Chapter 2 : Chapter 2
Chapter 2: When You’re Being Beaten, You Have to Struggle—Otherwise He Won’t Enjoy It Enough!
Hearing her son speak, Yang Suying was overjoyed.
She turned around and pressed her cheek against Li Mu’s forehead.
A strand of true qi probed into Li Mu’s body.
At this moment, after being remolded by the No-Grade Celestial Immortal Art, Li Mu’s body had already recovered by seventy to eighty percent.
Yang Suying’s eyes lit up as well.
Just now, she had clearly used her true qi to examine Li Mu and found that his body had suffered grievous injuries, which was why she had been frantic with fear.
But now, Li Mu had obviously escaped the danger of death.
“Mom, I’m fine now. I’m just very tired. I want to rest.”
Li Mu spoke again, and he sounded even better than before.
If not for the fact that his bones had not yet fully recovered, he would have wanted to get down and walk on his own.
“Good! We’re going home.”
Yang Suying nodded excitedly. There was suddenly more strength in her steps, and she headed toward a small street in the opposite direction.
A little over ten minutes later, they arrived in front of a blacksmith shop.
Yang Suying pounded on the door, then looked toward the surveillance camera by the entrance.
Very soon, the wooden door opened.
A beautiful woman who resembled Yang Suying by about sixty percent hurriedly opened the door.
“Big Sister! What happened?”
This woman was none other than Yang Suying’s younger sister, Li Mu’s aunt, Yang Yourong.
Beside her stood a sturdy, powerfully built man, Li Mu’s uncle by marriage.
He quickly took Li Mu from Yang Suying’s back. “Quick, come inside first!”
Lightning flashed. Thunder roared.
The rain lashed down, and the wind howled.
Li Mu slept heavily through the night.
The next morning, the moment he opened his eyes, he checked his body and found that it had already fully recovered.
That was not only thanks to his No-Grade Celestial Immortal Art.
It was also because his aunt and uncle had taken out a recovery potion worth twenty to thirty thousand yesterday.
Li Mu sat up and stretched lazily.
Then he noticed a folding camp bed in the corner opposite the wall by his own bed.
Yang Suying was sleeping there, her brows still tightly furrowed.
For no reason at all, Li Mu suddenly felt his nose sting.
So this was what it felt like to have a mother...
At that moment, as if sensing something, Yang Suying drowsily opened her eyes.
The instant she saw that Li Mu was awake, her bloodshot eyes filled with surprise, and she quickly sat up.
“Mom! I’m all right!”
The only thing Li Mu could do was jump down from the bed at once, brisk and nimble, so that his mother would no longer worry.
Seeing Li Mu so lively and full of vigor, Yang Suying seemed to deflate as she let out a long breath of relief.
The moment her mind relaxed, she felt a wave of exhaustion unlike anything before.
“As long as you’re fine... then Mom will sleep a little longer...”
The moment she finished speaking, she collapsed back into sleep.
Li Mu did not know whether to laugh or cry. He stepped forward and tucked the blanket properly around his mother.
Then he took out his phone and checked it.
Sure enough, the Li family had already published the change to the family register on their self-media platform.
With bright red brushstrokes, Li Mu’s name had been crossed out from the family register.
That video had also quickly surged onto the citywide trending searches.
After all, yesterday the Li family had already made the trending list once because Li Mu had reported them to the police for stealing his S-rank talent.
But when it came to family matters, the authorities had not interfered, and public opinion was nothing more than angry condemnation. It could not cause any real harm.
People sympathized with Li Mu, but there was nothing they could do to the Li family.
And the Li family simply did not care about public opinion at all!
They were about to rise to power. They were already too busy receiving elites from all walks of life who had come to discuss cooperation and investment.
So this matter was nothing more than another piece of news.
Li Mu pushed open the door and walked outside.
This was the blacksmith shop run by his aunt’s family.
A steaming hot breakfast had been set out on the stone table in the little courtyard.
His aunt was arranging the dishes, while his uncle was moving iron billets, preparing to begin the day’s work.
The moment they saw Li Mu, both of them stopped what they were doing.
The atmosphere became extremely stifling for a moment.
His aunt’s eyes suddenly reddened. She quickly stepped forward, pulled Li Mu into her arms, and comforted him softly, “That damned Li family. They’ve ruined my nephew!”
Her voice trembled, filled with endless heartache.
Physical injuries were one thing.
But even his S-rank talent had been stolen. That was a person’s fate!
A brilliant life that should have soared straight into the clouds
had been turned into a heap of rotten mud just like that.
At the side, his uncle did not know how to comfort him either. He scratched his head and said, “My big nephew, it’s all right! From now on, just follow your uncle and learn smithing!”
“At the very least, it’s still a skill you can make a living with.”
Li Mu felt warmth welling up in his heart. Instead, he patted his aunt’s shoulder to comfort her.
“Aunt, I’m really fine.”
“Uncle, you definitely have to teach me smithing, but I’m still going to school too.”
His aunt and uncle exchanged a glance, and both of them were filled with sighs.
