Chapter 4 : Chapter 4
Chapter 4: Get Lost to the School Across the Street? Fine!!
“Stop!!”
In an instant, the rage on Sun Long’s face was replaced by fear, and he roared out loud.
Driven by pure survival instinct, he frantically mobilized all the true qi in his body and concentrated it on the side of his face.
He could feel that if Li Mu’s bamboo switch landed on his face, he would not escape with anything less than severe injury, if not death!
But Li Mu had no intention of stopping at all.
Bang!
The bamboo switch could not withstand the force of the impact and exploded into splinters.
Sun Long was sent flying sideways by the blow, knocking over several students before rolling across the ground several times.
The entire arena fell silent as a tomb.
“Abyss monsters won’t stop just because you ask them to...”
Li Mu brushed the splinters from his hands and returned Li Xiaohong’s earlier words to her exactly as she had said them.
At the same time, a prompt popped up from the system.
【Victory! Victory Points +19】
【Note: The stronger the defeated opponent is compared to the host, and the more severe the damage inflicted, the more Victory Points are gained.】
“Good!!”
A shout suddenly burst out from the crowd of watching students, then quickly died away, clearly because the speaker was afraid Sun Long would hold a grudge.
But that one shout of approval instantly ignited the atmosphere.
A whole group of students raised their fists and shouted, “Well done!”
Who cared anymore? When everyone joined in, no one could be singled out. If they wanted to shout, then they would shout. What, was he going to take revenge on all of them?
At that moment, Sun Long’s mind was blank.
Blood was streaming from his ears.
The intense ringing in his ears and the buzzing in his skull made him unable to hear any sound from the outside world.
Blood was also constantly seeping from his face, making him look like a swollen purple-black pig’s head!
An overwhelming sense of humiliation swallowed him whole.
Only then did Li Xiaohong finally snap fully back to her senses, and the moment she did, she completely exploded.
She let out a shrill scream, and the students who had been shouting instantly quieted down.
Li Xiaohong’s eyes looked as though they were about to bleed.
“Who told you to fight back? Who gave you permission to fight back?! I told you to stand there, and you treated my words like they were nothing, is that it?!”
As she shouted, she strode up to Li Mu and, without another word, swung a slap straight at his face.
The slap was so fluid in both strength and angle that it was practically a martial technique of her own making!
Unfortunately for her, Li Mu was faster!
Smack!
Li Mu struck her first, slapping Li Xiaohong across the face.
The force was so great that a tooth could clearly be seen flying out of her mouth.
Li Xiaohong collapsed to the ground on the spot.
“Li Xiaohong, what the hell are you putting on an act for? Weren’t you the one whispering in my ear just now, telling me to bring out my real strength and teach Sun Long a proper lesson?”
“I don’t care what kind of grudge you and Sun Long have between you, but don’t use me as your weapon and then pretend to be innocent!”
After saying that, Li Mu strode forward.
And, without the slightest deviation, stepped right across Li Xiaohong’s face as he walked past.
Her mind was held in place by sheer shock for several full seconds.
Her brain was practically burning out.
Even if she died, she could not understand why Li Mu dared to hit her. Why did he dared ignore her words!
Nor could she remember ever saying anything like that.
But when she noticed the way Sun Long was staring at her like he wanted to devour her, disbelief mixed with boundless rage in his eyes,
Li Xiaohong suddenly understood.
Li Mu had played her for a fool!
“I didn’t! I never said that! I really never said anything like that!”
Clutching her face, Li Xiaohong hurriedly tried to explain herself to Sun Long, stepping forward as if to help him up.
“Get lost!!”
Sun Long kicked Li Xiaohong to the ground with one foot, then staggered off toward the infirmary with both hands covering his face.
“Long-Long, Long-Long, listen to my explanation!”
Li Xiaohong scrambled back up in a miserable state and chased after him.
The surrounding students immediately burst into laughter.
“I’m dying. Li Xiaohong probably couldn’t have said something like that, right?”
“Li Mu’s hatred for the Li family isn’t exactly an act. Even an idiot knows he was sowing discord on purpose.”
“Whether it was deliberate provocation or not doesn’t matter anymore. The key is that that idiot Sun Long believed it!”
“I never realized it before, but Li Mu’s actually something else.”
