After confirming Yang Fan had joined, Lin Feng told him his plan: "Start collecting a list of names at school. The first requirement is background, the second is talent and strength!"

"Got it." Yang Fan nodded, then brought up the Jianghu News Agency he'd founded himself.

"Oh!"

Lin Feng's eyes brightened just a little, clearly surprised by the unexpected bonus.

He'd thought Yang Fan was just a guy with a well-planned career path, but didn't expect he'd already built up a team—with three core members, adding himself made four, and every core member had over a dozen informants underneath them. Even if it was just a small student club, getting this far was impressive.

Though these people didn't have much background or talent, if they could stick together after graduation, who knows—maybe the Jianghu News Agency would really take off one day.

"You've done great, but for now, your Jianghu News Agency is still yours to develop and manage. Once the Martial Arts Team really gets big, that's when I'll support you."

Lin Feng patted Yang Fan on the shoulder and smiled, "Actually, I had no idea what to call the club, but now I'll borrow your news agency's name. Our Martial Arts Club will be called Jianghu Martial Arts Club. Starting today, you and Gao Hai are core members."

"Jianghu Martial Arts Club? What a badass name!" Gao Hai said excitedly.

"Haha, got it." Yang Fan laughed too, clearly happy with the name.

He didn't know where Lin Feng's confidence came from, or how he could get backgrounded students to willingly join—even if they did, who could tell if the club would really thrive? But at least from this moment on, he wasn't fighting alone.

This sense of being organized was honestly really exhilarating.

"Alright, I need you to help me with a small thing." Lin Feng said.

"Speak, if I can help, I'll help," Yang Fan replied.

"I want you to 'accidentally' leak what I said to you today. I won't show up at school for the next three days. Three days from now, when I come back, I want to hear that everyone in the whole school is talking about me!"

Yang Fan was a bit confused but didn't ask much. He saw only two possibilities: one, to slap Ya Ge in the face, make her regret it.

The other was to get the school leadership's attention. If Lin Feng really had this talent, the school would nurture him specially, and Mo Xun and company would think twice before starting anything.

"Don't worry, you'll see when you come." Yang Fan grinned.

With news this mind-blowing, he didn't even need three days; just leaking a bit would be like a spark setting a prairie fire.

He couldn't help but anticipate: what would teachers and students look like when they found out tomorrow?

...

After saying goodbye to Yang Fan, Lin Feng and Gao Hai ditched school.

For students, revenge waits for no one. If nothing unexpected happened, Mo Xun and his clique would absolutely come looking for trouble after class. To avoid that, it was smarter to leave early.

This wasn't fear, just common sense.

Lin Feng wasn't scared of trouble, but he never planned on playing the helpless victim for dramatic effect, either.

In a few days, when the whole school found out he was an unrivaled genius, some troubles would just vanish on their own.

Honestly, Mo Xun and his gang were just small fry to Lin Feng.

But little devils are the hardest to shake, so there's no need to make enemies.

"Brother Feng, are we really going to start our own Martial Arts Club?" Gao Hai asked as they threaded through the bustling street, looking all around.

He was still processing that mind-blowing news just now.

Their own Martial Arts Club?

Just thinking about it was wild.

"Of course." Lin Feng nodded.

"So… are we gonna charge club dues?"

Gao Hai asked curiously. If they could be like the Elite Martial Arts Club, having their own members and charging over a million in club fees every month, that'd really be something.

Didn't even need a million—for Gao Hai, even a hundred thousand sounded astronomical.

"No membership fees. But we'll still make money off them."

"How're we gonna do that?"

"You'll see soon enough."

The two chatted as they headed for the city center.

Lin Feng needed some startup capital for the Jianghu Martial Arts Club and the next steps. Right now, he only had about 300 left to his name, so he had to find a way to make a quick buck.

"Gao Hai, how much do you have on you?"

"Let me check… about five hundred," Gao Hai said, pulling his cash out of his pocket and counting.

"Give it to me first. Let's go make some quick cash."

Lin Feng finished, and Gao Hai handed it right over without a moment's hesitation—not even asking why, even though it was all he had to eat for the next half-month.

"Brother Feng, where're we going?"

"To make money!"

Under Lin Feng's lead, the two of them headed for Thunder Martial Arts Dojo at the city center.

With martial arts resurgence everywhere, it was the great era of cultivation. People loved to fight, and there were martial arts dojos on every street.

For any Martial Artist, combat technique was a matter of life and death. You had to hone your skills and needed rivals to do that, so a martial arts dojo was an essential daily spot for a lot of them.

Even plenty of people without martial arts talent liked to go to the dojo, to toughen up and train their bodies.

And in Jiang City, Thunder Martial Arts Dojo was the most famous of all.

Thunder Martial Arts Dojo was a business under Thunder Club, located in the busiest part of the city, with a massive footprint, almost like a shopping mall.

On the outer wall of Thunder Martial Arts Dojo, a giant light curtain was showing an intense fight.

Both fighters were clearly in the Body Cultivation Realm, with no Spiritual Power wrapping them. The heavy panting and pounding sounds drew curious and excited glances from the crowd.

"Let's go."

With the curious Gao Hai in tow, Lin Feng stepped into Thunder Martial Arts Dojo.

