Smash that bastard!!

Not to mention the two thousand-plus first-year students, even the hundred-plus teachers under Li Jun in charge of different categories were swept up in it. Without understanding why, they all stood up and joined in the applause. The scene had never been so heated.

"This..." Li Jun hadn't expected things to turn out like this. He could have bellowed a command to stop everyone right then, but to directly halt such a stirring moment of universal applause and cheers—even he felt it would be wrong. Besides, Tie Ta hadn't committed any major offense.

Li Jun hesitated briefly in his heart and decided not to pursue the matter further. Instead, his gaze fell on Ren Jie, who had just arrived. When had this kid grown so bold? To dare something like this at such a time, and actually manage to whip the crowd into such fervor.

Still, thinking that in just one month he'd finally be free of dealing with this most troublesome and good-for-nothing Family Head, he felt a bit relieved. Though not of the direct imperial line, he did carry royal blood. He was committed to turning Jade Emperor Academy into a true institution for nurturing talent for the Bright Jade Dynasty, to change others' perception of it as a school for hedonistic young masters. But then there was Ren Jie—a Family Head even he, a royal relative, couldn't control. It infuriated him every time he thought about it.

If he ignored it, it bothered him; Ren Jie became a loophole and obstacle in his desire to strictly govern and reform Jade Emperor Academy. If he punished too harshly, the implications and significance would escalate. After all, Ren Jie wasn't just any hedonistic young master—he was the Family Head of the Ren Family. Over this matter, Li Jun had even personally gone to Face the Emperor, but gotten no results.

"Alright, that's enough for today. One month from now, anyone who hasn't reached the seventh layer of the Body Refining Realm in the assessment will be held back. Anyone who gains nothing from the Spirit Hunt will be held back." Looking in Ren Jie's direction, Li Jun repeated the essence of his earlier speech, then led the teachers out of the Martial Arts Arena.

"Scared me to death." Seeing Li Jun hadn't pursued it, Tie Ta let out a long breath, speaking with a thick regional accent.

"Big Tie Ta, you'll never learn to whisper. Your whisper is louder than anyone else's shout. No wonder you got noticed." Big Tie Ta was a nickname Gao Ren had given him. Though Tie Ta was about their age, he was already over two meters thirty tall. Even among elite soldiers, he towered over everyone. And his body was astonishingly strong—his arms were thicker than most people's legs.

"I forgot again..." Hearing Gao Ren say that, Tie Ta scratched his head with a grin.

"Not dead yet, but your head's pretty hard. Ren Jie, was it you who set fire to Miss Fang's place yesterday?" Just then, Gao Fei bellowed loudly, as if afraid someone might miss it, leading a large group as he strode over.

"It must be him. He couldn't win Miss Fang over, so he lashed out in anger."

"He's nothing, can only use these dirty tricks."

"That's right, definitely him."

Before Ren Jie could say anything, the crowd behind Gao Fei chimed in.

"Looks like I went too easy on you last time. You didn't learn your lesson, did you? We're at the Martial Arts Arena today. Since you fight anyone who mentions your mother, come on, let's settle it right here in the arena. This Young Master will let you use one hand and both feet. Hell, I'll even use just one finger against you." Gao Fei had just heard about Fang Qi's place catching fire. He'd planned to head back to Jade Capital City right after to visit the Fang Family, and happened to spot Ren Jie.

"The big exam's coming up. In another month, you'll go from classmate to junior. Then this Young Master won't bother cleaning up trash like you anymore. I'll leave that to the younger students. If it weren't for Miss Fang's house burning down and you being the prime suspect, I wouldn't even waste my time on a good-for-nothing like you." He didn't actually believe Ren Jie, that good-for-nothing Family Head, had the guts to set a fire. The guy usually groveled to Fang Qi. But thinking about visiting Fang Qi, he wanted to teach Ren Jie another good lesson. Last time, after beating Ren Jie, he'd spent time with Miss Fang—remembering that made him happy. It was progress he'd never made before. Having tasted success, he was about to see Fang Qi. If he could bring this news too, maybe Fang Qi would be so pleased she'd agree to date him...

"You bastard, I'll kill you..." Before Ren Jie could respond, Tie Ta immediately lost it. Last time Ren Jie was beaten in class, Tie Ta had gone after Gao Fei, but Gao Fei had run off, afraid he'd kill Ren Jie. Now, humiliating Ren Jie in front of so many people, Tie Ta swung his fist to charge.

"Big dummy, you think you can take on Young Master Fei?" The crowd behind Gao Fei moved to meet him, and a brawl seemed imminent.

"Tie Ta!" Ren Jie raised his hand slightly, stopping Tie Ta, whose eyes were already bulging like copper bells.

"Right there. If you can last fifteen minutes without falling, I'll lose you five hundred thousand taels of gold." Ren Jie pointed at the center of the Martial Arts Arena, speaking very calmly.

Five... hundred... thousand... taels of gold? Hearing this, the onlookers who'd been watching for laughs were all stunned, frozen in place.

Did they hear that right? Sure, ten taels of gold exchanged for one Jade Coin, and Jade Coins were the most common currency, with silver and gold being the most circulated, but five hundred thousand taels of gold was enough for an average family's entire lifetime expenses.

What was even more unthinkable was that Ren Jie had proposed this. Going up to the Martial Arts Arena—if someone died there, it was just their own fault.

Was he crazy? Last fifteen minutes without falling and he'd lose? What was he joking about?

Did he think he was a True Qi Realm expert?

"Five hundred thousand taels of gold, fine." Gao Fei agreed immediately. Fifteen minutes? He could cripple Ren Jie in the blink of an eye, pocket five hundred thousand taels of gold, and please Fang Qi. This was a dream come true.

