Ouyang Ye had received word and was already waiting at the apartment entrance. Seeing Qi Ze, pale and eyes tightly shut, he immediately dialed Ouyang Duanhua's smartbrain and began cursing loudly, "Ouyang Duanhua, I'll fuck your entire family! You made the old man force me to help Meng Yao buy a guqin, and then you seriously injured Qi Ze! Do you think I'm afraid of you? You're fucking dreaming! I'll say it again, from now on, the Meng family and Ouyang family's scum won't be welcome in Li's Exchange for a single step! I won't sell you a guqin even if I have one in my hands, let Meng Yao eat shit at the Music Academy!"
Without waiting for a response, he hung up with a "slap," hurriedly ushering Wang Xuan, who was holding Qi Ze, into the house. He mustered a forced smile. The enemy of an enemy is a friend. Although Wang Xuan was a top-notch meta-human, he was seen favorably by Ouyang Ye because he outshone Ouyang Duanhua and snatched the spot to study at the Imperial Military Academy. Now that he had saved Young Master Qi's life, his favorability had naturally skyrocketed.
It was worth noting that although Wang Xuan had exceptional talent, his background was humble, coming from the notorious garbage planet, Tu Ke. He had no parents, and two younger brothers and three younger sisters to support, meaning he had to balance studying and working, often enduring hunger. When others might have chosen to stand idly by or even take advantage of the situation, he risked offending the Ouyang family to save Qi Ze, a testament to his character.
"Thank you, Senior, I'm so grateful! If not for you, by the time I received the news and rushed over, Qi Ze would have probably been..." Ouyang Ye looked at the barely breathing youth and couldn't help but feel his eyes welling up.
"There's no need to thank me. Ouyang Duanhua's attack was ruthless; he directly sent cold qi into this classmate's body. It's not enough to just have the medical robot check him over; you should take him to the hospital to soak in restorative liquid. His internal organs should already be frozen," Wang Xuan said. He didn't dare to continue transferring heat, afraid of causing secondary damage by overheating the youth. After all, the other was a carbon-based lifeform with a different cellular structure.
"I understand. I've already contacted the ambulance, the doctors should be here soon. Senior, it's chaotic in here, I won't entertain you. Once Qi Ze is out of danger, we will definitely thank you properly," Ouyang Ye said anxiously, rubbing his hands. The medical robot was checking the youth's body.
Wang Xuan had purely acted to save a life and had no intention of ingratiating himself with Young Master Ouyang. Seeing that the situation was under control, he promptly excused himself to avoid causing further commotion.
Yan Junyu saw him to the door and said, "Thank you," with gratitude. Though he was dead, it proved that his initial choice hadn't been wrong. If Wang Xuan could join the military and train, he would certainly become a upright, loyal, and selfless soldier. After thanking him, Yan Junyu immediately returned to the living room to check on Qi Ze but found him half-sitting up, forcefully pulling at his collar with an annoyed expression on his face, as if the previous signs of near-death had been an illusion.
"Aren't you hurt?" he and Ouyang Ye asked simultaneously, their surprised tones matching.
Qi Ze gave Ouyang Ye a look that said, "Why are you asking such a stupid question?" He shed his soaking clothes on the way to the bedroom, leaving only his shorts after closing the door. In the absence of outsiders, the shorts slowly transformed into a silk robe that clung tightly to his slender body.
In his soul form, Yan Junyu was shocked to discover that the robe was emitting a milky white glow, a color formed from the amalgamation of all attributes, indicating strong defensive power. Beneath the white light, there were faint golden threads crawling up the robe, forming a mysterious circular pattern. Many square small characters were arranged radiating from the center of the pattern, as if alive, subtly undulating.
He instantly realized that Qi Ze had relied on this robe to block Ouyang Duanhua's attack. However, he appeared to be a carbon-based lifeform on the surface and could only feign serious injuries to avoid suspicion.
Yan Junyu rarely saw Qi Ze so livid. After taking off the robe, he entered the bathroom to wash himself. He would occasionally grind his teeth and let out a few cold chuckles, his mind unclear about what he was plotting. He was likely still scheming about how to retaliate against Ouyang Duanhua.
After confirming that the youth was alright, he began to study the robe that had been carelessly thrown on the floor.
The Empire could produce clothing with defensive capabilities, but they were all light armors that looked heavy and couldn't withstand the attacks of high-level meta-humans. Ouyang Duanhua was a level five meta-human, not the strongest but not weak either. Even if it were a silicon-based lifeform, being penetrated by his cold qi would necessitate spending at least half a month recuperating in a restorative chamber.
Yet Qi Ze was fine, judging from the grinding sound of his teeth in the bathroom, he was still full of energy.
Light, skin-tight, invisible, shape-shifting, and able to completely resist the attacks of meta-humans, if this robe's existence were known to the public, it would undoubtedly attract the covetous eyes of all sides. If the technology it contained were thoroughly analyzed, replicated, and applied to the military, what kind of formidable army would be created?