It seemed Li Mu still could not accept reality. If someone with an F-rank talent wanted to continue school and make something of himself, it would be harder than ascending the heavens.
But they truly could not bear to strike another blow at him.
“All right! You can go to school, but you have to change schools!”
“That pack of cursed Li family juniors won’t let you off, and your older female cousin is in the same school as you.”
His aunt spoke with worry.
Li Mu revealed a reassuring smile, his tone resolute.
“Don’t worry, Aunt. The Li family thinks they can rise to power with just one S-rank talent.”
“But I, Li Mu, am going to stomp them into the mud!”
Li Mu’s words were indeed full of heroic ambition.
But in Yang Yourong’s ears, they only made her feel even more heartbroken.
This child had gone mad!
How could that possibly happen?
Li Xiaohao’s S-rank talent did not even need time to grow.
There were already countless people waiting to throw money at the Li family and cooperate with them.
Riding this powerful tailwind, the Li family would definitely be able to rise forcefully in one stroke and become a top-tier family.
After all, everyone understood that tending a cold stove was what really mattered.
If you waited until someone had truly risen before going to add flowers to brocade, then it would already mean much less.
And besides, four days from now would be the First Abyss Battle.
It would be a grand event watched closely by the big shots of both the military and educational worlds.
Li Xiaohao would definitely stand out in that first battle.
When that time came, the Li family’s rise would be even faster!
Li Mu naturally saw through their thoughts, but he did not explain much. He simply asked casually, “Where are Jiaqi and Jiafeng?”
His aunt and uncle had a son and a daughter, both in high school, one in the first year and one in the second year.
“They went to school,” his aunt said.
“I didn’t even have time to tell them what happened to you.”
“I should get going too.”
Li Mu took out his phone and checked the time. It really was not early anymore.
After saying goodbye to the two of them, he ran outside.
“Eat something first!” his aunt called out.
“I’ll eat on the way!”
Li Mu’s voice drifted back as he had already run into the street.
Soaring Dragon Martial Academy.
That was the high school Li Mu was currently attending.
One of Li Mu’s female cousins, Li Xiaohong, was also in this school.
On the very day Li Mu had awakened his S-rank talent, Li Xiaohong had been promoted to student council president.
And today, the moment Li Mu stepped into the school, a student who seemed to have been waiting for him for a long time walked up.
“Li Mu! Um... the student council president told me to call you over as a sparring partner.”
“For whom?” Li Mu asked flatly.
“For Sun Long...” the male student stammered.
Li Mu’s gaze instantly turned cold.
Sun Long came from a somewhat wealthy family.
He did not dare to enter the Abyss and face monsters, yet he was extremely fond of the feeling of fist striking flesh.
Even before the Talent Awakening, he had often beaten up several students from poor families.
He would beat others until they were covered in injuries, all while grinning happily.
The day before yesterday, Sun Long had awakened an A-rank talent, so naturally he had become even more arrogant.
Li Mu had not expected Li Xiaohong to get together with him so quickly.
From now on, if Li Xiaohong used her authority to find human punching bags for Sun Long, wouldn’t that just make him even more pleased with himself?
“Fine!” Li Mu let out a cold snort and strode toward the martial practice field.
At this moment, a large group of third-year high school students had formed a big circle around the martial practice field.
In the open space at the center, Sun Long was brutally beating up a sparring partner.
Before the Talent Awakening, that sparring partner had actually been considered fairly talented, and his strength had definitely exceeded Sun Long’s.
Although talents had awakened, it had only been two days.
The enhancement to combat power brought by talent had not yet fully manifested.
But that sparring partner did not dare fight back even once.
Several other sparring partners standing nearby all had faces as dark as the bottom of a pot.
But there was nothing they could do.
The student council president controlled the distribution of part of the cultivation resources, resources that came from off-campus donations. Although they were not as plentiful as the school’s own supplies, they were extremely important to poor students.
The male student who had brought Li Mu over stepped forward and informed Li Xiaohong.
Li Xiaohong turned around and, when she saw Li Mu, immediately revealed a cruel smile.
She quickly walked up to Li Mu, leaned close to his ear, and said, “I didn’t expect you to recover so quickly!”
“Listen carefully. My boyfriend specifically asked to beat you.”
“In a little while, you absolutely must not just stand there without moving. You have to struggle a little.”
“Otherwise, he won’t enjoy beating you enough!”
“And if you make him unhappy while he’s beating you, then I promise I’ll make your life a living hell every single day.”
After saying that, Li Xiaohong even patted Li Mu on the shoulder.
Her eyes were filled with the twisted pleasure of someone who knew she had completely pinned him down and crushed him.
Li Mu had once awakened an S-rank talent, only to fall into the dust in a single day.
What male student wouldn’t want to crush him?
No male student in school would not want to stomp this former genius beneath his feet.
What kind of thrill of conquest would that be?
Sun Long had specifically asked to brutally beat Li Mu, and Li Xiaohong had already agreed that as long as Li Mu came, she would arrange it for him.
She had originally thought Li Mu would not be able to come to school today.
But unexpectedly, Li Mu had really come.