Everyone widened their eyes, looking at Zhang Ye in disbelief.
This freshman actually dared to speak to Albert like that?!
Holy crap, talk about sitting on a firecracker!
Albert snapped out of his daze, his face instantly turning grim. “So what? I have a hundred ways to make sure you can't survive in this academy!”
Hearing this, Zhang Ye burst into laughter. “Then I have ten thousand ways to make sure you can't do a damn thing to me!”
“Young man, don't speak too soon!” The veins on Albert's forehead bulged with rage, but in broad daylight and in front of a crowd, he really didn't dare to do anything to Zhang Ye.
“Alright, I've spent enough time bullshitting with you. Let's get back to the point—apologize to me.” Zhang Ye's smile slowly faded.
Hearing this, Albert sneered. “What if I don't? What can you do about it?”
Zhang Ye smiled. “Then I can hammer you deep into the ground!”
Albert and Talia both froze.
Weren't those the exact words Talia had said to Albert earlier?
So this kid had heard the whole thing?
Albert's face flushed red and green with embarrassment, while Talia burst into hearty, unrestrained laughter.
This kid was truly to her liking!
Albert glared at Zhang Ye, looking as if he wanted to eat him alive. He then laughed in extreme anger. “What? Are you challenging me?”
“Yes, exactly,” Zhang Ye nodded with a smile.
At this moment, his eyes narrowed slightly, a dangerous light flashing within them.
“With just you?” Albert mocked. “Fine, I'll be waiting right here!”
If this kid really dared to challenge him, he would be walking right into his trap. It would save Albert the trouble of scheming to deal with him later.
Zhang Ye nodded. “You said it, so no backing out!”
Albert spread his arms and looked at the surrounding crowd. “Everyone is watching. How could I back out?”
Zhang Ye nodded. “Great!”
Then, he turned around and walked toward the canteen window.
Everyone was stunned.
Albert couldn't help but ask, “Aren't you going to challenge me?”
Without even turning his head, Zhang Ye said, “Didn't you say you'd be waiting right here? I still have some business to attend to, so go ahead and wait.”
“You said it yourself—everyone is watching, so you can't back out.”
Hearing this, Albert almost ground his teeth to dust.
“Are you playing me?!”
Zhang Ye turned back, looking at Albert in surprise.
So smart?
Cough, cough...
“I didn't, I'm not, don't talk nonsense. I'm just going to buy some things. Just wait,” Zhang Ye shrugged. “Of course, if you're scared, you can leave. I won't blame you.”
“And I won't mock you, either.”
“And I definitely won't go around telling everyone that Albert is a coward.”
“Seriously, I'm a really nice guy, let me tell you.”
“A warm guy, after all.”
Albert: (ꐦ°益° )!
I don't believe a single word! You're clearly fucking threatening me!
Albert was so angry his skull felt like it was about to fly off.
Did even a freshman dare to treat him like this now?
No, he had to teach this guy a lesson to serve as a warning to others!
Ignoring the furious Albert, Zhang Ye walked over to the canteen window and asked the elderly man inside—who was thoroughly enjoying the drama—about the Thunderbolt Chicken.
Unfortunately, there was no Thunderbolt Chicken on the third floor either.
Zhang Ye could only sigh and walk toward the stairs.
“Kid, are you trying to run away now?” Albert sneered upon seeing this.
Zhang Ye waved his hand. “Nope. I'm going upstairs to ask about something. Keep waiting, okay?”
With that, he walked straight upstairs. The detection magic circle at the stairs did not stop him.
Everyone widened their eyes.
This kid actually had a Four-star Permission Level?!
To think that even Albert only had a Three-star Permission Level, and Talia had only recently been promoted to a Four-star Permission Level. How could a freshman have a Four-star Permission Level?!
Suddenly, everyone became uncertain about Zhang Ye.
They figured that for a freshman to have such a high permission level, his background definitely couldn't be underestimated!
Could he be from one of those great families or powerful factions?
Currently, there were dozens of known powerful factions within the academy.
The Flame Lion family, the Wind Spirit family, the Rhyme family, and so on—these were all illustrious great families.
The family Albert belonged to couldn't compare to them at all.
Because of this, Albert suddenly felt a bit of cold feet.
Could this kid have some massive background that can crush me at will?
Just like a few years ago when Leona Salomon from the Flame Lion family arrived. A senior student from a minor family, not knowing any better, had self-righteously gone to provoke her. He had even tried to use underhanded methods to take Leona down, only to have three of his legs broken on the spot. The minor family backing him was then completely wiped out by the Flame Lion Legion!
Thus, Albert suddenly felt a wave of trepidation.
