Hearing Zhou Chengkun's words, Lu An immediately frowned.
In the distance, Gao Dashan, who had originally gathered around Chu Ling to observe the Tian Yuan Power, saw this scene, his eyes tightened, and after patting Li Dongshi's shoulder, he strode towards that side!
"What are you doing?!" Before Lu An could speak, an angry shout suddenly rang out from behind Zhou Chengkun! The sound was loud, directly attracting the attention of many people!
Zhou Chengkun's brows furrowed, and he turned to look back. His dozen or so companions also turned their heads, discovering that Gao Dashan was approaching with seven or eight people!
Gao Dashan and the others walked directly to Lu An's side, glaring at Zhou Chengkun, and shouted loudly, "What do you want to do now?"
"What do I want to do?" Zhou Chengkun sneered, looking contemptuously at Gao Dashan, and said, "Do you think the matter of this kid making us stand all night the day before yesterday is just going to pass? Gao Dashan, have your injuries healed?"
"You!" Gao Dashan's eyes widened, and he said loudly, "What does it matter if my injuries have healed or not? Today, you absolutely cannot take Lu An away!"
Behind him, the tall and thin Li Dongshi also took a step forward and said loudly to Zhou Chengkun and the others, "You want to fight, do you? Let's settle it right here, we'll fight to the end!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the surrounding onlookers immediately became interested.
Zhou Chengkun instantly frowned. A group brawl in broad daylight, especially since he had just entered Starfire Academy, honestly, he didn't have the guts for that. But he really couldn't understand why Gao Dashan, who wouldn't even dare to fart the night before last, even when being beaten, was acting like he had eaten gunpowder today?
Not only Zhou Chengkun, but even Lu An looked at Gao Dashan with some surprise. In his opinion, although Gao Dashan was a good person, he was also somewhat cowardly, a person who knew how to protect himself, so why would he suddenly become so assertive?
Gao Dashan and Zhou Chengkun met each other's gaze, neither willing to back down in their eye contact. In fact, Lu An didn't know that his bold stand the night before last, as well as his persistence in the Body Tempering grounds and his bravery last night, had deeply stimulated these children from poor families.
They were all poor, and they were even several years older than Lu An, yet they felt a huge gap between themselves and Lu An. Especially the incident where Gao Dashan was beaten the night before last; everyone had agreed to look out for each other at the start of school, but only Lu An rushed forward, which made Li Dongshi and the others feel ashamed.
But this time, they would not back down again! In the Academy, everyone was a student, what was there to be afraid of?
Looking at Gao Dashan and the others, Zhou Chengkun's face grew increasingly gloomy. Seeing more and more onlookers gathering, he gritted his teeth and said coldly, "Gao Dashan, I'm giving you one last chance. Get lost now, and I'll pretend nothing happened. Don't forget, even if you graduate from here, you'll still need to find powerful patrons in Starfire City. With just one word from me, who would dare to hire you?"
"Stop threatening me with that!" Gao Dashan frowned, waved his large hand, and said angrily, "If there's no place for me in Starfire City, I'll just go to another city! As long as I become a Celestial Master, am I afraid of not finding a way to live?"
"Exactly!" Li Dongshi also shouted, "If you want to fight, then right here, we'll fight to the end!"
After he finished speaking, the crowd behind him also shouted angry roars, one after another. Lu An turned to look at everyone, and warm currents flowed through his heart.
Even Fu Yu couldn't help but take another look, her gaze finally falling on Lu An, with a meaningful look in her eyes.
"It seems your threats are worthless." Lu An smiled, spread his hands, and said to Zhou Chengkun, "There are so many people around, are you sure you want to continue?"
Zhou Chengkun looked around upon hearing this. Indeed, there were already many people. Not only new students, but even students from other grades had gathered to watch the excitement.
"Very well!" Zhou Chengkun's face was grim, and he gritted his teeth while nodding, saying, "You guys are very good. The timing isn't right today, we'll play slowly later!"
Saying that, Zhou Chengkun turned and said to the people behind him, "Let's go!"
Following that, those children of the powerful families glared at Lu An and the others before turning and leaving. Gao Dashan and the others looked at them with disdain, while only Lu An slightly frowned, thinking about future matters.
