First Move, Endure

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Vergo's battle was swift and visually striking, putting immense pressure on many of the trainees. After all, Hōshō's strength was no joke.

The eleventh match was Sakazuki's. The moment he stepped onto the stage, his opponent surrendered. There was no need to fight at all.

The twelfth match was Kuzan's, with the same result. His opponent surrendered as soon as he took the stage, making the atmosphere throughout the arena somewhat strange.

At last, the thirteenth match was Ye Chen's turn.

However, Ye Chen's opponent this time was actually Gion, one of the academy's only beautiful female students.

Thus, the moment he stepped onto the stage, Ye Chen found himself in the same predicament as Momonga. Whether he won or lost, he would be condemned.

Before the match had even begun, people below the stage were already cursing.

Ignoring the clowns below, Ye Chen kept a cold expression as he calmly looked at Gion's stunning face without saying a word.

"Gion."

As soon as she stepped up, Gion politely greeted him. Though they knew each other, this was a formal occasion, so she was very serious.

Gion knew this icy fellow before her. To this day, it seemed they had never properly spoken, which felt somewhat ironic to her.

"Ye Chen."

Without any emotion, Ye Chen had looked at Gion indifferently from the very beginning.

"You should surrender."

Gion frowned. For some reason, she felt a faint surge of anger. She merely drew the longsword at her waist, using her actions to convey her answer to Ye Chen.

The two simply stared at each other.

In the elevated seats, Tsuru looked somewhat worried. She knew that with Gion's strength, she could not possibly be a match for that fellow.

Yet Gion was also someone who refused to admit defeat, or rather, she was extremely stubborn.

Whoosh!

After facing off for a while, Gion was the first to lose patience. She unleashed a dazzling slash that swept toward Ye Chen.

Ye Chen vanished in an instant, skimming past the edge of the slash before appearing in front of Gion and throwing a punch directly at her.

"That brat." Tsuru raised a brow from her seat, anger appearing on her face.

Bang! The tremendous force shattered stone and split metal. Gion raised her longsword before her chest to block, but the enormous impact made her spit blood. She flew out like a cannonball.

Thud!

Gion fell outside the arena and lay on the ground, her face somewhat pale.

The battle had ended in an instant. It was practically a one-hit defeat. Ye Chen had thrown only one punch, and Gion had fallen from the arena.

"If that brat hadn't held back, I'd definitely teach him a proper lesson."

Tsuru narrowed her eyes, looking at Gion worriedly as she muttered viciously to herself.

Beside her, Sengoku and the others said nothing, merely twitching at the corners of their mouths.

"Ye Chen wins."

A commotion erupted below the stage. Many trainees cursed loudly and threw all sorts of things at Ye Chen. Momonga, who had been wearing a dark expression, suddenly realized that he was not alone after all.

On the stage, Ye Chen expressionlessly watched the objects flying at him without reacting. He was about to leave the stage when an insult made him stop, and his gaze instantly turned vicious.

"You orphan nobody raised by parents, is your whole family dead? How dare you hit Gion that hard!"

The one who had insulted his family was a trainee named Dalmatian. More importantly, he was a Zoan-type user of the Inu Inu no Mi, Model: Dalmatian.

He was one of Gion's admirers.

Among these trainees, after all, Gion and Hina had many pursuers.

To Ye Chen, the father and mother in his memories were everything he had now. He missed them every moment, and Dalmatian's insult directly made the fury in his heart impossible to restrain.

His indifference toward everything depended on whether it concerned him. In order to stay alive safely, Ye Chen kept a low profile and never caused trouble. Thus, in some people's eyes, Ye Chen seemed arrogant, which made them very displeased.

With the atmosphere already so heated, Dalmatian had directly begun speaking without restraint.

"You, get up here."

His eyes icy, Ye Chen stared fixedly at Dalmatian, revealing a trace of killing intent.

Ye Chen's challenge gradually quieted the entire noisy venue. However, Zephyr and the others on the elevated platform frowned, for they could sense killing intent from Ye Chen.

"Does this fellow actually want to kill someone?" Sengoku raised a brow as he looked at Ye Chen's grim face.

"This fellow rarely causes trouble. It seems that trainee said something he shouldn't have!"

Zephyr frowned as he looked at the somewhat different Ye Chen.

"Everyone has something they refuse to yield on. We were once the same. With us here, that fellow won't be able to stir up much trouble." Kong, seated at the head, had no intention of intervening. To put it plainly, in their eyes, Ye Chen could be suppressed with a single backhand.

Ye Chen's direct challenge made Dalmatian flush red with rage.

He immediately vanished from where he stood and appeared on the arena, looking arrogantly at Ye Chen.

"Can I kill him?"

Watching Dalmatian take the stage, Ye Chen turned his gaze toward Kong.

"Haha, the brat has personality." Before Kong could speak, Garp burst into laughter.

"No." Kong was slightly stunned. Wasn't that obvious?

"What about crippling him?"

"No!"

Ye Chen asked no further questions. He knew the answer already, yet he had still asked. He had no right to bargain now, so he still had to endure. Since he could not kill the other man, he could only make him suffer.

"Interesting, truly interesting."

Ye Chen's questions made Garp laugh again. Even Sengoku and Zephyr revealed faint smiles. Just as Garp had said, Ye Chen was very interesting.

Sure enough, people with potential all had abnormal personalities and strange tempers. Sakazuki and the others, for example, were arrogant and looked down on others. Yet Ye Chen's strange temper gave them a refreshing feeling.

"We can begin."

Ignoring Dalmatian completely, Ye Chen said a single sentence to the major serving as referee.

Many people were utterly baffled, unable to make sense of it.

"Bastard, I'll make you pay. My name is Dal—"

Though he did not know why this fellow had singled him out and ignored him the entire time, Dalmatian felt his whole face burning, and his anger surged skyward.

Bang! Aah!

Crack!

Before he could finish speaking, Ye Chen appeared before Dalmatian and punched him in the stomach. Dalmatian immediately vomited blood nonstop, his body curling like a boiled shrimp, his face twisted in agony.

With icy eyes, Ye Chen grabbed Dalmatian by the hair and lifted him up. "What I hate most is people insulting my family."

Like dragging a dead dog, Ye Chen hauled Dalmatian to the edge of the arena and tossed him out like garbage, kicking up dust across the ground.

Another instant defeat. Ye Chen had thrown only one punch, leaving Dalmatian unable even to use his ability. He lost all fighting strength and was barely clinging to life.

Nearby, Dalmatian was helped up by others. Looking at his sunken chest, at least several of his bones had been broken. Without lying in bed for several days, he could forget about getting back up.

The battle had ended too quickly. By the time everyone reacted, Ye Chen had already jumped off the stage.

If possible, he truly wanted to kill the other man. But his current circumstances did not allow it. Before he had enough power, he had to endure. In the future, that fellow would definitely die out there.