Cling to a Powerful Patron and Be a Bootlicker

Under the terrified gaze of the delinquent, the dark brown wooden sword whistled down at his face, grazing his cheek before smashing viciously into his left shoulder.

The impact rang out sharp and forceful!

The delinquent let out a heart-rending scream. His left shoulder instantly collapsed, his entire arm went numb, and his left leg trembled as his knee buckled, forcing him to his knees.

"M-My ear!"

The kneeling delinquent raised his right hand and clutched his left ear tightly. Pain and terror made him howl until snot and tears streamed down his face. He looked utterly miserable.

He had mistakenly thought the wooden sword had sliced off his ear. In truth, it was nowhere near that serious. The sword tip had merely grazed his outer ear, breaking the skin and drawing a little blood.

Although he had been forced into an angry counterattack, Sun Qiang was not a cruel or violent boy. When he struck, he had instinctively avoided the other party's vital spots.

Otherwise, if that strike had landed directly on the guy's forehead, he would have suffered at least a moderate concussion. If his skull was not tough enough, a severe one would have been entirely possible!

Do not think a wooden sword could not kill someone.

His opponent had wailed for his parents after a single blow. Even Sun Qiang himself had not expected that outcome, and he froze for a moment.

The fierce impulse born from his heated blood also cooled considerably.

Yet in the instant Sun Qiang was distracted, someone slammed him hard in the back.

It was the fist of a delinquent behind him.

Sun Qiang's body swayed. His weight and body fat spared him most of the damage from that punch.

But it also reignited his anger.

Without a second thought, Sun Qiang spun around, raised his wooden sword, and hacked down at the other boy's head and face!

Surrounded and under attack, he could no longer hold back. Bracing himself against the wild punches thrown by the others, he slashed until several delinquents howled like ghosts and wolves—getting struck by a wooden sword without any protective gear really hurt!

Come on, hurt each other! Aaaah!

It had to be said that Sun Qiang had been smart to learn swordsmanship at the martial arts school instead of fighting techniques. If he had studied fighting, ten days or half a month would not have taught him much, and it would have done very little to improve his combat ability.

If he had encountered the current situation empty-handed, surrounded by five delinquents, there was no way he could have fought them off.

But with a sword in hand, things were completely different. Chaotic fists could beat a master to death, while wild sword swings could sweep aside little punks. Sun Qiang actually gained the upper hand against five opponents, beating them until they did not dare come near him.

Their combat ability was also simply too poor, and they had little experience fighting. Otherwise, with Young Qiang's barely passable skills, they could have dealt with him easily enough.

To put it bluntly, it was just a clash between two groups of rookies!

"What are you doing?"

Just then, a middle-aged man out for morning exercise ran over and shouted, "No fighting!"

"Run!"

Seeing someone intervene—and a muscular, burly man at that—the delinquents panicked even more. Forgetting all about saving face against Sun Qiang, they immediately turned and fled.

"Fuck!"

The delinquent who had nearly had his head smashed in by Sun Qiang cursed loudly. "Wait for me!"

Left alone, he had no courage left to fight. Enduring the pain, he scrambled after his utterly disloyal companions.

Only after all his opponents had fled did Sun Qiang slump into a crouch, gasping for breath.

That explosive outburst had drained all his strength and courage. His limbs now felt weak and sore, and lingering fear washed over him in waves. He only avoided collapsing because he gripped the wooden sword in his hand tightly.

Sun Qiang had not even noticed that he was still carrying his lunchbox bag in his left hand.

He should have dropped the lunch bag and wielded the sword with both hands to fully use his strength. Yet Sun Qiang had not done so—perhaps his subconscious believed the lunch was important and could not be discarded.

"Young man..."

The man out for morning exercise came over, patted his shoulder, and asked, "Are you all right?"

Though he did not understand what had started the conflict, one look at the strange clothes and colorful dyed hair of the fleeing boys allowed him to reach the right conclusion easily.

