Provocation from the Little Blondie

September 30th, Monday, sunny.

Last night, Su Wuming and Lin Pangpang had run their stall together. Business had been booming, and they did not pack up until three in the morning.

Early that morning, Su Wuming, dark circles under his eyes, was dragged toward school by Lin Pangpang.

Normally, it was not a problem for Spirit Martial Practitioners to go a day or two without sleep. After all, their mental strength far surpassed that of ordinary people.

But Su Wuming was different. He had not had a proper night's sleep in days. During those days in the Dark Forest, he had barely slept at all, his mind constantly wound tight.

After returning, he had immediately gone out to run the stall with Lin Pangpang. Altogether, he had slept only four hours, which was nowhere near enough.

"Oh, right. Help me remember—today's the day we need to send money to the orphanage," Lin Pangpang recalled on the way and told Su Wuming.

It had to be said that Lin Pangpang was someone who knew gratitude. The orphanage had raised him, and he had always remembered that kindness.

After leaving the orphanage and gaining a means of making a living, he and the original Su Wuming had sent money to the orphanage every month.

Fifteen hundred yuan was not much, but it was the thought that counted. It was enough to feed two children without issue.

"Look at the state I'm in. You sure I can help you remember?" Su Wuming pointed at his dark circles.

Anyone who did not know better might have thought he had gone out partying last night.

"Uh..." Lin Pangpang was at a loss for words.

At that moment, Su Wuming suddenly remembered something and reached into his pocket, when in fact he was opening the system inventory.

When he pulled his hand back out, ten Beast Crystals had appeared in it, which he held out to Lin Pangpang.

"Take these and sell them. Send the money to the orphanage—consider it the next half year's worth."

These ten were the ones Su Wuming had saved rather than absorbed because he had run out of Qi-Blood Sausages at the time.

Even if he absorbed them now, his cultivation would not break through to Black Iron Seven-Star. He might as well sell them and lighten the burden a little.

After six stars, every additional star required thirty Beast Crystals.

Besides, compared to those, the fifty-five System Coins in his system were what truly mattered most.

As long as he triggered missions or found chances to hunt Demon Beasts and earned another forty-five System Coins, he would be able to purchase the first gate skill of the Eight Gates.

Paired with the First Gear of the Rubber Fruit, his combat strength would soar.

Yet Lin Pangpang stared at the Beast Crystals in Su Wuming's hand and did not immediately reach out to take them.

He knew Su Wuming had gone to hunt Demon Beasts, but he had not expected him to have killed ten of them.

Su Wuming had only just awakened, after all, and his cultivation was merely One-Star Black Iron.

Of course, Power Type users had the ability to contend with low-level Black Iron Rank Demon Beasts early on, but only contend with them—and only briefly.

For Spirit Martial Practitioners of other types, it would be impossible without two or three people working together. The instant they saw a Demon Beast, their combat strength would be cut in half.

This was not merely about strength and talent. It also required the courage to dare strike when facing a Demon Beast.

From this, one could see just how much hardship he had endured these past few days.

Lin Pangpang did not dare imagine how Su Wuming had managed it.

(Su Wuming: Naturally, it was seventy percent hard work and thirty percent cheats...)

He had noticed yesterday that Su Wuming carried an inexplicable new aura about him. Perhaps today, he really would bring him a surprise.

Su Wuming could see what Lin Pangpang was thinking.

He wondered what Lin Pangpang's reaction would be if he told him that he had killed fifty-five Demon Beasts.

But after thinking it over, he decided against it. Crushing the confidence of a Food Type Spirit Martial Practitioner was not his style.

"Quit spacing out and put them away. Keep standing there, and you'll delay my time to beat people up."

That was right. In today's assessment, Su Wuming—the least favored Power Type user—was naturally not even eligible to take part.

He first had to earn the right to participate in the assessment.

And the method he had in mind was very simple. All he needed to say was, "Everyone here is trash."

After that, all that remained was to beat them into agreement and earn his qualification!

And all Lin Pangpang had to do was shout 666 for him when the time came.

When Lin Pangpang had first heard Su Wuming's plan, he had refused. But now, he no longer felt that way.

After taking the Beast Crystals and putting them away, Lin Pangpang thumped his left chest with his right fist, then pointed at Su Wuming.

"Handsome, I believe in you~"

"Damn right~" Su Wuming returned the same gesture.

The moment the two entered the school gates, a classmate walked toward them.

They both knew this classmate. He was one of Qin Ming's lackeys, Zhao Qiansun. His parents must have consulted quite a few classics when naming him.

Zhao Qiansun was small and thin, like a walking bamboo pole. He was only 162 centimeters tall and had dyed his hair blond.

A lock of hair over his forehead covered his right eye, so that he could remember.

It made a perfect pair with the hairstyle Class Monitor Qin Ming used to forget.

Unfortunately, even if Su Wuming explained the joke, they would not understand it. Otherwise, he would have mocked them a little.

"Damn, Classmate Wuming, did you take a wrong turn? This is the road to the assessment site."

He was clearly mocking Su Wuming. What was a Power Type user doing going to the assessment?

"Damn, I'll walk wherever the hell I want. Since when does a little blondie like you get to tell me what to do?"

Su Wuming mimicked Zhao Qiansun's catchphrase, even matching his tone perfectly.

This infuriated Zhao Qiansun. He was not from around here, and his accent was somewhat strange. He had been trying hard to change it, but he could never shake that catchphrase.

What was more, he regarded it as his personal signature phrase. Few classmates dared imitate him, because Qin Ming stood behind him.

"Damn, try imitating me one more time."

"Damn your mother. My brother imitated you, so what?" Su Wuming was not without a temper, but Lin Pangpang had an even hotter one. He directly stole Su Wuming's line and fired back for him.

Zhao Qiansun had mocked Su Wuming plenty of times before, and Lin Pangpang had long disliked him. Zhao Qiansun had been the one who came a few days ago to recruit him under Qin Ming, acting all high and mighty while extending the invitation. If Lin Pangpang's awakened ability had possessed any offensive power, he would have kicked Zhao Qiansun's ass then and there.

"Damn, you wanna fight? I can take both of you."

Zhao Qiansun was not lying. Before Su Wuming got the system, Zhao Qiansun really had possessed that strength.

Black Iron Six-Star, Grade-B Aptitude, with an awakened Element Type ability—Gale.

A natural-born assassin, an agility-focused fighter.

But Su Wuming was no longer that bottom-feeder with garbage aptitude.

In every regard, he was no weaker than Zhao Qiansun. Why would he fear a challenge to fight?

So Su Wuming showed no mercy as he snapped back:

"Fight? With that scrawny look of yours? Your ashes probably wouldn't even fill a Popsicle wrapper."

Pfft~~~

Several passing students happened to hear Su Wuming's words. Looking at Zhao Qiansun's tiny frame, they could not hold it in and burst into rather unkind laughter.

They were second-year students and did not know Zhao Qiansun, so they laughed without restraint.

"Damn!" Zhao Qiansun could not hold back any longer and was about to make a move.

"Stop! This is sacred school grounds. Fighting is forbidden!" The elderly security guard had appeared at some point and shouted at the two who were about to fight.