At the entrance of the academy's sparring room, Meng Xuan stood silently. From his expression, it was clear he was waiting for someone.
A group of people soon approached the academy sparring room.
Among them, the figure at the center, with fiery red hair, stood out the most. The rest looked like mere followers, their steps halting together at the front of the sparring hall.
Mengxuan looked at Jiaosan hatefully.
"Measly ant, why are you suddenly blocking the entrance? Jiaosan and the rest of us want to spar together!" a guy among the group shouted.
"Jiaosan, you say?" Mengxuan spoke calmly.
The guy at the center with crimson-red hair also looked up at the call of his name. Their eyes met, and the other party could only see rage in Jiaosan's eyes.
Jiaosan's heart clenched tightly as he stared at Mengxuan intently. Anytime he remembered that disgraceful incident, he always felt like killing him. He couldn't openly kill him with the academy's eyes all over, so he could only send his followers to go against him. But the last time, there was no news of them again.
"I'll have to disappoint you, but the spar room isn't free for today," Meng Xuan said with a brief pause before he continued, "But if you roaches think you can barge in, you might have to pass through me." His tone changed.
The students were all surprised at Mengxuan's bold words. Only Jiaosan seemed indifferent.
Mengxuan's words set a ruckus among the group of students as they started a commotion.
"Did that ant just call Jiao San and the lot of us roach?"
A guy suddenly burst out with anger as he shouted, "Outrageous! How dare you call us cockroach?" The guy turned back to Jiao San.
"Jiao San, just give us the permission and we will show this loser our true might!"
Mengxuan hissed.
"A bunch of bootlickers, why do you need to take permission from him? If you are ready to fight, then come straight at me." Meng Xuan used his hand to beckon the guy forward.
His words only increased the guy's rage, and he suddenly rushed at Meng Xuan.
Jiao San just stood quiet, watching the unfolding scene. He also wanted Mengxuan to fall. He was too bold. The guy who rushed at Mengxuan was nicknamed Mad Fury for his short-tempered personality and rough battle style. Jiaosan himself had once lost to him during a friendly spar, but his followers had found a good reason to justify the defeat.
The almost breaking smile on Jiaosan's face froze suddenly.
Mengxuan had easily dodged Mad Fury's first two moves, which included an air-piercing powerful kick. What followed was a seemingly light punch from Mengxuan, and Mad Fury was sent flying backward. Wood splinters filled the air as he hit a nearby wooden desk.
Red warm liquid trickled down Mad Fury's nostrils. He could also feel that two or three of his ribs were broken.
"A demon's strength should never be underestimated," Mengxuan commented to himself indifferently.
Step ~
The group subconsciously turned their heads back, only to be met with a surprise.
An aloof guy with golden hair walked toward them with a cultured, gentle manner. He had a sharp aquiline nose, and his light blue eyes stared at the group as if he was reading their minds.
"Di Tang…"
"What's he doing here?"
Jiaosan and Di Tang ang stared at themselves intently, and Meng Xuan could deduce that there was an unhidden conflict between them.
He walked toward Mengxuan, a light gait in his steps.
"Meng Xuan, sorry for the delay. I was attending to some important business," Di Tang spoke up, holding Meng Xuan's shoulder in a friendly manner.
Jiao San looked at the duo, quizzically staring at each of his group members.
He had been absent from the academy for about three weeks. His group member's should have reached him of Meng Xuan and Di Tang's alliance. Why did he not hear a single thing? The expression on their faces was as if they had known each other for a long time.
His group members all had a guilty expression. They remained silent. Since they were fans of Jiao San, they didn't want him feeling depressed hearing that the guy who had defeated him had also won against another formidable figure. They quietly avoided the matter when he came back.
Meng Xuan waved his hand casually.
"It's nothing. You just allowed the pestering of this roaches," he said in a self-satisfied tone.
"roaches, huh!" Di Tang mumbled, his gaze moving to the group members before it finally landed on Mad Fury, who was trying his best to stand properly.
He began to like Meng Xuan more and more. "As expected of a friend I chose," he lampooned inwardly.
"He's using the term cockroach again. I really want to kill him." The group members all felt indignation toward his word, but they didn't dare speak up. They only looked up to Jiao San for him to do something. But he just stood there silently before he finally said,
"Let's go."
This was a perfect example of the system territory Meng Xuan had thought of. A system where your personality, strength, social connection, temperament, and financial power let you gain a personal territory over others. It's like a circle under your feet. Every tiny circle was insignificant in a larger circle.
Di Tang was obviously the one with the larger circle while the other group members were the tiny circles. Only Jiao San's circle could be said to be matched on a little but inferior level.
As long as you are in this territory, you will voluntarily obey some kind of law, like the way you address the person, change of tone, and sometimes even behavior. This could be seen in Jiao San's group members.
.....
Di Tang and Meng Xuan each sparred for about half an hour. Di Tang almost couldn't contain the joy in his heart. Anytime he inflicted pain attacks on Meng Xuan, his mouth would curl up into a derisive smile.
Meng Xuan stared at this sadist opponent. He was after the two soul coins, and he also sought to gain experience.
Meng Xuan abruptly stopped.
"What happened?" Di Tang asked, confused. He was already enjoying the fight. Meng Xuan's sudden stop was like a raging fire that was suddenly extinguished.
"Don't you think our fight is getting boring? Let's switch to sword fight." He brought up a change.
Di Tang's light-blue eyes were wide open as he spoke happily,
"Really, you also know sword art?"
"Yeah, my mother also taught me."
They each went to the weapon racks in the spar room, collecting a sword and a saber.
The battle began, the clanging sound of metal reverberated in the spar room.
Meng Xuan knew allowing Fi Tang to wield a weapon wasn't meticulous, and he was prone to danger, but experience is the key to becoming strong. Plus, he also had the demon's self-healing attributes.
Amidst the fight, Di Tian spoke up, evading a sword coming at his head.
"Have you considered my earlier invitation?"
"I'll think about it."