Chapter 122
Chapter 122
The commotion came from the direction of the simulated combat hall.
One glance showed Qin Lan several people arguing outside its entrance. One of them looked quite familiar.
“Isn’t that… What was his name? Luo Ping?”
Qin Lan paused.
On the dedicated train to the Central Region, he had met Yu Qianqian’s group. The student who borrowed Qin Lan’s badge to photograph and post online was Luo Ping.
Now a group surrounded him. His face was flushed as he argued loudly, neck stiff with defiance.
With Qin Lan’s current senses, he needed only focus slightly to hear the distant commotion clearly.
A tall, broad student stepped forward and shoved Luo Ping hard.
“You’ve grown bold. You even dare take Senior Lin’s slot?”
“Everyone knows Senior Lin uses the simulated instance on Fridays. You didn’t know?”
Several others closed in. They said nothing, but their gazes carried pressure.
Luo Ping guiltily retreated two steps, then gathered his courage.
“So what if he’s Senior Lin?”
“The simulated instance requires reservations. I followed academy rules and reserved this time on the official website!”
“If he wants to use it, he can reserve it himself. What kind of ability is stealing mine?”
The tall student sneered at Luo Ping’s stubbornness.
“What kind of ability?”
“You’re a freshman. What right do you have to use the simulated instance? So what if you reserved it? If we tell you to surrender your slot, you surrender it!”
“Cut the fucking crap! Move!”
Before Luo Ping could react, curse energy burst from the student’s body and gathered over his arm, transforming into a thick layer of stone.
The arm visibly swelled before he punched at Luo Ping’s chest.
C-rank Talent: [Rock Armor].
Not everyone at Clear Spring Academy possessed an A-rank or B-rank Talent. Plenty of students had C-rank Talents.
Some were Central Region locals. Others came from wealthy families in other Safe Zones.
Their tuition was far higher than other students’, but access to Clear Spring Academy’s educational resources made it worthwhile.
The academy was happy to accept them. Who turned down money?
Luo Ping went pale. His Talent was not suited for combat. Like Liang Yu’s, it was supportive.
He had no ability to fight a close-combat Talent.
Two other students had seized his hands, leaving him unable even to dodge.
If the punch landed, he would spend at least two or three days bedridden in his dormitory.
Clear Spring Academy was not entirely harmonious.
Academy rules officially prohibited fighting among students, but the administration generally ignored minor conflicts.
Their medical care was excellent. As long as no one died on the spot, they could be saved.
Facing the incoming fist, Luo Ping’s face turned white.
Thud!
He squeezed his eyes shut in fear, his body flinching instinctively.
The expected pain never came.
When Luo Ping opened his eyes, he saw the frightening stone fist held firmly in a single palm.
Qin Lan had appeared like a ghost. He held the student’s fist with one hand, utterly unmoving.
“You!”
Horror crossed the student’s face. He tried to pull free and could not.
Qin Lan resembled a towering mountain, impossible to shake.
The strength in which the student took pride now looked comical–an ant trying to topple a tree, a mantis attempting to stop a chariot.
“Clear Spring Academy has an interesting culture. You can initiate live PvP anywhere.”
Qin Lan smiled and tightened his grip.
The heavy stone shell cracked apart inch by inch.
“Aaaah!”
Agony turned the tall student’s face white and tore a howl from his throat.
Luo Ping stared, dumbfounded. Then recognition struck and he cried out in delight.
“Sir! It’s you!”
“You came to our academy so soon?!”
Qin Lan had said he had business to handle, so Luo Ping expected not to see him for several days. He never imagined they would meet again this quickly.
Qin Lan greeted him warmly.
“Mm-hmm. Finished my business and came to look around.”
As he spoke, his hand continued to tighten. The student could no longer form words from the pain. He collapsed to his knees, his arm still trapped in Qin Lan’s grip.
The surrounding students stared and whispered.
“Isn’t that Zhao Kuang? Lin Qingfeng’s follower? Didn’t he break through to a Tier 2 Curse Core recently? Why does he look so weak?”
“I’ve never seen that guy. Is he from another academy?”
“Zhao Kuang is decent. He can suppress ordinary 1-Star anomalies. I fought him before.”
“But the other guy looks even fiercer…”
Only when Zhao Kuang could no longer speak did Qin Lan release him and look down.
“You like fighting? Why not fight someone stronger than you?”
“If you need it, I can play with you a little longer.”
Bullying others with power?
Qin Lan knew that move too.
More precisely, Qin Lan was the power.
The surrounding discussion had already told him roughly what happened.
The simulated combat hall could not operate constantly because it consumed vast amounts of energy. Students normally had to reserve time themselves.
Demand was high, so even a reservation did not guarantee a slot. Some luck was involved.
The “Senior Lin” everyone mentioned was Lin Qingfeng, a third-year student.
He had not entered the Elite Program, but remained a well-known superior student with many admirers.
Zhao Kuang was his most capable lackey.
Most people would swallow their anger after losing a slot they had painstakingly reserved and blame their bad luck.
Unfortunately, Luo Ping was stubborn and obsessed with principle. Hence the conflict.
Qin Lan’s impression of Luo Ping was only average.
Normally, it would not have been enough for him to intervene.
But stealing someone else’s qualification struck Qin Lan directly on a sore point.
The last person to do that had been thrown into a secret room at the Anomaly Hunter Bureau and turned into handmade beef balls.
“You… You dared touch me!”
Zhao Kuang clutched his right hand and screamed, but menace entered his eyes.
“You stole Senior Lin’s slot and attacked me… You’re finished!”
“Senior Lin won’t spare you!”
Qin Lan marveled. “What a divine oddity.”
“Weren’t you the ones stealing the slot? How did we become the thieves?”
“Do people who steal from others all have brain damage? Did your parents throw away the baby and raise the placenta instead?”
A cold voice came from outside the crowd.
“Such an ugly way of speaking. Didn’t your parents teach you manners?”
“Judging by you, they probably weren’t decent people either.”
The watching students immediately opened a path.
A cold-faced young man slowly approached.
Qin Lan’s expression turned amused.
Had Xue Chuan been here, he would have given Lin Qingfeng a thumbs-up.
Insulting Qin Lan’s parents?
Brother, when it came to stepping on land mines, you were a professional.