The fist stopped abruptly about 3cm to the left of Jiang Fan's face, the powerful gust of wind whipping his hair.
Jiang Fan stood motionless the entire time, without even blinking.
"Crack, crack, crack—" Li Zhichao clenched his fists tighter and tighter, his joints making a series of cracking sounds.
After a full ten seconds of stalemate, he suddenly stopped.
You've got guts!
Jiang Fan raised an eyebrow slightly; although he didn't say anything, it was as if he had said everything.
This scene made Li Zhichao was already furious, even more enraged.
But this was the school gate, and it was the day the new students were enrolling. As a senior student welcoming the new students, he couldn't possibly lay a hand on his juniors.
Moreover, Jiang Fan was a martial arts exam champion whom the school had gone to great lengths to recruit.
"You're spineless!" the fat man couldn't stand it and scoffed.
Li Zhichao's anger suddenly shifted to the fat man, pointing his finger at him while grinding his teeth.
"Say that again if you dare!"
"Alright, since you, senior, told me to say it again, then I must respect the elders and care for the young." The fat guy said with a grin, "You're spineless! You're spineless! You're just spineless!"
"You, you, you—you're asking for it!"
If they dare not confront Jiang Fan, why wouldn't they dare confront a beggar?
Indeed, in Li Zhichao's eyes, this fat man, dressed in patched clothes and carrying a snakeskin bag, was a beggar.
Just as he was about to make his move, a deep, reprimanding voice rang out.
" Li Zhichao, what are you doing?"
The person who arrived was Xing Wu, the representative who had previously visited Fortress No. 31.
" Teacher Xing, it's not my fault, they went too far!" Li Zhichao quickly tried to play the victim.
The fat man rolled his eyes. "I told you, the outside world is too dangerous. Human hearts are more terrifying than monsters, which is why I've always been afraid to come out. Now it seems I was right."
He had barely finished speaking when Li Zhichao glared at him fiercely.
" Teacher Xing, this really isn't my fault. It's Jiang Fan —he takes advantage of being the top martial arts exam candidate and doesn't respect me as his senior. That's why I couldn't hold back and argued with him."
Xing Wu naturally didn't completely believe Li Zhichao's words and looked at Jiang Fan.
Aren't you going to offer any explanation?
Jiang Fan said calmly, " Martial Artist have always competed on strength, not empty talk. If you have the ability, then do it; if you don't, all you do is complain to your parents. How naive!"
" Jiang Fan, who are you calling childish! You—"
Before Li Zhichao could finish speaking, he was interrupted by Xing Wu's next action.
"Good!" Xing Wu patted Jiang Fan on the shoulder, his eyes full of admiration.
"Well said! Martial Artist act with their fists, not their mouths. I, Xing Wu, despise such behavior as whining to parents! Daring to fight and being ready to take on challenges—that's the spirit of Yuanwu!"
Upon hearing these words, Li Zhichao nearly coughed up blood.
He realized that it was absolutely impossible for Xing Wu to help him teach Jiang Fan a lesson today, and if things continued like this, Xing Wu might actually help Jiang Fan teach him a lesson instead.
Despite understanding the situation, Li Zhichao still harbored a pent-up anger that he wanted to vent.
Xing Wu also noticed this.
What, you're not convinced?
"I wouldn't dare!" Li Zhichao said through gritted teeth.
"Oh, it seems you're truly unconvinced. Neither the students nor the teachers of Yuanwu ever hold grudges. Since you've developed a grudge, settle it in the ring. Afterwards, absolutely no underhanded tactics are allowed! That's the spirit of Yuanwu!"
The fat man protested, "But Jiang Fan has only just enrolled, while this senior is a third-year student. Moreover, judging from the energy he released during his attack, he should be Late-Stage Second Rank Martial Artist. This is unfair to Jiang Fan!"
Huang Ying chimed in anxiously, "Yes, Teacher Xing, Jiang Fan is only Late-Stage First-Rank Martial Artist. The gap between them is too great. Besides, I can testify that Li Zhichao instigated all of this; Jiang Fan innocent."
Seeing the girl he liked helping Jiang Fan so much, Li Zhichao's hatred reached an unprecedented level.
Xing Wu's gaze swept over the fat man and Huang Ying, finally settling on Jiang Fan.
"This is your own business, and you can choose for yourself. Of course, I will have him suppress his strength to the Late-Stage First Rank."
"I don't care," Jiang Fan said casually.
Even without suppressing Li Zhichao's strength, he could still defeat him without using his Psychic Power.
Xing Wu then looked at Li Zhichao, "Do you have a problem with that?"
"No!" Li Zhichao's eyes were brimming with excitement.
In his view, even if his strength was temporarily suppressed, his combat experience and skills were far superior to those of a mere newcomer to martial arts school.
Before the martial arts exam, all students need to do is increase their Qi and blood.
These students who entered the martial arts school had more practical combat experience. Not only that, they also learned martial arts techniques, combat methods, and the use of weapons.
Moreover, these Yuanwu have ventured into the Inner Wilderness Zone before; he has been there at least seven or eight times so far, and facing demonic beasts is a life-or-death battle!
That's why he didn't believe that Jiang Fan could be his opponent at the same level of strength!
"Since both of you have confirmed that there are no problems, then wait until the freshman trials are over, and then you can go to the arena for a public match."
Xing Wu made the final decision, "I will personally referee your competition."
The news of Jiang Fan and Li Zhichao's martial arts contest quickly spread throughout Yuanwu, becoming the hottest topic.
The discussion became very heated, and some people even started betting odds on it privately.
Li Zhichao started venting his frustrations as soon as he got back to his dorm.
"So what if you're the top martial arts exam candidate? Just wait, after a week of trials, I'll make you look like a fool in front of everyone!"
Xu Yan, who shared a dorm room with him, said, "A week is too long. I think you should take some action and let him know the consequences of offending you right away."
Upon hearing this, Li Zhichao immediately asked, "What do you mean by that?"
"You forgot? The freshman trials are all led by third-year students, and you've been chosen as one of the team leaders this time. Just spend a little money to bribe the group administrators and get Jiang Fan into your group. Once we get into the Inner Wilderness Zone, teaching him a lesson will be a piece of cake, right?"
"Hahaha--You're the one with the best ideas!"
Li Zhichao burst into laughter, all the gloom from before vanishing.
"Let's see how arrogant and cocky you are. Just wait until we get to the Inner Wilderness Zone, and I'll see how I make you regret it!"
"You'd better be careful. After all, he was a top martial arts exam champion that the school managed to poach from the other four elite martial arts schools. If he really dies, and the school investigates and it comes back to you, not to mention the past grudges between you, they might even suspect you of bribing the group administrator," Xu Yan warned.