Chapter 148: Humiliating Lan Ling
Outside the training hall’s main doors.
“Here’s another warning for you. The rankings in the competitions are not something your and Bai Zhenzhen’s status can occupy forever.”
“You will not participate in the upcoming first-year Dao heart competition.”
After speaking, Zhou Chechen walked into the training hall, seemingly giving Zhang Yu no chance to retort.
Or perhaps he was saying… If you want to resist, then come inside and tell me. If you have that kind of confidence, and that kind of courage.
With Zhou Chechen’s arrival, the entire training hall felt as if it had been plunged into a harsh winter.
It wasn’t just the chilling air he brought with him that physically lowered the temperature.
It was the accumulated authority of this Student Council vice president, pressing down like dark clouds over a city, making everyone present, whether first or second-year students, feel as if they couldn’t even breathe.
The first-year students all bowed in unison. “Greetings, senior.”
The second-years on the other side did the same. “Greetings, President.”
Even Lan Ling, who had been on the verge of losing his temper just moments ago, was shocked into calmness by the chill emanating from Zhou Chechen. He no longer argued with Bai Zhenzhen.
He flexed his chest muscles slightly, then wiped a hand over the area, and the broken skin and muscle sealed shut, completely erasing the words ‘Vocational Student.’
Zhou Chechen’s eyes swept over the crowd, finally landing on Bai Zhenzhen.
“Bai Zhenzhen,” he said flatly, “Senior Lan Ling was kind enough to instruct you in combat techniques, yet you used tricks to humiliate him. This is a true violation of the spirit of our Songyang High School…”
Watching this unfold, Zhao Tianxing was struck by a sense of familiarity. Here we go again. It was the same way a few months ago.
Once Zhou Chechen arrives, no one can stand against him.
If Zhang Pianpian hadn’t put him in his place at the end, Yu-boy and Zhen would have probably been bullied to death back then.
A flash of insight seemed to strike Zhao Tianxing’s mind. It’s the same now.
With just a few moves and a few words, Zhou Chechen has completely changed the atmosphere of the entire scene.
I can feel it… with Zhou Chechen’s next move… the role of the clown is about to shift again.
Zhao Tianxing looked nervously and worriedly at Bai Zhenzhen, then at himself. No matter how he thought about it, he felt that the clown role was heading straight for the two of them.
Just then, Zhang Yu also walked into the training hall. He looked at Zhou Chechen and smiled.
“The spirit of our Songyang High School? When did that ever include not being able to humiliate other students?”
“Students with high scores can insult students with low scores. Good grades are everything. Isn’t that the true spirit of our Songyang High School?”
The students present, whether first or second-year, all nodded inwardly upon hearing this, strongly agreeing with Zhang Yu’s logic.
Zhou Chechen also looked at Zhang Yu with a scrutinizing gaze.
You dare to come in? Then let me see what gives you such confidence.
Zhang Yu continued, “With Lan Ling’s skill level, how many competition rankings did he get when he was a first-year? Did he ever spar with students from the three major high schools?”
“Bai Zhenzhen took fourth in the martial arts competition and fifth in the athletics competition. Why can’t she insult Lan Ling?”
Bai Zhenzhen added coolly from the side, “When Zhang Yu and I went to White Dragon High School to exchange martial knowledge with their year’s top students, Yu Xinghan and Song Hailong, students like this who’ve never placed in a competition had to kneel outside the door to listen.”
Qian Shen couldn’t help but chime in, “That’s right. For us high school students, grades are king. Based on Bai Zhenzhen’s competition results, her level of evolution is far beyond Lan Ling’s. What’s wrong with her insulting him a little?”
Indeed, was it even an issue for a student with good grades to insult one with poor grades? Wasn’t that just a casual, everyday occurrence at Songyang High School? The students present had either experience insulting others, being insulted, or both. At these words, all of them nodded in silent agreement.
Even among the second-year students, the way many of them looked at Lan Ling had subtly changed.
Listening to them speak one after another, the vital energy in Lan Ling’s body surged more violently, his breathing grew heavier, his face turned redder, and the veins on his forehead looked as if they were about to pop. Yet, he couldn’t utter a single word.
This was because every sentence they spoke was grounded in the principle of scores being paramount, of grades being king. It made Lan Ling want to lash out, but at the same time feel that he couldn’t. In the end, all he could do was glare fixedly at Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen.
At that moment, Lan Ling even had the feeling that he was being bullied by students with better grades.
Zhao Tianxing watched this scene, his eyes shining with a strange light. When Zhou Chechen said those few words, I thought the clown role was about to shift. Who knew that as soon as A’Yu came in, he would instantly turn the situation around and nail the clown role firmly onto Lan Ling.
But just as everyone’s emotions were following the narrative spun by Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen.
Zhou Chechen took a step forward, and the chill from his body erupted, sending waves of bone-piercing cold wind sweeping through the entire training hall.
Zhou Chechen said coldly, “Lan Ling is a member of the Student Council. He represents the Student Council.”
“He came here with good intentions to instruct his juniors, yet was ambushed and humiliated by Bai Zhenzhen. This is a disruption of the school’s instructional order and has nothing to do with who has higher or lower scores.”
