2: My older brother, Zhao She

Calming himself, Lu Yuan clutched the gray Green Water Turtle card tightly.

The voice in his mind and the light blue screen were still before his eyes.

His anger hadn't subsided, but a sense of calm, or rather, confidence, had grown in his heart.

He looked up, as if he had become a different person.

"You dog, I'll say it one last time: give me back the fifteen thousand star coins."

"Or give me back that blue one-star saber-toothed turtle card you swindled from me."

Lu Yuan's voice wasn't loud, but it clearly reached the ears of everyone present.

The people around him looked at him in surprise.

Was this still the timid Lu Yuan who only dared to lower his head when bullied?

His gaze, his tone, everything had changed!

Zhao Feng's sneer froze for a moment.

He hadn't expected Lu Yuan to dare talk back, and with such a strong attitude.

Had this kid really gone mad?

But whether he was truly mad or faking it, if he dared to curse him, he would just have to wait for a good beating.

Zhao Feng's eyes shifted, and the two lackeys behind him immediately understood, stepping forward, almost pressing their faces against Lu Yuan's.

Tension rose between the two sides, and more and more onlookers gathered.

Zhao Feng was getting a bit annoyed; the more people there were, the less he dared to make a move, as the rules on the surface still had to be followed.

"I'm warning you one last time, the transaction was consensual, and the agreement was signed! Stop making trouble here."

"If it weren't for so many people here, I'd beat the shit out of you today."

His spit was almost spraying onto Lu Yuan's face.

Lu Yuan stood still, staring directly at him.

"I'll just ask you one thing: was the card information written on that agreement the saber-toothed turtle?"

"Bullshit! It clearly said Green Water Turtle!"

Seeing a teacher approaching, Zhao Feng didn't want to prolong the confrontation. "You're stupid, you didn't even know someone altered the agreement. Get lost, get lost, don't block my way!"

"Oh?" Lu Yuan's lips curled into a cold smile. "So, you admit the agreement was tampered with?"

"I... when the hell did I admit it!" Zhao Feng was speechless, then became even more agitated, suddenly puffing out his chest, an aura belonging to an 8-star apprentice pressing down on Lu Yuan.

Although the Source Power fluctuation was faint, it was still oppressive for Lu Yuan, who was only 6-star with a Source Power value of just 67 points.

"You want to make a big scene and let the teacher judge?"

"What else can I do?" Lu Yuan steadied himself, enunciating each word. "A 'model student' in the class doing such things privately, how do you think the teacher will view you when they find out?"

His gaze swept over Zhao Feng, then over the few lackeys behind him.

"Are you threatening me?"

"Just getting back what's mine."

Lu Yuan was gambling.

Gambling that Zhao Feng wouldn't dare to strike first in public, right outside the training room.

Although Qingteng High School wasn't a top-tier high school, its rules were still strict.

Private fights, especially malicious assaults, if discovered, would result in a demerit at best, and expulsion at worst.

Although Zhao Feng was arrogant, his family background was only moderately well-off, not that of a powerful scion.

Moreover, he was one of the 'model student' representatives in his class and valued the benefits that title brought, such as resource allocation and admiration from junior students.

If he were disciplined for assaulting a classmate, it would greatly affect his future prospects.

Lu Yuan was well aware of this.

In the original owner's memory, Zhao Feng was a bully who picked on the weak, feared the strong, and was extremely concerned about his image.

Indeed, although Zhao Feng was verbally aggressive, his eyes unconsciously darted towards the surveillance cameras at the training ground entrance and the teachers occasionally passing by.

His fists clenched and unclenched, clearly struggling internally.

Lu Yuan sneered in his heart.

He had gambled correctly.

"What? Don't dare to make a move?" Lu Yuan grew more emboldened as he spoke.

"You gutless dog, if you're a man, punch me in the forehead!"

"You look like dog shit, can't even study properly, and you still scam me out of my money."

"Your family basically wasted their lives having a thing like you."

...How could a kid from a remote, backward world compare to the verbal prowess of a top-tier trash talker from Earth?

After just a few warm-up jabs, the other party's face was already as red as a pig's liver.

