"Have you heard? Lin Feng and Ya Ge broke up."
"No way, weren't they always showing off how sweet they were? How could they break up?"
"Couples who flaunt their love always break up fast!"
"Are you dumb? What's Ya Ge's status now—she's a future Eighth Grade Demon Spirit Master. Plus, she's already signed a contract with Juxing Club. Her future is bright. Lin Feng's strong, sure, but just strong—not enough to become a Demon Spirit Master. There's no way he can keep up with Ya Ge."
"Isn't Ya Ge a bit too realistic? She dumped Lin Feng this quickly."
"I heard Ji Yu said he's going to chase Ya Ge. Maybe that's why?"
"Keep your voice down. If Ji Yu finds out you're done for."
"But, I heard it was Lin Feng who suggested the breakup?"
As Lin Feng crossed the playground, heading back to the cafeteria, he realized rumors about him and Ya Ge were already flying everywhere, being gossiped about in full swing.
Standing in a corner, Lin Feng listened carefully for a while, and even he had to admire how fast news traveled here.
How long has it been? Maybe just over ten minutes!
How does it feel like everyone already knows?
Lin Feng honestly didn't care about these boring rumors or classmates' gossip, but what made him curious was—how did word about him and Ya Ge get out?
No way Ya Ge would say anything!
Even if she confided in her close girlfriends, she'd never tell people "she got dumped." It's not something to brag about anyway.
"Back then, nobody else was around!"
Lin Feng was a bit puzzled. To avoid interruptions, Ya Ge had specially picked the back hill, which was already deserted, and they'd deliberately chosen a remote spot.
As a Martial Artist, alertness and observation are basic skills. If you lack either, you don't even know how you'll die one day.
Even if school is pretty safe, as a Martial Artist who's always dancing on the edge of life and death, quickly scanning your surroundings had already become second nature for Lin Feng.
He was absolutely sure: when he and Ya Ge broke up and talked, there wasn't anyone within a hundred meters. Not even a stray animal.
So, this whole thing was kind of strange.
He puzzled over it for a long time, until he overheard someone mention the name Yang Fan. That's when it clicked.
"So it was that guy."
Most of his old classmates—so much time's passed, Lin Feng had pretty much forgotten them all, barely remembered any names.
But this Yang Fan really stuck in his mind.
This Yang Fan kid had average martial arts talent, probably just a Body Cultivator at Fifth Rank. His grades in liberal arts were so-so, too. The only thing he excelled at: being a fountain of rumors and gossip.
He called himself Jianghu All-known, a walking information desk, Entertainment Alliance Leader—but everyone just called him Big Mouth.
If any scandal or gossip popped up at Jiangxin First Middle School, nine times out of ten, Big Mouth was the one who spread it. Even if not, you could definitely go ask him and get the scoop.
Rumor had it that to gather gossip, this kid, with perfectly fine hearing and eyesight, even learned lip reading and sign language. Lots of people couldn't stand him, but whenever something juicy was going on at school, he was the first person people turned to.
If the news came from him, nobody really doubted it was true.
That's a conclusion drawn from hundreds of cases.
As for that Yang Fan, Lin Feng was actually pretty interested.
This Yang Fan, while not especially talented in martial arts, still had Fifth Rank Body Cultivator strength—which qualified him for Awakening Day.
Yesterday on Awakening Day, he got lucky and refined a Sound-seeking Beast. The Sound-seeking Beast is a Second Grade Demon Spirit—zero attack power, but an exceptional gift for hearing and sight.
Normally, it's just a Second Grade Demon Spirit—nothing rare about that kind of support spirit beast.
Knowing lip reading and sign language wasn't that unusual either; there were probably a few others at Jiangxin First Middle School with those skills. But knowing both, plus refining a Sound-seeking Beast, plus calling himself Jianghu All-known, plus being obsessed with the gossip business—well, this guy was definitely a talent.
A guy who's really got his career path mapped out.
From a certain perspective, you could call him a genius, no exaggeration.
Lin Feng decided he should really get to know him.
After all, his own plan needed exactly this kind of character.
When Lin Feng reached Canteen No. 5, Gao Hai, who was waiting by the door, immediately came running up and couldn't help but ask—
"Brother Feng, did you really break up with Ya Ge?"
