Little Dong

"What?" Ryu's eyes had blinked. Little Dong, the word "dong" had meant something else in his old country. Something that had made him laugh loudly from his stomach.

Little Dong had turned angry at his reaction. "How dare you laugh at me! I am the number one talented student at the outer palace."

'Number 1? If I remember right, he should be at the ninth level of body tempering, one step away from the Qi Refining realm.

Well, if I had met him yesterday, I may have escaped, but now? Well, I should teach a lesson to this Little Dong.'

"So, you're the famous number one talented student, Little Dong," Ryu had said with a faint smile.

"I've heard about you. But the academy arranged this courtyard for me. Isn't it against the rules to just take it from me?"

Little Dong had shrugged casually. "What breaking rules? I got bored of my old courtyard, and now I like this one.

I don't care if it was assigned to you by the academy; it's mine now. In this place, if I want something, no one can stop me from taking it.

So, if you know what's good for you, find somewhere else."

Ryu had looked at him with a nonchalant expression. "This is my place, and it's not up to you to decide who stays or goes. If you want it, you'll have to force me out."

Their conflict quickly pulled the attention of other students passing by.

"Whoa, check this out. Someone's actually standing up to Little Dong!"

"No way! In the outer palace, Little Dong is practically invisible here. Who's this guy who thinks he can go up against him?"

Little Dong had sneered, his eyes filled with disdain.

"Ryu, you're nothing but a student who got promoted because of sheer luck. Do you really think you can take something from me?

I heard you were acting tough when you first arrived, even beating up Lin Yu's younger brother.

Well, today, I'm going to put you in your place on behalf of Lin Yu!"

A fierce, murderous aura radiated from Little Dong as he glared at Ryu.

'Ah, so he wants to lick someone's butt, but a Little Dong and a butt,' Ryu's lips had curled into a grin, "I hope Lin Yu's back is prepared to take your Little Dong."

Unfortunately, Little Dong didn't understand what Ryu meant. Instead, he felt confused by his words. Otherwise, he would have gone all out to kill him then.

"Never mind that you wouldn't understand since you're just a dog while I'm speaking human language."

Ryu had mocked, ignoring Little Dong as he had stepped toward the courtyard.

Little Dong's eyes flashed with anger. "You're the first person in this academy to talk to me like that. You're dead!"

With a roar, Little Dong's right hand curled into a claw, aiming straight for Ryu's throat with lightning speed. But Ryu hadn't even flinched; he had looked at it calmly.

The crowd had held its breath, waiting to see what would happen next.

"Wow, this guy really dared to provoke Little Dong. He's not going to make it out of this without a scratch," one of the onlookers had whispered.

Many of them thought Ryu would get heavily injured today, and some of them also thought he was someone stupid who couldn't see Mount Tai.

But the thing they had been expecting had never come.

Little Dong had been fast, but Ryu had been faster.

In an instant, Ryu had used his Blink Step to dodge Little Dong's claw attack. He had appeared several meters away, completely unharmed.

"He dodged it?" The onlookers hadn't been able to believe their eyes. They stared in shock.

Little Dong had narrowed his eyes, surprised. "I underestimated you. Didn't think you had some skill."

"Little Dong, fighting privately is against the rules of Lingyun Martial Academy. You're not afraid of getting expelled?"

Little Dong had smirked. He had replied confidently, "You really think the academy's rules will stop me? You're too naive! Rules are made for the weak.

Even if I seriously hurt you, the academy won't do a thing to me."

Little Dong believed that, with his status, there was no way he would have been punished for beating someone like Ryu.

"A dog barks loudly, as I expected. Talking human language with you is useless."

Ryu's voice had rung out coldly in the air, and the crowd had gasped.

"Fine, let's settle this in the ring. If you're so sure of yourself, then I'll take your title as the number one student today!"

The crowd had been stunned, once again thinking Ryu was crazy. As a newcomer, he had dared to challenge number one?

It wasn't just a matter of losing. After this, his life in the outer court would turn into hell. Little Dong would surely tell everyone to bully him, making it hard to do anything.

This would affect his cultivation, even resulting in a bleak future for Ryu. No one sane would have ever done that except if they had a death wish.

Little Dong's face had twisted with anger, but he had laughed coldly. "You've got guts. Fine, let's go!"

Without waiting for an answer, Little Dong walked toward the martial arts arena. His plan had been to deal with Ryu quickly, then spread the rumor to gain Lin Yu's favor.

He had never thought Ryu would dare to accept a public challenge from him. Otherwise, he would have started with this.

Ryu had followed him without hesitation.

"Is he serious? He's actually going to fight Little Dong?" one of the students had whispered in disbelief.

"He's either a hidden tiger or crazy," another had muttered.