Courtyard Houses: From Bronze Compasses to Global Reach

Chapter 249 The "Bullyed" Rugby Team

The afternoon basketball practice had just ended, and Tom and Mike, soaked to the bone and panting as if they had just been pulled out of the water, walked to the sidelines. Then, they saw a scene that shattered their resolve—Lin Yan was sitting leisurely on a bench, holding a box of incredibly fresh and delicious-looking fruit platter, eating it slowly and deliberately, looking as dry as if he were there for a picnic.

"Lin!" Tom shouted, almost wailing, pointing at the fruit in Lin Yan's hand. "This isn't fair! Why are we working ourselves to the bone while you get to enjoy yourself here? Coach Carter actually gave you leave?"

Lin Yan swallowed the strawberry in his mouth, and the image of Coach Carter being humiliated by him before the New Year flashed through his mind—he had only said that regular training wouldn't improve him much, and suggested that he could occasionally coach the players. After experiencing his terrifying strength, which was comparable to that of a professional player, Coach Carter's serious face twitched a few times, and he waved his hand helplessly and sensibly in agreement.

He glanced at his two resentful friends, a slightly smug, relaxed smile on his face: "Oh, this? I discussed it with the coach, and he thinks it's more valuable for me to 'guide' you guys than for me to practice mindlessly on my own."

Mike stared at the juicy melon, swallowed hard, and complained bitterly, "So your 'guidance' is just sitting on the sidelines watching us work ourselves to exhaustion while you take vitamins?! God, that's infuriating!"

Mike clutched his heart, feigning deep shock: "We're sweating buckets here, and you're feasting over there... Lin, you're corrupting our will! So, I've been corrupted, and your fruit is mine!"

Lin Yan was amused by his shameless act of asking for food. He got up, closed the fruit box, and handed it to him, deliberately patting his pants, which weren't even dusty, as if to annoy him. "Keep it up, I believe in you guys. When you can beat the coach into submission one day, you'll get this treatment too." After saying that, he smiled and walked towards the teaching building, leaving behind his two friends' even more "miserable" wails and their condemnation of his "luxurious" enjoyment.

The three packed their bags, walked out of the school gate, and had just turned into the quiet alley where Lin Gang usually parked his car when they were blocked by a group of people.

Kyle, who had provoked the students in the cafeteria at noon, was standing at the very front. Behind him were ten burly men from the football team, each with a massive build, almost completely blocking the alleyway. Clearly, they had come prepared.

Kyle grinned maliciously, cracking his knuckles: "Chinese kids, you had teachers protecting you at noon, now let's see where you run! If you know what's good for you..."

Before he could finish his harsh words, Tom and Mike exchanged a glance. Instead of stepping forward, they moved in perfect unison and quickly shrank behind Lin Yan, one on each side. They even thoughtfully took off Lin Yan's backpack to make sure it wouldn't get in his way.

Far from showing any fear, their eyes gleamed with an expectant light, as if saying, "Let's get started, we're waiting to see the show."

Lin Yan felt the little scrambles behind him and sighed helplessly. He stepped forward and looked at the group of "muscle walls" rubbing their hands together in front of him.

"So, are we going to come one by one, or all at once?"

Kyle and the ten burly men from his football team felt insulted by Lin Yan's somewhat bored expression and the two guys behind him who looked on with amusement.

"Attack him together! Show him what's what!" Kyle roared, and eleven muscular giants charged toward the seemingly frail Lin Yan like out-of-control heavy trucks. The air in the alley seemed to freeze under their imposing presence.

However, what happened next was beyond their comprehension.

Facing the fists thrown by the two who rushed at him first, Lin Yan shifted his feet slightly and his figure moved as lightly as a ghost into the gap between the two—this was the effect of the Qi Refining stage's Lightness Technique, which seemed simple but was faster than ordinary people could react.

He parried the attack with both hands in the Wing Chun "asking for directions" gesture, and at the moment of contact, a strange vibration, like ripples in water, penetrated his body.

"Ugh!"

The two burly men who made initial contact felt an indescribable tingling and excruciating pain in their arms, as if they had been struck by a high-voltage electric shock. They staggered backward uncontrollably, feeling nauseous and their internal organs churning.