"Yeah. Sooner or later it had to happen. Nothing unexpected," Lin Feng nodded.
Gao Hai was silent for a while, his fists clenched in anger. Eventually, as if he'd made up his mind, he said: "Fine. It's over, then. A woman that pragmatic—better off without her. From today, she's no longer our friend."
Between Lin Feng and Ya Ge, Gao Hai made his choice in an instant.
"No need. She has the right to choose."
Lin Feng patted Gao Hai's shoulder and comforted him.
It was his issue with Ya Ge, but Lin Feng understood how Gao Hai felt.
They'd been neighbors since they were seven, the three of them growing up together, going through elementary, middle, and high school as classmates, going to and from school together every day. Lin Feng and Ya Ge even used to joke that when they got married one day, Gao Hai would be their best man.
Ya Ge's choice to leave also shattered their trio's friendship. There was no way they could ever go back to the way it was, telling each other everything.
In his memory, just as Gao Hai said—even when Ya Ge got into the Nine Elite Joint Schools and soared, he never spoke a word to her again.
He valued that friendship even more than Lin Feng did.
"Don't blame her. I was the one who suggested breaking up!"
"You suggested it?"
Gao Hai looked at Lin Feng in disbelief. Clearly he didn't buy it. Lin Feng didn't bother explaining either; his stomach was about to cave in. After getting his food, he immediately went into full-on binge mode.
Under Gao Hai's astonished gaze, Lin Feng went back for thirds, eating a total of seven bowls of rice, six side dishes, and two full pounds of roast meat. Altogether, he spent 120 New Coins.
"Brother Feng, you sure you're okay eating like this?"
Gao Hai was a bit worried, suspecting Lin Feng had been hit a little too hard by the breakup with Ya Ge.
"What could happen?"
Lin Feng put down his chopsticks. With all that food in his system, his belly felt stretched and uncomfortable, so he had to pause for a bit.
But even then, he still didn't feel full. His body was still in a state of hunger and loss.
Lin Feng knew—this was the side effect of having his Qi and Blood depleted too much.
Normal food could only make you feel full, but couldn't actually meet his Qi and Blood needs.
The stronger the Martial Artist, the more they ate. For Martial Artists, the more you can eat, the stronger your body; it made perfect sense—being able to eat is a blessing.
"Almost broke—better make money fast," Lin Feng thought to himself.
Even the cheapest food wasn't exactly cheap. Today's meal cost him 120 New Coins—that was a whole week's worth of food money. Now he only had 300 New Coins left in his pocket.
That was for the next half month. If his family didn't insist on giving him a month's allowance at once, he'd be going hungry tomorrow.
Luckily, this was school, so meals were pretty cheap. If he tried eating like this outside, nothing less than two or three hundred New Coins would cover it.
While taking a break, Lin Feng noticed a boy not far away. This guy was obviously full—his plate was totally cleared. But after popping a pill, he waited a bit, and then started eating like a maniac all over again.
Lin Feng knew that was a Digestive Pill—one pill cost 2,000 New Coins.
Just one pill sped up food digestion. In the third year of high school, with three months left before the big college entrance exam, lots of wealthy families gave their kids a pill every day.
"If I get a chance, I've gotta refine a Big Stomach King," Lin Feng thought as he felt his food slowly getting digested.
The Big Stomach King was ranked 17th on the Exotic Beast Chart. Like the Nightmare Demon in Lin Feng's own body, it had no attack ability—it was a support Demon Spirit.
Once you refine a Big Stomach King Demon Spirit, your digestion gets dozens of times stronger than a normal person. You can pretty much eat non-stop—assuming your body can handle it, of course.
"In two months, if I refine that Nightmare, while gaining overpowered abilities, I'll get my life force and soul eaten away too. But if I can also refine a Big Stomach King, as long as I have the cash, all the Qi and Blood I lose can be replenished with food."
Lin Feng had an idea—if he could get a Big Stomach King, then the aftereffects of refining the Nightmare would at least be cut in half.
The two Demon Spirits would be a perfect match for him.
Too bad the Demon Spirits on the Exotic Beast Chart were all that kind of "rare as a needle in a haystack" luck. Trying to find one was like fishing in the open sea.