Chapter 4: The Confrontation
Fang Qingyun felt as if he had been reborn.
His physique had reached a score of 5, yet his source points continued to accumulate. The poison still lingered, threatening his life. Soon enough, dizziness and vertigo returned.
To this, Fang Qingyun sighed with satisfaction.
How wonderful!
To such a tenacious poison, he gave his silent praise.
Come on! I believe in you!
He shifted to a more comfortable position, lying down with his hands behind his head, his face a picture of bliss.
At this moment, what was missing?
A lounge chair! Cola with ice!
Soon, his source points reached 100 once more. Sensing that he still had some strength left, that death wouldn’t claim him just yet, he decided to allocate the points to speed.
Strength, speed, and physique—these were all attributes of the body. The three influenced each other, bound by an inherent connection. Increasing speed and strength would also enhance his physique, much like exercising the upper body would inevitably affect the lower body.
Fang Qingyun thought that by putting points into strength and speed, perhaps he could even delay the onset of the poison and gain more source points.
[Speed +1]
Crack!
A tremor ran through his body as he felt himself being altered. Yet cold sweat beaded on his forehead.
Something was wrong!
The pain from the poison did lessen, but it was worlds apart from the relief brought by boosting his physique.
“Damn it, I put the points in the wrong place. Now I’m done for!”
Any sense of leisure vanished in an instant.
Fang Qingyun clenched his fists, eyes fixed desperately on the flickering source point counter, chanting silently in his heart.
Full points before death! Just let me reach full points before I die!
The poison surged, darkness closed in. His body convulsed, breath ragged and lips turning blue.
Fortunately, the source points finally hit one hundred.
Fang Qingyun didn’t dare hesitate for a second.
[Physique +1]
Crack!
As his muscles writhed, the source point counter stilled.
He was out of danger.
Gasping for breath, he wore the look of a man who had survived disaster.
“Damn, that was too close!”
“Next time, remember: physique is the core, always play it safe.”
“Trying to detox by boosting speed and strength—what was I thinking?”
He let out a long breath, and the system interface appeared before his eyes.
[Host: Fang Qingyun]
[Strength: 6]
[Speed: 6]
[Physique: 6]
[Mental Strength: 4]
[Source Points: 11]
“A single bottle of poison for one point of speed and two points of physique—what a profit!”
Fang Qingyun had analyzed the data.
The physical prime of an average man lay between ages twenty and thirty, typically maintaining around 4 points in the stats. At eighteen, Fang Qingyun’s stats already surpassed the average man in nearly every aspect.
But compared to a martial artist, he was still far behind.
Given that…
He produced another bottle of poison and shouted, “Come on, here’s to this next bottle—I’ll drink it first as a sign of respect!”
With that, he brought the bottle to his mouth.
Bang!
The door was kicked open, and a group of people rushed in.
At the front, someone shouted, “Qingyun, are you all right?”
Poison bottle in his mouth, just about to take a heroic swig, Fang Qingyun stared at Zhao Junhong, who had burst in, blinking in surprise.
Zhao Junhong, seeing Fang Qingyun with the bottle stuffed in his mouth, also blinked in astonishment.
“Qingyun, don’t! Don’t do something foolish—!”
With a sharp scream, Zhao Junhong lunged at Fang Qingyun.
Bang!
A tangle of bodies crashed to the floor.
Hospital.
Fang Qingyun clutched his bleeding head, grimacing in pain.
“Junhong, that’s enough. If I wasn’t killed by monsters, I’d have been killed by you just now.”
When Zhao Junhong had charged over, he’d been tripped and sent Fang Qingyun, who was lying on the sofa, flying.
Fang Qingyun and the sofa tumbled across the floor.
Zhao Junhong gritted his teeth, “You’re something else. You were about to drink that poison—I knew what you were up to. But honestly, what are you really doing? You weren’t trying to kill yourself, were you?”
Fang Qingyun hesitated, “I thought that spider demon hadn’t left and wanted to trick her.”
Zhao Junhong looked at him deeply, “You… Forget it. Spider demon? Are you sure it was a spider demon?”
“I only saw her use something that looked like spider silk.”
Click.
The door to the hospital room swung open and a young man stepped inside.
“No need to doubt—it was a spider demon.”
He stared at Fang Qingyun. “Tell me everything that happened. Completely. No omissions.”
The young man was about twenty, his tone not exactly domineering, but filled with an unquestionable authority.
