"It's just a Ninth Grade demon spirit, that's all."
This kind of talk goes beyond arrogance—if people heard it, they'd probably think Lin Feng had gone mad.
On yesterday's Awakening Day, apart from Ye Qiu, who else had the right to say such a thing?
Gao Hai and Yang Fan fell silent. They just stared blankly at Lin Feng.
"With my soul power, I feel like I could refine even higher-level demon spirits. Like those on the Earth Chart. I actually caught a Wind-Fire Mad Lion from the Earth Chart, but its attribute just didn't fit me." Lin Feng said with perfect seriousness.
This time, even Yang Fan was shocked!
Did he hear that right? Just a Ninth Grade demon spirit?
That's all?
Why does this sound so off?
He wants to refine an Earth Chart demon spirit—did he really hear that right?
He probably didn't hear wrong!
Despite how unbelievable it sounded, the two didn't entirely doubt Lin Feng's words.
This kind of lie wouldn't hold up over time. What good would it do Lin Feng to trick them?
Unless Lin Feng really had lost his mind.
"No wonder you didn't look the slightest bit down or upset before."
After his shock faded, Gao Hai suddenly understood.
He finally realized why, even after failing Awakening Day, Lin Feng remained so calm from start to finish. Even when Ya Ge's family treated him that way, he never flinched—he even had a faintly mocking smile at the corner of his mouth.
Even after breaking up today, Lin Feng was still unfazed.
So this is where his confidence comes from!
Ya Ge is only a Body Cultivator at the Sixth Rank, and she fused with an Eighth Grade Enchanting Butterfly. But Lin Feng is a Body Cultivator at the Seventh Rank, can't even bother with a Ninth Grade demon spirit, and wants to refine one from the Earth Chart.
Gao Hai had originally felt angry at Ya Ge for being so realistic, but now he wasn't mad anymore.
At this point, Gao Hai was finally convinced it was Lin Feng who broke it off.
"Brother Feng, since you can refine a demon spirit from the Earth Chart, why didn't you tell Ya Ge?" Gao Hai asked.
"For her, I hid my talent, hid my strength."
Lin Feng sighed, with dejection in his eyes he couldn't hide: "I wanted to say it, but I never expected things to turn out this way..."
Gao Hai patted Lin Feng on the shoulder in comfort, but quickly grew puzzled again: "Hide your talent—what do you mean?"
Yang Fan looked at Lin Feng too, not understanding.
"Don't you guys think I'm really strong today?" Lin Feng asked.
"Not just strong, you're absolutely scary—one-against-six, basically invincible at the Body Cultivation Realm!" Gao Hai nodded in agreement.
In the past, Lin Feng was called a madman. No one dared provoke him—not because his strength was overwhelming, but because he fought fierce and wild in every scuffle.
But today, Lin Feng won entirely on strength.
Under the gaze of Gao Hai and Yang Fan, Lin Feng's expression turned a bit bitter: "All these years, I've been suppressing my cultivation speed."
"Because we once promised, we'd get into the same university together."
"Otherwise, with my talent, how could I be just Body Cultivator Seventh Rank by now? I'd be at least Ninth Rank!"
The more Lin Feng talked, the more he said, and the more Gao Hai and Yang Fan listened, the more shocked they became. In their minds, his words painted an incredibly clear picture.
A young man, for the sake of the childhood sweetheart he grew up with, to be with her, even though he was a genius, ruthlessly suppressed his own cultivation speed, just so she wouldn't feel inferior and so he could stay by her side.
A young man, who after failing Awakening Day didn't even get the chance to explain, only got strange looks and cold treatment from his girlfriend, and in his heartbreak broke up quietly but decisively.
Because of an accidental fight, the young man revealed formidable fighting technique, effortlessly beating much stronger opponents.
Fearing retaliation, the young man decided to form his own Martial Arts Club, revealing his talent for that reason.
"Brother Feng, Ya Ge doesn't deserve you," Gao Hai finally blurted out, trying to hold back his excitement.
"Brother Feng, from today on, I'll call you Brother Feng too. I, Yang Fan, have never admired anyone since I was born. You're the first."
There was a hint of respect in Yang Fan's eyes as he sighed.
He called himself Jianghu All-known. His own strength wasn't much—just Body Cultivator Fifth Rank—but he was a proud person, with plans for his own future. Becoming a powerful Martial Artist wasn't his only goal.
He believed that even if he couldn't become a powerful Martial Artist, his future prospects were limitless.
Even being ranked first in the school year, in his opinion, was simply a matter of better talent or background.
But today, he admitted defeat.
In Jiangxin First Middle School, he'd seen plenty of love stories, but today's was the most romantic he'd witnessed—only a pity the female lead wasn't up to par.
Even now he still found it hard to believe, but as he'd seen with his own eyes, Lin Feng's fighting technique was strong—so strong, in fact, that 'strong' wasn't even enough to describe it.
If it was just about fighting technique, he bet even their Martial Arts teacher was no match for Lin Feng.
Just relying on fighting technique, even at just Body Cultivator Seventh Rank, Lin Feng could definitely break into the year's top hundred—yet he'd always hovered in the five-hundreds.
Before today, Lin Feng had never shown his fighting technique in school.
If it weren't for the breakup, he probably would have kept hiding his talent.
Lin Feng's talent was one thing—the thing he admired more was Lin Feng's patience.
