Chapter 9: The School Belle Arrives

Zhuang Zhoufeng looked at Yang Qi with great curiosity. He still couldn’t quite believe that he had actually beaten a fool into becoming clever. He naturally wanted to come and see such an interesting thing. Besides, that damned Xun Tuizhi had come to him again, asking him to teach Yang Qi another lesson, saying something about how this kid, after becoming smart, still managed to provoke Qin Muchu.

Zhuang Zhoufeng thought, what did that have to do with him? If it weren’t for Qin Muchu’s family being powerful and influential, not someone to mess with, who the hell would care about this crap.

“That fool Yang, after turning smart, doesn’t even put Qin Muchu in his eyes. After what you did to him, he definitely won’t let it go.”

This statement from Xun Tuizhi put Zhuang Zhoufeng on alert. He was never one to be passive, always preferring to strike first in everything. So, he planned to come and beat this newly-smartened fool into submission. That way, he could also give Qin Muchu an explanation.

As for that Xiao Yunlong, he really couldn’t move Zhuang Zhoufeng. Besides, Xiao Yunlong hadn’t actually said any harsh words like not to hit people.

“Fool Yang, I heard you’ve become smart.”

Zhuang Zhoufeng said in a sloppy manner, “You should thank us for that. If it weren’t for us, when would a fool like you ever gain some sense? You should thank us properly.”

As soon as he said this, Zhuang Zhoufeng and the other four laughed arrogantly.

“If you have something to say, let’s talk over there.”

Yang Qi’s expression was very calm. He pointed to a small grove not far away and walked straight towards it.

“Damn, who said this kid became smart? He’s still a fool!”

Seeing Yang Qi voluntarily walk towards the grove, a place suitable for “misdeeds,” Zhuang Zhoufeng and his group sneered repeatedly. At the same time, they found Yang Qi’s arrogant attitude increasingly irritating. After reaching the grove, Zhuang Zhoufeng spoke up, “Let’s not beat around the bush. We’re here to beat you up again. If you’ve really become smart, kid, then be smart about it. Don’t you dare go provoke Qin Muchu again, so we don’t have to be invited over and over to deal with a fool like you, got it!”

With that, he threw a punch straight at Yang Qi’s face. This was a decisive person, or rather, someone so used to bullying others that it was a habit. And this time, knowing Yang Qi had become smart and was no longer a fool, he had even less psychological burden about bad luck.

But this punch did not land on Yang Qi’s face. Nor did they see Yang Qi cover his face and howl in pain, nor any exaggerated splatter of blood. Instead, it was firmly caught by a hand Yang Qi raised.

It hurt. It hurt terribly.

To bully others more effectively, Zhuang Zhoufeng had gone to gyms, martial arts halls, and taekwondo clubs to train. His strength was greater than an average person’s, and his tolerance was higher too. But now, being gripped by Yang Qi, he felt a heart-piercing, bone-crushing pain.

“What the hell are you waiting for? Beat him up, you morons!”

Enduring the pain, he yelled at the remaining four, who immediately charged forward.

Yang Qi’s hand still held Zhuang Zhoufeng. Seeing the four rush at him, he simply lifted his foot and kicked out. Bang! One person was knocked to the ground. With another sweeping kick, one person tried to block with his hands but couldn’t withstand the force. He staggered back several steps before finally falling too. Seeing this, the remaining two hurriedly tried to stop their charge, but it was too late. With two more thuds, they also fell.

These four cried out in pain on the ground. Yang Qi’s kicks were already powerful, and after being enhanced, how could they withstand them? Yang Qi was even holding back. Now, even if they could get up, they were too scared from the kicks, almost playing dead on the ground. They were also shocked by Yang Qi’s sudden outburst.

Without another glance at the four, Yang Qi slightly increased the pressure in his hand. Zhuang Zhoufeng immediately sucked in a cold breath, gritted his teeth, trying to endure it, but finally gave up and cried out.

“Let… let go of me.”

“Yang Qi, let me go! Let’s talk this over.”

Yang Qi gave a cold laugh and instead increased the pressure a little more. He said to himself, “I know your families are all rich and powerful. To be honest, I don’t want to get tangled up with you and lower myself to your level. I don’t want to invite too much trouble either. Why must you push people too far?”

He let go. Zhuang Zhoufeng immediately stumbled back several steps, clutching his hand and repeatedly sucking in cold air. Fear and hatred were equally mixed in his eyes.

Yang Qi swept a cold glance over Zhuang Zhoufeng and the others on the ground. Suddenly, he lifted his foot and swept it towards a nearby tree. This not-so-slender tree trunk snapped in half under Yang Qi’s kick and fell to the ground with a crash.

“This is the last time.”

Having said that, Yang Qi left the grove.

Fear had already overtaken hatred in Zhuang Zhoufeng’s eyes. He had seen some things and clearly understood what the consequences would be if such a kick landed on his body. His father knew a Chinese martial arts master, revered as a guest of honor by his father and several others in their circle. That master’s Xingyi Boxing could snap wood and shatter stones, roughly like this.

He couldn’t understand. So what if Fool Yang became smart? Why did his strength become so great too? Could it be that he had been pretending to be weak all along, or was the rumor that he wasn’t actually stupid, just pondering some three questions which made him seem slow, actually true?

“Boss, what do we do?”

The four followers didn’t fully understand what that tree-kicking kick represented, but at the very least, they knew it was strong and impressive. Plus, none of them could withstand even one kick from Yang Qi earlier, so they were naturally scared too.

Zhuang Zhoufeng and his gang had been causing trouble at Ruiyun High School for a while, but they had never been in such a sorry state as today. It was impossible not to hate, but the key point was they were even more afraid. As for reporting it to the school, that was out of the question. That would be truly humiliating.

