"You... you, you’re finished! Do you have any idea who Shen Qinghan is?"

Before Shen Qinghan could even speak, the short girl beside her flew into a rage as if she’d been electrocuted. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

"Her dad is one of our school’s directors! He can have you packing your bags with a single word..."

"Shut up. Say one more word, and I’ll hit you too."

Li Yi frowned.

As he spoke, he looked as if he was about to raise his hand.

Seeing this, the short girl, who had been filled with righteous indignation just a moment ago, immediately fell silent, not daring to say another word.

"How could you do that? Are you crazy?"

"She’s a girl, for crying out loud. How dare you, a grown man, hit her."

"Do you really think you’re so great just because you cultivated Qi Blood Power and became a Secret Martial Artist? There are plenty of Secret Martial Artists in the world, you’re not the only one..."

At that moment, however, the surrounding crowd began to condemn Li Yi.

Most of them were male students. Seeing two beautiful girls being bullied, their protective instincts surged. They all hoped to play the hero saving the damsel in distress, fantasizing that it might give them an opening.

"Li... Yi, you acshually hit me!?"

Just then, Shen Qinghan, having finally recovered from the force of the blow, her dazed eyes growing clear, flushed red all the way to her neck.

Half of her face was numb and throbbing, as if countless ants were gnawing at her flesh. Her once-delicate, oval face was now swollen like a proofed dough bun. As she spoke, traces of blood could be seen on the corner of her mouth and gums.

At this moment, she had completely lost her former air of an aloof goddess.

She pointed a finger at Li Yi.

"You... apologishe to me righ’ now, or elsh jusht wait to be exshpelled!"

Her swollen face made her speech somewhat slurred, but her general meaning was clear enough.

But Li Yi just sneered as if he’d heard a ridiculous joke.

"Expel me? Hahaha!"

With that, he ignored everyone’s reactions and turned to walk out the main gate.

His faint voice drifted back, ringing in everyone’s ears.

"What a bunch of idiots! To think I’m in the same university as people like this..."

Not long after Li Yi left, a sturdy, powerfully built middle-aged man with a thin scar on his face hurried in.

His gaze swept across the room.

It passed over Pei Yan, who had fainted on the stage, and Shen Qinghan, whose face was swollen and who looked to be on the verge of tears, without lingering.

"Where is Li Yi?"

"Teacher Chen Wu, you have no idea! That Li Yi is too arrogant! He not only injured his classmates, he insulted us too! You have to get justice for us..."

Seeing the middle-aged man arrive, the students immediately felt like they had found their pillar of support. They quickly surrounded him, all talking at once.

Remembering how he had called them idiots as he left, their anger flared up, and they all began to help Shen Qinghan denounce Li Yi.

The middle-aged man was none other than Chen Wu, the former coach of the Red Scale Extreme Club.

Thanks to Hu Qi, he had obtained some Secret Medicine that allowed him to learn the Limit-Breaking Technique and become a Qi Blood Realm Secret Martial Artist.

Due to the cooperation between his School and the government, he was now a teacher at this university, instructing students in combat and the Limit-Breaking Technique.

"Enough!"

Listening to the cacophony of voices, his expression turned ugly, and he let out a furious shout.

"Now, all of you—and I mean all of you—go and find Li Yi and apologize! You absolutely must get his forgiveness, or you will regret it!"

Hearing this, the crowd was stunned.

Shen Qinghan could no longer hold back her tears, and they streamed down her cheeks.

She bit her lip.

"Teacher, are you mistaken? He was clearly the one who hit me. Why on earth should I have to apologize to him?"

"Why? Because his brother is Hu Qi! The junior brother of the Shexin Sect’s Sect Leader, a Refining God Venerable! Not long ago, he broke through to become a Qi Dao Grandmaster and was granted the status of a Federation Member.

"All he has to do is say the word, and your entire families could rot in prison for the rest of their lives!"

