Smack!
Lin Fan slapped the fellow hard across the face. A palm print rose on his cheek at a speed visible to the naked eye, red as a monkey's backside.
The entire dormitory fell silent in an instant. Wang Wu's eyes widened. He could not believe that Lin Fan, who looked so honest and guileless, would hit someone-and one of Li Feng's men at that. Their other four roommates looked equally astonished.
As for the fellow who had been slapped, disbelief came first, followed by towering rage. "Bastard, I'll kill you!" He threw a punch straight at Lin Fan's face.
Lin Fan tilted his head to dodge, and the punch struck his shoulder. The expected sharp pain never came; it felt as though a small child had punched him. Lin Fan gained a clearer understanding of his own defense.
He leaped down from the bed and, borrowing the force of his downward plunge, kicked the fellow to the floor.
He straddled the fellow, then rained punches down on him. Each punch landed with a dull thud, and the fellow's face was soon bruised and swollen.
"Hiss..." Wang Wu sucked in a cold breath. "Brother Lin is too savage," he murmured.
The others sucked in cold breaths too. The scene was far too brutal.
The fellow tried to struggle to his feet, only to discover that Lin Fan was astonishingly strong, pinning him down firmly. Whatever strength he managed to muster was beaten out of him by Lin Fan's fists. It felt as though he were being pounded with an iron hammer.
"Lin Fan, stop! Aren't you afraid Li Feng will get revenge?" he roared in pain.
"Revenge, my ass!"
Lin Fan answered coldly, then punched even harder. The fellow no longer dared make threats and could only shout for help.
"Brother Li Feng, save me!" he bellowed.
Then came the sound of a door being slammed open next door, followed by a flurry of footsteps. Li Feng soon appeared in Lin Fan's doorway, and the sight that greeted him set his fury ablaze.
"Stop!" he snapped coldly.
But why would Lin Fan listen to him? He kept pounding the fellow beneath him.
A fierce, cold gleam filled Li Feng's eyes. "Lin Fan, I told you to stop!"
Thud, thud, thud...
Lin Fan's fists continued to slam into the arrogant fellow, showing no intention of stopping.
Li Feng charged inside, and his roommates rushed in behind him, looking ready to gang up on Lin Fan.
At the sight, Wang Wu immediately got up from his bed and stood beside Lin Fan. Pointing at Li Fan and the others, he shouted, "What are you trying to do? Bully us with numbers?"
Three others immediately ran to Lin Fan's side as well, making it clear that they stood with him.
The remaining roommate stayed in bed, keeping himself high above a matter that did not concern him.
Li Feng strode up to Lin Fan, first fixing Wang Wu and the other three with an intimidating stare before his gaze clashed with Lin Fan's.
By then, Lin Fan had already stood up and kicked the fellow beneath him aside as though kicking a dead pig.
A cold glint lay fully exposed in Li Feng's eyes. "Lin Fan, who gave you the nerve to go this far?"
"Heh..." Lin Fan laughed disdainfully. "Who gave you the right to question me?"
"You hit one of my men. Unless you give me an explanation today, don't think this will be over!" Li Feng said through gritted teeth.
Lin Fan shrugged. "Who told him to touch my soap? If he touches my things, he'd better be ready for a beating."
Li Feng stepped half a pace closer, pressing Lin Fan with his presence. "You beat someone half to death over a bar of soap?"
"Forget a bar of soap. If someone touches so much as one of my toothpicks without my permission, my fist will still land in his face," Lin Fan said, clenching his fist.
One of the roommates behind Li Feng could no longer tolerate Lin Fan's arrogance. He stepped forward, rolling up his sleeves and preparing to strike. "Motherfucker, let's see just how hard your fists are!"
But a powerful hand held him back. Wang Wu snorted. "Just try laying a hand on him."
Lin Fan's other three roommates each watched one of the opposing men, ready to act at any moment. The situation was a spark away from erupting.
Cold light flickered in Li Feng's eyes. Several times, he wanted to strike, but a fight between the two dormitories would certainly alert the instructors. He had the best aptitude here and a bright future ahead of him. Not wanting to leave a bad impression on the instructors, he suppressed the impulse.
He brought his face closer to Lin Fan's again. "Lin Fan, I'm confident I can reach the entry level of Iron Cloth Shirt tomorrow. In ten days at most, I'll reach minor accomplishment, then officially join the martial arts school as a Human Stake. When that happens, crushing you to death will be no harder than crushing an ant!" he threatened coldly.
Hearing this, Lin Fan felt no stir in his heart. He was confident he would not need ten days to reach minor accomplishment in Iron Cloth Shirt.
The roommates behind Li Feng all raised their heads proudly, sweeping contemptuous gazes over Lin Fan and his roommates, a perfect display of foxes borrowing a tiger's might.
"Once Brother Li reaches minor accomplishment in Iron Cloth Shirt, none of you will have a place in this martial arts school!"
"Are you sure you still want to help Lin Fan? Becoming a Human Stake is our only remaining path into martial arts. Stick with Lin Fan, and that path will be gone."
"We'll give you three breaths to think it over. Anyone still standing beside Lin Fan is making an enemy of Brother Li."
Li Feng's roommates pointed at Lin Fan and the others, clamoring as though they already had them in the bag.
The man lying in bed spoke up as well. "I advise you to lie down like me. There's no need to sacrifice your future for someone you've only known for a day. We came here to learn martial arts, not to fight."
Li Feng looked at him with satisfaction. "Brother, you're very wise. You'll be glad you made this decision today. From now on, I, Li Feng, will have your back and ensure your martial path flourishes."
The man looked delighted. "Thank you, Brother Li."
At these words, the expressions of Lin Fan's roommates shifted uncertainly. In a world where martial strength reigned supreme, the strong could easily dictate the fate of the weak.
Becoming a Human Stake was their only path. If Li Feng blocked it because of this, their lives would be utterly ruined.
Apart from Wang Wu, the other three looked conflicted. Were they thinking of backing down?
Wang Wu first glared at that roommate, then laughed disdainfully. "Heh... Li Feng, never mind that you haven't become a Human Stake yet. Even if you do, you'll still be at the very bottom of the martial arts school, barely able to protect yourself. You want to decide our fates? Who the hell do you think you are?"
Hearing Wang Wu's words, the other three steadied themselves. That was right. The selection of Human Stakes affected the operation of the entire martial arts school. How could a mere Human Stake possibly interfere with it?
What Wang Wu said next further strengthened their resolve to stand with Lin Fan.
"Brothers, this isn't just a matter between Lin Fan and Li Feng anymore. It concerns both our dormitories. If we back down today and let them take Lin Fan's soap, tomorrow they'll be taking our medicinal meals!" Wang Wu called out.
"Brother Wang Wu, don't worry. We know what matters."
"We haven't lived twenty-odd years for nothing. They can forget about taking so much as a needle or thread from our dormitory today."
"If they want a fight, let's fight. At worst, we'll all get thrown out. It's not like I'm a genius anyway."
The three voiced their determination one after another.
Lin Fan nodded inwardly. These roommates were quite sensible, apart from the one lying in bed.
Li Feng narrowed his eyes slightly, sweeping a cold gaze over Lin Fan and the others. In the end, he took a deep breath and held himself back.
"Lin Fan, just you wait. You'll kneel and beg me, and that day won't be far off!" Li Feng's voice was icy. His gaze swept over Wang Wu and the others. "You too!"
Then he turned to leave. "Let's go!" he called to his roommates.
Lin Fan watched Li Feng's retreating back with an unfathomable gaze, his thoughts unknown.