Chapter 5: Can We Turn the Page?
Zhou Peng had always harbored a grudge against Xu Chao, but since Xu Chao previously had the strength of a Quasi-Martial Artist, he couldn't beat him.
That was until last week, when he suddenly awakened. Although he only awakened an F-grade Supernatural Ability, he was now a bona fide First-Rank Martial Artist.
He had intended to seek revenge on Xu Chao for their past grievances, but Xu Chao had been intentionally or unintentionally avoiding him, so he never had the chance.
He hadn't expected to run into him here today.
Xu Chao wasn't afraid of him now, but he didn't want to make a scene either.
"Zhou Peng, this is the training hall. Don't cause trouble!"
After saying that, he prepared to step aside and walk away; he didn't want to deal with this pest.
Just as they were passing each other, Zhou Peng suddenly reached out to grab him. As if he had anticipated it, Xu Chao dodged the move with a quick shift of his body.
Zhou Peng was clearly stunned for a moment, not expecting Xu Chao to be able to dodge his grasp.
His expression immediately darkened.
"Are you fucking done yet? You just can't let it go, can you?"
"Fine, let's settle this once and for all today! There are surveillance cameras here; let's go inside the room."
After speaking, he walked into the room where the speed test had just been conducted. Xu Chao didn't plan on humoring him any longer; this room was relatively large, making it convenient to make a move.
Zhou Peng stared blankly at Xu Chao's back as he walked into the room.
"...?"
This guy had been dodging him all this time. Why was he acting so out of character today?
However, remembering that he was already a First-Rank Martial Artist, why should he be afraid of a mere Quasi-Martial Artist?
He turned and followed him into the room.
Seeing Zhou Peng enter, Xu Chao conveniently closed the door.
In fact, having just become a First-Rank Martial Artist today, he also wanted to test the gap between himself and another martial artist of the same rank.
Zhou Peng had only recently awakened as well, making him a decent opponent.
"Make your move!"
Xu Chao stared at his opponent, looking forward to the exchange.
Zhou Peng didn't waste any words. He had been waiting for this opportunity for a long time and needed to vent.
He charged forward and threw a punch that whistled through the air. Xu Chao struck out at the same time, and their fists collided.
"Bang!"
A dull thud echoed between their fists.
Zhou Peng couldn't help but stumble back two steps before steadying himself, while Xu Chao remained motionless, calm and composed.
Clearly, Xu Chao had gained the upper hand in their first exchange.
He estimated that Zhou Peng's punching power was around 1,100 kg, which was inferior to his own.
After steadying himself, Zhou Peng looked at Xu Chao with suspicion and uncertainty. He thought that after becoming a First-Rank Martial Artist, he could easily handle Xu Chao, but he hadn't expected to suffer a slight setback right at the start.
"When did you awaken?"
He realized the crux of the matter; only this could explain what just happened.
"If even you can awaken, why wouldn't I?"
Xu Chao let out a scoff.
"...!"
Who the hell are you trying to impress? Zhou Peng was speechless.
He also began to take the fight seriously, preparing to go all out.
His hands moved rapidly, and small, arc-shaped Wind Blades shot toward Xu Chao at high speed. Simultaneously, he followed closely behind the Wind Blades, waiting for an opportunity to strike.
Seeing the arc-shaped Wind Blades sent by Zhou Peng, Xu Chao felt a faint sense of threat. Deciding he couldn't take them head-on, he activated Shadow Evasion to dodge.
"What? How could you dodge my Wind Blades... Did you awaken a speed-type Supernatural Ability?"
The Wind Blades hit the surrounding walls with a series of crisp cracks, leaving several shallow marks on the surface.
Then, the walls rippled slightly and returned to their original state. Clearly, this room was built with Memory Metal.
Xu Chao's pupils constricted. If he hadn't dodged just now, he might have sustained some minor injuries.
He hadn't expected that the F-grade Supernatural Ability Wind Blade Zhou Peng awakened would be quite powerful.
At the same time, he secretly warned himself not to underestimate any Supernatural Ability, even the lowest F-grade.
Having tested the extent of Zhou Peng's abilities, he had no intention of wasting any more time.
He directly activated his 'Shadow Evasion' ability and went all out... Soon after, a series of miserable screams echoed from the room!
