Chapter 46: "You want it? Then come take it,"
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The two girls stopped and turned their heads in the direction of the forest where the voice had come from,
and before long, three students wearing the same second year academy uniforms stepped out from the shadows of the trees.
Zhu Rong didn't pay much attention to what the other side had said, casually picking up the core while glancing over to see who it was.
'Well, it seems like surprises just keep coming today.' he thought as he recognized the student leading the group.
The guy was of average height, with long black hair and an unremarkable face,
but despite that, he wore the expression of someone who looked down on everyone else.
His name was Li Daniu, a member of the Li family.
Unlike Li Duoji, he wasn't from the main branch but from a secondary one.
That said, he followed Li Duoji's orders to the letter, and because of that, his status was far higher than it should have been.
No one dared to mess with him, not because of his own ability, but because everyone knew he had Li Duoji backing him.
Zhu Rong was kind of a little bully in the academy during his past life, but this guy in front of him had been far worse.
Just looking at the way he acted now was enough to get an idea.
Li Daniu strutted over like the place belonged to him, and when he saw Zhu Rong casually take the core while ignoring him, his face darkened.
"Hey, you deaf or something? You dared to steal my prey and now you're even taking its core? You got a death wish or what?" he snapped, clearly displeased, and soon his two lackeys came up beside him.
"Yeah! How dare you steal Young Master's prey!" sneered a chubby guy who looked like it took real effort for him to even take a step forward.
"Tch, Young Master, looks like this guy doesn't even put you in his eyes!
Doesn't respect you one bit!
Let me teach him a lesson for you," said the other, a muscular guy with a build so overgrown for his age it almost looked unnatural.
Even Zhu Rong couldn't help but give him a curious glance.
'Huh, interesting physique…' he thought, a few special body constitutions coming to mind.
Li Daniu looked pleased by his lackeys' words, but before he could savor the moment, another voice interrupted.
"Li Daniu, are you seriously saying we stole your prey?
Did you leave your brain at home before coming here?" said Lin Shuiyao sharply, looking at him like he was something disgusting.
"How dare you… Do you have any idea who I am?
A girl from a lowly family like yours dares to speak to me like that?
Just one word from me, and your family will be out on the streets" Li Daniu spat back, clearly irritated.
"Oh really? I'd love to see you try," another voice joined in, none other than Mu Qinglan.
Li Daniu pulled an irritated expression, clearly having noticed the two of them.
He had indeed hunted the panther, but unfortunately for him, the beast had been too fast and didn't fall into his trap.
In the end, he was forced to chase after it, and by the time he arrived, the panther had already found new prey.
He knew full well his group couldn't handle the beast head on,
they were all only at the first stage, and the beast was way too fast for them.
So, when he saw the beast attacking the two girls, he decided to stay back and wait for the perfect moment to strike and claim the kill.
In his mind the plan was perfect.
And with a beast of this grade, he could already imagine the points and glory coming his way.
But his dream got shattered the instant another person appeared out of nowhere and took down his prey while it was distracted.
Although surprised, he thought that the pearson had simply been lucky, taking advantage of a moment of distraction from the beast.
So he'd rushed over, fully intending to reclaim what he thought was rightfully his.
Now, though, he had to deal with these two girls, and one of them, in particular, was a pain even for him.
"Sister Mu, this doesn't concern you. I suggest you step aside.
That guy stole my prey and is even trying to take its core.
If I don't teach him a lesson today, what will the others think of me?" he said, acting as if he were the victim here.
"Li Daniu, how dare you call it your prey?
Where the hell were you when we were being attacked by that thing?
If it weren't for this person, both of us would've ended up seriously hurt.
And now you have the nerve to claim it was yours? Don't think I'll turn a blind eye just because you're from the Li family," Mu Qinglan fired back, utterly disgusted.
Clearly, the other side was taking advantage of the situation to claim the gains from the prey.
It was obvious the group of three had been nearby and had probably noticed her dangerous situation earlier.
She had no doubt they'd noticed the danger she and Lin Shuiyao were in, and instead of stepping in, they waited for a chance to steal the prey.
And now that they had failed in their plan, they wanted to extort the profits from the prey?
She was furious and wasn't about to let it slide.
"Sister Mu, you're being unreasonable.
The beast was too fast and managed to slip away from us.
We were just about to finish it off when this guy butted in and stole our prey.
If anyone's to blame here, it's him, don't you think?" Li Daniu said, acting as if he hadn't heard a word of what she'd just said.
Mu Qinglan's fury spiked, and she was ready to attack.
Lin Shuiyao wasted no time either, pulling out an arrow and channeling her spiritual energy into it, ready to strike, clearly just as pissed.
But right as the standoff was about to explode, a figure stepped between the two girls.
They blinked in confusion, about to ask what he was doing, when the boy turned to them and said,
"I appreciate you standing up for me, but don't worry, there's no need.
I can handle this myself," Zhu Rong said as he turned to face Li Daniu's group.
"You said this belongs to you, right?" he asked, holding up the small, pale blue beast core between his fingers.
"That's right.
Glad to see you're not completely stupid.
Hand it over and I'll pretend you didn't steal my prey," Li Daniu grinned smugly, pleased to see the other guy about to give up the core.
'Tch… trash. If it weren't for that lucky hit, you'd never have taken down that beast. At least you're not totally clueless,' he thought, his grin widening.
But that grin froze as Zhu Rong's next words hit his ears.
"Oh really? Well, I don't feel like giving it up.
If you want it so bad, why don't you come take it yourself?
though I can't say you have the strength to do so," Zhu Rong said, casually tossing the core up and down in his hand.
He'd decided to have a little fun.
After all, this was someone who'd made his past life miserable, and even though Li Duoji was the one behind it all, this guy had played his part.
Zhu Rong had sworn to settle every old score in this life, and since one of those names had come walking right up to him,
he figured he might as well start with him.