Accompanying the cold wind that burst forth from Zhou Chechen was a form of spiritual pressure.
A strong sense of fear welled up in the hearts of many, making them inexplicably tense, their hearts race, and they dared not offer any rebuttal to Zhou Chechen’s words.
Zhang Yu, standing not far in front of Zhou Chechen, bore the brunt of it. As the cold wind rushed toward him, a wave of fear was stirred up in his heart as well.
Fu Ji reminded him, Be careful. It’s the effect of a heart art.
Zhang Yu immediately activated the Heavenly Martial Heart-Tempering Art. A martial will that could battle heaven and earth instantly erupted in his mind, completely suppressing the fear that had just risen.
…
Information about Zhou Chechen surfaced in Zhang Yu’s mind.
Before Zhang Pianpian left, she had instructed Zhang Yu on many things and naturally gave him a lot of useful intelligence.
Among them, Zhou Chechen and Lan Ling were two individuals with extreme hostility towards Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen, so Zhang Pianpian had of course detailed their situations.
“That frosty qi on Zhou Chechen comes from an expert-level cultivation technique called the Frost Heaven Freezing Qi Field. The heart art is the Frost Prison Art, which complements it.”
“These two cultivation techniques form a set, complementing and enhancing each other.”
Zhang Yu also knew that unlike the cultivation techniques most people bought, the Frost Heaven Freezing Qi Field and the Frost Prison Art were not purchased by Zhou Chechen, but were techniques passed down in his family for many years.
The Zhou family’s first fortune was made by selling the exclusive rights to these two cultivation techniques to the Myriad Stars Education Group.
However, despite selling the copyrights, for a long time within Songyang City, the only ones who could truly master this set of techniques were members of the Zhou family.
The reason for this was related to the cultivation method of these two techniques.
Cultivating the Frost Heaven Freezing Qi Field required refining the yin-cold baleful qi and the death-resentment from corpses, then suppressing it with the Frost Prison Art heart art.
Once mastered, not only would every move carry a sky of freezing qi, but it could also unleash the residual resentment from countless corpses, forming a fear-based attack.
And in Songyang City, corpses naturally cost money.
Not only did purchasing corpses cost money, but processing them cost even more.
Whether it was wall burial, box burial, cremation, or water burial, each had different fee standards.
If the family intended to sell the body directly, they also had to go to a professional institution for processing and appraisal, paying a handling fee and a corpse transaction tax.
And thinking of just tossing one into a ditch or a small river would result in a hefty fine.
The Zhou family behind Zhou Chechen had long been in the corpse disposal business in Songyang City, possessing a large reserve of fresh corpses, allowing them to make money and cultivate at the same time.
…
At this moment, Fu Ji reminded him, Fighting this Zhou Chechen… will be troublesome.
The Frost Heaven Freezing Qi Field has a huge attack range. Just getting close to him means you’ll be invaded by the freezing qi. Your muscles will stiffen, and even your magic power circulation will slow down. The longer you fight him, the worse your condition will get. There’s no way to dodge this all-encompassing freezing qi.
Paired with his Frost Prison Art, it can also weaken an opponent’s mental state.
If you can’t finish him in one go, you’ll be continuously weakened by him, and eventually, the freezing qi accumulated in your body will erupt, causing severe injuries.
Moreover, as the number one student of the second year, all his stats are definitely still above yours right now. It will be very difficult to overwhelm him in a short amount of time.
So, to deal with this guy, we have to use the method we discussed before.
Of course, Zhang Yu knew what Fu Ji meant. A public spar like this isn’t like the exam of fighting Yellow Turban Strongmen, where you can just put your head down and go all out. You have to use various combat techniques, with psychological attacks being paramount…
On the other side, Zhou Chechen, circulating the Frost Prison Art, looked at Zhang Yu. A strong, fear-inducing pressure radiated from his eyes as he said coldly, “Bai Zhenzhen disrupted the instructional order. Are you going to as well?”
“Zhang Yu, are you also going to disrupt the instructional order?”
Facing Zhou Chechen’s pressure, Zhang Yu, however, activated the Heavenly Martial Heart-Tempering Art and said without a trace of fear,
“Senior, you can use your heart art cultivation to silence others, but you can’t suppress my and Bai Zhenzhen’s grades.”
“I will stand right here today. I won’t attack, I won’t block, I won’t dodge. I will take ten of your moves head-on.”
“If, within ten moves, senior can knock me down, I will naturally accept the Student Council’s guidance willingly.”
“If not, then I ask that senior abide by the spirit of Songyang High School and allow an outstanding student like Bai Zhenzhen to freely insult an underachiever like Lan Ling.”
“Ridiculous,” Lan Ling snorted angrily. “Kid, you’re not trying to scam some medical fees, are you?”
Zhou Chechen placed a hand on Lan Ling, whose chest was about to explode with rage.
Zhou Chechen looked at Zhang Yu, the coldness in his eyes intensifying.
“Very good. What you said is very good indeed.”
“Don’t worry. It won’t take ten moves, and you won’t need to go to the medical room.”
“Within three moves, I will press you to the ground.”
As he spoke, Zhou Chechen’s figure, trailing a sky of freezing qi, shot a palm strike toward Zhang Yu from across the distance.