Chapter 92: The Principal Takes the Field, Part Two

Having earned the schoolmaster’s personal favor, he was, whether he admitted it or not, already counted among the people aligned with Principal Lance. It was only natural that the man should protect him, and that spared Leap from having to settle the matter himself. At present, the principal was the rising tide; without any deliberate show of force, he had already seized the advantage. In a single sentence, he had shattered every conspiracy. Had Leap relied on himself alone to reach this point, he would likely have had to fight through several bloody clashes.

And yet, why would the principal protect a trivial figure like Zhang Lang? More to the point, why did that smile of his seem to carry a hint of intrigue?

“Kid, Zhang Lang’s true background is something that will absolutely astonish you in the future, hahahaha. If you can make it to the end, he will become a formidable opponent for you. Having an enemy with such astonishing potential will, I’m sure, spur you to work even harder. What I needed to do is already done; from here on, it all depends on you. Xie Bao Ming will emerge from seclusion next year. What realm he will reach by then, no one dares predict. But when he entered retreat, he was only one step away from becoming a one-star martial warrior.”

The principal’s voice transmission was indeed miraculous; no one but Leap could hear it.

Leap could not help blurting out a curse: “Damn it, this is ridiculous!”

He had spoken out of jealousy toward Xie Bao, but in the ears of the people around him, it sounded like an open protest against the principal. Instantly, everyone was stunned. This kid was truly being far too ungrateful! The principal had gone so far as to protect him, and he still was not satisfied. Perhaps this was the first eccentric in the history of the noble academy who dared confront the principal so brazenly face to face.

Some cheered Leap’s youthful recklessness and bold, hot-blooded spirit; some pitied his rashness. Naturally, others sneered at him: so impulsive, so unable to judge the moment, so lacking in restraint—he would never amount to much and was not worth fearing. After the two-month deadline passed, he could be killed at will!

Principal Lance went dark at the edges. This brat really showed him no face at all. But under the present circumstances, punishment was clearly inappropriate; after all, he was one of his own.

“Kid, you must keep the fact that you can refine medicines absolutely secret. Just now, I had the area covered with my spiritual power, which is why the fact that you used pills in battle was not exposed. From now on, you must be even more careful. I’m leaving.”

The principal did not care in the slightest. He cast a cool glance around, then seized Zhang Lang with one hand, and the two of them vanished in broad daylight. Everyone who witnessed it for the first time could not help shivering, and no one dared question the principal’s authority again.

Leap muttered in bafflement, “No wonder I kept feeling a powerful force enveloping the villa just now. So it was you, old fox. Damn it, you waited until I had finally taken control of the situation before showing yourself, then even rescued my enemy and left me a ticking bomb. Are you helping me or screwing me over?”

In an instant, whatever good feelings he had initially held toward the principal vanished without a trace.

Once the principal left, Lan Bo’s bodily functions seemed only then to begin recovering. He flexed his stiff limbs, jogged over to Wu Mei Tian, and asked with concern, “Sister Mei, are you all right?”

Wu Mei Tian’s delicate brows drew together. She had originally wanted to chide him coquettishly, but seeing the sincerity in Lan Bo’s eyes, her heart inexplicably softened. She said, “I’m fine. Go check on Leap first. He seems badly hurt.”

Lan Bo replied unconcernedly, “Boss is like a cockroach that can’t be killed. This little bit of injury is nothing. It’s you, Sister Mei—having fallen into those fiends’ hands for so long, you must have been terrified. I was really worried about you.”

Leap’s face darkened. “Cut the nonsense. Hurry up and help me. Even the principal said I was badly hurt.”

He deliberately emphasized the words badly hurt. Outside the villa, it went without saying that all sides had gathered, eager to find out the truth about him. If, the moment the principal left, he became lively and vigorous, would that not be a direct slap to the principal’s face? If such a thing reached the ears of the proud, image-conscious principal, who knew how he might deal with him?

Wu Mei Tian was still deeply grateful to Leap. If he had not made such a huge scene, what would have become of her was easy enough to imagine. If she had truly endured that kind of ordeal, could she still have lived on?

So Leap’s lifesaving kindness was genuine beyond question, and in some ways even more profound than a direct rescue. After all, for a traditional and conservative woman, falling into such a situation was more horrifying than death itself at least that was how Wu Mei Tian saw it.

Lan Bo let out an awkward laugh and hurriedly moved to Leap’s side like a fool, blinking as he said, “Boss, your acting is so good you could win Best Actor. I’m truly impressed.”

“Best actor my foot. I’m seriously wounded. Several ribs are broken. Hurry up and help me stand. A place of trouble like this is not somewhere we can linger. If some fool with a death wish comes charging over to provoke me, then I’m finished.”

Leap spat the words out irritably, fresh blood spilling once more from the corner of his mouth. Zhang Lang’s desperate strike, combined with a secret technique, had made that moment almost a kill-or-be-killed trap. For Leap to survive by instinct was already lucky; how could he possibly come through unscathed?

He estimated that this time he was hurt quite badly indeed. Though not to the extent the principal had mentioned, requiring two months of recovery, it certainly was not something he could mend in three or five days. Fortunately, with the aid of his pills, that time could be cut by more than half.

Lan Bo was shocked and quickly crouched down. “Sorry, I thought Boss was only pretending to fool those idiots outside.”

“You... you’re just going to walk away like that?” Zhang Ba, still not fully recovered from his fright, actually asked something so brainless at that moment that he instantly drew all the hatred onto himself. A fierce glint even flashed in Lan Bo’s eyes. “You damn scum, you’re as stupid as that idiot Xie Run Si. You dared lay a hand on my sweetheart—I’ll beat the hell out of you, you fool.”

When Lan Bo thought of how this bastard had used Wu Mei Tian to threaten him, he wanted nothing more than to stab him to death. There was no more courtesy to be had. He simply abandoned Leap, the injured man, rushed forward, and unleashed a storm of fists and kicks upon Zhang Ba. During this recent period, Lan Bo had developed considerable skill in teaching these noble brats a lesson, and his strikes were astonishingly smooth.

The moment Zhang Ba opened his mouth, he regretted it to the bone. The others had already left; why had he been so brainless as to speak out of turn? Now he had pleased no one, and the proper course was to flee the Blue Star as soon as possible!

He did not dare fight back at all, since there was still that female bodyguard nearby, glaring at him with deep-seated resentment.

Lan Bo fought like a thug, using every trick at his disposal. Zhang Ba’s screams were almost as shrill as Principal Lance’s earlier declaration. The noble youths outside the villa were so frightened that a chill ran through them. It was as though the one being beaten were themselves. Silently, they warned themselves never to provoke this little blond boy lightly again. The gentle manner he had shown before was probably all an act; cruelty and savagery were his true nature!

Only when Zhang Ba’s face had swollen into the likeness of a pig’s head, to the point that even those most familiar with him would likely fail to recognize him, did Lan Bo finally stop, still displeased. He warned coldly, “You heard what the principal said earlier. If I see you again in Central China City in the future, I’ll wipe you out on the spot.”

Zhang Ba could only wheeze and groan like a hog waiting for slaughter, where was he still able to say anything at all?