Relationships Shattered

A few more days passed after that.

The date reached December 14.

At the training grounds early that morning, shouts rose and fell in waves. Each circulation and surge of blood and qi brought forth a vast cloud of white mist.

Xu Yuan was immersed in pondering the force-generating techniques of Thunderclap Fist when a graceful figure approached.

"Brother Xu, long time no see." Sun Rong wore a perfectly measured smile. "I wonder if Brother Xu has gained any insights from practicing Thunderclap Fist these past few days?"

Xu Yuan glanced at her, his movements never stopping as he replied calmly, "Your talent is better than mine. Why ask me?"

"One thing can lead to another." Sun Rong smiled. "Just like when we were in the outer academy, everyone's experiences and insights are different."

She's even playing the emotional card now.

Xu Yuan chuckled inwardly. Still, seeing the earnestness in her eyes, he found it hard to refuse her outright. Exchanging a few words to verify their viewpoints would not hurt.

After a brief pause, he explained some of his rudimentary insights into coordinating his force and drawing upon the strength stored within his blood and qi.

"I think that before your strength has been nurtured, you shouldn't pursue speed and ferocity in your moves too much. Instead, you need to calm down and feel the patterns in the circulation of your blood and qi..."

Before he could finish, a sharp voice suddenly cut in. "No, that's wrong! There's a problem with what you're saying!"

The woman with the slightly pointed chin had somehow come over, a trace of anger on her face.

"Our eldest sister didn't say that."

"And your eldest sister is?" Xu Yuan raised a brow.

"Our eldest sister came from Martial Student ranks. Back then, she became an official martial artist in only half a month. Even the martial masters acknowledged that her talent was exceptional." The woman's face carried the pride of sharing in someone else's glory.

"So?"

"So Thunderclap Fist relies on momentum. When first learning it, you need to use the stances of the fist art to drive your blood and qi, so you can nurture strength more quickly. If you practice like a warm pot of water, when will you ever master it?"

Then she paused, her gaze sweeping over Xu Yuan with a hint of disdain. "Besides, I heard Rongrong say that you only broke through to become a martial artist at the end of last month, right? With aptitude as... ordinary as yours, don't go teaching others before you've figured it out yourself and wasting their time!"

Those words were far from polite, and the atmosphere instantly froze.

Sun Rong found herself somewhat embarrassed. She had only come to build rapport with the two of them. As for her understanding of Thunderclap Fist, the other woman was probably not even her equal. Still, those words had indeed been rather unpleasant.

"A Li, don't say that..."

Just as she was about to smooth things over, Li Shan could no longer stand it and said indignantly,

"How do you talk to people? I know better than you how good Brother Xu's comprehension is. He trains harder than anyone else. How do his insights amount to misleading people?"

The woman sneered and lifted her chin smugly. "If diligence were useful, everyone would be a martial master. Naturally, whoever has greater talent speaks the truth..."

Before she could finish, Xu Yuan cut her off. "Enough. If you want to look for a sense of superiority, go somewhere else. Raise your chin any higher, and I'll be afraid it'll poke someone!"

With that, he ignored them and walked to the side to practice alone.

Li Shan also gave a derisive snort, similarly ignoring them as he focused on his own movements.

"You..." The woman's face shifted between green and white. She wanted to say more, but Sun Rong, wearing a helpless expression, pulled her away.

Only after the two had gone far away did Li Shan come over and say irritably, "What kind of people does Sun Rong hang around with all day?"

"She starts criticizing people after barely saying a few words. Doesn't she take a look at what sort of person she is?"

Xu Yuan shook his head, signaling that there was no need to pay attention to such noise.

To him, the disturbances of the outside world were nothing more than a breeze passing by his ears.

Still, after this incident, the boundary between him and them had become ever clearer.

That evening.

After everyone returned from training, they saw Qin Yang and Chen Sanli huddled together again, laughing and chatting. Half a bag of leftover peanuts sat on the table, with shells scattered everywhere.

Chen Sanli had talked himself dry. He casually picked up a gray clay water jug beside the table, tipped back his head, and began gulping.

Xu Yuan recognized it as Gao Yuan's water jug. Gao Yuan had always cherished it dearly, so Xu Yuan instinctively looked toward him.

Sure enough, Gao Yuan's expression immediately changed.

If you can't find a book by its title, try searching for the author. It may simply have been renamed!

