Resolving Guang Long

Outside the Braised Beef Shop.

Xu Xiaoyan had originally been ready to strike in anger, but when she saw Xu Yue arriving through the crowd, her fury instantly vanished, replaced by delight.

As for Gu Yue beside her, her eyes flickered as she, too, lowered her stance and gave up on attacking.

"I thought we'd have to wait until the promotion match to see him make a move. I didn't expect to get the chance now."

The instant Guang Long's shoulder was gripped, his expression twisted with rage. Without another word, he swung his pinned shoulder back in a punch.

"Who the hell dares touch me? Do you have a death wish... Ah!"

But before he could raise his fist, a sharp pain suddenly tore through his shoulder and spread across his entire body.

Crack! Crack!

In that instant, Guang Long felt as though he had been clamped by a soul-guided hydraulic vise. His bones trembled violently, crackling and popping.

Then, from the corner of his eye, he caught sight of the figure behind him.

It was a boy about the same age as the two girls in front of him, and Guang Long's expression immediately warped.

"Ahhh!! You'd better not let me catch you, or I'll skin you alive and tear out your tendons!"

A dragon's roar rang out.

Patches of iron-gray dragon scales instantly surfaced across Guang Long's exposed skin, while two soul rings rapidly rose beneath him.

However.

Before Guang Long could summon his martial soul to resist, Xu Yue abruptly withdrew the hand resting on his shoulder.

Guang Long felt his body suddenly lighten, but before he could react.

Xu Yue, standing behind him, had already raised his fist high before smashing it down.

Could you withstand three tons of force in one punch?

The next moment.

Boom! Crack!

Amid the roar, the iron-gray dragon scales shattered, followed by a crack even crisper than the sound of breaking bones before.

"What... kind of strength was that? Did a meteor... hit me?"

Before Guang Long could figure out what sort of force had struck him, darkness swallowed his vision, and he lost consciousness.

Outside the shop, the scene suddenly fell deathly silent.

Guang Long's body went limp and collapsed to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

The two fierce-looking lackeys stood there blankly, staring at the sight before them.

But they quickly came to their senses. It was as if their spines had been pulled out, and with a thud, they dropped to their knees on the cold ground.

"Spare us! We'll never dare again! It was all Boss... no, it was Guang Long who forced us!"

Xu Yue swept his gaze over the unconscious Guang Long on the ground before finally looking at the two trembling lackeys, his voice cold and hard.

"You broke things. Aren't you going to pay for them?"

"Oh... right, yes! We'll pay right away!!"

As if granted a pardon, the two lackeys hurriedly pulled out all the Federation credits they had on them, then searched Guang Long and took his money as well.

After Xu Yue accepted it, he thought of Guang Long's older brother, Guang Biao, and said coldly to the two of them.

"My name is Xu Yue. Class One, Grade One, Intermediate Division, Eastsea Academy. If you want revenge, come find me."

"Now take him and get out of here."

"We wouldn't dare! We wouldn't dare! We'll get out right now!"

The two lackeys nodded frantically and fled the snack street with Guang Long as though running for their lives.

The conflict was over, leaving only a mess outside the shop.

Xu Yue stuffed the Federation credits he had just taken from Guang Long and the two lackeys into Uncle Li's hand.

"You helped me out of a difficult situation, sir. I can't take this!" Uncle Li hurriedly refused, but he simply could not resist Xu Yue's strength.

"Take it. It's compensation." With that, Xu Yue took out a business card bearing his contact information from his soul storage device.

"Oh, right. This is my card. If they dare come back, you can call my communication number."

But in his opinion, as long as Guang Long or Guang Biao had any sense at all, they would not think of retaliation after investigating his identity.

Whether it was the Blacksmith Association or the Eastsea City Finance Department, neither was something a mere captain could afford to offend.

Though they could not directly command the mecha brigade, applying pressure indirectly would not be a problem.

After settling the matter, Xu Yue walked over to Xu Xiaoyan and Gu Yue, the usual smile returning to his face.

He took two portions of still-steaming meatballs wrapped in oil paper from the bag he carried and handed one to each of them.

"Here, I brought these for you."

Gu Yue looked at the meatballs held out before her, and a trace of surprise flashed through her cool eyes.

She hadn't expected Xu Yue to bring one for her as well. After pausing for a second, she reached out to accept it, her voice calm.

"Thank you."

Xu Xiaoyan accepted hers too, cradling it in her hands.

The aroma drifted into her nose, but all her enthusiasm had vanished.

Thinking of Guang Long's group's arrogant faces, the shopping trip she had been looking forward to was completely ruined.

She looked at Xu Yue, pouting her red lips as she spoke dejectedly.

"What a downer! Brother Yue, let's go back to the academy."

Xu Yue glanced at the uninterested Xu Xiaoyan and nodded. "All right, let's head back."

Then he looked at Gu Yue, who stood to the side holding her meatballs with her usual expression, and said apologetically, "Sorry, Gu Yue. We'll be leaving first. See you at the promotion tournament."

Xu Xiaoyan hooked her arm through Xu Yue's. Whether she was trying to shake off her bad mood or shake off Gu Yue, she pulled him toward the academy.

Gu Yue remained where she was and did not follow.

Holding the warm meatballs in her hand, she quietly watched Xu Yue and Xu Xiaoyan's backs as they walked away side by side.

"What a pity. Looks like I'll have to wait until the promotion tournament."

Just then, Tang Wulin and Xie Xie approached while chatting and laughing. When they saw Gu Yue standing alone—

The smiles on both their faces turned into undisguised surprise.

"Gu Yue?"

Tang Wulin spoke first, his voice full of surprise.

Xie Xie widened his eyes as well, staring at Gu Yue in astonishment that she would be here.

"Gu Yue, why are you here too? Didn't you say you weren't coming?"

Then, as if suddenly understanding, a teasing look appeared in his eyes.

"Oh, I get it. You just didn't want to accept my invitation, right?"

"You acted like you were refusing, but your body was honest after all. You even bought meatballs."

As he spoke, he nudged Tang Wulin beside him with his elbow, waggling his brows.

However, Gu Yue showed not the slightest expression in response to Xie Xie's words. She remained as cool and aloof as ever.

Her pink lips parted, and she calmly uttered two words.

"Boring."

With that, she opened the steaming bag of meatballs in her hand, speared one and ate it, then walked toward the street corner on her own.

Watching Gu Yue leave, Xie Xie stood there blankly. After a moment, he turned to Tang Wulin. "Did I say something wrong?"

Tang Wulin looked speechless. "What do you think?"

Still, as he watched Gu Yue's unhesitating steps and her gradually receding figure, he felt inexplicably disappointed.

Xie Xie chuckled, not taking what had just happened to heart. He grabbed Tang Wulin and headed toward a nearby shop.

"Come on, come on, I'll treat you to braised beef in a clay pot."

Tang Wulin shook his head, casting aside the strange emotion that had arisen in his heart.

But when the two arrived at the shop entrance—

They saw Uncle Li cleaning up the mess scattered across the ground outside.

Xie Xie immediately asked in surprise, "Uncle Li, how did this place end up like this?"

"Ah, it's nothing, nothing. My hand slipped just now." Uncle Li gave a somewhat bitter smile. "Young man, it's you again."

"Have a seat first. Uncle Li will bring it out for you in a moment."