Lin Fan stepped through the doorway and saw Zhao Tao with one foot planted on Jiang Tong's stool, pointing a finger at him with an overbearing expression.
Jiang Tong's face looked as ugly as if he had swallowed a fly.
"I haven't opposed Li Feng!" he said in a muffled voice.
Zhao Tao glared. "If you were opposing Brother Li, I wouldn't be asking to borrow it now-I'd just take it. With what Brother Li will achieve in the future, what would it matter if he repaid you twice the medicinal meal then?"
Jiang Tong trembled with anger. It sounded nice, but even thinking with his thigh, he knew giving the medicinal meals to Li Feng would be like throwing meat buns to a dog.
Seeing that Jiang Tong still refused to give in, Zhao Tao turned vicious and kicked Jiang Tao in the waist, knocking him to the floor.
Jiang Tao's face flushed crimson with rage. He pointed at Zhao Tao, his arm shaking with anger. "Zhao Tao!"
Zhao Tao eyed him sidelong with contempt, then rolled up his sleeves. "What, you want to fight us?"
Jiang Tong's eyes swept over the expressionless Li Feng and his dormmates, who were watching like hungry tigers. He knew that if he fought, a thorough beating would be unavoidable.
The instructor was already openly favoring Li Feng. Even if he went to complain, it would probably come to nothing.
Jiang Tong's face filled with grief and indignation. He had thought that remaining neutral would let him protect himself. Now it seemed he had been utterly wrong.
"Trash!"
Zhao Tao spat on Jiang Tong, then reached out to take both medicinal meals away.
"Hold it!"
A cold shout interrupted him. Zhao Tao frowned at Lin Fan as he walked in through the doorway, a trace of killing intent flashing in his eyes.
"Lin Fan, you're going to stand up for this fence-sitter Jiang Tong?" he demanded.
Lying on the floor, Jiang Tong wore a complicated expression. He had never expected that, in the end, Lin Fan, whom he looked down on, would stand up for him.
But Lin Fan's next words left him even more stifled and bitter.
"Who said I was standing up for him?" Lin Fan scoffed.
"Then what do you mean?" Zhao Tao demanded impatiently.
"Of those two bowls of medicinal food, you can only take one. I'm taking the other!" Lin Fan said bluntly.
Zhao Tao flew into a rage. "Lin Fan, who the hell do you think you are, daring to fight Brother Li for medicinal food?"
Lin Fan could not be bothered to look at him again and turned to Li Feng instead. "Li Feng, either we get one bowl each, or our two dorms have a fight. Your choice!"
As Lin Fan spoke, Wang Wu and the others stood firmly beside him, looking ready to rush in together at the slightest disagreement.
Li Feng slammed the table furiously and stood straight up. "Lin Fan, do you really think I'm afraid of you?"
His dormmates all stood as well, staring coldly at Lin Fan and the others.
"Then let's fight. I guarantee I'll smash all the medicinal food here. Without it, let's see how you reach minor accomplishment," Lin Fan said fearlessly.
"Bastard!"
Li Feng's face twisted with rage. Once again, Lin Fan had struck his weak spot. No matter how talented he was, reaching minor accomplishment without medicinal food would be difficult. He had no time to waste on Lin Fan here.
"Brother Li, kill him!" Zhao Tao shouted fiercely. He had wanted to beat Lin Fan up for a long time!
"Brother Li, just say the word, and we'll all rush him!"
"Brother Li, there are six of us and only five of them. Why the fuck should we be scared?"
"Kill them!"
Li Feng's dormmates roared one after another, wishing they could tear Lin Fan apart alive.
Conflict showed on Li Feng's face as he clenched his fists tightly. After thinking it over repeatedly, he still decided to endure it.
"Lin Fan, you're really something. Once I reach minor accomplishment, I'll make you wish you were dead!" After throwing out that threat, he sat down.
However unwilling Zhao Tao and the others were, without Li Feng's support, they did not dare trouble Lin Fan. They could only sit down in a huff.
Zhao Tao nearly ground his teeth to pieces. "Lin Fan, just you wait!" Throwing out that threat, he picked up one bowl of Jiang Tong's medicinal food and carried it over to Li Feng.