Living under the same roof, everyone knew that Gao Yuan loved cleanliness. His bedding was always laid out spotless and neat. Others even thought he might be somewhat of a clean freak.

Only after taking several huge gulps did Chen Sanli notice everyone had returned. He grinned. "Brother Gao, I was desperate for water, so I borrowed a sip from you. I'll fill it back up for you later!"

Seeing this, Wang Huan frowned and adopted the bearing of the dorm's eldest brother to mediate. "Sanli, you're always so careless! Don't you know Yuanzi likes things clean? Remember to wash that jug properly later."

Chen Sanli set down the water jug and answered with a grin, "Got it, got it. I'll wash it until it's spotless..."

"No need."

Gao Yuan suddenly stepped forward, snatched the water jug away, and without even looking at it, raised his hand and hurled it viciously out the door!

The clay jug shattered into pieces on the stone steps, splashing water everywhere.

The entire dormitory fell silent.

Gao Yuan turned around and spoke coldly. "Wash it? Who knows what he's touched, what he's contaminated it with? Even washed, I'd still find it filthy!"

Chen Sanli's smile froze at once. Even with his thick skin, he felt his face burning with humiliation. "Y-you... what do you mean by that?!"

Qin Yang also stood up, his expression ugly.

"Yuanzi, those words are a little too harsh, aren't they? Sanli shouldn't have taken your things without asking, but just have him compensate you with a new one. Why humiliate him like this?"

"Humiliate?" Gao Yuan looked at him, a mocking curve appearing at the corner of his mouth. "You two huddle together every day, listening to opera and drinking. When you come back, you step on your beds without even washing your shoes... Do you think you're clean?"

Qin Yang was left speechless, his face alternating between green and white.

Originally, the two had both come from Martial Student ranks and had gotten along fairly well. But after this incident, once Qin Yang spoke in Chen Sanli's defense, no matter how good their relationship had been, a rift was bound to form.

Li Shan hurriedly tried to smooth things over. "Say less, both of you! Sanli, go buy a new jug for Yuanzi tomorrow. Yuanzi, calm down too. You really did go too far with your words..."

"Too far?" Gao Yuan interrupted him, his gaze slowly sweeping across every person in the room.

"Then let me ask you all: if he had used your quilts to wipe his feet today, would you still smile and say, 'Just compensate us with a new quilt'?"

For a moment, no one spoke.

Humiliated and furious, Chen Sanli blurted out a roar.

"Isn't it just because you think our backgrounds aren't as refined as yours? What are you acting so high and mighty for? Who in the martial academy hasn't crawled and rolled through the mud? Are you the only precious one?!"

"Me, precious?" Gao Yuan suddenly laughed, his tone dripping with mockery.

"Yes, I am precious. At least I know that you can't touch other people's things whenever you please, instead of treating shamelessness as casualness like you do!"

"You bastard..." Chen Sanli swung up his fist and was about to charge forward, but Wang Huan grabbed him and stopped him.

"Enough!"

Wang Huan was angry as well. Pointing at Gao Yuan, he scolded, "You're the only one who's clean and particular? We all live under the same roof. Do you have to take your words this far?"

"Now you think my words are unpleasant?" Gao Yuan refused to yield an inch and sneered twice. "When he touched my things, why didn't you think what he did was ugly?"

Wang Huan was rendered speechless. After a long while, he simply flung his hand and said, "Fine, fine, I can't manage you. Do whatever you want!"

The atmosphere in the dormitory froze once more.

Xu Yuan watched everything coldly without saying a word.

This dormitory had gathered a group of strangers together in the first place. It was perfectly normal for a little friction to arise among them.

And Chen Sanli had been asking for it. He knew the other man was a clean freak, yet he still went and touched what he hated. He had brought it entirely upon himself.

Tian Yang watched quietly and said nothing as well. He was not particularly familiar with these people. If he went over to mediate now, he might only earn himself a scolding.

Xiao Sheng watched his nose, his nose watched his heart. Faced with such tangled interpersonal relationships, he chose to keep his distance out of respect.

Before long, Chen Sanli slammed the door and stormed out, with Qin Yang following after him.

Gao Yuan silently stepped forward to clean up the fragments by the door, then went alone to fetch water and wash up.

In the end, everyone could only return to their beds in silence. The former warmth and liveliness were gone.