Thinking of the possible future developments, Yan Junyu rubbed his brows, feeling a headache once again due to Qi Ze's mysterious and unfathomable origins. Each of his cards could shake the existing technological system. One day, when he was no longer willing to lie low, what kind of storm would he stir up?
Worse still, his character was both righteous and evil. Sometimes, even if you cursed him a hundred times, it wouldn't necessarily anger him; other times, merely looking at him once could make him remember it as a grudge. To make him stay quietly in the Empire and avoid causing trouble seemed like an impossible task.
At this thought, Yan Junyu shook his head. Although his face showed great distress, he didn't feel the intense disgust he initially had. After all, humans were emotional beings. Spending time together long enough naturally produced a bias. Meditating and learning together every day, he had unknowingly come to recognize Qi Ze as his closest person.
"I think you should go to the hospital for another check-up. Sometimes, when your internal organs are injured, you may not feel it, but it often flares up after a few days," seeing the youth come out with wet hair, he immediately suggested.
Qi Ze walked past him, toweling his hair as he went to the living room, saying in a deep voice, "Ouyang Ye, lend me your smartbrain to use for a bit."
Young Master Ouyang had just sent off the hastily arrived ambulance and paid a few thousand in compensation fees. He seemed to be used to the youth's imperious behavior and didn't hesitate to remove his smartbrain. He prepared to use his inner qi to unlock the screen, but the youth snatched it over first, casually tapping at the screen to unlock the screen saver, then pulling up a translucent form.
"Young Master Qi, how can you use my smartbrain?" Ouyang Ye was a bit baffled. Smartbrains weren't one-to-one, right? They could only recognize the inner qi, mental power, or genes of the owner, right?
Qi Ze ignored him, typing out several lines of words, filling out the form. He then aimed the iris scanner at Ouyang Ye's wide-open eyes and pressed the confirm button. Yan Junyu frowned, trying to stop him several times to no avail.
"Your application has been received, approved, recorded in the database, and published on the official website... Thank you for your participation, hope everything goes well for you." The emotionless voice finally snapped Ouyang Ye out of his daze. He realized that Qi Ze had filled out the registration form for the meta-human Martial Arts Tournament.
"Young Master Qi, am I hallucinating or are you crazy?" He pointed at the new name that had popped up on the official website's list, asking in a trembling voice.
"I'm not crazy, and you're not hallucinating." Qi Ze threw the smartbrain back and said casually, "Cultivate your martial arts well during this period. The tournament starts next month."
"But you said to cultivate martial arts well, that means you should know that this tournament doesn't allow martial artists to participate, right? Why should I go? To be a punching bag for meta-humans?" Ouyang Ye wailed in horror. "Oh god, everyone is asking me if I'm tired of living and want to commit suicide. Young Master Qi, I've been ruined by you!" He fell onto the sofa, clutching his head.
Qi Ze crouched down and stared at the comments surging out on the official website, chuckling coldly. "I think Ouyang Duanhua is right, weak species do not have the right to survive. But it seems he can't grasp the true meaning of those words himself, so I need you to teach him well on the arena."
"But how am I supposed to teach him? I'm just a level four martial artist, and he's a level five meta-human. Although there's only a one-level difference, it's like a chasm," Ouyang Ye lamented with a bitter face.
"Don't worry, I'll build you a bridge to cross that chasm," Qi Ze straightened up, a hint of pride hidden in his calm tone. He turned and headed for the basement, closing the door on Ouyang Ye, leaving only a cold warning, "If you dare withdraw the registration, I'll make you a real waste."
Ouyang Ye, secretly planning to save himself, was chilled to the bone. He leaned against the door and knelt down, lamenting pitifully, "Young Master Qi, did I dig up your ancestral graves in my past life, that I have to behave like a slave and a horse to repay your debts in this life? Ouyang Duanhua's half-baked skills can't hurt you. Why don't you deal with him yourself? Why must you make me a cannon fodder? Young Master Qi, who will give you money if I die? Young Master Qi, think it over again!"
There was no response from the other side of the door. Ouyang Ye wailed a few times before putting away his sorrowful appearance and calmly stood up, informing his uncle about what had just happened.
Yan Junyu was originally a bit worried about him but heard him say in a calm tone, "Uncle, don't worry, Young Master Qi still has use for me. He won't let me die. Since he dared to register me, he must have some confidence. He's so vengeful, it's impossible for him to easily let Ouyang Duanhua off the hook. I will cultivate well during this period. If the person he wants to kill is Ouyang Duanhua, I don't mind being the knife in his hands... alright, I understand, let's always stay in contact."
After hanging up the call, he looked at the cold metal door and the mocking comments popping up on the smartbrain. He snorted and went up the steps.
Yan Junyu stood in the same place for a bit before shaking his head and sighing, "Birds of a feather flock together, indeed." It was truly pointless to worry about them.