109 Chapter 108: Two Dragons (1/2)

”Oh, have you heard?”

”Yeah, Li Chun Long got disqualified.”

”Doesn't that mean Fei Wu automatically progresses to the final?”

”Aw…how disappointing.”

”Yeah, if Li Chun Long didn't get disqualified, there's no way Fei Wu would get to the final.”

”He's too weak.”

”He doesn't deserve it.”

As I expected, those were the words floating on everyone's lips as they conversed animatedly on the day before the semifinal between Zhu Jiao and Bai Ning Xue. As Bai Ning Xue was proven to not have a hand in the matchfixing or assault on Zhu Jiao, she wasn't disqualified. Everyone was eagerly anticipating that match.

In fact, most people thought that should be the true final. I was just a side character, an insignificant and unimportant participant who should have been eliminated long ago. I clearly wasn't as strong as Li Chun Long.

”That Fei Wu…he only got into the final because of luck.”

”Man! I wish I was as lucky as him!”

Bloody bastards. They seemed to have completely forgotten that I had defeated Wu Hei Gui and Wu Xing to graduate top of my group, and beat both Kuang Hu and Feng Tian Yong on my way to the semifinal. Evidently their envy had clouded their rational thinking, otherwise they wouldn't be spouting such nonsense.

Fortunately, I had already expected that, which was why I had challenged Li Chun Long to an official match. Unfortunately, news of that challenge seemed to have filtered slower than Li Chun Long's disqualification and the student council's scandal. No one seemed to be talking about it yet. And obviously I wasn't thick-skinned enough to go telling everyone about it.

Luckily, I had friends who could do that to me.

”Hey, Wu!”

Tong Xue showed up and smacked me across the back. I almost fell forward, but thanks to my footwork mastery, I kept my balance somehow. Wincing and rubbing my back, I turned to give my cheerful classmate a glare.

”What's up?”

”How is your preparation? Are you ready to take on Li Chun Long today? Even though you said you don't have a concrete plan in mind…”

”I just plan to show up and do my best,” I replied, echoing Zhu Jiao yesterday with a straight face. Tong Xue tried not to laugh.

”Well, good luck!”

”What's going on?”

”Eh? Wasn't Li Chun Long automatically disqualified?”

”Why are they still fighting?”

The students in the vicinity couldn't help but be curious when they overheard my conversation with Tong Xue.

”Oh, you guys didn't hear?”

Finally, those with a little more information – no doubt those who patrolled the online forums and school social media to scrounge up on news – showed up and began chatting excitedly as they joined their ignorant friends.

”Fei Wu challenged Li Chun Long in an official match. He said he didn't want to win like this, and promised to forfeit the final if he lost.”

”Oh…so he does have some backbone after all.”

”I thought he was pretty shameless, showing up for class after all that, but I was wrong…”

Hey! Who the hell was shameless!? What was with these bastards, going off and thinking whatever nonsense they liked?!

Suppressing my annoyance, I ignored the pointless chatter and continued toward the classroom. Even though the official match was today, and there were other ranking matches for those students who were already eliminated from the tournament, classes continued as usual. Nothing short of a Minnesota blizzard was going to stop the academy from operating as usual.

”Are you sure about this, Wu?” Tang Qi Hong asked, concerned, when she and Lian Rou met us on our way to the classroom. ”You know you don't have to do this, right? You aren't obligated to prove anything.”

I smiled at her. ”Oh, but I do. I want to prove to myself that I can fight on par with a member of the student council. I want to prove not just to everyone, but to myself that I'm not inferior to those elites on the student council.”

”You've already defeated Feng Tian Yong,” Ban Zhang pointed out when he showed up from nowhere. Apparently he had been listening in on our conversation from the beginning. ”You've already proven that you're on par with a member of the student council.”

”Li Chun Long is stronger than Feng Tian Yong, isn't he?” I pointed out. ”Tian Yong is faster, though. But one victory can be considered a fluke. However, if I beat two student council members, then no one can claim it's solely my luck.”

”I don't think it's solely your luck,” Tang Qi Hong insisted. I smiled gratefully at her.

”Yeah, and I'm thankful for that. However, I want to prove to myself that it's not luck. Think of it as something necessary for me to build on my self-esteem and confidence. That I can pull off such an achievement not once but twice.”

She hesitated, and then sighed.

”Well, you had better win then. I won't forgive you if you lose to a bastard like Li Chun Long.”

”Yeah. I don't want to lose to him either.” I nodded firmly and clenched my fists, recalling our last exchange. Back then, Li Chun Long surely held the upper hand, and it infuriated me. I needed to exorcize that specter of defeat still lingering over my head. The match hadn't ended yet, and I was a little tired out from fighting Li Guo Qiang and Xin Lai.

Speaking of which, I actually defeated both Li Guo Qiang and Xin Lai, so technically I had already proven to myself that I was at least on par, if not stronger than a few members on the student council. But I kept that truth from my friends. It wasn't because I was afraid that they would disapprove of my decision if my motivation was revenge rather than building self-confidence. I just couldn't be bothered to deliver a complex, lengthy explanation of what really happened back then, during that night. It would take too much time and effort.

”Hmph.”

Li Chun Long was already in class when we entered. He glanced at me, a sneer curling his lips. At least he wasn't throwing the usual, cliché lines of ”you're a hundred years too early to fight me” or calling me trash who didn't know my place. That would be cheesy and plain ridiculous. As arrogant as Li Chun Long was, he wasn't an evil guy at heart. He was just a little misguided and allowed his feelings for Qing Xin Xia to cloud his judgement.

