“Hehe! Link, what do you think of those few from Almace Academy this time?” Enklay, who had already spotted Zhang Wen and his group entering the gym, cheerfully approached Link and pointed toward the group from Almace Academy on the opposite side of the training hall.
“Those kids?” Link finally lifted his head. He arrogantly scanned the Almace group and paused briefly on Xiao Xi before lowering his head again and resuming his warm-up exercises.
“Hehe! Yeah, that’s right, the guy from Almace. I saw with my own eyes last night—the red-haired girl is also a ninth-stage powerhouse! And their teacher, Zhang Wen, has some strange techniques…”
“Don’t compare me with Griffith and his bunch of losers. The red-haired girl is somewhat decent. But the rest are just worthless trash,” Link said coldly while continuing his warm-up.
“Hehe, of course, of course. But if you underestimate them too much…” Enklay found Link’s words rather awkward. After all, besides Griffith’s group, he himself had suffered badly at Zhang Wen’s hands the previous night. By Link’s logic, wouldn’t he also be lumped into the category of “losers”?
“I never underestimate my opponents. If I say that red-haired girl isn’t my match, then I will definitely win when I face her! No matter what strange techniques she has learned,” Link interrupted Enklay, his voice brimming with unwavering confidence. “If you’re going to worry about anything, worry about my graduation issue. Judging by her age, she’ll definitely be part of Almace’s visiting team next year. I wouldn’t want people to say Temis can’t even beat a bunch of losers right after I graduate.”
“Ah…,” Enklay could only nod with a smile in the face of Link’s confidence.
“Hmph.” As if sensing Enklay’s slight doubt toward him, Link suddenly stood up coldly. “I want to test out a new martial technique I recently learned. Pick up that shield over there and go stand on the opposite side,” Link ordered, pointing at the training equipment nearby.
Enklay was overjoyed at the rare opportunity to witness Link’s strength, as Link usually ignored everyone except showing slight respect to Gelt. Naturally, he had no reason to refuse Link’s request to teach Zhang Wen and his group a lesson, especially at a time when tensions with Almace Academy had already reached a boiling point.
In Enklay’s view, Zhang Wen’s previous arrogant remarks in front of Gelt were merely a manifestation of the extreme anxiety and frustration from Almace Academy’s martial arts department toward Temis Academy’s strength. Just a little more pressure would be enough to make them completely collapse!
“No problem!” Enklay eagerly agreed, grabbed the shield, and quickly ran away.
Seeing that Link seemed ready to act, the Temis students instinctively turned around. Yet, after glancing at Link, they all shifted their gazes to Zack and Cloud, as if saying, “Hey! Look closely, country bumpkins!”
Enklay ran quite a distance toward the opposite side of the gym before finally stopping about twenty meters away from Link.
“Twenty meters?! What is Link planning to do?” This sight prompted murmurs among the Temis students.
Twenty meters was far beyond the usual limit for martial artists in the Empire to unleash their combat techniques.
“Teacher Enklay, go all out and focus all your combat energy on the shield,” Link said expressionlessly while casually picking up a crystal energy sword from the weapon rack.
“Okay!” Enklay didn’t dare to be careless. He complied immediately, channeling all his combat energy into the shield. The shield, embedded with sea urchin stone crystals, soon glowed with a bright white light.
“Ready?” Link lightly flicked the crystal energy sword and asked Enklay.
“Ready!” Enklay shouted confidently.
However, even before Enklay’s shout had fully faded, his expression changed. Because he saw Link, who had been over twenty meters away, suddenly accelerate and in the blink of an eye, arrive at a position only ten meters away.
Then…
One step, two steps, three steps!
Link dashed forward like lightning, his figure suddenly appearing before Enklay. Without hesitation, he swung the crystal energy sword, which had already been primed, in a horizontal slash onto the heavy shield that Enklay held with both hands.
Boom!
The heavy shield infused with Enklay’s full combat energy collided with Link’s crystal energy sword, producing a piercing explosion and blinding flashes of light.
Immediately afterward, the crystal energy sword in Link’s hand shattered under the immense pressure! The heavy shield in Enklay’s hands also cracked with a huge fissure. Enklay himself was sent flying backward and slammed heavily into the wall behind him. At the same time, a shockwave exploded in the training hall, shattering several closed glass windows.