Just to avoid making his girlfriend feel inferior, just to get into the same university, he hid his talent for years.
To him that sounded dumb—way too "anime protagonist."
But there was no denying Lin Feng's willpower was unbelievable.
That kind of patience even made him a little afraid.
For three years of high school, he was in Lin Feng's class, but Lin Feng never once appeared the least bit like a genius, and not a single person noticed any cracks in his act.
If it were him, maybe he could do it for a day, a week, maybe a month—but definitely not a year.
And as for talent—in other words, cultivation speed—you could see that since middle school. That meant Lin Feng had kept up this act for almost six years.
He couldn't imagine it. Could a student really do that?
If it were him, he'd probably be dying for everyone to know he was a genius.
Vanity and attention—those are things all students can't resist.
Seeing Yang Fan and Gao Hai getting wrapped up in his made-up story, utterly convinced, Lin Feng felt a little guilty inside.
Starting a Martial Arts Club was his plan, and only if this plan succeeded could his follow-up plans work out smoothly.
Within two months, he had to refine Nightmare. There was no way he could do it alone.
The memories in his head could help him make money, but some plans needed capital. He didn't have that capital, and even if he succeeded, he didn't have the ability to protect it—it'd just get stolen away, or worse, he'd get killed. Lin Feng didn't want to take that risk.
So, he needed to form an organization to help him, and not have to worry about results being stolen.
If you want to be the boss when creating an organization, you either need background or strength.
Lin Feng had no background, so he needed to prove his strength—or rather, his potential.
Although showing his strength today shocked a lot of people, in everyone's eyes, his talent wasn't really much. Since he couldn't become a Demon Spirit Master, he was seen as a dead end.
That was why Mo Xun, knowing he wasn't a match for Lin Feng, still dared to threaten him.
Lin Feng needed a reason for everyone to believe he was an unrivaled genius.
And that reason was just as he'd said: for Ya Ge, he'd bitterly suppressed his own talent.
He happened to fail Awakening Day, and then broke up, all at a critical time—this explanation gained just enough credibility. It was a bit ridiculous, but so long as he showed enough talent, it'd get accepted.
This was also paving the way for refining Nightmare.
Once he refined Nightmare, his cultivation talent would be freakish. If his cultivation sped up too fast, people would get suspicious—everyone would know something was up.
Lin Feng didn't have the strength yet to resist others trying to watch his every move.
This probably wasn't fair to Ya Ge, but it was the most believable reason Lin Feng could come up with.
"Yang Fan, do you want to join my Martial Arts Club?"
In Lin Feng's eyes, Yang Fan was talented. The guy styled himself as Jianghu All-known, and nobody was better at finding out information.
"Brother Feng, I'm in."
Yang Fan agreed without hesitation. Besides the respect for Lin Feng and today's favor, there was another important reason—his own club.
His Jianghu News Agency lacked a background and couldn't grow strong. Many of his plans weren't possible. When he and his members got beaten up by Ji Yu and others, he could only tell everyone to endure, because he knew his club couldn't survive any kind of real trouble.
If Lin Feng was his backer, his Jianghu News Agency would definitely rise.
Yang Fan's quick agreement was within Lin Feng's expectations.
"Let me ask—you know in the school, aside from Mo Xun's Elite Martial Arts Club, are there any others out there who could stand up to their influence?" Lin Feng asked.
"There are some. Jiangxin Middle School has three hundred thousand students—there's no shortage of people hiding their strengths. Some might not be gifted, but their backgrounds are impressive. Even Mo Xun's group wouldn't mess with them lightly."
Yang Fan thought a bit, then said, "But those guys only care about their own strength and what college they'll get into after the college entrance exam. Even if you're a genius and the top in the whole school, those guys won't pay you any mind, let alone waste time joining your Martial Arts Club."
From what he knew, the Elite Martial Arts Club had been created by Mo Xun back in freshman year, just to form a fighting clique. Later on, more and more rich kids joined in. After three years, they had thirty-seven core members. Some of their families were big business groups, some were major families. It looked like a ton of influence, and they even started collecting membership fees.
They collected over a million a month in dues, which seemed like a lot, but was really just for those thirty-seven guys to eat and party on.
Bottom line, it was just a Martial Arts Club of high schoolers.
In the eyes of the school authorities, it was just kids playing house.
If real trouble broke out, don't talk to them about loyalty—when push comes to shove, they all run for it, and their parents won't lift a finger to help.
Yang Fan laid out his thoughts for Lin Feng, hoping to dissuade him from the idea. But Lin Feng wasn't discouraged at all—there was even a little smile at the corner of his mouth.
"As expected, just as I guessed."
Lin Feng was secretly pleased; he'd judged Yang Fan right after all. This guy's talent wasn't great, but his information-gathering skills were top-notch.
Now he had a target for club members. Next would depend on him as club president.
As for Yang Fan's concerns, they all boiled down to shared interests.
The memories in his head were those interests; with help from the Martial Arts Club, he could turn that knowledge into money and resources. Once everyone gained benefits together, and as he grew stronger, everyone would join the ride. With the Martial Arts Club's members backing him up, he didn't have to worry about others coveting or robbing him.
That way, no matter what force he faced in Jiang City, he'd have the confidence.
And this was only the first step of his plan.
According to his plan, his Martial Arts Club would get bigger and stronger. As everyone grew, this little Martial Arts Club would slowly transform, eventually becoming a big company—a large group!