Chapter 36: A Love Rival Arrives
"He's my childhood sweetheart, and my man! What about it?" Huang Xiaoman yelled, stared down by the three girls.
She was furious and couldn't care less about the consequences.
She could see the scheming glint in their eyes.
She had a feeling that if she denied it, these three would actually make a move on him.
By then, who knew if this innocent, sheltered boy would be snatched up by these bold, seasoned flirts.
And by then, it would be too late.
So…
Huang Xiaoman decided to make the first move.
As she spoke, she moved closer to Ling Fei and hooked her arm through his.
Ling Fei's entire body was pulled over, pressing tightly against Huang Xiaoman.
"Uh…" This sudden change left Ling Fei stunned. 'Has this girl lost her mind?'
Ling Fei turned his head to give Huang Xiaoman a strange look.
'You're the one who's sick! You're completely hopeless!' Seemingly noticing the astonishment in Ling Fei's eyes, Huang Xiaoman rolled her eyes, feeling utterly frustrated.
'Why is this guy so dense?'
However, she couldn't bicker with Ling Fei right now, or else those girls would see through their act.
So, she quickly lifted her chin and shot a look at Mu Xue and her friends.
Her expression clearly said, 'That's right, he's my man.'
"Oh my, I never thought our Xiaoman, who's always had such high standards, would actually have a sweetheart."
"Not bad, Xiaoman. This junior, Ling Fei, is quite handsome!"
"Xiaoman, that's not right. You're older than Junior Ling Fei. Aren't you robbing the cradle?"
The three seniors teased Huang Xiaoman, one after another.
These women seemed to have long been accustomed to teasing each other like this.
"Oh, so what if I'm robbing the cradle? You got a problem with that?" Teased by her friends, Huang Xiaoman refused to back down, shooting them a sidelong glance.
Her defiant attitude showed she couldn't care less what they thought.
"All right, all right! Since he's your man, we won't steal him!" Seeing Huang Xiaoman's expression, Mu Xue smiled and stopped teasing her.
"What a shame. Such a handsome junior. It would have been so nice to have a nice, long chat about life with him!"
Another senior teased with a laugh.
Hearing this, Zhao Fa and the others looked completely awkward.
'Are all the senior girls at Celestial River Academy this forward?' It was a real eye-opener for Ling Fei.
"Shoo, get lost, all of you!" Huang Xiaoman said, rolling her eyes.
She really was helpless when it came to her best friends.
"Xiaoman, we have to go now, but we'll give you a proper welcome dinner later!" Senior Mu Xue said with a charming smile.
"Junior Ling Fei, we're off! If Xiaoman doesn't treat you right, you can always come find your seniors for a chat about life," another one chimed in with a grin.
Then, the three women departed, striding away on their long, slender legs.
"Uh…" Seeing the three women walk away, Ling Fei frowned. 'I didn't even get to say a word to them. How could they just leave?'
'Didn't they say they wanted to talk about life?'
'Figures. You can't trust a word girls say!'
But, before he could speak, Huang Xiaoman had already made her move.
AH!
Ling Fei felt like Huang Xiaoman was about to pinch a chunk of his flesh right off.
"You psycho! What are you doing?" Ling Fei finally snapped.
It hadn't been that long, and she'd already pinched him twice.
He felt extremely frustrated.
Huang Xiaoman glared at Ling Fei, a powerful aura pressing down, as if to say, "I'm stronger than you, what can you do about it?"
Inside, however, she was roaring.
'This little punk! Look at that longing expression on his face. Those vixens have already bewitched him.'
She was seething with indignation.
'Brat, don't you see the drop-dead gorgeous girl right next to you?'
"Sis!" However, just as Huang Xiaoman was using her aura to pressure Ling Fei, Huang Liang, who was behind her, frowned and called out.
He looked at Huang Xiaoman, his gaze accusatory.
It seemed he was shocked by what had just happened.
'My sister actually admitted Ling Fei was her childhood sweetheart, her lover?'
'If it was fake, that would be one thing.'
'But if it was real, wouldn't he have to call Ling Fei 'brother-in-law' in the future?'
At this thought, he felt so frustrated he could just about cough up blood.
But his questioning gaze was met with Huang Xiaoman's fierce glare.
'This kid, how can he be so tactless?' Seeing her brother question her, Huang Xiaoman was very frustrated.
'I just worked up the courage to cement the fact that Ling Fei was my man.'
'And now this brat comes along to question me? Isn't he trying to tear down my whole act?'
'Although Ling Fei hadn't admitted it himself…'
'At least my best friends won't be hitting on Ling Fei anymore, which saves me a lot of future trouble.'
'But now my own brother is starting to make a scene?'
'This damn kid. Looks like it's been too long since I taught him a lesson. He actually dares to meddle in my business now,' Huang Xiaoman thought to herself,
Being stared at viciously by his sister, Huang Liang's heart skipped a beat. He felt a surge of fear and lowered his head.
He knew that if he continued to speak, his sister would skin him alive.
"*Sigh*." Huang Liang was miserable. He shot Ling Fei a look brimming with sorrow and resentment.
Zhao Fa and Wu Dapang were all scared silent.
At this moment, they too felt the fierce aura coming from Huang Xiaoman.
"*Sigh*!" Ling Fei let out a soft sigh and retracted his questioning gaze, clearly backing down under Huang Xiaoman's fearsome presence.
He'd been bullied by this girl plenty of times when they were kids.
Back then, Huang Xiaoman had been a total tyrant.
Ling Fei was genuinely afraid she might just start wailing on him, which would not end well.
Though he was very confident in his current strength.
Especially his Cold Chi True Qi.
However, if he went all out, he didn't know if he would injure Huang Xiaoman. But if he didn't use his Cold Chi True Qi, he clearly couldn't turn the tables on her.
