Three figures walked toward the private room. The one in the center was a middle-aged man whose expression radiated authority -- one glance was enough to tell he was either extremely wealthy or extremely powerful, and probably both.
As for the other two... they were old acquaintances.
"Xia Yan?"
Chen Shu's eyes narrowed, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
The two flanking the middle-aged man were none other than Xia Yan and his uncle -- the same duo who'd been beaten to a pulp just yesterday.
"Wow, looks like you've recovered nicely!"
Fang Si had also noticed something was off. She stepped forward immediately, and her sheer presence alone was enough to make everyone else in the room instinctively glance her way.
The moment those words left her mouth, Wu Li and Xia Yan's expressions both shifted.
There was rage in their eyes, but neither said a word.
Clearly, today's spokesperson wasn't either of them.
"Actually, this was all just a misunderstanding."
Wu Tiancheng spoke up, his face carrying a warm, genial smile.
"My nephew and my brother were out of line. I'd like to formally apologize to everyone here on their behalf."
With that, he bowed deeply toward the group.
"Brother!"
"Uncle!"
Xia Yan and Wu Li both clenched their fists, feeling that they'd humiliated Wu Tiancheng by dragging him into this.
"Well, since you've come all the way here as the family head to apologize in person, we'll grudgingly accept."
Chen Shu raised an eyebrow. "If there's anything else, just say it."
He didn't believe for a second that the other side had paid five million yuan just to come apologize in person.
"Student Chen Shu claimed first place on the Spirit Fighting Rankings -- your talent speaks for itself!"
Wu Tiancheng spoke in a measured, unhurried tone. "As it happens, my nephew Xia Yan is also somewhat gifted. He'd like to be your friend."
Bury the hatchet and make peace?
Chen Shu replied flatly, "Being friends won't be necessary. As long as he doesn't bother me, I won't go out of my way to hit him."
Fang Si added her own supplement: "And if he has any funny ideas -- don't blame me for beating him every time I see him. Until he stops moving."
"......"
Wu Tiancheng's expression froze. The two of them had completely blindsided him -- they didn't play by the script at all.
"You--?!"
Xia Yan's fists clenched, fury boiling up inside him.
Wu Tiancheng patted Xia Yan's shoulder, signaling him to stay calm, and said with a smile, "Then we thank Student Chen Shu!"
Even if they couldn't become friends, as long as they weren't enemies, that was good enough.
Wu Tiancheng continued, "I have one more request. I hope everyone here will stay out of our family's private affairs going forward."
As he spoke, his gaze drifted toward Xia Bing, who was sitting in the private room.
Obviously, Wu Tiancheng understood that the root of this whole conflict was Xia Bing.
He'd gone out of his way to offer five million yuan as a reward, and he'd personally come to apologize -- he'd already given Chen Shu plenty of face.
Surely the other side wouldn't burn bridges with Qingmiao Drug Company over one classmate.
Xia Bing and Xia Yan were biological siblings, but the rift between them had grown beyond reconciliation. All he could do was keep outsiders from getting involved.
"What do you mean, 'family affairs'? Xia Bing is one of us -- Special Training Class!"
Chen Shu's voice surged with theatrical conviction:
"Our homeroom teacher is fiercely protective -- you think he'd just sit back and watch? Anyone who dares bully Xia Bing, he'd bury you himself!"
Having said his piece, Chen Shu immediately retired from the stage, maintaining the silence of an innocent bystander -- as if he'd had absolutely nothing to do with any of that.
The moment those words landed, Shen Wushuang's mouth twitched. Black lines crawled across his forehead.
You little bastard -- one sentence and you dragged me right into the water!
"Xia Bing is my student. I'd suggest the three of you leave."
Shen Wushuang had no choice but to step forward. He spoke with a smile, but the meaning was unmistakable.
Wu Tiancheng frowned. He didn't move, just stood there.
To resolve this conflict, the company had already paid ten million in Huaxia currency -- five million to the Spirit Fighting Arena, and five million to Chen Shu.
On top of that, he'd personally brought Xia Yan and Wu Li to apologize.
But the result had left him deeply unsatisfied.
"Don't you all think you're pushing it a bit?"
