Fu HongJun ran toward the crowd and tried to squeeze through, pushing people left and right. But there were too many. The mass of children surged forward like a hungry wave, and he was far too small to see over anyone’s head. He jumped, elbowed, wiggled but it was useless. His strength was like that of a kitten trying to shove an ox.

After several failed attempts and getting elbowed more times than he could count, he finally gave up and plopped down on the ground, panting.

Just then, he spotted something that made his blood boil.

The same boy who tricked him earlier strolled out of the food hall, smug as a peacock, holding not one, but two chicken thighs and a mountain of rice on his tray. He even had a piece of candied fruit stuck in his mouth like a toothpick, swaying it back and forth like a rich young master showing off.

Fu HongJun’s eyes lit with fury. Without a word, he shot to his feet and charged like a tiny bull, aiming a full-powered kick straight at the boy’s leg.

But the boy casually sidestepped it like he was avoiding a leaf in the wind.

He smirked and took a slow, mocking bite of chicken.

“Oi, little brother,” he said, mouth full. “You can’t even touch a strand of my hair. Save your energy for lifting stones, not throwing tantrums.”

Then he added with a dramatic sigh, “Ah… this chicken is so tender. It practically melts in the mouth. Too bad the latecomers only get boiled cabbage and mystery soup. Mm…delicious.”

He licked his fingers dramatically and added one final jab.

“Oh, don’t look at me like that. I did try to help. It’s not my fault you misunderstood. You should really work on your comprehension skills.”

Fu HongJun’s face twitched. His fists clenched. His stomach growled.

He had just discovered a new enemy.

Not long after, waves of children began spilling out of the food hall, most of them happily chewing with swollen cheeks and greasy lips. Fu HongJun, seeing his chance, darted through the now thinning crowd and squeezed inside.

What greeted him nearly broke his soul.

The food hall looked like a battlefield. Empty bowls rolled on the floor, rice grains clung to the walls like casualties, and the soup pot… had nothing but murky water and two lonely floating scallion bits. The chicken platters were reduced to polished bones stripped clean by beasts in human skin.

“...Is this a robbery or a massacre?” Fu HongJun muttered, nearly in tears.

Still, he refused to give up. He scanned every corner, and just as he was about to collapse from despair, he spotted it,a small chicken thigh left forgotten in a bowl near the edge of a table.

Glorious.

His eyes sparkled. He rushed toward it with the determination of a starving hero claiming his sacred treasure.

Just as his fingers brushed the edge of the bowl

WHAM!

Something struck him from behind like a meteor. He was launched into the air, spun twice like a pancake, and slammed onto the floor with a loud “Ow!”

“Damn it! What the hell was that?!”

Fu HongJun rolled over and turned his head, dazed.

Standing there was a little girl, around the same age as him, with two short buns tied with bright red ribbons. She held his chicken thigh in one hand and a smug grin in the other. She stuck out her tongue playfully, her cheeks puffed with pride.

“Hehe~ First come, first serve, dummy!”

She took a bite, exaggeratedly moaning like she was eating a spiritual treasure.

“Mmm~ So juicy~ Oh? You were gonna eat this? Oopsie~ Too slow~ Too weak~ Too... loser~”

She plopped down right next to him, humming a little off-tune melody while munching on the thigh. She patted his shoulder with mock sympathy, then shoved the last bit of meat into her mouth, tossing the clean bone into his lap.

“There. You can lick that if you're hungry.”

Hearing her words, Fu HongJun's anger boiled over. His small fists clenched tightly, and with a sharp breath, he sprang to his feet and threw a wild punch at the girl.

The food hall fell into stunned silence.

Even the older students nearby gawked, their jaws hanging open in disbelief.

“Did… did he just throw a punch at the little devil!?”

The girl blinked, surprised for a split second then smirked.

With a smooth sidestep, she dodged effortlessly, her movements precise like a seasoned fighter. Fu HongJun, having put all his weight into the punch, stumbled past her and fell face-first onto the hard floor.

SMACK!

Laughter erupted.

“Hahaha! You really thought you could hit me? Dream on, Chicken-Loss Brother!”

Before he could recover, the girl stepped forward and began kicking him in the stomach again and again.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The sound of foot meeting flesh echoed across the food hall.

Fu HongJun curled up, gritting his teeth through the pain. His vision blurred, but he refused to cry. Still, he was just a kid—and her kicks were brutal.

Some seniors winced from the sidelines.

“Tsk… even we don’t mess with her. Poor guy.”

“He’s dead. He picked a fight with the little devil.”

But Fu HongJun's anger only grew stronger. Blood pounded in his ears, and something primal awoke inside him.

