Zhou Yueming made a hand gesture, and the Alphas’ shouting died down. His gaze cut across the air to land on Chu Li. With his arms behind his back, his black military boots stepped onto the soft mud. “Do you understand the rules?”
“I understand,” Chu Li replied.
Beside him, Mo Yizhou cast a sideways glance at Chu Li.
“There’s no need to force yourself,” Zhou Yueming added. “Declining a challenge won’t deduct points.”
“Coach, does that mean I get one point for every round I win?”
As soon as Chu Li spoke, the Alphas burst into laughter, mocking his perceived overconfidence. Zhou Yueming swept his gaze over them, and the laughter stopped instantly.
“Yes.”
Chu Li asked no more questions and jumped into the mud pit. The murky water reached his mid-calf. The top-ranked Alpha, Dong Yi, immediately jumped in after him, though the mud only reached his ankles.
The top five rankings on the mecha department student list were reserved for those recommended by Major General Fu Lin; the subsequent order was based on actual scores. Those shouting the loudest earlier were these top five.
Evans was ranked second.
Evans crouched down, a weed dangling from his mouth, and said snidely, “Chu Li, Dong Yi is my brother. Say something nice, and I’ll tell him to go easy on you.”
Chu Li turned his back to Evans and slammed his heel into the pit, splashing a glob of mud directly onto Evans’ face.
Evans instinctively recoiled, stumbling to the ground. Infuriated, he wiped the mud from his face, ready to curse, but he choked it back when he met Zhou Yueming’s warning glare. Instead, he shot a look at Dong Yi, who nodded.
“The winner is whoever pins the opponent to the ground until they cannot move,” Zhou Yueming said as he walked around the pit. “Take care… do not cause permanent injury.”
As soon as the words left his mouth, Dong Yi’s massive frame lunged like a tiger. Mud sprayed under his feet as his fist swung directly for Chu Li’s head. This wasn’t wrestling; it was a brawl.
The Alphas above held their breath, assuming the Beta was about to meet a gruesome end.
Chu Li dodged. The wind from the blow sliced past his cheek like an arrow. He grabbed Dong Yi’s elbow and swept his leg to trip him, but the Alpha stood as firm as a mountain. Dong Yi didn’t budge; instead, he grabbed Chu Li by the waist, hoisted him up, and slammed him toward the ground.
Though it was soft mud, the impact was little different from hitting solid earth. As he fell, Chu Li grabbed a handful of Dong Yi’s uniform, using the leverage to cushion the blow.
In a head-on collision, he couldn’t win. The gap in size and strength was too great; he had to rely on his wits.
Dong Yi cracked his knuckles. He didn’t take Chu Li seriously, intending to subdue him with brute force, and swung another punch.
Chu Li didn’t engage directly. Instead, he retreated step by step, his military boots sinking deep into the mud with heavy, deliberate strikes. He circled the pit while Dong Yi pursued. After several laps, the Alphas watching from above frowned in confusion.
Evans crossed his arms and mocked him, “Chu Li, if you can’t win, just surrender. It’s only natural for a Beta to be inferior to an Alpha. There’s no shame in it.”
“Hahaha…” The Alphas roared.
Chu Li seemed cornered. He backed away until he reached a corner of the pit. Seeing this, Dong Yi lowered his guard, his only thought being to end this Beta with a single blow.
A direct KO!
He swung again, but Chu Li ducked aside with sudden agility. Before Dong Yi—or anyone else—could react, Chu Li was behind him. He delivered a fierce kick to Dong Yi’s vulnerable tailbone. Dong Yi stumbled forward.
Unexpectedly, the mud in that corner hid a deep hollow. Dong Yi’s foot sank in, his body dropping several centimeters as he pitched forward. Before he could regain his balance, Chu Li delivered another kick to the seventh vertebrae, the most sensitive part of the coccyx. Dong Yi’s body went numb, and he let out a piercing scream.
“AAAGH!” When a 185cm Alpha giant screams, the sound is like a primal, dissonant roar. The Alphas above winced, some even covering their ears.
