by <unknown>
Approximately a hundred years ago, the northwest district of Floating Spear City used to have several crystal mines with abundant reserves. Several sect's mining companies cooperated with one another and turned the Limestone District into a very prosperous mining district.
During that period of prosperity, this place was home to the hundred thousand miners and to the couple hundred thousand families. They had their own schools, hospitals, and various public facilities.
The Mining Clan High School was established at that time.
However, the prosperity was short-lived. With the gradual depletion of the lodes, all the sects withdrew one by one, leaving the couple hundred thousand unemployed miners and their families behind. Those who had the money, connections, or another means to earn money left one after another, thereby leaving only a few ten thousand unemployed miners who didn't have any other skills behind. These miners and their families continued to eke out their meager existence here.
The Mining Clan High School had also become the worst high school in Floating Spear City. Compared with the Crimson Nimbus Second Senior High School, which was one of the private schools with top quality facilities, the difference was simply like heaven and earth — they were not in the same world.
Li Yao entered the campus. The campus seemed as though a cultivator had wantonly devastated the area, leaving only wreckage in its wake. Every building seemed to have been neglected over the years and have never been repaired. The playground too was also full of potholes. A rustic strength testing machine was placed in a corner. Looking at its model, it was surprisingly an antique from a hundred years ago. It appeared as if it would fall apart just from a light breeze.
The various basic facilities of this school were built a hundred years ago and, with the passage of time, were now long beyond their lifespan. Multitudes of problems could be found in every equipment.
Grandpa Wang was commissioned to repair the large-scale crystal tube system that was used to adjust the temperature in the classrooms.
The crystal tubes were like snakes, passing through each classroom to the next before finally converging at the array glyph room behind the teachers’ building.
In the array glyph room, a two-pole array glyph system composing of the “Freezing Glyphs” and the “Fire Glyphs” was installed. During the summer, the "Freezing Glyphs" would activate and blow cold air through the crystal tubes, while during the winter, the "Fire Glyphs" would activate and blow hot air through the tubes. In this manner, the classroom could be kept at room temperature, as if it were Spring, in all four seasons.
Because of thermal expansion and contraction caused by the alternation between hot and cold temperatures, the crystal tubes were vulnerable to cracks. Although the maintenance of the tubes was not complicated, as the crystal tubes were entwined and passed through a few dozen classrooms, to completely repair the entire tube network was not only very time consuming but arduous as well.
Grandpa Wang was way past his working age, and he couldn't see properly. Now that this kind of project fell into his lap, he had no choice but to call Li Yao for help.
This kind of maintenance work was quite ordinary. As the two were familiar with each other, they had no need to greet or say anything. Li Yao rolled up his sleeves and stuck out his buttocks as he and Grandpa Wang began to check and perform maintenance on the crystal tubes, classroom by classroom. After a long, arduous maintenance that spanned half a day, the two were covered in dust from head to toe. Finally, all the crystal tubes had been cleaned out from the inside out, and the broken tubes had been replaced with new ones.
Li Yao pressed his ears to the crystal tubes and listened for a while before confirming that the sound was normal and the array glyphs were operating very smoothly — the task was complete!
Li Yao pursed his lips as a grin appeared on his dark face, revealing the snow-white teeth inside.
"It's done. Grandpa Wang, this time, I’m not going to calculate money with you. Treat it as my respect for Grandma Wang. If there is nothing else, then I'll take my leave first."
"Wait."
Grandpa Wang laughed like an old fox as he dragged Li Yao out of the school building. Inside the playground stood a chubby, old man.
"This is the Principal of the Mining Clan High School, Mao. He is an old classmate of mine."
"Nice to meet you, Principal Mao."
Li Yao blinked his eyes. He found it a little strange. The maintenance of crystal tubes was not some big project. At best, it was worth a couple thousand bucks, yet Grandpa Wang dragged him out to meet the Principal, why?
Principal Mao and Grandpa Wang glanced at each other. The two were a little embarrassed. After a moment of silence, Principal Mao squeezed out a little smile on his face and said, "Student Li Yao, it is like this... I heard Old Wang say that you have withdrawn from Crimson Nimbus Second Senior High School and were thinking of registering your identity in order to apply for the college entrance examination. However, perhaps you don’t know, but the process to register one’s identity is extremely complex. Besides, you still have not yet found a suitable place to train. So if you don't mind, I was thinking it might be better for you to join my Mining Clan High School. The entire registration process will be handled by the school, and you can also train here. As you can see, although the training equipment are a little old, they are all in working condition and are maintained quite well. It would be better than what you might find at home! As for the cost, you don't need to worry. Old Wang and I have been friends for many years, so I will not take a single penny from you!"
"What, Grandpa Wang, you..."
Li Yao realized that this was the real intention of Grandpa Wang for calling him here. He could not help but feel warm in his heart.
Grandpa Wang coughed twice.
