Chapter 26

Chapter 26

Shi Jian stood before Yu Chen, impervious to his taunts.

"I have no interest in you as a person, nor do I wish to waste time on idle chatter."

He clenched his fists, adopting a combat stance. "Right now, I only want to do what I'm meant to in this class."

Yu Chen shrugged, his posture relaxed. "What a pity. I thought you chose me to reminisce. But if you're here for serious training, then I certainly can't go easy on you, can I? I'll make sure to give my *partner* thorough guidance~"

He deliberately emphasized the word "partner," making Shi Jian feel as if slimy creatures were crawling over his skin.

An E-level Alpha's punches, whether in speed or force, were akin to slow-motion footage before an A+. Yu Chen tilted his head, raised a hand, and effortlessly caught Shi Jian's full-force strike, redirecting the momentum towards himself.

Shi Jian stumbled forward a few steps, immobilized and unable to break free.

Yu Chen smirked, surveying him from above with a condescending gaze. "I can't tell if the *princess* came to teach me a lesson or to throw himself into my arms—just look at how your eyes blaze with murderous intent at a single sentence. Can't you control that temper? You clearly can't beat me, yet you always act like we're mortal enemies."

Shi Jian couldn't be bothered to argue with Yu Chen. He twisted his wrist free, swinging a fist straight at Yu Chen's face. When Yu Chen blocked it with his forearm, Shi Jian immediately shifted his grip, using the momentum to step forward and drive his knee into Yu Chen's stomach.

Yu Chen let out a pained grunt, grabbed Shi Jian by the shoulders, and slammed him hard onto the ground. The unprotected impact of his back against the concrete sent a violent, searing pain through his body, as if his internal organs had been violently displaced.

Shi Jian lay winded for a long moment, his entire body aching as if shattered, a sharp, piercing pain throbbing through him.

He shook his head, forcing himself to rise, only for the world to spin as Yu Chen yanked him up and pinned him against the wall, twisting his arms behind his back.

The Alpha leaned in, chuckling softly as he taunted, "Still trying to stand up and fight me? Did you really think your amateur moves could take down a master? But weren't you just in physiology class yesterday? A genius with a photographic memory like you should remember what the teacher said."

His gaze was like a measuring tape, inching over Shi Jian's pinned body, the malice in his voice almost overflowing. "Even if you're an Alpha now, you don't actually believe we're the same, do you? Look at your body—a waist that can be gripped with one hand, hips and thighs laden with fat, a reproductive cavity already primed for conception. You grow exactly how Alphas like it; no wonder you used to be an S-class Omega."

Unprecedented fury and humiliation washed over Shi Jian. Trembling violently, he struggled with all his might, but Yu Chen effortlessly restrained him with one hand, delighting in his futile resistance, like a caged animal. The filthy words clung to Shi Jian's ears like a demon's whisper.

"No matter what gender you are now, your body will always be an Omega's—pretty, fragile, born to be a sex doll, the perfect breeding vessel. Someone like you should've stayed at home, legs spread, pumping out pups for an Alpha husband one after another. What are you doing here, huh? Have you even managed to finish the morning training run in under 30 minutes after all this time? Can you even use your combat skills against a high-level Alpha?"

*Kill him, kill him, kill him, kill him, kill him!!*

His blue eyes bled red. In his peripheral vision, the inherently cruel Alpha was still laughing wildly. Shi Jian lost all reason, thrashing desperately, his mind reduced to a single, primal urge—

*Kill Yu Chen!!*

The overwhelming hatred in Shi Jian's eyes did not escape Yu Chen's notice, but he paid it no mind.

As an apex Alpha, standing at the pinnacle of both lineage and personal rank, his attitude toward Omegas was exactly as his words suggested—a deep-seated disdain. He simply did not believe that someone who had once been an Omega could inflict any substantial harm upon him.

Like when Shi Jian had kneed him earlier—compared to the force he endured during sparring sessions with Xu Bai, it had been nothing, like being swatted by a kitten.

Even if Shi Jian was slightly stronger than other untrained Omegas, at best, he was just a feistier tomcat.

And what could a cat do, no matter how energetic? Scratch him a few times? *Hah*, pathetically outmatched.

Yu Chen tightened his grip on Shi Jian's wrists, satisfied at the suppressed whimper that escaped him. "See? I don't even need to suppress you with my pheromones to put you in your place."

"L-Let me go—"

Shi Jian's face was pressed tightly against the wall, his nose barely able to draw breath. His face flushed crimson from suffocation as he gasped out, "I—I can't breathe—"

Yu Chen hesitated, skeptical. Back in the public showers, this guy hadn't made a sound even when he was nearly choked to death. Why would he surrender now?

Still deliberating, he watched as Shi Jian's eyes rolled white, his struggles suddenly weakening.

Yu Chen was startled and quickly released him. The body, devoid of conscious control, slumped limply to the ground with a dull thud, kicking up a small cloud of dust.

The commotion quickly spread across the entire field, and the others immediately stopped what they were doing, gathering around.

Muye, who had been patrolling and giving instructions, sprinted over, cursing before he even arrived: "What the hell's your problem?! I fucking said hold back—no need to go all in! Yu Chen, are you tired of living?!"

Shen Xingchuan squeezed through the crowd, catching a glimpse of Shi Jian lying motionless on the ground through the gaps. His heart suddenly ached, and he nearly stumbled forward as those behind him pushed.

Fu Yan stood beside him, his face just as pale.

