"This..."
Luo Ji had intended to warn him off so that Chu Tiannan would back down. After all, his father was a powerful Martial Artist, and he believed that as long as Chu Tiannan was smart, he would naturally show him some respect.
In reality, not only had Chu Tiannan shown Luo Ji no respect, he had ignored him entirely, turning to leave with Luo'er.
Some passersby nearby watched the scene with interest, especially when they looked at Luo Ji.
Their gazes held a hint of pity.
"How ridiculous."
In the crowd, a brawny young man with a steady, composed bearing sneered. He stood with his arms folded, looking ready to enjoy the show. Others might fear Luo Ji, but this man had no such reservations.
That was because he was somewhat stronger than Luo Ji. He was Liu Hai, one of the Martial Artist Academy's five big brothers.
"Now we're in for a good show." Liu Hai watched Luo Ji with interest. From what he knew of him, it would be a wonder if Luo Ji let this go.
"Chu Tiannan!" Just as Liu Hai had said, Luo Ji's face flushed red, then turned livid as he shouted angrily.
Chu Tiannan, however, continued walking ahead with Luo'er as though he had heard nothing.
"Damn it, you dare look down on me!" Luo Ji roared. Stamping hard against the ground, he shot forward and raised his leg in a flying kick, rapidly closing in on Chu Tiannan ahead.
Bam!
The next instant, Luo Ji's flying kick was blocked in midair. Chu Tiannan turned and brought his arm up to block from the side, but the force of Luo Ji's charge was too strong, driving him back several steps before he steadied himself.
"Haha, so that's all you've got! Turns out you're a soft persimmon!" Seeing Chu Tiannan driven back by just thirty percent of his attack power, Luo Ji laughed loudly and swung his right fist at him again.
Seeing that Luo Ji would not let up, Chu Tiannan grew angry. His retreat earlier had all been an act. He did not want to expose his strength yet and had intended to let Luo Ji save some face.
"You're courting death. You have no one else to blame!" Chu Tiannan said in a low voice. His right fist, poised to strike, swung out fiercely with a sharp rush of air, its momentum even greater than before.
"Stop!"
Just as the two were about to clash head-on, a cold shout instantly stopped them mid-punch. Both Chu Tiannan and Luo Ji abruptly halted.
Their fists faced each other, only a few centimeters apart.
Whoosh!
Though Chu Tiannan's fist had stopped, the powerful rush of air blew toward Luo Ji, making his clothes flap loudly. But Luo Ji was glaring at him through gritted teeth and did not notice anything else unusual.
"Who gave you permission to fight in the academy? Do you want disciplinary action?" A middle-aged man hurried over, staring coldly at Chu Tiannan and Luo Ji as he spoke sternly.
"Lower your fists!"
"Hmph!"
Both lowered their fists at his words. Once Luo Ji saw who had arrived, he immediately smiled. "Instructor Zhang, we were discussing the force of our punches, not fighting. Please don't misunderstand."
"I didn't expect Old Demon Zhang to show up. Looks like there won't be a fight now."
"How boring. I wanted to see just what sort of hero this Chu Tiannan was. Now there's nothing to watch."
The surrounding students scattered. They knew all too well how imposing Instructor Zhang could be.
Only Liu Hai, before leaving last, silently glanced at Chu Tiannan, his brows tightly furrowed.
The newcomer was Zhang Yongquan, one of the Martial Artist Academy's instructors and the instructor of Class Three. He had the strength of an Advanced Martial Artist, and his strict demands had earned him the name Old Demon Zhang behind his back.
"Chu Tiannan, is that what happened?" Rather than taking Luo Ji's word for it, the middle-aged man turned toward the young man in black and asked.
Zhang Yongquan knew that Luo Ji had caused no shortage of trouble at the academy, relying on his father's influence.
"That's right. Fellow student Luo Ji and I were discussing punching power. We didn't expect you to come."
This time, to Luo Ji's surprise, Chu Tiannan actually said the same thing. He had thought Chu Tiannan would report him outright, and he sneered inwardly.
At least you're smart!
"Is that really so?" Zhang Yongquan frowned slightly, then looked at Chu Tiannan and at Luo'er, whose pretty face was cool and aloof, before speaking.
"You can go now!"
"Instructor?" Seeing Zhang Yongquan let Chu Tiannan and Luo'er leave, Luo Ji grew anxious and could not help trying to stop them.
"Do you have an objection?" Zhang Yongquan looked at Luo Ji with a stern expression and asked flatly.
"No. In that case, your student Luo Ji will take his leave."
As he spoke, Luo Ji gave a slight bow. He shot the composed Chu Tiannan an icy sidelong glance, forcibly swallowed the words on the tip of his tongue, and slunk away with his lackeys.
"Chu Tiannan!" Once Luo Ji had left, Zhang Yongquan turned toward the young man in black before him and spoke.
"If anything happens in the future, you can report it to me. Don't act on your own again. If you want to explore punching power, go to the training grounds. Even if you break your hand there, no one will interfere."
"Yes, Instructor. I'll remember that!" Chu Tiannan knew Zhang Yongquan was giving him a way out. More than happy to accept, he bowed slightly and left with Luo'er.
"That kid..." Watching the young man in black leave, Zhang Yongquan shook his head slightly and murmured in puzzlement.
"The higher-ups asked me to keep an eye on him. Could there really be something special about him?"