Dogs in the Way Aren't Good Dogs

"Brother Fei, I heard that Miss Fang even had her maid send you a gift—is that true?"

"I've heard it too. Fang Qi has never shown favor to anyone before. Looks like Brother Fei's show of strength in taking down that Ren Jie finally won the young lady's heart."

"Brother Fei is our role model. The whole academy's already buzzing about it."

At the main entrance of the Jade Emperor Academy, seven or eight people were crowded around Gao Fei, who strode in with a robust build, a beaming face, and the triumphant air of a hero returning from slaying a million foes.

Listening to the flattery from his lackeys and a few classmates who followed his lead, Gao Fei's mind had already drifted away.

"That kid needed a lesson. I've already put the word out—every time I see him, I'll beat him. A puppet family head, thinking he's something special. Miss Fang invited me for tea and a chat. I won't say more, haha..." As Gao Fei spoke, he felt almost light as a feather, bursting into loud laughter at the high point.

"Hmph!" Just then, a cold snort came from nearby, making Gao Fei and his group stop in their tracks.

A young man in fine clothes, handsome enough but with a slightly pale complexion—clearly the result of too much wine and women at a young age—glared at Gao Fei as they entered, looking very displeased.

"What's with the snorting, Su Yu? I'm off to have tea with Miss Fang right now. You haven't even set foot through her door, have you? Miss Fang said she wants to thank me personally for standing up for her. You've got no chance." Gao Fei couldn't stand this Su Yu. They weren't in the same class, but Su Yu was also a die-hard pursuer of Fang Qi. The Su Family was originally just a big merchant clan in Jade Capital City, theoretically no match for the direct descendants of the Five Great Families. But two years ago, Su Yu's older sister married the Third Prince.

That didn't make them true imperial relatives, but it was close enough. Over the next few years, the Su Family swelled and grew, and Su Yu rode that wave. Among the hedonistic young masters of Jade Capital City, Su Yu barely counted as someone worth mentioning.

Su Yu held a folding fan, looking disdainfully at Gao Fei as he gently fanned himself. "Who was it that ran off and hid the moment they heard Ren Jie was beaten to death? And now you're strutting around playing hero?"

"I'd do anything for Fang Qi, and I'm not afraid of anything. You think you can compete with me? Let's go." The muscles in Gao Fei's face twitched slightly. While scuffles among the younger generation of major families weren't a big deal, a death was another matter entirely. Later, someone had analyzed it for him: the Ren Family was still the nominal Family Head of the Ren Family—they wouldn't let it slide. At the time, Gao Fei panicked and bolted, running all the way to a hidden mountain villa several thousand li away to lie low. But then he learned Ren Jie was fine, and Fang Qi even wanted to thank him.

Now, Gao Fei naturally wouldn't bring that up. And thinking about being the first in his class—or even the academy—to be invited into Fang Qi's courtyard, he was too excited to bother arguing with Su Yu. On any other day, it would've sparked a fight.

With that, Gao Fei led his men away in big strides.

"What's he acting all high and mighty for? If our young master had been in that class, he'd have been the one to help Fang Qi and take the glory."

"Exactly. He ran faster than anyone back then, and now he's back throwing his weight around."

"Young master, why are we here? I hear a lot of people are looking for Ren Jie now. Miss Fang hates him so much—whoever takes him down is sure to earn her favor."

"Yeah, young master. I heard plenty have already rushed back to Jade Capital City, just waiting for a chance to deal with Ren Jie."

"Snap!" Su Yu opened his fan, casting a contemptuous glance at Gao Fei's retreating group. "Gao Fei just happened to be in the class at the time, but there weren't many people there. Most of it's rumors later. Actually, Ren Jie just got hit on the head with a stool by Gao Fei and passed out. That's how he got lucky. These brainless fools—I've already paid for the details. Ren Jie went home for two days, but he's heading back today and will be here soon. When he gets back, I'll block him at the academy gate, give him a good beating, and humiliate him. Then the whole academy will know."

"Brilliant move, young master. Everyone will know what you did for Miss Fang, and she's bound to be moved."

"Hmph, Gao Fei's so happy just being invited for tea. When Miss Fang's touched, she'll probably give herself to our young master."

Listening to his flunkies' sycophancy, Su Yu's mind kept conjuring Fang Qi's face. If he could marry her, inheriting the Su Family would be no problem. Besides, Fang Qi felt more captivating than all the women he'd played with before combined. Just thinking about it made his heart race.

At the same time, he was mulling over how to humiliate Ren Jie after beating him.

Just hitting him wouldn't show he was any better than Gao Fei, nor would it make Miss Fang remember him. Should he beat him until he agreed to apologize to her? Or make him bark like an animal?

No, no. Better to step on his head and loudly declare he was standing up for Fang Qi. That would not only champion her cause but also boost his standing in the hedonistic circle of Jade Capital City.

Anyway, this was the academy. As long as he didn't kill him, the families wouldn't interfere. Yeah, that's it—step on his head and say something. What should he say later?

"He's coming, young master! Look, that looks like the Family Head's Spirit Beast Carriage..." Just as Su Yu was lost in thought, plotting how to win Fang Qi's heart and humiliate Ren Jie, one of his underlings suddenly shouted.

A Spirit Beast was a controlled, manageable demon beast. But the Great Powers defined a true Spirit Beast as one tamed and raised from the second generation onward. Such beasts were rare; in Jade Capital City, only a handful could use a Spirit Beast as a mount.

In that regard, Ren Jie had immediately enjoyed the top-tier luxury of Jade Capital City—otherwise, he couldn't have traveled so fast.

