A New Rule and a Renewed Battle

A sudden hush fell over the area, broken only by the soft sound of Sister Xiao Ru sipping her black rice porridge. When the crowd finally registered what was happening and turned to where Sister Xiao Ru had pointed, their eyes landed on the wall.

This wall was usually adorned with Tianwu University’s promotional slogans like “Forging World-Class Scholars, Nurturing Jianghu Elites” and “Loyal and Dedicated, Integrating Both Martial and Literary Arts.” Now, however, a new notice from the logistics department had been pasted there.

“If you want to fight, take it outside!”

****

Privately, I mused that after today’s incident, if the logistics department was truly as well-informed as they seemed about the origins of this commotion, it wouldn’t be long before another slogan appeared in the cafeteria.

“No Public Displays of Affection to Torment Single People!”

****

Faced with such an explicit rule, both the onlookers and the two main protagonists of the dispute within the circle fell into an involuntary silence.

“And especially you, young Murong. Isn’t the West District large enough for you to show off? Why did you have to come to the East District to cause trouble? What do you mean by bullying our Five Absolutes Academy’s new junior students? Do you take me for dead?” Sister Xiao Ru, having finished a spoonful of black rice porridge, was the first to break the silence, her voice clear and crisp as she spoke.

“Sister, your reprimand is well-deserved. Murong was indeed presumptuous. Please forgive me, Sister!” Murong Fan, as expected of a second-year student a grade above us, was incredibly smooth with his words in such a public setting.

Although Yang Laoer had clearly instigated this whole mess, and Murong Fan was merely caught in the crossfire, he immediately understood Sister Xiao Ru’s protective intent. He promptly offered his apology.

Sister Xiao Ru, on the other hand, merely scooped up another spoonful of black rice porridge, drinking it with a look of serene enjoyment, as if she hadn’t heard a word he said.

“My apologies, fellow student. We’ve become acquainted through a misunderstanding. What Murong did earlier was improper. I hope you can be magnanimous and forgive me!” Seeing Sister Xiao Ru’s noncommittal attitude, Murong Fan smiled slightly and turned to address Yang Laoer.

However, before Yang Laoer could even react, the girl who was arguably the true instigator rushed over.

She immediately hugged Murong Fan’s arm, asking repeatedly, “Senior Murong, are you, are you alright? You’re not hurt, are you? Yiyi was so worried! That pervert didn’t do anything to you, did he?”

I distinctly saw a vein throbbing on Yang Laoer’s forehead.

“You, you mustn’t speak of others like that. If Yiyi isn’t well-behaved, your senior will be upset!” Murong Fan said with a doting expression, reaching out to gently flick the girl’s nose. “It’s all your fault, always insisting on looking at others, and then causing such big trouble.”

Yang Laoer’s lips trembled almost imperceptibly.

“Alright, Yiyi knows she was wrong!” The girl playfully stuck out her tongue, whining coquettishly as she tugged on Murong Fan’s arm, shaking it a few times.

This scene, to most onlookers at the time, likely evoked a degree of nausea. However, in Yang Laoer’s eyes, it ignited a furious jealousy. This was unbearable. If even a man could endure this, a father certainly could not!

I heard him roar, “I’ll fight you to the death!” Before his words even finished, his move was already launched. It was still the “Walking Dead” move, half-executed as before. Yet, the circumstances were entirely different now. Although Yang Laoer’s state of mind had been miserable before, it hadn’t reached this point!

The power unleashed by this young man, who had just been force-fed a mouthful of ‘dog food,’ combined with the might of his Old Yang family’s “Heartbreak-Exclusive Palm,” was naturally extraordinary and earth-shattering.

This move was calculated to leave Murong Fan no avenue of escape or retreat. Furthermore, with that irritatingly saccharine girl standing beside him, he had nowhere to hide.

But how could the fourth of Tianwu University’s Ten Great Experts be an easy opponent?

In that split second, he suddenly turned sideways, shielding the girl who clung to his arm like a koala with his body. Then, with his free hand, he executed a circular sweep, somehow deflecting Yang Laoer’s powerful kick back, violently retaliating against Yang Laoer himself.

A chill ran down my spine, and in a flash, I recalled the long-circulated phrase describing the Murong family’s martial arts within Tianwu University’s campus.

‘Return the other’s attack in kind!’

The surrounding crowd gasped in astonishment. No one had clearly seen how Murong Fan had managed to parry and neutralize that mountain-toppling, peak-shattering palm, and even send the attacker flying backward.

After their gasps, the crowd remembered to cheer. By then, Guo Hao had already taken the lead, darting out like a leopard. He hooked his arm around the mid-air Yang Laoer, then spun his body, executing a “Divine Dragon Swings Tail” to sweep backward, preventing Murong Fan from advancing further.

Murong Fan, however, truly seemed to be losing his temper. Not only had he deflected Yang Laoer’s “Walking Dead” move back, causing him to suffer his own attack and injure himself, but he then put down the girl and lunged forward, seemingly intent on landing two more blows on the severely wounded Yang Laoer.

He was, fortunately, forced back by Guo Hao’s fierce and unparalleled Dragon-Subduing Palm, compelling him to once again perform “Soaring Dragon Playing with Phoenix” to evade Guo Hao’s counter-attack. He then gracefully landed back beside the girl, while Guo Hao gently set Yang Laoer down.

“Laoer, Laoer, how are you?” Guo Hao carried Yang Laoer to an empty table nearby and laid him down. He pressed on Yang Laoer’s wrist pulse, injecting a stream of internal energy while calling out to him.

Linghu Ruoxu and I naturally gathered around him as well.

“…Guo Hao…you finally interfered, damn it…didn’t I tell you not to get involved in my business…?” With the internal energy entering his body, Yang Laoer seemed to regain a faint glimmer of consciousness. He spoke in a hoarse, indistinct voice before lapsing back into unconsciousness. It seemed the force of that kick had injured him severely!

“Second Brother, Second Brother!” Seeing him collapse once more, the three of us called out repeatedly, but he remained insensible.

Ordinarily, with my current appearance as a petite girl, shouting alongside Guo Hao and Linghu Ruoxu around Yang Laoer might have seemed a bit out of place. However, fortunately, within Tianwu University, there were many precedents for boys and girls becoming sworn siblings, such as the “Seven Freaks of Jiangnan,” the ancestral masters of Guo Hao’s family. Thus, this scene was still largely acceptable to everyone.

“Damn you, Murong!” Linghu Ruoxu couldn’t hold back, abandoning his usual shy and refined demeanor as he cursed. He pulled out a long metal chopstick from a nearby chopstick holder, intending to use it as a sword and charge at Murong Fan.