Before Rose's tears could fall and before Lily's anger could fully erupt, they both froze at the sight in front of them. Their expressions shifted to one of shock and disbelief.Oscar noticed the change on their faces and assumed they were overcome with fear. With a smug grin, he turned to look at the teacher, expecting a lifeless body. But as he turned, he froze in place.Standing in front of the teacher was a man, holding the baseball bat with his hand. It hadn't landed on the teacher. Instead, it had been stopped effortlessly, as if it weighed nothing.Oscar's eyes widened in shock. "Who the hell are you?!" he barked, his voice laced with confusion and anger.The thug who had swung the bat staggered back, fear plastered on his face. He knew how sturdy that bat was—yet the man holding it didn't seem fazed at all. Before anyone could react further, the man clenched his fist and crushed the bat into splinters."W-what?! How is that possible?!" one student whispered in disbelief."Wait

After resolving the commotion, several students approached Max, expressing their admiration and gratitude."Thank you for standing up for us," one said earnestly."That was amazing! You were so cool back there!" added another, their voice filled with awe.Max simply nodded, offering them a small smile before turning to check on Rose and Lily, who had just come down to meet him.Rose and Lily hurried over, concern and curiosity etched on their faces."How did you get there so fast?" Rose asked, still puzzled by Max's sudden appearance earlier.Max shrugged nonchalantly. "I came down earlier and waited for the right moment. You just didn't notice because everyone's attention was on Oscar," he explained casually.Lily nodded, impressed. "Oh, so that's how it was. You're amazing, though," she said, her admiration clear as a slight blush crept onto her cheeks.In truth, Max couldn't reveal that his movements were faster than an ordinary human's, making it seem like he had teleported. He si

Zoren's glare could have burned a hole through Max, but it only seemed to amuse him further. Max let out a relaxed sigh, pointing the branch at Zoren like a teacher scolding a stubborn child."So, are we done here, or do you want me to embarrass you even more?"Zoren clenched his fists, but there was hesitation in his eyes now. His men groaned on the ground behind him, holding their bruises and glaring at Max with disbelief and fear.Sean, watching from the sidelines, swallowed hard, his earlier excitement replaced by unease."Y-You're a freak…" Sean muttered under his breath.Max grinned, resting the branch on his shoulder. "No, Sean. I'm just someone you shouldn't have messed with."Sean's face twisted in anger as he laughed maniacally, trying to muster his courage. He took a step forward as if to charge, but his confidence faltered when his eyes darted to Zoren's men writhing in pain on the ground. His movements stilled, his earlier bravado replaced with uncertainty.Zoren let out

Max felt the strange energy disappear almost as quickly as it had appeared. Yet he was sure of one thing—it wasn't just one or two students emitting it. Whoever or whatever it was, they were inside the university. He kept these thoughts to himself as the rest of the class went by uneventfully.When lunch finally arrived, Max began to gather his things when Lily approached him, smiling brightly."Max! Come eat with me and Rose," she said cheerfully.Max paused for a moment, considering her offer. Then his eyes darted toward Sean, who was quietly packing his things. Max spoke up, his voice calm but firm. "Sean, tell Zoren to meet me in the cafeteria."Sean froze for a moment, then nodded respectfully. "Yes," he replied, before hurrying out of the classroom.Lily and Rose stared at Max, their faces a mix of surprise and confusion."Wait a second," Lily began, raising an eyebrow. "You know Zoren? The martial artist?"Max smiled faintly and shrugged."How did you get Sean to listen to you

Zoren and Max sighed in unison, realizing there was nothing immediately wrong. Adrian, however, stood at the center of the mat with a smug grin. "Too easy," he said arrogantly, before motioning to his team to send out another player. His overconfidence earned glares and whispers from the other teams, with many players visibly annoyed by his attitude.From Waren's team, one of his top fighters stepped forward at his command. The man was muscular, agile, and known as one of Waren's strongest candidates. The match began with both fighters demonstrating impressive skill. The crowd was on edge, cheering and gasping with every exchange. But shock rippled through the gym when Adrian's fighter delivered a devastating roundhouse kick, securing a win and knocking Waren's man out of the competition.Waren's team was now down to just two players—a skinny man and Waren himself.Next, it was Rose's turn. She sent in one of her remaining players, a tall, well-built man with confident strides. The fi