Chapter 12: I Majored in Financial Management

"Ye Tong, there's no need to sow discord like that..."

"Hao Ge, don't worry about me, just use your full strength!" Wuzang said in a deep voice, taking a deep breath as his pupils contracted instantly. "Be careful."

Bang...

Taking a step forward, the fighting platform shook violently. He threw a punch—Zhongzheng Fist.

This punch carried no frills and left Li Hao no room to retreat. Li Hao had no choice but to take the punch head-on with his right hand, his entire body pushed back. Wuzang's left hand cut in like a blade toward his ribs, but Li Hao slapped down hard, pivoted, and ran to the other side.

By this point, everyone could see that Li Hao hadn't used his full strength. These movements looked easy, but in reality, if one move couldn't be defended against, Li Hao would be lying on the ground right now waiting for an ambulance.

Wuzang frowned and didn't pursue, just looking at Li Hao. "Hao Ge, are you looking down on me? I hope you can fight me seriously."

Everyone in Class 16 knew that when Wuzang's stubborn streak kicked in, he was a martial arts fanatic with no other hobbies. Last time he encountered an interesting opponent—a senior from the Mecha Department in his third year—he camped out at the guy's place for a week, even following him to the restroom, until he finally got a match.

Li Hao knew about this too. If he didn't satisfy Wuzang, he wouldn't have a moment's peace. He shrugged helplessly. "Alright."

Wuzang's body slowly tensed, muscles rippling and veins bulging as he slowly moved into a bow stance. During the earlier probing, he had already sensed that regular attacks couldn't create any pressure; he had to use the true techniques of the Wu Family.

Wuzang moved forward step by step, maintaining a posture of suppression to close the distance. The moment he entered the range of absolute suppression, his body, like a taut bow reaching its maximum arc, suddenly propelled forward.

Hah~~~~

Wuzang's entire being was like a fierce tiger descending from the mountain. A deafening shout erupted from his dantian, his footsteps coordinating with the twist of his waist and hips as he threw a punch that seemed to arrive in front of Li Hao in an instant.

Wu Family—Tiantong Fist.

Yet, at this moment of near-certain victory, Wuzang suddenly stiffened. It was only for a split second, but he was covered in cold sweat, his pupils contracted violently, his previously steady aura collapsed, and his breathing became fierce and rapid.

Li Hao had already arrived at his side, their bodies almost touching, but Li Hao's right hand was already placed on his throat. If this had been a life-or-death struggle, he would already be dead.

The training ground was silent. The Wu Family was a famous Ancient Martial Arts Family in the Asian region. The once-declining ancient martial arts had gradually risen with the mastery of the Golden Gene and were also an important force in the USE, producing many elites for the military.

Every generation of the Wu Family had members serving as guest martial arts instructors for the Tianjing Military Region. With strict upbringing, a solid foundation, and a near-hereditary obsession with martial arts, the profession of a soldier was truly tailor-made for them. First-year student Wuzang had already been proven to be the core of the rise of Tianjing Martial Arts.

If there was still a gap between mecha and fighting due to operation and mecha diversity, then in terms of fighting itself, Wuzang was undoubtedly a master.

This...

Wuzang's complexion was a bit pale, but Li Hao had already lowered his hand and casually draped his arm over Wuzang's neck. "What are you doing, buddy? It's just a spar. Your Wu Family's true specialty is sword arts; everyone has their own area of expertise."

Clap~ clap~ clap~~~

Ye Tong had already started clapping. Li Hao frowned. "Ye Tong, what are you doing?"

Others also felt that Ye Tong was really targeting Li Hao a bit.

Ye Tong looked at Wuzang. "Senior Brother Wuzang, there's really no need to be discouraged. It's your honor to lose to Second Brother."

Second Brother?

Li Hao was also stunned, staring blankly at Ye Tong. Suddenly, a youthful image appeared in his mind.

"You... are you Little Fatty?"

Ye Tong's eyes reddened, and she bit her lip slightly, humming with a bit of resentment. "Second Brother, you only recognize me now?"

Li Hao felt a bit embarrassed and also somewhat emotional. "Haha, haha, it's not that. It's just... you were still small back then, all chubby. A girl really changes a lot as she grows up."

The others were dumbfounded. Wasn't Li Hao an orphan? How did a younger sister suddenly appear?

Seeing everyone's confusion, he patted Ye Tong's shoulder gently. "She is the younger sister of a brother of mine from the Youth Class, and also a reserve member of the Youth Class back then. So your real name is Ye Tong; I always thought it was Nangong Tong."

Only about six hundred people were officially selected for the Youth Class, but a considerable number of others remained as reserves. Ye Tong was one of them, and she would go find them to play from time to time.

Ye Tong nodded and leaned gently against Li Hao. Everyone was still stunned; the dignified Goddess Tong actually showed such a dependent side.

Wuzang looked at the two of them and suddenly remembered a major event from a few years ago that had shocked the top brass of the Solar System Alliance.

