Yang Fan

"Have you heard? Lin Feng and Yage broke up."

"No way, didn't they flaunt their affection every day? How could they possibly break up?"

"Those who flaunt their love die young!"

"You idiot. Look at Yage's status now—she'll be an eighth-grade Demon Spirit Master in the future. She even signed with Juxing Club; her future is bright as daylight. Lin Feng's strength may be decent, but it's only decent. He can't become a Demon Spirit Master, so he's destined to be unable to keep up with Yage's pace."

"Yage is way too realistic. She dumped Lin Feng so quickly."

"I heard Ji Yu announced that he wanted to pursue Yage. Could this have something to do with him?"

"Keep your voice down. If Ji Yu sets his sights on you, you're finished."

"But why did I hear that Lin Feng was the one who suggested the breakup?"

As Lin Feng crossed the training field and prepared to return to the cafeteria, he discovered that rumors about him and Yage had already spread everywhere, causing a tremendous uproar.

Standing in a corner, Lin Feng listened carefully for a while. Even he had to admire how quickly the news had spread.

How long had it been? Just over ten minutes, perhaps!

Why did it feel as though everyone already knew?

Lin Feng did not care about such boring gossip or his classmates' discussions. What puzzled him was how the matter between him and Yage had gotten out.

Yage could not have said anything!

Even if she confided in her close friends, she could not possibly say something like, "I was dumped by him." It was not something worth broadcasting.

"No one was there at the time!"

Lin Feng was somewhat puzzled. To avoid being disturbed by others, Yage had deliberately chosen the back hill. There were hardly any people there to begin with, let alone in the secluded spot they had specifically picked.

For a martial artist, vigilance and observation were the most basic abilities. Without those two fundamentals, one would not even know how one died.

Although there was no real danger at school, as a martial artist who had wandered between life and death, quickly assessing his surroundings had already become Lin Feng's instinct.

Lin Feng was certain that when he and Yage had discussed breaking up, there had been no one around. At the very least, there had been no one within a hundred meters—not even an animal.

That made this rather strange.

He puzzled over it for a long time, until he heard the name Yang Fan and suddenly understood.

"So it was that guy."

So much time had passed since those former classmates that Lin Feng had nearly forgotten them all. He could barely remember any names.

But Yang Fan had left a deep impression on him.

That kid Yang Fan had average martial arts talent, and his strength was probably only at Body Cultivation Fifth Stage. His academic grades were average as well. His sole strength was that he was extraordinarily well-informed about rumors.

He called himself the Jianghu Hundred-Knowledge Scholar, a know-it-all, and the Entertainment Alliance Leader, but his classmates all called him Big Mouth.

If any scandal or gossip surfaced at Jiangxin First High School, nine times out of ten it had been spread by that Big Mouth. Even if it had not, if you asked him about it, he could still tell you a thing or two.

It was said that, in order to gather gossip, this fellow—whose hearing and eyesight were perfectly fine—had even specifically learned lip-reading and sign language. Though many people could not stand him, whenever they wanted information about campus scandals and gossip, he was the first person they thought to seek out.

As long as the information came from him, hardly anyone questioned its authenticity.

That was the conclusion drawn from more than a hundred examples.

Lin Feng was rather interested in Yang Fan.

Although Yang Fan's martial arts talent was average, he still possessed the strength of Body Cultivation Fifth Stage and qualified to participate in Awakening Day.

His luck had been good during yesterday's Awakening Day. He had refined a Sound-Seeking Beast, a Second-grade Demon Spirit with almost no offensive power. Its only innate ability was hearing and eyesight far beyond ordinary people.

Logically speaking, it was merely a second-grade Demon Spirit. Such support-type Demon Spirits were not uncommon.

Knowing lip-reading and sign language was not strange either. There should have been quite a few people at Jiangxin First High School with those skills. But someone who knew lip-reading and sign language, had refined a Sound-Seeking Beast, called himself the Jianghu Hundred-Knowledge Scholar, and was passionate about the gossip business—this kid was definitely a talent.

A talent with a clear plan for his future career path.

From a certain perspective, calling him a genius would not be an exaggeration.

Lin Feng decided that he should get to know him properly.

His plan needed someone like that.

When Lin Feng arrived at Cafeteria No. 5, Gao Hai, who had been waiting at the entrance, hurried forward and could not help asking.