“Well, whether this is a blessing or a disaster is hard to say. Li Mu’s really offended both the Li family and Sun Long badly this time!”
As the students chatted among themselves, they gradually dispersed.
Li Mu, meanwhile, made his way all the way back to the classroom.
He had been studying how to use the system the whole time.
Although the system had many divine abilities, in the early stages, when Li Mu still had few divine skills and spells, he still had to rely on this world’s techniques and martial arts.
Otherwise, he would just be a brute who only knew how to throw wild haymakers.
Of course, if those haymakers were strong enough, they could still beat someone to death just the same.
But this world had true qi.
Techniques were the many methods by which true qi could be applied.
They were wondrous things that had been developed through the exploration of countless great predecessors.
If used well, techniques could cleverly strengthen one’s combat power.
And Li Mu had already felt it earlier when he used Earth-Walking Nine Steps.
With the support of the No-Grade Celestial Immortal Art, cultivating any technique would let him achieve twice the result with half the effort!
The fifty years of insight and understanding gave him no increase in direct cultivation.
But when it came to the depth and breadth of real combat ability, the benefit was enormous.
And right now, the most direct way to raise his combat strength was Divine Weapon Art.
One Victory Point increased a weapon’s weight by one jin.
That meant that if he only got another 13,500 points, he would be able to match the Ruyi Jingu Bang.
But Li Mu understood this very clearly.
Even if the weight really reached that level, it still could not compare to the Great Sage’s divine might.
After all, he had neither the Great Celestial Immortal Art nor the Sea-Calming Divine Needle Iron.
And simply increasing the weight was useless.
If his body and cultivation could not keep up, then even if he used Mountain-Bearing Art to wield it by force, his body would still be as fragile as paper.
He might swing the divine weapon before he could even hit anyone and snap his own waist first!
And speaking of weapons— with the support of Divine Weapon Art, the only thing Li Mu could really use was a staff.
Huge weapons were far too heavy and unwieldy to use properly.
Smaller weapons, on the other hand, could not bring out the full advantage of Divine Weapon Art.
The Victorious Combat System.
If he did not wield a staff, it would feel like a waste of all these divine abilities.
“Li Mu, Li Mu!”
Just as Li Mu was still thinking over the system, a male classmate hurried into the classroom and rushed up to him.
“Hm?” Li Mu looked perfectly calm. He could more or less guess what this was about.
“The Director... the Director wants to see you.”
Panting hard, the male student pointed downstairs.
Li Mu smiled, stood up, and headed straight for the Student Affairs Office.
He had beaten Sun Long into that state. There was no way Sun Long would be able to take part in tomorrow’s Abyss military training.
In this world, if a martial artist wanted to become truly strong, his ultimate destination would always be to face the monsters of the Abyss.
That was why the educational system and the military system of this world were deeply interconnected.
And Abyss military training was the first major event after awakening one’s talent.
Three days of military training, then participation in the First Abyss Battle.
Facing Abyss monsters.
Even with military training, the death rate remained terrifyingly high.
But martial artists had no choice but to come into contact with real Abyss monster combat as early as possible.
That was extremely beneficial to their growth.
It preserved the bloodiness and fighting spirit of martial artists, and it also allowed them to rapidly improve both their cultivation and real combat ability through battle.
So only those who stood out in the First Abyss Battle could truly be considered strong.
Whether for the individual or for the school, that would bring attention from all sides.
Sun Long had been cowardly to begin with, and after being injured by Li Mu, he had been handed a perfect excuse not to participate in the First Abyss Battle.
If the Director of Student Affairs did not fly into a rage over that, then that would be the strange thing.
But Li Mu was not afraid at all, because what he had done did not amount to breaking the law.
Between martial artists, as long as it was a fair fight witnessed by others, injuring someone did not count!
After all, martial artists needed to preserve their fighting spirit.
If causing injury meant bearing legal responsibility every time, then who would still dare make a move?
How were they supposed to preserve any fighting spirit at all?
Quite a few students had already gathered outside the Student Affairs Office.
Behind the office desk sat Director Liang Hai, who looked coldly at Li Mu as he entered.
“Director.”
Li Mu shut the door behind him and stood calmly in the open space, accepting Liang Hai’s scrutiny.
