed Li Ziyang's father. He hadn't expected him to be this strong.

"Dad, get him!" Pang Hu urged from the Giant Demon Tiger's back, his face burning with embarrassment.

"Roar!!"

The Giant Demon Tiger let out an angry roar, and a terrifying dark aura surged from its body.

It pounced at Li Ran again, sweeping its claws and sending streaks of black energy slashing through the air. The terrifying tearing sounds seemed capable of ripping apart the air itself, while deep, horrifying claw marks gouged the ground.

The Giant Demon Tiger's relentless pounces, combined with the Mad Demon Porcupine's bone-spike projectiles, forced Li Ran and his son to retreat again and again.

The storm of attacks left the spectators struggling to catch their breath.

"Thud, thud, thud!!"

One bone spike after another, each like a bone spear, struck the spots Li Ran had just dodged away from.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The Giant Demon Tiger's dark claws ravaged the arena. After unleashing a continuous barrage of attacks, it had to stop and rest for a moment.

The Giant Demon Tiger looked toward Li Ran, who had jumped to a distant spot. One of his hands held Ghost Hand Demon Child behind him, and the other gripped his dagger. He wasn't even breathing hard, and he hadn't broken a sweat.

At the edge of the arena, Teacher Zhang felt a sense of dread. She never would have expected Li Ziyang's father to be so formidable.

The cheers from Pang Hu and his father's supporters gradually died away. Anyone could see that even with Pang Hu and his father's fierce onslaught, Li Ziyang's father had dodged every attack with just one hand, while carrying his terrified son on his back.

"Could Pang Hu and his father actually lose?"

The ominous thought occurred to everyone.

Only Su Bingyao had switched to carrying her bag in both hands. The worry had vanished from her face, replaced by admiration. Like a young girl looking up to her big brother for his basketball skills, she couldn't take her eyes off Li Ran.

In the arena, Li Ran gently set Li Ziyang down as the boy began to calm. Although the match was called a Parent-Child Activity, it had no actual rules, and falling off your "horse" didn't mean you lost.

The real rule was simple: whoever was still standing in the arena at the end won.

This was no ordinary Parent-Child Activity anymore. It was more like a fight in a death cage!

Only by killing your enemy could you win!

Of course, for the natives of the Weird World, this was still just an ordinary Parent-Child Activity.

Li Ran stared coldly at the Giant Demon Tiger and the Mad Demon Porcupine.

"You've been attacking for long enough. Now it's my turn."

"It's time to end this match!"

Li Ran stood in the arena's shadow. His body slowly sank into it, as if he were sinking into sand, until he disappeared beneath the ground and merged with the darkness.

In fact, Li Ran could have used Shadow Escape to do this much earlier.

The Weird World was almost always overcast, with the sun rarely visible. Dark clouds shrouded the arena, and shadows could be found everywhere.

The only problem was that his Shadow Escape skill couldn't take Li Ziyang with him.

That was why he'd been forced to dodge the storm of attacks from Pang Hu and his father.

"Where'd he go? Where'd he go?" The Mad Demon Porcupine panicked as soon as Li Ran disappeared.

The Giant Demon Tiger's eyes were sharp as lightning. It searched the arena, scanning every corner for Li Ran, but couldn't find him anywhere.

"Dad, take care of Li Ziyang first!" Unable to find Li Ran, Pang Hu decided to attack Li Ziyang instead.

Pang Hu and his father turned and pounced straight at Li Ziyang, who was alone.

But before he could finish speaking, a faint outline appeared behind the Giant Demon Tiger. A flash of cold light shot toward its back like lightning.

"Roar!!"

The Giant Demon Tiger screamed in pain. Arcs of electricity marked with Thunder Mark spread across its body, and it reared up. The Mad Demon Porcupine rolled off its back and hit the ground.

But the flash of cold light didn't disappear. It swept around the Giant Demon Tiger's back, appeared in front of it, and plunged into its throat at an unbelievable speed!

"Roar... roar, roar..."

The Giant Demon Tiger panicked instantly and frantically swiped at the space in front of it.

But Li Ran was nowhere to be seen.

"Dad!" Pang Hu stared in disbelief at the Giant Demon Tiger rolling on the ground.

Blood poured from the Giant Demon Tiger's throat like water from a barrel with a hole in it.

Li Ran's Shadow Assault Backstab had dealt the Giant Demon Tiger a devastating blow. Throat Slit was the finishing strike that would end the match.

The Giant Demon Tiger was enormous and thick-skinned.