“Hmph!” Link snorted coldly, casually tossing the broken hilt of the crystal energy sword aside, and walked out of the training hall as if nothing had happened.
However, just as Link was about to leave the training hall, someone blocked his path.
In fact, while Enklay and Link were talking earlier, the jogging trio from Almace Academy had just passed by the pair of Temis teachers and students. Link had not deliberately lowered his voice while speaking, so every word he said fell into the ears of the jogging trio.
If Link’s original arrogance had already turned Zack into a powder keg, then Link’s final few sentences were the spark that ignited the powder keg.
“Hey! You big-headed jerk over there, who are you calling losers?” Zack blocked the main entrance to the training hall, glaring coldly at Link.
“Zack!” Cloud also stood beside Zack, but instead of confronting Link, he grabbed Zack’s arm hard, trying to pull him away from Link.
“Damn it! Why are you holding me back?!” Zack angrily shook off Cloud’s grip and shouted at his friend.
“We came here to prepare for the competition, not to fight with others! Idiot!” Even Cloud, usually calm, shouted back at Zack. He stepped forward again, tightly gripping the collar of Zack’s uniform.
Angry shouts echoed in Training Hall No.7. All the Temis students who had been warming up stopped in their tracks, watching the two friends glaring at each other like spectators at a show. Enklay even wore a smirk that bordered on mockery.
“Let go,” Zack looked at Cloud and coldly uttered two words.
“You’re dreaming!” Cloud also coldly returned Zack’s gaze.
“Wow! The losers from Almace are fighting among themselves!”
“Come on! Let’s see who wins!”
“Ha ha! Don’t just talk, show us something!” The martial arts students from Temis openly jeered. Their shrill laughter quickly filled every corner of Training Hall No.7.
Under the gaze of countless eyes in the training hall, Amelice’s face flushed with shame and anger. The young beauty rushed forward in one swift step, forcefully pushing Zack and Cloud a few steps back.
“What are you two doing? Do you want others to laugh at us?” Amelice, her face flushed red, angrily shouted at the two.
“Wow! The little girl is quite brave!” Amelice’s intervention made the jeering laughter from the Temis students even louder.
“Ha ha! One girl taking on two boys!”
“Go for it! ‘Take them down!'”
Although Enklay, as an instructor, was present at the scene, the male students from Temis were completely unrestrained. In fact, Enklay’s cold, observing attitude even encouraged them. The boys soon started whistling eagerly, using vulgar language and double entendres with dirty meanings to shout at Amelice.
“You two bastards!” Amelice’s shoulders trembled slightly. Then, she pushed Zack and Cloud hard for the second time, lifted her head high, and walked out of the training hall without looking back, facing the gazes and whistles of the Temis students.
As she walked out the door of the training hall, everyone saw the glistening tears rolling down from Amelice’s eyes. Zack and Cloud, who had been glaring at Amelice’s back, both tightly clenched their fists.
“Cloud, are you still going to stop me now?” Zack suddenly asked Cloud.
“Impossible. This time I’m with you,” Cloud shook his head and stood shoulder to shoulder with Zack in a show of solidarity.
“Hmph! You cowardly guy!” Zack angrily punched Cloud’s fist hard.
“Bullshit. I know when to endure and when not to. That’s what my father taught me. When it’s time not to endure, even an opponent of a higher level, I will still fight,” Cloud replied with his usual cool demeanor, even when cursing.
The martial arts students from Temis didn’t even notice the anger brewing in Zack and Cloud. Or perhaps they noticed but simply didn’t care. Even after Amelice had run out of the training hall, they continued whistling at the girl’s retreating figure.
“These bastards!” Xiao Xi was equally furious, grinding her teeth in anger. She stared at the Temis students who were still making lewd gestures at Amelice and, like Zack and Cloud, took several steps toward the group of Temis students.
However, as the three students were about to pass him, Zhang Wen suddenly extended his hand to stop them.
“Teacher Zhang?!” The three students looked up in frustration and stared at Zhang Wen.
“Control yourselves!” Zhang Wen gave the three students a smile and then proceeded toward Enklay, who was standing in the middle of the group of Temis students.
