Obscure

They registered the company by having Lin Sheng contribute his technical expertise as capital, while the others provided the remaining assets.

Xiayin and the other two unanimously decided to grant Lin Sheng a forty percent stake. The remaining shares would be split among the three of them.

Lin Sheng actually didn't care; what he wanted wasn't income, but influence and a power base.

The things he intended to teach would naturally not be secret techniques like those of Naxi Swordsmanship in Black Feather City, but rather basic practical combat skills he had sifted from his chaotic memories.

These combat techniques were highly practical. Unlike the freestyle fighting popular with Celine, they focused primarily on punching and elbow strikes, making them extremely well-suited for street brawls in the city.

As for profit, he hadn't even considered it. When the time came, he would be the head instructor, and those who studied under him would naturally form a clique, providing an extra layer of connection whenever they encountered trouble.

And this subtle, intangible connection was exactly what he wanted.

After all, Huaisha was not as stable as ordinary people imagined.

Soon, to Lin Sheng's surprise, the framework for the training class was set up even before the national amateur Naxi Swordsmanship competition.

Following Lin Sheng's suggestion, the venue for the training class was not at the club, but in the Blackwater District, where they rented a cheap, sufficiently spacious space.

Russell was the most proactive in this, with Xiayin coming in second.

Madilan, on the other hand, was at a loss, not knowing what to do.

Four days after Lin Sheng's proposal, everything was ready. They were just waiting for him to win a prize in the competition so they could use his fame to start promoting enrollment.

Beep.

Amidst the sound of the school bell, the teacher in the classroom began to pack up their lesson plans and hurried away.

Lin Sheng rose quickly from his seat, picked up his already-packed schoolbag, and was about to leave the classroom to practice swordsmanship at the park.

"Lin Sheng!"

Suddenly, a girl's voice called out to him from behind.

Lin Sheng turned his head and saw Shen Yan stand up and quickly chase after him.

Having not paid attention for a long time, he was quite surprised to find that Shen Yan had subtly become prettier.

The skin on her face was smoother, and the few pimples she once had were long gone. Her chest had become more prominent, which contrasted with her slender waist.

Beneath her ear-length short hair were large, crystalline eyes like crescent moons.

"Is something the matter?"

Lin Sheng looked at her calmly.

Shen Yan placed a hand on his shoulder and complained.

"I haven't seen you in ages; you haven't been hanging out with us lately. Want to go to the internet cafe in a bit? My treat. I made a little extra money recently, hehe."

"An internet cafe?" Lin Sheng was about to reply.

"Shen Yan, I have two tickets for Star of Tomorrow. Do you want to go see it? It starts in a little while," a boy nearby said loudly as he walked over.

The boy had a fresh, youthful look, with neat bangs and skin as good as any girl's, giving off the delicate air of a "pretty boy."

Even though the boy wasn't looking at Lin Sheng, Lin Sheng keenly sensed that the guy was secretly glaring at him from the corner of his eye.

He understood a little and smiled.

"You guys go ahead then. I have things to do, so I'm heading back."

Shen Yan frowned and wanted to say something, but Lin Sheng had already slipped out from under her hand and waved at her.

"Go on, have fun."

"Hey, wait! Why don't we just all go together? It's just one more ticket, right? I'll pay!" Shen Yan said generously.

She spoke of movie tickets costing several dozen yuan as if it were nothing.

Among students, this was considered quite generous. After all, for the average student, several dozen yuan could be most of their pocket money for several days.

After saying this, she looked at Lin Sheng with a sense of self-satisfaction, signaling that she had been a good enough friend.

"We haven't hung out in forever, come on, let's go. You've been coming and going like a ghost lately, I never see you."

Lin Sheng was speechless.

He truly didn't have the time to play house and watch movies with children. With that time, he would rather go back and meditate a couple more times.

"I really have things to do, so I won't go. Maybe next time," he refused again.

"If he's not going, I will! Shen Yan, you rich kid, buy us a ticket too!" Two other girls nearby heard the conversation and immediately giggled as they rushed over to hug Shen Yan from behind.

"Nonsense! You guys wouldn't even treat me to breakfast last time, it's not like you don't have money!" Shen Yan tried to break free.

"We were just broke then! You know we've been saving up for the shopping festival."

"You have to save your money, but mine isn't money?"

The girls bickered and played, descending into a chaotic mess.

Lin Sheng smiled, and realizing no one was paying attention to him anymore, he turned and walked slowly away with his schoolbag.

The direction he left in happened to take him right past the boy holding the movie tickets.

"You know what's good for you," the boy suddenly whispered. "Stay away from Shen Yan from now on, or I'll kill you!"

"???" Lin Sheng paused, his footsteps faltering.

He suddenly found it somewhat amusing.

That someone actually liked Shen Yan, a girl as boisterous and tomboyish as her. And they were using this to threaten him?

He rarely felt amused like this.

It wasn't anger; it was genuine amusement.

It was like an adult encountering a little snail on the road that started provoking him with words, while simultaneously doing backflips and cursing!

An adult's first reaction would absolutely not be rage or fury.

It would be curiosity.

Look! A snail that can do backflips?!

That was surely the thought in the adult's mind.

Just like that adult, Lin Sheng felt the exact same way right now.

He blinked, looking at the boy with the gaze one might use to watch a monkey.

"What the hell are you looking at!" the boy snapped, his voice dropping to a roar.

Thud!

Lin Sheng swung his elbow, striking the boy's left ribs with pinpoint precision.

On the surface, it looked as if his elbow had merely brushed against the boy's school uniform by accident. In reality, the blow was incredibly vicious.

The boy's face turned pale on the spot; he clutched his ribs, his lips trembling, unable to utter a single word.

The spot where he had been struck was radiating a constant, sharp pain that spread throughout his entire body.

Lin Sheng blinked.

"What did you say just now? I didn't hear you clearly."

"F—"

Thud.

Lin Sheng slammed his elbow into the boy's stomach once more.

The guy shuddered all over, nearly fainting from the pain.

Lin Sheng draped an arm over his shoulder, making the two of them look like they were on good terms.

"You look terrible. Come on, I'll take you to the infirmary to get checked out."

Before Shen Yan could notice, he steered the guy out of the classroom and quickly into the boys' restroom.

A short while later, Lin Sheng walked out with a smile on his face and headed toward the stairwell.

It wasn't until he had been gone for quite some time that the boy slowly emerged from the boys' restroom, covered in cold sweat, clutching his stomach, his face looking utterly haggard.

Lin Sheng had absolutely no interest in the petty jealousies between these students. His focus was primarily split between the club and the dream realm.

Everything else had to take a backseat.

After leaving the school, he quickly hailed a taxi and was about to get in to head to the nearby Rainbow Park.

BOOM!!

Suddenly, a loud explosion echoed from the adjacent block.

People nearby froze, turning their heads in unison toward the direction of the sound.

From afar, one could faintly hear shouting and commotion coming from the street.

"A crash!"

"A truck hit a car! Call an ambulance!"

"Where? Where?" "Over there, in front of the cake shop!"

"Quick, see if anyone's hurt!?"

Lin Sheng hesitated for a moment, then pulled the door open and sat inside.

With a thud, he closed the door and turned his head to look outside.

The taxi was just about to make a U-turn from the street, moving forward at a slow crawl.

"Rainbow Park, driver."

"Got it." The driver was also glancing out the window at the accident from time to time.