Once Zhou Chengkun and the others had left, the crowd gradually dispersed. Just as Lu An and his companions were about to leave, several people suddenly blocked their way.
Lu An was startled, because the person blocking him was none other than Chu Ling.
Seeing Chu Ling, Lu An frowned slightly. Although this girl was very beautiful, he had no good feelings for her. The reason was simple: what happened by the river that day.
"Something wrong?" Lu An asked. Gao Dashan and the others behind him also looked at Chu Ling warily; after all, Chu Ling's status was extremely high, not something Zhou Chengkun could compare to.
"Can't I look for you if nothing is wrong?" Chu Ling revealed a mischievous smile and countered.
"I'm very busy." Lu An did not return the smile, merely saying indifferently, "If there's nothing, I'll be going first."
With that, Lu An walked around her.
"Wait!" Chu Ling's delicate brows furrowed, and she quickly called out to Lu An. Looking at Lu An's calm expression, she suppressed the irritation in her heart and said, "I'm here to ask you to pledge allegiance to me!"
At these words, everyone was startled.
"Pledge allegiance?" Lu An's brows furrowed. He remembered that the night before last, this girl had asked him to be her servant.
"Nonsense! Do you really think you can contend with Zhou Chengkun?" Chu Ling's delicate brows were tightly knit, and she said unhappily, "How many students in the entire Academy want to pledge allegiance to his family? Offending him means offending half of Starfire Academy! More importantly, do you really think your families will be fine? With just one word from him, your family members will suffer before you even graduate!"
Upon hearing this, Gao Dashan and the others' faces immediately turned very ugly! They themselves might not be afraid, but they couldn't help but worry about their families!
Lu An's brows furrowed upon hearing this. He knew that Chu Ling was right, which was why he had frowned when Zhou Chengkun left just now. However, he asked curiously, "Who are you? Is your family's influence greater than Zhou Chengkun's?"
Gao Dashan was startled upon hearing this. Before the other party could speak, he quickly leaned into Lu An's ear and whispered, "Her name is Chu Ling, and she's the City Lord's daughter!"
City Lord?
Lu An looked at Chu Ling. No wonder she dared to disregard even Zhou Chengkun. The City Lord's Mansion was the absolute Dominator; no one dared to defy it.
"Why do you want to help us?" Lu An asked in confusion.
"Because I'm quite interested in you." Chu Ling finally smiled again, leaning her face close to Lu An, and said, "I have a strong desire to conquer people with backbone, and your performance these past two days has been very good. If you submit to me, I guarantee you a smooth journey from now on!"
Submit?
Lu An's brows furrowed even deeper. He looked at the somewhat arrogant girl in front of him, his face calm, and said nothing.
"Little Lu, being able to join the City Lord's Mansion is something all Celestial Masters dream of!" Gao Dashan couldn't contain his excitement and quickly leaned into Lu An's ear, whispering rapidly, "Even as a First-Level Celestial Master, the treatment at the City Lord's Mansion is twice as good as other places! More importantly, if you go out and say you're from the City Lord's Mansion, everyone will respect you three points!"
"That's right!" Li Dongshi also couldn't help but speak, advising Lu An, "Agree to her, and that Zhou Chengkun will never dare to trouble us again. We'll also be able to Cultivate peacefully in the Academy, so why not?"
"Exactly!" The others also came to Lu An's ear, one after another, persuading him, "At most, it's just saying a few nice words, listening to her orders and doing some things. Isn't that how it is when you serve as a retainer for any family?"
"..."
Fu Yu stood to the side, coldly watching Lu An in the crowd, saying nothing.
"So, what do you say? Do you want to become my subordinate or not?" Chu Ling saw so many people speaking on her behalf and couldn't help but lift her head higher, her hands behind her back, and mimicking Lu An's earlier tone, she said haughtily, "I'm very busy, and I still have a lot to do."
Lu An turned his head, glanced at Chu Ling standing in front of him, but shook his head.
"Unfortunately." Lu An's eyes were deep, his fists clenched tighter and tighter, and he said calmly, "I no longer want to submit to anyone."