Chapter 89

Chapter 89

Kang Zhanxun's punch was actually caught?

Kang Zhanxun was actually kicked flying?

This "beast in human form" was actually subdued?

The onlookers stared at the scene before them, dumbfounded, frozen in place for a long moment, unable to react.

The arena fell so silent you could hear a pin drop.

It wasn't until Kang Zhanxun, who had been kicked flying, picked himself up off the ground, calmly popped his dislocated arm back into its socket, his face grim, and walked back to the center of the arena with murderous intent swirling in his eyes, closing in on Han Zhang and demanding fiercely:

"Who are you?"

Only then did the crowd snap out of their shock.

Shen Huaizhi's legs had gone weak with fear, but abandoning his buddy and running off would've been way too dishonorable.

He gritted his teeth and stepped in front of Han Zhang, signaling him to stay quiet, while propping himself up on his trembling legs and puffing out his chest, trying to bluff his way through:

"K-Kang Zhanxun! Th-this is the academy! Don't you dare throw another fit! My father is the Assistant Commissioner of Transmission, a close aide to His Majesty. If you dare lay another hand on us, even the Dingbei Marquis's household, for all its power and influence, won't save you from punishment!"

Pan Taining and the others also shuffled forward, faces pale, voices trembling like crazy as they barely managed to chime in:

"Th-that's right... Among fellow students, even if there are disagreements, we should settle things with reason. Let's... let's talk this out, no need for violence..."

But their voices quavered, with zero authority behind them.

They had no choice—they didn't want to be this cowardly, but Kang Zhanxun was clearly on the verge of losing it, and they were scared of getting beaten to death.

They hadn't said anything particularly offensive, had they? Why had the guy flown off the handle like that?

Shen Huaizhi and the others couldn't figure it out.

But Kang Zhanxun was in a blind rage and wouldn't listen to reason—he just wanted to beat them all senseless:

"Cut the crap! Since you dared to insult me, none of you are walking out of here in one piece today!"

In the crowd, Fan Zixu and Zhao Hongji secretly gloated at the scene, hoping he'd beat Shen Huaizhi and the others within an inch of their lives, and quickly shot a look at a nearby student.

That student had no choice but to hunch his shoulders, squeeze his eyes shut, and yell: "Brother Kang, the one who caught your punch is none other than Han Qinzhang—the one Brother Shen's been going on about as 'having godlike skills, second to none, able to run circles around us noble brats'!"

The moment these words were spoken, it was like throwing cold water into a pot of boiling oil.

Han Zhang looked over speechlessly: these little troublemakers had been out there painting a target on his back?

"Which bastard is talking crap! Show yourself! When did we ever say anything so arrogant and out of line..."

Shen Huaizhi and the others immediately flushed red, half-shocked, half-furious, hopping mad and cursing.

They weren't idiots—shooting their mouths off was one thing, but they'd never say something that stupid and offensive.

This was clearly someone deliberately stirring the pot and pouring gasoline on the fire!

But Kang Zhanxun had already turned his gaze back to Han Zhang, his eyes blazing with even more murderous intent:

"So you're the Han Qinzhang Shen Huaizhi never shuts up about? You managed to catch my punch, so you're clearly no ordinary broke scholar."

"But," a sinister laugh leaked through his teeth, "running into me today is your unlucky day. You could have befriended anyone, yet you chose to call a piece of trash like Shen Huaizhi your buddy. Today, I'll make an example of you first, to teach you who runs things in this Imperial Academy!"

Before the words even died out, his fist was already whistling through the air.

Every punch, every kick split the air with a sharp crack, and the stone slabs in the academy courtyard shattered and flew apart under the impact.

His strength was that of a tiger, his momentum that of a wild beast.

Truly worthy of the name "beast in human form," leaving the students around him utterly terrified.

However, fierce as Kang Zhanxun was—

But to Han Zhang—who'd fought true beasts, the mutated flora and fauna of the apocalypse, and been forged through mountains of corpses and seas of blood—Kang Zhanxun wasn't much of a threat.

After all, no matter how ferocious Kang Zhanxun was, he had never truly killed anyone or seen real blood. He was all bark and no bite.

Han Zhang handled him effortlessly, his gaze landing on Kang Zhanxun's bloodshot, manic eyes, and couldn't help but frown.

Something was off with this guy.

This wasn't your run-of-the-mill bad temper or impulsive anger.

The wild bloodshot look in his eyes, the uncontrollable savage strength, and the lack of technique in his attacks—only primal ferocity—looked more like someone in the middle of some kind of episode...

A man in a delirious frenzy had no sense of restraint or measure. Han Zhang wasn't afraid, but if they fought until the guy went all out in a frenzy, someone could end up dead in public, and that would be a disaster.

With that in mind,

Han Zhang, while trading blows, secretly channeled his Power into Kang Zhanxun's body to suppress whatever was wrong with him.

At the same time, he spoke in a calm, persuasive tone: "Brother, you and I have no prior grudge, and this is our first meeting. Why let a moment of impulse bring us to this?"