Wang Wu also had the good sense to go and pick up the other bowl.
At this sight, Jiang Tong nearly went mad with hatred. Without medicinal food, his progress would slow dramatically, perhaps even falling behind those who had not made the top five. His talent ranked fourth here. He absolutely could not accept such an outcome.
"Lin Fan, how are you any different from Li Feng and the others? You're all jackals from the same hill!" he rebuked bitterly.
"Heh..." Lin Fan sneered. "Jiang Tong, I took this bowl from Li Feng. What does it have to do with a spineless wretch like you?"
With that, he spared Jiang Tong no further glance and found a seat. Wang Wu set the medicinal food before him, and he accepted without ceremony, downing the entire bowl.
Jiang Tong watched helplessly as other people drank both his bowls of medicinal food. He nearly went mad, but there was nothing he could do, and no one spared him another glance.
At the table, Wang Wu, who had just returned with two bowls of medicinal food, gritted his teeth and pushed one in front of Lin Fan. "Brother Lin, this bowl is yours!"
Surprised, Lin Fan did not take it. "Brother Wang, why?"
"Brother Lin, I've thought it over. If you can't advance to the minor accomplishment realm as soon as possible, we'll probably have no choice but to slink out of the martial arts school in disgrace. Rather than that, I might as well lend you a hand!" Wang Wu looked resolute.
Lin Fan's heart stirred. Wang Wu's gesture embodied brotherly loyalty to the fullest.
Before he could refuse, Meng Lin beside him also pushed a bowl of medicinal food in front of him. "Brother Fan, I'll lend you a hand too!"
"No, I can't accept these!" Lin Fan shook his head. He could reach minor accomplishment tomorrow and did not want to owe anyone favors.
Wang Wu grew anxious. "Brother Lin, if you won't drink it, you don't see us as brothers!"
"Exactly. If you won't drink it, I won't drink mine either. Li Feng will drive us out sooner or later anyway," Meng Lin said in a muffled voice.
Lin Fan's lips parted. A thousand words clogged his throat, but in the end, he nodded with difficulty and accepted the two bowls. "I won't forget your kindness." His tone was utterly earnest.
"Brother Lin, that's more like it! What kind of man hems and haws like that?"
"Brother Fan, you can definitely reach minor accomplishment before Li Feng. Then we'll kill them!"
Wang Wu and Meng Lin breathed sighs of relief and spoke in turn.
Li Feng's table saw everything happening on their side.
Li Feng's gaze grew frighteningly dark. Lin Fan's talent was not much worse than his. Now that he was drinking one more bowl of medicinal food, he might really reach minor accomplishment first. The thought made him anxious.
He looked at Zhao Tao, an inscrutable look in his eyes. Zhao Tao's expression turned ugly. How could he fail to understand what Li Feng meant?
But he only had one bowl of medicinal food. If he gave it to Li Feng, he would have none left. His cultivation progress would slow dramatically, and he might well fail to reach the beginner level within ten days and be expelled from the martial arts school. He could not accept that.
But faced with Li Feng's man-eating stare, he knew that if he refused, he would have to get out tomorrow.
If he offended both Lin Fan and Li Feng, how could he have any way to survive?
With an awkward smile, he pushed his medicinal food in front of Li Feng. "Brother Li, I hope my bowl of medicinal food can lend you a hand!" His voice was filled with the pain of parting with it.
He looked at the other four, his expression turning inscrutable. "Now we share Brother Li's glory and losses. We'll only have a way to survive if Brother Li breaks through to minor accomplishment first. If you don't offer up your medicinal food now, what are you waiting for?"
The other four's expressions changed, looking as miserable as if their fathers had died. They each had only one bowl of medicinal food. If they gave it to Li Feng, they would have none left. Without medicinal food, how could they cultivate Iron Cloth Shirt quickly?
They hated Zhao Tao to death, wishing they could swallow him alive and flay him. At the same time, they began to resent Li Feng too. As their grand leader, he had secured no benefits for them, yet now he was making them bleed.
But they had no choice. They could only push their medicinal food in front of Li Feng.