“Enklay, what do you want to say?” Enklay smugly asked Zhang Wen in return. He clearly thought Zhang Wen was going to complain to him.
“I don’t have anything to say.” Zhang Wen walked up to Enklay and suddenly extended his hand casually, “But I have a lot to do. For example, give you a good thrashing.”
As Zhang Wen spoke the first half of his sentence, Enklay already felt something was off. Then, he saw Zhang Wen’s hand really coming toward his face.
Although Enklay could clearly feel that Zhang Wen’s hand wasn’t moving particularly fast and even seemed to deliberately give him time to prepare, his conscious attempt to jump backward a step still couldn’t dodge Zhang Wen’s palm!
Smack! Zhang Wen’s slap landed loudly on Enklay’s face, sending him spinning like a top. Enklay was completely stunned. The only thing he could feel now was a buzzing noise in his head.
Meanwhile, the Temis students watching Zhang Wen slap Enklay were all shocked, their mouths wide open, frozen in the mocking expressions they had when they were teasing Amelice, but now completely silent.
“Keep laughing, why don’t you? Don’t worry, I’m magnanimous and won’t bully kids.” Zhang Wen’s gaze swept over the faces of the Temis students as he said with a smile, “But some people don’t know where they came from, so as a teacher, I really need to discipline them a bit.”
“I…” One of the Temis students seemed to be getting angry and wanted to say something, but his “you” had barely left his mouth.
Smack! Another crisp slap echoed in the training hall.
“Behave yourself!” Without even glancing at that Temis student, Zhang Wen casually spat out the words to Enklay, as easily as if he hadn’t just slapped Enklay in the face and knocked out three of his teeth.
“You…” The slap cut off the rest of the Temis student’s sentence and made the Temis students even more furious. Before Enklay had even finished spinning, several students couldn’t help but start questioning Zhang Wen again.
Smack! Another loud slap rang out.
Just at that moment, the door to the training hall was suddenly pushed open again. Gelt, the chief instructor of Temis Academy, appeared at the door with a furious expression. Seeing Gelt arrive, the Temis students present looked at him like mistreated little wives returning to their mother’s home.
“Zhang…” Seeing the situation in the training hall, Gelt couldn’t help but take a deep breath of anger and wanted to roar at Zhang Wen.
But…
“Cut the crap!” Before Gelt could even open his mouth, Zhang Wen silenced him with a loud slap, making him bite his tongue in humiliation. This time, Zhang Wen used even more force, sending Enklay flying backward.
Gelt’s face quickly turned even darker. He strode toward Zhang Wen, as if trying to swallow him whole. However, Zhang Wen suddenly turned his head back, and his sharp gaze made Gelt instinctively stop in his tracks.
“Teacher Zhang, exactly what do you mean by this?” Gelt, having lost his momentum, deliberately lowered his voice to ask Zhang Wen.
“Nothing much. Your students were spewing filth and desperately needed discipline. So, I taught Instructor Enklay how to discipline students.” Zhang Wen clapped his hands and turned around to face Gelt directly.
At this point, Gelt was so angry that his eyebrows and mustache were trembling. However, Zhang Wen was not afraid of Gelt confronting him at this moment. How could a mere Saint-level martial artist be in Zhang Wen’s eyes, who had once faced off against the “King”? If it weren’t for having already vented his anger on Enklay, Zhang Wen might have even actively looked for trouble with Gelt.
Frankly speaking, Gelt did have the idea of severely punishing Zhang Wen. Unfortunately, the previous eye contact with Zhang Wen made Gelt cautious. He didn’t know why, but even though he knew Zhang Wen was just a weak seventh-stage practitioner, he felt that if he confronted Zhang Wen directly, he might not come out on top.
“Let’s go!” Zhang Wen also sternly signaled to his three students.
“Hmph!” Xiao Xi coldly smiled, put away the steel needles in her hand, and slowly relaxed her body.
The speechless Temis students automatically made a path for Zhang Wen and Xiao Xi, as bullies are afraid of even fiercer bullies. Zhang Wen was definitely not a good guy at heart, and these fools had to provoke him.
Bang!
As he reached the main entrance of the training hall, Zack suddenly punched the wooden door with all his strength.
