A Joke

Nearly two hundred thousand spectators stared dumbfounded at the figure sprawled on the ground. Aside from the sound of everyone sucking in cold breaths, the vast martial arts hall fell into an eerie silence.

Everyone looked at one another, their faces filled with disbelief.

A high school student had really beaten up a martial artist?

This wasn't some movie shoot, was it?

Even the professional commentator hired by Thunder Martial Arts Hall was stunned. He had commentated on hundreds of matches, yet none had ever shocked him as much as today's.

"Wow!"

Even Lin Feng's little fangirls cried out in surprise, their tiny mouths hanging open.

They had come together from different schools and different places, skipping class and braving the blazing sun to cheer Lin Feng on at Thunder Martial Arts Hall!

Yet in their hearts, they had not truly believed Lin Feng could win this wildly uneven match. More than anything, they had simply wanted to see their idol and encourage him.

Even his own fans were this shocked, let alone those who had never thought highly of Lin Feng in the first place.

Some gamblers stared at the glaring record of ten battles and ten victories displayed on the big screen, their faces full of despair.

Yesterday, many of those gamblers had bet that Lin Feng would lose, only to lose nine matches in a row. Today, although the odds were pitifully low, many had placed bets again under the principle of guaranteed profit—if there was money to be made, it would be foolish not to make it. Who could have imagined reality would be so brutal?

"Damn it, trash! What a piece of trash!"

"Why don't you just die? Getting beaten up by a high school student!"

"Why aren't you getting down already? What are you still lying there for, mopping the floor?"

Quite a few gamblers lost control and cursed loudly. Some even threw water bottles, and the scene became somewhat chaotic.

Chen Xu, sprawled on the ground, had a face as green as iron. Right then, he only wanted to dig a hole and bury himself in it...

"He actually won!"

In the VIP section, Zhang Ling's face was filled with surprise and gravity.

In her heart, although she had always thought highly of Lin Feng, that estimation was still nowhere near Ye Qiu's level.

Ye Qiu was at the Body Cultivation Ninth Stage and had refined the Earth Ranking Demon Spirit, the Thorn Demon Dragon. He was a universally acknowledged peerless genius, one seen only once in a decade.

Even an S-Class Club like Thunder Club had been willing to risk turmoil within its team, even the danger of a training strike, just to sign him.

'Ye Qiu in the south, Lin Feng in the north!'

In her eyes, that saying was nothing more than a joke.

It was merely hype created by forums and the media. It was only because of some internet users with a twisted sense of humor that Lin Feng had gained such popularity.

As a member of the Martial Artist Forum, Zhang Ling had naturally seen the posts there.

Someone on the Martial Artist Forum had posted Lin Feng's third-year high school transcript, one of which was from just half a month ago.

On that transcript, neither Lin Feng's physical fitness scores nor his academic scores stood out, but his actual combat score was only 150 points.

For a third-year high school student, an actual combat score of 150 was actually quite high. But for Lin Feng, that score was definitely very low.

After all, Lin Feng could challenge opponents above his level and directly beat up someone at the Body Cultivation Ninth Stage. His actual combat score should have been at least 195 points. Zhang Ling would not have been surprised even if he had received full marks.

In other words, Lin Feng had indeed hidden his actual combat results.

It was precisely because of that transcript that she believed the main reason Lin Feng had deliberately hidden his strength was to attend the same university as Yage.

Although such a story was melodramatic and unbearably chuunibyou, it was not impossible for two childhood sweethearts who had grown up together, young people in the heat of love, to do all sorts of absurd things for romance.

But in Zhang Ling's eyes, that applied only to martial arts talent!

As for the forum rumors that Lin Feng had been able to refine the ninth-grade Purple Scale but had given it up in order to refine an Earth Ranking Demon Spirit, she did not really believe them.

It was not impossible for martial artists to change the Demon Spirits they had refined. After many martial artists grew stronger, if they encountered a higher-grade Demon Spirit better suited to them, they could replace their first Demon Spirit—their natal Demon Spirit—or refine it as their second Demon Spirit.

Most people chose the first option, expelling their original Demon Spirit from their bodies and refining a new one.

The second option was rare. After all, nurturing even one Demon Spirit was extremely difficult. A martial artist's Soul Power was limited, and raising two at once often meant losing more than one gained.

Moreover, a Demon Spirit expelled from the body could not be refined by anyone else again and would soon scatter into ashes and smoke.

Refining a Demon Spirit consumed a large amount of Soul Power in the dantian. Normally, recovering that Soul Power took around a year. In other words, after refining one Demon Spirit, even replacing it required at least a year-long buffer period. Beyond that, there were also certain risks and aftereffects.

It was not impossible for someone to encounter no Demon Spirit they wanted on Awakening Day and choose to give up. In fact, she had heard of many such cases.

But those people were all descendants of Glory Clan families or major conglomerates. Their elders had prepared Demon Spirits for them in advance, and they attended Awakening Day only to have one more option.

What they wanted to refine were rare ninth-grade Demon Spirits or even Earth Ranking Demon Spirits. If their luck was bad and they could not find one that suited them, they would not settle casually. They would simply give up.

Refining a Demon Spirit consumed a huge amount of Soul Power, and recovering that Soul Power took an entire year. They could not afford to waste it.

They had carefully prepared Demon Spirits from their elders as alternatives, but Lin Feng did not.

