Xiang Ning was extremely confident. Having two martial skills at Peak Mastery was enough, and now that he had a tier five martial style, the Shadowmist Ghost Step, facing spiritual cultivators would be a piece of cake. Plus, his Keen Observation and Combat Instinct displayed his enemies’ weaknesses like no other. 

The loneliness of such peerless might was getting to him. 

Very soon, news of Xiang Ning heading to storm Third School spread like wildfire. The entire Qiling Academy was shaken. Students in class took out their phones and started texting in a flurry. The number of confiscations that day broke the Qiling Academy record, exceeding a thousand phones. [1]

This was an astonishing record, because according to legends, the record from the Sixth School, one they considered a ‘trash recycling center’, was only three hundred phones. 

One could imagine how large the commotion was. 

At the gates, Xiang Ning looked at the few panting students, two of whom he was surprised to see. 

“What are you looking at? I, Li Minghao, am only here to make sure you keep your word.” Li Minghao stood with his arms crossed and chest puffed out as his eyes darted at the guy next to him. 

Zhang Cheng tugged at his clothes with a complicated expression and said, “We’d like to go with you.” 

To be honest, Xiang Ning had expected no one to come, or maybe a few, but never Li Minghao and Zhang Cheng. Especially Li Minghao. Xiang Ning eyed him suspiciously. This guy bore great hatred for him, yet he was here. However, Xiang Ning didn’t overthink it; they could come if they wanted. It was better to have more people, otherwise the other school might laugh at them if he showed up with just five people. The larger the group, the more intimidating they would be. 

“Alright, let’s go.” Just like that, Xiang Ning led ten people directly to Third School. 

......

Over at the Third School, the students were on a break after first period, many of them enthusiastically discussing the day’s affairs in the hallways. 

“Zhao Jun, let’s go this afternoon again, it was fun beating up that guy.” 

“Hahaha, he’s a great punching bag, it feels great hitting his soft, squishy flesh. My fist doesn’t hurt at all,” chuckled Zhao Jun. “I’m still thinking about that cute little girl, though.” 

“I’ve got to say, you’ve impressed me with your taste. I heard that little girl’s older brother ranked first during the wilderness activity. He beat Hanwu Academy’s students, aren’t you afraid he'll take revenge?” The other student named Yan Fu gave an evil guffaw. 

“No, no, he’s just a part-time student. He probably won by luck,” scoffed Zhao Jun. 

Meanwhile, at Third School’s gates, the guard stopped Xiang Ning and his group, eyeing the teenagers in Qiling Academy uniforms. “School’s in session. What’re you doing here?” 

“Uncle, we’re here to cause a ruckus—uh, no, we’re here to challenge Third School’s martial students to a duel. Please let us in.” Xiang Ning grinned. 

“What did you say?” The elderly guard’s eyes widened as if he couldn’t believe what he had heard. 

Fang Rou pulled Xiang Ning behind her. “Good day, Uncle. We’re students from Qiling Academy, here to spar with and learn from your students today. This is proof.” As she spoke, she held out a piece of paper bearing the Qiling Academy seal. 

The guard checked it three times before letting them in. They were just students, after all. 

Third School had a more traditional campus layout with its buildings laid out similar to the Chinese characters ‘呈品’. Upon entering, one would see a huge field on the side that could fit four or five thousand people, while behind the field was the teaching building. 

Although Xiang Ning’s ten-person group wasn’t large, and they were tiny on the vast field, they stood out because their neat uniforms were completely different from Third School’s uniform. That attracted some attention from the other students. “Hey, look, where’d those people come from?” 

“Based on their uniforms, they look like they’re from Qiling Academy.” 

“No way, this isn’t Qiling Academy, what’re they doing here?” 

In a moment, many students appeared in the hallways, pointing and gossiping. 

Compared to Xiang Ning’s teammates, the other students with him were quite anxious, a few even planning to run off. There were way too many students in the building—what had they been thinking? In an instant, their knees wobbled. They wanted to back out and leave, but the words never left their lips. This was their choice; even if they died here, they must hold on to their pride. 

“No, I can’t go back, I told Xiaolan I’d return with glory! I’d rather be knocked out, I won’t run!” said Aiken, a tier one, six-star martial artist standing behind Zhang Cheng. 

“Yeah, even if we end up in the hospital, we’ll still be stronger than those weaklings!” 

Instantly, a spirit of camaraderie formed. Zhang Cheng and Li Minghao looked at each other, each of them seeing the roaring emotion in the other. 

Fang Rou walked up to Xiang Ning. “How should we communicate our intentions? Talk to their headmaster?” 

“That’s too much trouble. Don’t you remember I said we’re causing a ruckus? Do you know what a ‘ruckus’ looks like? Watch!” Xiang Ning chuckled. 

He gave Li Zimo a look, who instantly understood. Zimo took out his phone and started a live stream in their campus forum with an eye-catching title, which was immediately pinned to the top. 

In an instant, thousands of students swarmed to watch the stream. 

“Xiang Xiaoyu! Look, that’s Senior Xiang Ning! Where are they?” Chen Zixin watched her phone in shock. 

“Probably Third School.” Xiang Xiaoyu had her eyes on the livestream. She had learned his plans from eavesdropping the day before. Although she was worried, this was something her brother was doing for her. She knew it would be dangerous, but didn’t stop him. All she could do was trust that he would succeed! 

“Fuck, he actually went to Third School? He sure is stubborn! Isn’t he afraid he’ll be beaten to death?” 

“Xiang Ning’s head is swollen from arrogance. Does he think no one can beat him just because he won first place?” 

“I hope someone knocks him out, that bastard even started a livestream!” Rough insults flew through the livestream. 

Back at Third School, Xiang Ning mentally prepared himself for the fight. 

His face changed, then he took a deep breath and activated Taunt, setting it to anger all targets without discrimination. “My dear students of Third School, I’m Xiang Ning from Qiling Academy. I’m here to cause—I’m here to challenge martial artists of your school to a duel, especially the few who came to my school two days ago!” 

While his words were considered civil, the Taunt setting could provoke anger in one’s target for seemingly nothing. Under the influence of the skill, the entire school erupted like a volcano. 

1. It seems the author has introduced phones in this universe, compared to previous ‘communicators’. ☜