After finishing lunch, Lin Feng and the other two rested for a bit, then stepped out of the house.

As soon as they walked out of the dark staircase, the air that hit them felt a little stifling and hot.

"It's so freaking hot!" Gao Hai complained.

As the fat one, Gao Hai hated the heat most. In this kind of weather, it wouldn't take long for his clothes to be soaked with sweat.

"Haha, want me to bring an umbrella for you?" Yang Fan teased.

Gao Hai shot Yang Fan a glare and scoffed, "There's no sun, what do I want an umbrella for?"

Yang Fan looked around but couldn't find anything to say.

With the distance between apartment buildings in Shore District, you'd have to deliberately look for a spot in the community to bask in the sun—most of the sunlight was blocked, and plenty of people were just wandering around inside the compound.

A lot of people were chatting or playing chess on open ground; when they saw Lin Feng walk by, they got excited and rushed over.

"Xiaofeng, why aren't you at school today?"

"Are you guys heading to Thunder Martial Arts Dojo?"

"When's the match? I'm off work today, got special leave from the company. I'll come cheer for you!" The neighbors were all super enthusiastic.

Yesterday, because of Awakening Day's failure and Ya Ge moving out, the neighbors hadn't really wanted to greet him; he'd gotten plenty of pitiful and sympathetic looks.

But in just one night, those sighs were gone, replaced by surprise and excitement.

Clearly, the martial artists' forum drama had already spread through the community.

"Xiaofeng, is there a competition at the martial arts dojo today?" An old man asked while fanning himself.

"I always knew you'd do great things. Compete hard today, make our district proud."

"Xiaofeng, is it true what the forum said? Did you really hide your talent for Ya Ge?" a gossiping aunt asked, her kid in tow.

"Xiaofeng, is it true you can sell ad space on your clothes for money?"

"Could probably sell for hundreds of thousands, don't accept less than a hundred thousand." The crowd was abuzz, tossing out advice.

Lin Feng just smiled, not answering directly.

Shore District might be poor, but compared to those who lived in the Inner City, people here were more united and warm-hearted. If someone really made it big, they'd feel genuine pride.

"Yeah, of course it's true! Why would it be fake?" Gao Hai thumped his chest, looking proud as hell.

"It's this afternoon, South District Thunder Martial Arts Dojo. If you've got time, come watch the match and see how Brother Feng rocks the place!"

Cheered on by the crowd, it took the three of them ages to escape their enthusiastic neighbors. What should've been a ten-minute walk out of the community ended up taking a full half hour.

Just as Lin Feng left Shore District, the Thunder Martial Arts Dojo in the Inner City was already a hive of activity.

It was one o'clock in the afternoon, lunchtime and siesta hour.

Normally, this time of day was the quietest for the dojo, but now, out of the 200,000-seat arena, almost half the seats were filled.

Most of the audience wasn't even watching the competition—they were chatting loudly, all about "high schoolers."

A lot of people were glued to their phones, glued to the martial artist forum.

Right now, the post about "high schooler beating up martial artist" was trending at number one. Even the news channels in Jiang City had started reporting on it.

Some forum users had started threads using "South Yeqiu, North Lin Feng" as clickbait based on where the two lived.

Whether suspicious or dismissive, nobody could deny it—Lin Feng was trending.

Trending beyond anyone's expectations.

A ton of people had paid a hundred New Coins for tickets to Thunder Martial Arts Dojo—not to watch the matches, but to see the so-called "most arrogant high schooler in history."

Aside from the regular spectators, smartly dressed, distinguished men and women were strolling towards the VIP area.

"Looks like Thunder Club's top management?"

Many in the audience recognized those big shots.

Not only that, even the heads of S-class clubs like Ju Xing, Wind-Grabbing, and AK were there, not to mention the familiar faces from various martial arts dojos—they were all chatting in groups.

"Who'd have thought one high schooler could attract so much attention?"

People exchanged glances, all reading the surprise in each other's eyes.

On top of the clubs and dojo heads, many news reporters were present, hanging out in the press section, cameras at the ready, hunting for scoop.

"Pretty much everyone's here?"

In the VIP area, Zhang Ling, the Jiang City branch head of Juxing Club, looked left and right, amazed.

Most of the clubs and dojos in Jiang City she knew by name—at least half their reps were here.

She still couldn't believe that, just two days ago, the ordinary boy she'd dismissed after his Awakening Day flop could cause such a commotion.

As Juxing Club's branch head, Zhang Ling knew Ya Ge and Lin Feng had broken up. At first, she'd quietly agreed—honestly, Lin Feng wasn't in Ya Ge's league.