Zack’s fist easily pierced the wooden door of the training hall, but the punch and arm that passed through the door were already bloodied by the splinters.
Zack’s furious punch made Gelt’s face even darker, and the other Temis students were also stunned. Blood dripped from Zack’s right hand, drop by drop onto the ground, showing a ruthless determination.
“You said you would hold back, didn’t you? Why did you lose your temper and show no restraint at all?” After leaving the training hall, Xiao Xi seemed quite dissatisfied as she asked Zhang Wen, even though she was secretly quite pleased, she also wanted to enjoy some satisfaction.
“Did I say that? Hehe.” Wang Dong smiled a bit sinisterly, “By the way, what about that Link?”
“That Link? Hmph! I misjudged him too. I didn’t expect him to be from the Balanced Discipline! If I were to face him, I wouldn’t have a high chance of winning.” Xiao Xi frowned deeply.
“Oh? I didn’t expect Xiao Xi to be so discouraged.”
“Who’s discouraged?” Xiao Xi immediately glared at Zhang Wen, indignantly retorting, “Even if he can reach the level of the Balanced Discipline and cultivate both speed and strength to the ninth stage standard, it’s only because his talent is not good enough! He had no choice but to make such a selection because he couldn’t break through to the tenth stage in a short time! Agate was already a master-level practitioner at his age! In two more years, when I’m his age, even if I haven’t broken through to master-level, I won’t be far off! So, I just can’t beat him right now. In terms of martial arts talent, he’s far inferior to me! What do I have to be discouraged about?”
Zhang Wen didn’t expect that his teasing remark would provoke such a long explanation from Xiao Xi. It was clear that the red-haired girl was quite upset about the fact that she couldn’t beat Link.
Zhang Wen didn’t comment further and remained silent, but it was evident that everyone felt quite satisfied.
When endurance becomes unbearable, then strike him!
Several months ago, the reason why Zhang Wen agreed to become Zack and Cloud’s instructor and guide their sword techniques was precisely because he saw something different in those two from other students at Almace Academy.
In Almace Academy, where the martial arts department had long been weak and even no one still held hope for it, most martial arts students had become numb to failure. In fact, many of them had already accepted the label of “losers” imposed on them.
But in Zack and Cloud, Zhang Wen could still sense the passion and impulsiveness unique to youth. When facing Link, a ninth-stage opponent so powerful that he was almost unbeatable, they still didn’t show fear or give up, which was already enough. Not everyone could face an opponent three stages higher than themselves and still have the courage to fight and shout, “I want to win!”
No matter what adversity they faced, no matter who their opponent was, never yielding and never giving up the pursuit of victory—that was what made them unique.
“What are you going to do?” Xiao Xi, who had followed Zhang Wen to his room, sat on the sofa, eating the fruit on the coffee table and vaguely asking Zhang Wen.
Link’s strength was there for all to see. He was a versatile ninth-stage expert. Among martial artists who hadn’t entered the tenth-stage master level, calling him the “strongest” wouldn’t be an exaggeration. Even a martial arts prodigy like Xiao Xi couldn’t think of a way to defeat him.
“What do you mean, what to do?” Zhang Wen asked with a knowing smile.
“Of course, I’m talking about that guy Link! You won’t tell me you haven’t thought about how to deal with him yet. If you can’t beat that guy, then your big talk about ‘crushing Temis Academy’ will really fall flat, right?” Xiao Xi reminded Zhang Wen while eating.
“Yeah, I know that.”
Zhang Wen didn’t show much tension because of Xiao Xi’s reminder. He spoke calmly, then casually pointed his finger toward Zack’s room.
“Eh? What’s over there?” Xiao Xi, with her natural innocence, obviously didn’t understand where Zhang Wen’s finger was pointing. She looked in the direction Zhang Wen pointed but only saw an empty room, so her hair almost curled into a question mark shape. Who knows how she managed to do that.
After finishing the fruit on the coffee table, Xiao Xi gradually lost interest in Zhang Wen’s room. So, Zhang Wen sent her back to her room. When Zhang Wen returned, he found two more figures in his room.
“Oh! Zack, Cloud.” Zhang Wen wasn’t surprised to see his two students suddenly appear in his room.
