'Huh! The schoolwork seems easier to understand. Did I get smarter?'
The next day at school, Shu Feng clearly felt that the various subjects he had once found so difficult were now much easier to understand.
Shu Feng thought gleefully, 'It must be because my Intelligence Attribute increased!'
Every morning, the first thing Shu Feng did upon waking was check his stats.
After practicing the Thirteen Forms Body Forging Technique for a few days, his physical stats had already improved by a large margin.
"Shu Feng."
"Power: 7.1, agility: 8.2, Defense: 7.3, Constitution: 8.2, Intelligence: 10.6, Spirit: 8.7."
Shu Feng looked at his Attributes, a slight smile touching his lips. 'My physical stats are still a far cry from a normal adult's, but as long as I keep training, I'll become much stronger.'
Ever since awakening his Spiritual Ability, Shu Feng felt himself growing stronger with each passing day. His life was now filled with hope and the motivation to keep striving.
After school that afternoon, Ding Xiaoxue had something to do, so Shu Feng walked home alone.
"Shu Feng, you stop right there!"
Shortly after Shu Feng left campus, three figures approached him. At their head was none other than Xu Gang and his crew.
"Shu Feng, why don't you come take a walk with us by the river?"
The handsome, nearly six-foot-tall Xu Gang stepped in front of Shu Feng and gave a cold smile.
Wang Mo and Zhou Changfeng moved forward, positioning themselves to block Shu Feng's escape.
"Alright!"
Shu Feng said calmly, glancing at Big Black, who was quietly following by his side.
'That's Xu Gang and Shu Feng! Where are they going?'
A pretty girl with a single ponytail saw Shu Feng's group of four walking toward the river from a distance. She was wearing a white shirt and black trousers. Her features were delicate, and she had a heroic air about her. Watching them go, her delicate brows furrowed slightly.
The pretty girl's name was Zhuo Qianlei, the belle of Class 57 in Lei Jiang Third Middle School's third year. Her father was a police captain, and she had possessed a strong sense of justice since childhood. She was one of Ding Xiaoxue's few friends and had met Shu Feng on several occasions.
'Are those three going to bully Shu Feng? No way. I can't let them bully Xiaoxue's friend!'
Zhuo Qianlei's delicate brows rose, and she followed after them.
The Lei Jiang River runs through Lei Jiang City. A grassy bank along the river was a secluded spot, a common place for delinquent students from nearby schools to fight and bully others.
A cold glint flashed in Xu Gang's eyes as he threatened icily, "Shu Feng, I've warned you! Trash like you doesn't deserve to be near Ding Xiaoxue. Stay away from her! Understand?"
"Brother Gang, why waste your breath on a guy like him? Let's just beat him up, and he'll get the message!"
A vicious, cruel light flashed in Wang Mo's eyes. He eagerly stepped forward and swung a hard slap straight at Shu Feng's face.
As Xu Gang's lackey, Wang Mo was even more jealous than Xu Gang of Shu Feng's friendship with Ding Xiaoxue. He believed his family background was far superior to Shu Feng's, so the fact that Ding Xiaoxue was friends with a 'pauper,' as he saw him, filled his already twisted mind with envy.
SLAP!
Shu Feng's left hand shot up to block, knocking Wang Mo's arm aside. With his right, he delivered a vicious backhand slap across Wang Mo's face, which immediately flushed red. He followed through with a hard kick to Wang Mo's stomach.
Wang Mo clutched his stomach, writhing in agony on the ground.
Shu Feng said icily, "Xu Gang, I've put up with your crap for a long time. If you hadn't come looking for trouble today, I wouldn't have bothered with a moron like you. It's Ding Xiaoxue's freedom to be friends with whomever she wants, and it's my freedom, too! What right do you have to interfere? Who the hell do you think you are?"
Xu Gang roared, enraged, "You dare talk back to me! You poor bastard, you actually dare talk back to me? You're not as good-looking, as smart, as athletic, or as well-off as I am! You're a worthless piece of trash, what gives you the right to challenge me? Changfeng, get him! Beat him so bad his own mother won't recognize him!"
Zhou Changfeng grinned viciously and strode toward Shu Feng. At nearly six feet tall, he was the biggest guy in Class 53 of Lei Jiang Third Middle School's third year. He was also a formidable fighter and Xu Gang's top enforcer.
With an icy gaze, Shu Feng took the initiative, lunging forward and aiming a hard kick at Zhou Changfeng.
"Idiot!"
Zhou Changfeng was an experienced fighter. A look of contempt flashed in his eyes as he reached out to grab Shu Feng's foot.
At that exact moment, Big Black slammed hard into Zhou Changfeng's side.
'What was that?'
Zhou Changfeng felt a sharp pain in his side, as if he'd been slammed by a bicycle, and he tumbled to the ground.
'Shu Feng actually beat Zhou Changfeng? How is that possible? Zhou Changfeng is the best fighter in all of Lei Jiang Third Middle School! How could he lose to Shu Feng?'
Xu Gang stared, dumbfounded, his body trembling. A flicker of fear appeared in his eyes as he watched Shu Feng approach, one step at a time.
With his privileged background and Zhou Changfeng as his personal enforcer, Xu Gang had always been insufferably arrogant. He was used to being the one dishing out beatings. Now, with his greatest asset, Zhou Changfeng, defeated on the ground, he was suddenly filled with terror.
SLAP!
Shu Feng slapped Xu Gang hard across the face, leaving a bright red handprint.
"You hit me! Shu Feng, you actually dared to hit me! I'll kill you!"
The moment Xu Gang moved, Big Black instantly slammed a vicious headbutt into his side, knocking him to the ground.
Shu Feng seized the opportunity to kick Xu Gang hard in the gut. "Xu Gang, you piece of trash! I've had to put up with you for so long! This feels great!"
Xu Gang immediately clutched his stomach.
Wang Mo stealthily scrambled up from the ground and lunged at Shu Feng.
Big Black met him with a hard headbutt to the stomach.
'What's happening!'
Wang Mo felt as if he'd been punched hard in the gut. He clutched his stomach and writhed on the ground, twitching in pain.
"Stop! Xu Gang, I've already told the teachers...!"
Zhuo Qianlei shouted as she appeared, then froze in surprise.
'What's going on? Isn't Shu Feng supposed to be the one getting bullied by Xu Gang's group? How did it turn into him bullying the three of them?'
With Big Black, a Void Demon invisible to mortals, at his side, Shu Feng was already in an invincible position. He charged forward and gave Xu Gang's trio a sound beating.
When Zhuo Qianlei saw Shu Feng pummeling the three of them, she immediately shouted, "Stop! Shu Feng, don't hit them anymore! If you don't stop, I'm telling the teachers!"
Only then did Shu Feng stop. He yelled, "Scram! If you ever come looking for trouble again, I won't be this merciful."
Xu Gang and his two lackeys scrambled up from the ground and shuffled away, looking utterly pathetic.