Thinking quickly, Zhuang Zhoufeng said to the four, “What just happened, none of you are allowed to speak a word about it.”

“Yeah, yeah!”

The four nodded. Such an embarrassing and humiliating event was certainly not something they would voluntarily talk about.

“From now on, we won’t provoke this Fool Yang anymore either.” Zhuang Zhoufeng said fiercely, “Let Qin Muchu deal with this tough nut himself. It would be best if he really pisses off Fool Yang. Then there’ll be a good show to watch. I really hope to see Fool Yang beat up Qin Muchu. With Qin Muchu’s petty personality, he’d definitely get his family to ruin Fool Yang!”

“Sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight, reap the fisherman’s profit. Brilliant, boss, simply brilliant!”

“Brilliant your sister! Hurry up and help me to the infirmary. I don’t know if my hand is broken or not!”

…

Back in the classroom, Yang Qi took out all the textbooks. He flipped through all the ones he hadn’t looked at before, incidentally memorizing them all. The entire high school curriculum material emerged in his mind. He connected the related knowledge points together, integrating them into systematic documents stored in his brain.

Closing his eyes, with a mere thought, he could see any knowledge point he wanted. After arranging and organizing them, Yang Qi also became familiar with the logic between these knowledge points. His comprehension was good too; he could infer other things from one fact, and his thinking was extremely agile.

He then took out a few quite difficult college entrance exam papers. He didn’t write, but only moved his eyes. Wherever his eyes landed, the answer automatically appeared in his mind, with incredible speed. After looking through them, he ran through the answers in his mind once, then took out the standard answer key to compare. He was almost entirely correct. The occasional discrepancies only appeared in humanities essay questions.

As for tomorrow’s joint exam, Yang Qi was quite confident and very much looking forward to it. Once he got the 10 Energy Stones, his Psychokinesis could be upgraded to level 2, gaining a new effect.

More people gradually filled the classroom as the evening self-study period approached.

Qin Muchu walked into the classroom. Seeing several classmates still talking about that day’s birthday party, their words unable to hide their excitement, he smiled slightly, a trace of pride flashing in his eyes. He believed that birthday party was a first-time experience for the vast majority of his classmates. Such a scene was something they had only seen in TV dramas or movies.

But when he saw Yang Qi, Qin Muchu’s expression turned slightly cold. This annoying person, this discordant element. He had naturally figured out the meaning of the string of names Yang Qi said when leaving that day—everyone except ‘Laozi’ (meaning ‘dad’ or ‘old man’, a rough first-person pronoun), which meant “none of my damn business.” This made Qin Muchu very angry.

What, you became smart, so you think you can show off your cleverness? One day, I’ll make you truly learn to be smart, to know who you can’t afford to offend!

Qin Muchu’s slightly gloomy eyes suddenly brightened, revealing a brilliant smile, because he saw a girl walking towards him. The girl was dressed in white. She was the Goddess in the eyes of most boys at Ruiyun High School, Chen Xiaoxiao, including him, Qin Muchu.

On his birthday, Qin Muchu had also invited Chen Xiaoxiao. Unfortunately, Chen Xiaoxiao had politely declined due to not feeling well. Now, seeing Chen Xiaoxiao walking towards him, his heart instantly bloomed with joy.

In Qin Muchu’s view, among all those pursuing Chen Xiaoxiao, he had the greatest hope. Not only were their families from similar backgrounds and old friends, but the key was they were a perfect match—a talented scholar and a beautiful lady, a golden boy and a jade girl, absolutely made for each other.

“Xiaoxiao, it was such a pity you couldn’t come on my birthday, but I received your gift. Thank you.” Qin Muchu revealed his white teeth with a charming smile.

Chen Xiaoxiao slightly furrowed her delicate brows, then showed a faint smile. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t feeling well that day, so I couldn’t make it. I hope you liked the gift.”

“No problem, no problem.” Qin Muchu waved his hand gracefully and concernedly asked, “Are you feeling better now? Actually, with the relationship between us, you don’t need to come specially to tell me. Your health is what matters. By the way, Xiaoxiao, my dad happened to buy some Ancient Tomes recently. He said among the younger generation in Ruiyun, you have the highest appreciation for such things, and asked me to invite you over to take a look. You know my dad loves discussing these things with people. Sharing an unusual piece of writing for mutual enjoyment, you know.”

Clearly, Class Monitor Qin’s methods for chasing girls were far superior to that brainless, brawny Xiao Yunlong. Not only did he cater to her interests, he also subtly brought up his father at home. This way, regardless of whether Chen Xiaoxiao would be moved, at the very least, it was hard for her to refuse.

“Uncle Qin’s collection has always been extremely rare and precious. I’ll definitely go take a look sometime.” Chen Xiaoxiao gave a faint smile. As for Qin Muchu’s affectionate nickname for her, although she disliked it, she couldn’t reject it as she did with Xiao Yunlong. After all, their families were very close, and he had called her that since they were little.

She had actually come to find Yang Qi, but under the current circumstances, Qin Muchu thought she was looking for him. If she told Qin Muchu now that she was here for Yang Qi, it would be no different from slapping him in the face. Combined with their existing relationship, it would make Qin Muchu utterly humiliated and completely hate Yang Qi. She didn’t want to implicate Yang Qi, at the very least, she didn’t want to be the trigger, commonly known as the “troublemaker.” So, after chatting for a few sentences, she prepared to leave and find Yang Qi another time.

But unexpectedly, a girl from the student council ran over and asked Chen Xiaoxiao with confusion, “Xiaoxiao, didn’t you say you were coming to find that Yang Qi who suddenly became smart recently? How come? Is he not in the classroom?”

Qin Muchu’s face instantly turned dark and burning hot.