Study Monster Cultivation System

Chapter 86 - 086 Eyes with knives, scalp oozing oil

The room fell silent for a few seconds.

Then, a burst of loud laughter.

"Hahaha, have you gone stupid from studying?"

"Which big brother do you know? Tell us, let’s hear it."

"You’re trying to call for help? Oh man, I’m dying of laughter..."

Jiang Qinghua was even squinting and winking as he waved his hands dismissively, "It’s alright, I’m fine... It was bound to happen sooner or later, you better go..."

"Acting all tough and now you think you can leave?" Ling Shijie stepped forward and kicked away Li Zheng’s left crutch.

Li Zheng’s eyes widened.

[Relaxation activity detected: Combat]

[Vitality recovery rate: 4.8, maximum of 60 minutes.]

[Free Fighting: Fully master the fighting skills of a regular combat sports athlete.] (5 Game Coins)

[Tai Chi Master: With elegant postures, a profound martial art that, although probably at a disadvantage in actual fights, is suitable for performance, fitness, and opening training classes.] (5 Game Coins)

[Fight to the Death: Master the combat skills of a regular special forces member, with every move lethal.] (10 Game Coins)

Li Zheng felt very uncomfortable, this must be the path of corruption.

But if he chose Fight to the Death.

Even in his current state, he would be enough to handle them.

Between choices—

Clang!

Ling Shijie kicked away his right crutch as well.

Li Zheng had no choice but to stand on one leg.

Though the pose was indecent, his expression was extremely solemn.

Ling Shijie, you chose this path yourself.

Once I invest Game Coins,

you’ll have to Fight to the Death with me every day from now on.

Just as Li Zheng was about to insert coins, Jiang Qinghua suddenly threw himself in front of Li Zheng and pleaded, "Brothers, it really has nothing to do with him, he’s just stupid from too much studying, so... I still have five hundred yuan of New Year’s money left on WeChat..."

"Now you’re talking sense," Ling Shijie said with a chuckle, immediately backing off, "Five hundred each person."

"Brother, you this..."

Jiang Qinghua was just about to grit his teeth and agree.

Suddenly, a commotion came from outside the door.

"Teacher Qiao... It’s nothing... Please don’t come in..."

Followed by the distinctive voice of an old man.

"Am I fucking blind? Don’t I know you’re bullying someone?"

Startled, Ling Shijie jumped, pressing down firmly with his foot.

Then, a bald head pushed aside the curtain.

Dressed in a red tracksuit, with a whistle hanging around his neck.

His eyes sharp as knives, his scalp glistening with oil.

The true bully, Qiao Sheng.

Had arrived.

In fact, Li Zheng had already called for help from inside the cubicle.

Old Li’s so-called solution was purely a time-wasting bluff.

As a good student, faced with disciplinary issues, there’s always and only one choice—

Tell the teacher.

"Teacher Qiao... we are just chatting here..." Ling Shijie pulled Jiang Qinghua over, "We’re all brothers."

Qiao Sheng walked over without a word, his face stern, and held out his right hand in front of Ling Shijie.

Ling Shijie shrank back, reaching into his pocket and said, "I haven’t… brought any…"

"What the fuck are you thinking, I’m a teacher!" Qiao Sheng cursed, "The smell has wafted into the corridor, are you out of your minds?"

Under Qiao Sheng’s scolding, they had no place to hide, and eventually handed everything over.

Qiao Sheng too was annoyed, scratching his head.

"Ling Shijie, you already have a serious warning, wasn’t that enough to deter you?" Qiao Sheng counted the evidence, murmuring, "The rest of you are enough for school probation."

"No, no, no... Teacher Qiao..." Ling Shijie was just about to pull out other things to hand over.

This series of practiced maneuvers was heartbreaking.

"Get lost!" Qiao Sheng bellowed, pointing at the window, "All of you go there and squat!"

"..."

After a short while, several of them were squatting in a line next to the urinals.

Jiang Qinghua took the opportunity to pick up the crutches and hand them to Li Zheng, then turned to Qiao Sheng with a grin, "Teacher Qiao... If there’s nothing else, we’ll leave first."

