In The Path of Legends, the protagonist Li Yue initially follows a path of patience and steady growth, rarely taking the initiative to act. So how does the story provide the satisfaction of face-slapping moments?
Of course, it relies on all sorts of clueless supporting characters actively delivering themselves to his doorstep!
For example, the original host and Zhu Yunle, and now this buzz-cut guy.
Qin Yuan leaned against the railing with her arms crossed, coldly observing the commotion inside the classroom.
Zhou Zhou spotted Li Yue by the window and strode over, unceremoniously taking a seat at his deskmate’s spot.
“Classmate Li Yue, I heard you and I are the only two in the whole school who got perfect scores in physics this midterm. Can I take a look at your exam paper?” Zhou Zhou smiled, but his expression didn’t seem friendly.
Li Yue also sensed the ill intentions of the newcomer and didn’t take out his own paper. Instead, he countered, “If there’s anything you don’t understand, you can ask the teacher.”
Yu Changyu, who had just returned to the classroom and found his seat occupied, couldn’t help but let out a stifled laugh at the perfect moment, making Zhou Zhou, who had come to stir up trouble, look like a clown.
Outside the classroom, Xing Baitao stood on tiptoe, leaning on Qin Yuan’s shoulder to peer inside, promptly relaying the intel to her deskmate. “I know him. That’s Zhou Zhou from Class 35 upstairs. He got first place in the school this time.”
“He apparently never outscored Li Yue throughout middle school. Now that he’s finally seized an opportunity, he’s getting pretty arrogant, isn’t he?”
Xing Baitao clicked her tongue twice, naturally starting to defend her own classmate. “It’s just a five-point lead in total score. What’s there to be so cocky about? Li Yue missed over a week of classes, you know.”
Listening to this information, a flicker of confusion passed over Qin Yuan’s face.
She had read the original book quite briefly, only remembering the general plot, but she did recall Zhou Zhou.
The scene where Zhou Zhou came to provoke Li Yue seemed to happen in their third year of high school, didn’t it? Could it be that because Li Yue didn’t break his leg, the subsequent plot got all messed up?
But she quickly brushed it off. The timeline being scrambled had nothing to do with her; she was just a minor villain destined to die sooner or later anyway.
Qin Yuan’s current life philosophy was to seize pleasure in the moment, not to rise to challenges.
Inside the classroom, upon hearing Li Yue’s reply, Zhou Zhou’s face stiffened for a moment. When he heard Yu Changyu’s laughter, he was already struggling to maintain his smile.
He enjoyed this kind of attention-grabbing feeling, but it definitely didn’t include being laughed at by those around him.
However, he quickly adjusted his attitude, adopting a condescending posture to comfort Li Yue: “What a pity, Classmate Li Yue. Don’t be disheartened.”
He was still smiling, but the corners of his mouth were raised too high, coupled with his two finely arched eyebrows, making his whole face appear sarcastic and insincere.
Zhou Zhou feigned regret as he said, “In middle school, you could rely on talent, but in high school, you have to compete with resources. Given your circumstances, falling behind is quite normal.”
A murmur rippled through the classroom, with most students casting looks of disgust at Zhou Zhou.
Li Yue’s family background wasn’t a secret, but he worked hard and strived for success. Although he wasn’t talkative, he was polite to both classmates and teachers. Anyone with half a brain wouldn’t attack someone over their family situation.
The atmosphere in Class 37 was relatively harmonious and friendly. Everyone was quite concerned about Li Yue because no matter who went to him for help with questions, they would receive patient explanations—sometimes even easier to understand than the teacher’s.
Upon hearing his friend being targeted, Wu Zhuoyuan immediately stood up, slamming the table and pointing at Zhou Zhou’s face. “What do you mean by that? Can’t you watch your mouth?”
Outside the classroom, Xing Baitao was equally indignant, whispering to Qin Yuan in protest, “What kind of person is this? They really know how to steal the spotlight—diagnosed with histrionic personality disorder.”
Qin Yuan nodded, quietly taking mental notes on how to play the villain effectively.
