Qin Siyang nodded, "I understand."
At that moment, their conversation was interrupted by someone, "Brother Bo, I'm going into the Divine Arena to practice. Please register me."
"Just a moment, I'll register you right away. Qin, we'll talk another day?"
"Alright, I won't keep you. Thanks, thanks, senior…", Qin Siyang frowned, he felt like he had stuttered and said one "thanks" too many, so he corrected himself, "Thank you, Senior Xie!"
"It's nothing!"
From afar, Qin Siyang glanced at the packed crowds gathered around the Battle Arena. He said goodbye to Xie Hongbo and planned to see what the commotion was about.
Someone else asked, "Brother Bo, who was that? He looked unfamiliar."
"Oh, him? He's someone with some serious background. He's close enough with Principal Zhao to wear the same pair of pants."
"Who?"
"Qin Siyang."
"That's Qin Siyang? I heard a bunch of people are itching to mess him up."
"I heard that too. Never seen a freshman draw so much attention."
"Attention? With that special-admission agreement of his, that's not normal attention, that's a Category 5 hurricane. Just watch. Trouble's coming for him."
———
Qin Siyang arrived outside the Battle Arena hall.
Quite a few people were waiting there.
The crowd was loosely divided into two groups, each giving the other hostile looks.
People on their own side chatted in clusters, occasionally glancing toward the arena's tightly shut doors.
Looked like someone was dueling inside.
He didn't know whether it was just a match for victory, or a fight to the death.
With nothing else to do, Qin Siyang leaned against the railing to see what South Glory University's Battle Arena was like. [T/N: I feel like Wen Shu is gonna kill some students as presents for Qin Siyang after this scene.]
About three minutes later, the arena doors opened.
A young man with blood on him walked out and said calmly, "I won."
Immediately, the group on the left side erupted into cheers.
"Shi Tao is amazing!"
"No wonder he's Brother Tao! You think you can steal Brother Tao's fixed black-market stall spot? Know your limits."
"You want a black-market spot? Go earn a Wolf-Rank first! What a joke!"
The faces of the opposite group went dark. Several of them instantly grabbed the stretchers outside the doors, rushed into the arena, and soon came running back out carrying a mangled, bloody person.
Their leader glared furiously, "Shi Tao! This was just sparring between classmates, why did you try to kill him?"
Shi Tao wiped the blood off his face, "None of us are fresh new freshmen. Saying that kind of thing is pointless. If it's sparring, both sides should wear armor and compare points. But since he chose to fight without armor, that means he intended to kill."
"I didn't kill him, that's already saving face for both of us. You'd better hurry and take him to the infirmary. If you're too slow and delay treatment, he'll die on the stretcher."
The other side glared with hatred. Looking at their companion's blood-soaked face, they could only first deal with the injury, "Move! Get Zhenduo to the infirmary."
The group carrying the stretcher immediately sped up and disappeared quickly.
"Shi Tao, just wait! You took advantage of Ban Dingyuan being away to steal our black-market stall. When Brother Yuan comes back, he won't let you off."
Shi Tao's expression stayed calm, "You really think I took advantage of Ban Dingyuan's absence? I wouldn't do something that low. My friends and I have piles of materials and items waiting to be sold, we need a proper channel. We waited almost a month and he still didn't come back. I don't have time to wait forever."
"When Ban Dingyuan returns, tell him I'll be waiting for him in the Battle Arena anytime."
"Hmph! Let's go!"
Half the spectators around the arena left.
The remaining half all looked pleased.
Standing to the side, Qin Siyang had basically pieced together the situation.
These two groups were fighting in the arena to compete for a Zhao-family black-market stall, the winner got to set up shop there.
He had to admit, South Glory University really did have a simple, rustic campus culture.
Each side picked their strongest; the winner took the profit; the loser didn't complain at all.
Just like Xie Hongbo said, students settled disputes purely through force, straightforward and direct.
"Tsk! Tsk! This kind of harmonious scene only appears in storybooks."
Qin Siyang sighed and was about to turn to leave.
At that moment, someone suddenly shouted, "Are you Qin Siyang?"
He turned and saw someone beside Shi Tao calling out to him.
Before he could reply, that person's eyes widened as he pointed, "It is! It really is Qin Siyang!"
Everyone around instantly turned their gazes toward him.
"He does look kind of familiar…"
"Is he really Qin Siyang?"
Many people pulled out their phones to check the forums.
Shi Tao frowned, "This guy is really Qin Siyang? You're sure?"
The man said firmly, "No mistake! I cried at his grave at Exit 213 of Safe Zone No. 9! I remember that annoying face clearly!"
"That's him? Doesn't look like anything special."
"He's the one who got both the extra guesthouse access and the special privilege? Judging by his face alone, you can't tell he's impressive."
Qin Siyang felt displeased.
'I just came to watch some excitement, is trouble really about to find me?'
But he'd already been recognized. He couldn't avoid this.
Even if he denied it today, he'd meet these people again eventually.
"That's right, it's me. What do you want?"
Once Shi Tao heard him admit it, he stepped forward and extended his hand.
Qin Siyang glanced down. Shi Tao's hand was covered in blood.
Shi Tao noticed too. He pulled out a wet wipe, cleaned his hand, then extended it again.
"South Glory, sophomore. Shi Tao."
Though wary, Qin Siyang still shook his hand in return, "South Glory, incoming freshman. Qin Siyang. Nice to meet you."
Shi Tao nodded, "You're happy too early."
"..."
"You're not enrolled yet. If I mess with you now, people will say I'm breaking South Glory's rules. Once you're officially a freshman, and you've adjusted to half a semester of university life, you and I will meet again."
He finished speaking and walked away.
The others followed him, glancing back at Qin Siyang from time to time.
Qin Siyang watched Shi Tao's back, his brows slightly furrowed.
He murmured, "Wolf-Rank, Clubs-2 this year, Shi Tao. One of the two sophomores at South Glory ranked on the Wolf-Rank. The other is Ban Dingyuan, the Spades-4 they mentioned."
Then he shook his head, "His strength shouldn't be weak, but his brain's a bit off."
"Giving me a heads-up before causing trouble… wouldn't it be better to catch me off-guard? Too confident, aren't we?"
He also remembered his words, waiting until he'd adapted after half a semester.
So that meant freshmen at South Glory had a half-semester newbie protection period?
Although Shi Tao's challenge annoyed him a little… Using this Wolf-Rank gatekeeper as a whetstone wasn't a bad idea.
"School starts on September 1. Half a semester later is mid-November. That's almost five months from now."
"Five months?"
Qin Siyang smirked, "Too long. I'll come find you first."
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