"There is something," Qiao Sheng pointed towards the door, "You watch the door for me, don’t let anyone in."

"..." Jiang Qinghua swallowed, "This... isn’t appropriate, is it?"

Qiao Sheng glared, "You looking for trouble too?"

"Not daring to..." Jiang Qinghua had to go to the door, briefly taking on the role of a lookout.

Only then did Qiao Sheng move closer to Li Zheng, confronting Ling Shijie, "Tell me, how did you pick on my little brother?"

"Your... little brother?" Ling Shijie failed to understand.

"What the fuck is all this talking?" Qiao Sheng spit out and cursed, "You’re just as cowardly as your dad, back in the day, that’s how we ringed your dad in."

"..."

"Right, I sort of know your dad, let him discipline you," Qiao Sheng said as he took out his phone.

Ling Shijie, scared out of his wits, shuffled over, "Don’t, don’t, Teacher Qiao... I was wrong... truly wrong..."

"Cut the crap," Qiao Sheng chuckled, "Let me tell you the truth, Sun Xiubin is just waiting for you to screw up, wanting to get you expelled before the model evaluation next year."

"Don’t do that, Teacher Qiao... My whole family is counting on me to get into a university..."

"Then why the hell do you keep messing up!" Qiao Sheng turned to look at the other three, his scolding growing fiercer.

"What use is there in dicking around?"

"Back in the day, even when I was the top dog, what did it amount to? And what could it amount to?"

"In the end, I still had to cram study to barely make it into a technical college, and had to pull some strings to get into a school as a PE teacher."

"I’m still considered one of the smarter ones. Those idiots who messed around, now, do you see any of them doing well?"

"They’re practically begging for food!"

"Let me tell you, if you keep this up, at most you’ll be cool in high school for a year or half a year."

"In the future, when you enter society, you’ll walk around in disgrace."

As Qiao Sheng spoke, he suddenly let out a sigh.

"You guys..."

"What do you expect me to do?"

"Tell Director Sun to expel you, then what?"

"Let you wreak havoc on society?"

"Leave you to destroy yourselves?"

"In the end, it’s just adding a bunch of riffraff."

"Honestly, I’m too lazy to persuade you. I’m just telling you, this is your last chance in this life," Qiao Sheng cursed, rubbing his forehead. "Even if you can’t make it into a university, a community college or vocational school would do. At least you’d be someone useful then."

"Expelling you now, yes, it’s good for the school and for the good students."

"But your life would truly be over."

"If I don’t expel you, won’t you continue to harm the good students?"

"Li Zheng and Jiang Qinghua are studying hard. What the hell have they done to deserve Ling Shijie’s trouble?"

"Regarding that elbow strike incident, they didn’t come after you. You should be thankful, yet damn it, you went looking for trouble yourself."

As he cursed, the two-meter-tall center forward from Class 2 suddenly burst into tears.

"Teacher Qiao... I’ll never dare again..."

"I was just backing Ling Shijie up... It was the first time, really..."

"I’ve never even smoked... never fought..."

"I’m done mixing with those crowds... Please, I’m begging you, don’t tell the director..."

Following his lead, Ling Shijie and the two twelfth graders also softened up and began desperately pleading, almost hugging Qiao Sheng’s thighs.

"Damn it," Qiao Sheng could only shake his head and curse. "Crying to me is fucking useless. Do you think I don’t know you? Once you’re out of here, you’ll backstab; still damn set on harming the good students."

"I won’t dare again, Teacher Qiao, absolutely not."

"If I mess up again, you can tell my dad."

"Shut up!" Teacher Qiao scolded, turning to Li Zheng, "Except for this big dumb guy, the other three are incorrigible. They all qualify for expulsion. I’m taking them to Director Sun now. Let’s give the big dumb guy a chance."

"Teacher Qiao, you handle your business. As long as no one bothers our class in the future, that’s fine," Li Zheng said without looking at them, turning to leave with his crutches.

"Brother Li!" Ling Shijie rushed over and grabbed Li Zheng’s crutch. "Please help... have a word with Teacher Qiao... I’ll never dare again... really, never again..."

