Era of Mist

Chapter 139: Chapter 138: Countless Tribulations, All for Refusing to Kneel

One step, then another. Heavy, yet firm. Shi Tiexin strode forward.

He Chong. It was He Chong, this very guy—if Shi Tiexin had a fated mission of his own, then his first one was undoubtedly He Chong!

If they had been fighting head-on, Shi Tiexin wouldn’t have complained even if he were knocked down a hundred times. He would have only blamed himself for being too weak and resolved to work harder.

But He Chong wasn’t like that.

There are always people in this world who, when you’re polite, they’re not. When you raise your fists, they refuse to fight you square. You have your own bottom line, your own dignity, and it doesn’t affect them in the slightest. And yet, there are always those who insist on challenging your bottom line, again and again! Who insist on trampling your dignity, again and again!

Scene after scene from the past flooded his mind. Shi Tiexin felt the blood roaring through his veins, so hot his hair felt like it was about to stand on end.

His mind-force boiled within him, and his eyes practically shot out beams of light. His face was like stubborn iron and solid rock, chiseled and severe. His aura, built up from forcing his way through the crowd, had reached its peak.

Now, he would swing a punch at anyone who stood in his way—even Liu Qigang!

But no one blocked him here. The path was clear, leaving only He Chong and his handful of cronies. The cronies looked terrified. He Chong no longer used them as a shield; instead, he turned to face Shi Tiexin, his expression vicious as he stared him down.

Step by step, the two drew closer. The eight hundred students gradually fell silent. The Student Union officers said nothing. The Dragon Map Scholar watched with great interest. The principal stood frozen in place. The entire campus slowly grew quiet.

Shi Tiexin advanced, then stopped, standing as steady as Mount Tai opposite He Chong, his posture as straight and tall as a mountain peak.

”I never thought you’d actually show up!” He Chong’s expression was savage. ”Kid, instead of being a good little watchdog, earning money to pay your debts, you run out here barking wildly. Aren’t you afraid someone’s going to stomp you to death?”

Shi Tiexin’s expression didn’t flicker, but his mind raced, analyzing He Chong’s words. He latched onto one piece of information. ”You know I have to pay a debt. It seems my being in debt was your doing.”

”Of course it was me!” He Chong’s expression grew even more arrogant. ”Kid, the Upper City Central Hospital doesn’t come cheap, does it? A Tier-2 treatment costs at least fifteen thousand. You probably can’t even afford the exam registration fee now! Those who follow me prosper; those who oppose me perish. You dared to defy me, so this is the fate you deserve!”

A thought struck Shi Tiexin.

’A Tier-2 treatment costs at least fifteen thousand? He Chong sounded so certain; he must know the situation at the Central Hospital. But that head nurse, Shi Yu Hui, she woke me up with just a Tier-1 treatment. And even if they had done a Tier-2, the price they rolled was just over eight thousand.’

’Could it be that she really gave me a discount? Could it be that inside the prominent chest of that white-robed demon, there’s actually a conscience?’

’Hard to say.’

’It’s possible she has a lot of follow-up fees waiting for me, and the miscellaneous costs will add up. But regardless, if I really were fifteen thousand points in debt, I probably would never be able to get back on my feet in this lifetime. That’s no exaggeration. It’s often a chain reaction. For the current Shi Tiexin, a debt of one thousand points versus fifteen thousand points is a world of difference.’

’I could grit my teeth and make the first payment on a thousand points, but I couldn’t make the first payment on fifteen thousand even if I sold myself. If I can’t pay my debts, my credit file will be stained, which will affect my application for the Lesser Township Examination. I might not even be allowed to take it. My life would head down a completely different, gridlocked road.’

’Whether she meant to or not, Shi Yu Hui woke me up early. I’ll remember this silent favor.’

Though thoughts were racing through his mind, Shi Tiexin’s expression remained unchanged.

He stared into He Chong’s eyes. Right then, there was a question he wanted to ask. It was a question he already knew the answer to, but it had lingered in his heart for a long time. For some reason, in this time and place, he felt he had to get it off his chest.

”He Chong, I’ve already backed down. I’ve never provoked you first. Why do you keep targeting me, again and again?”

Shi Tiexin’s tone was steady, but his emotions were in turmoil. Under the crushing weight of life, he struggled to find a balance between survival and dignity. In the face of mere survival, this balance point was his last, fragile line. But there were always people who wanted to come along and stomp it into the ground.

”Our paths should have never crossed. You have your wide, sunny road, and I have my single-plank bridge. So why must you insist on coming over just to tear my bridge down?”

The eight hundred people in front of him weren’t his only obstacle, but they were a microcosm of it.

He Chong wasn’t the first person who wanted to crush his bottom line, nor would he be the last. But at this very moment, all those figures, all those faces, merged into the singular form of He Chong. He was the most vivid, most immediate embodiment of them all.

”Is it because it’s fun? Because you’re bored? Or because you want to use a guy from the Orphanage as an example to establish your might?”

From the void, something seemed to silently and subtly influence Shi Tiexin’s mind, making his already turbulent emotions even harder to control. His heart surged, unable to bear it any longer. Finally, facing He Chong—facing the embodiment of all those people—he roared like a clap of thunder.

”Tell me, why? Just what is the reason?!”

The parted sea of eight hundred students was dead silent. Shi Tiexin’s explosive roar echoed throughout the campus. Within his wide sleeves, the Dragon Map Scholar formed another Spell. As the echoes rolled on, a faint, traceless something—of unknown origin and nature—seemed to mix with them, pouring into He Chong’s ears along with Shi Tiexin’s shout.

That impurity disturbed He Chong’s mind, digging out his deepest, truest thoughts. He Chong’s expression flickered, but a moment later, it twisted into a sneer—one of pure mockery, of utter self-righteousness.

”Why? There is no why.”

”I trample you simply because you won’t kneel to me!”

Shi Tiexin felt a surge of absurdity.

”Won’t kneel? Just because I won’t kneel?”

”Of course, that’s exactly why!” He Chong’s face was a twisted, savage mask, his eyes bloodshot. ”In this world, other than the ones standing at the very top, who gets to not kneel? No one! Everyone must submit, every single one of them!”

He pointed a finger at the crowd of eight hundred. ”You think they get to not kneel?”

The crowd of eight hundred stirred uneasily but remained silent.

He then pointed at the Student Union officers. ”You think they don’t kneel?”

The Student Union officers narrowed their eyes. The Dragon Map Scholar’s lips curved into a slight smile.

Finally, he slapped his own chest. ”You think I don’t kneel? No, we all have to grovel. We just worship different things. In this age of universal cultivation, the strong are revered. And if the strong are revered, then the weak must be humbled! There will always be someone stronger than you, which means everyone is lowly!”

”No matter where you stand, there’s always someone who can decide your fate with a single word, sentence you to life or death with a single phrase, or turn your world upside down on a whim!”