Chapter 2

"Hey, isn’t this the genius of our academy!"

"Does he even have the face to come out? I admire him!"

"The Han family has finally made a name for itself this time!"

Amidst the murmurs of the crowd, each word felt like a knife slicing through the young man's heart. Clenching his fists tightly, Wang Chen’s lips were already tinged with a faint red blood, which shone brightly under the setting sun.

With heavy steps, he walked out of the academy with a look of unwillingness and stubbornness. The mocking voices behind him were still clear, as if they were right in his ears.

"Hey, what’s wrong? Our great genius? You didn’t even greet us when you saw us?" At this moment, several figures blocked his path.

"Lin Qun, what do you want?" Wang Chen asked in a deep voice, looking at the young man blocking his way.

Lin Qun, the young master of the Lin family in Qingfeng City, often bullied others relying on the Lin family's status in the city. He had caused Wang Chen no shortage of trouble in the past.

"Hehe, nothing, just wanted to see what our academy's great genius looks like, hahaha... everyone, take a good look! This is our academy's great genius, who hasn’t made any progress in two years at the third stage of Body Tempering and can’t condense true essence!" Pointing at Wang Chen, Lin Qun loudly said to the group around him, his playful expression evident.

Instantly, the eyes of these people lit up, looking at Wang Chen with curiosity as if he were a rare sight.

Wang Chen looked coldly at those around him who were watching him with mocking eyes. His eyes were sharp and resolute. He had grown accustomed to such looks and situations. He didn’t care about others' opinions. How many times had he been mocked and ridiculed over the past two years? He couldn’t even remember. Since being judged as unable to condense true essence, it had been like a shadow following him.

If he were to give up, he would have done so two years ago. Since he had persisted until now, there was no reason to be defeated by others' looks and words. He only believed that he wouldn’t remain silent forever and would eventually shed the label of being a waste.

Thinking of this, Wang Chen gradually calmed down and continued walking forward.

"Hey... what’s the rush? Let us take a good look. My friends have been wanting to meet you for a long time, hahaha... come, introduce yourself. How do you cultivate? Staying in the same place for two years, you’re quite a talent!" Pulling Wang Chen, who was trying to squeeze out, Lin Qun laughed loudly.

"Get out of the way!" His voice was somewhat hoarse as he fiercely shook off Lin Qun’s hand and coldly shouted.

Clenching his fists, the veins on his hands bulged, and his nails dug deeply into his flesh, a thin trail of red blood slowly flowing down. His face was contorted with anger.

"What? Still not convinced? Do you have any objections to say?" Lin Qun, whose hand was shaken off, was also filled with anger. His face instantly turned cold, and he lifted Wang Chen’s head with his hand, asking lightly.

The scene froze, the atmosphere was suffocating. This situation also drew the attention of many students in the academy, and about a hundred people had gathered around without realizing it.

The crowd was filled with murmurs. Looking at Wang Chen, who was surrounded in the middle, they quickly recognized his identity.

Seeing that the people surrounding him were Lin Qun, the whispers grew louder, and the look in their eyes became somewhat pitying.

Not to mention Wang Chen, even among these people, many had been bullied by Lin Qun before. Now, with Wang Chen only at the third stage of Body Tempering, it was even worse. For Lin Qun’s tyranny, these people could only dare to be angry but not speak out!

The Lin family, a major family in Qingfeng City, was not someone they could offend.

Looking at Wang Chen, they could only sigh inwardly, knowing that he was in for a bad day.

"Let go!" Wang Chen fiercely shook off Lin Qun’s hand and growled in a low voice.

Lifting his head, he glared fiercely at Lin Qun. For this guy’s increasingly over-the-top actions, Wang Chen was prepared for anything. Even if he were to be beaten up again like last time, so what? Dignity was more important than anything. Without dignity, he had nothing. Now, he only had his dignity and an indomitable heart.

"Good... very good! You’ve got some guts! You dare to shake off my hand?" With his hand shaken off, Lin Qun laughed in anger. Being shaken off in front of so many people, he felt his face was completely lost. He looked fiercely at Wang Chen, clenching his fist and preparing to swing it forward.

Seeing the fist rapidly approaching, a hint of determination flashed in Wang Chen’s eyes, and he raised his hand to prepare to counterattack.

The atmosphere reached a boiling point, and everyone’s eyes widened, looking at Wang Chen in disbelief. He was actually going to counterattack, daring to oppose Lin Qun.

"Lin Qun, what are you doing!" Just as everyone was on edge, a light reprimand came from outside the crowd. The voice was calm but full of vitality.

Then, the crowd parted to make way for three people walking into the circle. One woman and two men, the woman in the lead was tall and slender, with a delicate face, wearing a clean white dress, standing gracefully like a snow lotus, giving off a cold and untouchable aura, as if she were far away even when standing right in front of you.

"Yuxuan, why are you here... nothing’s wrong, I just ran into this kid Wang Chen and was just chatting with him!" Seeing the person, a light flashed in Lin Qun’s eyes, and his expression changed 180 degrees. He spoke with a flattering tone, unable to hide his admiration.

The person who arrived was Han Yuxuan, the young miss of the Han family, and two other direct members of the Han family.

"Are you okay?" Coming to Wang Chen’s side, she frowned slightly and asked lightly.

