"Brother, tell me..."
Inside the spacious training grounds, Yang Wan, who had just finished training, sprawled lazily on the floor and asked as if casually, "How do you think I should teach that Ye Li a lesson when the time comes?"
"Wan'er, how many times have I told you not to underestimate your opponent?"
Yang Wanfeng smiled helplessly and continued, "If you don't use the Blood Burning Secret Technique, you'll most likely be no match for that Tang Yao. Since he defeated Tang Yao, he naturally has the ability to defeat you as well."
"So what if you can beat him after activating the secret technique? This is the Martial Exam. You need to hunt the exotic beasts within the test site to earn points."
As he spoke, he smiled and reached out to rub the girl's head, then continued:
"Besides, apart from the final six hours of free combat, if you rashly attack him at any other time and he reports you to the proctors afterward, what will you do?"
"Then I just won't go to a Martial Arts Exam University. Brother can support me for the rest of my life!" Yang Wan snorted indifferently.
In her eyes, he had stolen her brother's Recommendation Quota. In an instant, he had gone from an insignificant Martial Exam passerby to a heinous villain of the century.
Besides, hunting the exotic beasts in the core area of the test site yielded the highest scores. If Ye Li wanted to contend for first place, he would inevitably cross paths with them.
This fight was unavoidable no matter how one looked at it.
Since that was the case, she naturally had to choose the method that would vent her anger—
Teach him a ruthless lesson.
"Wan'er, don't throw a tantrum."
Yang Wanfeng sat down on the floor as well. "Didn't I tell you? I'll definitely go meet him when the time comes. Why are you in such a hurry?"
Yang Wan did not even look at him, saying angrily:
"Because your temper is far too good, Brother. Even if you say you'll go meet him, you definitely won't hit him hard. Every time, you stop at just the right point."
At those words, Yang Wanfeng's gaze flickered.
In truth, he merely had not struck heavily in public. Those people he had set his sights on had all suffered his retaliation in secret afterward.
Yang Wan clearly knew nothing about that.
"..."
Yang Wanfeng pondered for a moment, then seemed to smile helplessly. "Fine. Since you hate him so much, there's nothing to be done."
"Tell me. How do you want to teach him a lesson? Brother will agree to anything."
"Really?!"
Hearing that, Yang Wan excitedly sat upright from the floor, looked at Yang Wanfeng, and pressed:
"Anything?"
"Th-This..." A trace of hesitation deliberately appeared on Yang Wanfeng's refined face.
Then, beneath Yang Wan's expectant gaze, he seemed to make up his mind and let out a rather helpless sigh.
"When has Brother ever lied to you? I originally only wanted to spar with him, but seeing how much you hate him, it wouldn't hurt to teach him a small lesson.
"Go on."
"Wonderful!" Yang Wan happily pounced over and hugged Yang Wanfeng. "I knew Brother treated me the best!"
After saying that, she paused and gave an embarrassed little chuckle.
"Brother, I actually thought long ago about how to teach him a lesson."
Yang Wanfeng perked up. "Tell me."
"The core area of the Martial Exam test site broadcasts footage outside in real time, doesn't it?"
"That's right."
Yang Wanfeng nodded. In order to observe the performances of those promising Martial Science Students, special methods were used to capture footage above the core area of the Martial Exam test site, allowing for live broadcasts.
Because the cost was relatively high, students roaming the outer area and even the inner area were not qualified to be filmed.
"What are you planning?"
"I want to strip him naked and hang him from the tallest tree for everyone to see!" Yang Wan excitedly waved her fist. "I'll make him lose all face before the teachers and students of the entire province. Let's see if he'll dare steal other people's things again!"
"Wouldn't that be going too far?"
Hearing the girl's words, the corners of Yang Wanfeng's mouth instinctively rose, only for him to quickly smooth them out again. He lightly furrowed his brow as he said:
"Besides, the exotic beast packs in the core area of the Martial Exam in past years posed a risk of serious injury even to Second-Tier Martial Artists.
"For the sake of his own safety, he might not come to the core area. The exotic beasts in the inner area are worth plenty of points too..."
"Brother, I'm not finished yet." A smug expression appeared on Yang Wan's face as she cut in.
"If he doesn't enter the inner area, that's even better for me. We won't have to worry about footage being left behind. During the final two hours of free combat, Brother can deal with him however you want!"
"That wouldn't be very good..."
Yang Wanfeng clearly hesitated, as though he was deeply opposed to such a thing.
Yet his hand, trembling faintly with excitement, exposed what he truly wanted.
"Oh, what's so bad about it?"
Seeing that her brother was still unwilling, Yang Wan took the young man's hand and pleaded:
"Brother, he stole your Recommendation Quota. The whole school is talking about it now. We can't keep being this good-tempered!"
Perhaps it was because Yang Wanfeng often spoke of Fengyun University's Recommendation Quota, or because the teachers of every class liked to use stories of geniuses to encourage their students.
By now, the hundreds of Martial Science Students at Shanzhou First High School all knew that a student from Linhai City named Ye Li had likely obtained Fengyun University's Recommendation Quota.
And Yang Wanfeng, who talked about the Recommendation Quota all day long, naturally looked somewhat like a clown.
Sure enough.
At the mention of this matter, a flash of anger surfaced in Yang Wanfeng's eyes before quickly vanishing.
He took a deep breath and said slowly, "That's true."
"This Ye Li has gone too far. If I don't show a little edge, he'll really think I'm easy to bully."
"Come to think of it, when he fought Tang Yao, he showed no regard for her dignity either. His fighting style was exceptionally brutal, leaving people dumbstruck."
"If I teach him a lesson during this Martial Exam, it could be considered ridding the people of a scourge."
A brilliant smile immediately blossomed across Yang Wan's little face. "Brother, in my heart, you have always been a paragon of virtue!"
"Did you forget? Everyone at school even said you were a pure and spotless genius!"
"Of course I know that." Yang Wanfeng waved his hand modestly and said helplessly:
"Don't celebrate too early. Even if Brother agrees to teach him a lesson, finding him when the time comes will still be a problem."
"Don't worry, don't worry!" Yang Wan patted her slightly swelling chest, her waist-length hair swaying along with the motion.
She smiled smugly.
"I already knew Brother would agree to my request, so I discussed it with everyone this morning."
"Other than the two of us, whoever runs into Ye Li will lure him toward the core area. He definitely won't be able to escape!"
With that said,
Under Yang Wanfeng's approving gaze, Yang Wan clasped her hands before her flat abdomen, turned around, and spoke with even greater anticipation in her voice:
"Foolproof!
"Oh, I really can't wait to see what expression that guy will make!"
The Provincial Martial Exam was grand beyond measure, and the entire province was swept up in the frenzy.
The tense atmosphere was like an invisible net, shrouding the heart of every Martial Exam candidate and making them feel unprecedented pressure.
Within such a tense atmosphere, time seemed to pass especially quickly.
A mere three days flashed by in the blink of an eye, like a white colt racing past a crack in the wall.
When the first ray of morning sunlight fell outside Shanzhou City, a long-awaited excitement began spreading through the air.
Outside Shanzhou City.
Before a vast secret realm that covered an enormous area stood a huge temporary camp.
Several figures radiating powerful auras appeared one after another before the camp. Their gazes all turned toward the distant city, their eyes flickering slightly.
There, hundreds of buses were rolling in one after another in a mighty procession, followed by dozens of escorting military armored vehicles.
This place was about to become the turning point in the fates of tens of thousands of martial artists—
The stage for the Ying Province Martial Exam had been set, awaiting only the arrival of its protagonists.
Before you continue