Lin Feng lived in Anbian Residential Area. How could someone living in Anbian Residential Area have the confidence to give up a ninth-grade Demon Spirit?

Especially Purple Scale, which could be considered high-grade even among ninth-grade Demon Spirits.

Could it really have been for love?

For love, he did not even care about his own future?

Zhang Ling did not believe there was truly anyone in the world that foolish.

It was precisely because of this that she suspected Lin Feng possessed the talent to become a Demon Spirit Master.

His goal was most likely just the Recruiting Sponsor Slot, to earn a sum of money.

At that moment, Zhang Ling still harbored doubts. Yet faced with Lin Feng's astonishing combat talent, she buried those doubts deep within her heart.

The young man had already earned her attention.

If he possessed the talent to become a Demon Spirit Master and could refine a Demon Spirit above the ninth grade, Lin Feng's value might truly rival Ye Qiu's.

"Have you investigated it clearly? Hurry up!"

"Confirm it quickly. If he really has Soul Power cultivation talent, sign him immediately. Forget an A-Class contract, give him an S-Class..."

The faint discussion beside her drew Zhang Ling's attention, and she turned to look.

Quite a few people were discussing the matter in low voices. One of them was a lean middle-aged man, the person in charge of Zhaifeng Club's River City branch. As the respective River City heads of S-Class Clubs, she naturally knew him well.

It was obvious that quite a few people in the VIP section shared her thoughts. Many began making calls, while others hurriedly left their seats and walked out of the VIP lounge.

"Elder Jiang, where are you going?"

Even Elder Jiang from Thunder Club, seated beside her, stood up and prepared to leave.

"Hehe, I drank too much water just now. Time to visit the restroom."

Elder Jiang paused, turned around, and replied with a faint smile.

Although he was smiling, Elder Jiang was anxious inside. Naturally, he too wanted to confirm whether Lin Feng had the talent to become a Demon Spirit Master, afraid that if he was one step too late, someone else would snatch him away first.

They had failed to get Ye Qiu yesterday, which had already left him deeply regretful. Because of the promises and terms the club had offered Ye Qiu, the team members had become quite emotional after learning of them. They had nearly gone on a training strike, causing a very bad impact on the team.

Now that another Lin Feng, whose talent might rival Ye Qiu's, had appeared, he did not want to miss out again.

Though he was anxious, after hearing Zhang Ling's question, Elder Jiang could not leave immediately. He still had to put on an air of drifting clouds and gentle winds.

After all, among all the clubs, Juxing was the greatest threat.

What a load of crap!

Zhang Ling cursed inwardly, then smiled. "Perfect. Let's go together. I was just about to use the restroom too."

She did not want Lin Feng to make contact with Thunder first. Thunder's boldness and decisiveness yesterday had left a deep impression on her, and she had to guard against them!

"Then let's go together."

Elder Jiang chuckled, cursing inwardly as well.

Meanwhile, in the spectator stands, Chen Hao's parents were equally stunned.

Yesterday's family gathering had made their family lose all face. As a successful man in the eyes of his relatives, Father Chen had always held a lofty position within the family. He had never suffered such humiliation before.

That sentence—"I usually eat too lightly, so I'm not used to greasy food."—would probably become a joke for their relatives to laugh over during idle chats for a long time.

And all of this was because of Lin Kerou's younger brother.

That young man had stood in the private room, facing the doubts and disdain of every one of them. His calm yet utterly arrogant words—"Because my name is Lin Feng, Class Seven, Senior Year, Jiangxin First High School."—had humiliated them beyond measure while also making them intensely curious.

What right did a high school student living in Anbian Residential Area have to say something so arrogant?

With disdain in their hearts, they searched online for "Lin Feng Jiangxin First High School Senior Year Class Seven."

Naturally, the posts on the Martial Artist Forum were the first things that appeared before the couple. Many relatives had even called them to inform them about what was happening on the Martial Artist Forum.

With complicated feelings, they came to Thunder Martial Arts Hall.

At that moment, they finally understood why the young man had dared to say, "The Chen Hao family will never be worthy of reaching up to me."

The talent he displayed proved to everyone that even if the young man came from humble origins, even if he was not yet powerful, absolutely no one could look down on him.

"You shouldn't have said that to Kerou back then!" Father Chen sighed, feeling regret.

"Didn't you disapprove of them being together too? Why didn't you say anything then? And now you're complaining."

Mother Chen's expression was ugly. She regretted it too, but she was unwilling to admit it. She could only snort. "So what if his combat talent is impressive? If he can't refine a Demon Spirit, he has no future."

Father Chen fell silent for a moment. He did not explain, nor did he want to explain anything to his naïve wife.

With such combat talent, even if Lin Feng could not refine a Demon Spirit and could not gain the favor of a Glory Club, many martial arts halls would still be willing to nurture him.

Although Demon Spirit Masters stood above martial artists, powerful martial artists were still far beyond comparison to merchants like them.

His annual income of several million was perhaps not even as much as what some advanced martial artists earned from a single hunt in the Otherworld.

It was not only income. Martial artists also held a far higher social status than people like them.

If Lin Feng truly grew strong, he might even possess many privileges that could be used against them.

If Lin Feng really became a Demon Spirit Master, then his arrogant words from yesterday would be completely fulfilled.

Their family truly would not be worthy of reaching up to him.

His confidence, his annual income of several million—in front of a professional Glory player, it was nothing but a joke.