Chapter 102: Do Not Poke the Tiger’s Tail

When Lin Xiao came to the capital’s spirit martial academy, he had originally thought that for this world tournament, it would be enough simply to take part. He would do his utmost to achieve the best possible placing.

He had never imagined that he would not even qualify to compete.

“I understand, Brother Chu. I’ll try my best.”

“Good. I kept you here today just to tell you this. There’s nothing else. You can head back now.”

Lin Xiao left with a heavy heart. No matter what, he was determined to take part in the world tournament. If he still could not meet the requirements, he could already imagine what would be waiting for him when he returned to the nursing home.

Beyond that, he himself did not want to disappoint the elderly residents there. He had long since come to regard them as family, and in the two lives he had lived, that had given him the feeling of having a home.

Not wanting to let those old folks down, Lin Xiao felt that he could not continue drifting aimlessly any longer. It seemed he would have to cultivate in earnest. And besides cultivation, he would need to try other methods as well.

As for the military’s recommendation, he had given up on that. That left him only one path.

Become a rank-B mercenary.

Lin Xiao knew nothing about the mercenary system. It seemed that when he had time, he would need to learn more about it and see whether there was any way to raise his mercenary rank quickly.

After Lin Xiao left, Chu Wentian still stood there, staring blankly after his retreating figure.

In truth, his decision to speak with Lin Xiao this time had not been made lightly. He knew that Lin Xiao’s real combat power far exceeded his rank, and for this world tournament he had originally planned to let Lin Xiao participate. At the very least, he would have secured him a reserve spot.

The reason he had spoken to Lin Xiao in such a way was that an old brother of his had told him Lin Xiao was rather lax by nature. If no one pushed him forward, he would surely lie down and settle where he stood.

That was the main reason Chu Wentian had sought him out.

He still needed to give that boy a little stimulation.

Now that his purpose had been achieved, how far Lin Xiao could grow from here would depend on himself.

Lin Xiao knew nothing of all this. If he had known that Chu Wentian’s purpose was exactly that, he absolutely would not have exerted himself.

At present, he was walking back to his dormitory.

Perhaps because the term had not officially begun yet, the university still seemed somewhat quiet. Only on the athletic field were a few couples strolling around.

The capital’s spirit martial academy was vast, so vast that walking from the teaching buildings to the dormitories took more than ten minutes.

Lin Xiao even wondered whether he ought to buy a bicycle.

Never mind, that would be a waste of money. Walking was fine; he could treat it as exercise.

The journey took more than ten minutes, and there was almost no one on the road.

If not for the streetlamps shining brightly, it would have been rather eerie.

Lin Xiao was still thinking about how he might obtain a spot in the world tournament, his steps moving mechanically, when he failed to notice that not far away, a pair of eyes was staring at him with malice.

Luo Yao had been holding in a bellyful of anger ever since Lin Xiao had provoked her several times.

If the one in control of this body at the moment had been her primary personality, she might have let it go. But the one in control now was her second personality, and the name of witch that Luo Yao carried had all been built by this second self.

In the past, she had always been the one bullying others. Now that she had suffered a loss at Lin Xiao’s hands, she was certainly going to get it back.

Thus, unable to swallow her anger, Luo Yao had hidden herself directly along the only path Lin Xiao had to take on his way back to the dormitory.

Today, she was going to make this guy pay!

She had already made up her mind: she would smash him unconscious with a club, strip him naked, and tie him to a lamppost!

She would make him understand the price of offending her.

Don’t blame me. Who told you to keep staring at me with such a lecherous look? There aren’t many people here, but someone will eventually pass by. By then, someone will rescue him, so it will only count as a small punishment for him.

The script was already written; all that remained was to wait for the fish to take the bait.

And at last, Luo Yao saw Lin Xiao’s figure. Her lips curled, and she picked up the thick branch she had prepared long ago before slipping directly into the shadows.

Her movements were incomparably practiced. Clearly, this was not her first offense.

Lin Xiao could not help sneezing at that moment, and for some reason he felt a chill along the back of his neck.

He rubbed his nose, a little bewildered.

“Have I caught a cold? Impossible. It must be that the sisters at the nursing home miss me. For those sisters, I have to work hard too!”

Forget it. Thinking about it now was useless. He should head back to the dormitory first.

Casting aside the jumbled thoughts in his mind, Lin Xiao felt his steps grow lighter.

Step by step, he approached the place where Luo Yao was hiding.

He did not notice Luo Yao’s presence at all, nor would he have imagined that in the capital’s spirit martial academy, someone would be lying in wait to ambush him.

Soon he passed the shadow where Luo Yao was concealed. The moment Lin Xiao moved beyond it, Luo Yao flashed out from the darkness, the branch in her hand striking straight toward the back of his neck.

She did not fear injuring him. When it came to knocking someone out with a sneak attack, she was a professional.

She knew exactly how to render a person unconscious quickly without leaving any aftereffects.

Watching the branch draw nearer and nearer to Lin Xiao’s neck, the smile on Luo Yao’s face grew ever brighter.

She knew she had succeeded!

At first, Lin Xiao really had not noticed Luo Yao’s presence, but that did not mean she could land the blow.

The instant Luo Yao emerged and moved to strike him, Lin Xiao sensed danger.

“There’s killing intent!”

In the nursing home, the training he received was varied, and reflexes were an indispensable part of it. The training itself was simple: the elders would suppress their cultivation and could launch surprise attacks on him at any moment, anywhere.

At the beginning, Lin Xiao was beaten black and blue. Gradually, however, he came to sense the existence of killing intent.

Those were hard lessons bought with blood. The moment he felt that killing intent, his muscle memory was awakened.

He twisted aside to evade the branch and turned to strike out with a palm in one fluid motion.

Lin Xiao poured all his strength into that strike. It was a habit formed in the nursing home: which of those elders was not someone he could only look up to? Even if he used all his strength, he still would not be able to harm them in the slightest.

Luo Yao had never expected her all-too-reliable club attack to miss. For a moment she did not react in time, only able to watch Lin Xiao’s hand draw closer and closer to her chest.

Only then did Lin Xiao finally see clearly that the one who had ambushed him was Luo Yao.

By now it was too late to draw his hand back, so he could only reduce the force in his palm.

In the end, his hand still brushed that soft warmth.

So big. So springy.

Watching Luo Yao’s expression shift from the delight of a successful strike to shock, and then from shock to fury, Lin Xiao knew at once that things were bad. Now was not the time to savor the sensation. He leaped back repeatedly at once, quickly opening the distance between them.

Before Luo Yao could even speak, Lin Xiao struck first.

“Luo Yao, a mighty rank-four expert resorting to a sneak attack? Are you really that lacking in confidence?”

Luo Yao was livid. Yes, she had attacked by surprise, but this guy didn’t even mention the fact that he had groped her chest!

“Damn it. I only meant to teach you a lesson, but now the nature of things has changed. I’m going to make you understand that a tiger’s backside cannot be touched.”

“Don’t talk nonsense. I’ll sue you for defamation! I didn’t touch your backside!”

Luo Yao:...

This guy really knew how to poke at the sore spot.