He forced himself to rise, trembling. His knees wobbled, and just as he pushed off the ground to stand—

CRACK!

One of the girl’s kicks landed squarely in his chest.

Fu HongJun stumbled back, coughing violently. A splatter of blood stained the floor.

“Still standing?” the girl said mockingly. “You’re more stubborn than I thought ”

“Enough!!!”

Fu HongJun roared. With a burst of rage-fueled energy, he threw himself forward and tackled her legs.

Caught off guard by his sudden charge, the girl yelped as she lost balance. With a grunt and a thud, both of them crashed onto the ground.

Dust flew.

Gasps echoed.

Fu HongJun, face bruised, chest heaving, clenched the girl’s ankle tightly as if it were the last battle of his life.

Feeling herself being dragged down, the girl’s expression twisted with fury. Her pride wounded, she lashed out.

“You dare make me fall?!”

She began kicking Fu HongJun’s hand over and over, her heel smashing against his fingers with vicious force.

Wham! Wham! Wham!

“Let go, you brat!” she shouted.

But Fu HongJun, bloodied and stubborn, clenched his jaw and refused to release her leg. His fingers locked around her ankle like iron chains, his nails digging in deeper.

Blood started to seep between his fingers.

His eyes burned, not with tears, but with sheer defiance.

“No…” he growled through clenched teeth. “Not until I win!”

The students watching had long stopped laughing. Even the seniors went quiet.

Just as the girl raised her foot again, a thunderous shout exploded across the field:

“STOP RIGHT NOW!!!”

Everyone froze.

Auntie Yang’s voice tore through the air like a whip.

She stormed across the courtyard, very angry like a mad tiger.

“Are you two trying to kill each other?!” she barked.

Her gaze snapped toward Fu HongJun.

“Fu HongJun! Release her leg. Now!”

Then to the girl, whose name now echoed like thunder in the silence:

“Xue LuLi! Stand up! What kind of beastly behavior is this?!”

Fu HongJun’s hand trembled, but he finally released his grip. Blood dripped from his fingertips, his breath ragged.

Xue Luli yanked her leg back, face flushed with fury. Her pride was wounded far deeper than her bruises.

But neither of them dared move under Auntie Yang’s storm-black glare, her black training robes fluttering ever so slightly as if the air itself feared her wrath.

Xue Luli was the first to break the silence, her voice sharp and whiny:

“Mom! That brat is so rude! Look!! He made my ankle bleed! I want you to puni….”

“Shut up!!!”

Auntie Yang's voice exploded like thunder.

“Both of you,go to the front gate and kneel until nightfall! And don’t even try your usual tricks, young lady!”

She narrowed her eyes at Luli like a guillotine slowly falling.

“This is the Mortal Academy. You don’t have a ‘special background’ here. No favorites. Now move, before I make you both train with the pigs.”

Xue Luli opened her mouth to argue again but froze.

Fu HongJun, still wincing from pain, forced himself up. Neither of them dared speak again.

Together, bruised and silent, the two of them trudged toward the academy gate under the heavy gaze of Auntie Yang.

Fu HongJun limped slightly, his side aching and breath shallow. Every step was a small war.

Noticing his slow pace, Xue Luli glanced sideways, her voice cold and sharp:

“Fu HongJun, right? I’ll remember this. Next time, I’ll make you bleed more than I did today.”

Fu HongJun clenched his jaw. His hand still throbbed, blood dried between his fingers. He turned his head slightly and snapped back:

“If you dare come again, I’ll break your ankle for real next time.”

Their eyes locked two stubborn children refusing to back down, even in pain.

For a moment, the wind between them felt like sparks waiting to catch fire.

Then, without another word, they continued on… both vowing silently:
This wasn’t over. Not by a long shot.

At the gate, Fu HongJun knelt down simply, letting his sore knees rest directly on the stone tiles.
Xue LuLi, on the other hand, took out a silk cloth from her sleeve with the elegance of a spoiled young lady and laid it down before kneeling like this was a royal ceremony, not punishment.

Inside the Main Hall of the Mortal Academy—

Auntie Yang stormed in like a thundercloud with legs, her black training suit fluttering behind her.

Her voice exploded through the chamber:

“XUE TIANHAI!!! COME OUT HERE RIGHT NOW!”

From deep within the inner room, the sound of a tea cup clinking was heard. A few seconds later, a middle-aged man stepped out, straightening his robe with an exaggerated calm. He had sharp features, a faint stubble, and eyes that hinted at past glories… and current submission.

He was none other than the dean of Mortal Academy.

He cleared his throat, as if preparing for battle.