But then, he shook his head.
That shouldn't be the case.
Because a special secret realm was about to open this term, all the great families had sent their own descendants. He had done his homework and had never heard of anyone named Zhang Ye.
After all, the great families only sent a few people each. Adding them all up, there were less than a hundred of them, making them very easy to remember.
As for other powerful families or factions, there was no news.
This information had been passed down from the Flame Snake family, the prominent family that Albert's family was subordinate to. In terms of foundation, the Flame Snake family was not inferior to the Flame Lion family, so he was quite confident in this information.
So, if he wasn't from a great family... could he be the direct descendant of some high-ranking academy official?
It's possible!
If that were the case, there was nothing to fear, because Melte, the president of their Fire Snake Guild—known as the Flame Snake—also had a background in the academy's high-ranking leadership.
This was exactly why he had the confidence to challenge Talia of the Rock family, a great family.
At this thought, Albert's confidence returned.
Just wait, kid. I'll reclaim my lost face from you!
Albert thought viciously to himself.
There was no Thunderbolt Chicken on the fourth floor either. Feeling somewhat disappointed, Zhang Ye pinned his hopes on the fifth floor.
“Thunderbolt Chicken?” The old man raised an eyebrow. “What do you want a Thunderbolt Chicken for?”
“To make soup,” Zhang Ye smiled.
The old man glanced at Zhang Ye with some surprise, then smiled. “I do have some, but they're alive. Besides, Thunderbolt Chickens are hard to handle. Are you sure you want one?”
Hearing that they actually had them, Zhang Ye immediately nodded in excitement. “Yes, yes!”
“Thirty thousand points,” the old man said.
“Sure!” Zhang Ye nodded.
The old man looked at Zhang Ye in surprise. “That quick to agree?”
Zhang Ye smiled. “Delicious food is priceless.”
Hearing this, the old man chuckled. His gaze toward Zhang Ye softened a bit as he smiled. “Young people these days only focus on cultivation and don't care about what they eat. You're not bad, kid.”
“Come with me.”
With that, Zhang Ye followed the old man toward the back kitchen.
Upon entering the back kitchen, Zhang Ye realized that there was a whole different world inside.
Inside were many cages forged from special ores that had sealing and magic-isolation effects. Various magical beasts were locked inside them.
The old man walked over to a one-meter-tall cage and said, “Here, this is the Thunderbolt Chicken.”
Looking at the Thunderbolt Chicken in the cage, Zhang Ye was a bit surprised. “It's this small?”
The Thunderbolt Chicken was a full meter tall. Compared to a domestic chicken, it was definitely massive, but compared to high-level magical beasts that were easily over ten meters tall, this Thunderbolt Chicken was indeed quite small.
“Concentrated essence is the best,” the old man grinned. “Don't look down on it just because it's small. It has a huge temper. Ordinary people can't handle it at all.”
Hearing this, Zhang Ye quickly asked, “Then do you know how to make Thunderbolt Chicken Soup, Elder?”
“Thunderbolt Chicken Soup?” The old man was taken aback, then said, “I do know how, but it's very troublesome.”
“To make a bowl of Thunderbolt Chicken Soup, you need ingredients containing lightning power, one Thunderbolt Chicken, and some Lightning Ginger, among other things. Handling the Thunderbolt Chicken is the most troublesome part, because you have to fight it first.”
“Only then will its meat become firm and refreshing, and the lightning power flowing through its body will be fully stimulated, giving it a tingly, electric kick when you eat it.”
“A tingly kick?” Zhang Ye rejoiced. “That's exactly what I want!”
“Can you teach me?” Zhang Ye asked excitedly.
“Are you sure you want to learn?” The old man smiled as he looked at Zhang Ye. “This Thunderbolt Chicken has a Tier Nine late stage cultivation. Its combat power isn't much weaker than an ordinary Tier Ten Newly Advanced magical beast. Your Tier Eight Newly Advanced self won't be able to handle it.”
It was no wonder the old man could see through his cultivation. After a quick analysis, it turned out this old man was actually a Three-star Saint-tier...
A cook who was a Saint-tier—could you believe that?
In any case, Zhang Ye was thoroughly impressed.
“No problem, I can handle it!” Zhang Ye nodded, looking like he couldn't wait to get started.
“Alright then. Since I'm idle anyway, there's no harm in giving you some guidance,” the old man said with a chuckle. It made sense; not many people came up to the fifth floor, so he was usually too bored and was just looking for some entertainment now.
This worked out perfectly for Zhang Ye.
“Then let's get started quickly. Someone is still waiting to drink the chicken soup!”
Rate on N.U.