"Little Devil, this old man has heard everything about you. You have offended people at Crimson Nimbus Second Senior High School who have power and influence, they forced you to drop out, and you... also had a little accident. I'm afraid you won’t be admitted to a top university, but you should not give up. It is better for you to train here and vie for a good technical school. After you have graduated, you can come back and formally join me as my partner. I don't have a son, and the few grandsons I have are not interested in magical equipment maintenance. The day when my two legs can no longer support me, I'll leave my secondhand magical equipment shop to you. Don't say it doesn't bring in money! It can somehow bring food to the table. What do you think?"
Li Yao took a long deep breath to slow down his throbbing heart.
Grandpa Wang didn't know that he had already recovered his strength, and even more, he didn't know about the shocking mutation that had taken place inside his brain. Everyone believed that his spiritual root had ruptured and he was completely crippled.
Even so, Grandpa Wang didn't give up on him, still thought about him sincerely, and even helped him find such a school!
Although it was the worst high school in the entire Floating Spear City, Li Yao knew that Grandpa Wang had done the best he could.
A warm feeling slowly filled up Li Yao's chest.
Chapter 86: School Bullying |
After a moment of hesitation, Li Yao said, "Principal Mao, I have angered some very powerful figures from Crimson Nimbus Second Senior High School. Aren't you afraid that your Mining Clan High School will become the target of their anger if you took me in?"
Principal Mao laughed as he pointed at the surroundings, speaking in a self-deprecating tone, "Take a look around. As far as my school is concerned, it is the worst high school in Floating Spear City. Only the children of penniless miners would come here to study and that too only for the purpose of getting into a technical school to learn cooking, maintenance, or some similar expertise in other fields. How would they take revenge?"
"Alright!"
Li Yao felt warm in his heart. He continuously nodded his head. "Grandpa Wang, Principal Mao, thank you for your kindness. I have decided to attend th
e college entrance examinations as a student of your Mining Clan High School. However, since I have already found a training room, I won’t always come to school. I hope you do not mind."
"It does not matter. Anyways, you just have to register your name to ease your way into the college entrance examinations, that's all. However, training rooms outside are very expensive, especially before the college entrance examination. Many training rooms will use 'Crash Course' type rooms as a way to cheat examinees of their money. You can’t be fooled. If you can get a refund, then you should take it. Train in the school and save a little bit!" Principal Mao said.
Li Yao smiled. Principal Mao's character was almost the same as Grandpa Wong; both were sincere and kind men.
He shook his head. "It's alright. It’s my friend's training room, so its cost is very cheap."
"Oh!"
Principal Mao exclaimed and no longer tried to persuade Li Yao. He then said, "Student Li Yao, wait here for a while. If you’d like, you can look around and familiarize yourself with the environment. I'll settle the account for today's maintenance with Old Wang first, then I’ll check how I should complete your procedures. To be honest with you, it has always been our students who transferred to another school. If I’m not wrong, in the past few decades, we have not received even a single transfer student from another school. Hahahaha, I will go and sort out a few files. You just need to sign a few papers."
"Alright, I'll definitely go all out in the college entrance examination to win glory for the Mining Clan High School!" Li Yao said in a serious tone.
Principal Mao laughed jovially. Regarding Li Yao's commitment, he made no comments. The two old men, with arms around each's shoulder, went inside the office building.
Li Yao, with hands behind his back, leisurely explored the simple and crude campus. His mood was pretty good.
Helian Lie, Zhao Shude, and Hei Mianshen... All of them were not optimistic about him, did not believe him, and treated him like a cripple, like trash.
However, there were others who were unconditionally good to him, like Ding Lingdang who believed in him, Fiend Blade Peng Hai who was optimistic about him, Grandpa Wang who had been very concerned about him since he could remember, and the recently acquainted Principal Mao also didn’t hesitate to support him!
He was not alone; he had so many people who believed in him, cared for him, and supported him. Why would he have any reason to fail the exam?
"Are you the guy who was kicked out of Crimson Nimbus Second Senior High School and had to transfer to our Mining Clan High School?"
"Are you that fleeting Fiend Star from the news?"
"Obviously, he was just repairing the crystal tubes inside the classroom. His dirty appearance fits very well with our school. No wonder he was kicked out from Crimson Nimbus Second Senior High School!"
The three burst into laughter.
Li Yao raised his head to look the three who were speaking. All three were tall and mighty; the shortest among them was approximately 190 cm tall, while the tallest was almost 2 m tall. They had well-developed muscles and wrapping around their bodies was a simple yet crude school uniform that was spun from coarse cloth. A casual movement would seemingly tear their uniform apart.
Looking at their appearance...
All three were vicious as their faces were filled with arrogance. Apparently, they were the bullies of Mining Clan High School.
Li Yao heaved a sigh. In a flash, he jumped back two meters and tossed a fist-sized pebble on the ground with his toe before sending out a punch!
"Crack!" The pebble was smashed into pieces, and its fragments splattered on the three faces, bringing them quite a bit of pain.
"Correct, I am that fleeting Fiend Star. Today, I have just transferred to Mining Clan High School. May I ask, is this the legendary school bullying?" Li Yao enthusiastically asked as he patted his hands to dust off the powder on his fists.
Silence. The three were struck with silence as if they had been subjected to some restraining technique. They remained silent for a total of ten seconds before they could wake from their stupor.
