Just This, Just This

The crowd in the square voluntarily backed away, quickly clearing out a spacious open area.

Everyone's eyes were focused on the center of the square. Most of them had come simply to watch the show.

But aside from Beibei and the others, no one believed that a freshman who had not even enrolled yet could defeat Zhao Feng, a third-year student.

Zhao Feng rolled his neck, his bones cracking loudly. He shot Lu Chen a sidelong glare, his face dark and gloomy. "Kid, today I'll teach you what it means to respect your seniors!"

Before Zhao Feng had even finished speaking, however, the boy before him suddenly vanished.

There was no violent surge of Soul Power, nor was there any glow from a Soul Ring. Lu Chen merely swayed slightly, then appeared right in front of Zhao Feng's face like a ghost.

He was absurdly fast. To everyone watching, Lu Chen had simply "teleported" to Zhao Feng's face.

"What—?!"

Zhao Feng's pupils contracted sharply as an intense sense of danger surged through him.

He instinctively tried to activate his Spirit Avatar, but before he could, Lu Chen's fist smashed viciously into his face.

"Bang!"

A dull impact rang out.

Zhao Feng was sent staggering two steps sideways. Half his face instantly swelled up, and blood streamed from his nose and down the corner of his mouth.

His head was buzzing, and he had been completely beaten senseless.

He had not even reacted before taking a punch.

The entire square fell silent.

Everyone stared wide-eyed, unable to believe what they had just seen. Then, discussions erupted all around them.

"No way, right? Zhao Feng actually got beaten until he bled."

"What just happened? How did that freshman suddenly get right in Zhao Feng's face?"

"That's the level of a third-year student? Isn't Shrek Academy supposed to be the finest Spirit Master academy on the continent?"

"Xiaoya, did you see that clearly?"

Off to the side, Beibei watched the fight with a grave expression as he asked his girlfriend, Tang Ya.

Lu Chen had been too fast just now.

So fast that even he had failed to react.

In the blink of an eye, Lu Chen had already appeared in front of Zhao Feng.

If Lu Chen had used a Soul Skill to achieve that effect, Beibei would not have been surprised at all.

But Lu Chen had not even summoned his Martial Soul.

He had achieved the effect of "teleportation" entirely through his own physical strength and technique.

Only now did Beibei understand why Lu Chen had claimed to be invincible among those of the same rank.

If one could not counter that bizarre "teleportation," it was a crushing advantage against Spirit Masters of the same rank.

"No..."

Tang Ya clearly had yet to recover from her shock.

She knew Lu Chen was strong, but she had never expected him to be this strong.

"S-So fast!"

"Is this Big Brother Lu's strength? Without even summoning his Martial Soul, he's already faster than that Millennium Datura Snake!"

"I need to work harder too!"

Huo Yuhao was deeply shaken as well.

They were clearly the same age, but Lu Chen's combat ability was simply too terrifying.

Of everyone present, only Qian Renxue was not surprised.

Back in the Star Dou Great Forest, Lu Chen had used this very footwork to evade her attacks again and again.

In the end, she had only managed to catch him after using Angel Domain.

"Just this? Just this?"

Lu Chen's tone was dripping with mockery.

Before Zhao Feng could recover, Lu Chen lunged forward again.

Punch after punch landed cleanly on Zhao Feng's body, without the slightest hesitation.

"A third-year senior, and this is all you've got?"

"What, don't you have hands? Fight back!"

"Being ugly isn't your fault, but coming out to scare people is!"

"Senior, senior, weren't you going to teach me how to respect my elders?"

With every blow Lu Chen dealt, his voice followed. His tone was calm, yet every word struck Zhao Feng's face like a slap.

Zhao Feng was soon beaten so badly that he lost all sense of direction. Every bone in his body felt as though it had been scattered apart.

He wanted to circulate his Soul Power and activate his Spirit Avatar, but Lu Chen's attacks were airtight. The force of his punches made breathing difficult, let alone summoning his Martial Soul. He did not even have a gap in which to gather Soul Power.

Humiliating!

From the day he had been born until now, Zhao Feng had never suffered such a humiliating beating. He had not even touched the corner of his opponent's clothes.

The discussions around them had long since stopped. Everyone stared dumbfoundedly at the scene before them.

No one had expected the battle to become such a one-sided crushing defeat.

What was even more terrifying was that the boy had not revealed a Soul Ring or summoned his Martial Soul from beginning to end—he had pinned Zhao Feng to the ground and beaten him using only the most basic Soul Power and physical strength.

Lu Chen used Flash Step once more, appearing directly before Zhao Feng. In a voice like a demon's whisper, he said beside Zhao Feng's ear, "Remember this. My name is Lu Chen. You're welcome to come cause trouble for me anytime!"