Just look at this person—mocking the protagonist for failing an exam and even dragging their family background into it. That’s the kind of remark that hits the mark! That’s how you divert the protagonist’s attention to yourself!
Although she wouldn’t need this knowledge in the future, Qin Yuan still admired her fellow villain’s professional skills, continuing to nod in approval.
Zhou Zhou glanced at the furious Wu Zhuoyuan, then turned his smiling gaze back to the calm and unruffled Li Yue.
He only cared about Li Yue’s reaction.
Li Yue… Li Yue patted Wu Zhuoyuan, signaling him to sit down, and responded to Zhou Zhou with just one word.
“Hmm.”
It was incredibly dismissive, as if brushing off an unruly child.
“Pfft, hahaha… Sorry, go on.” Yu Changyu, witnessing Zhou Zhou’s dramatic shift in expression up close, couldn’t hold back his laughter this time.
Zhou Zhou was furious. He had come to show off, not to be the clown.
“Dare to make a bet? Let’s bet on our final exam rankings.” He stood up, looking down at Li Yue from his height. The chair behind him scraped against the floor with a piercing screech as he rose.
Li Yue lifted his eyes to meet Zhou Zhou’s gaze, which was filled with provocation and disdain.
“If I win, I’ll trouble you, Li Yue, to go downstairs to the Honor Roll and personally move my photo ahead of yours. How about that?”
The thought of this scene seemed to excite him, as Zhou Zhou’s smile grew exaggerated.
The Honor Roll at No. 1 High School was a tradition. The top 20 students overall and the top scorers in each subject had their photos displayed. When Li Yue first enrolled, his flawless face on the Honor Roll had already drawn attention.
However, only the final overall rankings were permanently displayed on the wall. Monthly and midterm rankings were relegated to temporary mobile bulletin boards.
The idea of the legendary, untouchable academic god personally declaring to everyone that he was no match for him—this would be an immense boost to anyone’s ego.
Li Yue, at the center of the storm, remained as calm as ever. “And if you lose?”
Zhou Zhou pretended to think for a moment, his smile now openly malicious. “Then I’ll cover your training fees for the physics competition. After all, losing you as an opponent would be a shame.”
“Damn it! Are you out of your mind?” Zhou Zhou’s words were nothing but humiliation, and Wu Zhuoyuan’s outburst came even before Li Yue could respond.
Yu Changyu quickly stopped Wu Zhuoyuan from lunging out of his seat, signaling with his eyes for him to calm down, then turned his gaze to Li Yue, who remained seated calmly.
Almost everyone was watching him, waiting for his answer.
Except for Qin Yuan.
Although watching the protagonist perform was quite satisfying when she wasn’t the one being humiliated, the crowd around this spectacle was growing. Zhou Zhou’s ostentatious display had attracted too many people, and by tomorrow, the entire building would likely know about this bet.
Moreover, students from neighboring classes had rushed over to watch the drama, blocking both the front and back doors of her classroom. Qin Yuan couldn’t even get back to her seat now.
Xing Baitao, occupying the perfect spectator spot, was excited. “Wow, will Li Yue agree? This is so thrilling.”
Miss Qin, already annoyed by the crowd, frowned and took a step back to avoid an arm from some classmate, just wishing for the class bell to ring soon.
Her tone was quite impatient. “It makes no difference whether you agree or not. Li Yue won’t lose.”
After all, he was the protagonist.
As soon as Qin Yuan finished speaking, several people around her turned to look at her simultaneously, their expressions filled with the excitement of someone who had just taken a bite of a juicy piece of gossip.
It might still be too early to side with Li Yue now. After all, from others’ perspectives, Zhou Zhou’s resource argument wasn’t entirely unreasonable!
Only Xing Baitao hugged Qin Yuan, deeply moved. She had said it all along! The friendly atmosphere in their class could surely influence everyone!
Even Sister Yuan was praising Li Yue! This was nothing short of a Nobel Peace Prize-worthy breakthrough!
Inside the classroom, unaware of what was happening outside the back door, Li Yue expressionlessly rejected Zhou Zhou’s proposal. “Physics competition training isn’t necessary. It’s not part of my plans.”
