Chapter 42 This is how the protagonist opens up

"You have such a realistic tail, it looks just like the real thing..." Wu Haotian scrutinized Kela, his eyes filled with doubt. Gradually, his gentle expression froze, and he suddenly pulled with his left hand, sending a gust of wind toward her face. Kela tilted her head back to dodge, but the skeleton costume of the beastman shaman atop her head was knocked off. When she raised her head again, the half-mask was gone.

The once prince-like Wu Haotian started yelling like a madman: "What the hell, it really is you! Damn it, you're that beastwoman!"

His voice was loud and clear, even in the noisy ballroom, many people around still heard him.

"My God, it's that beastwoman from the Martial Dao Courtyard named Kela."

"Who invited her? What the hell, I was at the same ball as a beastwoman?"

"Who let her in? She must have snuck in disguised!"

"Really shameless, doesn't she have any self-respect, daring to sneak into a human ball?"

"I've heard that beastwomen are the most debauched; maybe she wanted to take advantage of the dark and find someone drunk to pounce on."

"Haha, Old Wu was actually flirting with a beastwoman earlier. He deserves it; if he can eat tomorrow, I'll lose."

The commotion grew louder, spreading quickly throughout the ballroom, and countless people turned to look.

The music on the stage soon stopped. Ma Tan had just been flirting with Rachel and was enjoying himself immensely when this interruption ruined the mood.

"Wu Haotian, what are you doing?" Ma Tan frowned.

"This beastwoman sneaked into the ball disguised," Wu Haotian said angrily, pointing at Kela: "I was sitting next to her just now. Who knows if there are fleas on her!"

Everyone around laughed: "Not just fleas, maggots too. Old Wu, you should go scrub yourself clean; if you don't, they might not let you into the Martial Dao Courtyard tomorrow."

"What are you laughing about? Is this the time for jokes?" Wu Haotian jumped up and down, shouting: "This is our human gathering, and some lowly creature sneaks in. Do you think only I'm being humiliated? You were all eating at the same table as her, so are you clean?"

As he yelled, he shouted angrily: "Who planned this event? Letting a beastwoman dance with us?"

Rachel, standing beside Ma Tan, did not agree.

"How dare you speak like that? What does planning have to do with this?" Ma Tan saw an opportunity to show off while Luo Lan was absent, hoping to gain some more benefits.

"Hey," he pointed at Kela: "How did you sneak in?"

Kela remained silent, but Wu Di appeared behind her. Though he also said nothing, his eyes glowed with a ferocious light, unlike his usual gentleness.

"There's another one! What the hell, it's that male beastman!"

"This is hilarious; two beastpeople sneaking in without anyone noticing."

"We're leaving." Kela said sternly to Wu Di.

"Stay put!" Ma Tan narrowed his eyes: "Are you deaf? I asked you how you sneaked in, and you haven't answered yet!"

Kela did not respond and tried to turn away, but both sides were immediately blocked by a wall of people.

"Where does the beastgirl think she's going?"

"She didn't hear me, huh?"

Kela was trapped, and the atmosphere became tense. Suddenly, a voice rang out from behind the crowd.

"I brought her in, me, Wang Feng. What's the problem?"

The words were spoken arrogantly, and the crowd fell silent, everyone turning to look.

A path opened in the crowd, and Wang Feng walked out. Damn, this was probably the most impressive entrance he had ever made in this place. This was the right way for a protagonist to appear.

Overwhelming presence!

"Who is this guy? Never seen him before."

"Don't know him."

"Damn, that tone scared me. I thought it was Principal Karida coming!"

The crowd burst into laughter, and Ma Tan also chuckled: "This guy looks handsome, but he's clearly lost his mind. You brought her in, who do you think you are?"

"I'm the sponsor of this ball. In other words, you, you, and you, all of you are eating and drinking for free on my turf. So what? If you don't want to play, get lost. I'll pay the bill and invite whoever I want!" Old Wang spoke boldly.

"This was planned by Rachel. Who are you, some idiot who just showed up? You won't leave this door unless you explain yourself!" Ma Tan's eyes flashed with anger.

"Rachel is just the planner, a helper. The money came from my team's vice-captain, Fantasia, which means it came from my team. So what? Are you freeloaders not satisfied?" Wang Feng directly pointed this out. Fantasia, standing nearby, looked worried but was held back by Winnie.

Rachel's face turned pale, looking at Fantasia with disappointment. Fantasia felt terrible but dared not resist Winnie's firm grip.

Someone in the crowd recognized Wang Feng. Ma Tan remembered the name; he was the fool who blew up the Institute of Potions' alchemy room. He had assumed Wang Feng had some background, but it turned out he was just an idiot.

Ma Tan smiled, "So you're the fool who blew up the Institute of Potions. Looks like you're having another episode. This event is hosted by the Holy Sanctuary's Autonomous Council. It's your honor to contribute money. When did it become acceptable for beastpeople to attend? You're nothing. Make those two beastpeople kneel and apologize, then get lost. Don't waste everyone's time!"

Ma Tan spread his arms, and the crowd erupted in cheers, clearly pleased with his handling of the situation. The cheers and insults pouring into Kela and Wu Di's ears were already numbing; they had expected this.

It had always been like this.

*Smash*...

