Drowning Sorrows at the Bar

The midday sun was somewhat blinding, and the campus was bustling with people, filled with the clamor of youth.

The injuries of Dai Mubai, Tang San, Oscar, and Ma Hongjun had mostly healed, and they had returned to their usual arrogant selves.

They were harboring a pent-up rage and were just about to head off-campus to find a place to vent; they had spent the last few days nursing their wounds and their tempers, and having not been to a bar to pick up girls for so long, the brothers were nearly bursting with internal frustration.

However, enemies often cross paths.

Before they had even left the school gates, they ran head-on into Xiao Wu, Zhu Zhuqing, Ning Rongrong, and Bai Chenxiang on the main thoroughfare.

The four girls were smiling brightly, walking side by side.

They had just come from Qin Chuan's Claw Machine Shop, having helped clean up, organize the shelves, and thoughtfully brought lunch for Qin Chuan.

After a busy morning, each of them had only gained 4–5 points of member experience, but they enjoyed it, feeling they were one step closer to their next upgrade.

Xiao Wu was still wearing her pink gauze dress today, her scorpion braid swinging back and forth, radiating vitality.

Beneath Ning Rongrong's blue miniskirt, her legs, wrapped in white silk stockings, were straight and slender; she walked like an elegant swan.

Zhu Zhuqing's black leather outfit accentuated her explosive figure to the fullest, drawing frequent side-glances from passing male students.

Bai Chenxiang followed behind the three of them like a well-behaved neighbor's little sister, her two ponytails swaying gently with her steps.

Seeing these four "enemies," Dai Mubai and the others subconsciously wanted to lower their heads and walk around them.

"Stop." A cold voice rang out, devoid of any emotion. It was Zhu Zhuqing who spoke.

The footsteps of Dai Mubai and his group stiffened, and they were forced to halt.

Dai Mubai raised his head to meet Zhu Zhuqing's icy gaze, feeling an inexplicable sense of dread in his heart.

"Forgot the bet?" Zhu Zhuqing's voice wasn't loud, but everyone around could hear it clearly. "Call me 'Grandma'."

Dai Mubai's face instantly turned the color of a pig's liver, his fists clenching at his sides until they cracked.

"What, trying to welch on the deal?" Xiao Wu walked over with her arms crossed, looking at him with a grin. "So many people saw it on the sports field that day. You, Young Master Dai, wouldn't be such a sore loser, would you? Why the temper?"

Students nearby had already stopped to watch, pointing and whispering at them.

Dai Mubai felt his cheeks burning hot. He knew that today, this "Grandma" had to be called, whether he liked it or not.

He took a deep breath and squeezed three words through his teeth: "...Grandma."

The sound was as faint as a mosquito's hum.

"Can't hear you!" Xiao Wu put her hand to her ear, making a listening gesture. "Louder! Didn't you eat?"

"Grandma!" Dai Mubai roared it out, the veins on his neck bulging.

"That's more like it!" Xiao Wu nodded in satisfaction.

Ning Rongrong and Bai Chenxiang both covered their mouths, trying hard not to laugh out loud, but their curved brows betrayed them.

Zhu Zhuqing remained expressionless throughout; after Dai Mubai finished shouting, she merely glanced at him indifferently, turned around, and walked away with her sisters.

Watching their departing backs, the four of them stood where they were, feeling like clowns stripped naked in public and left on the ground to be wantonly humiliated.

"Let's go! To the bar!" Dai Mubai gritted his teeth, let out a low growl, and turned to head out of the school.

The four of them didn't say a word, heading straight for the most luxurious bar on the academy's East Street—"Fallen Angel."

The deafening music hammered against their hearts like heavy mallets, and the colorful lights were dizzying. The air was thick with the decadent scent of a mixture of alcohol, perfume, and hormones.

The four found a booth and ordered the most expensive liquor immediately.

The cold, strong spirits slid down their throats like knives, yet they temporarily numbed the humiliation and anger in their hearts.

Soon, several scantily clad women with hot figures approached. They were regulars here and naturally recognized these wealthy young masters who spent money lavishly.

"Young Master Dai, what's wrong today? You look like you're in a bad mood." A woman with wavy hair sat directly on Dai Mubai's lap, her soft body pressing tightly against him, her full breasts rubbing against his arm intentionally or otherwise.

Dai Mubai wrapped an arm around her waist, buried his face in the crook of her neck, which exuded a rich fragrance, and muttered, "Don't mention it, bad luck!"

He picked up his glass, downed it in one gulp, and then roughly grabbed the woman's chin and kissed her fiercely.

On the other side, Oscar was already holding one in each arm, his hands wandering restlessly over the two women while he blew smoke rings and told dirty jokes, making the women giggle and tremble.

Ma Hongjun also pulled over a petite girl, downing drink after drink, his eyes unfocused.

Only Tang San sat alone in the corner, drinking his sorrows away in silence. Several empty bottles already stood before him.

As the alcohol went to their heads, their tongues loosened.

"Damn it! Why!" Dai Mubai pushed the woman in his arms away and slammed his fist onto the table, making the glasses clatter. "I'm a level 68 Soul Emperor, and I was beaten to my knees by a level 62 girl! And today, I had to call her 'Grandma' in front of so many people! I can't swallow this!"

"Exactly!" Ma Hongjun, his face flushed red from drinking, shouted with a thick tongue, "That Bai Chenxiang, she definitely used some kind of sorcery! A Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring! I saw it with my own eyes! Are those old fogies at the academy blind? Saying I was hallucinating!"

"And my teeth..." Oscar pointed to the gap in his front teeth. "That little bitch Ning Rongrong, she definitely has a problem! How could my Mushroom Sausage turn into a rock on its own? It's not scientific!"

The hostesses were confused by what they heard, but they were sensible enough not to interrupt, simply pouring drinks and offering soft words of comfort.

"Third Brother, say something!" Dai Mubai looked at Tang San, who had remained silent.

Tang San raised his head, a dangerous light flickering in his bloodshot eyes. He finished the last of the drink in his glass and then slammed it heavily onto the table.

"The academy can't be relied upon." His voice was hoarse and cold. "There must be an expert guiding them from behind the scenes!"

"Then what do we do? We just accept it?" Dai Mubai was unwilling.

"Admit defeat?" Tang San sneered. "In all my years, I, Tang San, have never suffered such a loss."

He stood up, swaying as he walked to the center of the booth, and swept his gaze across his three brothers.

"We will settle this score ourselves!"

His eyes finally settled on the direction of the Spirit Academy outside the window. The malice and madness in his gaze made the hostess sitting beside him shudder with fear.

Tang San could not swallow this insult, and he had made a decision.

"In a while, I am going back to the Clear Sky Sect."

Dai Mubai lifted his head from the woman's embrace, his eyes brightening. "Right! Call for backup! Brother San, bring a few experts from your sect over! I refuse to believe that if a Titled Douluo steps in personally, we can't deal with those little wenches!"

Tang San nodded, then shook his head. "Calling for help requires strategy. If we send elders to beat up a few students, it will only shame the Clear Sky Sect if word gets out."

He pondered for a moment, and a more vicious, more satisfying plan slowly took shape in his mind.

"What I want is not simple revenge." A chill permeated Tang San's voice. "I want them to pay back the humiliation we suffered today ten times, a hundred times over!"