After all, Huang Xiaoman was a Cultivator at the Innate Mid Stage Realm, on the verge of reaching the Late Stage of Innate.
Besides, there was no honor in going all-out against a girl.
If he fought, it had to be a complete, overwhelming victory.
'I must enter the Innate Realm as soon as possible,' Ling Fei thought to himself. 'That way, I can finally escape this girl's oppression.'
"Heh, you think you can fight me?" Seeing Ling Fei back down, Huang Xiaoman's eyes danced with triumph.
Then, she tightened her grip on Ling Fei's arm.
Ling Fei's eyes twitched, and he started to resist.
But Huang Xiaoman shot him a fierce, threatening glare that seemed to say, 'Just be a good boy and play the part of my man!'
At this, Ling Fei felt like crying.
'How could something like this happen!'
'Threatened by this psycho into being her boyfriend?'
In that instant, Ling Fei suddenly felt that his life was a failure.
Wu Dapang and the others saw all of Huang Xiaoman and Ling Fei's subtle movements and exchanged glances.
'My sister is so fierce. If Ling Fei marries her, his life is going to be miserable.' Huang Liang sucked in a sharp breath. But then, a new thought occurred to him. 'Actually, this is perfect! I can't beat Ling Fei myself, so having my sister tame him for me is a form of revenge. Haha, life is beautiful!'
His earlier misery vanished instantly, replaced by a look of profound pity for Ling Fei.
'Sister Xiaoman's figure and looks are flawless, absolutely top-tier, but that temper of hers…' Wu Dapang thought to himself.
He couldn't help but shudder at the sight of Huang Xiaoman's ferocity.
He wouldn't dare mess with a woman like that.
And so, he too gave Ling Fei a look full of sympathy.
"Brother Yuan, isn't that Huang Xiaoman?"
"Huh? Why is she holding onto some guy's arm?"
"Look how close they are. Could that be her boyfriend?"
At this very moment, five men walked over from the opposite direction.
A small commotion broke out.
The four young men had expressions of astonishment.
Then, they all turned their gazes to the young man in the middle.
This was a man dressed in Fire Patterned Brocade Clothing and wearing a Jade Crown. He had a dignified bearing, and though his aura was restrained, he still exuded a powerful presence. Right now, his gaze, fixed on Ling Fei, was impossibly cold—like that of a viper poised to strike.
That gaze made Ling Fei's brow twitch.
"It's him!" At Ling Fei's side, Huang Xiaoman's eyebrows knitted together, and her entire aura shifted.
Her eyes held a mixture of disgust and apprehension.
The man opposite them, however, merely raised an eyebrow and began striding toward them.
The four men by his side all followed.
These men all had the aura of the Innate Realm.
Clearly, this was a group of senior students.
"Brother Fei, your love rival has arrived!" Wu Dapang blurted out, then shot Ling Fei a sympathetic look.
Chen Feng wore a similar look of sympathy.
'He just got to the academy and he's already run into a love rival!'
'Talk about bad luck…'
"Screw you," Ling Fei said with a look of disdain.
However, at this moment his gaze hardened, and his expression turned cold.
He didn't like the look in the other man's eyes.
"Is this one of your suitors?" Ling Fei asked Huang Xiaoman, his gaze flickering.
"A really annoying guy," Huang Xiaoman said in a low voice.
At this point, the five men from across the way had walked to a spot ten meters in front of them.
"Xiaoman, you're at the academy. Why didn't you let me know?" the man in the Fire Patterned Brocade Clothing asked with a smile, his eyes on Huang Xiaoman.
This man was named Liu Yuan, a genius student of Celestial River Academy.
"We're not even close. Why should I say hello to you?" Huang Xiaoman's tone was icy, and she couldn't even be bothered to look at him.
"Xiaoman, why be like this? You know my feelings for you are sincere!" Liu Yuan frowned and said slowly.
"But I'm not interested in you," Huang Xiaoman said impatiently.
"Are you really going to be so heartless?" Hearing this, Liu Yuan's expression darkened slightly.
"If you have no other business, please move," Huang Xiaoman said, her expression cold and aloof.
As she spoke, her hand tightened its grip on Ling Fei's arm.
Seeing this, Liu Yuan frowned.
The four men by his side also frowned.
"Who is he to you?" Liu Yuan's gaze turned cold as he looked at Ling Fei.
"My business is none of your concern, is it?" Huang Xiaoman said, annoyed.
"Boy, Xiaoman is the woman I, Liu Yuan, have chosen. Stay away from her, or I'll make sure you can't last a day in this academy."
Liu Yuan's gaze hardened as he stared at Ling Fei and spoke.
At the same time, a powerful aura locked onto Ling Fei, its oppressive intent self-evident.
The oppressive aura of an Innate Realm expert descending was enough to make a Body Tempering Realm Cultivator's Heart Spirit tremble and their knees buckle.
As that powerful aura pressed down, Ling Fei's brows furrowed tightly.
Earlier, when Huang Xiaoman pressured him with her aura, he endured it because they were friends.
But now, another person had come to pressure him with their aura.
'Do they think I, Ling Fei, am some kind of pushover?'
Immediately, he raised his gaze to meet Liu Yuan's, his own eyes turning just as cold.
Although the other party's aura was very strong, Ling Fei remained fearless.
Ever since comprehending the True Dragon Visualization Image, his soul had become incomparably strong, far surpassing that of a Body Tempering Realm Cultivator.
An aura of this level wasn't enough to cow his soul.
Although his body felt immense pressure, the Blood Qi within him circulated, doing its utmost to resist that Power.
The fortitude in his very bones refused to let him yield.
How could a man back down just because of a few threats?
Even if he was outmatched, a man had to have his pride!
