Chapter 14: The Iron Tower

"Bang!"

Just as Jianchen was savoring his meal, a hand suddenly slammed down on his table, causing the entire table to vibrate slightly.

Jianchen frowned and slowly lifted his head. He saw that the owner of the hand was a nobleman's son, about twenty years old, wearing the school's uniform. He must be an upperclassman. Behind the young man stood two people, a boy and a girl, both around seventeen or eighteen years old. Their faces were full of arrogance, and they wore luxurious clothes made of silk and brocade, clearly indicating they were from wealthy families.

Jianchen looked at the three people in noble attire with a calm gaze, his lips moving slightly as he slowly said, "Is there something you need?" His tone was extremely calm.

The young nobleman, who looked to be about twenty, glared at Jianchen with a fierce expression and said in a very arrogant tone, "Hey, kid, this table is ours now. Go eat somewhere else." Although he could tell from Jianchen's attire that he was not a commoner, he still did not take Jianchen seriously.

Upon hearing this, Jianchen gave the boy a disdainful look and said in a light tone, "If you want to eat, just sit down and eat with me. This table belongs to the school, and your names aren't written on it. When did it become yours?"

Hearing this, the young nobleman's face turned red with anger, and he lost his patience. He shouted, "Are you going to move or not?"

The incident at Jianchen's table had already attracted the attention of the other students who were dining nearby. Many eyes were on them, but no one dared to speak up.

Jianchen's face showed a slight smile. He had encountered similar situations many times in his past life, and each time he had given the other party a harsh lesson.

"I'll move, but let me finish my meal first," Jianchen said, not even looking at the other party. He continued to eat his meal with relish, his words slightly muffled by the food in his mouth.

Despite this, the three people heard him clearly.

"Brother, it seems your influence in the academy isn't that great. You can't even settle a table issue. You can't let us stand here and eat," the girl standing behind the young man said with a light laugh.

Hearing this, the young man's face turned awkward, but he soon became furious, staring at Jianchen with a fierce look. He shouted, "Kid, what's your name? Which family are you from? If you have the guts, tell me."

Jianchen's brow furrowed slightly, but before he could speak, a voice came from nearby, "Kadiyun, you're an upperclassman at Kagas Academy. How can you bully a freshman here?"

As the voice spoke, a young man, dressed in the school uniform and about the same age as Kadiyun, slowly walked in.

Seeing this young man, Kadiyun's face changed slightly, and a look of apprehension appeared in his eyes. He said coldly, "Baimoran, my business is none of your concern."

At this moment, Jianchen also learned their names. The one who had asked him to move was Kadiyun, and the one who had come to his aid was Baimoran.

Baimoran chuckled and said, "Kadiyun, your business is indeed none of my concern, but as an upperclassman, I can't ignore the affairs of my juniors."

Hearing this, Kadiyun and the two people behind him all showed a slight change in expression.

At this moment, the girl standing behind Kadiyun hesitated for a moment, then tugged at Kadiyun's clothes and said softly, "Brother, there's an empty seat over there. Let's go sit there."

Hearing this, Kadiyun glanced around the cafeteria and indeed found an empty seat nearby. He glared at Jianchen once more, then said coldly, "Second brother, third sister, let's go eat over there." With that, Kadiyun led the way to the empty table. If he continued to纠缠 (linger) here, he would not only gain nothing but might even face ridicule. Baimoran was not only strong in family affairs but also more powerful than him personally.

Of course, this was not the main reason. The most important thing was that as an upperclassman, Kadiyun bullying a freshman would be a source of ridicule if it spread in the academy. If it reached the principal's ears, he might even face severe criticism.

The reason Kadiyun did not ask the commoner students to give up their seats was that all the upperclassmen at Kagas Academy knew that the principal, one of the six great masters of Garsen Kingdom, was very partial to the commoner students.

At this moment, Kadiyun's sister's eyes suddenly lit up, as if she had remembered something. She said, "Oh, I remember now. You are one of the freshmen who successfully advanced to the top 128. I saw you on the stage." As she spoke, her gaze towards Jianchen became somewhat malicious.

