Zhang Tie grumbled, “I just asked him to bring me some food, and he actually got annoyed.”
Hearing this reason, Zhuang Xun was speechless.
He picked up his storybook again and continued reading. “You ask Zigeng to bring you food every single day. Why would he be happy about that?”
Zhang Tie defended himself. “Hey, it's not like it's out of his way. He was going to eat anyway, so what's the big deal if he brings some back for me? Ever since he clung to that thick thigh, he's changed. He's starting to look down on us. And to think I used to think he was a decent guy.”
“If Zigeng asked you to bring him food every day, would you be happy about it?”
“Hmph, how is that the same?” Zhang Tie changed the subject. “Pingsheng, you going to eat?”
“I already ate.”
“Tsk, eating without me. You're really no brother of mine.” Zhang Tie grinned, pointing a finger at Yan Pingsheng, and then noisily walked out the door.
Even from inside the dorm, Zhuang Xun could hear him outside, loudly shouting for people from other dorms to go eat with him.
Zhuang Xun shook his head. Thinking of Li Zigeng, he did feel the guy had changed quite a bit. Compared to when he first arrived at the dorm, he was practically a different person.
The only thing that hadn't changed was that he was still a decent person.
Whatever news he got from the Chen family, as long as it wasn't a secret, he would share it with them.
For instance, regarding the Eldest Young Master Zhou's coming-of-age ceremony at the end of the month, the young master would invite young talents from various factions to compete on stage. The final winner of the martial competition would receive ten meals of one-year-grade precious meat and a hundred taels of silver as a prize.
This was the piece of news Li Zigeng had shared in the dorm a few days ago.
...
After classes ended in the afternoon, Zhuang Xun went to the Seventh Courtyard's martial arts field to continue his extra training.
With the promotion assessment just over three months away, it was time to properly train his Yan Pingsheng clone. He wanted to increase his strength at least a little bit through actual effort, rather than relying entirely on the Character Creation Panel.
Saving points whenever possible was a good idea, and it would also prevent others from becoming suspicious of his sudden progress.
After practicing the Wanxing Body-Tempering Technique a few times with the help of heavy training equipment, Zhuang Xun rested for a moment and went over to the stone lock area to test his strength.
Unfortunately, even with his face flushed red from exertion, he could barely lift the seven-stone stone lock past his ankles before running out of steam and setting it back down.
“Still a bit short. Cultivating with Yan Pingsheng's body is really frustrating; the progress is agonizingly slow.”
Zhuang Xun shook out his sore arms, planning to rest a bit before resuming.
“Impressive, Brother Yan! You almost lifted the seven-stone lock. If you can break through to Nine Stones of strength before the promotion assessment, you'll have a real shot at entering the Upper Two Courts.”
Li Xiangzhi's voice rang out, accompanied by the sound of approaching footsteps.
Zhuang Xun turned to look at the approaching Li Xiangzhi, shook his head with a smile, and said, “There are only three months left, and I only have Six Stones of strength right now. I'm afraid I won't make it in time.”
“How could that be? If it's you, Brother Yan, you can definitely do it,” Li Xiangzhi said with a laugh.
“Then I'll take your auspicious words, Brother Li.”
“Haha, take them all you want!” Li Xiangzhi patted his chest, speaking generously.
“By the way, Brother Yan, have you heard about the Eldest Young Master Zhou's upcoming coming-of-age ceremony?”
“Yes, I heard my roommate mention it.”
“I heard they're holding a martial competition, and the winner gets ten meals of one-year-grade precious meat and a hundred taels of silver. The Zhou family is truly generous,” Li Xiangzhi said longingly.
Zhuang Xun smiled. “What, are you interested?”
“Of course I am.” Li Xiangzhi spread his hands. “Sigh, but I stand no chance. I heard many of the top one hundred disciples from the Outer Court are going.”
“Brother Yan, why don't you give it a try? You're also in the Outer Court's top one hundred. You might actually have a shot.”