Ten minutes later.
The door opened, and Zhou Peng was seen lying on the ground with a bruised and swollen face.
He stared at Xu Chao with a look of resentment.
"Since you awakened, why did you keep dodging me?"
Ignoring the full-of-questions Zhou Peng, Xu Chao stared at him and said, "Shut up! You listen to me."
"Mind your own business regarding my affairs. Can we turn the page on what happened between us?"
Zhou Peng struggled to roll over and sit up from the ground, gritting his teeth in pain!
This guy's strikes were heavy enough. He hadn't expected Xu Chao to be hiding his strength so deeply.
"Fine, I admit defeat!"
He felt that if he said no, he would just continue to be beaten by this guy.
A wise man knows when to retreat.
Xu Chao didn't care if he was being sincere. As long as his own strength continued to improve rapidly, if this guy dared to come looking for trouble again, he would just deal with him again!
Leaving the training hall, a relaxed Xu Chao walked toward the dormitory.
Today was truly a good day!
...Pushing open the dormitory door, he saw that his roommates were all there.
Their dormitory housed four people.
One was sitting in front of the computer, focused on playing games, his mouth constantly offering 'kind regards' to his teammates' parents; this was Tan Jun.
One was lying on the bed scrolling through his phone, giggling foolishly from time to time! This was Han Yu.
There was also Yu Zhongqi, who was seriously reading a book. Occasionally, he would turn his head to glare at Tan Jun, clearly finding the other too noisy. Seeing no reaction, he could only turn back and continue reading.
Seeing the dormitory door open, several of them looked up.
Tan Jun and Yu Zhongqi took a glance and then went back to their own business.
Han Yu put down his phone and greeted him with a smile.
"Chao Zi is back! Went to the training hall to exercise again?"
Xu Chao nodded to him.
"Yeah, practiced for a bit."
"You really work hard, kid. It's just that your luck isn't as good as Zhou Peng's; he awakened last week."
"How could that grandson be so lucky? How did he manage to awaken!"
"Look at how arrogant he is now, telling everyone in private that he's going to get you. You should be careful when you go out."
Xu Chao had the best relationship with Han Yu. Seeing that he was worried about him, he replied seriously:
"It's fine, I'm not afraid of him."
Seeing that he was a bit stubborn, Han Yu continued, "You should still avoid him. I heard he's joined our school's Martial Arts Class now. If you really get into a conflict with him, the school will definitely side with him."
"You know the people in the Martial Arts Class are the principal's darlings. There are only a few dozen of them in the whole school."
"Yeah, I know! Who knows, maybe I'll join the Martial Arts Class at some point too."
Han Yu rolled his eyes.
Everyone in the dormitory knew Xu Chao worked very hard and persisted in exercising every day.
They all secretly admired him for never giving up hope on awakening.
Although theoretically, there was a possibility of awakening before the age of 30, given the extremely small probability, they all felt Xu Chao wouldn't be that lucky one.
Every year, among the students of various Liberal Arts Universities, a very small number of lucky ones still awakened Supernatural Abilities.
Therefore, every school had a Martial Arts Class to gather these late-awakening students for separate, unified teaching.
Xu Chao did indeed intend to join the Martial Arts Class; he didn't plan to keep hiding and developing in secret.
The treatment after joining the Martial Arts Class would definitely be different from now, and it could lighten his burden.
Furthermore, he could receive guidance from professional teachers and engage in mutual sparring and exchange with classmates, rather than having to figure things out on his own.
He had experienced a miraculous day today and was quite tired, so he didn't talk much with his roommates.
After washing up, he lay on the bed to rest, planning to go report his awakening to the school when he woke up tomorrow... Waking up early the next morning, Xu Chao habitually went to exercise for an hour as usual before returning to the dormitory, just as his roommates were slowly starting to get up.
After Xu Chao finished washing up, he went to the cafeteria with Han Yu for breakfast.
On the way, they saw students walking in small groups, all in a hurry.
Today was June 29th, about half a month away from the school holidays.
Final exams were coming up soon, and many students who usually skipped classes were getting up early to attend.
This was because during this period, many teachers of specialized courses would start highlighting the key points for the exams in class. After all, while everyone didn't usually like listening to lectures, nobody wanted to fail.