The male student shuddered violently in fright and stammered, "I-Instructor Wei, th-this has... nothing to do with me... could you... let me go... first?"
Wei Cangyue came to his senses and laughed.
"Sorry, kid. I scared you."
After letting him go, Wei Cangyue strode toward the gymnasium.
Inside, there was already a sea of people. After looking around, Wei Cangyue's gaze landed on Jiang Fan, who had just stepped onto the stage.
"Huh? It's that kid from last night. No wonder the name sounded so familiar just now. Wait, what was his name again? How did I forget already?"
Onstage.
Jiang Youtian stood with his arms folded, looking as though victory was already in his grasp.
"Jiang Fan, I suggest you surrender now. Otherwise, I'll beat you so badly even your own mother won't recognize you."
Jiang Fan narrowed his long eyes slightly and crooked a finger at Jiang Youtian in provocation.
"Stop barking. Come on."
"You're courting death!" Jiang Youtian growled through gritted teeth. The next second, he raised his fist and drove it straight at Jiang Fan's face.
Just as everyone thought Jiang Fan's face would burst open under that punch, they saw him casually catch Jiang Youtian's fist. He seemed to use little strength, yet his grip was like an iron vise. No matter how hard Jiang Youtian tried to pull his hand free, it was useless.
Then they saw Jiang Fan raise his other hand and slap Jiang Youtian across the face with a rush of wind.
Smack! The sound rang throughout the gymnasium.
Everyone stared dumbfounded at the sight.
Wei Cangyue, who had been about to intervene, also stopped in his tracks and watched with interest.
Stunned by the blow, Jiang Youtian took quite a while to recover. His expression twisted as he roared in fury and lashed out with a kick.
"Die! Die! Die!"
Like an adult bullying a child, Jiang Fan kicked Jiang Youtian squarely in the knee.
Crack! That was the sound of bone shattering.
"Aaargh!" Jiang Youtian let out a scream like a pig being slaughtered.
It wasn't over yet. Jiang Fan kicked again, striking Jiang Youtian's other leg.
There was another crack, and his kneecap shattered.
"Aaargh! Aaaaargh!" Jiang Youtian dropped onto both knees, kneeling directly before Jiang Fan as he howled in agony without stopping.
Jiang Fan looked down at Jiang Youtian. "I told you, you owed me a kneel. One day, I would collect that debt myself."
If Jiang Youtian hadn't been Tang Fugui and Wang Shuqin's biological son, Jiang Fan would have made his life worse than death for everything he had done to him in his previous life.
[Ding! Congratulations, Master, on helping someone fulfill his wager and doing a good deed. Points +40]
A buzzing uproar rose from all directions.
"My God, what did I just see? Jiang Fan actually won, and so easily, too?"
"Are you kidding me? Jiang Fan is only an Early-Stage Martial Apprentice, while Jiang Youtian is a genuine Middle-Stage Martial Apprentice!"
"Did Jiang Youtian underestimate him too much?"
"But even if he underestimated him, Jiang Fan only just became an Early-Stage Martial Apprentice, and his qi and blood is only 81 N. If his qi and blood were over ninety and he beat Jiang Youtian, I wouldn't be this shocked."
In the stands, Wei Qi had gotten to his feet at some point and was staring blankly at Jiang Fan onstage.
"Th-this is unbelievable, isn't it?"
Tong Shuyao, who sat beside Wei Qi, looked even more shocked. There was also some regret.
"Not bad. This kid has some ability!" Wei Cangyue rubbed his chin and watched with a smile.
"What was his name again? Jiang something?"
Wei Cangyue still had the same old problem: he couldn't remember other people's names.
Yi Hong gazed at Jiang Fan with stars in her eyes. "Shengxue! He's so handsome! I've decided. I'm going to pursue him!"
Lan Shengxue glanced at her. "Didn't you tell me he had a rotten character?"
"It's fine. My morals follow his facial features!"
Lan Shengxue: "..."
Jiang Youtian knelt on the ground in utter disgrace. Seeing his goddess, Lan Shengxue, sitting in the stands made him so furious that he wanted to swallow Jiang Fan alive and flay him.
"Jiang Fan! How dare you! I'm a candidate for the special training class, yet you broke my knees! Aren't you afraid the school will come after you?"
Jiang Fan replied fearlessly, "Your memory really is exceptionally bad. Have you forgotten the life-and-death waiver I signed before coming onstage?"
At those words, Jiang Youtian's pupils suddenly widened.
He himself had been the one to bring up the life-and-death waiver.
His aim had been to avoid any responsibility after crippling Jiang Fan.
Yet who could have imagined...
Clap, clap, clap! "All right, that's enough of this farce."
Wei Cangyue stepped out of the crowd and glanced at Jiang Youtian. "A few of you, take him to the infirmary."
"No need to go to the infirmary. Take me home. I have a Bone-Mending Pill at home," Jiang Youtian said through the pain.
As its name suggested, the Bone-Mending Pill could reconnect broken bones.
After taking it, one could recover completely in less than three days.
Wei Cangyue walked over to Jiang Fan and studied him closely. "You're pretty ruthless, kid."
Jiang Fan replied, neither servile nor overbearing, "If I weren't ruthless, I might have been the one with broken legs. Besides, my family lives in the slums. We don't have something as available yet priceless as a Bone-Mending Pill."
The slums?
Hearing that, Wei Cangyue looked surprised.
The poor pursued scholarship, while the wealthy practiced martial arts. Martial prospects rarely emerged from impoverished families.
That was why true martial geniuses and powerful figures mostly came from wealthy families, or were second- or third-generation descendants of officials.
Lan Shengxue, for example, was ostensibly from Fortress No. 31, but she was actually a true resident of Fortress No. 1, and one of its uppermost echelon at that.
Without an affluent family, no matter how talented Lan Shengxue was, her current strength would probably have been greatly diminished. At the very least, she couldn't possibly have become a Martial Artist already.
The data had long since made that clear.
Since the spiritual energy revival, the candidates who had become Martial Artists before the college entrance exam could be counted on one hand. Of those few, almost none had come from humble backgrounds.
At that thought, Wei Cangyue couldn't help thinking more highly of Jiang Fan.
Suddenly, something very important occurred to him.
Had Jiang Fan gone to Plow Mountain after leaving last night?
As soon as that thought arose, Wei Cangyue dismissed it.
Jiang Fan was indeed quite strong, but anyone who could keep going up and down Plow Mountain for so long, and still climb in such darkness, clearly possessed extraordinary strength.
Moreover, Crazy Old Man also thought very highly of that mountain climber, so it definitely couldn't have been Jiang Fan, an Early-Stage Martial Apprentice.
"Everyone in the special training class, gather here. Everyone else, leave."
Once the place had been cleared, Wei Cangyue looked at the special training students.
"Today's training is-climbing Plow Mountain."