"Brother Feng, why are you bringing this guy along?"
Supporting Yang Fan, Gao Hai expressed his dissatisfaction.
Gao Hai is famously good-tempered; although he doesn't have much presence in the class, he's well-liked and rarely argues with anyone. However, now he showed no intention of hiding his displeasure.
To him, if it weren't for Yang Fan spreading rumors, why would Ji Yu get jealous and cause trouble for them, ultimately leading to Mo Xun's involvement?
Now it's a mess; they've offended the Elite Martial Arts Club, embarrassing the headmaster in front of so many people. Even with Song of Solomon's help in mediation, Lin Feng probably can't survive at Jiangxin First Middle School, and might not even be eligible to take the college entrance exam.
"I'm sorry."
Upon hearing this, Yang Fan apologized, his face full of pain from the injuries.
Not only was he hurt, but he also implicated Lin Feng, his classmate.
Lin Feng failed to refine a Demon Spirit on Awakening Day, while Song of Solomon successfully refined the Eighth Grade Enchanting Butterfly and signed with the Juxing Club, soaring high.
Despite knowing it was Lin Feng who initiated the breakup, Yang Fan understood that Lin Feng felt inferior and unworthy of Song of Solomon, and thus proposed the breakup first, to preserve the last shred of self-esteem.
Lin Feng suffered a double blow, and now, because of Yang Fan, he has offended Mo Xun and Teacher Zhang Han, a situation that couldn't just be described as miserable.
"It's nothing, just a small matter."
Lin Feng smiled lightly, appearing relaxed, as if it wasn't a big deal, which made Yang Fan feel even more guilty.
"I can walk on my own now," Yang Fan whispered.
"Okay."
Lin Feng let go, and Yang Fan took two steps. Although his posture was a bit odd and his body trembled slightly, he managed to walk normally.
Despite his face being bruised and swollen badly, when Yang Fan was attacked, he curled his body to avoid having his ribs broken. So he wasn't severely injured, at least not as badly as those who were dealt with by Lin Feng.
To Lin Feng, this showed some degree of experience; otherwise, Yang Fan wouldn't have protected himself so well, indicating it's not his first time being beaten.
Facing Lin Feng's gaze, Yang Fan looked a bit embarrassed: "I'm really sorry for dragging you into this mess."
"If apologies were useful, why would we need the police?" Gao Hai said.
"I'm sorry," Yang Fan apologized again, awkwardly, though knowing it was futile.
"Well, since it's because of me, Lin Feng, I'll give you twenty thousand bucks."
Yang Fan hesitated for a moment before decisively speaking, fearing Lin Feng might misunderstand, he quickly added: "Don't get me wrong, it's not out of pity. You've offended Mo Xun and are left without a place at Jiangxin First Middle School, this money is for you to transfer schools."
After saying this, Yang Fan quietly watched Lin Feng. Although twenty thousand was quite a sum, he could still afford it.
"Brother Feng, how about… transferring schools?"
After hesitating for a while, Gao Hai suggested.
As Yang Fan mentioned, transferring seemed to be the only option.
Seeing Yang Fan's guilty face, Lin Feng was somewhat surprised; he hadn't expected the big mouth, whom his classmates didn't rate highly, to still possess a conscience.
Jiangxin First Middle School's tuition was only around five thousand a year, so Yang Fan's twenty thousand was a considerable amount, enough for the transfer including meal expenses.
Though unsure about this guy's background, he was likely someone who wasn't short on money.
"Transferring won't help. Besides, even if I transfer, do you think Mo Xun won't trouble me?" Lin Feng directly refuted, "If he really wants trouble, he can just block my house entrance after school."
A young master like Mo Xun had many friends; even if Lin Feng transferred, it wouldn't guarantee anything.
Only by making them cautious could this matter be resolved.
"Then what should we do?" Gao Hai asked anxiously, preferring to offend teachers rather than Mo Xun, as it meant endless trouble.
That Teacher Zhang was clearly intimidated by Lin Feng; adults with families have reservations, preventing them from taking things too far.
"What else? Fight them," Lin Feng said.
Gao Hai was speechless: "Brother Feng, even if you're strong, can you fight one, can you fight ten?"
