At the entrance of the academy, the Little Demon King didn’t say a word. He jumped off the carriage and rushed straight to the examination hall. Zong Wenxiu, on the other hand, took a moment to bid farewell to Xu Wan before hurrying after his younger brother.
With the exam time pressing, the two were fortunate not to run into Luo Chen, as any confrontation would have delayed them. However, after the exam, they saw him.
But Luo Chen wasn’t targeting them this time—it was Qin Shi.
Zong Jincheng and Zong Wenxiu watched as Luo Chen roughly bumped Qin Shi aside with his shoulder, sneering, “You’re just a useless second-place loser. You can’t even compare to your brother, let alone me.”
Qin Shi opened his mouth but ultimately said nothing. He disliked getting into conflicts and knew Luo Chen was just venting his frustrations. Once Luo Chen had his say, he’d leave without causing further trouble, so Qin Shi didn’t resist.
Luo Chen scoffed, “Pathetic. I don’t even want to waste my time on you.”
Qin Shi lowered his eyes, his expression calm and unreadable.
But the Zong brothers were furious. The Little Demon King shouted as he ran over, “What’s going on here? Why do you always bully people wherever you go?”
Luo Chen turned around and, seeing the two of them, his face darkened instantly. He gritted his teeth and said, “Zong Jincheng, how dare you show up at Hanlin North Academy?”
The Little Demon King retorted, “Why wouldn’t I dare? Hanlin North Academy isn’t your family’s property. You have no right to tell me whether I can come or not.”
Meanwhile, Zong Wenxiu ran to Qin Shi’s side and asked, “Are you okay? Did he just bump your right shoulder?”
Qin Shi smiled faintly and shook his head. “Thank you, but don’t worry. I’m fine.”
Zong Wenxiu bravely stepped in front of Qin Shi, shielding him, and stood alongside his brother to face Luo Chen.
The brothers were determined to stand up for Qin Shi, which amused Luo Chen. He sneered, “What’s the point of defending such a useless person? I wouldn’t even bother wasting my time on him.”
Zong Wenxiu stared at him and said firmly, “This is the academy. You can’t bully other students. Apologize to Qin Shi.”
The Little Demon King chimed in, “Yeah, apologize to Qin Shi!”
With the Zong brothers backing him, Qin Shi’s side gained strength. What had been a two-person conflict now involved four, and the growing crowd of students began discussing their complicated relationships.
“The one standing in front of Qin Shi is Zong Wenxiu. I heard he competed with Luo Chen for a spot in Qingbo Academy’s Child Prodigy Class, and only he got in.”
“Luo Chen is just a lesser son in his family, not particularly favored. He can’t do much to the Zong brothers, so he takes it out on Qin Shi. Qin Shi’s family is a modest one, with his father being a fifth-rank official. He wouldn’t dare offend Luo Chen.”
“But with the Zong brothers here, maybe they can force Luo Chen to apologize. I’ve been sick of his arrogance for a while now.”
“…”
Luo Chen listened to the murmurs, his expression growing uglier by the second. Apologizing to Qin Shi was out of the question. He muttered, “You’re all insane,” and turned to leave.
But as he turned, he came face to face with an icy expression.
The cold eyes that met his felt like knives, making Luo Chen’s heart skip a beat. A chilling sensation rose from within him, and he felt an overwhelming pressure bearing down.
“Qin Ye!”
“It’s Qin Ye, the top scorer in the four-academy joint exam for the Child Prodigy Class!”
“Qin Ye actually came to Hanlin North Academy for the exam? Oh no, Luo Chen just bullied his brother!”
“Now it’s three against one, or rather, four against one. This is getting intense!”
“I’ll silently offer Luo Chen my condolences.”
Even Zong Jincheng was surprised when he saw Qin Ye appear. No one had mentioned that Qin Ye was here too.
Although he intensely disliked Qin Ye’s cold demeanor, he knew Qin Ye was here to help them, so his hostility lessened somewhat.
Hmph, I’ll let him have his moment, the Little Demon King thought magnanimously.
Qin Ye was dressed in a dark blue robe, a color as deep and somber as his usual style—simple, sharp, and unapproachable. No one dared to strike up a conversation with him.
But now, he stood directly in front of Luo Chen, his icy gaze fixed on him, and said coldly, “Apologize.”
His tone wasn’t particularly harsh or loud, but it carried an undeniable weight that made Luo Chen, despite being two years older, break into a cold sweat, his heart pounding.
Luo Chen instinctively wanted to apologize.
But with the crowd growing and the Zong brothers waiting to mock him, apologizing would mean admitting defeat and losing face completely.
“Apologize already! Do you really want to offend Qin Ye? He’s the darling of every academy. I’ve even heard that high-ranking officials are trying to recruit him early.”
“Exactly. With Qin Ye’s abilities, he’s a surefire future top scholar. He’s destined for greatness. None of us in the officialdom would dare cross him, or we’ll suffer for it later.”
The more Luo Chen heard, the more panicked he became.
And Qin Ye was still staring at him coldly.
He didn’t even repeat his demand.
He didn’t need to.
Luo Chen understood.
Qin Ye didn’t deem him worthy of a second word.
That blatant disdain was written all over Qin Ye’s face.
Luo Chen felt as though he’d been slapped repeatedly, all thanks to Qin Ye. Yet, under the mounting pressure, he had no choice but to turn to Qin Shi and say, “I’m sorry.”
As he bowed his head in apology, a single thought crossed his mind:
Qin Ye, I swear I’ll destroy you someday.
After apologizing, Luo Chen left with a dark expression. Some bold students in the crowd began to clap, while others wanted to cheer but stopped when they saw Qin Ye’s cold face.
“Terrifying. He’s only eight years old.”
“How does he have such an overwhelming presence?”
As the crowd dispersed, the four of them remained standing where they were.
Having witnessed the scene, Zong Wenxiu could only think one thing: Qin Ye was incredible.
This was the power of true talent. Even though Qin Ye was just a young boy, the younger brother of the bullied, and a student yet to take the imperial exams, people revered him like a god. Even someone as arrogant as Luo Chen didn’t dare cross him.
In the academy, Qin Ye was the undisputed king.
Zong Wenxiu realized the terrifying influence of academic excellence and resolved to work harder, striving to catch up to Qin Ye.
Zong Jincheng, however, was different. Hearing everyone praise Qin Ye and call him the future top scholar only fueled his jealousy.
The Little Demon King’s anger flared. He shouted, “Damn it, damn it! These people are all talking nonsense! The future top scholar isn’t Qin Ye—it’s me! It’s me!”
These clueless students had no idea how hard he worked or how talented he was! Otherwise, they’d never say such things!
Qin Ye glanced over, his eyes still cold.
He stared at the fuming Zong Jincheng for a long time, searching his memory. He felt like he’d seen him before but couldn’t quite place him.
Finally, after a long pause, the Little Demon King heard the words that would define his lifelong rivalry.
“Who are you?”