As Chen Wu’s words fell, a deathly silence instantly descended upon the crowd.

Shen Qinghan, in particular, collapsed weakly to the ground as if all the strength had been drained from her body.

They might not have heard of the name Hu Qi.

But they knew exactly what ’junior brother of the Shexin Sect’s Sect Leader,’ ’Qi Dao Grandmaster,’ and ’Federation Member’ meant.

Any single one of those three titles belonged to someone they could never afford to provoke.

...

Li Yi didn’t concern himself with what happened afterward.

’Expel him? Dream on.’

As for Hu Qi’s status, he was naturally aware of it.

He just didn’t want to be too conspicuous, so he never mentioned it.

But not wanting to cause trouble didn’t mean he was afraid of it.

"’Interesting. I thought you would show mercy and not strike that girl!’"

At that moment, a pleasant, synthesized female electronic voice sounded out.

Beside him, in the empty air, blue threads sketched themselves into the form of a young girl wearing a Lolita dress.

Her long hair cascaded over her shoulders like a black waterfall, her hair adorned with small, silver accessories.

On her chest was a round, metallic ornament engraved with complex and mysterious patterns, from which a blue light would occasionally flow.

The students passing by seemed to be completely oblivious to this scene.

They even walked right through the Lolita girl as if she didn’t exist at all.

"I have you to thank for that. Otherwise, with my aptitude alone, there’s no way I could have reached this level so quickly."

Li Yi looked at the girl beside him.

Some time ago, while on a night run to get some exercise, he had found a translucent blue Crystal Stone on the roadside. The moment he picked it up, the Crystal Stone merged into his body.

After that, he was able to see her.

According to her, she was a super-AI from the second Noki Civilization.

Her purpose was to help her host learn and grow faster.

It was thanks to her that he had been able to reach the Qi Blood Second Transformation so quickly.

"’You are the host I have chosen. My goal is to help you grow continuously.

"’As long as you continue your Cultivation with the Snake Form Posture that I’ve optimized for you, you’ll be able to break through from the Qi Blood Second Transformation to the Qi Blood Third Transformation in half a month at most!’"

As she spoke, streams of data seemed to scroll endlessly within her eyes.

"Is that so? Then thank you so much, Nuo Xing!"

Li Yi said with a grateful smile.

He looked at her, adjusting his glasses as an inscrutable glint flashed deep in his eyes.

...

「Meanwhile, in Shahai Country.」

It was a small country located ten thousand kilometers east of the Xia Federation.

Thanks to its unique geographical location and environment, the weather in Shahai Country remained below 10°C year-round.

At this moment, it was evening, and leaden clouds hung low in the sky.

An ice-cold curtain of rain enveloped the city.

The daytime hustle and bustle was gone, replaced only by the ceaseless fall of cold, freezing rain, which added a desolate and cheerless air to the night.

On the streets, dim, yellow lights reflected off the slick ground.

The freezing rain fell in a steady patter, like countless cold needles scattering down.

The raindrops froze into ice the instant they touched any surface, coating everything in a layer of clear, sparkling ice.

Occasionally, pedestrians would hurry past, bundled up in thick padded coats, hats, and scarves, with only their eyes exposed.

Their footsteps made a crunching sound on the icy surface.

From a remote alley, the faint sounds of angry curses and a beating could be heard.

Five figures were kicking and punching another figure lying on the ground, whose miserable screams and pleas for mercy were unceasing.

After a while, the leader—a tall, powerfully built young Black man with a string of silver studs in his right ear—stared down with a cold gaze at the bruised and bloodied figure on the ground.

He opened his mouth and spat a thick glob of phlegm.

"Motherfucker. You dare to mess with my girl? I’ll teach you a lesson this time, you yellow-skinned monkey.

"Now, get on your knees, kowtow to us a few times, and call me ’Daddy.’ Do that, and I’ll let you go today!"