Gao Fei agreed without hesitation, turned, and with power in his legs, bounded onto the Martial Arts Arena like a fierce tiger.

"Come on. Forget fifteen minutes—if a good-for-nothing like you can last ten moves against me, I'll call it your win right now." Though some had left, there were still over a thousand people in the arena. Gao Fei's shout made those about to leave stop and watch.

"Meal Ticket Boss, what the hell are you doing? Are you crazy? If you want to die, there are better ways!" Everything had happened too fast. Gao Ren hadn't had a chance to stop him. Now he grabbed Ren Jie urgently.

"Family Head, let me fight him to the death..." Tie Ta was about to charge up.

"What are you two panicking for? Just get ready for the show..." Ren Jie bent down, grabbed a heavy Iron Wood Bench—weighing a good dozen jin—and with his other hand pulled out a stack of Gold Notes.

"Gao Fei voluntarily entered the Martial Arts Arena to bet five hundred thousand taels of gold with This Family Head. If he can last fifteen minutes under this Iron Wood Bench without falling, This Family Head will lose him five hundred thousand taels of gold. Now listen up, everyone! Anyone who wants to make money, start throwing! Miss the throw, you get a hundred taels of gold. Hit him, you get a thousand. Draw blood, you get ten thousand. There are five thousand Iron Wood Benches here. Anyone who wants to earn, get moving!" Ren Jie roared. His internal energy was now more abundant than an average seventh-layer Body Refining Realm cultivator. Though he couldn't make his voice sound like it was right next to someone like Li Jun could, his shout was clear to all the remaining thousand-plus people.

"Whoosh!" After speaking, Ren Jie swung the dozen-jin Iron Wood Bench and hurled it toward the Martial Arts Arena.

Wha... what? When did I bet on this? What is this guy talking about? Gao Fei, standing in the arena, was completely confused. Then he saw the Iron Wood Bench whistling toward him. He dodged sharply—it was far away and the bench was a big target, so avoiding it wasn't hard.

"Haha, making money! Hit him and get a thousand taels of gold, what are you waiting for?" Gao Ren caught on instantly. The moment Ren Jie threw, he grabbed an Iron Wood Bench and hurled it too.

"Big Tie Ta, what are you standing there for? Throw!" Gao Ren shouted while throwing, reminding Tie Ta to act.

Tie Ta still didn't fully understand, but since his Family Head and Gao Ren were doing it, he grabbed two or three benches at once and flung them all.

"Ren Jie... you..." Gao Fei started to speak, but more benches came whistling in. He dodged frantically.

"What are you waiting for? Anyone who wants money, start throwing! These are hundred-tael Gold Notes. Anyone who hits him, come to This Family Head later for a thousand. The more you throw, the more you get!" Ren Jie tossed a handful of small-denomination hundred-tael Gold Notes into the air, scattering them around.

The students at Jade Emperor Academy naturally weren't short on money, but that also meant they spent a lot. Their awareness and pursuit of money exceeded most people's. And with Ren Jie doing this, many didn't fully understand what was happening, thinking it really was just a bet. Besides, Gao Fei had plenty of enemies in the academy.

With Ren Jie stirring things up, Gold Notes floating in the air, and Iron Wood Benches flying everywhere, a bunch of people with grudges against Gao Fei seized the chance to throw their benches too. Just like when Ren Jie led the applause, enough money and a half-understood situation easily snowballed.

Once one person threw, others followed. And these hedonistic young masters at Jade Emperor Academy gambled on everything anyway.

At first, only Tie Ta and Gao Ren were frantically throwing benches from around them. Tie Ta threw fast and many, making it seem like a crowd was throwing. But when Ren Jie tossed the Gold Notes into the air, benches came flying from all directions.

"Ren Jie... I... am... ah... you bastards..."

"Stop... I... didn't..."

"You bastards, stop... tell them to stop..."

"Save... me..."

Gao Fei could dodge at first, but there were too many, coming from every direction. When he couldn't dodge, he had to block. At first, with fewer benches, he could barely manage. But as more and more came, some hitting hard, Gao Fei was battered and screaming in agony. He tried to get down from the arena but found he couldn't escape.

Benches flew in from all sides, thick as a swarm, like Ten Thousand Arrows Fired Together.

"Damn..." The guys who'd been with Gao Fei stood dumbfounded. Save him? How?

Now seeing the people around him already worked up into a frenzy, with countless Iron Wood Benches smashing over with such ferocity, they were beaten down before they could even get close.

They all stood there, at a loss, not knowing how things had turned out this way.

"Well smashed. Here's a thousand taels in Gold Notes, take it." Ren Jie pulled out a Gold Note worth a thousand taels of gold from his hand, crumpled it into a ball, and tossed it to a man in the distance who had just smashed an Iron Wood Bench into Gao Fei's head.

"Nice spin technique there. Special reward of a thousand taels."

"This one over here drew blood. Ten thousand taels."

In truth, not many were in it for the money, but no one would turn down free cash, and plenty of people already disliked Gao Fei. Those who usually didn't dare face him one-on-one were smashing the hardest now—with at least a few hundred people joining in, even if they killed him, it wouldn't trace back to them. In that chaos, they swung with abandon.

Ren Jie had only given a nudge at the start; after that, he didn't need to push at all. The massive Martial Arts Arena's five thousand Iron Wood Benches were soon all hurled at Gao Fei.

In the end, Gao Fei was buried alive under the pile of Iron Wood Benches, completely swallowed up in the arena. Luckily, the benches weren't stone—there were plenty of gaps, so he wouldn't be suffocated to death. But anyone could see that even if Gao Fei survived this, he wouldn't be in good shape.