“Hiss—ow! That hurts. Falling Snow really didn’t hold back!” Lin Ming pushed himself up from the flowerbed. He touched his left cheek where she’d punched him and yelped, then grumbled.
“Give her that one punch and she should cool off. And my past? I can’t tell you. None of it would do you any good.” He rubbed his swollen cheek. A trace of a wry smile rose as he thought to himself.
Right then, a dark figure stepped in front of Lin Ming, full of menace. The most obvious sign was a white Mask stamped with the character for “snow.” The newcomer’s eyes burned with anger. The leader flicked his hand.
“Uh… Personal Guard! What are you doing? If the Student Council catches you mobbing someone, you’ll get solitary confinement.” Cold sweat slid down Lin Ming’s forehead. The single strand of hair on his head wobbled left and right as he spoke.
“Hmph! Student Council? They’re busy dealing with freshmen right now. If no one notifies them, they won’t show. You think anyone’s going to notify them? Boys, hit him. Beat him to a pulp.” The leader’s tone dripped with mockery as he sneered at Lin Ming, then barked at his guys.
“Yes!” A bunch of them surged forward at once.
“Crap—freshman tests are these few days. I forgot… Wait—don’t hit the face!” Lin Ming snapped awake, but they were already all over him. He hugged his face and screamed.
Shi Jingtian watched Lin Ming getting thrashed, calm as ever, with zero intention to help. Lin Ming getting beaten wasn’t a big deal. Honestly, it felt good to watch.
The surrounding upperclassmen watched Lin Ming get stomped and didn’t show a hint of wanting to help.
Some freshmen, seeing Lin Ming get beaten, started to pull out their Student Cards to use the call function for the Student Council. An upperclassman stopped them. He said to the new girl, “Freshie, do you know who that is? You dare help?”
“I don’t. But watching him get hit… he looks so pitiful.” The freshman was clearly a girl. Of course she had sympathy.
The upperclassman let out a cold snort and explained, “He’s called Lin Ming. In the Academy he’s known as a guy who only cares about profit. People call him the Profit Seeker.”
“But caring about profit doesn’t sound wrong,” the new girl asked, confused.
The upperclassman looked at her and sighed inwardly at her naivety. Then he said, “Caring about profit isn’t wrong. The way he does it is. He takes any task—beating people up, attending class for you, even helping people cheat. As long as you pay him enough, he’ll do it. If you asked him to steal girls’ files from the Student Council, he’d go.”
“Uh… I’ll just keep watching.” The girl heard he’d even dare steal student files and quietly put her Student Card away.
If he even dares break into the Student Council, what if someone asks him to steal her panties? She went pale at the thought.
A bunch of freshmen around the square had wanted to help too, but the upperclassmen stopped them one by one.
“He even dares mess with the Student Council? Senior’s amazing… maybe I should—” This junior had also wanted to help and got blocked. After hearing the explanation, his thoughts turned crooked. Wearing a sleazy grin, he asked the senior, “How do I post a task for Senior Lin Ming?”
The senior shot him a sideways glance. “You’re quick on the uptake. It’s simple. Use your Student Card, log into the Academy network, search the Task Hall, then find his Squad.”
“Thanks, Senior. I’ll try it!” The junior pulled out his Student Card and tapped it. A Light Screen floated up. He followed the senior’s steps, logged in, then found the Squad Lin Ming had created in the Task Hall.
It was a nameless Squad. The intro read: “I, Lin Ming, serve the people in all things—beating people up, cheating on exams, dealing with teachers you hate, even getting you someone’s info. Pay me enough to satisfy me. If you’re broke, get lost!”
“Junior, don’t be impulsive,” the senior advised, seeing him already fiddling with his card.
“Huh? Why?” The junior looked puzzled.
“Sigh. He completes every task, but he doesn’t care about consequences. Every time the victim comes to him, he squeezes money out of them, then sells out the client. Didn’t you notice he doesn’t have many listings?” The senior covered his face in pain. He’d been sold out himself.
