Let’s not even talk about how skilled that guy is in Muay Thai—Lu Sen is just an ordinary guy. Aside from bullying kindergarten kids and elderly men in nursing homes, who else could he possibly beat?
Worried that Lu Sen might get half-beaten to death, I didn’t wait for the bus and just sprinted all the way there.
Diao Sinan said they were at the university’s fountain plaza. I didn’t know how the conflict started, but the most important thing now was to get there as fast as possible.
The fountain plaza was like the old grove from before, though with some differences—hookups had turned into dates, and fights had turned into dance battles. I guess this was what they called “improved civility.”
When I arrived at the plaza, a crowd had already gathered in one area. No need to guess—Lu Sen and the others had to be there.
“Hey, classmates, make way!” I called out a few times, but the crowd in front of me didn’t budge.
Suppressing my irritation, I tried again, “Classmates, my friend’s in there. I need to get through. Could you let me pass?”
“Dmn, are you nuts?”
“What kind of lame excuse is that in this day and age?”
“They’re about to fight in there—who has time to move for you?”
“Ugh, what a clown!”
Screw this! Nowadays, nobody believes the truth, but they’ll swallow lies without question.
Fine. If being polite didn’t work, I’d just force my way through.
“Move!” I wrapped myself in a barrier of True Qi and started pushing people aside, step by step, making my way inward.
“Dmn it! You dare push me? Do you know who my dad is?” Some people didn’t take kindly to my approach, even trying to throw their connections at me.
But I didn’t have time to deal with them—I kept pushing forward.
“Have you no manners?!”
“Who the hell just groped my a$$?!”
“Dmn, even the guys aren’t safe?!”
Since the True Qi barrier was a bit too forceful, it knocked some people off balance, leading to accidental collisions. What I didn’t expect was that some would take advantage of the chaos to cop a feel—real smooth, perverts.
Before I even reached the center, I heard a heavily accented voice ring out:
“You Ch!nese people, all you’re good at is talking big. I’ve yet to see any real skill in your so-called martial arts!”
As much as I hated to admit it, his words weren’t entirely wrong—but that didn’t make them any less irritating.
Sure, we Ch!nese like to boast, but what the hell does that have to do with this Thai guy?
As soon as the Thai guy finished speaking, Lu Sen’s voice shot back:
“Say that again, and I’ll beat you up right now!”
“Second Bro, we agreed to wait for Big Bro! Just hold back for now!” Diao Sinan’s voice followed.
Then came Hao Shuai’s calmer tone: “Lu Sen, don’t be rash. Big Bro will be here soon—don’t let him see you like this.”
At least Hao Shuai was keeping a level head. If Lu Sen tried to fight that Thai guy now, he’d just get wrecked.
As I got closer, I got a clear look at the Thai guy. He wasn’t overly muscular, but his body was covered in bronze-toned muscle. Since the weather was still warm, he was wearing a short-sleeved shirt and shorts.
I could clearly see that the skin around his knees and elbows was noticeably thicker, almost calloused. His hands were wrapped in bandages—this guy was clearly a seasoned fighter. He’d probably been training in Muay Thai for at least ten years, maybe even since childhood.
And he was the same guy who’d stood up back at the Thai freshmen’s orientation.
“I can’t take this anymore! This Thai punk keeps calling Chinese martial arts ‘fitness gymnastics’—screw that!” Lu Sen suddenly broke free from Hao Shuai and Diao Sinan’s grip and charged at the Thai guy.
If Lu Sen rushed in recklessly like this, he’d only get himself hurt. I immediately picked up my pace, shoving people aside—men, women, didn’t matter.
“At (You’re asking for it)!” The Thai guy smirked disdainfully, raising his knee for a strike straight at Lu Sen’s stomach.
“Stop!” I shouted, leaping over the crowd and kicking his knee mid-attack.
The force sent the Thai guy stumbling back a few steps, his expression one of shock.
Ignoring him, I turned to Lu Sen. “You okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine!” Lu Sen grinned, shaking his head.
Diao Sinan and Hao Shuai rushed over, their faces lit up with excitement. “Big Bro!”
I nodded, then asked, “How’d you guys end up in a fight with this Thai guy?”
“Originally, he was sparring with some Korean dude, and we were just watching,” Lu Sen explained, glaring past me at the Thai guy. “But after he won, he started running his mouth, saying Ch!nese martial arts were just ‘exercise routines for kids and old people.’ I couldn’t take it, so I argued with him—then he tried to throw hands!”
I waited, knowing Lu Sen wasn’t done.
“If Hao Shuai and the others hadn’t held me back, I would’ve fought him one-on-one! That guy’s way too full of himself!”
“If I hadn’t kicked his knee away just now, you’d already be in a hospital bed,” I said, exasperated.
Lu Sen knew I wasn’t one to exaggerate, so his face instantly paled.
That Thai guy had no mercy—he could clearly tell Lu Sen was just an ordinary guy, yet he put full force into that knee strike. If I hadn’t stopped it, Lu Sen really would’ve ended up hospitalized.
“You… good. I, Basong, challenge you!” the Thai guy said in broken Chinese.
I turned to him. “Sorry, not interested.” Then I motioned to Lu Sen and the others. “Let’s go.”
“Big Bro, we’re just gonna let this slide? He insulted Ch!nese martial arts!” Lu Sen protested, clearly unhappy.
I smirked. “Since when did you become so patriotic? Let’s go.”
“Big Bro!” Lu Sen looked like he was about to lose his temper.
Seeing this, I sighed.
Truthfully, I did want to fight this Thai guy, but the crowd was too big. If things got out of hand, it’d draw unwanted attention.
Besides, I wasn’t the type to show off… Why does that sound so unconvincing even to me?
Just then, the Thai guy spoke again: “Ch!nese people—all cowards! Only good at talking!”
A taunt? Didn’t expect him to know psychological tactics.
Ignoring him, I led the group away—but before we’d taken more than a few steps, I felt a punch flying toward my back.
In an instant, I spun around and caught his fist mid-air, narrowing my eyes.
“You just won’t quit, will you?”
The Thai guy’s face twisted in shock—he clearly hadn’t expected me to catch his sneak attack so effortlessly.