47: Chapter 47 Kyoto University Special Admissions

"The champion, Lin Fan!"

There were no cheers.

The fifty thousand people in the audience felt as if they were witnessing a miracle, or perhaps a massacre. The youth standing in the center of the arena had a slightly disheveled school uniform, with spots of dark blood staining his cuffs, but other than that, he was completely unharmed.

"S-rank."

On the rostrum, Old Wu, the Director of Admissions for Kyoto Martial Arts University, slammed his teacup onto the table. The purple clay lid rolled onto the floor and shattered into pieces. He didn't even care about the loss; his aged eyes, which had seen countless people, were now wide as brass bells.

Old Wu didn't even use the stairs.

He vaulted directly over the railing and jumped down from the three-meter-high rostrum, the hem of his suit fluttering in the wind as he landed.

"Student Lin Fan!"

Old Wu rushed to the edge of the arena, his aged face wrinkling into a smile like a blooming chrysanthemum. "Kyoto Martial Arts University, special recruitment! Admission without examination. An S-rank resource quota plus a ten-million-dollar scholarship. Just give me the nod, and I'll contact the school leadership to issue your admission letter immediately!"

The entire audience broke into an uproar.

Kyoto Martial Arts University.

It was the holy land of martial arts in the Great Xia Kingdom, a place where countless geniuses fought tooth and nail to enter. Now, this Director of Admissions was practically begging Lin Fan to enroll, like an insurance salesman?

Lin Fan raised an eyebrow.

He glanced at the old man, who looked like he was about to have a stroke from excitement, then checked the prestige points rapidly climbing in his system.

"Is room and board included?"

Lin Fan asked a question that left the entire audience speechless.

"Yes, everything's covered! You'll live in a detached villa and eat specially provided monster meat!"

Old Wu patted his chest in assurance, terrified that this rare talent might slip away.

"Deal."

Lin Fan reached out and shook Old Wu's calloused hand. "But the scholarship must be paid upfront. I'm the type who only believes in money once it's in my pocket."

In the stands, countless girls watched the youth chatting and laughing on stage, their eyes sparkling with admiration.

Before, they thought his street vending was embarrassing.

Now, they saw it as experiencing life—a true master hiding in plain sight.

"Lin Fan is so handsome..."

"Even his bargaining is so manly."

Hearing the chatter around her, Chu Yaoyao curled her lip and slammed a handful of melon seed shells into a trash bag. "Shallow. These women are all just boy-crazy!"

Despite her words, she couldn't hide the hint of pride in her eyes as she looked at Lin Fan.

That was the "growth stock" she, Chu Yaoyao, had set her sights on.

...

VIP Box.

The air was as cold as a morgue.

Wang Tianba stood before the one-way glass, watching Wang Teng being carried away on a stretcher. That mass of still-writhing flesh had been sealed in a specialized containment bag and dragged away like trash.

"Patriarch."

The butler stood in the shadows, his voice kept very low. "The young master is dead. Moreover, because it involves the Abyss, the military intends to strictly investigate the Wang Family."

Wang Tianba said nothing.

He crushed the beads of his lobular red sandalwood prayer bracelet one by one. Wood splinters pierced his palm, and blood dripped through his fingers, blooming into dark red flowers on the carpet.

"Lin Fan."

Wang Tianba spat out those two words; they didn't sound human, but more like a vengeful ghost's curse.

He turned around, his usually majestic face now filled with a hideous, deathly aura.

"Notify the Shadow Guards."

"Tonight, whatever the cost."

Wang Tianba pulled a black token from his robe and threw it at the butler's feet. "Bring back Lin Fan's head. I want to use his blood as an offering for Teng'er's Dantian."

The butler's whole body shuddered.

The Shadow Guards.

They were death-sworn soldiers the Wang Family had raised for twenty years, every one of them a desperate criminal with blood-stained hands. Once deployed, it was a fight to the death.

"Yes."

The butler picked up the token and vanished into the darkness.

...

Night fell.

The neon lights of Jianghai City dyed the sky a strange purple-red.

The crowd at the stadium entrance had already dispersed.

Lin Fan carried a massive travel bag on his back, containing the one million in cash he had just "advanced" from Old Wu, along with various tournament giveaways he had scavenged.

"Lin Fan."

A black sedan pulled up in front of him.