He was telling the truth. Most high school students pursued subject competitions to secure university recommendations or special admission class qualifications, but Li Yue had no intention of taking that path.
Li Yue had clear plans and complete confidence in his future. Specialized subject competitions would only interfere with his future major choices.
Subject competitions were also time-consuming and energy-draining. While their school had competition-focused small classes, most competition students still opted for additional tutoring outside class, which meant extra expenses.
That was why Zhou Zhou had offered to cover Li Yue’s training costs—he believed Li Yue had withdrawn from the competition because his family couldn’t afford it.
In reality, Li Yue simply felt that physics competitions were a waste of time. If he were selected for the provincial team, he would inevitably have to attend training sessions in other cities, preventing him from returning home in time to care for his grandmother.
And if he couldn’t even make it to the provincial team, there was no point in pursuing competitions in the first place.
Zhou Zhou merely shrugged, likely thinking Li Yue was just putting on a brave face. “Then what do you want to bet on?”
Li Yue’s gaze was light and indifferent. In terms of presence, he not only matched Zhou Zhou, who stood in a superior position, but his dismissive attitude even exuded an arrogant, condescending aura.
“We’ll see. Beating you would be rather boring.”
The classroom fell silent for a moment before Wu Zhuoyuan and Yu Changyu burst into exaggerated laughter.
The other observing students also laughed. Xing Baitao clenched her fist and cheered softly, “So satisfying!”
Zhou Zhou, who had failed to pick a fight and ended up losing face, remained silent for a long while before gritting his teeth and confirming with Li Yue, “So you agree to the bet?”
“Mhm.” Li Yue turned to look at the crowd gathered at the back door. Blocked by the people, he could only see half of Qin Yuan’s face.
She stood with her arms crossed, looking impatient, and unlike the others, she wasn’t staring in his direction.
“Class is about to start. Please go back.” Li Yue pointed toward the back door as he spoke to Zhou Zhou, his tone reverting to the aloofness reserved for ordinary strangers.
He was quite polite. Hearing this, Qin Yuan curved her lips into a faint smile, but wasn’t the order of “threats first, courtesy later” a bit off?
“You don’t need to think about winning anything from me,” Zhou Zhou raised his head and spat out one last harsh remark. “On the day we move the photos on the honor roll, I’ll bring a camera to capture your expression, Academic God Li.”
With that, he turned and left, storming off just as he had arrived, though his demeanor was clearly far less composed than it had been just minutes earlier.
The crowd parted, making way for him.
Qin Yuan stood directly facing the back door. As everyone around her moved aside, she remained in place, coming face-to-face with the defeated antagonist as he left.
Zhou Zhou had already passed her and reached the front door of the neighboring classroom when he suddenly took two steps back and stopped right in front of Qin Yuan.
He didn’t even turn around, instead walking back while facing the same direction—looking both pretentious and foolish.
Even the two people who had followed Zhou Zhou downstairs didn’t understand his intentions, while the others also looked at him and Qin Yuan standing opposite him with confusion.
The students of Class 37 were greatly puzzled. What was this about? Another person who had a problem with Sister Qin?
Qin Yuan was certain she didn’t know him, but with Miss Qin’s reputation being what it was, she had no intention of making way for anyone.
She stared coldly at Zhou Zhou, while Xing Baitao pressed close to her, equally alert.
Perhaps because he had lost face in front of Li Yue, the onlookers all seemed increasingly detestable to Zhou Zhou.
On a whim, Zhou Zhou decided to randomly pick a lucky passerby to vent a few words at, and Qin Yuan—who stood motionless, her very gaze expressing displeasure toward him—became his target.
Under everyone’s bewildered gazes, Zhou Zhou spoke first with a half-smile, “Classmate, the face reflects the heart. You look exactly like a classic femme fatale.”
Behind him, Li Yue—who had remained indifferent to Zhou Zhou the entire time—suddenly stood up, his unshakable expression finally showing some change.
He seemed far more tense now than when he himself had been provoked.
Author’s Note:
This chapter is the update for the 5th. Sorry it didn’t make it on time (sliding into a kneel).