"Of course not! When we heard that there was a new student, you have no idea how happy we were! We are responsible for welcoming the new students!"
"Right, although our Mining Clan High School's teaching quality is very poor, our school's spirit is indescribably a lot better. Between fellow students, there is only a sense of unity and friendship. Everyone here is family. School bullying in Mining Clan High School? I’ve never heard about this!"
"Come, come, fellow student Li Yao. No, please allow us to call you 'Brother Yao'. Wow! Brother Yao's punch is truly powerful. Just in this punch alone, I’m afraid that there was over a thousand pound of force! Brother Yao, if you have some time, be sure to instruct your little brothers a little!"
...
Inside the principal office, Old Wang sincerely said, "Old friend, I truly have to thank you. You have really helped me out!"
Principal Mao smiled and said, "Small stuff. About student Li Yao, I have seen it on the news; a genius with a promising future, but because of an accident, he fell from the sky, unable to cultivate again. It is truly pitiful! Not to mention he is also your friend. Even if you never knew each other, so long as it came to my attention, I would also be very willing to help such a child."
"Yes!"
Old Wang heaved a long sigh as a drop of tear trickled down from the corner of his eye. "Unfortunately, it is truly pitiful. If it was someone else, they would definitely be unable to withstand such a blow. They would have long been reduced to a shadow of their past. But this brat is rather strong-willed — ‘His body might be disabled, but his will is firm’'. He is still planning to attend this year's college entrance examination. Didn't you see? He behaved so calmly in front of us and even staged a completely confident look. This truly puts me at ease. It is truly..."
"Indeed, Student Li Yao has an indomitable spirit. I was very moved. You don't need to worry. Even if he can’t go to college this year, he can still study at Mining Clan High School next year. So long as I, Dagang Mao, am still here, the doors to the Mining Clan High School will always be open for him.
While talking, Principal Mao walked to a window to get a fresh breath of air.
"Hey!"
As he arbitrarily glanced over to the ground, he suddenly exclaimed.
"What happened?"
Old Wang went to the window and looked around on the ground.
In front of the office building at the playground, three stocky and imposing muscular boys nodded and bowed as they respectfully followed Li Yao to an antique Strength Testing Machine.
In an instant, Principal Mao’s face turned dark and bitter as he clenched his teeth and said, "These good-for-nothing punks! I just left for a few minutes and they are already bullying the new student. Awful! I have taught them to be better than this — they should not be doing this!"
"That’s not right." Old Wang scratched his bald head, hesitated a moment, and then said, "It doesn’t seem like they are bullying."
"Yeah, it is a little odd. What are they doing? Do they want to test Li Yao's punching force? What a joke! Student Li Yao's spiritual root is torn; he is already a cripple, yet they still want to test his punching force! Do they want to make a joke out of student Li Yao!?" Principal Mao was extremely furious. As he prepared to stop them, Old Wang grabbed his shoulder.
Standing before the Strength Testing Machine, Li Yao had already taken three steps back, pulled his right fist as far back as he could, as if he was a cannon ready to fire, and postured himself to send out a punch with his right fist.
"He —"
Principal Mao blinked his eyes. Although he was not a cultivator, during his youth, he had been to the battlefield and had seen the blood of many soldiers. Despite being separated by a few dozen meters, he was still able to sense the exceptionally powerful and dangerous aura emitted from Li Yao.
In an instant, Principal Mao returned to a few
decades back — to the moment when he had an unexpected encounter with a demon beast in a corner of the trenches in the front-lines.
Principle Mao shrunk his neck as he was suddenly covered in goosebumps.
Li Yao remained motionless, yet his aura continued to increase. The air around him became a little distorted, creating a field exclusive to him.
The three muscular boys near Li Yao, upon noticing the strangeness, involuntarily retreated 3-4 steps.
"His aura is exceptionally strong. His spiritual root is obviously torn, so how is this possible?" Principal Mao muttered to himself. Without a single blink, Principal Mao watched with widely opened eyes, carefully observing Li Yao’s each and every action.
—— But he missed everything! In his eyes, Li Yao had completely turned into a blur. In only one hundredth of a second, his right fist had ruthlessly landed upon the Strength Testing Machine.
"Boom!"
Even inside his office, the cups on Principal Mao's table madly shook.
"How’s that possible? That’s completely crazy!"
Principal Mao's eyes almost jumped out of their sockets. He immediately looked at the counter above the Strength Testing Machine; however, the numbers on the counter were quickly changing as if the shockwave of his punch had spread to the interior of the machine — like a flood, it was out of control!
Finally ——
"Boom!"
From inside the Strength Testing Machine rang a thunderous explosion as a mass of black smoke slowly rose into the air, spreading a strong smell of fire and metal!
Like a shot beast, the Strength Testing Machine swayed for three seconds as it held its ground before it finally collapsed completely, turning into a pile of crushed parts!
This punch of Li Yao had surprisingly sent this antique — with over a hundred years of history — to its grave!
"This——"
Inside the office, Principal Mao and Old Wang were like two wooden statues that had been carved using rooted trees — they stood aghast!
