Su Xiaoqi took quite some effort to explain in the chat group what had just happened, including the fake couple act between him and Zhu Zhuqing.
After reassuring the group not to worry and promising to update them as soon as possible, he exited the chat.
"Zhuqing, are you still mad? I already explained everything," Su Xiaoqi carefully tugged at her sleeve.
Earlier, he had managed to convince her not to fight alongside him, but in doing so, received a good scolding from the others in the group.
Zhu Zhuqing slapped his hand away coldly. "Don't touch me. Men and women should keep their distance."
"Uh…" Su Xiaoqi awkwardly retracted his hand and muttered under his breath, "Weren't you just holding onto me a second ago…"
"Straight-up idiot."
Zhu Zhuqing turned her head and snapped at him. Those two words were something she had just learned.
"Kid, get ready."
Zhao Wuji's booming voice echoed across the open ground. Everyone turned to see the incense stick on the ground had completely burned out.
Su Xiaoqi stood up, dusted off his pants, and said, "I was almost falling asleep waiting."
Zhu Zhuqing stood as well and stepped in front of him. "If anything looks off, I'll jump in and save you."
Su Xiaoqi smiled, "So you're not mad anymore? I thought you were going to ignore me forever."
"Smart mouth." Zhu Zhuqing rolled her eyes. "After this, let's go eat. I'm a little hungry."
Ning Rongrong appeared out of nowhere and said, "Count me in. I'll treat you both."
"Su Xiaoqi, good luck!"
"Thanks." Su Xiaoqi smiled at her, then turned to Zhu Zhuqing. "I'm going to eat a lot later—don't get scared by how much."
Meanwhile, Zhao Wuji stretched his muscles and lit another incense stick.
"When it burns halfway, the fight ends. I'll let you strike first. Go ahead."
Everyone's attention turned to Su Xiaoqi. Some were expecting him to embarrass himself, some were just there for the show, and others genuinely cheered him on. But only Zhu Zhuqing looked truly worried.
With no combat techniques at all, Su Xiaoqi just raised his fist and charged straight at Zhao Wuji.
Seeing this uncoordinated charge, Zhao Wuji smirked, amused and a little contemptuous.
As Su Xiaoqi got close, he shouted and swung a punch at Zhao Wuji's head.
"Damn! Why is this guy's head so hard?!"
Su Xiaoqi flinched and shook his sore hand. But before he could recover, Zhao Wuji's mocking voice rang out.
"Kid, didn't have breakfast? That punch couldn't even scratch me."
"I'll count that as a welcome gift. Now it's my turn."
"Not good!"
Su Xiaoqi's heart sank. He quickly jumped back to create distance.
Zhao Wuji lunged forward after a short crouch, his speed far exceeding Su Xiaoqi's expectations.
Seeing a heavy punch aimed right at his face, Su Xiaoqi barely had time to shield his head with both arms.
**BANG!**
It felt like getting hit by a truck. He was sent flying uncontrollably.
"Xiaoqi!"
"Su Xiaoqi!"
Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong shouted in shock.
Tang San and Xiao Wu, however, remained calm. This outcome was exactly what they had expected.
"Trash. That's what you get for being overconfident," Dai Mubai sneered in satisfaction.
Even though he saw Zhao Wuji didn't use full strength, that punch was still too much for a normal person. He figured Su Xiaoqi's arms must be ruined.
"What a waste of my time."
Zhao Wuji looked at Su Xiaoqi lying on the ground and scoffed. He turned to Tang San and the others. "You're next. The incense is still burning. All of you together. Same rules."
Tang San looked off into the distance and smiled. "Teacher Zhao, I'm afraid you'll need to wait a bit longer."
"Hm?" Zhao Wuji raised an eyebrow. Just then, a mocking voice came from afar:
"Hey, big bear, where you going? That punch wasn't all that."
Zhao Wuji's face darkened. He turned and glared. "Kid, if you had just stayed down, I might have gone easy on you. That punch was only fifty percent of my strength."
"But now… I won't hold back."
With a sinister grin, Zhao Wuji charged at Su Xiaoqi with even more speed.
Su Xiaoqi tried to raise his right arm but grimaced in pain. That punch earlier had seriously hurt him—if not for the Saiyan bloodline in his body, his arm would've broken.
Thankfully, the distance gave him enough time to dodge.
In the next several exchanges, Su Xiaoqi was clearly outmatched and on the defensive. But he never let Zhao Wuji land another hit.
"Not so cocky now, huh? You just gonna dodge like a flea the whole time? Planning to stall till time runs out?"
Zhao Wuji was getting annoyed. To his surprise, Su Xiaoqi had adapted to his speed. Still not a threat—but stalling was possible.
He decided to taunt him and intentionally showed an opening.
With no combat experience, Su Xiaoqi took the bait and launched an attack. His pent-up frustration went into that punch.
"Got him."
Zhao Wuji smirked. He sidestepped at the last moment and drove his fist into Su Xiaoqi's gut.
He purposely avoided the head—he didn't want to accidentally kill him. If Su Xiaoqi died, Zhu Zhuqing might refuse to join Shrek Academy. He didn't want to lose such a good prospect.
Su Xiaoqi doubled over, clutching his stomach, and collapsed.
This time, Zhao Wuji didn't lower his guard. He stepped on Su Xiaoqi's back and said coldly, "Just say the word and I'll let you go."
"*Cough cough*... In... your dreams."
Su Xiaoqi gasped for air. Whether human or Saiyan, he would never surrender.
Zhao Wuji pressed down harder. "Still got that attitude? Let's see what breaks first—your bones or your mouth."
"AAAHHH!!!"
The pain of his bones cracking made Su Xiaoqi scream in agony.
"Xiaoqi!!"
Zhu Zhuqing cried out and rushed forward. She couldn't hold back any longer.
"Zhu Zhuqing, don't you dare save him!"
Dai Mubai, who had been watching closely, moved faster and blocked her path.
"Get out of the way."
Zhu Zhuqing's voice was icy, emotionless.
Dai Mubai grabbed her wrist harshly and snarled,
"Who gave you the guts to talk to me like that? Don't forget your place."
"Today I'll cripple him completely. I'll break all four of his limbs. I'd like to see if you can stop me."
"White Tiger, Possession!"
As he activated his spirit, yellow, yellow, purple rings rose beneath him. He then flung Zhu Zhuqing aside like she weighed nothing.
Seeing Zhu Zhuqing crash to the ground, a fire ignited in Su Xiaoqi's heart.
Overwhelmed with rage, an immense power erupted from within him.