"The Imperial Academy is a place established by the court to nurture talent. If His Majesty gets wind of this brawl, our punishment would be the least of our worries—our families would be dragged into it."

"A real man makes friends with his sights set on the world. If you have grievances with me, we could settle it through the six gentlemanly arts in a friendly contest..."

The surrounding students, fearing that lives might be lost and they'd be implicated, also chimed in to mediate:

"Yes, Brother Kang, it's just a verbal dispute, no need to make such a big deal out of it..."

"This is the Imperial Academy—if the teachers hear of this, it's one thing, but if word reaches His Majesty, it'll be hard to contain..."

"Kang Zhanxun, we spoke out of turn just now. If we offended you, point it out, and we'll apologize! Stop this now, don't let this turn into a bloodbath!"

Shen Huaizhi, Pan Taining, and the others watched the increasingly vicious exchange of blows and the stone slabs shattering underfoot, their faces pale with terror, and hastily offered apologies and good words, their hearts racing with anxiety.

This madman Kang Zhanxun... they really hadn't said anything overly offensive, just the usual old squabbles. Why had he flown into such a frenzy?

Everyone chimed in with their pleas.

Han Zhang's Power flowed ceaselessly into Kang Zhanxun's body, and Kang Zhanxun felt a wave of cool clarity wash over his head. The surging irritability gradually faded, and his bloodshot eyes slowly returned to clarity...

Realizing he had apparently lost control again, Kang Zhanxun's face went through shades of white and red. He immediately stopped his movements and stiffly withdrew his hand.

He pressed his lips together, silent for a full several breaths, before forcing out a rigid sentence through clenched teeth:

"My apologies. I was impulsive."

"No harm done. We meet in the spirit of camaraderie, and friends are made through conflict... Brother Kang has fine fists—I'm impressed."

Han Zhang didn't take the opportunity to reproach him—just gave a slight nod, offering the other man an out.

This caught Kang Zhanxun off guard—he'd been bracing for Han Zhang to make a fuss: "You..."

He'd figured this poor scholar would definitely seize the chance to chew him out and demand an explanation, after all, who wouldn't be pissed off at being provoked for no reason?

But he never expected the guy to hold back—and even hand him an out on a silver platter.

His first thought: this was pure hypocrisy.

These scholars were masters of surface-level gestures—acting all magnanimous on the outside, but scheming underneath!

But the moment he met Han Zhang's clear, honest gaze, he realized he'd been judging a gentleman by his own petty standards.

"Fine! You poor scholar—you've got some guts!"

Kang Zhanxun's usual scowl vanished in a flash, replaced by a hearty laugh and a carefree look.

Then his gaze slid over to Shen Huaizhi and the others, who were shaking with weak legs and pale faces, and he sneered again with contempt:

"You four spineless cowards, consider yourselves lucky today—I'm letting you off this once, for this gentleman's sake."

With that, he waved at his underlings: "Let's roll!"

Clearly he'd started the whole mess, yet he strutted off like he was the one in the right.

"...???"

Shen Huaizhi and the other three turned red with rage.

That bastard—so what if he's a decent fighter? What's he got to be so cocky about!

They'd go hire a hundred or so guards later, swarm him all at once, and see if he could still act so tough!

The students watching nearby finally breathed a sigh of relief once the commotion settled, then scattered.

Once no outsiders were left.

Shen Huaizhi and the other three stomped their feet and cursed up a storm.

"That damn dog Kang Zhanxun! Now we can't afford to mess with him, and we can't even avoid him—what's he got besides being a good fighter? What's he got besides throwing fits?"

"What's he so smug about! Once we're out of the academy, watch me get a hundred guys to throw a sack over his head and beat him till he looks like a pig! Then I'll feed him ten packs of laxatives and let him crap himself to death in the outhouse! Pah, what a piece of garbage..."

"Spare us? If we weren't scared of dragging our families into it, we'd have fought him to the death today."

"Who's like him—cold-blooded, vicious, and crazy enough to not give a damn about his own nine generations of family... A heartless, ungrateful bastard."

The four grumbled indignantly, with exaggerated faces, wild hand gestures, and deliberately loud voices.

They were dead set on proving to Han Zhang, standing right there, that they weren't scared of Kang Zhanxun—they were just looking at the bigger picture.

Han Zhang: "..."

They'd just been scared shitless and scrambling to get away, and now they still wanted to save face?

"Pride comes before a fall. If you could actually get back at him, you'd have done it ages ago—you wouldn't have let him chase you off until your legs gave out."

Han Zhang waved his hand dismissively, cutting off their Monday-morning quarterbacking.

Shen Huaizhi and the others flushed red again: "..." Couldn't they at least save a little face?

Han Zhang said no, chuckling lightly: "Enough, cut the chatter. Tell me all about that guy's background—I'll figure out a way to make him bow his head and be your errand boy to blow off some steam."

A punch with the force of a thousand jun, a spirit bold and unbeatable.

Compared to Shen Huaizhi and the others—'geniuses' who still needed polishing—this guy was the real deal, a true Hegemon-King in the making.