Demonic King of the Metropolis

Just as Tang Jie was lost in thought, the history teacher walked off the podium with some materials, marking the end of the second class.

Hearing the bell, Tang Jie suddenly remembered the appointment with that boy.

“Let’s go and get some fresh air,” he said to Chen Shuran. Without waiting for her to stand up, he was already out the door. Chen Shuran noticed the fleeting strangeness on Tang Jie’s face and stood up, following him with Xiao Ran.

The playground on the west side of the school, used for the annual sports meet, was separated from the playground in front of the teaching building by a green belt. Hardly anyone went there on a regular day. The vast space often seemed empty, but at times, couples sneaking away or students settling their grudges would turn up there.

Today, as soon as the break began, after finishing the broadcast exercises, some sharp-eyed students noticed a crowd gathering in the middle of the western playground-around twenty people. Then, a few of them saw a tall, slender figure emerging from the teaching building, nonchalantly heading toward the western playground.

“Look, someone’s going to fight!” Some students, always quick to pick up on this kind of thing, immediately realized what was about to happen when they recognized Tang Jie heading west. Those eager to watch the drama decided to skip the third class, sneaking over to the green belt to catch a better view.

“He’s here!”

The lookout-a boy with a streak of yellow-dyed hair-noticed Tang Jie strolling over lazily, as if out for a sunny walk to admire the flowers. He quickly ran back to report the arrival.

Tang Jie responded with a faint smile when he saw the lookout. Standing before the green belt, he effortlessly leaped over the more-than-a-meter-high barrier and casually walked toward the crowd waiting for him.

The aloof boy from earlier emerged from the group as soon as he saw Tang Jie approach.

“My name is Zhang Jie. Only one character apart from yours,” Zhang Jie said, a disdainful smirk playing on his lips. Tang Jie responded with a bright, cheerful smile. “Oh really? Seems we’re destined to meet. So, tell me, what kind of game are we playing today?”

Zhang Jie looked at Tang Jie and then glanced back at the twenty or so boys behind him. “Let’s make a bet. If I win, you stay away from Chen Shuran and let me pursue her. If I lose, I’ll call you ‘Master,’ become your disciple, and do whatever you ask. How about that?”

Tang Jie couldn’t help but laugh. Winning or losing wasn’t the point for him, nor was the talk of being a “master.” What caught his interest was that Zhang Jie’s proposal had sparked an idea-something he’d been lacking all this time: some lackeys to run errands for him. Not bad! Not bad at all!

Tang Jie inwardly approved of Zhang Jie’s suggestion. What a splendid idea! Why hadn’t he thought of this before? If he had, by now he might have hundreds of followers at his beck and call-buying him water, bringing him food, doing his laundry, even giving him massages. Tang Jie looked up at the blazing sun overhead, and an idyllic image popped into his mind.

On a picturesque sandy beach with gentle sea breezes, Chen Shuran and Wang Qianya lounged on either side of him. Behind them stood hundreds of his devoted lackeys.

“Boss, here’s the beer you asked for!”

“Put it down.”

“Boss, here’s the lobster you wanted!”

“Hmm, got it.”

“Boss, we’ve already taken care of those two fools who accidentally ran into you last night.”

“Hmm, good job.”

Tang Jie pictured himself reclining on a beach chair, nodding in approval as his followers lined up to report to him. Two soft, delicate hands fed him freshly peeled lychees and sweet, juicy jackfruit. Ah, what a beautiful scene.

“Bang!”

A heavy fist slammed into Tang Jie’s chest, snapping him out of his daydream. The smile vanished from his face as he turned to look at the person who had hit him.

“What the hell are you daydreaming about? Get on with it! Our boss is waiting for you!” said a tall, burly boy. After speaking, he turned and returned to stand behind Zhang Jie. Tang Jie spat on the ground and reluctantly shook off his fantasy, coming back to reality.

“Fine. Tell me how you want to do this. If you want to take your time and enjoy yourselves, I’ll take you all on one by one. If you want to save time, you can all come at me together,” Tang Jie said as he got down to business. A trace of seriousness returned to his expression, though his chest still faintly ached from the earlier sneak attack.

“I’ve heard you’re pretty tough. How about this? Let’s try something new this time,” Zhang Jie said, his eyes shifting slyly as he looked at Tang Jie.

“Sure, go ahead. Say what you want. I’m not picky-but hurry it up.” Tang Jie casually grabbed a fallen leaf and popped it into his mouth, his roguish attitude resurfacing once again.

Zhang Jie nodded toward a boy standing nearby. Tang Jie watched as the boy sprinted to the center of the playground and, after a few moments, drew two closely connected circles on the ground.

What’s this? Tang Jie frowned, a shadow of annoyance crossing his face. Were these boys seriously planning to challenge him to a game of hopscotch?

Then Zhang Jie explained the rules. It turned out this wasn’t about hopscotch at all-it was a combat challenge. The idea was for Tang Jie to stand in the inner circle while Zhang Jie’s people attacked him from all directions. Tang Jie’s goal was to fight them off without stepping outside the drawn circle; if he stepped out, he would lose.

Little weasel. There’s a bit of scheming involved here, huh? Tang Jie glanced at Zhang Jie, a subtle, cold smirk flickering in his eyes. But he had no intention of declining the challenge.

“Fine. We’ll do it your way,” Tang Jie agreed. “However, I have one condition.” He looked past Zhang Jie at the twenty-plus high school students standing behind him, his mind momentarily drifting into yet another amusing daydream.

“Name your condition.” Zhang Jie raised a brow, acting indifferent, not willing to appear at a disadvantage.

