Derek was fuming. Every single attempt to humiliate Anthony or put him in his place had backfired spectacularly. He was becoming the laughingstock of the school, while Anthony remained untouchable.
"Words won't work," Derek gritted his teeth, clenching his fists until his knuckles turned white. "Magic tricks won't save him from raw power. I'll break him physically. Then they'll see how tough he really is."
It was PE class. The students were doing warm-up exercises and partner stretching. The teacher was distracted, talking to some senior students on the other side of the field.
Derek walked over to Anthony. "Hey. Partner up with me."
Anthony looked at him. "I was just going to stretch by myself—"
"Too late!" Derek grabbed Anthony's right arm. He gripped it tight, his fingers digging in like steel vices.
"Let's see how flexible you are," Derek grinned maliciously, his eyes glowing with the power of his physique soul. He began to twist. His plan was simple: break Anthony's arm. Make him scream. Make him cry. Restore the natural order where Derek was strong and Anthony was weak.
CRACK.
A sharp, snapping sound echoed clearly across the field.
"AHHHHHHHHH!!!"
A scream of agony tore through the air. But it wasn't Anthony screaming. It was Derek.
Derek fell to his knees, clutching his left arm, rolling on the grass in pain. His arm was bent at a horrible, unnatural angle.
Anthony was standing perfectly still. His arm was completely fine. He looked down at Derek with a mixture of pity and disappointment.
"Derek, really?" Anthony sighed, shaking his head. "You tried to apply torsional force to my radius and ulna? Do you have any idea what the compressive strength of my bones is right now? Through constant cultivation, my skeletal density has been compressed to nearly that of a diamond matrix. Your arm is basically made of chalk compared to that."
Anthony knelt down and tapped Derek's broken arm.
"Basic Newtonian physics, my friend. For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. You pushed hard enough to break stone, so stone pushed back and broke you. You essentially broke your own arm, genius. I didn't even touch you."
"Liar! Cheater! You used magic!" Derek cried, tears streaming down his face from the pain.
"I used logic," Anthony corrected him calmly. "And perhaps a tiny bit of energy redirection. But mostly, it was just you being clumsy and overestimating your own durability."
Sarah, who was nearby, rushed over immediately. Her hands began to glow with warm, white healing light.
"What happened?!" Sarah asked frantically, then she saw Derek's arm. "Oh my goodness! Derek, your arm is shattered!"
"He had an accident," Anthony said helpfully, standing up and brushing grass off his pants. "Tried to arm wrestle with a mountain. I told him it wasn't a good idea, but he insisted. Very stubborn fellow."
From that day onward, nobody in the school ever tried to physically grab, hit, or touch Anthony ever again. They realized that touching him was physically hazardous to their health.