“How did Dong Yi fall so suddenly?”
“There’s a hollow there.”
“How is there a hole?”
“It looks like that Beta dug it with his feet while he was dodging earlier.”
It wasn’t just one hole. While Chu Li was “fleeing,” he had used the cover of the mud and the tips of his boots to dig several “traps.”
With Dong Yi trapped and off-balance, Chu Li pressed his advantage. He grabbed the Alpha’s shirt from the waist, yanked it up over his head, and tied it into a tight knot, binding Dong Yi like a sack.
Dong Yi’s arms were pinned by his own clothes. He struggled to break free, but Chu Li planted a foot firmly on his upper back near the atlas bone. His boot felt like it was tipped with lead; as he ground his heel down, Dong Yi felt as though his spine might snap.
A desperate, helpless groan, like a trapped beast, escaped his throat.
The crowd of Alphas stood stunned into silence.
Zhou Yueming checked his electronic watch. “Ten, nine, eight, seven, six… three, two, one! Round one, Chu Li wins.”
The atmosphere froze for a second. Then, someone—it was unclear who—clapped twice. The sparse sound of applause mixed with the whistling wind was both eerie and ridiculous.
Everyone turned to see who was clapping, but the person had already withdrawn their hand.
Chu Li released his foot and untied the knot. In a silent provocation, he gave Dong Yi a nonchalant glance and turned his back.
Dong Yi gnashed his teeth, feeling as though a great humiliation had been heaped upon him. He glared at Chu Li’s back, his eyes bloodshot and caked with mud, radiating fury. He lunged, swinging a fist at the back of Chu Li’s neck.
Fortunately, Zhou Yueming was faster. He kicked up a spray of mud into Dong Yi’s eyes, forcing the Alpha to stop.
“A loss is a loss,” Zhou Yueming barked. “Violating military discipline for unauthorized revenge warrants punishment! Go down and receive twenty military lashes!”
“Coach…”
Dong Yi tried to argue, but Zhou Yueming ignored him. Dong Yi was escorted away by soldiers.
Chu Li wiped the mud from his face and looked up at Zhou Yueming. “Thank you, Coach.”
Zhou Yueming didn’t reply immediately, his gaze lingering on Chu Li for a few seconds. This Beta had turned his back on an opponent—had he simply lacked vigilance, or was he “fishing”? Given Dong Yi’s temper, any normal person would have remained on guard. But this Beta had turned away. If it was intentional…
He was quite calculating.
Then again, in this dog-eat-dog military academy, one wouldn’t last long without a bit of a scheme.
Zhou Yueming turned to Evans. Evans’ face was as ugly as it could be; he clearly hadn’t expected Dong Yi to lose so pathetically.
“Evans, it’s your turn to choose an opponent.”
Evans jumped into the mud. Chu Li didn’t leave; he stood waiting, eyes half-lidded, the morning light catching the bridge of his nose.
Evans cracked his knuckles and rolled his head. “Chu Li, that trap trick worked on Dong Yi, but it won’t work twice. I won’t fall for it.”
“Against you,” Chu Li said, “I don’t need a trick.”
Evans was infuriated by the comment, and laughter rippled through the crowd.
His face darkening further, Evans carefully tested the ground with his feet to ensure there were no hollows before launching his attack.
It must be said that after a year by Major General Fu Lin’s side, Evans had learned a lot. His moves were vicious and aggressive, clearly aiming to take Chu Li down in one strike.
Chu Li remained composed, even finding the breath to speak.
“Evans, the only reason you beat me when we were thirteen was because I felt sorry for you. An Alpha who was shorter than Betas and Omegas… I let you win a few moves just to save your pride.”
The years before thirteen were a major sore spot for Evans. Back then, he was malnourished and stunted, mocked by the Alphas in the Lower District as a “fake Alpha.” He had found his dignity as an Alpha only by defeating Chu Li. To hear now that Chu Li had let him win on purpose?
Evans’ eyes turned crimson. “Shut up! A loser has no room for excuses!”