Hearing this, the boy who had been silent beside her suddenly turned his head and stared directly at Jianchen, saying with a sneer, "I hope I can meet you in tomorrow's freshmen martial arts competition." With that, the boy followed Kadiyun to the empty table.

Jianchen paid no attention to the boy's words and did not take them to heart.

At this moment, Baimoran walked up to Jianchen, patted his shoulder, and smiled, "This junior is truly brave, daring to defy Kadiyun like that. If Kadiyun and his group bully you in the future, come find me directly."

Hearing this, Jianchen stood up from his seat and smiled lightly, "I am Changyang Xiangtian. Thank you, senior, for helping me out just now. Otherwise, I might have gotten into some trouble."

Baimoran chuckled and said, "Junior, there's no need to be so polite. Kadiyun is very arrogant in the academy, relying on his family's power. I've long been annoyed by him, but I've never had a chance to teach him a lesson. By the way, my name is Baimoran. You can call me Senior Baimoran."

"Junior, be careful in tomorrow's freshmen martial arts competition. The two people following Kadiyun are his sister, Kadi Qiuli, and his brother, Kadi Liang. It's said that both of them have reached the ninth level of Holy Power."

Jianchen smiled lightly and said, "Senior Baimoran, don't worry. If I encounter them, I'll be careful."

Baimoran nodded slightly and said, "It's getting late. I should go back to the dormitory. Junior, see you later."

After parting ways with Baimoran, Jianchen quickly finished the remaining food and returned to his dormitory. He had not seen his elder brother, Changyang Hu, all day and did not know where he had gone.

After roughly cleaning the dust in the dormitory, Jianchen sat cross-legged on the bed and began his daily evening practice.

The next day, the several rounds of matches were quickly completed. Due to the decreasing number of participants, the top eight were directly decided on the second day. After the top fifty were determined, the academy canceled the rule that Holy Power at the eighth level could not fight against Holy Power at the ninth level, allowing the freshmen to compete freely. Therefore, among the top eight, apart from Jianchen and another boy with darker skin, who were both at the eighth level of Holy Power, the other six freshmen had reached the ninth level of Holy Power. Both Jianchen and the boy with darker skin had defeated several freshmen at the ninth level of Holy Power to advance to the top eight.

Apart from this, what surprised Jianchen was that among the six freshmen at the ninth level of Holy Power, there were Kadi Qiuli and Kadi Liang, who had had a conflict with him in the cafeteria the previous day. Although he had not faced them on the stage, Jianchen noticed that their gazes towards him were filled with strong provocation.

Jianchen paid no attention to their provocative gazes. Instead, he couldn't help but think about the boy with darker skin who, like him, had advanced to the top eight with only the eighth level of Holy Power. Jianchen had clearly seen the boy's fighting style. He found that the boy seemed somewhat extraordinary, as if he had innate strength, with an unusually powerful force. The reason he could smoothly advance to the top eight was largely due to his strength far exceeding that of his peers. Most of the freshmen he faced were directly thrown out by him.

The final matches were scheduled for the next day, and the champion of the freshmen martial arts competition would also be decided then.

After leaving the playground, Jianchen headed straight to the cafeteria. After getting his meal, he noticed the boy with darker skin, who had advanced to the top eight in the freshmen martial arts competition, sitting alone in a corner. The boy was wearing simple clothes with several patches, clearly indicating he was from a commoner family. Although he looked to be only sixteen or seventeen years old, Jianchen could see a hint of determination on his youthful face. His physique was also quite impressive, standing at about 1.8 meters tall, and his build was even larger than that of his elder brother, Changyang Hu.

Jianchen hesitated for a moment, then carried his meal and walked straight to the table where the boy was sitting. He put down his meal and turned to the boy, smiling, "I'm Changyang Xiangtian. May I ask what your name is?"

The boy looked up at Jianchen, his gaze briefly scanning Jianchen's attire, and said, "I'm Tietower."

Jianchen smiled lightly and said, "I just watched your match on the stage. You were able to defeat freshmen at the ninth level of Holy Power with only the eighth level. That's truly impressive."

Hearing Jianchen's words of praise, Tietower smiled awkwardly and said, "I just have a bit more strength than them. They are also very strong, and they hit me very hard."