"You're looking for death!" Zhao Feng was finally enraged. He suddenly raised his hand, seemingly about to throw a punch!

Lu Yuan's heart leaped with joy, and he thrust his small face forward.

The surrounding crowd let out a gasp.

"Come on, hit your dad's face!"

Lu Yuan's pupils contracted slightly, and his muscles instantly tensed, preparing to take the blow head-on.

Once Zhao Feng made a move, he would have dozens of ways to deal with that bastard.

Just at this critical moment—

"Brother Feng! Brother Feng! Don't be rash!" One of Zhao Feng's lackeys, quick-witted, grabbed him.

"A teacher is coming," another lackey hastily advised.

Zhao Feng's movement stalled, and the fierce glint in his eyes flickered.

He glanced at the crowd circled around him, and the middle-aged man vaguely walking in the distance.

Taking a deep breath, he forcibly suppressed the urge to strike.

At least not here!

It wasn't worth gambling his future for this waste, Lu Yuan!

"Damn it!" He spat fiercely, shaking off the lackey's hand.

"You talk so much, I'll tear your stinking mouth apart!"

One of the lackeys' eyes darted around, and he whispered a few words into Zhao Feng's ear.

Zhao Feng's eyes lit up, and the anger on his face gradually transformed.

"What are you all doing gathered here? Aren't you going to class!" The middle-aged man's voice came from afar.

"Lu Yuan, you've got guts." Zhao Feng's lips curved into an arc. "Since you want an explanation so badly, fine, I'll give you a chance."

"After school, in the alley west of the school gate, my elder brother Zhao She will be waiting for you there."

"Don't you want money? Don't you want the saber-toothed turtle? Go talk to my elder brother."

"Do you dare to go?"

Zhao She?

Lu Yuan's heart stirred.

He had an impression of that name in the original owner's memory.

Zhao Feng's cousin, an idle socialite who hung around outside the academy, reportedly joined something called the Black Water Gang, specializing in loan sharking and extortion near the academy, and had a very bad reputation.

The campus loan the original owner took out might also be related to this person.

Was Zhao Feng trying to push the matter to an outsider to resolve?

Outside the academy's jurisdiction, things could truly become lawless.

The lackey beside him added sarcastically, "Lu, I'm warning you, Brother She has a bad temper. If you dare to stand him up, hehe..."

He made a throat-slitting gesture, full of menace.

"Good."

Lu Yuan only said one word.

Calm and resolute.

As if Zhao Feng was inviting him not to a den of dragons and tigers, but to a bubble tea shop on the street.

Zhao Feng had lived for over ten years, so he wasn't completely brainless.

This kid was too out of character today.

A few days ago, he wouldn't even dare to fart, but today he was like a different person?

Did he really have some backing?

Impossible!

He knew his family's situation perfectly well; otherwise, he wouldn't have dared to set up this scheme.

His parents were ordinary workers, with no background or connections, living in a cheap rental apartment, struggling to save money.

As for himself, he was an untalented waste in cultivation!

Otherwise, he wouldn't have thought of taking a gamble by buying cards from him at a low price.

Thinking this, Zhao Feng's courage returned, and he withdrew his intimidating aura, smiling as he looked at him:

"Then after school, West Alley entrance, we'll be waiting for you."

"Good."

Lu Yuan repeated, "I hope he has the money ready, or the card."

With that, Lu Yuan turned and pushed through the crowd, walking towards the dormitory area.

Leaving behind Zhao Feng and his lackeys, as well as a group of dumbfounded onlookers.

"Brother... Brother Feng, he... he really dares to go?" The short, chubby lackey stammered.

Zhao Feng's eyes flickered, finally letting out a cold snort.

"Hmph! Reckless fool! It's good that he's going. Once he's on Brother She's territory, I'll show him how I'll finish him off!"

"Let's go!"

He waved his hand fiercely, leading his lackeys away, avoiding the middle-aged man's gaze, and sullenly entered the training ground.

The crowd gradually dispersed, but the news of Lu Yuan and Zhao Feng's conflict, and Lu Yuan's meeting with Zhao She after school, spread like wildfire throughout the academy...