As soon as they entered, a cool breeze hit them, and what first caught Lin Feng's attention was a huge rectangular screen in the center of the lobby.

The screen scrolled with text, and below it, lots of martial artists—men and women in all kinds of outfits—held pens and paper, watching the screen, taking notes or having a discussion now and then.

Thunder Martial Arts Dojo had three floors, with the ground level being the task hall.

Besides training, the dojo was a kind of exchange and commission hub for martial artists.

A Martial Artist's energy is limited, after all. Many post bounty tasks here, seeking things they need—sometimes Martial Skills, sometimes Cultivation Techniques, sometimes Treasures of Heaven and Earth.

As long as you could stump up a deposit, you could get just about anything.

The second floor was all training areas and restaurants.

The third was the Martial Arts Hall, probably the noisiest place in Thunder Martial Arts Dojo.

Lin Feng led Gao Hai straight to the third floor. The elevator doors opened and a wave of manic energy hit them—cheering, yelling, screaming, all at once.

Not far away, over a hundred arenas were spread evenly across the space. Nine huge screens overhead showed highlight reels, and the best fights took center stage on the main screen.

"Kick his ass!"

"Trash! Don't you have any strength?!"

The fired-up crowd was yelling their lungs out, clearly betting money on the outcome.

Lin Feng hadn't fought in the Martial Arts Hall before, but he'd been here plenty of times. He went straight to a counter.

"Sir, what can I help you with?"

The young lady behind the counter asked warmly, not slacking off just because Lin Feng was still in his school uniform.

"Help me register a martial arts competition account. I'm getting in the arena."

"Okay. First-time account registration costs a hundred New Coins. I'll need your ID number, please."

The ID number was like a personal ID and résumé rolled into one—everything from birth to school, address, and strength level recorded and updated.

After taking his money, entering the number, and scanning his fingerprint, the girl behind the counter smiled, "Okay, your account is ready, Mr. Lin Feng. Pick a name."

"A name… make it 'High Schooler Challenges First Grade Martial Artist.'"

Hearing that, not just Gao Hai, but even the girl behind the counter froze for a second and asked in surprise, "Sir, are you sure about that name?"

She'd worked at Thunder Martial Arts Dojo for three years, but never seen a name that cocky!

That was just begging for trouble!

From the ID info, this Lin Feng was only Body Cultivation Seventh Rank, and he dared to challenge Martial Artists? Wasn't that just asking for a beating?

The Martial Arts Hall strictly banned killing people, but broken arms and legs happened all the time.

Most Martial Artists weren't the patient type—and using such an arrogant name was just asking for someone to go all-out on you.

"Brother Feng, why not pick something else?" Gao Hai suggested, too.

From his point of view, Lin Feng might be invincible among Body Cultivators, but up against true Martial Artists? Not a chance.

"Yeah, sir, please pick something else. That name doesn't sound that nice." The girl behind the counter tried to talk him out of it. She really didn't want to see this cute guy carried out on a stretcher later.

"Alright." Lin Feng nodded. The girl behind the counter breathed a sigh of relief—just as he reported a new name: "Then make it 'High Schooler Beats Down Martial Artists!'"

Honestly, Lin Feng thought the previous name was a bit too low-key.

"Um…"

The girl behind the counter was just about to type it in when she saw the new name and nearly lost it.

This was even more arrogant than before!

You seriously aren't afraid of getting beaten to death?

"You sure about this?"

This time, the counter girl's sweet face suddenly collapsed. In her mind, Lin Feng was an idiot, just looking for trouble.

Lin Feng nodded firmly, so she didn't say any more, registered the account, and handed him a card.

"Place a bet for me—everything I have."

Lin Feng took out all his money—eight hundred in total—handed it to the girl, and said, "Random mode, cap at First Grade Martial Artist, five-minute breaks, don't ask me for confirmation, bet all the winnings automatically!"

The girl at the counter was now sure something was off about Lin Feng.

Normally, Martial Arts Halls used "balanced mode"—the system matched opponents based on age, weight, and so on, then on-match history, so both sides were pretty close in strength, good for training.

Random mode, though, was a different beast. No records, no data—just a random opponent.

You had to be totally sure of yourself to pick that.

From her perspective, first-time fighter, only Body Cultivation Seventh Rank, and daring to pick random mode? That was nuts.

And capping it at First Grade Martial Artist?

That meant the toughest possible match would be a First Grade Martial Artist?

Body Cultivator at Seventh Rank versus First Grade Martial Artist—that was just suicide.

Thunder Martial Arts Dojo only allowed you to bet on yourself, per the rules, but almost nobody cycled all their winnings back in like this.

Eight hundred wasn't much, but why throw it away?

She didn't say more—she was already picturing Lin Feng getting totally wrecked.

At that moment, a new name popped up in the match section of the main arena screen: "High Schooler Beats Down Martial Artists." The identity and info attached to that name instantly drew eyes.

Among the other names, his was the longest and definitely the cockiest—impossible not to get attention.

Not long after, as folks stared curiously at the match section, they saw a teenage boy walk to the arena. The crowd instantly exploded.

The kid wore a white top with "High Schooler Beats Down Martial Artists" written across the front. On the back, above a box drawn with a marker, it read "Ad Space Available," as if that box was where the ads would go.

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