Zhao Ritian had been furious, but the moment he heard that the beggar's chicken had arrived, his face broke into a grin.
"Ah, Cheng Wen, you... you're so thoughtful! You're too kind. Put it here, here... Thank you, Xiao Hua!"
Zhuge Xiaohua knocked him on the head. "I'm older than you!"
"Oh."
Lu Chengwen said, "Of course, even if we hadn't helped today, you still would've defeated that Xiong Jiany, right?"
"Of course!"
"But the momentum would've been different." Lu Chengwen said, "This is Yan Zhao Sect's first public battle. We have to win beautifully, right? Think about it—why did we have you fight the opening match?"
"Why?"
"So you could show your face!"
"Oh?"
"Think about it. When we go back, Master asks who fought our opening battle. We'll say it was our brave and invincible Junior Brother Ritian! What do you think the old man will say?"
"Scold me? Beat me? Then praise you?"
"No." Lu Chengwen reassured him. "He'll have to ask how it turned out, won't he?"
Zhao Ritian puffed out his chest, utterly proud. "I took down three in a row!"
"Exactly! We'll tell Master that our junior brother took down three in a row!" Lu Chengwen said. "We'll tell him that you crushed the opposition like deadwood! Once Master gets happy, he might teach you a couple more moves. Wouldn't that be great? Maybe he'll even formally accept you as his disciple!"
Zhao Ritian ate his beggar's chicken, dipping it in oil sauce. "Cheng Wen, I've realized you do have some good points."
"As for Senior Disciple Brother, he was trying to bring out your potential! That's why he said those things."
Zhao Ritian kept eating chicken and glanced at Long Aotian. "Shit-Spraying Dragon, you got lucky this time!"
Long Aotian was furious. "I've