“Uh… so that’s why they call him the Profit Seeker. But then why doesn’t anyone mess with him?” The junior tucked his Student Card away and asked.
“You know that outside the special Duel Arena, you can’t use Spirit Energy or Magic in the Academy, right?” The senior asked.
“I know. Don’t tell me Senior Lin Ming is strong?” The junior guessed.
The senior nodded slightly. “On paper, he’s D Rank.”
“D Rank?!” The junior yelped.
The senior took a deep breath. “His strength is unusual. We Cultivators fall into three types: Spirit Cultivator, Qi Cultivator, and Body Cultivator. Even if someone specializes in one, the other two usually aren’t far behind. He’s an outlier. His body is insanely strong, while his spirit and qi are extremely low.”
“So if it’s not in the special Duel Arena, no one dares mess with him.” The senior sounded calm, but inside he was crying. Everyone who picked a fight got pummeled… including him…
“Then what’s his true strength…?”
“You’ll find out yourself. And keep watching. The show’s about to end.” The senior cut the junior off and looked over at the Personal Guard still beating on Lin Ming.
Foolish freshmen. Once you get familiar with the Academy, you’ll learn how notorious his name is.
“…” The junior wanted to ask what Lin Ming’s strength actually was. But seeing the senior’s face—mission accomplished, don’t bother me, I’m watching—he swallowed it and looked back at the brawl.
……
While they punched and kicked, Lin Ming kept his face covered with both hands. His body moved in odd ways, slipping off the force of the blows landing on him.
Damn it. If I fight back in front of a crowd, I’ll get blamed and locked up. Otherwise, you think you could beat me? Ha. Naive.
“Time should be about right. If Lin Ming finds out I just watched and didn’t help, I’ll be in trouble.” Shi Jingtian checked the Time, raised his Student Card to his ear like he was calling, and shouted, “Hello? Student Council? There’s trouble at the square’s flowerbeds. Hurry!”
“Not good—pull back, boys!” The Personal Guard leader heard that and ordered a retreat. He tossed out a vicious line and ran.
“Lin Ming, just you wait. You’ll always be our Personal Guard’s top enemy!”
“Lin Ming, they’re gone. Stop acting. This kind of damage is nothing to you.” Shi Jingtian spoke to Lin Ming, who was still curled up with his hands over his face.
Lin Ming’s single hair strand perked up. He glanced around, then climbed to his feet. He patted the footprints and dust off his clothes. “This uniform’s quality is great. Way better than the cheap stuff I bought for jobs before.”
“You’re still as tough as ever,” Shi Jingtian said. “Also, if you don’t leave now, the Student Council will actually come. You gonna stay and pay for the flowerbeds?”
“Tough? That’s just strength.” Lin Ming brushed off more dust and spoke to Shi Jingtian. Then he suddenly reacted. “Wait—what the hell, you actually called the Student Council? I thought you were just faking it! Damn it, I can’t shake the flowerbed mess. I left traces all over it. There’s still Time—run!”
Shi Jingtian answered faintly, “Mm.”
Hearing that confirmation, Lin Ming bolted, greasing the soles of his feet and sprinting out.
Shi Jingtian watched Lin Ming vanish and a sly grin crept onto his face. He hadn’t called anyone.
He pulled a few booklets from his coat and yelled to the square, “I’m Shi Jingtian. These are student intel packets I compiled for the Academy. They cover equipment, districts, departments, and other details. There’s also strength profiles for the Academy’s top ten students. Most important, detailed profiles of the Academy’s four great beauties. Only 2 Gold Coins. First come, first served!”
The freshmen who’d just finished their tests heard there was an Academy guide for sale and swarmed over, especially the guys.
Shi Jingtian saw them flood in and wore a lewd smile. “Heh heh. If Lin Ming had stayed, he would’ve scammed me out of money. Now I get paid, and I can cop a feel when the Juniors crowd in. Ha! Your lord is truly brilliant.”