Yang Fan also agreed: "Lin Feng, don't be impulsive; every member of the Elite Martial Arts Club is from a wealthy family, and they play dirty."
Both continued urging, but saw Lin Feng smile lightly: "No worries, we'll form our own Martial Arts Club."
"Our own Martial Arts Club?"
Yang Fan looked baffled.
With only three months until the college entrance exams, everyone was giving their all; who has time to join a Martial Arts Club and waste time, unless there's a benefit.
Even then, without a background, no matter how strong you are, you can't compete against the people from the Elite Martial Arts Club.
Background intimidation in Jiangxin First Middle School often prevails over skill.
Unless you are a top-level talent, capable of entering the Three Heroic Joint School, you won't receive attention and protection from the school.
"I didn't want to say anything initially, but now that I've broken up with Song of Solomon, there's no need to hide!"
"Hide what?" Gao Hai asked with a puzzled expression.
"Actually, I didn't fail on Awakening Day, I could've refined a Ninth Grade Demon Spirit."
"What?"
Yang Fan and Gao Hai trembled, stunned as if a thunder had struck above their heads.
They couldn't believe their ears. They exchanged glances, seeing shock in each other's eyes, wanting to speak but not knowing what to say at the moment.
After a long silence, Gao Hai was incredulous: "Brother Feng, don't scare me, I'm too timid for that."
"I know you find it hard to believe. I was about to refine the Ninth Grade Purple Qilin but gave up in the end," Lin Feng offered a white lie to boost their confidence in forming the Martial Arts Club.
"Why'd you give up?" Gao Hai quickly inquired, his expression somewhat frantic.
Ninth Grade Purple Qilin!
Around five thousand people participated in Awakening Day at Jiangxin First Middle School, only two refined Eighth Grade Demon Spirits, thus cherished by school leaders like treasures. It wasn't just about caring and warmth; there was plenty of resource subsidies.
No one at Jiangxin First Middle School had refined a Ninth Grade Demon Spirit during Awakening Day—except the Elite Martial Arts Club president, who succeeded through family-provided Demon Spirit and support.
The preciousness of the Ninth Grade Demon Spirit is imaginable. The Ninth Grade Purple Qilin, a Thunder Attribute Demon Spirit, in terms of combat power, is undoubtedly top-level within the Ninth Grade.
If Lin Feng had refined the Purple Qilin, given his Body Cultivator Seventh Rank strength, with effort to improve physique scores, getting into the Hero Academy wouldn't be an issue, perhaps even getting directly recruited without needing entrance exams.
But why did he give up?
Gao Hai clenched his fists, his chubby face flushed with excitement and anger.
"Lin Feng, why did you give up?"
Yang Fan voiced the doubt lingering in Gao Hai's mind, after the initial shock came skepticism.
No choice but to suspect.
Ninth Grade Purple Qilin—it's unlikely anyone would willingly give up.
Only one possibility...
Unless he could refine an even higher-grade Demon Spirit.
But could this be true?
"Could it be a refinement failure?" Yang Fan pondered.
On Awakening Day, many students lacked a clear understanding of their Soul Power quantity.
For instance, some might possess Soul Power sufficient to refine Seventh Grade Demon Spirits but unrealistically attempt Eighth Grade, naturally resulting in failure. Consequently, their inner Soul Power gets nearly depleted, leaving them unable to refine other Demon Spirits, ultimately leading to Awakening failure.
While possible, such cases are rare, with most making accurate assessments.
Moreover, Awakening Day occurs only once a year. Except for wealthy students, most from average backgrounds opt for caution, choosing Demon Spirit refinement with an eighty-ninety percent success rate before attempting.
There are indeed many who opt to refine Sixth Grade when they could refine Seventh Grade Demon Spirits for conservatism's sake.
Even with Lin Feng's claim, should he fail, his Soul Power talent is strong; falling short of Ninth Grade, Eighth Grade would still likely be within reach.
"Brother Feng, say something!" Gao Hai desperately urged.
"It's just a Ninth Grade Demon Spirit," Lin Feng responded blandly, to which Gao Hai thought little, yet Yang Fan trembled all over.
Could it be...