“If you lose, all of your people-each and every one of them-must follow my orders from now on. How does that sound?” Tang Jie said with a smirk.

If this was going to happen, it might as well be interesting. Otherwise, what was the point of wasting his time?

“Haha! Shuran-Jie, what do you think? Is Tang Jie going to lose or win this time?” Xiao Ran, hiding behind the green belt and peeking at the scene, couldn’t help but draw comparisons to what had happened with Fat Zhou. She was certain Tang Jie would lose this time.

After all, standing against him now were more than twenty guys who made Fat Zhou look like a rookie! Let him laugh all he wants-once Tang Jie loses, Xiao Ran was determined to jump in and teach him a lesson for making fun of her.

“I’m not sure yet. Let’s just keep watching,” Chen Shuran replied, her gaze locked onto the boys gathered around the circle. She had noticed these weren’t just any students-they were almost all the troublemakers from across the school. The one leading them seemed to be the new transfer student she’d heard about, someone infamous for his reputation. Word around school was that he’d beaten up students from nearly every high school in the district and that no school dared to take him in anymore. This guy had earned the title of ringleader of the high school hoodlums in the entire city.

Hearing Chen Shuran’s explanation, Xiao Ran’s fear dissipated. Just moments ago, she’d been hesitant and anxious about skipping class, but now she was intrigued. Standing there, watching Tang Jie about to face off against all those boys, excitement filled her veins. It was decided: she’d ditch that class to watch what promised to be an epic showdown.

They weren’t the only ones. Even after the bell signaling the next class had rung, plenty of other students had chosen curiosity over academics. Many were now crouched behind the green belt, peeking out from the foliage for a better view. Their eyes gleamed with exhilaration, eagerly anticipating the start of the action.

Tang Jie was well aware of the attention from the green belt behind him. He’d also spotted Xiao Ran and Chen Shuran hiding among the onlookers. The corners of his mouth curled into a confident, charming smile as he strode toward the pre-drawn circles, calm and composed, exuding an aura that was impossible to ignore.

Zhang Jie raised a hand, and the twenty-something boys behind him immediately moved into position. They spread out, forming a tight ring just a few steps away from Tang Jie, who now stood ready in the center of the circle. The tension in the air was palpable as everyone waited for the fight to begin.

“Go!” Zhang Jie barked out the order. Immediately, one of the biggest and burliest boys-a guy so heavy he looked like he couldn’t lose a wrestling match if he tried-lowered his head and charged at Tang Jie. The way he stormed forward, you’d think he was a raging bull mad enough to take down anyone in its path. The plan was clear-smash into Tang Jie and knock him clean out of the circle.

Hmm, not bad. Simple and effective. Even if Tang Jie turned out to be skilled at fighting, with the fat guy’s nearly 100 kilograms of pure mass, it’d be hard not to get bowled over.

Hiding behind the green belt, the audience-Chen Shuran and Xiao Ran included-seemed to collectively agree on the same thought: there’s no way Tang Jie could stay standing against that.

The same sense of confidence spread among Zhang Jie and the rest of the boys encircling Tang Jie. They were optimistic about the outcome-after all, the rules were clear. As long as Tang Jie didn’t step outside the circle, he remained in the game. But look closely: the circle barely provided enough space for two feet to stand side by side. With those limitations, how could anyone avoid that kind of brute force charge?

Perhaps their assumptions got the better of them because what happened next completely defied expectations.

Now, mind you, Tang Jie wasn’t exactly aiming to seriously hurt anyone-this was a schoolyard skirmish, not something out of a martial arts movie. He also didn’t want to reveal too much of his real skills in front of a crowd, especially not on campus. Still, when that nearly 100-kilogram fat guy came hurtling toward him with the ferocity of a mad cow, Tang Jie did pause for a brief second, unsure how far he’d have to push things.

That brief hesitation was all it took. Before Tang Jie could react, the fat guy’s rock-solid, round forehead slammed right into his waist. At that moment, the crowd collectively gasped, already convinced the match was over. For the spectators, the sudden disappointment was practically tangible-it was going to end just like that? No drama, no excitement? Some began to grumble to themselves about how they’d wasted perfectly good class time for this.

But just as the feeling of letdown started to spread among the onlookers, something remarkable happened.

At the very moment the fat guy let out a triumphant roar and prepared to push Tang Jie clean out of the circle, Tang Jie casually placed both hands firmly on the fat guy’s head. With a light leap, Tang Jie propelled himself upward in a move that was as fluid as it was precise.

His legs split apart midair, clearing the charging body like an athlete performing a perfectly executed vault. If this were gymnastics, the judges might’ve scored it a 10 out of 10. To describe it another way, you could call it “jumping the mad cow.”

But Tang Jie wasn’t done. As he passed over the fat guy’s back, he bent his legs, brought them behind him, and planted both feet squarely on the guy’s oversized rear end. With a well-timed kick, he sent the burly boy stumbling forward. The fat guy’s balance gave out entirely, and he toppled over with a spectacular thud, landing face-first on the ground.

“Faceplant! Hah!” someone from the crowd shouted. Judging from the tone, it was probably a student the fat guy had bullied in the past, savoring this unexpected karmic moment. The shout was quickly followed by a burst of laughter erupting across the audience.

It took a good while before the fat guy managed to scramble to his feet, his face flushed red and his neck veins bulging in frustration. His humiliation was obvious as he glared toward the hecklers hiding behind the green belt. But when he turned back to look at Tang Jie, he froze.

Tang Jie’s feet hadn’t moved. He was still standing confidently, right in the center of the circle, as if the massive body slam had been nothing more than a light breeze.