Glass shards flew, and yellow liquid mixed with red blood trickled down the forehead.

The crowd fell silent.

Ma Tan clutched his head, turning in disbelief to look at Wang Feng, but Old Wang already had another bottle in his hand.

Did this guy hit him on the head while he turned around?

"I'm your father!" Old Wang exclaimed triumphantly, striking Ma Tan twice more on the head with the bottle.

Ma Tan was stunned. He never dreamed that Wang Feng would dare to make a move, that waste who had been expelled from the Institute of Potions!

His anger erupted, blood rushed to his head, and a surge of soul power instinctively burst out from his body!

As the representative of the third year in the Wizard Academy, Ma Tan could be recruited by Luo Lan as the deputy captain of the team based on his true abilities. His strength was no joke, and dealing with these first and second-year scum was like squashing an ant with one finger!

But in half a second, before Ma Tan's soul power could transform into lightning spells, a sudden searing pain struck both his wrists, as if they were being pierced by red-hot needles, precisely interrupting the soul power he had just raised. The lightning spell he had been channeling lost control, most of it dissipating, while a small part leaked out of his body, unable to coalesce.

Immediately after, he felt excruciating pain in his groin.

Old Wang had kicked him right where it hurt. In a fight, you have to be ruthless and precise. Three moves in a street fight always work against someone stunned!

But Old Wang also felt a jolt. Damn, this place even has "reverse damage"?

He knew Ma Tan was a Lightning Mage, but he didn't expect his vital parts to be electrified too!

Old Wang felt a shock run through half his leg, numbing it instantly, almost causing him to fall.

"Damn, you dare to electro me!" Old Wang's hair stood on end. He hopped forward and grabbed a wooden stool nearby, smashing it over Ma Tan's head: "I'll beat you until you call me daddy!"

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The stool shattered under repeated blows. Ma Tan screamed like a eunuch, the pain in his groin and head making him furious. But he couldn't cast any lightning spells; every time he tried to raise his soul power, it was interrupted by some strange force. He wasn't a martial artist; without his lightning spells, a Lightning Mage was barely stronger than an ordinary person.

"What the hell are you all waiting for? Get them! Get them!" Ma Tan had lost all sense of dignity. The opponent kept him from getting up with the stool, and he couldn't use his lightning spells. He could only scream like a pig being slaughtered: "Kill them for me!"

Ma Tan's people finally reacted, mostly because it was unbelievable that a third-year representative Lightning Mage could be taken down by a stool.

The others who came with him finally charged forward, Kela and Wu Di leading the charge. Fantasia jumped anxiously, torn between the two sides. This was Rachel's carefully planned party, and he wanted to stop the fight, but before he could speak, someone kicked him from behind, sending him into the fray, where he was pummeled mercilessly. Little Cannon was thoroughly enraged.

The entire scene was chaos, with a large circle forming around the fighters. Spectators cheered wildly, clearly used to such testosterone-fueled brawls.

"Beat him! Beat him to death!" Old Wang's voice was loudest in the chaos. Despite being outnumbered, he sounded like he was surrounding everyone. He grabbed Ma Tan, whose face was already bruised and unable to gather soul power, and roared: "If I kill him today, I'll take responsibility!"

A soul-powered fiery needle quietly vanished in Winnie's left hand. That horse should have no energy left to resist.

Fighting is more fun when it's evenly matched.

Winnie held a bottle in her right hand, her face flushed with excitement. She stood on the sofa, shouting: "Go! Go! Follow the captain's orders, beat him to death! Ah-ssi-ba, Brother Wu Di is so awesome, hit below the belt, go for the vital spots!"

...

The scene was a mess, with broken chairs, stools, glasses, and bottles scattered everywhere. Both groups fought fiercely. Although Ma Tan had more people, street fights had no rules, and the inherent strength of the Beastmen gave them a significant advantage. Fantasia, having regained his composure, was particularly resilient. The worst off was Old Wang, whose body was scorched by Ma Tan's errant lightning spells.

On the other side, Ma Tan and Wu Haotian were the worst off. A third-year representative Lightning Mage, kicked in the groin, hadn't managed to cast a single proper spell and was beaten black and blue by Wang Feng. Wu Haotian, clearly targeted by Kela, had a twisted mouth.

Just as Old Wang's team seemed poised for victory, the iron door suddenly burst open. Rachel, accompanied by a grim-faced Luo Lan, appeared at the entrance with a dozen people.

Luo Lan was in a foul mood. This party was held in his name to boost his popularity among the disciples. It was meant to help him gain support for future elections or even hero tournament votes.

By frequently hosting such events, he hoped to showcase his organizational and leadership skills to the upper echelons of the Holy Sanctuary, which would become a remarkable entry on his resume.

But now, there were Beastmen causing chaos, leading to a full-blown brawl. What kind of impression was this making? It was tarnishing his reputation and credibility in front of the upper echelons!

"Arrest them all!"

A dozen senior disciples wearing the guild badges stormed in like wolves. Both groups, already exhausted from fighting, couldn't resist being swarmed and subdued.

"Take them away!"

...

(Bosses, don't worry about the competition. It doesn't exist. This time, Old Wang will cause quite a stir, aiming to be the most outrageous of the Wang brothers. If he can lie down, he won't carry, just a little flair.)