But against Li Ran's surprise Backstab and deadly Throat Slit, all its defenses were useless.

As soon as they turned their attention to Li Ziyang, Li Ran had already decided to wipe out Pang Hu and his father.

After all, in the Weird World, mercy toward your enemies was cruelty toward yourself.

Besides, there were no rules holding anyone back in this world.

In theory, as long as you were strong enough, you could do whatever you wanted here.

"Roar... roar..."

The Giant Demon Tiger's cries grew weaker and weaker. The arena was drenched in blood, the scene horrifying, until the tiger's breathing faded and it could no longer move.

The spectators fell completely silent!

The children and parents stared in shock.

No one had expected Li Ziyang's father to defeat Pang Hu's father so easily. With just one counterattack, he had defeated the showboating, seemingly invincible Pang Hu's father.

"Pang Hu's father actually lost to Li Ziyang's dad. Does that mean Li Ziyang's dad is the strongest person in the whole school?"

The thought suddenly flashed through everyone's minds.

Those who had looked down on Li Ziyang's family were filled with regret. They should never have offended such a formidable parent. How were their children supposed to get by at school now?

Some of the mothers, meanwhile, had other thoughts. Pang Hu's father had apparently been all looks and no substance. Li Ziyang's father was much more appealing—good-looking and formidable. He had to be impressive in other ways too. Maybe...

Teacher Zhang's face darkened, and her back teeth ground together with a loud "crunch, crunch, crunch."

"Su Bingyao, you've gotten away again this time!"

In the arena, Pang Hu's expression changed drastically when his father stopped moving. He ran to the body and shook it in panic. "Dad, get up!"

"Did you forget the match isn't over yet?"

Li Ziyang's voice came from behind Pang Hu.

Li Ziyang now stood behind him in the form of Ghost Hand Demon Child.

The Mad Demon Porcupine Pang Hu had transformed into was filled with hatred. But when he saw Li Ziyang, he scoffed. "Hmph! Without your dad protecting you, you're still a useless loser!"

Pang Hu clearly knew he'd lost. If Li Ziyang's father made a move, Pang Hu would be dead. So he deliberately provoked Li Ziyang, trying to make him angry enough to fight and knock the adults out of the match.

Li Ran had seen right through it. How could Pang Hu's little scheme escape him?

He wasn't falling for it. All he had to do was kill the Mad Demon Porcupine in front of him, and he would win first place in this Parent-Child Activity.

Li Ran stepped forward with his dagger in hand, ready to strike.

"Dad, I want to handle this myself!"

Li Ziyang said calmly.

Li Ran looked at his son in surprise. The boy's appearance had changed again.

His head was healing on its own. The Ghost Hand that had originally grown from his neck had moved to his back, where it spread behind him like a pair of enormous wings.

His eyes were still completely black, like black gemstones, without a trace of white. But there was no fear in his gaze anymore—only determination.

(Li Ziyang (Advanced))

(B-Class Mental Infector)

(Mysterious Power: 80...90...100)

Li Ran stared at his son in disbelief. His Mysterious Power had jumped three levels in a row, reaching 100, and he had made a perfect advancement from C-rank to B-rank.

"Dad, I can't hide under your wings forever. I can handle my own problems!" Li Ziyang said firmly.

It was as if Li Ziyang had suddenly become much more mature, and had grown up a lot.

Li Ran said with relief, "Your mom and I will be waiting for you at the sidelines."

With that, Li Ran walked off the field and went to Su Bingyao's side. He naturally took her anxious little hand and held it in his palm, reassuring her. "I believe in our son."

"I believe in him too!"

On the field, Li Ziyang walked slowly toward Pang Hu, his expression resolute.

"In the past, I always chose to run away from problems. Whenever I ran into difficulties, I made all kinds of excuses. Now I understand that being weak and running away is pointless. The trees may wish for stillness, but the wind keeps blowing. When people think you're weak, they'll only bully you more, like squeezing a soft persimmon for fun."

"Today, I finally see it clearly. You're just like me. You relied on your dad to throw your weight around. Without him, you're no different from the students you bullied. You're nothing."

"My dad taught me this: I won't harm anyone who leaves me alone, but if someone harms me, I'll root them out completely!"

"Only by becoming strong and having fists hard enough can you stop people from coming after you."

Li Ziyang quickened his pace and charged toward Pang Hu.

Pang Hu immediately pulled two bone spikes from his back and hurled them at Li Ziyang.

Worried for her son's safety, Su Bingyao cried out in alarm.

"Ziyang, dodge! He'll kill you!"