Liang Hai said nothing and stared at Li Mu for a full minute.
Irritation instantly rose in Li Mu’s heart.
If you’ve got something to say, then say it. What the hell are you trying to act profound for?
Sensing that the outcome might not be very pleasant, Li Mu grew more cautious and secretly activated the recording function on his phone.
The phones in this high-martial world were far more advanced than the ones on Earth.
Thanks to the developments of those with spatial talents, the recording function did not even require the camera to be aimed directly at anything.
It could create a spatial image even while sitting inside a pocket.
The only differences were the size of the recording range and the clarity of the image and sound.
After staring at Li Mu for a long while, Liang Hai finally spoke in a grave voice.
“Li Mu, do you know the difference in value between you and Sun Long?”
“I don’t,” Li Mu said calmly, shaking his head.
“Hmph. It seems you still can’t accept reality!”
Liang Hai let out a light, mocking snort.
Li Mu could not help sneering inwardly.
Just the day before yesterday, right after he had awakened his S-rank talent, Liang Hai had been the very first one to drag him into his office.
He had spent a full half hour talking about things like “never forgetting a teacher’s grace” and “repaying kindness in full measure.”
Yet after only two days, there was already a difference in value between him and Sun Long.
Truly textbook behavior.
Liang Hai raised two fingers, his face filled with disdain.
“I’m giving you two choices.”
“First, go apologize to Sun Long and Li Xiaohong! I don’t care what method you use! Obtain their forgiveness!”
“Second, get the hell out of this school right now!”
“This is the last...”
Liang Hai’s eyes were full of contempt, and he was still shaking his head self-importantly when—
“I choose the second one!”
Li Mu’s voice was crisp and firm.
Rage immediately surged into Liang Hai’s eyes, and he stared at Li Mu for a long time once again.
“I said, I choose the second one! Please hurry up and give me the expulsion letter. I’m in a rush!”
Li Mu met his gaze head-on and said each word with sharp clarity.
He really was in a rush!
He needed to get the expulsion letter and quickly find another school.
He had to stand out in this First Abyss Battle as a student.
That was extremely important.
A real man could not go a single day without power!
And in this high-martial otherworld, that was even more true.
And the highest power in this world was the Abyss-Suppressing Army!
Li Mu had to climb to the peak of power.
Only then would he be able to crush the entire Li family beneath his feet with ease.
If the speed of his rise could not surpass the rise of the Li family,
then he would still end up trampled underfoot!
As long as he stood out in this First Abyss Battle,
he would very quickly enter the sight of the Abyss-Suppressing Army’s upper ranks.
Now that he had awakened the Victorious Combat System, if he still planned to play the whole “lying low” game,
then he might as well go back and keep living like a beast of burden!
“Heh heh heh heh...”
Liang Hai laughed from sheer anger, nodding repeatedly as he picked up his phone.
As soon as the call connected, his voice turned as cold as ice and snow.
“Senior Year Class Nine, Li Mu. Pull out his file and expel him!”
Whatever the person on the other end said, it immediately made Liang Hai shoot to his feet, his voice rising several degrees.
“There’s no need to report it upward!! Do I, Liang Hai, not even have this much authority?! I said expel him! Right now!!”
“Prepare the expulsion letter and bring it to the office immediately!”
After saying that, Liang Hai slammed the phone down hard.
Then he looked back at Li Mu, putting on an expression of mock amusement.
“As your teacher and elder, this is the final lesson I’m giving you.”
“People always have to pay the price for the choices they make! Is this lesson vivid enough for you?”
“And I can even point you toward a clear road.”
“Across the street, diagonally opposite—Blackwater High School. They’re so desperate for students they’re nearly recruiting themselves mad. They’ll take in any kind of trash!”
Li Mu smiled instead.
“Thank you for the reminder.”
Liang Hai let out a cold laugh.
Not long afterward, someone from the Student Records Office hurried in, carrying a file bag and an expulsion letter.
Liang Hai could not even be bothered to glance at it. He merely lifted a hand lightly.
“Take the expulsion letter you wanted and get lost!”
Li Mu could not be bothered to say another word either. He picked up the file and the letter and strode out of the office.
He walked out of the school.
Without stopping in the slightest, Li Mu headed straight for Blackwater High School across the road at an angle.