"I’m fine!" Wang Chen nodded slightly and said lightly, looking at Han Yuxuan with a somewhat complex expression. It was her appearance that had helped him again.

But it was also because of this that he had incurred Lin Qun’s resentment, who often found trouble for him.

"Let’s go!" Seeing that Wang Chen was fine, the girl let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding and said softly.

"Leaving already?" Seeing Han Yuxuan about to leave, Lin Qun asked anxiously, his eyes filled with reluctance and greed.

Ignoring Lin Qun, her eyes filled with intense disgust, Han Yuxuan walked straight out.

Seeing that graceful figure ignore him and leave, a fierce look flashed in Lin Qun’s eyes.

"Hmph, little waste, you got lucky this time, Yuxuan helped you. Next time, you won’t have such good luck!" As he walked past Lin Qun, Wang Chen heard that cold voice.

In response to Lin Qun’s warning, Wang Chen coldly snorted: "I’ll be ready anytime!"

"Heh, kid, very good, you wait!" Seeing that Wang Chen dared to stand up to him, Lin Qun laughed in anger.

Walking out of the crowd, Wang Chen took a deep breath: "I owe you a favor! I’ll pay it back."

As he was about to turn and leave, he didn’t like the look of pity in others’ eyes.

"Hmph? You? What do you have to pay it back with? I think you should just stop causing trouble. By the way, don’t forget that you’re living under the Han family’s roof. Without the Han family, you would have died long ago. So, I don’t want to see you disgracing the Han family or using the Han family’s name to cause trouble!" In response to Wang Chen’s words, Han Yu revealed a look of disdain and said lightly.

Hearing these words, Wang Chen’s face turned cold. The gratitude he had felt a moment ago instantly disappeared. He looked up at the woman and the other man, neither of whom spoke, clearly agreeing with the man’s words.

"Rest assured, I’ve never done such a thing, I won’t do it now, and I won’t do it in the future!" Taking a deep breath and suppressing his anger, Wang Chen said coldly and turned to walk away quickly.

"What kind of person is he? If it weren’t for the Han family, would he even be alive? What’s the point of saving him, Yuxuan? Letting Lin Qun deal with him would have been better!" Seeing Wang Chen leave like this, the man revealed a look of dissatisfaction and complained to the woman beside him.

"Ha, forget it, Han Yu, why are you still arguing with such a waste? The Wang family helped our Han family in the past, and now that the Wang family has fallen, taking them in is a way to repay them!" The young man, about seventeen or eighteen years old, standing on the other side of the girl, smiled lightly and said.

"Wang family? They’re finished! Let’s go!" Listening to the two of them, the girl sighed slightly.

Hearing the murmurs behind him, Wang Chen clenched his fists again: "If I ever break free from these shackles, I will return today’s humiliation a hundredfold!"

…………………………………………

The summer night sky was vast and boundless, the silver moon like a plate, and the sky filled with stars.

"Still no success?"

On the lawn at the back of the mountain, looking at the deep night sky and feeling the true essence force that had barely condensed within his body dissipate again as he stopped cultivating, Wang Chen sighed slightly, feeling a bit disappointed.

Taking out the family jade pendant in his chest, his eyes showed a hint of sorrow and unwillingness, and he clutched it tightly, causing the wounds to bleed again, the blood flowing onto the jade pendant.

"Is the Wang family really going to fall like this?"

Yes, he was from the Wang family, the Wang family of Tianfeng Kingdom. A few years ago, this family was glorious and known to all. But that night, the night that he still found hard to forget, the family was destroyed in one night. His aunt took him and his brother and escaped from the disaster with the help of the clan members. Only they managed to escape. After that night, the once glorious Wang family no longer existed!

After that, they came to the Han family, who had a good relationship with the Wang family, hoping to revive the Wang family with their strength. Now, it seemed like a distant dream. Could he achieve this wish on his own? Thinking of this, two tears rolled down Wang Chen’s cheeks.

Looking into the distance, his heart was filled with sorrow, but he didn’t notice that when the tears fell onto the ancient jade pendant in his hand, the pendant flashed a faint green light, which disappeared in an instant.

Unable to condense true essence? What a ridiculous result. No matter how hard or tired he was, he could endure it. He believed that as long as he put in the effort, he would get a return. So, he had always been working hard and never given up!

Even if he had to endure cold looks, mockery, and ridicule.

But the reality before him now shattered his hopes, and his belief seemed to collapse at this moment. Over the past two years, how many cold looks had he endured, living under others’ roofs, and how much bullying had he suffered? The委屈in his heart spread out, making him feel a bit desolate.

"Rotten heavens, why are you like this? Do you really want the Wang family to never rise again!" Thinking of this, Wang Chen pointed at the vast night sky, roaring like an injured beast.

"My fate is in my hands, not in the heavens. The Wang family will not fall, and one day, the Wang family will stand at the peak of Tianfeng Kingdom again, recreating its former glory! Rotten heavens, wait and see, wait and see!" Wang Chen roared into the deep night sky, his eyes filled with a stubborn and determined look.

"There is no hopeless situation, only people who are hopeless about their situation." This was what his brother left him when he left the Han family to train.

Repeating this sentence over and over, finally, his eyes gradually brightened, looking into the distance and clenching his fists: "As long as there is a breath, there is hope."

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