Chapter 47: Danger
.
Hearing Zhu Rong's words, everyone's expression changed.
On one side, the two girls were surprised, wanting to ask if he really didn't need a hand from them.
After all, he'd just helped them out, and they wanted to repay the favor.
On the other side was Li Daniu's group.
The moment they heard those words, their faces turned dark.
"Bastard, you dare provoke us?!
You think you'll have it just as easy with us as you did with that beast?!" shouted the fatty furiously.
"Young master, people like this don't learn until it's too late. Give me a chance, I'll beat some humility into his head," said the burly guy, equally pissed.
Li Daniu, who had an expression as dark as the bottom of a burnt pot, finally spoke.
"Good… very good. I was planning to let you off this time, but it seems you don't appreciate my kindness.
Let's see if that cockiness of yours is all for show or not," he said, signaling to his lackeys.
The two of them didn't waste time and moved in.
"Haha, kid, don't say I didn't warn you.
Since you wanna act tough, let me test you myself," said the bulky one, stepping forward while the fat one hung back, keeping his distance.
Zhu Rong didn't say a word.
Right in front of them, he calmly tucked the beast core into his bag, as if they didn't even exist.
Seeing that the guy wasn't giving him any face, the burly one's face twisted in anger as a vein popped on his forehead.
"Let's see if you can take even one hit from me!" he roared, channeling power into his legs and shooting toward his opponent.
He pulled his fist back as a gray glow coated it, and with the momentum he'd built up, he threw a punch at Zhu Rong with everything he had.
The two girls saw this and shouted out to warn him, but by then, the guy was already upon Zhu Rong.
"You bastard, take this!" he roared, aiming straight for the side of Zhu Rong's head.
Boom!
A heavy collision sounded out and a cloud of dust kicked up, obscuring the two figures.
The girls looked worried, and Lin Shuiyao asked if they should jump in.
"No, let's wait a little. He said he'd handle it on his own, so let's stay out of it for now.
I doubt someone with his strength could lose to them," said Mu Qinglan, though even her face looked unsure.
She'd seen Zhu Rong clearly let the guy's attack land, and while she believed in him, she wasn't completely sure he could shake it off so easily.
Soon, the dust began to settle and the scene before them came into view.
"What the hell?" Li Daniu, whose eyesight was sharper than the other two, instantly noticed what was happening and was left dumbfounded.
"You… how did you?" muttered the burly guy, his arm trembling in Zhu Rong's grasp.
Not only had the other party not bothered dodging, he'd taken the hit head on, and stopped it completely.
He couldn't believe a student in their same year had managed to take his full powered attack without so much as flinching.
He cultivated a body strengthening technique that made his body hard as steel, and his strength was among the top of the second year students.
He'd been certain no one in the Body Tempering stage could take a hit like that.
And yet here he was, his fully charged strike stopped like nothing.
A chill ran down his spine at the sight, and he immediately tried to pull his hand free… only to realize he couldn't.
"What?! Let me go, you bastard!" he yelled, furious and panicked all at once.
He swung his left arm for another strike, but that too was caught like it was nothing.
Zhu Rong watched his useless struggle and let out a cold "Tch."
"And here I was expecting something decent.
Why do you talk so much when you've got such pathetic strength?
Seriously, kids these days love to run their mouths," he said.
"Bastard, let's see how you block this!" a voice barked from the side.
Turning his head, Zhu Rong spotted the fatty preparing what looked like a fireball.
Seeing the size of it, Zhu Rong could only shake his head and glance at the guy he still held.
"Looks like I'll have to show you what a real punch looks like.
Watch carefully," he said,
and under the burly guy's terrified gaze, he yanked back his right fist, clenched it tight, and before the other could even react,
Boom!
The punch slammed into the guy's stomach, sending him flying backward like a cannonball.
"Sht, move!" Li Daniu screamed in horror, realizing what was about to happen, but it was too late.
The burly guy crashed straight into his own teammate, the fatty, who barely had time to curse before getting flattened by the massive body hurtling at him.
Both of them were sent flying for several meters before smashing into a tree.
With what looked like a simple punch, Zhu Rong had taken out two first stage students, leaving both girls stunned once again at his power.
Li Daniu's face was a mask of disbelief as he took in the scene, and he couldn't stop his gaze from turning toward Zhu Rong.
'Sht, where the hell did this monster come from? Why the hell did I provoke him?'
He was starting to seriously regret picking this fight.
He'd thought to intimidate the guy, grab the beast core, and complete his mission quickly,
Instead, here he was alone while his two goons lay out cold.
Even the two girls, still stunned by his performance,
began stepping forward to congratulate him, when one of them noticed something odd.
"Hey… what's with him?" Lin Shuiyao muttered, sensing something wasn't right.
Her friend had the same bad feeling as she glanced toward Zhu Rong.
Li Daniu too, just as he was about to look for a chance to slip away, noticed the change in the guy's demeanor and felt a shiver crawl up his back.
Zhu Rong's relaxed look from earlier was gone, replaced with a serious, sharp stare as he lifted his head.
His pupils narrowed, and in a sudden blur, he leapt aside and shouted,
"Run!"
The others didn't have time to process what they'd just heard,
As in the next moment something heavy slammed into the ground where Zhu Rong had been standing, smashing the earth apart.