Warning

The two were pulled apart.

Of course, it was mainly Lin Mo who was dragged away.

Qi Tao lay on the ground, groaning in pain, feeling sore all over with even the slightest movement.

In contrast, Lin Mo stood there unharmed, aside from the bruise on his cheek.

Jiang Yunlu walked over, carefully examining the injury on Lin Mo’s face before saying hesitantly,

"Does your blood not clot well? Should you go to the hospital? If your platelet count is too low, even a light bump can cause bruising."

Lin Mo chuckled. "No need to worry. I did this on purpose."

With that, he stepped forward.

"Stop pretending. You don’t have a single injury, while I’m the one who got disfigured."

The badminton players from teams G1 and G2 nearby couldn’t help but glance at Lin Mo.

Everyone knew he could take on a whole gang of troublemakers without a scratch.

But no one spoke up—most of them disliked Qi Tao and his arrogant attitude anyway.

Of course, a few still thought Lin Mo had gone too far.

Like a girl named Ruan Ting.

She stepped forward indignantly.

"You were the one who started it. Senior Qi Tao was just defending himself, and you still pinned him down and kept hitting him."

Her words didn’t garner any agreement. Instead, the others gave her odd looks.

Lin Mo sneered. "Ah, Ruan Ting, right? I saw you earlier—getting awfully cozy with Qi Tao on the court. Let me guess, he was ‘teaching’ you how to swing, holding your hand and all?"

Ruan Ting’s face flushed red.

"He—he was just correcting my form!"

"Oh really? You’re already on the school team, and your form still isn’t right? I also heard you’ve been getting close to Wu Zhiheng—didn’t he even buy you that racket?"

Not many knew about Ruan Ting and Wu Zhiheng’s relationship.

Wu Zhiheng rarely came to the badminton courts, so most were unaware.

But now, Lin Mo had laid it all bare.

The looks directed at Ruan Ting grew even more judgmental.

This wasn’t the real world—most students found such behavior disgraceful.

Under their scrutiny, Ruan Ting abandoned Qi Tao, covering her face as she fled downstairs.

Lin Mo watched—one man on the ground, one girl running away.

He smirked. Wu Zhiheng ought to pay him for this—killing two birds with one stone.

Even a Kinder Surprise egg couldn’t satisfy him this much.

Wang Yiping had arrived earlier but could only sigh deeply at the scene.

"Lin Mo, fighting is wrong."

Lin Mo grinned innocently. "I wasn’t fighting. I was just throwing punches. He never specified the rules, and he hit me twice too—so this counts as mutual combat!"

With that, he kicked Qi Tao.

"Get up. If you don’t, I’ll beat you again. Either way, it’s mutual combat. Heard you’re getting a recommendation for university—what happens if that falls through?"

His smile was downright malicious, but Qi Tao had no choice. If this escalated, his recommendation would be revoked.

Though his body ached, there wasn’t a single visible bruise or scratch.

Compared to Lin Mo’s face, Qi Tao looked completely unharmed.

Lin Mo added bluntly, "If there’s a next time, I’ll wait till you’re off school grounds. And it won’t be as simple as today."

"Lin Mo!" Wang Yiping snapped, cutting him off.

Lin Mo shrugged. "Coach Wang, I’m a peaceful guy. But I hope certain people don’t follow in Lei Qi or that basketball coach’s footsteps."

Lei Qi hadn’t transferred yet, but he’d been keeping his head down.

As for that basketball coach—well, he wasn’t coming back.

Wang Yiping felt a chill at Lin Mo’s words.

Such a blatant threat should’ve been met with stern reprimand.

Yet, for some reason, he didn’t dare.

Coach Long’s accidental death hadn’t been linked to Lin Mo.

But his resignation? That was absolutely because of Lin Mo.

Everyone in the sports department knew it.

So they all understood—don’t provoke Lin Mo.

Especially since Director Huang from student affairs backed him, and even the principal favored him.

As for Qi Tao? Just a sports scholarship student.

He already had his recommendation—if he made it big later, Guangba High could ride his coattails.

But if the school wanted funding or academic prestige?

They needed top students.

So Wang Yiping couldn’t afford to antagonize Lin Mo either.

In the end, he just turned to Qi Tao.

"Qi Tao, go rest for now."

Qi Tao glared hatefully at Lin Mo.

Lin Mo stepped closer. "Keep staring, and I’ll gouge your eyes out."

The lingering pain made Qi Tao shudder. Without even daring to glance at Jiang Yunlu, he turned and left.

Lin Mo spat disdainfully.

"Pathetic coward."

The other boys watched Qi Tao’s retreating figure with schadenfreude.

Girls could spot a fake sweetheart.

But guys could spot scum too—especially the kind like Qi Tao, who made a habit of poaching others’ girlfriends. A real Cao Cao in the making.

Wang Yiping didn’t bother intervening further, choosing to walk away and let the matter drop.

Jiang Yunlu ignored the others, pulling Lin Mo aside.

From her badminton bag, she pulled out a small first-aid kit.

"You carry medicine with you?"

Inside were iodine, bandages, patches, and spray.

"After I sprained my ankle last time, my dad packed this for me. Said it’d come in handy."

She dabbed some medicated oil—bought by her father from a Chinatown overseas—onto Lin Mo’s bruise.

The ointment worked wonders, but it was a rare formula, hard to find domestically.

Truthfully, Lin Mo had faked the injury. It didn’t hurt at all and would vanish with a simple illusion.

But with the girl already fussing over him, he couldn’t refuse.

The gentle swipes of the cotton bud felt nice anyway.

"Can you not fight next time?"

"I could. But I didn’t feel like playing badminton with that guy, so I beat him up instead. Stealing someone’s girlfriend—that’s unforgivable, right?"

At that, Jiang Yunlu froze, her cheeks turning pink.

Girlfriend?

Lin Mo glanced down at the blushing girl and realized she’d misunderstood.

He’d meant Ruan Ting.

But explaining would only make things worse.

Better to just enjoy the impromptu first aid.

As for the bruise? He’d make it disappear later with a simple trick.

After all, he was a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

And now, a Golden Core seemed within reach.