Xue Beng Comes Knocking

Yu Tianheng followed behind, the corner of his mouth twitching.

For some reason, he had a feeling Lin Qingchen hadn't told the truth, though he couldn't say where that feeling came from.

Guided by an attendant, Lin Qingchen made his way backstage on the first floor, where the auction house handled payment and delivery of auctioned items.

The auction house manager was already waiting there. All smiles, he presented the Starry Sky Ring with both hands.

Lin Qingchen accepted the Starry Sky Ring and infused it with Soul Power to claim it. Sure enough, it contained a very large space.

He nodded and slipped the ring onto his finger.

Then he waved his hand, and a great pile of Gold Soul Coins appeared on the open floor.

"Count them."

The manager froze for a moment, then immediately called for people to start counting.

It took quite a while to finish, but the amount was exact, down to the last coin.

"Let's go."

Lin Qingchen turned and walked away.

"Stop!"

But just then, a shout came from behind him, its anger barely restrained.

Xue Beng stood blocking the auction house entrance with his men, his face dark. The guards behind him had already put their hands on the weapons at their waists.

"Oh? What can I do for you, Fourth Prince?" Lin Qingchen turned around.

"You've got quite a bit of money, don't you?" Xue Beng stared at him. "You spent a hundred and sixty thousand on a Storage Soul Tool without batting an eye. Tell me, what family are you from? How dare you humiliate me?"

"Heaven Dou Royal Academy. Lin Qingchen."

"Heaven Dou Royal Academy?" Xue Beng looked him up and down and sneered. "How come I've never heard of you? I didn't know the empire had any nobles with that surname, either. I'm curious how you managed to get into the academy."

"There's no need to trouble yourself over that, Prince Xue Beng. It's none of your business."

"You've only just enrolled, and you already dare compete with me for things?" Xue Beng took a step forward, and the guards behind him advanced with him. "I don't care where you came from. You owe me an explanation for what happened today."

Lin Qingchen looked at him, hands in his pockets, his voice even. "The Fourth Prince wants an explanation? Fine, let's be reasonable. The auction house rules say the highest bidder wins. I bid higher than you, so the item is mine. If you don't like it, you can go complain to your imperial father. Tell him a new student from Heaven Dou Royal Academy beat you at an auction by perfectly legitimate means, and see whether he praises you for being so capable or scolds you for disgracing yourself."

Xue Beng's face turned completely black.

How could he possibly go around telling people about something like that?

After all, auctions went to the highest bidder. Losing to someone else was bad enough, but if he went and complained about it, his imperial father would only look down on him all the more.

Xue Qinghe already had the upper hand completely. Doing something like that would only make things harder for Xue Beng.

But was he supposed to just let it go?

Xue Beng certainly didn't think so.

He glared at Lin Qingchen and finally left him with a threat. "Hmph, since you're a student at Heaven Dou Royal Academy too, we'll just wait and see. If I don't teach you a lesson, my surname isn't Xue!"

Hearing that, Yu Tianheng instinctively reached for his mask. Others might fear Prince Xue Beng's status, but he didn't. His grandfather was one of the few Titled Douluo in the world, and even among Titled Douluo, he was considered strong.

To say nothing of the fact that Xue Beng was merely a disregarded wastrel prince.

Lin Qingchen grabbed Yu Tianheng's wrist.

"Qingchen?"

Lin Qingchen shook his head, signaling him not to act rashly.

Though puzzled, Yu Tianheng lowered his hand.

"Let's go."

Just as someone who played the pig to eat the tiger could end up becoming a pig if he kept up the act too long, Xue Beng, who pretended to be a wastrel but was actually very ambitious, had truly turned himself into a wastrel.

In the original story, if he hadn't been the only member of the imperial family left, how could it ever have been his turn to take the throne?

After leaving the auction house, the two chose not to take a carriage, instead strolling along the street at their leisure.

Heaven Dou City was indeed worthy of being the foremost city in the land, at the very feet of the emperor. Even the roadsides were lined with all kinds of vendors, selling things that made one's eyes light up.

There were also some distinctive local snacks that were quite enticing, and Lin Qingchen sampled each one.

He wasn't short of money anyway, so there was no need to mistreat his stomach.

Along the way, Lin Qingchen also bought a necklace.

Of course, it wasn't because he liked how it looked. Its pendant was a small metal ball, just big enough to hold his Spirit-Concentrating Tranquil Heart.

Early the next morning, Lin Qingchen had just left the dormitory building and was heading to the cafeteria for breakfast when, before he had gone far, he saw a dense crowd of people.

More than a dozen students in Heaven Dou Academy uniforms were blocking the entrance, led by none other than Xue Beng.

He hadn't brought any guards today, only students from the academy. Every one of them was broad-shouldered and thick-waisted, and standing there together, they looked quite imposing.

But clay chickens and pottery dogs were still clay chickens and pottery dogs. No matter how many of them stood there, it wouldn't make any difference.

Passing students took one look at the scene and went around them. A few bold ones occasionally stopped at a distance, hoping to watch the show.

"Lin Qingchen." Xue Beng leaned against the doorframe with his arms crossed and raised his chin. "I spent all night thinking about what happened at the auction house yesterday, and the more I thought about it, the less I could let it go. You're a new student, so I won't bully you. I'll give you a chance: spar with me. If you lose, hand over the Starry Sky Ring and apologize to me in public. If you win, we'll wipe the slate clean for yesterday."

The students beside him joined in the jeering. "How generous of you, Fourth Prince!"

"Kid, the Fourth Prince is giving you a way out, so take it!"

Lin Qingchen glanced at Xue Beng.

He was a boy of fourteen or fifteen, and his Soul Power was barely above level twenty at best. The faint fluctuations of Soul Power coming from him might have escaped others, but they couldn't escape Lin Qingchen's perception.

However he looked at it, Xue Beng was just some guy off the street who could do nothing but throw his weight around the academy thanks to his status as a prince. Lin Qingchen had no idea where he got the confidence to challenge him one-on-one.

Maybe this was an average yet confident man: ordinary and full of confidence?

He had played the wastrel for so long that he'd forgotten what he was worth.

"Are you sure you want to spar?" Lin Qingchen asked, looking at Xue Beng strangely.

"What, you don't dare?" Xue Beng sneered. "Weren't you awfully bold at the auction house yesterday? What's wrong, are you scared now?"

"Since you know who I am, you presumably also know what I've joined. Are you really that confident?"

Xue Beng froze. Of course he knew the kid had joined the Imperial Fighting Team, but he figured the other boy was only ten. No matter how talented he was, how strong could he be right now?

Xue Beng wouldn't necessarily lose to him, just as most people at the academy were no match for him.

"Hmph, cut the nonsense. Are you scared or not?"

Lin Qingchen said nothing.

He was considering a very serious question: where would be the best place to hit Xue Beng?

If he hit him in the face, given the current strength of his body, one punch would most likely cave Xue Beng's face in. A concussion and being turned into an idiot would be the least of it. If Prince Xue Xing then came looking for him with Dugu Bo, Lin Qingchen himself wouldn't be afraid, but it would be hard to explain things to Qin Ming.

If he hit him in the chest, he'd probably break a few ribs. Injured sinews and bones took a hundred days to heal, and Xue Beng would likely miss the academy competition.

Forget it. He'd hit him in the stomach.

The stomach had plenty of flesh and could take a beating, so it was less likely to cost him his life. But it would really hurt, enough to keep Xue Beng in bed for ten days or half a month.