Fang Qingyun and Zhao Junhong felt a surge of irritation. “Who are you, anyway?”
Just then, another person entered.
It was their homeroom teacher, Mr. Li.
He glared at the two and barked, “Speak properly!”
He shot them a meaningful look.
“Teacher!”
“Hm.” Mr. Li nodded slightly and introduced, “This is Zhou Yaohuo, a student from Tianyun Martial Arts University. He’s in charge of Qingyun’s case.”
Tianyun Martial Arts University?
Both of them curled their lips.
No wonder he’s so arrogant!
In the human race, martial prowess was revered, but few could become true martial artists.
As such, universities were divided into two types.
One was the ordinary university, which might have a martial arts class but was mainly for regular students.
The other was the pure martial arts university, which might have some regular students but was centered around martial artists.
They were the true elite.
More than half of the high-level martial artists in the human race came from these pure martial arts universities.
Tianyun Martial Arts University was one such institution, its name prefixed with “Martial Arts” to distinguish it from the ordinary kind.
“Speak.” Zhou Yaohuo’s face was calm. “Tell me exactly what happened—no omissions, no lies.”
“Oh.” Fang Qingyun replied meekly.
Martial artists and ordinary people lived in two separate worlds.
It was said that many high-level martial artists even held licenses to kill. At the very least, if one beat you up, you wouldn’t even dare complain. No one would stand up for you.
See? Even the son of a local lord was behaving himself.
Zhao Junhong was bewildered by Fang Qingyun’s look. What’s going on? Why do I feel like I’m being attacked?
Fang Qingyun began to recount everything that had happened at home.
“Wait!”
Zhou Yaohuo suddenly interrupted.
He fixed Fang Qingyun with a penetrating gaze. “You’re lying.”
“What?”
The room went silent.
“You claim you drank a bottle of poison to make the spider demon believe you were dead and thus deceive her? How laughable. Spider demons are masters of poison. You, an ordinary person, pretending to be dying from poison to fool a spider demon? Ridiculous!”
At this, Zhao Junhong and Mr. Li also fell silent.
In fact, they had considered this themselves, but chose not to say anything.
Spider demons were among the most poisonous species. Poison was their sustenance. This was common knowledge.
For an ordinary person to fake death by poisoning and deceive one—it was highly unlikely.
Damn it! You’re really making things difficult for me! Fang Qingyun cursed inwardly. This was the only flaw in his story.
“Speak!” Zhou Yaohuo’s voice was harsh. “Did you betray the human race and become the spider demon’s dog? Did she spare your life so you could spy on us?”
Damn it! Fang Qingyun was furious.
To accuse him so gravely right from the start—this was a death sentence!
For traitors, there was only one fate: death.
“Ahem!” Mr. Li coughed twice, holding back the agitated Fang Qingyun. “Student Zhou, that’s going too far. You have no proof—how can you wrongfully accuse one of our students? Besides, Fang Qingyun’s parents died on the battlefield. He’s the child of heroes!”
Zhou Yaohuo was about to erupt, but caught sight of the emblem on Mr. Li’s hand—a glaring, demonic eye.
He raised his eyebrows and sneered coldly. “A parent’s achievements don’t excuse the misdeeds of their children.”
Mr. Li’s brow furrowed, eyes glinting with a chill. He spoke each word with deliberate care: “Fang Qingyun’s parents gave their lives to protect Flower City. Our city must care for their child. Without evidence, do not speak carelessly, or else…”
Feeling the immense pressure, Zhou Yaohuo’s manner softened ever so slightly.
“Fine. Then tell me, how did he survive a spider demon?”
Fang Qingyun’s tone turned frosty. “I have a special constitution—is that so hard to believe?”
“A special constitution?”
Everyone present was taken aback.
“Yes,” Fang Qingyun replied. “My body can neutralize a certain amount of toxins. Poisons that would kill an ordinary person don’t have the same effect on me.”
Zhou Yaohuo sneered, “You expect me to believe that?”
“It’s entirely possible!” Zhao Junhong immediately retorted. “The human race has plenty of people with special constitutions. Surely you’ve seen this before, Student Zhou?”
Zhou Yaohuo’s voice was cold. “How do you prove it?”
Now you’re talking! That’s more like it!
“Bring me some poison!” Fang Qingyun waved a hand confidently. “I’ll drink it right now and show you.”
“……”