“I'm just at the bottom of the top hundred. I'd rather not go up there and make a fool of myself.”
Li Xiangzhi asked, “Then how about we go together just to watch? Even if we don't go on stage, it'll be good to broaden our horizons.”
Zhuang Xun gave it some thought. He had been cooped up in the martial academy for the entire month without going out. It was indeed time to go out and get some fresh air.
Moreover, since he had already decided to compete for a spot in the Upper Two Courts, he could use this opportunity to gauge his opponents' strength and determine what level he should display.
“Alright, let's go together when the time comes.”
“Great! We'll rent a carriage then. We should try to get back before dark, though. It's really been quite unsafe outside lately...”
“Pingsheng, you guys are going to the Eldest Young Master Zhou's coming-of-age ceremony? Count me in.” An Dafu walked over. “I can bring my family's carriage when the time comes, and we can all ride together.”
“Sure.” Zhuang Xun suddenly realized there would only be one person left in their dorm, so he asked, “Should we invite Zhang Tie along too?”
“Invite him? Maybe... let's not. I feel like going with him would be a bit embarrassing.”
An Dafu felt that Zhang Tie had no filter. Many influential figures and nobles would attend the Eldest Young Master Zhou's coming-of-age ceremony. If Zhang Tie offended someone, it would drag down everyone traveling with him.
“...Yeah, that works too.” Zhuang Xun felt like laughing.
This was dorm bullying, wasn't it? Guess who wasn't invited to this gathering.
After chatting with the two, Zhuang Xun lost his desire to continue training. Chatting and laughing, they discussed their plans for the trip over the next few days as they walked toward the dining hall together.
...
“Senior Brother, take my sword!”
On the quiet and elegant side cliff, Zhuang Xun had just controlled Bai Yujing to step out of his courtyard gate when he heard a shout from a girl whom he had already detected hiding behind a tree.
A breath later, she thrust her sword toward him.
Without even looking, Zhuang Xun casually raised his hand and pinched the tip of the sword. With a slight flick of his wrist, the long sword flew out of the girl's hand, spinning backward before plunging into the dirt, its hilt vibrating rapidly.
“Ah!” The girl clutched her hand, which was stinging from the vibration, and said pitifully, “Senior Brother, that hurts~”
Serves you right for trying to ambush me... Zhuang Xun glanced at the beautiful girl with features like a painting, and said flatly:
“Junior Sister Zhou, your martial arts have deteriorated.”
Zhou Ziruo dropped her pitiful act and rolled her eyes playfully. “Oh, please. It's because you're progressing way too fast, Senior Brother.”
In truth, she was quite shocked. She had clearly been able to trade a few moves with her senior brother before. How was it that after only three days, she couldn't even take a single strike from him?
Three days ago, she had run into Bai Yujing in the Outer Court and wanted to tease this Chief Disciple while he was still young and his martial arts were presumably inferior to hers.
However, once they clashed, she discovered they were actually in the same realm. What's more, despite having been in the Sixth Rank realm longer, she was completely outmatched in every aspect, pinned to the ground after just a few exchanges.
Thinking back to the expressions of the junior brothers and sisters who had been watching, Zhou Ziruo felt thoroughly embarrassed. Her face flushed, and she couldn't help but glare at Bai Yujing in secret.
“Why are you looking for me, Junior Sister Zhou?”
“Can't I come look for you even if there's nothing, Senior Brother?”
Zhou Ziruo quickly recovered her composure. Following closely behind Bai Yujing, she stepped on his shadow with every step and asked back with a beaming smile.
Zhuang Xun pondered for a moment and said, “Preferably not.”
Zhou Ziruo's movements instantly froze, and she stared at Bai Yujing's back in disbelief.
She took a breath and spoke rapidly, “Senior Brother, your image in my heart is already perfect just by you standing there. So, please, do not speak and ruin your supreme image in my mind.”
As she spoke, she waved her hands repeatedly in a gesture of utter resistance.
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