On the working students' side, Wang Sheng and the others were frantic, wanting to rush over and help.
But after being bullied by the noble children for so long, that fear had long since been carved into their bones.
On top of that, Tang San was absent today-when Tang San had been around before, the working students had someone to hold them together. Now he was in Yu Xiaogang's office studying some "divine artifact," nowhere near the sports field.
The working students looked at one another, their feet seemingly filled with lead, unable to take a single step.
"Go! Come on, go!" Wang Sheng roared, his eyes red. He charged two steps forward himself, only to be held back firmly by two people beside him.
"Wang Sheng! Are you crazy? There are seven or eight of them!" a working student said, gripping him tightly. "You'll just get beaten for nothing if you rush in!"
Wang Sheng struggled twice, his eyes red, but finally stopped.
He hated himself for being useless.
In the middle of the field, seven or eight people had already surrounded Xiao Wu so tightly that not even water could seep through.
She knocked another person down, but Zhou Hu caught her off guard and grabbed both her arms from behind.
"Got her!" Zhou Hu shouted. "Young Master Xiao!"
Xiao Wu struggled desperately, trying to use Waist Bow again, but she had consumed too much Soul Power. Her body went weak for an instant, and she could not break free.
At that moment, Xiao Chenyu climbed up from the ground and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his face so viciously dark it could have dripped water.
He walked up to Xiao Wu step by step. His wolf claws formed again, and with a flash of blue-green light, he pressed them against her neck.
Xiao Wu froze.
"Xiao Wu!" Wang Sheng's eyes nearly split with rage. He desperately tried to rush over, but several lackeys blocked him firmly.
Zhou Hu held Xiao Wu's arms from behind while two lackeys pinned her legs, leaving her unable to move.
Xiao Chenyu grinned viciously, his wolf claws resting against Xiao Wu's neck, their icy tips pressing a red mark into her skin.
"A pet rabbit is still a pet rabbit. However much you hop around, you can't escape the palm of my hand." Xiao Chenyu panted, his gaze venomous. "Aren't you such a great fighter? Go on, throw another punch. Let me see."
Xiao Wu bit her lower lip, her eyes red, stubbornly refusing to let her tears fall.
The noble children watching burst into mocking laughter again.
"Hahaha, the boss still put her in her place!"
"No matter how well one person fights, can they beat all of us?"
The working students clenched their fists, their faces full of pent-up frustration, but there was nothing they could do.
Just then-
"If I were you, I'd let go."
A languid voice came from outside the crowd.
It was not loud, yet somehow it reached everyone's ears with perfect clarity amid the noisy sports field.
Everyone froze for a moment, then turned to look in unison.
The crowd parted on its own, opening a path.
A boy walked in from outside the crowd. He stood around 1.6 meters tall, wore old but clean clothes, and had an outrageously handsome face. With both hands in his pockets, he strolled slowly to the edge of the field.
It was Chen Mo.
He had originally come to find Tang San, only to see a ring of people gathered there when he reached the sports field.
Taking another look, he saw Xiao Chenyu gripping Xiao Wu's wrist, wolf claws pressed against her neck. Her arm was still bleeding, and her face had flushed red.
Chen Mo frowned.
His pace was neither fast nor slow, but every step was steady.
Xiao Chenyu looked Chen Mo up and down. Seeing his plain clothes, he assumed he was another working student.
"Who are you?" Xiao Chenyu asked disdainfully, his wolf claws still pressed against Xiao Wu's neck without moving an inch. "This has nothing to do with you. Get lost."
Chen Mo ignored him and walked up to Xiao Wu, glancing at the shallow bloody mark on her neck, then at the wound on her arm.
"Let go." Chen Mo looked at Xiao Chenyu, his voice quiet but cold.
Xiao Chenyu froze for a moment, then grew furious.
"Who the fuck do you think you are? You think you're worthy of talking to me like that?"
Xiao Chenyu shoved Xiao Wu aside. She staggered two steps before regaining her balance. "A mud-legged peasant's friend is just another mud-legged peasant! You must be tired of living!"
Zhou Hu was the first to step forward. He was Xiao Chenyu's strongest lackey, a rank-nine Soul Scholar, his whole body bulging with muscle, a full size bigger than Chen Mo.
He cracked his fingers and looked down at Chen Mo, a vicious grin on his face.
"Kid, hurry up and kneel to apologize to Young Master Xiao, then hand over everything valuable you've got. I might spare you some suffering."
Chen Mo did not so much as glance at him, only looking at Xiao Chenyu.
"Finished?" Chen Mo asked flatly. "If you're finished, come at me together."
Everyone watching froze.
Together? This kid wanted to fight seven or eight of them alone too?
The sports field fell silent for an instant, then erupted in even louder mocking laughter.
"Hahahaha! Did I hear that right? He wants us to come at him together?"
"Is there something wrong with this kid's head?"
"A scrawny little thing like him wants to fight all of us?"
A tall, skinny lackey laughed so hard he slapped his thigh. "Young Master Xiao, has this kid been scared stupid?"
Chen Mo stood in the middle of the field, his hands in his pockets, his face expressionless.
"I'm in a hurry," Chen Mo said. "Come at me together, so I don't end up without even a chance to make a move."
At those words, Xiao Chenyu's face darkened completely.
He felt that some wild brat who had appeared out of nowhere had humiliated him in public.
"Kid, you're courting death!"
He turned and signaled Zhou Hu with his eyes. "Zhou Hu, you go! Show this kid a little color first!"
Zhou Hu gave a vicious laugh and strode forward, cracking his knuckles and rolling his neck.
"Kid, kneel and admit defeat yourself, and I might spare you some suffering."
Chen Mo glanced at him.
"Finished?"
Zhou Hu flew into a rage. Pushing off the ground, he charged like a bull, his right fist whistling straight toward Chen Mo's face.
The punch was fast and vicious. It was the Iron Sand Fist he had practiced for three years, capable of breaking a blue brick with a single blow.
The working students all closed their eyes, not daring to watch.
But then-
Chen Mo did not even tilt his head. He merely raised a hand casually.
Smack!
Chen Mo slapped Zhou Hu's fist aside. A sharp pain shot through Zhou Hu's wrist, as though he had struck an iron plate.
Then Chen Mo stepped forward, lowered his shoulder, and slammed it into Zhou Hu's chest.
The move could not have been simpler.
But after a dull thud-
Zhou Hu flew backward like a torn burlap sack, both feet leaving the ground. He traced an arc through the air and crashed heavily to the ground two zhang away, rolling three or four times before coming to a stop.
He lay facedown on the ground, his mouth wide open, and vomited a mouthful of blood. His face was as white as paper, and part of his chest had caved in.
The entire place fell deathly silent.
Not a sound came from the sports field. Even the wind blowing past could be heard.
Everyone froze, as though struck by an immobilization spell.
The smile froze on Xiao Chenyu's face.
Zhou Hu was a rank-nine Soul Scholar! Of everyone in their group, Zhou Hu was the best fighter apart from Xiao Chenyu himself!
And now? He hadn't even withstood a single move?