“Ahem... my lovely wife. What makes you unhappy today? I swear, just say the word and I’ll kill them all.”

Auntie Yang squinted at him like she was deciding whether to kick him through the wall or not.

“Kill who? Your own daughter?!”

Dean Xue blinked. “Huh?”

“Yes, your precious little LuLi! Do you know what she did today?! She kicked another child like a possessed mule and in the food hall no less! Over chicken!”

Dean Xue Tianhai paused, slowly raised his hand to his beard and gave it a thoughtful tug.

“…Was it at least a drumstick?”

“XUE!!! TIAN!!! HAI!!!”

She shouted his full name like a death sentence.

The dean immediately straightened his back. “I mean, how terrible! Unacceptable! Barbaric! This is a clear sign of….uh….lack of parental supervision!”

Auntie Yang crossed her arms.

“Exactly. So tell me, what kind of father teaches his daughter to act like a street thug?”

Dean Xue mumbled under his breath, “I thought I was teaching her self-defense…”

“Self-defense? She was the one attacking!”

“A misunderstanding?”

“Xue Tianhai!!!”

“Alright, alright! I’ll talk to her. I’ll discipline her. I’ll even write a poem of guilt if it makes you happy!”

Auntie Yang pointed toward the window, where the gate was barely visible.

“She’s out there kneeling like a spoiled empress on a silk mat! Go deal with her. Now.”

Dean Xue Tianhai gave one last longing glance at his tea cup.

“Can I at least finish my tea…”
One glare from Auntie Yang shut him up.
“Right. Tea is for the innocent. I’ll go beg for my life now.”

He turned and marched off like a man walking toward his own execution.

At the Academy Gate

Under the burning sun, Fu HongJun knelt on the stone ground, gritting his teeth. Sweat rolled down his temples. Dust clung to his clothes. His knees throbbed.

Meanwhile, Xue LuLi, true to her personality, sat upright with a parasol elegantly held by a tiny servant girl. She even had a damp towel pressed to her neck, as if this punishment were a spa day.

Fu HongJun glanced at her and nearly growled. But slowly, he began to notice something strange in his body, which had been sore and bruised, was starting to recover. A subtle warmth spread through his chest. The pain dulled. His breathing became easier.

Then

His heart jolted.

Something inside his chest moved. Fast.

Panicking, Fu HongJun clutched his shirt. "W-What the hell is this?!"

At that moment, the familiar, smug voice echoed in his mind.

“Don’t panic, smelly brat. What kind of loser disciple coughs blood because of a girl? How shameful. If word gets out, I’ll have to go into hiding.”

“Master!! What’s happening?! Why is my chest…..?”

“Your second meridian is opening, idiot.”
“Second?!”
“Yeah. First one’s already open—you just didn’t notice, because your brain's the size of a grain of rice. Didn’t the dean mention it?”

Fu HongJun blinked. “He… kind of did. Said I had one meridian close to awakening…”

“Tch. Well, congratulations. Seems like getting your ass kicked by that little devil girl worked better than any elixir. Hahaha! You need beatings to cultivate.How rare. Lucky for you, I’m very good at that.”

Fu HongJun didn’t know whether to be happy or terrified.

The itch in his chest worsened. The energy moved again, faster now and then burst outward like a pulse.

He coughed.

And blood splattered on the ground.

Nearby, Xue LuLi’s nose wrinkled in disgust. She rolled her eyes and sneered.

“Tsk, why don’t you just die already? You’re such an eyesore.”

At That Moment, Dean Xue Tianhai had just arrived at the outer gate when he suddenly paused mid-step.

His eyes narrowed.

“…Hmm?”

The grass near Fu HongJun was becoming yellow,wilting rapidly, as if its life force was being drained.

He raised a hand and flicked his fingers, forming a quick hand seal. Gold light sparked in his pupils as he activated a high-level vision technique.

What he saw made his eyebrows twitch.

Life force. Spiritual energy. Wounds closing on their own.

“…What kind of physique is this…?”

This wasn’t just a fluke or beginner’s luck. The boy’s body was drawing in life energy. Passively. Naturally.

“He’s healing from spiritual absorption alone…? Without any guidance? This isn’t ordinary…”

But They Weren’t the Only Ones Watching…

Roughly 300 meters away, high in the branches of a thick tree, an old man crouched silently. His white beard fluttered in the breeze like an ancient flag.

He narrowed his sharp eyes as he watched the boy kneeling in the distance.

“Natural physique? How rare…”
His tone darkened slightly.
“Still… you dare make my granddaughter bleed?”
He cracked his knuckles.
“Looks like this old man might have to help train you personally.”