“Teacher Zhang.” The two students’ tightly closed lips showed they had made up their minds!
Young people need inspiration and encouragement. If Zhang Wen had held back today, he would have also suppressed his students’ fighting spirit. Now, however, they were ready to endure any rigorous training to win and would follow Zhang Wen’s every word.
“Hmm? Anything you want to say?”
“Teacher Zhang, we know you must have a way, right?” Zack said, as if using all his strength.
“I’m sorry to say this, but… regarding the upcoming match with Temis Academy, what exactly is your plan… Teacher, we want to win!” Cloud looked straight into Zhang Wen’s eyes, his tone as cold as ever, “You must have known from the beginning how strong Temis Academy’s Link is, right?”
“Sit down.” Zhang Wen gestured to the two of them and sat down first.
Zack and Cloud exchanged glances and silently sat down opposite Zhang Wen.
“Before we start our conversation, I still want to clarify one thing. In this match, I naturally want to win, and I will definitely win.” Facing the gazes of the two students, Zhang Wen shook his head as if he had encountered a problem, “There are many ways to defeat Temis Academy. But to be honest, you two are not included in my plan.”
“What?” The answer from Zhang Wen clearly caught Zack and Cloud off guard. The two young men exchanged surprised glances.
“Hmm? It seems like you didn’t expect that.” The surprised expressions on the two students’ faces made Zhang Wen smile.
“But…”
“Hey, you two… How long have you been training with me? Even if we count all the time you spent at Almace Academy, it hasn’t been more than a month, right? Don’t you think you can easily get through a month of training and then transform from helpless losers into invincible superheroes?”
“We didn’t think that!” Zack immediately stood up, “But…”
“But what?” Zhang Wen smiled faintly and interrupted Zack’s passionate rebuttal, “But you’re not willing to be looked down upon, right? Have you ever thought about why you’re looked down upon? Are you going to say that it’s all the teachers’ fault at the academy? That all those stupid teachers don’t know how to teach us? That’s what you’re thinking, isn’t it?”
“This…” Both Zack and Cloud’s faces showed embarrassment and defiance.
Zhang Wen had indeed hit the nail on the head with their thoughts, but they didn’t think there was anything wrong with those thoughts. If one or two students’ strength was inferior to others, it might be the student’s own fault. But Almace Academy’s martial arts department had been weak for so many years, and the students’ strength being inferior to others wasn’t just about the two of them.
“Of course, it’s normal for you to think that way. I won’t say that the martial arts teachers at Almace Academy are excellent either. Most of them are indeed stupid teachers who don’t know how to teach students. However, don’t you two have any fault yourselves? If the teachers don’t teach well, the students should work harder. What are you two? The first heir of the Shinra Army and the third prince of the Alliance! If you really wanted to, getting a suitable training plan wouldn’t be too difficult, right? Because the school isn’t good, so we aren’t good either. Look, we’re still at the top of the academy. Carrying such thoughts and feeling smug in daily life, when you find out your strength is inferior to others and you’re laughed at, you push all the blame onto the teachers. It’s all their fault, we’ve never been wrong. Come on! What have you two been doing? If you really wanted to become stronger, you had time to flirt, fight, and complain about teachers at school. Didn’t you have time to think about ways to train yourself?” Zhang Wen sharply stimulated Zack and Cloud’s nerves with his words.
“I… we…”
If someone else from Almace Academy’s martial arts department had said these words to Zack and Cloud, they probably wouldn’t have even listened to such a long speech. In fact, they might have thought it was just the other person shifting the blame. However, when these words came from Zhang Wen, they were at a loss for words. Zhang Wen’s sharp words even made the two boys’ eyes turn red.
“Alright, two grown men, don’t make those pitiful faces. The teachers at Almace Academy indeed didn’t fulfill their duties, so we were also laughed at like you, unable to hold our heads high wherever we went. But will just blaming others make you respected? You have to take responsibility for your own life! If you don’t want to be laughed at, take responsibility for yourselves!”
“I understand.” When Zhang Wen had said this much, Zack had already run out of words. He endured the almost tear-inducing pain and stood up abruptly, heading toward the door.
As he reached the door, he was suddenly pulled back by someone.
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