Chapter Thirteen: Fury

Time slipped by quietly, and it was already noon when Nangong Yuchen finally opened his eyes, awakening from sleep. Still groggy, he stretched languidly on the bed and muttered to himself, “That was comfortable!”

He felt as if his body had suddenly become lighter, his strength significantly increased. Before he could carefully examine the changes within, the sunlight streaming through the window shone directly on his face. “So bright…” he murmured, squinting.

He hadn’t finished his sentence before he abruptly sat up, found his phone by the bedside, and switched it on.

“12:25!”

There were 28 missed calls—27 from Le Han, and one from his homeroom teacher, Shangguan Luohua!

“This is bad, really bad! The fourth assessment was this morning. I actually missed it? This time, the homeroom teacher will never let me off!” Nangong Yuchen scrambled out of bed in a panic. But as soon as he took two steps, he walked straight into the wall!

“I…” There was no time to dwell on it. Right now, all he wanted was to hurry to school. He vividly remembered how that tigress Shangguan Luohua had punished him devilishly during the second and third assessments. Each time, not only was he beaten black and blue, barely clinging to life, but even the classroom and half the playground’s cleaning duties for a fortnight were dumped on him. It was sheer misery!

He twisted open his bedroom door to head for the bathroom, but with a loud crack, the entire door came off its hinges in his hand.

“I…” Nangong Yuchen’s face darkened completely.

He washed his face, brushed his teeth, tidied his hair, and then dashed out the door. What usually took at least fifteen minutes was done in just three.

He hurried all the way to Star Academy, arriving at 1:55 p.m. The empty campus only made him more anxious.

Had all the classes already finished the assessment?

He never imagined that he would end up missing the fourth assessment by being late! Was last night’s nutrient solution wasted? He had planned to use this assessment to prove himself, but now…

Dejectedly, he dug out his phone and called Le Han.

There was no answer. He hung up and dialed again, but still, no one picked up. With no other choice, Nangong Yuchen made his way to the classroom, hoping for a stroke of luck—maybe the assessment wasn’t over yet?

Though the evidence was plain, he clung to a sliver of hope as he entered the academic building.

He hurried to his own classroom in the deserted first-year building, just to check.

No one. Just as he feared.

“So, there’s really no chance… I was sure I’d pass this assessment…” Nangong Yuchen felt a pang of disappointment. He could clearly sense the changes within himself; last night’s nearly full bottle of nutrient solution hadn’t gone to waste. But who could have predicted he’d black out and miss the assessment again…

With a sigh, he pulled out his phone, found his homeroom teacher’s number, and was about to call.

Just then, footsteps echoed crisply down the corridor.

Nangong Yuchen paused, listening to the voices outside.

“Sigh! Le Han is really unlucky. Of all people, why provoke Lu Ling? Now look at him!”

“Yeah, with injuries that serious, there’s no way he could finish the assessment! If it hadn’t happened, with his decent physical reflexes, after next month’s fifth assessment, he might have had a shot at qualifying as an elite student!”

“If you ask me, if it weren’t for that useless Nangong Yuchen, Le Han wouldn’t have gotten into trouble with Lu Ling at all!”

“That’s enough—let’s hurry to the testing hall. I wonder how our class is doing in the assessment!”

“Le Han’s in trouble?” Hearing this, Nangong Yuchen’s expression changed. He rushed out after them.

He recognized the side profiles of the two boys as his classmates, which only heightened his anxiety. He called out in a hurry, “Tan Jian, what happened to Le Han?”

The boy named Tan Jian turned with his companion. Seeing Nangong Yuchen, a sudden anger flared in his heart. Le Han’s injury had nothing to do with them, but after the homeroom teacher took him to the infirmary, they were ordered to stay and watch over Le Han until he woke. Now, they had no idea how the class assessment was going, so Tan Jian’s tone was anything but friendly as he snapped, “Your good buddy almost died because of you—go check on him in the infirmary!”

“What?” Nangong Yuchen broke into a run, heading for the infirmary at the other end of the academy.

Ten minutes later, out of breath, he burst into the infirmary and asked the white-coated male doctor, “Doctor, how is Le Han?”

“In that ward over there, go see for yourself,” the doctor replied, busy with his work.

