Ye Li's Taunt, Liu Yangde's Fury

Inside Linhai Hospital.

The air was thick with the smell of disinfectant, and medical staff in white coats came and went.

Inside a hospital room.

Wang Ren, who had been beaten unconscious by Ye Li yesterday, was now leaning against a hospital bed.

His face pale, he looked at the man in a green team uniform seated upright beside the bed and said respectfully:

"Brother Liu, I..."

"If you have something to say, say it." The young man called Brother Liu sighed, swept his gaze over Wang Ren, and added in a low voice:

"If it's about your substitute spot, don't bother. That was Principal Li's decision. There's nothing I can do about it either."

Wang Ren clenched his teeth and said unwillingly, "So my spot is just being handed to Ye Li?"

"Do you have any other choice?" Brother Liu asked with a cold sneer.

"..."

Wang Ren slowly balled his fists, his nails digging into his flesh. This man was already the person he knew who was most likely to help him.

Liu Yangde, vice-captain of Linhai First High School's School Team, had already reached First-Tier Peak half a year ago.

Normally, before replacing someone, the School Team's Guidance Teacher would first ask for his and Jiang Qingzhu's opinions.

But this time was different. This time, he had simply been informed that a Martial Science Student named Ye Li would take the School Team's substitute position.

There had not even been room to object.

"Save it." Liu Yangde reached out and patted Wang Ren's shoulder, saying pityingly:

"You definitely can't keep your substitute spot. Since you performed well before, I'll have Ye Li come over and apologize to you. Then we'll put this matter behind us."

"But..."

Wang Ren still looked utterly unwilling.

The person he had wanted to teach a lesson had instead beaten him like a dog. No matter what, he could not accept that.

"Enough."

Liu Yangde frowned and sneered. "Didn't you send Shen Lian to teach that brat a lesson? Do you think I don't know?"

"You even deliberately cleared everyone out of the training building. One look told me you were planning to go hard on him. Shen Lian probably beat that brat so badly he won't be able to get out of bed for ten days to half a month, right?"

"I've already pretended not to know. What more do you want?" Liu Yangde's voice was deep as still water.

Wang Ren was silent for a long while before finally saying dully, "I understand."

Liu Yangde nodded in satisfaction. "Then I'll call him now and have him come apologize to you."

"I'm afraid he can't even walk right now." Wang Ren added gloomily.

First-Tier Level Five Ye Li against First-Tier Level Seven Shen Lian—he did not even dare imagine what kind of beating Ye Li had received.

At the very least, several bones had to be broken!

Liu Yangde picked up the phone from the table, ignored Wang Ren's gloating expression, and dialed Ye Li's number given to him by the Guidance Teacher.

"Hello, who is this?"

The call connected quickly, and a calm, polite voice came through.

"You're Ye Li, right?"

Liu Yangde said blandly, "I'm Liu Yangde. Just call me Brother Liu. I need to talk to you about something."

"Don't know you. No time."

"Beep beep..."

The calm words came with the dial tone of a disconnected call, leaving Liu Yangde stunned as his blood pressure rose slightly.

Wang Ren beside him had not expected Ye Li to dare hang up either, and stared at him in disbelief.

That only made Liu Yangde more embarrassed.

He considered himself someone important at school and had always carried himself like some big brother.

In his eyes, once Ye Li received his call, he would surely obediently come over and apologize.

Yet before he could even say what he wanted, the call had been hung up. Hung up...

Liu Yangde's expression gradually darkened.

"Brother Liu, Ye Li didn't dare act like this before."

Wang Ren came back to his senses. Seeing the other man's expression, he immediately added fuel to the fire:

"He probably thinks he's something special now that he's joined the School Team. He's completely full of himself!"

Hearing this, Liu Yangde's face darkened. Without another word, he dialed the number again.

The instant the call connected, he immediately barked:

"Ye Li, I'm the vice-captain of the School Team. I need to talk to you!"

"Go on." The voice on the other end carried a hint of amusement.

"You went too far in yesterday's match." Liu Yangde's brows eased slightly as he said in a low voice:

"You even took Wang Ren's spot. That was a huge blow to him."

"So?"

"I want you to come apologize to him. Then this matter will be over," Liu Yangde said.

"I understand." Ye Li's voice was flat.

"Is that so..."

At those words, some of Liu Yangde's anger faded, replaced by a touch of contempt.

Ye Li had yielded far more quickly than he had expected.

Now that he knows who I am, he's scared after all...

The corners of Liu Yangde's mouth rose. Suppressing the smugness in his heart, he continued:

"Then go find the Guidance Teacher later and tell him that, for your own reasons, you're voluntarily withdrawing from the School Team. We'll be taking part in the Exchange Competition soon, and joining the team at a time like this would disrupt—"

"I understand."

Before he could finish, Ye Li cut him off directly and said with a light laugh, "So the School Team is full of self-important idiots like you."

"...?"

Liu Yangde's eye twitched. Then his burly body abruptly rose to its feet, and he said in a voice laced with frost:

"What did you say?!"

As he spoke, the atmosphere in the hospital room instantly became oppressive. Wang Ren's heart pounded wildly as he stared fixedly at the furious Liu Yangde.

"I said you're an idiot, and I suspect the entire School Team is full of idiots like you."

Ye Li on the other end of the call did not take the other man's reaction seriously at all and immediately replied with a laugh.

"Good, good, good..." Liu Yangde laughed from extreme anger, threatening in a grim tone:

"I've seen plenty of thorns, but this is the first time I've seen one like you. If you've got the guts, then—"

But before he could finish, the phone once again sounded with a disconnection tone. "Beep beep..."

"How outrageous!"

Liu Yangde's entire face flushed red. He grabbed Wang Ren's phone and smashed it onto the floor, shattering it to pieces. "Ye Li, you piece of trash without even Martial Arts Talent, you're far too arrogant!"

"Just wait. You just wait!"

At the peak of his fury, he whirled around and strode out of the hospital room, his retreating figure radiating dense killing intent.

Wang Ren stared blankly at the phone smashed to bits on the floor. He wanted to ask the other man to compensate him, yet feared angering Liu Yangde while he was enraged.

He could only lie back down on the hospital bed in resentment.

Only then did he suddenly realize that Ye Li's voice on the previous call had been full and vigorous, without the slightest trace of injury.

A flicker of doubt immediately rose in Wang Ren's heart.

Strange. Could it be Shen Lian had failed to catch Ye Li and let him slip away?

"..."

"Forget it. If he wasn't caught, then he wasn't caught."

A gloating expression appeared on Wang Ren's face instead. "He actually dared go against Liu Yangde. Ye Li, you're dead this time!"

One was First-Tier Level Five, while the other had been First-Tier Peak half a year ago.

Who was stronger and who was weaker? Anyone could tell with their eyes closed!