As Lu Chen finished speaking, Zhao Feng let out a pained scream.

Then Zhao Feng flew backward like a kite with its string cut, crashing heavily several meters away. He twitched twice, his head tilted to one side, and he passed out completely.

The square was so quiet that a pin dropping could have been heard.

Everyone stared blankly at the twelve-year-old boy in the center of the square, their eyes filled with shock and apprehension.

Outside the crowd, Tang Ya's little mouth hung open for a long while. "Th-That was way too ruthless..."

She had originally been worried that Lu Chen would suffer a loss. Instead, Zhao Feng had been beaten so thoroughly that he could not fight back at all.

Meanwhile, Lu Chen acted as though he had done something utterly insignificant. He dusted off his hands, then cupped his fists toward the surrounding crowd. "Everyone, disperse. Go do whatever you need to do."

Only after hearing Lu Chen say that did the onlookers gradually disperse, still full of astonishment.

Even as they left, they could not help looking back at Lu Chen a few more times, quietly discussing the one-sided crushing defeat they had just witnessed.

As for the unconscious Zhao Feng, not a single student nearby stepped forward to help him up.

Once most of the people around them had dispersed, Lu Chen turned and walked toward Beibei and the other three with a faint smile. "Senior, Senior Sister, thanks for coming over to back me up."

"Why be so polite with us? It's not like we helped much."

Beibei waved his hand, though traces of shock still remained in his eyes.

He had originally planned to mediate between them.

But he had never expected Lu Chen to act so decisively. Zhao Feng had not even had time to summon his Martial Soul before Lu Chen beat him into a state where he could not fight back at all.

"Still, you offended Zhao Feng, so you need to be careful of his brother in the Inner Court—Zhao Lei. He holds grudges."

"If he finds out that you beat up his little brother, he'll definitely come looking for trouble once he returns from his training."

Beibei quickly added the warning.

Zhao Feng was a minor figure in the Outer Court. Aside from his own decent strength, most of his confidence came from having an older brother in the Inner Court.

"Don't worry, Senior. Renxue and I will be careful."

Lu Chen nodded in response.

He was now a Level 31 Spirit Zun, while Qian Renxue was a Level 41 Spirit Zun. More importantly, both of them could fight above their ranks.

As long as their opponent was not a Spirit Emperor, he and Qian Renxue could handle it.

"By the way, Senior, Senior Sister, why are you here?" Lu Chen asked curiously. "Weren't you preparing for the advancement assessment?"

Beibei had previously told him that he and Tang Ya had gone to the Star Dou Great Forest to help Tang Ya hunt a soul beast and obtain her Third Soul Ring, so she could prepare for the Outer Court's third-year-to-fourth-year assessment.

By all rights, they should have been quite busy.

At the mention of this, Beibei immediately gave a bitter smile and helplessly shook his head. "You're still asking? This is all your fault."

"My fault?" Lu Chen froze for a moment.

"Of course it is." Tang Ya took over from the side, wrinkling her little face as she complained, "After getting used to the barbecue you made in the Star Dou Great Forest, the food we had in the academy cafeteria last night and this morning was all bland soup and tasteless dishes. There wasn't any flavor at all."

"Even Thunder Vegetable, Beibei's favorite, tasted like vegetables boiled in plain water."

"So we wanted to come find you two."

"We didn't see you at the registration office, so we thought we'd wait for you at the academy gate."

"We didn't expect to run into Zhao Feng causing trouble the moment we arrived."

Huo Yuhao also softly agreed from the side. "Mm... The cafeteria food really isn't as good as what Big Brother Lu makes."

After hearing that, Lu Chen could not help bursting into laughter. He directly hooked an arm around Huo Yuhao's neck, sounding full of swagger. "I thought it was something serious!"

"Once Renxue and I finish the registration procedures, I'll make you all a proper feast at noon."

"I'll show you what real cooking is!"

There was not the slightest hint of false confidence in Lu Chen's tone.

After all, cuisine that could glow would have no trouble conquering the appetites of this world.

"Really? That would be wonderful!" Tang Ya's eyes immediately lit up, and her earlier gloom was swept away. "I've been waiting for you to say that!"

"No problem." Lu Chen agreed without hesitation.

Qian Renxue stood at Lu Chen's side. Remembering the two glowing dishes from the previous night, the corners of her lips unconsciously lifted for a moment before quickly returning to their usual calm expression.

"Come on. The registration office is up ahead. I'll take you there."

Beibei stepped aside to lead the way, preparing to take Lu Chen and Qian Renxue to register.