"Old Zhu, I'll raise a cup to you too. Thanks for treating me to dinner."
Yang Chen smiled and raised his wine cup, only for Zhu Xi to glare at him. "Quit messing around. Is it like I've never treated you to a meal before?"
Yang Chen burst out laughing, but kept his cup raised. "Alright, alright, I won't mess around. But I still want to toast you with this cup. I hope you'll stay true to your original aspirations, cultivate diligently, train hard, and launch a down-to-earth charge toward the Outer Sect."
"Now that's what I like to hear. Come, drink!"
The two clinked cups. Yang Chen drained his in one gulp. Seeing this, Zhu Xi's face twisted bitterly as he forced himself to down his cup in one dry swallow.
Seeing Yang Chen fill his cup again, Zhu Xi hurriedly said, "Don't just focus on drinking. Eat, eat! Senior Sisters Wu and Ji, don't stand on ceremony with me."
"Since you put it that way, we'll let you see what it means not to stand on ceremony. Junior Sister Ji, it's time to let Junior Brother Zhu know how formidable we are!"
Wu Menglan rolled up her sleeves. Her look of preparing for a grand battle made Zhu Xi beam from ear to ear.
Ji Ran glanced at her, a trace of helplessness in her eyes.
Once the atmosphere had been stirred up, the group began chatting casually.
From their conversation, Yang Chen learned quite a bit. Wu Menglan and Zhu Xi were both on duty at Medicinal Garden Sixteen. There were four disciples in Medicinal Garden Sixteen in total, and Zhou Tao, who had been expelled from the sect, had once been one of its duty disciples.
After Zhou Tao left, Ji Ran learned the news from Wu Menglan. She then spent ten spirit crystals to ask Wu Menglan and Zhu Xi to find the medicinal garden overseer and smooth things over. In the end, she got her wish and transferred from chopping timber in the forest grounds to the medicinal garden.
After all that back and forth, the three of them came to know one another.
It was worth mentioning that Wu Menglan was currently at the Qi Martial Ninth Level, while Ji Ran had already broken through into the Blood Martial Realm. Reaching the Blood Martial Realm after entering the sect for only around a year and a half proved that she had a great chance of making a bid for the Outer Sect.
"We do have a chance of advancing to the Outer Sect, but if you say it's set in stone, that's impossible."
Wu Menglan's cheeks were rosy from drinking, but her mind remained clear, and her logic was unaffected. "Unlike Junior Brother Yang. You've been in the sect for less than half a year, yet you're already at the Qi Martial Seventh Level. I'm afraid you won't even need a year to advance to the Blood Martial Realm. Advancing to the Outer Sect would be as easy as turning your hand over for you."
"Junior Brother Zhu is impressive too. In a few more days, you'll be able to break through to the Qi Martial Sixth Level. I'd say you have a very good chance of getting onto the Rankings Board this month."
There was no concealing the envy in her voice, because it was simply the truth. Among those on the cultivation Rankings Board from her batch last year, the weakest were now at the Blood Martial Third Level, while the strongest had already reached the Blood Martial Sixth Level. They were not far from the Outer Sect.
That was enough to show that those who could make it onto the Rankings Board had an extremely high chance of becoming Outer Sect disciples.
Zhu Xi had made tremendous progress during this time. Yang Chen knew that too, and he was happy for him.
"You two Senior Sisters are too modest. We're less than a year apart in age, so we can be considered peers. With your talent, advancing to the Outer Sect is just around the corner."
Zhu Xi said with a smile, raising his cup again. "I'll toast you both once more. I hope that one day, all four of us can reunite in the Outer Sect!"
"Cheers!"
"Cheers!"
The four raised their cups. With remarkable tacit understanding, they drained them all in one gulp. After setting down their cups, they looked at one another and laughed.
There was always an end to trading cups. An hour later, the group left the restaurant together.
Wu Menglan was somewhat drunk, swaying as she walked. Seeing this, Zhu Xi asked worriedly, "Senior Sister, are you alright?"
"It's nothing. The wind is just making my head a little dizzy." Wu Menglan waved her hand, leaning against Ji Ran as she muttered, "You don't need to worry. We can get back ourselves."
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Zhu Xi glanced at Ji Ran. Seeing that her eyes were unfocused and her steps unsteady as well, he suggested, "I'll escort you for a while. It's several li back, and I'm really afraid you'll pass out drunk by the roadside."
"Alright, alright."
Wu Menglan did not refuse. She and Ji Ran staggered onward, while Zhu Xi hung a few paces behind and said to Yang Chen, "Old Yang, come escort them with me, just in case something happens on the way."
"Alright."
Yang Chen was in excellent condition at the moment. This was thanks to him drinking his own brewed wine regularly over this period, which had improved his alcohol tolerance.
The wind was rather strong on the way back, leaving them dizzy and muddleheaded.
Before they had even gone two li, Ji Ran, who had been supporting Wu Menglan, turned out to be unable to hold her liquor. She crouched by the roadside and began vomiting.
Though Wu Menglan swayed as she walked, she stubbornly refused to be blown over by the wind. She merely stumbled onward alone in a daze.
Zhu Xi suggested, "Old Yang, stay behind and look after Senior Sister Ji. They both live in Area Four, which isn't far from our place. I'll send Senior Sister Wu back first."
Yang Chen hesitated briefly, then nodded in agreement.
Zhu Xi followed Wu Menglan and left first, while Ji Ran vomited into a complete mess, half-crouched on the ground for a long time without getting up.
"Senior Sister?"
Yang Chen tried calling out once, but Ji Ran showed no reaction at all.
He waited for a moment, then walked in front of Ji Ran. Only then did he discover that she had actually fallen asleep!
Seeing this, he was at a loss. After waiting a while longer, he softly said, "Senior Sister, can you still walk? I'll take you back to sleep."
At his call, Ji Ran groggily opened her eyes and struggled to stand. Yet the moment she got up, she staggered and fell straight toward the ground.
Yang Chen reacted swiftly and immediately caught her, muttering under his breath, "You only had a few cups. How did you get drunk like this?"
He wanted to steady Ji Ran and let her walk on her own, but unexpectedly, she seemed boneless, pressing all her weight onto him.
This gave Yang Chen a headache. He stood there, unable to move and unable to remain still.
"I... I can't... walk..."
Ji Ran muttered weakly. Her hazy eyes looked at Yang Chen with a trace of pleading. "Carry... me back, alright?"
"This isn't appro—"
Before Yang Chen could finish, Ji Ran closed her eyes and passed out drunk.
Seeing this, Yang Chen was utterly helpless. Gritting his teeth, he hoisted Ji Ran onto his back and headed toward the residential area in Area Four, muttering softly, "I didn't realize you were quite heavy."
A martial artist's cultivation improved more than just strength. Increased strength was not merely a matter of numbers; it was a leap in physical quality. As the density of one's sinews, bones, skin, and flesh continued to rise, a martial artist's weight would rise with it.
Take Yang Chen, for example. He now weighed at least more than three hundred jin, yet judging by his height and build, he looked as though he weighed at most around one hundred and sixty jin.
Ji Ran was a Blood Martial Realm martial artist. Though she was slender and appeared to weigh only around ninety jin, she actually weighed even more than Yang Chen—at least over four hundred jin.
Only with such physical qualities could one casually unleash punching force of over ten thousand kilograms.
And this was merely the initial stage of martial cultivation. The farther one progressed, the more terrifying a martial artist's physical qualities became. It was said that among the Inner Sect Uncle-Masters, someone had once lain down drunk to rest in a small mountain, only to crush the entire mountain beneath him.
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