The two twelfth graders also came over to beg.

"Alright, alright!" Teacher Qiao hurried forward to push Li Zheng away, telling Ling Shijie, "With today’s incident, we have both witnesses and evidence. From now on, if you commit even half a disciplinary offense, inside or outside of school, you’re going straight to the director’s office."

"Okay, okay!"

"Teacher Qiao is awesome..."

"I won’t dare again..."

"And one more thing." Teacher Qiao didn’t forget to pat Li Zheng. "This is my brother. Inside or outside of school, respecting my brother is the same as respecting me. Do you understand what I’m saying?"

"Understood!" Ling Shijie sprang up and supported Li Zheng’s arm. "From today on, Li Zheng is my big brother."

"Our school’s big brother!" The twelfth graders nodded along. "From now on, our school is named after Li."

"’Brother Li’ isn’t imposing, ’Brother Zheng’ sounds better. First year, second year, third year, everyone must recognize our Brother Zheng!"

Only then did Teacher Qiao nod satisfactorily. "Alright, that’s enough as long as you get the message. Don’t cause trouble for my brother, alright?"

"We guarantee no one will cause trouble."

"Even if there is a problem, we won’t bother Brother Zheng."

"Brother Zheng is our spirit totem. He doesn’t need to fight in person."

"Stop bullshitting," Teacher Qiao became more incredulous as he listened, waving them off. "I’m not just scaring you, Director Sun is actually out to get you. If I catch you again, I’ll really take you in for recognition. I’m also up for a job promotion. Just this irritation is what I need."

The group nodded profusely while Teacher Qiao cursed them out a few more times before they quickly scurried off.

Watching them leave, Teacher Qiao then let out a sigh.

Li Zheng also finally asked, "Could getting them to leave really help you get promoted?"

"Really could," answered Teacher Qiao, shaking his head. "Don’t tell Chunmei, she’ll just scold me again... Sigh, I know they’re no good, but I can’t bear to just ruin them like this."

"It’s okay, this is actually pretty good," Li Zheng consoled. "If Ling Shijie really gets expelled, he’ll definitely hold a grudge against me. Being barefoot, he wouldn’t be afraid of those with shoes. If he gathers a bunch of people outside of school to target me, I’d still need to exert some effort to deal with it."

"We’re not afraid of that," Qiao Sheng laughed. "The school employs me specifically to deal with these matters. We’re not afraid of anyone who comes."

"Teacher Qiao is awesome..."

"Alright, I have a class soon," Teacher Qiao glanced at his watch, patting Li Zheng, "If you have any more trouble, just call anyone from the physical education team, male or female, all are my people, and I’m involved in everything from the men’s to the women’s restrooms."

"No need, I’ve got connections at the women’s restroom too."

"Not bad..."

After everyone left, Li Zheng and Jiang Qinghua went back to class together.

The journey was both awkward and bashful for the two of them.

Jiang Qinghua hadn’t expected Li Zheng to be so righteous.

Li Zheng also remembered how Jiang Qinghua had rushed to protect him.

It was different from the competitive yet respectful opposition he had with Lin Yujing.

This was another kind of friendship.

"Really... that was pretty dangerous, huh..." Jiang Qinghua chuckled nervously, scratching his head. "Actually, you shouldn’t bother with me. Smoking a cigarette won’t kill me."

Li Zheng looked down fiercely, leaning on his crutch: "You’re the one underestimating yourself. I could have handled them on my own."

Neither of them looked at the other as they entered the classroom.

In the classroom, Zhang Xiaoke was still memorizing vocabulary.

Suddenly, her nose twitched as she caught a whiff of something.

She turned towards the door and narrowed her eyes, sensing that things were more complicated than they seemed.

That’s when Jiang Qinghua suddenly slapped his forehead: "Ah, shoot, I forgot to wipe it off."

Then he twisted around and bolted for the restroom.

Zhang Xiaoke swallowed hard.

Forgot to wipe off what?

"Master, you guys..." Zhang Xiaoke felt uncertain.

"Don’t ask," Li Zheng said quietly, returning to his seat with his crutches. "It’s something bad. You don’t need to know."