After leaving the school gates.
Lin Yu followed Jiang Che out.
"Hey, Jiang Che!"
Jiang Che turned around, revealing a playful smile.
"Lin Yu, you didn't manage to hit me last time... are you trying to fight me again? If you try to hit me... I'll call the police again!"
"I'd like to see who can protect you now!"
Jiang Che's arrogant words made Lin Yu's teeth grind with anger. In the week since coming down from the mountain, he had endured more humiliation than in his previous twenty years combined!
He had been forcibly transformed from a rebellious dark medical expert into a ninja turtle.
"Jiang Che! I'm not here to fight you. I just want to ask you something... have you been to the West Mountain Scenic Area recently?"
Jiang Che nodded, "Yes, I have! Why?"
Such a sincere response left Lin Yu bewildered. "Did you go down to a ravine there? There's a cave dwelling inside, isn't there?"
Jiang Che continued nodding, "Yes, what about it?"
Lin Yu's head began to spin.
How was this possible?
The cave dwelling was supposed to be his secret realm... how did Jiang Che know about it?
Lin Xiaotian had made it very clear that only their people knew about this cave.
How did Jiang Che find out about it?
Could the information have leaked?
"Did you go inside that cave?" Lin Yu asked nervously.
Jiang Che shrugged, "Of course I did. The stone door was really tough... I had to hire a professional demolition team to blast it open."
Lin Yu nearly had a brain hemorrhage hearing this.
So that's what happened!
It was all Jiang Che's doing!
"What about the things inside? Do you have all the treasures?"
"Treasures? What treasures?"
"The treasures! Did you find any scrolls in there? And a jade pendant?" Lin Yu asked anxiously.
"A scroll? Yes, I did see an ancient scroll."
Jiang Che's words gave Lin Yu hope. "Where is it? That belongs to me! Give it to me quickly! That cave dwelling is my family's inheritance!"
"Oh... it was quite cold in the cave, so I used the scroll as kindling for a fire."
Lin Yu's expression gradually froze, and he asked in disbelief.
"What? You burned it?"
"Yeah! Why wouldn't I burn something useless?"
Lin Yu almost had a stroke from anger.
He rushed up to Jiang Che, his eyes bloodshot.
"Give me back my things! Who gave you permission to burn it? Do you know how valuable that was?"
Lin Yu tried to grab Jiang Che's collar like a madman, but... the current Jiang Che was completely different from a few days ago.
Lin Yu was a Dark Force expert, but so was Jiang Che now.
In that moment, Lin Yu was horrified to discover... he couldn't overpower the person in front of him.
His strength was even greater than his own?
"Dark Force?"
Lin Yu stepped back several paces, staring intently at Jiang Che.
Just a few days ago... this guy was just an ordinary person, an ant he could have killed with one slap.
It hadn't even been a week, how had he become so powerful?
"How did you do it?"
Lin Yu's tiger's mouth was slightly numb, his fingers trembling.
Suddenly, he seemed to realize something.
The cave dwelling's secret realm!
Jiang Che had been inside the cave - could it be that the treasures inside... had allowed Jiang Che to become a Dark Force expert in just a few days?
Thinking of this possibility, Lin Yu's heart was struck by huge waves of shock.
Dark Force wasn't something easy to cultivate; it belonged to the internal martial arts.
Even he... had started practicing martial arts at the age of six, learning internal arts, and it took more than ten years to reach the early stages of Dark Force.
What kind of miraculous encounter could turn someone into a Dark Force expert in just a few days?
That's impossible!
"What Dark Force or whatever force are you talking about? What nonsense are you spouting?"
Jiang Che played dumb.
"The scroll! You must have practiced the mysterious martial art from the scroll! You still remember it now, don't you?"
Lin Yu became excited.
"Are you fucking stupid?" Jiang Che swatted away Lin Yu's hand.
By now, many students had gathered around the school gates to watch, whispering among themselves.
After this morning's criticism meeting, Lin Yu had lost all face at Shilan School.
Even the students from the neighboring middle school had heard of Lin Yu's infamous reputation.
But right now, Lin Yu couldn't care less about any of that.
"Jiang Che, the scroll is useless to you, why don't you give it to me..."
"Oh? The scroll was indeed burned! But its contents... are all in my head!"
Jiang Che's lips curled into a smile as he pointed to his head.
What's wrong with being honest with you now?
When I was weaker than you, I was submissive, but now that I'm slightly stronger, I'll hit back hard!
What chosen one? You're just a joke!
As far as Jiang Che knew, Lin Yu's biggest backing was his two masters, both martial arts experts above the Dark Force level, but they wouldn't appear in the early stages - not because they didn't want to... but because they were trapped in some secret realm and couldn't escape!
"Jiang Che... write down the contents of the scroll, and I promise I'll never target you again. This is very important to me, it's an heirloom from my great-grandfather."
Lin Yu tried to appear humble, but the bulging veins on his temples revealed just how angry he really was!
"Haha... call me daddy, and I'll tell you..."
"Oh wait! I almost forgot you're a dog... Hahaha!"
Lin Yu was furious, he was truly furious.
His teeth were grinding audibly, "You... fine!"
Suddenly, he seemed to remember something else.
"What about the jade pendant! Is the jade pendant from the cave with you too?"
"Jade pendant?"
Jiang Che chuckled, then like a magician produced an ancient jade pendant from his hand.
"Look..."
Lin Yu's eyes were instantly drawn to the jade pendant, and he instinctively reached out to grab it, but Jiang Che pulled it back.
The moment he saw the jade pendant, a voice seemed to tell him from somewhere deep inside.
This was the jade pendant he had been searching for, an important item connected to his origins!
"That's my property, give it to me!"
"What? You want to rob me in broad daylight? Everyone, come look... this guy's trying to rob me!"
At Jiang Che's shout, Lin Yu immediately calmed down, staring intently at him.
More precisely... he was staring at the jade pendant in Jiang Che's hand.
Without absolute certainty of victory, he didn't dare to make a move!
Jiang Che was also a Dark Force practitioner, and apparently... no weaker than himself. If they fought... what if he couldn't gain the upper hand?
Moreover, there were too many witnesses around now, he could only bide his time.
"Fine, fine, fine, I'll remember this!"
After leaving this threatening words, Lin Yu turned and left.
"Heh—"
Jiang Che played with the jade pendant in his hand, enjoying its smooth touch... not bad at all!
As for whether he would worry about Lin Yu's revenge?
Of course not!
In the early stages, Lin Yu only had himself to rely on, at most just some connections left by his master during his wandering years.
It mainly depended on Lin Yu's own secret development.
So there was no need to worry about some powerful old man dropping from the sky in the early stages...
As long as he didn't directly kill Lin Yu, there shouldn't be any major problems.
Just follow the plot step by step, and crush him when he becomes powerful enough!