The school gates were still packed with people. Wei Lan remained surrounded by the three hooligans, and not a single person wanted to help her. Most were just watching the spectacle.
The hooligans seemed to enjoy having an audience. It gave them a sense of triumph, like they were showing off their power. Seeing Wei Lan's tear-streaked face and the crowd's angry but helpless expressions only made them more excited.
"Hey, gorgeous, how about having some fun with our Brother Yellow Hair? He's got skills and stamina to spare. I guarantee he'll make you feel good!" said one of the shirtless punks standing to Wei Lan's right. He didn't look much older than nineteen, but the tattoo on his chest was impossible to miss.
"Let go of me!" Wei Lan had been cornered with nowhere left to turn. Tears trickled from the corners of her eyes, though she didn't cry out loud. Perhaps she was too frightened; her voice came out sharp and shrill.
Su Ke ran all the way back to the school gates without stopping. As he sprinted, a warm current began to flow through his limbs. Little by little, he grasped the Military Boxing routines, the angles of attack, and the ways to strike. Even his muscles seemed to fill with strength and agility.
Thank goodness the three hooligans were still there. They hadn't done anything worse to Wei Lan. Su Ke returned to the crowd. He had already mastered Military Boxing, but he didn't charge out immediately.
Su Ke had never fought anyone in his life. He was timid by nature, and whenever trouble arose, he either backed down or gave in. His family circumstances had a lot to do with it.
Why were the children of officials and wealthy families so arrogant and domineering? It wasn't because they were particularly formidable. They had someone to rely on and the confidence to act before they threw a punch. At worst, they could just pay their way out of trouble.
But children from poor families were usually careful and meek, worried about causing trouble for their families. A few might give up on themselves and turn to a life of thuggery, but how much pain would that bring their parents and loved ones? It was irresponsible.
Su Ke took a deep breath. The fight ahead made him both nervous and excited, and his hands trembled despite his efforts to steady his breathing.
"Let her go!" Su Ke wasn't foolish enough to shout that and leap into the fray. To him, it was like the martial arts masters in novels announcing, "Take this!" before a fight—it did nothing but warn the enemy.
Yes, Su Ke was timid, but he wasn't stupid. And now, at last, he had found the courage to protect someone who needed protecting. That was a man's responsibility.
A ten-meter-wide empty space surrounded the hooligans, with all the students standing beyond it. As soon as Su Ke stepped out of the crowd, he stood out.
Su Ke was a respectable one hundred and seventy-six centimeters tall, but he wasn't burly. If anything, he was a little scrawny. One of the hooligans merely turned and glared at him before snapping, "Get lost!" Then he turned his attention back to Wei Lan.
In the hooligans' eyes, Su Ke was nothing but a weakling with a combat rating under five!
When Wei Lan finally saw someone step out from the crowd, she immediately looked to him for help. But when she realized it was Su Ke, her hopeful gaze dimmed at once.
She knew how timid and honest Su Ke was. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been the class's favorite target for jokes and teasing. Could she really count on a classmate who was afraid of trouble and blushed whenever he spoke to save her?
Su Ke was still nervous, so he had to keep building up his anger. His face turned livid. Then he suddenly picked up speed and charged.
"Brother Yellow Hair!"
At his underling's warning, Yellow Hair immediately turned around and saw Su Ke rushing toward him. He sneered and went to meet him, swinging his right fist at Su Ke's head.
Just before reaching Yellow Hair, Su Ke shifted slightly to the side and dodged the punch. At the same time, he drew his right fist back to his waist, then thrust it forward in a turn, fist angled downward. His bow stance punch slammed into Yellow Hair's chest at lightning speed.
A dull thud rang out.
Yellow Hair staggered back a step. The blow to his chest left him struggling to breathe. Before he could recover, Su Ke straightened his left leg and lifted his right. His thigh tensed, toes pointed down, and he snapped his leg up toward Yellow Hair's crotch.
"Ah!"
By the time Yellow Hair's scream rang out, he was already on the ground, doubled over with his hands over his crotch. Su Ke had dropped him with a crotch kick followed by an elbow strike. He quickly pulled his right leg back and turned to face the two shirtless punks charging at him.
Without hesitation, Su Ke moved. He had no idea how fast he was now. Before either of them could strike, he used a blocking strike and leg sweep on one of them, sweeping his right foot forward and knocking the punk to the ground. Acting on reflex, he was about to kick him again.
Suddenly, the other punk grabbed Su Ke from behind around the chest, trying to wrestle him down. Su Ke swayed, then quickly steadied himself. He hooked his right foot behind him and kicked hard at the man's ankle, while snapping both elbows backward. The punk behind him went down.
Turning around, Su Ke tensed his right leg and was about to kick the man in the throat. But a sudden sense of foreboding flashed through his mind, and he hurriedly changed his angle, striking the man in the head instead. If he hadn't altered that throat-thrusting kick, the man would have been seriously injured.
"Su Ke, watch out!" Wei Lan suddenly cried.
Su Ke's eyes were bloodshot, and his movements seemed almost instinctive. At Wei Lan's cry, he immediately realized the danger came from the hooligan he had swept to the ground.
He whipped around to the right and quickly raised his right leg, toes pointed, then kicked hard at the man's knee joint. There was a faint crack, like a bone breaking, and the punk toppled to the left. The dagger in his hand flew away as he clutched his knee and rolled on the ground.
Su Ke's chest heaved. His bloodshot eyes swept over the three hooligans, and he clenched his fists, ready to strike again at any moment.
"Hey, did you see that? He used Military Boxing!" one boy exclaimed, as if he'd discovered a whole new world.
"Obviously! Didn't they teach us that in military training? He used six moves: bow stance punch, crotch kick and elbow strike, blocking strike and leg sweep, countering hook kick, throat-thrusting kick, and cross side kick!" The boy was clearly a freshman who had just finished military training; he rattled them off like an expert.
"Yeah, I didn't know Military Boxing was so effective in a fight. I'd better learn it properly!"
Seeing that none of the three men on the ground seemed likely to get up, Su Ke left them alone. He walked into the crowd and wheeled out his fairly well-kept bicycle.
"Come on. I'll walk you home!" Su Ke said quietly as he went to Wei Lan's side. A blush seemed to have appeared on his cheeks again.
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