Even Sui Bian, who had just been publicly splashed with water by Shi Jian, couldn't believe it. The person who had been arrogantly lecturing him moments ago was now lying on the ground, lifeless. He turned to glare at Yu Chen, fists unconsciously clenching.

Xu Bai muttered in a daze, "What the hell just happened…?"

Surrounded by over a hundred furious gazes, Yu Chen couldn't help but curse inwardly. He just wanted to know the same thing—he'd just shoved him against the wall and talked shit. How'd it get this bad?

No… Could something really be wrong?

Yu Chen panicked. Shi Cangfeng had already gotten him beaten bloody by his father. He'd only wanted to take his frustration out on Shi Jian, but who knew the guy was this weak?

He quickly crouched down, patting the unconscious man's face. "Hey, come on, you can't be serious. A few hits and you're done?"

But there was no response. Even the faint rise and fall of his nostrils seemed to weaken. Yu Chen started freaking out—if something really happened to this young master, even his father might not be able to protect him.

"Quit fucking around! Are you faking it? Get up already—fine, I won't mess with you anymore, okay? Don't be actually hurt, damn it…"

His voice trembled as he leaned closer. Just as Muye finally arrived and was about to yell at him to back off, his pupils suddenly contracted. "Watch out!"

Yu Chen instinctively looked up—only for his head to suddenly feel heavy, warm blood dripping down his hair.

The suddenness of it stunned everyone, even Yu Chen. Dazed, he raised a hand to wipe at his forehead, only to find it smeared with thick, dark blood.

His skull throbbed with a dull ache, making him sway unsteadily.

Gasps erupted from the crowd, freezing even the frantic Shen Xingchuan and the others in place.

Shi Jian, who had been out cold seconds ago, suddenly snapped his eyes open, a rock slick with blood in his grip. Seizing Yu Chen's moment of disorientation, he flipped over, pinning the Alpha beneath him, and began slamming the rock down again and again in rapid succession. Yu Chen twisted his head desperately, most blows landing on the ground—but a few struck true, quickly reducing his smug, handsome face to a bloody mess.

Yu Chen was stunned for a few seconds before snapping back to reality, all thoughts of earlier concessions vanishing. Just as the rock was about to descend again, he seized Shi Jian's wrist, staring into the other's eyes with gritted teeth. "Oh, so you fight dirty? Fine. I'll make sure you submit today!"

With a violent twist, he rolled them both across the ground until he was on top, Shi Jian beneath him. As they struggled, Yu Chen leaned down, smug. "Your tricks don't stand a chance against real strength."

Shi Jian suddenly let go, laughing inexplicably, baring two rows of razor-sharp teeth. His canines resembled those of a beast with terrifying bite force, glinting like knives against his bloody lips.

Before Yu Chen could react, Shi Jian abruptly sat up, wrapping his arms tightly around him—then opened his mouth and sank his teeth deep into the Alpha's mature scent gland!

A raw, guttural scream ripped through the air.

"AAAAAAHHHH—FUCK—GET OFF!!!"

The pain exploded behind his eyes, tears bursting out. His E-level Alpha pheromones flooded out, weak and frantic, instinctively rushing toward the torn gland—but its owner possessed higher-level Alpha pheromones. The two clashed like rival alphas, even forcing uninvolved Alphas nearby to grimace as their own dormant pheromones were involuntarily roused.

For both Alphas and Omegas, the scent gland was the most vulnerable part of the body. Yu Chen, caught off guard, was locked in a vise grip as Shi Jian bit down, as if determined to tear the flesh from his gland. The pain was unbearable—he howled, completely feral, using every means to pry the other off.

But Shi Jian coiled around him like a serpent, clinging like a leech no matter how Yu Chen hit him.

Attacking Yu Chen's gland came at a cost—his own degraded gland was nearly destroyed by the backlash of higher-level pheromones. But the copper tang of blood flooding his mouth drowned out the bone-deep agony, just as the Alpha's frenzied roars faded from his ears.

His eardrums and eyes violently congested. Shi Jian's vision swam with red, all he could hear was the sound of Yu Chen's gland being torn open, chewed apart—bite by bite.

The faint sound of chewing, the pounding heartbeat, the boiling and clamoring blood—everything else was eerily quiet.

Shi Jian clenched his teeth on that piece of flesh, a long trail of blood mixed with saliva spilling from the corner of his mouth. His bulging eyes, streaked with red veins, made him look like a hungry ghost clawing its way from hell to feast on blood and devour bones.

The surrounding crowd had long panicked. Muye cursed under his breath and barked at Shen Xingchuan and the others to quickly separate the two—otherwise, Yu Chen's gland might really be torn off by Shi Jian's teeth!

But no one could understand how an E-rank Alpha could unleash such terrifying strength. He clung to Yu Chen like a magnet, and even several people pulling at him couldn't pry him loose.

Amid the chaos, Sui Bian accidentally met Shi Jian's eyes. Within those bloodshot eyes, something burned with shocking intensity. He immediately fell silent, deeply shaken by the sheer obsession and despair in those eyes—a determination to drag Yu Chen down to hell even at the cost of his own life. It was the outburst of someone pushed to the brink, a last-ditch rebellion where survival meant destruction.

Suddenly, he realized—this was a person who appeared cold and indifferent but was, in truth, more extreme than anyone else.

Or perhaps... this keen-edged combat knife, after grinding against its first whetstone, had finally been tempered in rage, hatred, and blood.