The window rolled down, revealing Su Qingxue's cold face. She had changed into casual clothes, her black trench coat making her figure appear even more slender.

"Get in."

Su Qingxue's tone brooked no argument. "I'll take you back. The Wang Family won't let this go. I can feel... killing intent."

As an A-rank Ice-type talent holder, her perception of malice far exceeded that of ordinary people.

Lin Fan stopped in his tracks.

He looked at the girl in the car with her concerned gaze and smiled.

"No need."

Lin Fan adjusted his backpack. "Su, the Campus Beauty's car is too expensive. I'm afraid I couldn't afford the damages if I got it dirty."

"You..."

Su Qingxue's brow furrowed. "This is no time for jokes. Wang Tianba is a lunatic; he keeps a group of death-sworn soldiers, all of whom are battle-hardened martial artists!"

"I know."

Lin Fan interrupted her.

Of course he knew.

Just moments ago, the system's red warning pop-ups had filled his vision.

{"Enemy units: 5."}

{"Average realm: 2-Star Martial Artist."}

{"Distance: 500 meters."}

Five 2-Star Martial Artists.

For a high school student who had awakened less than a month ago, this was a certain-death scenario.

But the expression on Lin Fan's face didn't change at all; if anything, it held a faint hint of excitement.

"It's precisely because they're here that I can't get in your car."

Lin Fan leaned close to the window, looking at Su Qingxue from just a fist's distance away. Su Qingxue could smell the faint scent of body wash on the youth, mixed with a lingering trace of blood.

"The Su Family doesn't want to get dragged into this mess, so don't make things difficult for Uncle Su."

Having said that, Lin Fan turned and walked down another path before Su Qingxue could respond.

It was a small path leading to an urban village.

Half the streetlights were broken; it was dim, secluded, and had no surveillance cameras.

"Lin Fan!"

Su Qingxue wanted to get out of the car, but the bodyguard in the passenger seat held her back firmly.

"Miss, the Patriarch has ordered that we must not interfere in the Wang Family's private grudges."

The bodyguard's voice was cold and hard. "This is the bottom line."

Su Qingxue watched the figure disappear into the darkness, her nails digging deep into the leather seat.

...

The wind stopped.

The alleyway was eerily quiet.

Lin Fan walked very slowly.

His footsteps echoed in the empty alley—clack, clack, clack—like a countdown for something.

"Come out."

Lin Fan stopped under a flickering streetlight.

He casually tossed the cash-filled backpack onto the ground. The zipper burst open, revealing a corner of red bills that looked particularly striking under the dim yellow light.

"You've followed me all this way, aren't you tired?"

No one responded.

Only a few moths mindlessly battered themselves against the lampshade, making a pitter-patter sound.

"Whoosh!"

The sound of air being sliced suddenly rang out.

Not one, but five.

Five pitch-black crossbow bolts were fired from different directions, cutting off all of Lin Fan's escape routes. The arrowheads glinted with a faint blue light—poison.

This volley was intended to be lethal.

Lin Fan didn't move.

He stood there as if paralyzed by fear, not even blinking.

"Thud. Thud. Thud!"

The bolts pierced through the body.

There was no blood.

The figure of "Lin Fan" rippled like water and then slowly dissipated.

An afterimage?

No, a Holographic Projection.

In the shadows, five figures dressed in black night-suits appeared. The leader's pupils shrank as he stared at the vanishing image, his voice raspy. "A fake? Since when..."

Just then.

The backpack tossed on the ground suddenly moved.

The zipper burst completely open.

But inside, there was no damn money.

Instead, it was a pile of still-dripping monster organs emitting a nauseating stench, and... over a dozen [Explosive Fruits] with their fuses pulled.

These were specialties Lin Fan had brought back from the Wasteland Zone.

The fruit of a D-rank plant-type monster, its power was equivalent to a high-explosive grenade.

"Boom!"

Flames shot into the sky.

The narrow alley instantly turned into a purgatory. Violent airwaves mixed with debris and shrapnel engulfed the five assassins before they could even react.

Thick smoke filled the air.

"Cough, cough..."

The lead assassin was, after all, a 2-Star Martial Artist with extremely fast reflexes. He had activated a Psionic Shield the moment of the explosion; though he was covered in soot and grime, he hadn't sustained fatal injuries.

He crawled out from the debris, his eyes scanning the surroundings with venomous intent.

"You little brat! Get out here!"