Ch. 18 - Confrontation

Ye Fan held the ancient bronze lamp in his left hand, stepped back two paces, and with a bang, grabbed the collar of that male classmate with his right hand, almost lifting him off the ground.

Pang Bo, realizing what had just happened, instantly grew furious and shouted, “You heartless bastard! Truly an ungrateful dog! Have you forgotten who shared the bronze lamp with you and protected your life, bringing you here safely?”

Pang Bo stretched out both his large hands, grabbed the male classmate by the collar, and directly tried to throw him off the five-colored altar. The situation had infuriated him.

“Cough…” That male classmate’s face turned pale. He had already begun to struggle when Ye Fan grabbed him, but couldn’t break free. Now, with Pang Bo choking him, he was nearly passing out.

The others around them wore mixed expressions. Some had already been uneasy, but none had expected someone to actually make a move, especially targeting Ye Fan, who had once saved him.

“You ungrateful bastard, do you even have a conscience? If Ye Fan hadn’t saved you, you’d be dead out there already!” The more Pang Bo thought about it, the angrier he got. He was an emotional man. Feeling that tossing the guy out wasn't enough, he raised his right hand and slapped him hard four or five times.

A male classmate stepped forward and tried to calm the situation, saying, “We’ve been classmates for four years, let’s not do this, Pang Bo, let him go!”

Pang Bo glanced at him sideways and said, “You want me to just let him go? Didn’t you see he tried to kill Ye Fan just now? If Ye Fan hadn’t reacted quickly, he’d have been pushed off the altar and into the storm. And you think this kind of vicious bastard should be spared?”

“We’re all from the same place. We should stick together. Let’s talk things out, just release him first.” Another male classmate also stepped up to mediate.

Pang Bo had clearly noticed, this was one of the people who had stood with Liu Yunzhi earlier. Though they had since separated, he believed they were still aligned. The male classmate he was holding had also been with them just moments ago. Although there was no direct evidence of collusion, Pang Bo didn’t care, he’d already made up his mind.

“You make it sound easy. If someone tried to kill you, could you stay calm? Want me to push you off the altar and see how it feels?” Pang Bo got even angrier and slapped the guy several more times.

“Let’s not go that far. Let him go first, we can decide how to deal with him afterward.” A female classmate also spoke up, then subtly glanced at Liu Yunzhi.

Throughout the entire incident, Liu Yunzhi remained calm, he didn’t try to mediate or voice an opinion. It was as if it had nothing to do with him, and he simply watched.

Ye Fan took in everyone's expressions. Seeing that Liu Yunzhi wasn’t going to step in, he stopped Pang Bo and said, “Let him go.”

“Yes, let him go first.”

“Right, let’s calm down. We’re classmates, nothing can’t be resolved. Let’s not make this worse.”

The two male classmates and the female classmate who had tried to mediate earlier all spoke again. At the same time, others, seeing that Ye Fan himself had spoken, also joined in urging calm.

“Too far? Do you really think we haven’t already crossed that line?” Pang Bo glared at the classmate aligned with Liu Yunzhi and said, “He nearly got Ye Fan killed, and you’re still making excuses for him?”

But Pang Bo didn’t escalate things further. Seeing Ye Fan’s signal, he eventually let go.

However, what no one expected was that although Pang Bo let go, Ye Fan did not. Still holding the classmate by the collar with one hand, he nearly lifted him off the ground and walked straight to the edge of the five-colored altar, as if intending to throw him out.

Everyone was stunned. No one had thought Ye Fan would actually do it. At the same time, they were shocked by his strength, remembering his nickname “Savage” from the school sports field. Ye Fan looked gentle, but he was strong, almost unnaturally so. He held the classmate like a chick, one-handed, and brought him to the altar’s edge.

“I saved your life earlier. Why did you try to kill me?” Ye Fan pinned him at the altar’s edge. He was less than half a foot from the dim light dome.

The classmate was terrified and shouted, “Don’t push me! I was heartless! I wasn’t thinking, I didn’t know what I was doing! Please let me go. I won’t do it again…”

Ye Fan smiled, showing a row of white teeth, it was a bright smile. He said, “Everyone has motives for their actions. Won’t talk? I really don’t want to see you being swept into the sky by the storm…” With that, he pressed the classmate harder toward the edge.

“Help! Don’t push me! I’ll talk, I’ll say everything!” the classmate screamed in genuine terror.

As someone from a modern city, he had never experienced such a life-or-death moment. He broke down immediately, his face pale, drained of all color.

“This isn’t right. Ye Fan, let him go, this is too dangerous.”

“Yeah, we should talk things through. Don’t let this destroy our classmate bond. If someone dies, it’ll be too late.”

The same few classmates from earlier began to intervene again, slowly approaching.

Clang!

Pang Bo slammed the large copper plaque from the Great Thunderclap Temple into the ground. His glare froze them in their tracks.

Ye Fan turned and smiled warmly. “It’s fine. He’s willing to tell me his reason, and I’d like to hear what I might have done wrong. Don’t worry, we won’t fight.”

When he turned back to the classmate pinned at the edge, his eyes grew cold again. If the guy didn’t talk, he’d be thrown out, this was the message in Ye Fan’s gaze.