"Brother Feng, did you really break up with Yage?"

"Yeah. We would have split up sooner or later. Nothing unexpected about it." Lin Feng nodded.

Gao Hai fell silent for a while, his fists tightly clenched and his expression somewhat angry. At last, as though making up his mind, he said, "Then break up. A woman that realistic isn't worth keeping. From today onward, she's no longer our friend."

Between Lin Feng and Yage, Gao Hai made his choice in an instant.

"There's no need for that. She has the right to choose."

Lin Feng patted Gao Hai on the shoulder, comforting him.

Though this was a matter between him and Yage, Lin Feng understood Gao Hai's feelings.

They had been neighbors since they were seven. The three of them had grown up together, attending the same classes from elementary school through middle school and high school, going to school and coming home together every day. Lin Feng and Yage had even said that when they got married, they would ask Gao Hai to be the best man.

By choosing to leave, Yage had also destroyed the friendship among the three of them. They could no longer be friends who talked about everything as they had before.

In his memories, just as Gao Hai had said, even after Yage was admitted into the Nine Elite Joint Schools and soared into the sky with a single leap, he had not spoken a single word to her.

He valued that friendship even more than Lin Feng did.

"Don't blame her. I was the one who suggested breaking up!"

"You suggested it?"

Gao Hai looked deeply suspicious of Lin Feng's answer, clearly not believing him. Lin Feng had no intention of explaining. His stomach was nearly flattened by hunger, so after getting his food, he began stuffing himself wildly.

Under Gao Hai's astonished gaze, Lin Feng made three trips and ate seven bowls of rice, six small dishes, and two pounds of roasted meat, spending a total of 120 New Dollars.

"Brother Feng, are you sure it's okay to eat like this?"

Gao Hai was somewhat worried, suspecting that Lin Feng had been provoked by breaking up with Yage.

"What could happen?"

Lin Feng paused his chopsticks. With so much food entering his body, his stomach was bloated and uncomfortable. He truly needed a moment to rest.

Yet even so, Lin Feng still did not feel full. His body remained in a state of hunger and depletion.

Lin Feng understood that this was an aftereffect of his severe deficiency in qi and blood.

Ordinary food could only increase the feeling of fullness; it could not meet his body's demand for qi and blood.

The stronger a martial artist was, the greater their appetite. For martial artists, the more one could eat, the stronger one's body was. Being able to eat was a blessing—there was reason behind that saying.

I'm nearly out of money. I need to earn some as soon as possible, Lin Feng thought.

Even the most ordinary food was not all that cheap. He had spent 120 New Dollars, which was a week's worth of meal money for him. At that moment, only 300 New Dollars remained in his pocket.

That was his remaining meal money for half a month. If his family had not given him a month's worth of meal money at a time, he would have gone hungry tomorrow.

Fortunately, this was school, so meals were relatively cheap. If he ate like this outside, two or three hundred New Dollars would be nowhere near enough.

While resting, Lin Feng noticed a male student not far away. He had clearly already finished eating, and the tray before him was completely empty. Yet after swallowing a pill, not long afterward, he began stuffing himself wildly again.

Lin Feng knew it was a Digestion Pill, worth 2,000 New Dollars each.

After taking one, it accelerated the digestion of food. With only three months left before the college entrance examination in senior year, many wealthy families prepared one for their children every day.

If I get the chance, I must refine the Great Stomach King, Lin Feng thought as he felt the food slowly digesting inside him.

The Great Stomach King ranked seventeenth on the Exotic Beast Ranking. Like the nightmare demon within Lin Feng, it possessed no real offensive ability and was a support-type Demon Spirit.

After refining a Great Stomach King Demon Spirit, one's digestive ability would be dozens of times stronger than an ordinary person's. One could eat almost without limit, provided the body could endure it.

Two months from now, if I refine that Nightmare, I'll gain extraordinary talent, but my life force and soul will also be devoured. If I refine the Great Stomach King, then as long as I have money, abundant qi and blood can completely make up for the life force being devoured.

Lin Feng had an idea. If he could refine the Great Stomach King, the aftereffects of refining the Nightmare could at least be alleviated by half.

The two Demon Spirits would complement each other perfectly. For him, there could be no better combination.

Unfortunately, Demon Spirits on the Exotic Beast Ranking could only be encountered by chance, not sought after. Trying to find one was like fishing for a needle in the ocean.