Lin Lei had been avoiding meaningless fights.

  After all, the thrill of defeating an opponent was far less satisfying to him than the gratification of improving his strength through cultivation.

  Moreover, there was no hatred between him and Olin; in fact, he should be thanking Olin for inflicting serious injury on him earlier, as it gave him the chance for rebirth.

  Lin Lei was a practical person; for him, reputation was far less important than substance.

  Even if he swore on his family's honor, it meant nothing to him, but Olin's subsequent demands touched upon his bottom line.

  "You... you can't do this! The Dark Robes won't let you off!"

  Lin Lei clenched the pocket in his hand, looking panicked.

  "Haha... why would those Dark Robes care about us? Didn't you forget how I nearly beat you to death last time? No one came to help, did they?"

  Olin pressed his fists together, his knuckles cracking with a crisp sound: "If you don't want me to break your ribs one by one, hand over the magic stones obediently!"

  As Olin approached, his tall figure drowned Lin Lei in the darkness.

  Lin Lei glanced around; they were already quite far from the camp, with only a few boys Olin had brought along, now watching the scene with amusement.

  "You don't need to look, no one will come to save you..."

  Olin sneered.

  "Is that so? It's fine if no one comes!" Lin Lei suddenly smiled.

  In a flash, he reappeared behind Olin, saying, "Today, I'll take my revenge for that day!"

  He kicked out fiercely! With a strong gust of wind, the kick landed on Olin's waist.

  Olin felt a tremendous power coming from Lin Lei's foot, sending his body flying into the air!

  Bang! Olin fell to the ground, the sharp pain in his waist making his eyes redden: "You dare! You dare! You dare to hurt me!"

  "You’re dead! I'm going to strangle you to death!"

  Olin sprang up suddenly, his eyes filled with a bloodthirsty and fierce light.

  "Is this the advantage of a good physique?" Seeing that Olin took the earlier kick with apparent ease, Lin Lei’s pupils narrowed.

  "Ha!" Olin swung his fists like a ferocious black bear.

  Lin Lei dodged to the side, avoiding Olin's punch, only to see Olin's fist smash into a small tree behind him, leaving a deep dent. With a force of 1.7, it was indeed impressive.

  "What a heavy punch, even with my physique, I can't take too many..." Lin Lei thought quickly.

  "Chip! Simulate the best defeat strategy!"

  "Ding! Task established! Starting assistance mode!" The chip’s voice sounded, and in an instant, it calculated the best strategy.

  "Squat!" the chip prompted as Lin Lei crouched down, avoiding Olin's roaring attack.

  "Enemy defense has a flaw! Best attack position: underarm!" the chip transmitted.

  Lin Lei flashed his body, dodging Olin's attack, and moved closer. "You know! Your strength is great, but unfortunately your movements aren't agile enough. Is this the disadvantage of your physique..."

  While attacking, Lin Lei still managed to speak, showing he had spare strength.

  "Is this... still the same Lin Lei from before? How could he... how could he be this strong?" The onlooking boys stared in astonishment.

  Under the incredulous gazes of the spectators, Lin Lei threw a punch! It struck Olin's underarm, using all of his strength; the struck Olin fell to the ground, his face filled with pain, unable to get up for a long time!

  Lin Lei used all his strength too, at 1.5, not much less than Olin, and he hit Olin's vulnerable underarm. Olin fell to the ground, his eyes filled with bloodshot fury, lowly growling: "You're dead! My family won't let you off!"

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  "Oh! Is that so?" Regarding the threat, Lin Lei remained expressionless but then delivered another kick to Olin’s abdomen, making the latter curl up like a boiled shrimp.

  Lin Lei crouched down, looking at Olin with a smile: "Since you won't let me off, don't you think I should take the initiative and kill you instead?"

  At that moment, Lin Lei's smile appeared demonic to Olin.

  "He’s not joking; he truly dares to make a move!" Olin felt as though he was being stared at by a lion, with the rage in his mind replaced by fear.

  "Mr. Lin Lei! Lord Lin Lei! You can't do this! I... I belong to the Donglan family. If you kill me, it will bring you a lot of trouble!"

  "Then do you admit your mistake?" Lin Lei asked mockingly.

  "I admit my mistake! I'm sorry... forgive me!" Under the pressure of death, Olin quickly capitulated.

  "Very well, I accept your apology. Additionally, according to noble laws, I have the right to demand compensation!"

  Lin Lei smiled while saying this, but it gave Olin a bad premonition.

  "As compensation, just hand over the magic stones you have!" As expected, Lin Lei grinned as he uttered the extortionary demand.

  "Oh! No! You can't do this! Do you know how many people my family has sacrificed for these magic stones?"

  Olin struggled in despair.

  "Sometimes, matters in this world are simply multiple-choice questions. Now it's your turn, dear Olin: life or magic stones, choose one!"

  Lin Lei felt not a single tremor of compassion at Olin's pleas for mercy; instead, he pressed his foot onto Olin's face, slowly applying pressure.