Nangong Yuchen, nerves taut, pushed open the door to the left. He was terrified that Le Han might…

The door opened.

On the white hospital bed, a chubby boy lay quietly, his head and arms wrapped in bandages. The only eye visible gazed blankly at the phone on the bedside table.

Hearing the door open, he struggled to turn his head towards the entrance.

“Nangong!”

“Le Han!”

They called each other’s names in unison, but their expressions were starkly different.

“Nangong… you’re here,” Le Han forced a stiff smile, suppressing the pain.

“Le Han… you… I…” Seeing Le Han still smeared with blood, Nangong Yuchen’s eyes reddened instantly. He trembled, guilt-ridden and worried: “I’m sorry! It’s all my fault…”

His chest felt tight with remorse. Who would have thought that in just half a day, his best friend would be gravely injured because of him!

Seeing this, Le Han tried to change the subject with a smile. “Don’t worry, Nangong, I’m fine—just a bit banged up!” Then he suddenly remembered Nangong Yuchen’s lateness that morning and asked with concern, “Did you make it to the assessment?”

Nangong Yuchen didn’t answer right away. After a few seconds of silence, he suddenly asked, “Was it Lu Ling?”

“…No!” Le Han didn’t want Nangong to get hurt again. He knew neither of them was a match for Lu Ling.

“Don’t worry, Le Han. I’ll come see you again later.” How could Nangong Yuchen not understand his friend’s concern? He turned and ran out, fury blazing in his heart, his mind filled with one thought—Lu Ling!

“Nangong, wait!”

“Don’t worry, Le Han. I really have changed!” Nangong Yuchen had expected more words of caution, but Le Han’s next words stopped him cold.

“Sorry, Nangong. I can’t fight by your side this time.”

Tears welled up in Le Han’s eyes. He knew Nangong’s nature and that he couldn’t stop him, but he hated Lu Ling just as much. Trembling, he said, “Nangong, that bastard Lu Ling destroyed my hopes of becoming an elite student. So go—but help me settle the score as well!”

In that aggrieved voice was a deep, unshakable trust in Nangong Yuchen, exploding forth in that moment.

Nangong Yuchen’s heart trembled violently. He glanced back at Le Han lying in the hospital bed, then turned and sprinted out.

“Lu Ling! This time… I will destroy you!”

…

Because Star Academy’s first-year cohort was divided into twelve classes, the testing hall was split into four sections:

Testing Hall 1, Testing Hall 2, Testing Hall 3, and Testing Hall 4.

Each hall could accommodate three classes at a time.

In Hall 4, only Class 12 and their teachers, Shangguan Luohua and Liu Wen, remained for their assessment.

At that moment, Liu Wen called out loudly, “Next, Lu Ling!”

Lu Ling stepped to the front of the line. Eyeing the strength testing machine five meters away, a confident grin split his face. He accelerated in a forward rush, drew back his fist, and unleashed a powerful punch.

“Bang! 225 kilograms!”

Seeing the result of his first punch, Lu Ling’s grin widened. He followed with a second and third punch.

“Bang! 220 kilograms!”

“Bang! 231 kilograms!”

“Lu Ling: 225, 220, 231. Average power: 225 kilograms! Excellent!” Liu Wen announced the vivid red numbers by the machine.

“No wonder he’s called Brother Lu—in terms of strength, he’s definitely first in our class!”

“Yeah, it won’t be long before he breaks through to the first tier and becomes a true mecha warrior! I bet he’s guaranteed a spot as an elite student this time, too!”

Beside the line, Shangguan Luohua watched the smug and arrogant Lu Ling, nodding to herself. Although Lu Ling had repeatedly broken school rules and even assaulted a classmate just that morning, his physical prowess and talent were undeniably top-tier in the class.

“Next, An—” Liu Wen glanced at the list of students, but was interrupted by a commotion at the door.

“Bang!”

With a deafening crash, the door of the testing hall burst open. Everyone turned in shock to see the missing Nangong Yuchen—he had arrived!

His face flushed with rage, he strode swiftly forward. In the blink of an eye, he was at the front of the line, charging straight at Lu Ling, who had just stepped down from the platform, and hurled a devastating punch at him.

“Lu Ling, die!”