Even though she wasn't at HQ, Zhang Ling had already heard from colleagues that, the very day Ya Ge arrived, club management had convened to discuss her future career plans.

The plan had actually exceeded Zhang Ling's expectations!

No doubt, the girl was set for an amazing future.

And Lin Feng's existence would have definitely held Ya Ge back.

The breakup was good news for her and the club—saved a lot of trouble.

But who could've guessed, in just one day, this boy would send shock waves through their world.

If the forum rumors were true, then "South Yeqiu, North Lin Feng" wasn't just a joke.

"Auntie, is any high schooler really worth all this?" Beside Zhang Ling, a young guy said, speechless.

The boy sported a black tracksuit, handsome and aloof, hinting at arrogance.

"Weiran, don't underestimate this high schooler. If Lin Feng is really like the forum says, do you know what that means?" Zhang Ling asked her nephew.

"Means what?" Zhang Weiran looked confused.

Also a senior in high school, he felt both disdain and jealousy towards Lin Feng.

Disdain for his skills, jealousy of the hype.

"It means every top club—including us at Juxing—would offer him an A-grade, maybe even S-grade contract!" said Zhang Ling.

Zhang Weiran was dumbfounded, "Just for his combat talent?"

Seeing her nephew's skepticism, Zhang Ling smiled, "Don't underestimate combat talent—it's even rarer than martial arts talent. There are tons of prodigies, but combat prodigies are scarce."

Zhang Ling continued, "Your strength is Body Cultivator, Ninth Rank, with an Eighth Grade Shadow Leopard refined. Because of family connections, you skipped the test and signed an A-grade contract with Juxing, but Lin Feng? He doesn't need that. If he can refine a Fifth Grade demon spirit, he can sign an A-grade contract."

Zhang Weiran opened his mouth, almost unable to believe it.

Body Cultivator, Seventh Rank, and just a Fifth Grade demon spirit gets him an A-grade contract?

When did Juxing's A-grade contracts get so cheap?

Even Ya Ge refined an Eighth Grade Enchanting Butterfly and only snagged a B-grade deal.

"No need to be so shocked—why else do you think all these people are here?" Zhang Ling gestured around.

Zhang Weiran was stunned, but he didn't doubt his aunt; as branch head, Zhang Ling really could offer A-grade contracts.

"Manager Zhang, you came too? Isn't Juxing only interested in top-tier prodigies?"

Just then, a white-haired elder in a traditional suit sat beside Zhang Ling, smiling.

"Even a Body Cultivator, Seventh Rank, high schooler is enough to bring you out?"

"Elder Jiang, you're here too?" Zhang Ling nodded politely.

"Haha, Thunder Martial Arts Dojo hasn't been this lively in ages. Had to join the fun," Elder Jiang chuckled.

"Makes sense. It's your Thunder Club's turf after all. So, you interested in the high schooler too?" Zhang Ling asked, intrigued.

"Just here to see if he's as cocky as the rumors say!" Elder Jiang laughed, laid-back.

Zhang Ling smiled gently, not refuting it.

That's what everyone was here for, wasn't it? To see if it was for real?

No doubt, the boy's combat talent was strong, apparently able to challenge higher ranks—but such prodigies did exist before.

Plenty of martial arts talents had combat talent too, but because their soul-cultivating talent was weak, they couldn't refine demon spirits, or only low-tier ones, ending up unknown—there were cases like that, called "low-energy prodigies."

Prodigies with limited room for growth.

Demon Spirit Masters were, after all, a class above ordinary martial artists.

"Damn, what a scene!"

Elsewhere in the VIP area, Zhou Fu stared at the packed crowd, tongue-tied.

Just like that, an unknown kid turned into a superstar overnight?

"Looks like those ad spots are gonna be expensive,"

Zhou Fu frowned. He wanted Lin Feng's advertising!

The more attention, the better for him—but it also meant more competition.

Zhou Fu noticed plenty of familiar bosses in the crowd—many far richer than he.

He wasn't sure if he'd be able to outbid them.

Last night, he spent ten grand, bought Lin Feng's info from Chen Xiaoke.

He never expected Lin Feng's thread to explode on the forum that very day, skyrocketing to the daily top spot overnight.

Even more detailed info on Lin Feng was leaked; Zhou Fu didn't care about the cash, but with so many rivals now, his plan might be sunk.

As for whether Lin Feng was hiding his talent, he didn't much care.

Because he knew: if Lin Feng was really another Ye Qiu, he'd have no shot at those ad contracts, period.

As a businessman, Zhou Fu wanted to gamble.

Time ticked by, the audience grew—even the massive arena was almost packed. Amid the chatter and the wait, the three boys finally showed up, strolling in outside the dojo.

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