"What?! What are you saying, Mo Fan? Our weekly wage is only three Nia stones, how am I supposed to give you one?" The same student said nervously, taking a cautious step backward.
"As you heard, and this applies to anyone outside the top ten. And if any of you feel itchy in your skin, you can come try to oppose us," Mo Fan said with a condescending smile, then threw a large leather bag onto the ground as he continued.
"I think you know what you need to do now."
'Damn, Mo Fan and Mo Bai are so strong. Even though we can't fight with our powers because it's against the rules, they're from the top ten and from the Mo clan. And even the three others with them from Mo clan have been trained physically since childhood. Damn, I need everyone's help if I want to defeat them,' the student thought anxiously among several hesitant students before shouting at the top of his lungs.
"Come on, guys, let's all work together against them! They're only five people, and we're more than fifteen now. More students will definitely come soon. We can't let them take our resources and disrupt our training."
"Yes… this is unacceptable! They're from the Mo faction and don't lack resources, but we, these three stones are all we earn!" another student said, opening his hands to support the first student, before everyone started agreeing and opposing.
Clap, clap. "Alright, Mo Fan, no need for more talking. We have to make an example of them so we don't face problems next time," Mo Bai clapped his hands and said coldly, encouraging Mo Fan to start the attack.
"Yes, I expected that from you anyway, Mo Bai. That's why I was just waiting to begin... Let's attack, haha!" Mo Fan pounced on the student who had spoken first with lightning speed, landing a punch right in the center of his face before the student could react.
"Aaagh!" the student screamed, falling while clutching his face, feeling a burning sensation in his nose as a few drops of blood trickled out.
"Damn, come on, let's attack too!" one student shouted in desperation before recklessly charging at Mo Fan.
'Yeah... that's it. Mo Fan did everything: first to speak, first to strike. Now I can join in with peace of mind. Time to reap the benefits,' Mo Bai thought slyly, showing no expression on his face before he lunged at a student and began fighting with the others.
Mo Bai advanced and kicked one student hard in the stomach with his right foot, knocking him to the ground with a painful ache in his chest. At the same time, another tried to strike him from behind, but he anticipated it, bent down, placed his hands on the ground, and kicked the attacker powerfully on the chin with his left foot, causing ringing in his ears.
'Hmph, so weak. Really trash without their powers. I could defeat dozens of them without breaking a sweat,' Mo Bai glanced disdainfully at the fallen as he stood after kicking them.
Then he stepped back and stood back to back with Mo Fan, who had just struck a few students as well. "Hehe, not bad, Mo Bai. No wonder my grandfather told me you're no pushover. You're really strong. The guy I kicked was completely caught off guard, pfft."
"You're not bad either, Mo Fan. But you're weaker than me, hehe," Mo Bai said with a mocking tone before rushing at another student among the remaining eight.
"We'll see who defeats more enemies. Then we'll know who's stronger," Mo Fan replied excitedly, a wide smile spreading across his lips as he charged at another.
'So the faction leader already knows about me. Well, that was expected. My father can't hide information from the real upper echelon of the clan,' Mo Bai thought as he struck a student with his elbow in the face, suddenly feeling a dark dizziness. 'Ah, my eyes are foggy... what's happening?'
Then Mo Bai continued fighting the students one by one without pause. Some managed to land a few hits on him, but they caused no trouble. The power difference was slight, but the skill gap was clear and huge.
After another minute, all seventeen kids were lying on the ground, clutching their faces or other parts of their bodies, groaning. On Mo Bai's side, only two had minor bruises, while Mo Fan and Mo Zong, just like Mo Bai, weren't hurt at all.
"Hah, I took down four students. How about you, Mo Bai?" Mo Fan asked competitively, wiping nonexistent sweat from his face.
"You're not bad; I took down six," Mo Bai replied with a faint smile, focusing his gaze on the crowd of students standing nearby who were watching the fight without intervening.
'Damn, he surpassed me,' Mo Fan thought annoyed for a moment, and just as he opened his mouth to speak, a student addressed them.
"Can I ask why the fight? I heard some say you're going to take our Nia stones, but I find that ridiculous. Is that true?" A student with soft white hair and a handsome face stepped forward, asking.
"Yes, that's true, Sun Wu. But this doesn't apply to the top ten like you. You can leave now. Unless… you want to oppose us and cooperate with these weaklings," Mo Bai said calmly to Sun Wu standing in front of him.
"As a hero of justice, huh? That'd be amazing if you succeed, haha," Mo Fan laughed cheerfully as soon as Mo Bai finished.
"You just shut up," Mo Bai muttered, shooting Mo Fan a scary glance.
As for Sun Wu, he turned to see several students behind him looking at him with hopeful eyes, hoping for his help to get them out of this disaster.
"Sun Wu will definitely help us, right? He's the only one among the top ten who isn't from the three factions. He surely knows what we'll suffer if we lose our training resources," a girl bit her lips nervously, whispering to her friend next to her.
"Yes… I hope so, at least."
"Well, I won't hold you back, and you don't involve me in this either," Sun Wu sighed finally, saying reluctantly, looking out for himself of course, since they're from the Mo faction and powerful, and he has no background.
"Good then." Mo Bai stepped aside, letting Son Woo leave while replying with the same calm tone.
'It's not like you'll make a difference. Your rank is only because of your power, but in physical fighting, you're not trained at all. But we can't take resources from the top ten either, or they won't let us anymore. Disrupting the clan's talents' training is different from doing it to the rest,' Mo Bai analyzed, well aware of the clan's red lines.
Then, as Sun Wu finally left the academy, Mo Bai tilted his neck left and right, cracking his bones audibly before saying coldly with a dark expression on his face:
"So, shall we continue, guys?"