As expected, the School of Management, lacking Lin Feng’s support, faced the formidable School of Physical Education in the third round of the tug-of-war. They held on for less than three seconds before being decisively beaten. Once again, the freshmen from the School of Management couldn’t escape the misfortune of a first-round elimination.
However, after winning the tug-of-war, the students from the School of Physical Education lost their earlier arrogance and no longer dared to boast in front of the School of Management students. After all, when Lin Feng had been present, the School of Management, with only ten people against their twenty, had easily defeated them once!
The School of Management students lost the match, but they weren’t dejected. Instead, they resentfully blamed a certain someone who had left early...
"That guy Lin Feng is so irresponsible! If he had stayed, we definitely would have won. Why did he leave early?" a male student from the Operations and Management class complained resentfully. "So what if Li Zhi tried to harm him? Hasn’t Lin Feng already taught Li Zhi a lesson? We lost the match entirely because of Lin Feng!"
"TSK TSK..." Su Zi glanced at the tall male student, recognizing him as one of those who had ignored Lin Feng’s call during the second round. A cold smirk touched her lips as she said in a serious tone, "You claim to be so responsible, so why didn’t you step up for the second round? If Lin Feng had lost then, do you think our School of Management would have even had a chance to reach the third round? The first round was Li Zhi’s own doing; he foolishly had his teammates slack off when the match was evenly poised. That was entirely his fault! Afterward, he even led other students away, showing a complete lack of discipline! In contrast, Lin Feng, with only ten of us against their twenty, fought hard to win us the second round. He did his absolute best! Where were you then? I really don’t get it. Why are there so many fools in this world who take others’ extraordinary efforts for granted?"
"I..." The boy who had been badmouthing Lin Feng flushed red with shame after Su Zi’s tirade. He didn’t know how to answer her. Finally, with a conflicted expression, he retorted, "Miss Su, weren’t you just talking about Lin Feng too?"
"HMPH... Just because I can talk about Lin Feng doesn’t mean you can. Understand?" Su Zi shot the boy a fierce glare and scolded him, her voice surprisingly coquettish.
Su Zi’s remark immediately drew a wave of teasing jeers from the crowd...
"Zhang Xiaoji, are you an idiot? Daring to badmouth Lin Feng in front of Miss Su... Everyone knows Lin Feng belongs to Miss Su!"
"TSK TSK, Miss Su is practically confessing her love! Too bad Lin Feng isn’t here; he can’t hear our dear Miss Su’s heartfelt words..."
Boys from both the Operations and Management and the Finance classes knew that Lin Feng, Su Zi, and Ning Aoxue almost always arrived at and left school together. Not knowing the exact nature of their relationship, there had always been plenty of speculation. In fact, many curious onlookers had secretly asked Su Zi about her connection with Lin Feng. However, Su Zi had never officially responded—this time was an exception.
But Su Zi was also a very magnanimous girl. Hearing the boys teasing her to her face didn’t faze her in the slightest. Instead, she giggled and boldly declared to her classmates, "Alright, since you all know, I’m not afraid to admit it! This young lady here just happens to like Lin Feng. And who can blame me? There’s no guy in the entire School of Management more impressive than him!"
"PFFT! Miss Su, you’re talking nonsense! I’m way more impressive than Lin Feng! Look at these muscles..."
Su Zi’s words immediately drew a chorus of dissatisfied boos and jeers...
"Damn, why are those guys from the School of Management so worked up? Anyone who saw them would think they actually won!" a student council officer from the School of Physical Education remarked with a laugh, observing the jubilant School of Management students.
"They’re just a bunch of insignificant clowns. The Sports Meet has always been our School of Physical Education’s show. No matter the event, it’ll be students from our School of Physical Education who have the last laugh!" Yang Zhi, chairman of the School of Physical Education’s student council, sneered.
"That’s for sure. Only that Lin Feng from the School of Management seemed a bit over-the-top just now. But one person can only sign up for a maximum of three events. No matter how capable he is alone, it’s useless!" The student council officer who had spoken earlier added, still a bit shaken. Recalling Lin Feng’s incredible strength, he couldn’t help but feel a lingering fear.
"HMPH, Lin Feng! He’s just an ordinary guy. If I really faced him in a competition, I wouldn’t necessarily be afraid of him!" It was unclear whether Yang Zhi was trying to boost his classmates’ morale or if he genuinely didn’t take Lin Feng seriously, but he scoffed disdainfully.
「 」
Lin Feng, who had left the sports ground, hadn’t gone far. He casually walked into an empty study room, found a seat in the back row, and comfortably rested his head on the table, closing his eyes...
Lin Feng’s victory against twenty members of the School of Physical Education hadn’t come without a price. During that brief five-second span in the competition, he had consumed over sixty percent of his body’s Inner Strength to unleash such terrifying power.
The greater the amount of Inner Strength unleashed explosively in a short time, the greater the toll on the body. Consequently, Lin Feng felt quite drained at that moment and urgently needed a short rest. Truth be told, he had his own difficult reasons for abandoning the School of Management’s tug-of-war competition.
At that moment, most students were on the school field watching the tug-of-war. Lin Feng thought he could finally get some proper rest. However, he had been lying down for less than half a minute when he heard a soft, gentle female voice ask with concern, "Lin Feng, are... are you alright? Were you injured just now?"
Lin Feng looked up at the sound and was surprised to see the beautiful counselor, Xu Jing, standing before him. Her fair face showed deep concern, and her brows were slightly furrowed as she looked at him.
"Teacher Xu, what are you doing here...?" Lin Feng looked at Xu Jing in surprise. Why would she be in this deserted study room?
"I saw everything that happened on the field earlier... You rushed back here so quickly. Were you injured?" Xu Jing looked at Lin Feng, her expression anxious, and said in a low voice, "Lin Feng, I know you’re a martial artist too, but what you did just now... it was too dangerous. Please don’t do that again!"
Lin Feng understood what Xu Jing meant. Teacher Xu was reminding him not to be reckless just because he possessed Inner Strength. Forcibly channeling and explosively releasing his Inner Strength like he did earlier could easily damage his body...
As for how Xu Jing knew he was a martial artist, Lin Feng wasn’t particularly surprised. He had met her grandfather, Xu Yishan, who was a top-tier expert at the fifth level of Inner Strength. Even if Xu Jing herself hadn’t practiced martial arts, having spent years around Xu Yishan, her ability to discern such things likely wouldn’t be poor.
However, Lin Feng didn’t want to worry Xu Jing, so he grinned easily and said, "Teacher, what are you talking about? I’m perfectly fine, full of beans! There’s absolutely nothing wrong with me!"