Yu Tianheng, who had been cultivating in his room, was also disturbed by the commotion outside.
So he pushed open the door and walked out.
A large crowd stood outside, all students of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy, with Soul Power Levels ranging from twenty to thirty-five.
Many of them had come to watch the spectacle.
When Yu Tianheng came out of his room, Lei Long approached with his men in a menacing manner. Seeing him like this, Yu Tianheng immediately understood that he had come with ill intentions.
"Are you Yu Tianheng, the young master of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan?" Lei Long spoke first.
"What if I am?"
Lei Long sneered, looking down at Yu Tianheng with disdain. "I thought you'd be someone impressive, but you're just a little brat who hasn't even grown all his hair!"
At that, the underlings who had come with Lei Long burst into laughter.
Hearing their grating laughter, Yu Tianheng's expression instantly turned cold.
A flash of lightning flickered in his eyes!
Lei Long was nineteen, burly, and over 1.95 meters tall. Yu Tianheng was only twelve. Although cultivating the Innate Skill had made him taller than his peers, at around 1.7 meters, he had not fully matured and could not compare to Lei Long.
Standing together, they looked like an adult and a child.
Yu Tianheng's expression was icy. "Lei Long, tell me, what do you want?"
Lei Long was surprised. "You know who I am?"
Yu Tianheng sneered. "I just got here and haven't offended anyone, apart from that bunch I beat up earlier. I heard they were Lei Long's underlings. Is it hard to guess who you are?"
"Come on, what do you want? Are you standing up for your underlings?"
"Hmph!"
Lei Long snorted. "Since you already know, I won't waste words. For the sake of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, I won't make things difficult for you. But those men you injured are my trusted aides, and I can't let you beat them for nothing. How about this? Bow and apologize to each of them, then give each of them ten thousand Gold Soul Coins for medical expenses, and we'll call it even!"
"Well?"
Lei Long intended to use this method to force Yu Tianheng to bow his head. That way, he could damage Yu Tianheng's prestige without having to lift a finger. More importantly, Lan Lingmeng was watching from the sidelines.
If she saw Yu Tianheng bow his head and beg for mercy, she would be utterly disappointed in him.
But Yu Tianheng merely glanced at Chen Feng and the other two behind Lei Long and shook his head. "No."
"What did you say?" Lei Long frowned.
"Are you deaf? I said no. Didn't you hear me?" Yu Tianheng replied.
"Fine, fine, fine. Yu Tianheng, don't refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit. Others may fear your status as the young master of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, but I, Lei Long, am not afraid. Besides, this is the Heaven Dou Royal Academy. By the rules, outside forces can't interfere. That means only your own strength does the talking in the academy!"
"Yu Tianheng, since you won't listen to reason, we'll do this by the rules. Let's go to the training grounds and have a real Soul Master duel. Do you dare?" Lei Long shouted, his face full of provocation and his eyes burning with fighting spirit.
A cold gleam flashed in Yu Tianheng's eyes. His current Soul Power Level was only thirty-one, far below Lei Long's, which was as high as thirty-nine.
Under normal circumstances, he was no match for Lei Long.
Accepting the challenge would undoubtedly be courting death.
But Yu Tianheng also cultivated the Martial Dao. His Martial Dao cultivation was at the third realm, the Sinew Refining Realm. With the two combined, he could even fight a Soul Ancestor above level forty, let alone the mere Lei Long.
Without a second thought, Yu Tianheng intended to accept, but just as he was about to speak, a steady, powerful voice suddenly rang out. "All of you, stop!" Everyone turned toward the voice and saw a Heaven Dou Grade instructor from the Education Committee striding over. His expression was stern, and his bearing commanded respect without anger.
At the Heaven Dou Royal Academy, becoming a Heaven Dou Grade instructor required at least level seventy Soul Power. In other words, this man was a Soul Saint.
"Teacher Wang Ruohua, what brings you here?" Lei Long hurried forward.
Lei Long knew him. He was the teacher responsible for instructing senior students like Lei Long in Martial Soul cultivation.
Lei Long held considerable respect for Wang Ruohua, who possessed the strength of a Soul Saint.
"Is the academy a place for you to duel as you please? What sort of behavior is this, fighting in private?" The instructor's gaze was like a torch. He looked straight at Lei Long and sternly rebuked him. "Lei Long, as one of the academy's outstanding students, you actually took the initiative to start a fight. Where is the bearing expected of a senior?" Scolded by the instructor, Lei Long lowered his head slightly. Although he was unwilling to yield, he silently suppressed his urge to fight.
Wang Ruohua then turned his gaze to Yu Tianheng and scolded him as well. "And you, Yu Tianheng, don't think you can do as you please in the Heaven Dou Royal Academy just because you're the young master of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. This is an academy, not your home. You still have to follow the rules."
"You're right, teacher. I'll be more careful," Yu Tianheng said, admitting his mistake without another word.
Seeing this, Wang Ruohua's expression softened somewhat. "Now tell me, what happened that made you want to come to blows?"
"This is what happened..."
A student soon gave Wang Ruohua an account of what had happened.
After listening, Wang Ruohua smiled wryly to himself in exasperation. He had thought there was some deep-seated grudge between them, but it turned out to be over a woman.
Sure enough, a beautiful woman was a source of calamity!
At the thought, Wang Ruohua unconsciously glanced at Lan Lingmeng.
He thought to himself, She really is a rare beauty. Unfortunately, I'm already old. If I were thirty or forty years younger, I might have acted on impulse too.
At the same time, Lan Lingmeng stepped forward. "Teacher, it's all my fault. If not for me, things wouldn't have come to this. If you're going to punish someone, punish me." As she spoke, she put on a tearful expression.
Seeing this, Lei Long was filled with heartache and self-reproach. He hurriedly pulled out a handkerchief and held it out to Lan Lingmeng, gently yet urgently murmuring, "Lingmeng, it's all my fault. Please don't cry."
Yu Tianheng, on the other hand, was unmoved and did not even look at Lan Lingmeng. He frowned slightly, unable to stop himself from ranting inwardly, Who are you putting on that tearful act for? And look at Lei Long, acting like a simp. Is that really necessary?
Yu Tianheng curled his lip, utterly unable to understand what they were thinking. He only found the scene a little ridiculous and silently hoped he would never get caught up in such a tiresome romantic entanglement.
Seeing Yu Tianheng act like this, Lei Long said angrily, "Yu Tianheng, what's with that attitude, acting like none of this concerns you? If not for you, things wouldn't have come to this!"
Yu Tianheng sneered. "What the fuck are you barking about?"
"What the fuck does it have to do with you what I do?"
"You!" Lei Long pointed at Yu Tianheng, trembling all over, his face flushed red with anger.