  The sole of his boot pressed deeply into Olin's face, forcing his head into the earth, bringing a suffocating sensation.

  After a few minutes, Lin Lei finally relaxed his force, "So? Have you thought it over?"

  "Poof!" Olin gasped for the sweet, fresh air; his face was covered in dirt and footprints, making him look quite comical.

  But no boy around dared to laugh.

  One boy stepped back slightly, attempting to leave the scene.

  Lin Lei picked up a pebble, "Wind speed calculated! Shooting trajectory adjusted!"

  Whoosh! The pebble hit the fleeing boy's knee, knocking him down onto the ground.

  "Olin, did you see that? You don't need to wait for reinforcements anymore... Also, do not attempt to challenge my patience again!"

  Lin Lei looked at the surrounding boys; those who met his gaze lowered their heads, their bodies trembling.

  "Alright! I can give you the magic stones! But mine are in the cart! You come back with me to get them!" Olin reluctantly uttered words of submission.

  "Such important items like magic stones, and you don't carry them with you, but leave them on the cart? Do you take me for a fool?"

  Such a childish lie could hardly fool Lin Lei.

  "Seems you haven't suffered enough!" A fierce light flashed in Lin Lei's eyes as he seized Olin's arm and suddenly twisted it!

  Crack!!! The piercing sound of a bone breaking echoed, accompanied by Olin's cries of agony.

  "If you don’t tell the truth, I’m going to break your other arm!"

  "No! No! No! You can't do this, the Dark Robes will not let you off!" Olin rolled on the ground, holding his arm.

  "Haha... why would those Dark Robes care about us? Didn’t you forget how last time I was nearly beaten to death by you, yet no one came to help?"

  Lin Lei coldly mocked, returning Olin's previous words to him.

  "It seems you really want to die!" Lin Lei moved forward to strike again.

  "Wait! Wait! Alright! I'll give you the magic stones; you have to swear you won't retaliate against me!" Olin, seeing Lin Lei approach, turned pale and shouted.

  "Fine! I swear on the honor of the Farell family!" Lin Lei agreed.

  Olin's face turned pale, struggling to sit halfway up from the ground, and pulled out a golden wallet from his chest, tossing it to Lin Lei: "All my magic stones are in here!"

  Lin Lei caught it and looked; it was a wallet the size of a palm, embroidered with gold and silver threads, featuring a pattern in the center depicting an eagle and a shield, surrounded by delicate floral motifs, appearing to be a family crest.

  Lin Lei opened the wallet and found several black crystals the size of fingernails quietly resting inside.

  "Ding! Unknown energy source detected!" the chip alerted.

  "How about it? Can it be utilized?" Lin Lei smiled slightly.

  "Comparing with the database... Data insufficient! No method found for utilization!"

  "Warning! This energy source contains unknown trace radiation; it is recommended that the subject enhance protection!"

  "Is that so?" Lin Lei thought, then looked at Olin, asking: "Which academy are you planning to attend?"

  "Wet... Wetland Garden!" Olin’s expression was rather poor.

  "Wetland Garden! I’ve heard that the admission fee is ten magic stones, right?"

  "Exactly! Where did you hear that from?" Olin seemed surprised.

  Lin Lei smiled slightly, appearing mysterious. He had never heard of any Wetland Garden; he was simply trying to trick Olin, as the admission fees were usually round numbers anyway, and even if he guessed incorrectly, it didn’t matter.

  "Alright! Here you go!" Lin Lei took out three magic stones from the wallet, then tossed the remaining stones and the wallet back to Olin.

  "These three magic stones are the compensation I'm asking for!" Even though he could take all the magic stones, Lin Lei wasn’t clear on the attitudes of the Dark Robes and White Robes regarding this matter. He didn’t want to test the limits of their tolerance; leaving Olin enough magic stones for admission would mean that in the future, even if he tried to argue, he would have a justification.

  "Th... thank you!" Olin’s expression improved significantly. If he lost all the magic stones and couldn’t enroll, he truly didn’t know how he would face his family upon returning.

  "Don't worry! I won’t take your family’s magic stones!" Lin Lei looked up and saw other noble boys huddled together, their hands tightly covering their chests, and couldn't help but shake his head.

  "Thank you, Lord Lin Lei!" Hearing Lin Lei's assurance, the other boys sighed in relief and hurriedly bowed.

  "However! I demand other compensations!" Lin Lei looked at one boy, who had just tried to run back to report but was struck down to the ground.

  "Nice cross sword on your waist!" Lin Lei noticed how this boy looked a bit apprehensive and pointed at the cross sword on his waist.

  Hearing the hint, the boy hurriedly replied: "It can be given to you, my lord!"

  "Haha! Then I won’t be polite!" Lin Lei took the cross sword from the boy’s hand, weighed it, and nodded in satisfaction.

  As a noble's sword, the quality of this cross sword was excellent.

  The hilt was adorned with beautiful patterns to prevent slipping, and the scabbard was made of shark skin, giving it an air of nobility.