Chapter 11: Martial Artist

"What do you mean "picked up martial arts again"? You never did start properly!"

Li Yunyao was in a cheerful mood and playfully bantered with Li Pin.

"

Ha

, you wouldn't know. You've forgotten that I often went home late when I first started practicing martial arts," Li Pin said.

"Oh?"

Li Yunyao paused, somewhat surprised. "Were you really practicing back then? How come I never knew about it?"

"You were a little girl at that time, what's the point of telling you?"

Li Pin said calmly, "Do I look like the kind of person who would publicize the fact that I had practiced some supreme martial arts to everyone?"

Li Yunyao's eyes popped out.

Did her brother... really start to practice martial arts at that time?

Well, no. Of course not. At that time, Li Pin was addicted to catching scarab beetles in the mountains.

Li Pin was merely cooking up a story to pave the way for his upcoming rapid advancement.

Achieving Transformative Force after practicing martial arts for a few years was very different from achieving it after only practicing martial arts for a few months.

Li Pin whipped out his cell phone and sent her the photo of his level-two martial artist certificate.

"Look."

Naturally, as Li Pin wasn't one to take photos just to show off, this was a photo he got from Fang Yubai's social media.

"What the— wow!"

Li Yunyao almost showed her true colors there.

However, she immediately did what any young lady would do and let out a cute squeal. She turned to Lin Xiaolu and squeaked, "Xiaolu, Xiaolu! Look! It's a level-two martial artist certificate."

"Mmhmm."

"Look at the handsome man in this photo! Who is it? Such a handsome face should go for shoots.... It shouldn't be owned by mere mortals.... Oh wait, that's my brother. That's alright then."

"

Mmhmm."

Lin Xiaolu instantly transformed into a relentless nodding machine.

She stole a glance at Li Pin, blushing a little.

The three quickly went up to Starlight Center's rooftop.

However, when they wanted to go to the artificial starry sky to take pictures, they found that the place was cordoned off, and a dozen security guards were maintaining order.

There were quite a few young men and women in their teens screaming excitedly, " An Youran! It's An Youran!"

"An Youran is a big celebrity that comes from Zanglong City just like us! She's my idol!"

"I heard that she's the lead actress in the second series of the latest traditional drama, The King's Woman. I'm really looking forward to it! I'll definitely watch it!"

"I see her, I see Youran! Wow, she's amazing!"

In the midst of the shoutings, a security guard came forward, waved his hands, and said to Li Pin's group and the other visitors who had come up in the lift, "The rooftop is temporarily closed to the public. Please leave first...."

"Let's go, Brother," said Li Yunyao. "The scenery here is just average anyway."

Because of what happened with An Wanyi, she hated the lot of them. She didn't have any good feelings toward An Youran.

"How is she good-looking? It's all makeup and beauty filters. She's still not as good-looking as m—...as my dear Xiaolu."

Lin Xiaolu quickly waved her hands in the air. "No, no...."

Li Pin glanced at Lin Xiaolu.

Although she was good-looking, she could only be considered pretty.

Also, if anything, it was that pitiful disposition she had that added points to her looks. In terms of visuals alone, her looks weren't worth mentioning when compared to An Wanyi, let alone An Youran.

"No worries. We can shop around Starlight Center and come back after a while," Li Pin said.

"That won't be necessary. I will remember this. One day, I'll have the lights of Starlight Center reflecting my name. At that time, Xiaolu, you can come up here and look as much as you'd like," Li Yunyao said proudly.

"M-me? W-weren't you the one who dragged me here?" Lin Xiaolu contested a little.

"Oh? Who do we have here?"

At this time, an untimely voice suddenly came from the side.

Immediately after, they saw about ten or so males and females coming out of an elevator at the side.

The one who was speaking was clearly the vice president of Hanyang University's student union—Jing Yunshan.

Amongst them, other than Jing Yunshan's two sidekicks, Li Pin also saw the culprit that rendered him the victim of a public opinion storm two months ago—An Wanyi.