It happened within the Solar System Youth Class. The Alliance's idea was good: gather the elites, leave them to hone themselves, and stimulate the greatest power contained within their genes.

But a group of unruly, mature-minded top young people gathered together, and with Earth, the Moon, and Mars fighting fiercely at the time, forming cliques and brawling was almost a daily occurrence. The Alliance didn't take it seriously—this was their original intention, the fiercer the better. In fact, the early results were very good.

Until the leader of the Earth Faction of the Youth Class, Nangong Yuhang, had a fierce conflict with Xilian Molafisi of the Moon. For some unknown reason, the neutral Martians suddenly joined the Moon's side. Earth was routed, and Nangong Yuhang was beaten to death on the spot by two Moon People.

Others didn't know, but Ye Tong was a witness. Li Hao wasn't there that day. The Moon People only made their move because she notified Li Hao. When Li Hao rushed over, he blocked her outside the door and then locked it.

By the time the guards opened the door, the two people who had beaten Nangong Yuhang to death were already dead, and Xilian Molafisi had also been beaten to critical condition. If the guards hadn't arrived in time, he likely wouldn't have escaped death either.

The Nangong Family was one of the Ancient Martial Five Great Families and had great influence and reputation in the USE military. But the NUP's Meraphis Family was even more terrifying—the backers of the Moon Federal Reserve Committee. But after all, Nangong Yuhang was dead, the two "murderers" had been killed on the spot by Li Hao, and Xilian, on whom the Meraphis Family had pinned high hopes, was left with only one breath. For the top brass, it was impossible to continue pursuing the matter.

In the end, Li Hao became the scapegoat. Although there were extenuating circumstances and it was considered excessive defense, he was sentenced to one year in prison, after which he disappeared, and the Tianqi Youth Class was disbanded.

Ye Tong was Nangong Yuhang's own younger sister. She took her mother's surname, Ye. The Ye Family was also one of the Ancient Martial Families. The marriage between the two families was a union of two strong powers, and Nangong Yuhang's premature death was a huge blow to both families.

"Everyone, let me reintroduce him. This is my Second Brother, and also my hero, my idol. Please take care of him in the future." As she said this, she hugged Li Hao's arm.

Li Hao looked at Ye Tong, seeing faint traces of her childhood self, but the baby fat was gone. Time suddenly flashed back five years; many memories flickered by, and he felt a sense of things being different from how they used to be.

One year of imprisonment... the result was a bit unexpected and also a bit long, but Li Hao didn't appeal. In fact, from the very beginning, he hadn't held any expectations for others.

During that time, his strength improved by leaps and bounds, and he broke through his bottleneck again. One year later, he was released. After drifting through preparatory academies for a few years, he applied for the Journalism Department at Tianjing Martial Arts, but somehow he was transferred to the Mecha Department.

"Ye Tong, you've grown up," Li Hao said sincerely. It had to be said that it was hard to connect the current Ye Tong with that white, round little girl from back then.

"There you go again, always with that old-fashioned attitude. You're going to be a bachelor for life like this!" Ye Tong laughed. "Can you guys believe it? He had this same tone when he was ten or so."

Li Hao wanted to pat Ye Tong's head with some doting, but Ye Tong dodged nimbly. "Don't start, I'm not a child anymore. Team Leader, shouldn't you thank me? Li Hao is very strong. As long as he integrates his fighting ability into mecha combat, he will definitely be a fierce general."

Li Hao smiled and explained the matter to everyone. It was more troublesome not to be clear about such things, but the specific details were only touched upon lightly. He just said that the chaotic battle at the time had caused bad consequences. "Everyone, it's been a long time, and I don't want to cause trouble. Please keep it a secret for me. Also, Class Monitor, I'm just a ticking time bomb. Being a sparring partner or something is fine, but there will definitely be problems if I officially compete in matches. I might even drag the whole team down."

Zhou Naiyi and the others were trying to digest this news. They could never have dreamed that the disbandment of the sensational Solar System Youth Class had anything to do with the person in front of them. And what kind of existence the Meraphis Family was—every human knew it clearly. They used to be the leaders of the NUP currency reserve and one of the three major NUP families. Now, with the NUP's dominant position gradually being established, the Meraphis Family was certainly rising with the tide.

Zhou Naiyi was the first to calm down, her eyes returning to a state of peace. "Li Hao, don't be too confident. Although fighting and mecha combat are related, they are two different things after all. You probably only started coming into contact with mecha after entering Tianjing Martial Arts, right?"

Li Hao nodded. "That is true. In my preparatory class, I studied Financial Management..."

Even Ye Tong was dumbfounded. Li Hao shrugged helplessly. "Sigh, I considered it carefully before choosing it back then. You all know I was short on money. This major itself is quite good—broad horizons, managing operations, stock trading, wealth advancement—but they just wouldn't tell me where my assets were supposed to come from..."

Looking at Li Hao's silly expression, everyone couldn't help but laugh. The Youth Class was a long time ago after all, and Li Hao was still the same Li Hao.

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