On the sports field of Number Eleven High School.
A large crowd of students pointed and whispered at Wang Hao, who stood in the center of the circle, while Principal Zhongli fumed beside him, his beard bristling with unbridled rage.
Wang Hao stood there with a lazy, insouciant slouch, flicking a disdainful glance out of the corner of his eye at Xia Weiwei, who was preening triumphantly beside him. This violent little loli hadn't just roused the entire school to catch him—she'd even personally dragged him down from the ten-meter-high school wall. The sheer audacity of it made his blood boil.
"Wang Hao, do you have any idea how shameful it is to skip class?" Principal Zhongli seethed. In all his years as principal, not a single student had ever dared to play truant. Yet today, not only did he have a truant on his hands, but the boy showed not a single shred of remorse. It was absolutely outrageous!
The second he finished speaking, several female students around the circle shot Wang Hao looks of utter contempt.
"Who would have thought Wang Hao was such a bad student? I never saw it coming."
"Right? I always thought he was a good, well-behaved kid. I had no idea he was like this."
"I was even planning to confess to him after graduation. Who knew he'd turn out to be this kind of person?"
"Lucky you found out now, before you got hurt."
"To think he'd skip class! Does he have no respect for his parents, who worked so hard to pay for his education?"
"I heard Wang Hao doesn't have parents. He earns his own tuition fees."
"Then he should cherish this opportunity even more! Why on earth would he skip class?"
"Did you all forget? This morning, people were saying he didn't even have money for a love hotel, made Xia Weiwei pay for it. He's probably skipping to go make money now."
"That makes sense. But what could he do? Mix elixirs for people?"
"I doubt it. Even if he's a genius in the alchemy class, he's still just a student. What could he possibly do?"
"Look at him, pale and pretty. Do you think he's… doing that?"
"That?"
"You know… being a gigolo."
"Ugh, that's disgusting!"
Wang Hao rolled his eyes. There was nothing more insufferable than women who lived for gossip and petty slander.
"Ding Dong. Congratulations to the Host for being labeled a delinquent by the majority of onlookers. Awarded a total of 3000 Villain Points."
Huh… actually, gossip-loving women had their cute side too.
…
It didn't take long for news of Wang Hao skipping class to spread through every corner of Number Eleven High School. The principal knew that if he didn't hand down a harsh punishment, truancy would run rampant through the school before long. And so, he sentenced Wang Hao to carve a stone statue of his father, Wang Tianyi, with his own two hands.
Let the boy remember whose son he was, and who he ought to take pride in emulating.
"Are you kidding me!?"
Wang Hao's mouth twitched as he tilted his head back to stare at the fifteen-meter-tall boulder before him, specially hauled in by the principal for him to carve. If he really had to chisel this giant rock into a full statue, he could kiss his plans to sell the Passion Burst vials goodbye for the entire day.
Once all the students had been herded back to class by their teachers, the principal returned to Wang Hao's side and scolded him sharply. "You are not to go anywhere until this statue is finished. You will carve it with the utmost care—consider it your filial duty to your father. I will have meals brought to you."
Wang Hao's eyes lit up. Free meals? That was the best news he'd heard all day!
He knew better than anyone that there were two kinds of food in this world. The first was ordinary food, with no spiritual energy, that merely filled the stomach. The second was food infused with spiritual energy, such as the meat of demon beasts. Only food rich in Heaven and Earth Spirit Energy could help a martial artist strengthen their body and boost their power.
Of course, such food cost a small fortune. Most families could never afford it, save for a single meal during festivals. With the 500 credits left in his bank account, he couldn't even afford the steamed meat buns he'd stolen that morning. For the principal to offer free meals meant he'd never settle for low-grade ingredients—this would be food brimming with rich spiritual energy, no doubt about it.
With that thought in mind, Wang Hao picked up his hammer and chisel and set to work with solemn focus.
Principal Zhongli nodded in approval, then turned and left with his hands clasped behind his back.
…
From a classroom building across the sports field, Mai Mengmeng stared down at Wang Hao hard at work carving the statue, a look of quiet heartache in her eyes.
"Tell me, Mengmeng. You haven't actually fallen for this pervert, have you?" Xia Weiwei narrowed her eyes, studying Mai Mengmeng's expression closely.
"N-no! Weiwei, stop talking nonsense!" Mai Mengmeng's heart began to race, her cheeks flushing brighter and brighter crimson.
"Don't lie to me. You've never been any good at it." Xia Weiwei shot Mai Mengmeng a sharp look, then turned her gaze back to Wang Hao on the field, her brows lifting slightly. "Even if he is a total pervert… he wasn't like this before, was he?"
The Wang Hao they'd known before had been cold and aloof, indifferent to everyone around him, his mind fixed solely on his alchemy. But the Wang Hao of today was shameless, infuriating, wildly energetic, and restless—he was like a completely different person.
"Maybe he hit his head too hard yesterday?" Mai Mengmeng fretted, her voice soft with worry. She remembered all too well how hard Wang Hao had slammed his head into the wall after the aphrodisiac vial had shattered.
"Who cares if he hit his head or not? To me, he's still just a shameless bastard." Xia Weiwei stepped forward, slung an arm around Mai Mengmeng's neck, and smirked mischievously. "You've been mine since last night, little girl. No thinking about other men, got it?"
Mai Mengmeng's face turned scarlet in an instant, the blush spreading down her pale, slender neck. She stammered, "Y-you're talking nonsense…"
Before she could finish, she shoved Xia Weiwei away, covered her burning face, and sprinted off.
Xia Weiwei licked her lips and gave chase, laughing as she ran.
…
Two days later.
Number Eleven High School welcomed a white-haired, weathered old man. This was Su Mu, Wang Tianyi's old mentor from Tianbei University, and the current principal of Tianbei University itself.
He was a living legend, a titan of the Interstellar Federation. Even the President would show him the utmost respect and deference if he so much as showed his face.
Principal Zhongli ushered Su Mu into his office, where they had a clear view through the window of Wang Hao, who was leaning against the nearly finished statue, happily digging into a meal.
"Those damn bloodsucking noble bastards!"
Su Mu's eyes glistened with heartache and rage. Who could have imagined that the son of a revered Marshal would be reduced to this?
He remembered all too well the day Wang Tianyi had vanished without a trace, along with his army of 100,000 soldiers. The nobles who had long envied Wang Tianyi had crawled out of the woodwork at once, accusing him of defecting to the enemy. Some had even demanded Wang Hao's execution, to snuff out the bloodline entirely.
If he hadn't动用 every last bit of his influence and power, he would never have been able to save Wang Hao's life. But the price had been steep: Wang Hao had been expelled from the Royal Academy, banished from the Imperial Planet, all to sate the nobles' petty vengeance for the humiliation Wang Tianyi had dealt them all those years ago.
Worse still, to keep the vindictive nobles from finishing what they'd started and killing Wang Hao, he'd never dared to take the boy under his wing. He'd had no choice but to hide him away on Earth, hoping the child could grow up happy and free from trouble here.
But two days ago, Principal Zhongli had given him the greatest surprise of his life. Wang Hao's talent was even greater than his father's. That meant this boy would one day have the power to do exactly what his father had done: sweep through the Royal Academy and crush every noble genius that stood in his way.
He could barely wait to see the looks on the Royal Academy's faces when the boy they'd thrown out all those years ago returned, invincible and unchallenged, to lay waste to everything they held dear. It was going to be magnificent.