“I… I didn’t get anything from the ancient temple. I didn’t have a divine artifact and felt unsafe. So I got greedy. I really was heartless!” he confessed, slapping his own face as he spoke.

Ye Fan said nothing, he simply pushed the man farther out. Half his body now hung in midair, nearly touching the dim light dome.

“No! Help! It was Li Changqing… He told me to do it!”

Ye Fan pulled him back. This cowardly guy wasn’t worth taking seriously. Someone like him posed no threat. If Ye Fan had really thrown him out in front of everyone, it would damage his own reputation. After all, they were classmates, such an act wouldn’t be worth it.

Ye Fan casually took a bottle of mineral water from the man and patted his shoulder. “We’ve been classmates for four years and now face this disaster together. We should stick together and help each other.”

“Yes… yes!” The male classmate, once free, was still trembling and backed away, shivering.

By now, Pang Bo had already lost his temper. Holding the copper plaque, he charged toward the classmate named Li Changqing.

Bang!

Pang Bo was big and strong. When he swung the plaque, it knocked Li Changqing to the ground instantly.

“No wonder you kept trying to talk us down, it was you behind this all along!” Pang Bo pressed the plaque onto him and said, “Scheming against your classmates after four years, do you have no humanity?” He was furious. Li Changqing had stood with Liu Yunzhi earlier and was also one of the main voices urging peace.

Ye Fan walked over and casually took the water bottle from Li Changqing’s body and handed it to Pang Bo.

Seeing him take a second bottle of water, the expressions on many faces turned complicated. If they couldn’t escape Mars quickly, water would become the most precious resource within a few hours.

Ye Fan felt a bit regretful, he hadn’t been able to draw out Liu Yunzhi. Though he suspected Yunzhi was behind it, there was no evidence, and he couldn’t confront him in front of everyone yet.

Li Changqing kept his mouth shut. Even after Pang Bo beat him up, he wouldn’t admit to anything. He only said he’d lost his head and said some foolish things, which gave the other classmate bad ideas and led to his attack on Ye Fan.

Pang Bo wanted to throw him off the altar, but considering how the others might react, he held back his rage and didn’t do it. Still, he felt that this uneasy peace wouldn’t last much longer. If another survival crisis occurred, old friendships and bonds would be torn apart, many people were already restless inside.

Ye Fan wasn’t angry. He smiled calmly at Li Changqing and said, “People are complicated. Sometimes things happen beyond our control. But it's best to be your own person, don’t let others use you.”

Saying that, he crouched down and casually reached toward Li Changqing’s waist, aiming for a damaged wooden fish drum, an artifact he had found in the Grand Thunderclap Temple.

“What are you doing?!” Li Changqing struggled fiercely. He hadn’t reacted when beaten by Pang Bo, but now he panicked, trying to protect the fish drum. But his upper body was still pinned by the copper plaque, he couldn’t resist.

Boom!

Suddenly, the fish drum on Li Changqing’s body gave off a thunderous sound, and streaks of blue light shot out like dancing lightning.

It was like a divine drum of thunder, buzzing and trembling. Then came louder rumbles, with purple light spiraling around, instantly surrounding Li Changqing.

The brilliance formed a purple cocoon, radiant and divine, lighting up the entire five-colored altar.

Everyone was shocked. Their ears buzzed painfully, some even stumbled and nearly fell.

At the same time, Pang Bo’s copper plaque burst out thousands of rays of light, accompanied by thunder. The characters "Grand Thunderclap Temple" shone upward, and ethereal Buddhist chanting filled the air.

Buddhist chants resounded, loud as thunder!

The dazzling light from the copper plaque instantly suppressed the purple cocoon. The fish drum’s sound was nearly silenced.

At the same time, Ye Fan’s ancient bronze lamp emitted gentle light, wrapping his entire body. A sacred glow evenly enveloped his form, making him look as though he wore divine armor.

The light wasn’t harsh, it was soft and hazy, but it inspired awe in everyone. It was as if a deity stood there. That divine glow truly resembled the robe of a god, making Ye Fan appear transcendent.

The fish drum was completely suppressed. The purple glow faded, the cocoon vanished, and the broken drum dimmed, becoming ordinary again. Ye Fan calmly reached out and took it into his hand. Nothing could stop him, he now seemed like a living god, the bronze lamp flickering divine light, making him appear even more otherworldly.

At this moment, a female classmate, who had previously tried to stop Ye Fan and Pang Bo, walked over from near Liu Yunzhi, holding a damaged copper bell, and said, “Ye Fan, what you’re doing is a bit too much!”

Immediately after, another male classmate came over and added, “We should maintain harmony. Let this go, it’s not worth creating such a rift.”

These two had supported Liu Yunzhi and Li Changqing from the beginning. Their stance was clear. Now, they stepped in to prevent Ye Fan from acquiring another divine relic.

At this point, Liu Yunzhi, who had remained uninvolved, finally stepped forward with the vajra in hand and said, “Ye Fan, let it go. Even if he was wrong, punishing him like this is equivalent to taking his life.”

To Ye Fan’s surprise, even Zhou Yi, who had previously acted indifferent, now stepped forward with the purple-gold alms bowl and advised, “Ye Fan, you shouldn’t take his fish drum. You already have the bronze lamp, another artifact won’t make much difference. But if he loses the drum, he might be killed by that hidden, terrifying thing.”

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