Lin Yan's movements were fluid and graceful, like a butterfly flitting among flowers, moving through the bulky "rugby suit". Wing Chun techniques such as the Sun-shaped punch, the spreading hand, the shoulder hand, and the clapping hand were all handled with ease by him. Every seemingly light contact, block, or counterattack contained a terrifying shock force.

"Bang!" A teammate who tried to give him a bear hug was hit on the chest with a seemingly gentle hand, but it felt like being struck by a giant tree. He was sent flying backward, crashing into the wall and sliding down, curled up and coughing dryly, feeling like his internal organs were about to shift.

"Crack!" The other guy who attacked from the side had his wrist gently pulled and pressed by Lin Yan's clapping hand, and his joint made a tooth-grinding sound. He screamed and knelt on the ground, clutching his wrist.

Lin Yan's movements were so fast that they left only afterimages. His lightness technique allowed him to always appear in the most unexpected positions. He did not use his full strength, and even deliberately restrained his power as much as possible, but the shockwave generated by the 150,000 jin of physical strength was far beyond what these ordinary students could withstand, even if it was only leaked in the slightest.

In less than thirty seconds, the eleven burly men who had been so aggressive just moments before were now lying sprawled on the ground. Lin Yan had controlled them well; none of them had broken bones, but they were all deathly pale and in excruciating pain, especially their internal organs, which felt as if they had been churned in a washing machine. Nausea, dizziness, and intense pain intertwined, leaving them too weak to even get up, only able to groan in agony.

Kyle was the last to fall. He watched in horror as his companions fell like wheat being cut down. As Lin Yan's calm face approached, he threw a punch with all his might, but Lin Yan gently grabbed his wrist.

A tingling, numbing, and excruciating pain instantly spread from his wrist throughout his body. Kyle felt as if he had been hit by an invisible truck. His legs went weak, and he collapsed to his knees, vomiting a mouthful of bile mixed with his lunch. He curled up like a shrimp, trembling uncontrollably.

Lin Yan released his grip, looking down at Kyle, who was curled up in pain on the ground, and the burly men around him who were groaning and unable to get up. His gaze was calm, yet it carried a chilling coldness that sent shivers down the spines of these strong men, as he slowly spoke.

"Listen, I'll only say it once."

"From today onwards, stop your tricks of bullying younger students just because you're strong. I'll have the younger students keep an eye on you." His gaze swept over every face contorted in pain. "If I find out that any of you ever bully anyone again..."

"Next time, I won't just dislocate your internal organs. I'll break your arms and legs, one by one. I guarantee you'll never touch a football again in your life."

These words struck the hearts of these athletes who took pride in sports like a cold hammer, filling them with more fear than physical pain.

"And one more thing," Lin Yanqing cleared his throat, adding one last point with a touch of childish arrogance, "From now on, wherever you see me at school, you have to call me 'Boss.' If you don't..."

He casually flicked a small, inconspicuous pebble at his feet with his toe, and with a soft "plop," the pebble was as if it had been hammered into the hard crack of the brick, where it remained firmly embedded.

"...I'll hit you once, until you remember it."

His cold gaze swept over the people huddled on the ground. "Can you do it?"

A few faint, scattered responses came from the ground: "OK..." "Yes..."

Lin Yan frowned slightly, his voice suddenly rising, carrying an invisible pressure, like a whip lashing through the air: "Didn't you eat enough for lunch?! Your voice is so soft! I'm asking you, can you do it?! Answer me loudly!"

The low shout was like a thunderclap, startling Kyle and the others. Their will to survive instantly overwhelmed all discomfort and humiliation. Suppressing the churning pain within them, they mustered all their strength and, though uneven, screamed out loudly:

"I can do it, sir!"

Lin Yan seemed satisfied and gave a soft "hmm".

Having said that, he stopped looking at these "former bullies" whose bodies and wills had been completely destroyed, and turned to Tom and Mike, who had already had their fill of watching, and said:

"Let's go. Lin Gang will be getting impatient if it gets any later."

Tom and Mike snapped out of their daze and quickly followed, carefully skirting the "human roadblocks" of corpses lying on the ground. They looked at Lin Yan's back, arrogantly waving their fists at them, taking advantage of his position.