C13 You Had the Intention to Sneak Attack, but I Had a Skill to Defend Against You.

"Big brother, what have I done to offend you? I'm sorry!"

Hong Liang blurted out in a panic. As Jiang Hao closed in, Hong Liang, terrified, kept backing away.

Jiang Hao stared down the terrified Hong Liang, the very person responsible for injuring his father.

He could no longer contain the rage boiling within him!

Suddenly, Hong Liang's face twisted into a sinister grin. He grabbed a metal rod as long as his arm and swung it viciously at Jiang Hao's head.

"Think you can block my way? I'll show you what happens when you do!"

In that instant, Jiang Hao's reflexes kicked in. He sensed the impending danger and swiftly sidestepped, launching a retaliatory punch with all his might!

Jiang Hao put a solid 70% of his strength behind that punch.

"Ah!"

"Thud!"

Hong Liang let out a scream as he toppled forward onto the ground.

"You're ambushing me?"

Jiang Hao advanced and kicked Hong Liang over onto his back.

"Spare you? Why didn't you spare my dad?"

With that, Jiang Hao hoisted Hong Liang up and landed a heavy punch in his stomach.

"Thud!"

"Ugh!"

The blow turned Hong Liang into a quivering mess, curled up like a shrimp, retching uncontrollably.

"You think you can extort protection money? What happened to the law?"

"Thud!"

Each word from Jiang Hao was punctuated with a punishing punch.

In the end, Hong Liang was sprawled on the ground, unable to rise.

Jiang Hao, not wanting to take a life, stopped there.

He glared at the battered Hong Liang and delivered a chilling warning.

"Remember this—if I catch you extorting protection money again, I'll break your legs. Believe me."

Jiang Hao picked up the metal rod that had fallen from Hong Liang, bent it effortlessly with his bare hands in front of the petrified man, and tossed it at his feet.

With Hong Liang's stunned eyes following him, Jiang Hao walked away with a cool composure.

Once home, Jiang Zixuan was still engrossed in her homework. Jiang Hao slipped quietly into the bedroom and then called his mother to check on his father's condition.

He exchanged a few more words with his mother before ending the call.

Then, Jiang Hao lay down on his bed and quickly succumbed to a deep sleep.

Today, Jiang Hao was utterly exhausted. It started with an unexpected surprise from the system, followed by a heroic rescue of a damsel in distress. Then came the shocking news of his father's injury, the frantic efforts to treat him, and finally, avenging his father's harm. Despite his extraordinary resilience, by the end of it all, even he was struggling to keep up.

The next morning, Jiang Hao got his things together and called out to Jiang Zixuan—it was time for school. Upon entering the classroom, he was met with a cacophony of noise. A quick glance at the blackboard revealed the reason: today's gym class had been commandeered by the English teacher, who planned to have the students tackle a set of practice tests during the third and fourth periods. This was nothing new to Jiang Hao.

He pulled out his textbooks from his backpack and, with the help of the system, began to deconstruct them, fusing the content with Knowledge Crystals. Textbook after textbook was broken down, and with each one, the crystallized knowledge seamlessly integrated into his mind. Before long, Jiang Hao had mastered the entirety of the high school curriculum, becoming a veritable scholar-lord.

As he reveled in the sensation of his mind brimming with boundless knowledge, a stunning young woman appeared at the classroom door. She peered inside, searching for someone. It was none other than Soong Wan, the girl Jiang Hao had rescued the day before.

"Uncle Hai said he's in Grade Three, Class Eight. How could he not be here?" she murmured to herself.

Soong Wan was quite the celebrity at the school; everyone in Grade Three, Class Eight recognized her. "Hey, isn't that Soong Wan, the Jade King's daughter from Jiangbei Province?" one student whispered excitedly.

"Who? Soong Wan? Where is she?" another inquired.

"What's she doing here? Is she looking for someone?" a third chimed in.

"Wow! Whoever wins her over is going to strike it rich!" they all buzzed with anticipation.