Chapter Four: The First Trial of Skill

"What are you laughing at?" The tall man's expression darkened as he said coldly, "Rongrong has already broken up with you. If you dare to pester her again, don't blame me for being impolite!"

"Honey." At that moment, a sweet, coquettish voice rang out, and a beautiful figure immediately linked her arm with Yang Qi's.

Looking at the woman clinging to Yang Qi, Luo Rong's expression shifted. Compared to the woman before her, she felt like a common barnyard fowl, while the other was a high-and-mighty phoenix; there was simply no comparison. As for the tall man, his eyes went wide the moment he saw Tang Xinjie. Compared to this woman, Luo Rong looked completely plain and unremarkable.

Is this woman Yang Qi's girlfriend?

"Beauty, don't be fooled by this poor kid's glib tongue," the tall man quickly interjected. Such a goddess, interested in a poor kid like Yang Qi? How could that be? If she were looking for a boyfriend, she should choose a tall, rich, and handsome man like him!

"So what if he's a poor kid? I happen to like poor kids. Is that any of your business? Someone like you is only fit to pick up the scraps my man doesn't want!" Tang Xinjie gave a light huff.

"Scraps?" Both the tall man and Luo Rong looked incredibly unsightly. If an ordinary person had said this, they would certainly have scoffed, but coming from a great beauty like Tang Xinjie, they found themselves unable to retort.

"Honey, let's go."

Tang Xinjie cast a haughty glance at the pair, linked her arm with Yang Qi's, and walked away briskly.

"Thanks for that just now," Yang Qi said to Tang Xinjie, his eyes catching a glimpse of a somewhat distorted, snow-white expanse.

"One favor for one favor. We're even," Tang Xinjie said with a faint smile.

"Gurgle~"

Just then, an ill-timed sound rang out. Tang Xinjie looked up and met Yang Qi's direct gaze, causing her pretty face to flush red.

"Hmph! Men are all the same—total perverts!" Tang Xinjie huffed, stamped her heel onto Yang Qi's foot, and turned to walk toward the dormitory without looking back.

Watching Tang Xinjie walk away, a wry smile appeared on Yang Qi's face. Women really are fickle creatures.

"But she really is beautiful." Recalling the flash of snow-white skin he had seen earlier, Yang Qi felt his heart heat up.

"It's true, without a wife to keep him in check, a man easily goes astray." Yang Qi shook his head. In the past, he had only had eyes for Luo Rong and would never have paid attention to other girls. Perhaps that is what they mean when they say beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Seeing that it was nearing noon, Yang Qi decided against returning to the dorms and headed straight out of the school gates to a restaurant.

Just as he finished ordering his meal, his phone rang.

"Brother Qi, lunch: shredded pork with garlic sauce, extra rice. Thanks."

Looking at the text from Shi Dong, Yang Qi was speechless. Only this guy could accurately guess their meal times whenever he sent a text; he really wondered if the fellow had clairvoyance.

Since he started practicing martial arts, Yang Qi's appetite had clearly increased; after all, the physical toll of his training was far greater than that of an average person.

"Brother, someone is looking for you." Just then, a short boy with glasses approached Yang Qi.

Someone looking for me?

Yang Qi was slightly stunned, but didn't think much of it. Seeing that he had nearly finished his meal, he paid the bill, grabbed the packed shredded pork with garlic sauce, and left the restaurant.

"Aren't we there yet?" Following the bespectacled boy through several small alleys, Yang Qi couldn't help but frown.

"We're here!" The boy with glasses suddenly accelerated, darting quickly into a side alley and disappearing from sight.

This sudden turn of events immediately gave Yang Qi a bad premonition.

"Thud! Thud!"

A series of dull, heavy sounds followed. The next moment, two men holding steel pipes blocked Yang Qi's path. As they appeared, Yang Qi glanced behind him, and sure enough, two more men holding steel pipes had emerged. With two in front and two behind, the four men had cornered Yang Qi in the alley.

"Are you sure you haven't got the wrong person?" Yang Qi leaned back against the wall, watching as the four men closed in on him.

Yang Qi believed he hadn't offended anyone in his four years of college; he truly couldn't figure out why these people were targeting him.

"Kid, we're looking for you, and we definitely haven't got the wrong person!" the bald man leading them chuckled.

Coming for me?

Yang Qi was taken aback. These people were truly after him, yet he couldn't recall offending anyone.

"Kid, it seems you still don't get it. You ruined someone's good deed, so how can you expect to get away without paying a price?" The bald man chuckled.

Ruined someone's good deed!

A light clicked in Yang Qi's mind; he already knew who had sent these men to deal with him.

Hou Lei! The figure flashed through Yang Qi's mind.

"Did Hou Lei send you?" Yang Qi's expression sank, and he spoke coldly.

"Hou Lei? What Hou Lei? We don't know anyone by that name." The bald man froze and denied it.

Although the bald man tried his best to deny it, Yang Qi still caught the fleeting look of surprise in his eyes. Clearly, the bald man was quite surprised that Yang Qi had called out Hou Lei's name.

"Brothers, do it. Just don't kill him," the bald man said with a sinister grin, raising his steel pipe as he walked toward Yang Qi.

"Since you're looking for death, don't blame me." Yang Qi smiled coldly. Having just obtained the Haotian Technique, he was looking for someone to practice on; he hadn't expected someone to hand themselves over on a silver platter. He certainly wouldn't pass up this opportunity.

Whoosh!

A whistling sound came to his ears as a shadow of a pipe swung down toward Yang Qi.

Facing the incoming steel pipe, Yang Qi shifted his feet, easily dodging the bald man's attack. To the bald man's disbelief, Yang Qi kicked him squarely in the stomach.

"Thud!"

With a muffled sound, the bald man was sent flying, landing on the ground two meters away.

"Brothers, be careful! This kid knows how to fight, attack together!" the bald man groaned, clutching his stomach in pain.

Facing the three men charging at him, Yang Qi smiled coldly. Through his previous attempts, he had already gauged his own strength. Without even using his internal energy, he had sent the bald man flying with less than fifty percent of his power; dealing with the other three would be a piece of cake.

With a sudden dash, he lunged forward, delivering a flying kick that sent one of the charging men flying three or four meters away.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

At the same time, the two remaining thugs rushed in from behind.

Yang Qi lunged forward, bracing his right hand against the ground as he delivered a powerful kick with both feet.

"Thud! Thud!"

Two figures slammed into the nearby wall. In the blink of an eye, four grown men armed with weapons had been beaten to the point where they had no power to fight back.

"Kid, go to hell!" Just then, a roar erupted, and a gust of wind accompanied by a whistling sound came down toward Yang Qi's head.

"Thud!"

A dull thud sounded. The steel pipe in the bald man's hand stopped less than ten centimeters from Yang Qi's head. A surge of intense pain shot through his wrist, as if it were being clamped by an iron vice.

"It seems that last punch was a bit too weak." At the same time, a voice he would come to regret whispered in his ear.

The bald man realized then that the kid who had seemed so easy to bully was actually a ruthless character. He hurriedly begged for mercy, "Brother, we concede."