Wu Tiancheng's expression was neutral, but a quiet fire smoldered in his eyes.
A school teacher and a bunch of students, and none of them were willing to give the Wu family an ounce of face.
If not for the girl in the middle who made him wary, he would have flipped the table long ago.
Fang Si spoke coolly, "We accepted the apology. As for the five million -- consider it a protection fee."
Her meaning was crystal clear: the only thing they'd agree to was not going out of their way to pick a fight with Xia Yan.
"Collecting protection fees from the Wu family? In Daxing City?"
Wu Tiancheng let out a cold laugh, his eyes narrowing. "On what authority?"
"Not enough?"
Fang Si's expression went ice-cold. Her right hand flicked out, and a silver armband sailed through the air.
Wu Tiancheng didn't understand what she was doing, but his hand shot out reflexively and caught it.
The moment he saw what he was holding, his face underwent a violent transformation.
Two characters -- "Dragon Guard" -- blazed across the silver surface like a physical blow, slamming into the hearts of all three Wu family members at once.
"You're a Dragon Guard?!"
Wu Tiancheng's expression turned utterly ugly, and a flash of genuine terror flickered through his eyes.
A gold Dragon Guard armband signified a full member -- someone with the authority to mobilize local government forces and the Spirit Suppression Bureau. Their status was beyond untouchable.
A silver armband meant an intern. But as long as the person was willing, full membership was all but guaranteed.
The lowest tier was the bronze armband -- outer ring candidates who had to pass layer after layer of screening and selection before they even had a chance at becoming a Dragon Guard.
"Any problems now?"
Fang Si spoke calmly. As a genius of Huaxia Academy, earning a silver armband was only natural.
Once she broke through to Silver-rank Beast Tamer, she'd be promoted directly to full Dragon Guard status.
The reason she'd returned to Nanjiang City early this year was precisely because of a Dragon Guard mission. A new Dimensional Rift was about to descend, and naturally the Dragon Guard needed to handle any fierce beasts that "smuggled" their way through.
With Fang Si's strength, she could solo-kill even a Black Iron-rank Lord.
Wu Tiancheng had never expected to run into a Dragon Guard here.
Especially one this young -- he realized almost instantly that she had to be from Huaxia Academy.
Whether it was Huaxia Academy or the Dragon Guard, neither was something the Wu family could afford to provoke.
"My apologies -- I was being presumptuous!"
Wu Tiancheng's face flooded with remorse. Every trace of his earlier anger vanished without a trace.
He returned the armband to Fang Si with both hands, then led Xia Yan and his uncle out of the room in a thoroughly disgraced retreat.
......
Everyone stared at Fang Si with undisguised envy. Huaxia Academy plus the Dragon Guard -- nobody in their right mind would dare mess with that combination.
Shen Wushuang was equally surprised. No wonder Fang Si had mentioned wanting to serve as a Dragon Guard for a while after graduation -- she'd already secured her intern status long ago.
"That's incredible, Sis!"
Chen Shu and Zhang Dali crowded around her, turning the armband over and over in their hands, admiring it from every angle.
"Sis, when are you gonna hook us up with one of these?" Zhang Dali said. This thing was way more useful than an ID card...
Chen Shu's face was pure envy, but he didn't ask. Rely on others? No -- rely on yourself!
He silently pulled out his phone and dialed a number.
"Hey! Do you do fake documents?"
Everyone turned to look at him, unsure what Chen Shu was up to.
Fang Si, however, had a faint sense of foreboding.
Chen Shu spoke with barely contained excitement: "I need an armband -- gold -- with 'Dragon Guard' written on it! Money's not an issue!"
A roar erupted from the other end of the line:
"Get the fuck out! Are you insane?! That's a Dragon Guard-exclusive armband -- you'd be breaking the goddamn law, you know that?!"
"What? But the wall ad said you could do any kind of document?"[1]
Beep... beep... beep...
"How rude."
Chen Shu shook his head and put his phone away.
"......"
Dead silence filled the room. Every single pair of eyes locked onto Chen Shu.
Ordering a counterfeit credential right in front of everyone -- a Dragon Guard credential, no less -- this guy genuinely had no fear of death!