The aforementioned Qing Xin Xia was squirming visibly in her seat, especially when her senior had come over, presumably to talk to her. She glanced up at us, and looked a little disappointed when she saw that Zhu Jiao wasn't with us.

That guy would only be here at the last minute. He was perpetually late. I could hardly recall a time when he was early. That wasn't to say he was never early, but the few times he was marked those moments as unusual.

I tore my glance away from the Green Dragon Sect disciples – a couple of others having gathered around Qing Xin Xia's desk as well. They were most likely discussing the match with me later. I doubted they would try anything funny, and from what I heard, they were mostly encouraging Li Chun Long to teach me a lesson and destroy me.

There was one of them, however, who didn't sound very approving.

”You've disgraced our sect, First Senior,” he told Li Chun Long gravely. ”Master is pretty upset with what you did.”

”I did it for Ning Xue's sake!”

That sounded hollow. I was skeptical of that reason. Knowing Li Chun Long, he probably did it because he resented Zhu Jiao for being the target of Qing Xin Xia's affections, and not because he really wanted Bai Ning Xue to preserve her position as the student council president. Whatever his motivations, however, it still didn't justify what he did.

The second senior, Er Shi Xiong probably knew that as well, for he was shaking his head with a sigh.

”Don't let your personal feelings cloud your judgement. And besides, Bai Ning Xue is not a member of our sect. Why do you bother going so far for her?”

”That's…”

Li Chun Long spluttered, looking furious, but unable to muster a retort. He swore and turned away with a scowl on his face.

I wasn't one to indulge in gossip and stare, so I paid no attention to any further exchange they might have carried out and focused on the lesson ahead.

*

After class ended, we headed for the coliseum almost immediately. Readers probably wouldn't be interested in the material we covered in class anyway, so I wasn't going to elaborate too much on that. I was sure they wanted to skip straight to the fight scene.

I guess that was the main point of a martial arts story. The combat, huh? Besides, my match with Li Chun Long was a long time coming.

”I see that you didn't run away, after all.”

Li Chun Long was already waiting in the coliseum. The guy was even more eager than I was to begin the match. I suspected it was mostly because he couldn't wait for the chance to take revenge and beat me up for getting in the way of his grudge against Zhu Jiao and interfering with the well laid-out plans of the student council.

Considering I easily broke them just by eavesdropping and informing the teachers, I wouldn't say they were well laid out, to be honest. But whatever.

I glanced at the window, where my friends had taken up position to watch the match. Not far away, Qing Xin Xia and the rest of the Green Dragon Sect disciples stood, poised as spectators and supporting their first senior. Behind them were crowds of students, excited over the prospect of watching a battle between two dragons.

Or enthusiastic over the prospect of watching a dragon thrash a trash. I wasn't unaware of the main student body's low opinion of me, and thus far my victories over Feng Tian Yong and the rest had been credited as ”flukes”. Not to mention, Kuang Hu and Wu Xing weren't very highly regarded when compared to the student council.

The student council members were supposed to be on a completely different level from the other students, after all.

”Shall we get started then?” Li Chun Long turned toward the speaker without waiting for an answer and called out. ”Teacher Cai, can we begin?”

”Anytime when you're ready,” was the response. Smirking, Li Chun Long turned back to me and bowed mockingly.

”Li Chun Long, Class 1-4. I'm of the Green Dragon Sect, and I've mastered all twelve levels of the Solar Celestial Dragon Formula.” He drew his sword. ”This is my Spirit Sword, Sacred Dragon Sword. I've also mastered the seven sword styles of the Green Dragon Sect! And I have three sexagenaries of qi.”

A green fiery aura blazed about his elegantly crafted blade, a tiny qi dragon coiling around it as it exuded a ferocious atmosphere.

I showed no sign of being intimidated and merely returned the bow formally.

”Fei Wu, also from Class 1-4. Nine-Tailed Fox Sect.”

I didn't bother to give away my skills. The readers would be sick of hearing them for the umpteenth time, and I knew Li Chun Long had no interest in hearing about them anyway. To him, I was nothing more than an annoying pebble on the road that he wanted to kick about to vent his anger before he went into isolation training.

Little did he know that I was planning to rock his world and cause him to be stoned from this battle.

Drawing my swords, I bowed humbly. ”I look forward to sparring with someone from one of the esteemed Celestial Creature Sects.”

The Green Dragon Sect was one of the four Celestial Creatures, along with Red Phoenix Sect, White Tiger Sect and Black Tortoise Sect. even among the eight major sects, the four Celestial Creature Sects were a power unto their own.

”You may begin.”

The moment Teacher Cai's voice revebrated from the speakers, Li Chun Long lunged forward, his sword igniting with ferocious green flames. In the face of his fearsome charge, I raised both my swords and got ready to block his blow.

ROAR!

A green dragon erupted from his sword, coiling around his body and enhancing his strength several times over. With a bellow, Li Chun Long swung his sword down on my position. I brought both swords up and crossed them in order to parry his blow.

Boom!

The ground beneath us shattered from the tremendous impact. I managed to force Li Chun Long back by sweeping both my swords forward, countering his furious charge with an equally enraged retaliation.

Li Chun Long flipped his body in midair and skidded back after landing on his feet. Trying to steady his trembling hands, which held his vibrating sword, he gritted his teeth and admitted to himself grudgingly.

”Argh…what amazing spiritual strength! No wonder the Nine-tailed Fox Sect's Tushan City remains impregnable even today.”

As for me, I enthusiastlcally stepped forward to press my advantage.

”As expected of the first disciple of the Green Dragon Sect, you're really powerful. A perfect opponent for me to test out my newly learned skills.”