When Li Pin looked toward An Wanyi, the talented woman also looked toward him.

When An Wanyi eyes landed on Li Pin, she seemed to turn a little surprised. Li Pin seemed completely different from how she perceived him two months back. He was more bright and spirited now.

Immediately afterward, that surprise turned into a cold smile that carried a sliver of smugness.

Looking at these people, Li Yunyao, who also recognized An Wanyi, quickly got reminded of something. The smile disappeared from her face and she hurriedly said, "Brother, let's go."

"Leaving? Why are you in such a hurry to leave?" Jing Yunshan deliberately raised his voice, attracting the gazes of the surrounding crowd. "Or is it because someone's afraid that others would find out about his scummy behavior...."

Swoosh!

𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Before he could finish his words, Li Pin made a move.

Li Pin didn't need to leverage on the momentum brought by a run-up or a jump, he lunged forward like an agile leopard and crossed the five or six meters between him and Jing Yunshan in a split second.

Li Pin then reached out his right hand at lightning speed and grabbed Jing Yunshan by the neck before the latter could react, cutting his words short.

Immediately after, Force erupted from Li Pin's right arm, lifting Jing Yunshan into the air before ruthlessly slamming him onto the ground....

Jing Yunshan was dumbfounded.

The next moment, Jing Yunshan felt enormous pain followed by spinning dizziness that spread from the right half of his face to his brain, then to every corner of his body.

In the eyes of the spectators, Li Pin had stormed up and lifted the seventy-odd kilogram Jing Yunshan into the air before smashing him heavily into the ground.

Bam!

A muffled tremor, accompanied by a sound that made anyone who heard it feel their face and teeth sting with pain, sounded out.

What met everyone's eyes was the giddy Jing Yunshan, half of his face covered in blood. There were splashes of spat-out blood mixed with broken pieces of teeth on the floor.

Li Pin released his grip and stood up slowly. "I recall telling you that a loose tongue can easily get you punched in the face."

Jing Yunshan hadn't felt any pain at the start, but as the shock subsided, the pain finally set in.

Jing Yunshan began to scream uncontrollably in agony. He lay on the ground, stirring and twisting and struggling in pain.

"Aaaaaahhhhhhhh!"

The agonizing scream cut through the air, instantly attracting everyone's attention.

The ten or so people who had come with Jing Yunshan all looked at Li Pin in disbelief and horror.

One of them, who you couldn't tell whether he was angry or frightened, pointed at Li Pin while shivering and said, "Li Pin...how dare you attack someone... Do you know that he—"

"Who gave you the courage to insult an official martial artist for no reason?" Li Pin asked slowly.

Having heard the screams, two security guards were walking toward the group. However, when they heard Li Pin's words, they couldn't help but slow down their steps and begin to size up Li Pin.

A martial artist?

Judging by this youngster's vitality... he really did seem to be a martial artist.

Li Pin glanced at An Wanyi, who'd turned pale in the midst of the Hanyang University students.

Considering that Li Yunyao and Lin Xiaolu were here, Li Pin felt that it would be inappropriate for him as an older brother to set any bad examples for them. He immediately turned around and said to the two of them. "Let's go."

Since Li Pin had just passed the exam and gotten his martial arts license, he still remembered the law very clearly.

According to the law, if a civilian initiated provocation against a martial artist—even if that provocation came in the form of a mere verbal insult—it gave the martial artist the right to step in and subdue the civilian.

Even if the citizen was injured in the process, as long as it was a light injury, he'd only be fined five hundred yuan....

Seeing that Li Pin was about to leave, the two security guards had to step forward. "Young man...."

"I'm sorry for staining the floor. How much is the cleaning fee? I'll compensate you."

Li Pin calmly said," As to why I struck him, he was the one who had insulted me first. You two can check the surveillance cameras. If you have any other questions, you can look for me at Changfeng Martial Hall."