Golden Bay Airport.
A man in sunglasses stepped off the plane, looking to be around 25 or 26 years old. His broad shoulders and muscular arms, veins faintly visible, made it obvious he was someone who trained regularly.
He glanced around and, after exiting the passenger pickup area, noticed a few familiar faces nearby.
"B-big bro!" The group waiting for him consisted of Huang Haotian and several members of the Taekwondo Club. Their faces lit up with excitement when they saw him.
Jin Zhengxi remained silent as he observed Huang Haotian and the others.
Huang Haotian, feeling guilty under his former club president’s gaze, could only force an awkward laugh.
"Huang Haotian, what the hell were you thinking?!" Jin Zhengxi’s voice carried a sharp edge of anger. "Getting your whole squad wiped out by some skinny guy? You’ve completely humiliated the Taekwondo Club!"
He had rewatched the video multiple times—each time seeing Ye Chuan single-handedly dismantle the entire club—and it filled him with frustration.
"Big bro, it’s not our fault! That guy was seriously weird. His body was freakishly tough, and he could even burn people!" Huang Haotian hurriedly explained, but to Jin Zhengxi, it all sounded like nonsense.
Jin Zhengxi scoffed. "Oh, so next you’ll tell me he can shout and kick with flaming legs like some kind of ‘War God Strong Kick’?"
"W-well…" Huang Haotian stammered, unable to articulate it properly, but that was exactly how it had felt.
When he had tried to kick Ye Chuan, it was like slamming his foot into a scalding-hot iron.
It hadn’t felt like a fight—more like he was slow-roasting his own foot.
These days, he didn’t even want to show his face at school. The video of the Taekwondo Club’s defeat at Ye Chuan’s hands had gone viral on forums, and thanks to short-form videos, even teachers and students who rarely paid attention to online trends had seen it.
The Taekwondo Club’s reputation among martial arts groups was now in the gutter.
Of course, the president of the Kickboxing Club wasn’t faring much better—he had kept insisting "I don’t believe it!" before getting knocked out in one punch, unable to even cry out "Big bro, stop!"
Truly, they were brothers in misery.
"I only graduated two years ago, and you’ve already run the club into the ground like this." Jin Zhengxi was tempted to punch Huang Haotian right then and there, but instead, he just tossed his bag at him.
"Take my luggage to the hotel. Get me a proper meal ready. Tomorrow, I’ll deal with that guy myself."
"Y-yes, big bro, I’ll arrange it right away." Huang Haotian hesitated before adding, "Um… big bro, I’m a little short on cash right now. Could you maybe…?"
Jin Zhengxi narrowed his eyes. He had flown all the way back from Korea, and now he had to pay for his own hotel?
Were juniors these days really this shameless?
"Where’s your money?!"
At the mention of money, Huang Haotian’s expression soured. It had all been swindled away by that bastard Ye Chuan.
He quickly explained the situation.
"You’re a complete idiot!" Jin Zhengxi could only conclude that Huang Haotian was a fool. Losing a fight was one thing, but losing all his money too?
And not just his own money—he had borrowed from online lenders!
Borrowing was bad enough, but he still lost the fight anyway!
Once you started borrowing from sketchy online loans, unless you paid it all back in one go, it was like falling into a whirlpool—you’d never escape the debt.
"You made this mess yourself. Figure it out. I want my hotel ready tonight." Jin Zhengxi’s voice was icy. He was starting to regret ever handing the Taekwondo Club over to Huang Haotian.
"O-okay…" Huang Haotian could only force a bitter smile. Looks like he’d have to nod, beg, and shake his head at some lenders again later.
He was already trapped in a cycle of borrowing to pay off other loans, with interest piling up endlessly. He had no idea when he’d ever be free of this debt.
The thought only deepened his hatred for Ye Chuan. If not for that guy, he wouldn’t be in this mess!
But then, remembering Jin Zhengxi’s strength, Huang Haotian couldn’t help but smirk. Jin Zhengxi was a national Taekwondo silver medalist and had even opened his own dojo in Korea. Crushing some college kid would be child’s play for him.
——
Meanwhile, Ye Chuan had just left the cafeteria and was strolling along a tree-lined path with Luo Xi. There was still some time left before afternoon classes, so they weren’t in a hurry.
The path was dotted with couples enjoying a post-lunch walk, so it wasn’t unusual to see Ye Chuan and Luo Xi arm in arm. Silver Mountain Academy didn’t discourage relationships—in fact, the principal had openly declared it part of youth.
Ye Chuan glanced at the girl beside him, who was clinging tightly to his arm, her softness pressing firmly against him.
"You’re squeezing a bit too hard, aren’t you?"
Luo Xi, still slightly dazed, misheard him and thought he wanted her to hold on tighter, so she increased the pressure—along with the deformation.
"……" Never mind.
Ye Chuan had initially assumed Luo Xi was using padding, but after accidentally storing her pajamas in his backpack space once, he realized that wasn’t the case.
She was just naturally gifted.
Luo Xi’s cheeks were still flushed, her expression a mix of shyness and excitement.
"Chuan, what do couples usually do together?"
"Sex."
"And?"
"Find places to have sex."
Luo Xi fell silent, her cheeks puffing up before she pinched Ye Chuan’s face.
"No! This weekend, you’re taking me on a proper date!"
"Fine." Ye Chuan didn’t mind. A date was no big deal—it wasn’t like he had to do anything strenuous.
Though he had also been planning to take Bai Qianshuang out this weekend. She had no social life, and since she wasn’t likely to get along with Lan Xiaoke anytime soon, he figured she needed some fresh air.
Humans were social creatures by nature—even immortals, or at least that’s what Ye Chuan believed.
If Bai Qianshuang truly preferred solitude, she probably wouldn’t be so fixated on avenging her mother and master.
As if reading his mind, Luo Xi suddenly spoke up.
"Chuan… does Bai Qianshuang like you?"
Ye Chuan glanced at her. "Who knows?"
In reality, Bai Qianshuang probably didn’t have those kinds of feelings for him. The airheaded sword immortal seemed completely clueless about romance, always talking about "a lifetime" this and "loyalty" that.
That whole "devotion unto death" thing was a bit too heavy…
Not that it was a bad thing. The daily stream of gold coins and items she provided was more than welcome.
"You’re so full of yourself." Luo Xi wrinkled her nose adorably.
Ye Chuan chuckled. "Let’s go. Break’s almost over."
"Okay."