Without warning, a soccer ball streaks through the air and strikes Ma Long directly in the face with a sickening thud. The impact is forceful enough to send the boy reeling. Ma Long collapses onto the ground, his glasses shattered and blood spilling from his nose. He groans in pain, clutching his face while the world around him blurs.
A group of students watches from the nearby stairs, their laughter ringing across the courtyard. One of them shouts out, mockingly identifying Si Chen and Ma Long. The leader of the group is Gong Cheng, a muscular student with a buzz cut and dog tags hanging from his neck. He leans back with a smug grin, noting that the two of them recovered surprisingly fast.
Ma Long looks up at the group in pure terror, the realization of who they have encountered sinking in. He stammers about their terrible luck as he recognizes Gong Cheng.
Si Chen remains silent, staring at the bullies. He recognizes these faces from his past — the ones who made his university life a living hell.
Gong Cheng laughs, boasting to his friends that he knew these two were tough enough to handle a little fun. His eyes are fixed on the pair below with predatory interest. His tone turns sharp as he demands to know why they did not bring him any drinks when they knew he would be playing ball here. He expects absolute submission from those he deems weaker.
Panic-stricken, Ma Long immediately begins to apologize, his voice shaking. He offers to run and buy the drinks for them right now, just to avoid further violence.
Si Chen steps forward, his eyes burning with a cold fire as he tells Ma Long that he is not the one at fault. He looks directly at Gong Cheng, refusing to back down.
Gong Cheng watches from his seat on the stairs, surrounded by his laughing lackeys. He enjoys the feeling of power that comes from intimidating others. He repeats his comment about their fast recovery, his words dripping with a malicious edge. He is clearly looking for an excuse to start another fight.
Ma Long is still trembling, his face a mask of fear as he laments their bad luck. He is already defeated in his own mind, conditioned by years of abuse.
Si Chen does not look away from the group sitting above them. He knows exactly what kind of people they are, and what they are capable of.
Gong Cheng smirks at his companions, reaffirming his belief that these two are the perfect targets. He treats their suffering as nothing more than a source of entertainment.
Si Chen's red eyes glow intensely as memories of the past begin to surface. The sight of Gong Cheng triggers a flood of dark, buried images from his previous life.
A traumatic memory flashes back. Si Chen is underwater, bubbles rising as he struggles to breathe. The sounds of the world are muffled and distant as he panics. The flashback reveals Gong Cheng and his friends in a school bathroom. They are laughing as they forcefully hold Si Chen's head down into a sink full of water. In the memory, Ma Long is on the floor nearby, frantically begging the bullies to stop. He is helpless to do anything but watch as his friend is tortured.
Gong Cheng looks back at Ma Long with a cruel smile, asking why he should stop. He mockingly claims that he is only helping Si Chen awaken his latent powers. He shoves Si Chen's head deeper into the water, ignoring his desperate struggles. He taunts him for being a failure who has not awakened even after all this stimulation.
The bullies' laughter fills the room, a sharp and mocking sound that contrasts with the victim's silence. They find joy in the absolute control they have over their peers. Growing bored with their toy, the group decides to leave, joking about how pathetic Si Chen is. They walk away without a single shred of remorse for what they have done.
Ma Long rushes to Si Chen's side as he lies gasping on the wet bathroom floor. He calls out his name, his voice filled with worry and relief that his friend is still alive.
Drenched from head to toe, Si Chen's face remains shrouded in shadow. In a low, raspy whisper, he asks why people like this never know when to let go, and why they are so hell-bent on tormenting others. He realizes that pure malice is not something that only exists within the demon lairs. It is a force that is very much alive and well in the human world they are trying to protect. The thought hangs in the air. The realization that the world is inherently cruel is a heavy burden for him to carry once again.
His question was like a spark striking the bullies' egos. Gong Cheng turned his head, his eyes flashing with an eerie green light as he smirked. He suggested to the group that they should play with Si Chen a little more.
And that is how Si Chen ended up lying broken in the infirmary.
Back in the present, the bulky student with the buzz cut and military tags leans back with a smug grin. He is demanding to know why his classmates did not bring enough drinks for his ball game.
Ma Long, a boy with messy brown hair and large round glasses, bows frantically. He stammers out an apology and offers to go buy the drinks right away to avoid more trouble.
Si Chen, the black-haired student standing nearby, looks on with a sharp, cold gaze. He tells his friend that he is not the one who should be apologizing.
Gong Cheng's face drops into a dull, unimpressed stare. He cannot quite believe what he just heard from someone he considers a nobody. Ma Long is visibly sweating, his eyes wide behind his glasses. He is terrified that Si Chen's sudden backbone is going to get them both into a world of pain.
Gong Cheng steps forward, his body glowing with a sickly green energy as he activates his E-rank flora warrior ability. His arms transform into rough, bark-like wood, crackling with a primitive power.
Si Chen's eyes flash a dangerous red as he focuses on his opponent. He does not look intimidated by the supernatural display at all.
Gong Cheng is the type who only picks on the weak because his older brother is the student council president. He stands tall, showing off his transformed limbs to the gathering crowd of students. Despite his big talk, Gong Cheng's own abilities are not actually that impressive compared to a true warrior. He starts walking towards Si Chen, ready to make a brutal example of him.
The surrounding students start whispering, anticipating the usual beatdown. They fully expect Gong Cheng to stomp the two most useless guys in the school. It looks like a total mismatch — a low-rank awakener facing off against a weakling and a guy who has not even awakened yet. The onlookers can already see the outcome in their heads.
Gong Cheng looms over Si Chen, his shadow stretching across the ground. The difference in their physical builds is massive, but Si Chen does not move an inch. Gong Cheng tilts his head back, glaring down at him with pure arrogance. He asks what exactly he just said, daring him to repeat it to his face.