"I'm fine."

Sun Qiang slowly rose to his feet and said gratefully, "Thank you, Uncle."

"No need to thank me."

The man kindly reminded him, "If you run into those guys again, call the police. Don't fight them."

He looked in the direction the delinquents had fled and said disgustedly, "Those little bastards will end up in a correctional facility sooner or later. Then they'll know what regret feels like!"

The man patted Sun Qiang's shoulder again. "You must never become like them."

Sun Qiang nodded vigorously. "Mm-hmm, mm-hmm!"

The man chuckled. "All right, I'm off. Goodbye."

"Goodbye."

After waving farewell to the kind man, Sun Qiang continued onward, planning to take the subway to the martial arts school as usual.

He was grateful to the man who had helped him out, but he was even more grateful to Teacher Zuo Yi.

Zuo Yi had taught him body tempering, taught him swordsmanship, given him a weapon to protect himself with, and, more importantly, given him the courage to draw his sword and fight!

That last point, especially, was more important than anything else!

Drawing in a deep breath, Sun Qiang quickened his pace.

His spirits were more fired up than ever. He wanted to forge a stronger body, learn more sword techniques, cling to a powerful patron, and become a bootlicker!!

Young Qiang gripped the wooden sword in one hand and the lunch bag in the other, as though he were holding onto his own future and prospects.

"Dad."

"Hmm?"

Having just stepped out of the yard, Bao'er could not help asking again, "Do you think Taike really won't feel uncomfortable?"

Zuo Yi stroked her head and replied helplessly, "He'll get used to it."

Bao'er had already asked the same question three times.

When she woke up that morning and saw the collar around Taike's neck, she had immediately expressed concern.

The little girl was afraid that Taike would be strangled by it, unable to breathe, and feel uncomfortable.

Hearing Zuo Yi's honest answer, she looked a little disappointed. "I see... Can't he go without wearing it?"

Zuo Yi crouched down, placed the leash in her hand, and patiently explained, "Sweetheart, just like when we registered Taike, got him vaccinated, and licensed him yesterday, this is a rule we have to follow. Otherwise, you can't bring Taike into the city to play, and he can only stay locked up at home."

"Would you want that?"

Bao'er immediately shook her head. "No!"

How pitiful would Taike be if he had to stay home all alone!

Taike, standing beside her, shook his head desperately as well, making the tag hanging beneath his collar rattle loudly.

Being a single dog stuck at home was far too boring. Only by following Bao'er could he eat and drink well and receive affection and care!

Compared to that, wearing a collar was no big deal.

"Besides,"

Zuo Yi said with a smile, "this collar is good for Taike. So don't worry."

The material used for Taike's collar was the hide of Frost Silverwing, the silver dragon.

Besides possessing tremendous defensive power and elasticity, silver dragon hide contained potent frost energy. It could suppress the restless wildness in Taike's bloodline and help him better adapt to life on Blue Star.

As Bao'er's magical beast companion, it would also benefit his growth.

"Mm."

The little girl finally felt relieved.

She set down her new backpack, picked up Taike, and gave him a kiss before placing him, leash and all, into the space capsule.

She did not need Zuo Yi's help at all.

But riding the motorcycle was another matter. Zuo Yi still had to lift her into the child safety seat.

Zuo Yi taught her how to fasten her seat belt, then put a safety helmet on her.

The helmet had been bought together with the safety seat yesterday, and the shop owner had also thrown in a pair of children's sunglasses.

Zuo Yi put those on her too.

With the dog space capsule strapped backward across her chest, Bao'er leaned back in the safety seat wearing her helmet, propped up her sunglasses, and looked around.

She looked very cool.

"Hold tight."

Zuo Yi swung onto the Harley motorcycle and started it. The 1500cc engine immediately let out a powerful roar.

"I'm ready."

The Harley roared over a patch of grass and sped onto the asphalt path, racing toward the rising sun and the fresh morning breeze.

Another wonderful day had begun!