“You know who the real loser is. In the Lower District, Ruan Ruan, Old Man Zhong, and Uncle Su Nuo all liked me. You? You were a street rat. The only reason they were kind to you was for my sake.”
Chu Li used the calmest tone to deliver the most devastating insults, striking at the very core of Evans’ identity.
“Shut up! You lowly Beta, shut up!” Evans charged like a madman, swinging a fist at Chu Li’s head. Chu Li barely dodged.
Evans then kicked at his left thigh. Chu Li noticed a depression in the ground to his right and didn’t dodge, taking the blow so he could be grabbed by the collar and shoved against the edge of the pit.
He raised his hand as if to strike back, but Evans easily caught his elbow. In a fit of rage, Evans leaned in close, his eyes wide with fury. “Who do you think you are! Today, I’m going to, AAAGH!”
Evans’ words turned into a blood-curdling scream.
Chu Li, abandoning all “chivalry,” had bitten Evans’ ear.
The sharp pain forced Evans to release his grip. Chu Li didn’t run; instead, he manipulated the buckle of Evans’ belt, yanking it free.
While observing Evans earlier, he had noticed the military trousers didn’t fit well and the belt was pulled extremely tight. Sure enough, once the belt was gone, Evans’ pants fell to his ankles, revealing greyish, worn-out underwear with two visible holes!
Perhaps because he had spent so long in the Lower District, even after finding success with Major General Fu Lin and being able to afford luxury clothes, Evans still couldn’t bring himself to spend money on things that weren’t visible like underwear. He had stingily kept wearing the ones with holes.
Scurrilous whispers and mocking laughter erupted from the crowd above.
Evans’ face turned a bright, furious crimson. Ignoring the match, he scrambled to pull up his trousers, but Chu Li circled him with the belt. With a sharp click of the buckle, he bound Evans tight.
Leaning close to his ear, Chu Li whispered his provocation, one deliberate word at a time: “You truly are inferior even to a Beta.”
Incensed with rage and shame, Evans glared at Chu Li with murderous eyes. “You lowly Beta! Let me go! I’ll kill you! How dare you treat me like this?” He struggled to strike Chu Li, but with his hands bound, he could only try to kick. Chu Li countered with a direct kick to the groin, sending Evans sprawling back into the muddy water.
“Coach, is biting ears and stripping pants really allowed?” one of Evans’ cohorts shouted, trying to “seek justice” for his friend.
Zhou Yueming replied indifferently, “I said earlier: as long as you don’t cause permanent injury, it’s fine.” This time, his gaze lingered on Chu Li even longer.
Against the first opponent—the tall, powerful one—Chu Li had exploited the man’s overconfidence, using traps to ensnare him.
Against the second opponent—the agile one—Chu Li used provocation to make him lose his composure, then employed unexpected, “dirty” tactics like biting and stripping to outmaneuver him.
The boy was undeniably clever.
However, the remaining Alphas had surely caught on to these tricks by now. How would he win the next rounds? Zhou Yueming waited to see.
The third Alpha, seemingly vowing to reclaim the honor for his fallen comrades, jumped into the pit with a loud thud, splashing mud everywhere. He glared at Chu Li. “Coach, I challenge him too!”
Chu Li raised his hand. “Coach, I forfeit.”
“…” Zhou Yueming.
“…” The rest of the Alphas.
After watching those two intense matches, the Alphas had subconsciously expected this Beta to fight to the bitter end. They hadn’t expected him to suddenly “play it safe.” And so, the third Alpha won a point effortlessly, standing there in stunned silence.
The fourth and fifth Alphas followed suit, both choosing to challenge Chu Li.
Chu Li forfeited every time.
Seeing this, the Alphas thought they had discovered a secret shortcut to easy points.
That was until the sixth Alpha: Mo Yizhou.
Mo Yizhou was the true top-ranked student based on actual test scores. While everyone assumed he would do like the others—challenge the Beta and take a free point—Mo Yizhou reached out his hand. His gaze bypassed the crowd and pointed directly at Evans, who was still clutching his backside and cursing.
“I challenge the second candidate, Evans.”
“…” Evans.
Are you kidding me?