From a distance, a massive beast, over two meters tall and five meters long, was approaching rapidly, shrouded in a faint yellow glow. The beast clearly had restrictions and magical seals to suppress its power and prevent it from affecting others, even masking its true form.

Still, its strength was clearly immense. It pulled a carriage nearly twenty square meters in size, fully equipped like a small room, racing along like the wind. From afar, the Spirit Beast Carriage began to slow as it neared the academy gate.

"Ren Jie, you think you can hide?" Su Yu led his men to stand right in the middle of the academy's main entrance, blocking the carriage's path. He snapped his fan shut. "You motherless bastard—aren't you the one who claims you'll fight anyone who speaks ill of your mother? Come on, fight me then."

Su Yu pointed his fan at the Spirit Beast Carriage, now slowing to a stop nearby. "Today, I'll teach you the consequences of harassing Miss Fang again. Get down here now!"

"That's right, get down here obediently!"

"Who do you think Miss Fang is? Someone a waste like you could ever reach? The person our young master Su likes—how dare you slander her?"

Returning from Jade Capital City to the academy, after the outburst in the Great Council Hall and the day-plus in the Library Pavilion reading, Ren Jie had gradually adapted to his current life. He had no choice—he was already here, and he was this Ren Jie.

Just as he was pondering his next move, he felt the carriage slow, then heard shouting outside.

Su Yu. Ren Jie had a vague impression of him. He wasn't in the same class as himself, Gao Ren, Gao Fei, or Fang Qi—they were in Class A1 of the first year, while Su Yu was in Class A5, another one of Fang Qi's persistent suitors.

Ren Jie didn't need to pull back the curtain. His divine sense could now probe everything within a twenty-meter radius. Normally, someone in the Body Refining Realm couldn't release their divine sense externally; it could only be used internally during cultivation, a result of reaching the inner vision stage after the Body Refining Realm Fifth Layer.

Only after reaching the True Qi Realm could divine sense gradually leave the body to explore outside. Generally, in the first three layers of the True Qi Realm, one could only sense three to five meters around them. At the True Qi Realm Sixth Layer, that expanded to about ten meters, and only at the True Qi Realm Ninth Layer could one sense a twenty-meter radius.

Using divine sense, as long as it was strong enough, everything around appeared in the mind like a full-information 3D image, crystal clear. From what Ren Jie understood, divine sense didn't improve solely with power; it only grew as one's cultivation level and realm advanced.

Though there was no concrete data on the relationship between divine sense and realm, many sources indicated that those with higher realms had stronger divine sense. Since listening to the Five Great Sages' discourse for a quarter-hour, Ren Jie had clearly noticed a shift in his own realm. With that elevation, his divine sense now approached the twenty-meter range only achievable at the True Qi Realm Ninth Layer.

Thanks to his powerful divine sense, besides hearing Su Yu and his men shouting, he also caught snippets of conversation from the crowd gathering around.

"Wow, this is interesting. He's getting blocked right as he returns."

"What's the big deal? Plenty of people are looking to mess with Ren Jie now."

"Serves him right. Who told him to harass everyone's goddess? If my family were strong enough, I'd want to beat him too."

"Miss Fang said she never wants to be bothered by Ren Jie again. Anyone who helps, she'd be grateful. I heard Gao Fei even got invited for tea."

Hearing this, Ren Jie's anger flared. He'd just been reborn, and the previous Ren Jie's idiotic pursuit of Fang Qi and the beating he took—he really didn't have the mood to care about it. But it was clear Fang Qi was pulling the strings behind the scenes.

If the old business ended there, Ren Jie might have let it go. He wouldn't live the way the original Ren Jie had, nor follow his methods.

But now Fang Qi was targeting him again with this scheme. Damn it, she still wants to mess with This Family Head, huh? Looks like I really need to deal with this woman.

"What's wrong, too scared to come out? Hiding in there like a turtle with its head tucked in. If you're afraid, croak three times like a toad and crawl into the academy—this Young Master will let you off today." From outside came Su Yu's voice again.

"Beast Uncle, charge through." Damn, throwing taunts, was he? Ren Jie didn't hesitate to order Beast Uncle to charge.

"Boom..." Without any warning, the moment he heard Ren Jie's command, Beast Uncle, seated at the front driving the Spirit Beast Carriage, didn't hesitate either. He instantly urged the carriage into a sudden burst of speed.

"Hey... hey..."

"What are you doing..."

"Run..."

"Ah... bang..."

"Bang..."

A commotion erupted outside. Though the sudden acceleration of the Spirit Beast Carriage wasn't as terrifying as its top speed, even a slight lurch was fearsome. In Ren Jie's understanding, this Spirit Beast Carriage was as terrifying as a Lamborghini or Ferrari—supercars of that caliber. Even with just a few meters of acceleration, the impact was devastating.

Luckily, the people here weren't as fragile as ordinary folks on Earth, so it wasn't fatal. But everyone, including Su Yu, was sent flying.

They were knocked dizzy and disoriented; a few even suffered broken bones. Su Yu, who bore the brunt of the collision, fared no better. His folding fan was shredded, his arm snapped, and his chest bones were clearly fractured. After hitting the ground, he spat out a mouthful of blood.

"Cough... Ren... Jie... you..."

"You what? A good dog doesn't block the road—those who do aren't good dogs." Evil needed an evil hand to tame it, and a Hedonistic Young Master needed an even more hedonistic one to rein him in. Ren Jie couldn't be bothered with more words; he went straight for the most direct and effective method. Then he lifted the Spirit Beast Carriage's window and tossed out a few Gold Notes: "Take this for your medical expenses. If I weren't worried about tarnishing the academy's reputation, This Family Head would make you croak like a toad at this gate for three days. Beast Uncle, let's go."