Second Floor of the Mess Hall

After returning to District Eight, Yang Chen returned the horse and hurried to the dining hall.

"So many people!"

Unlike yesterday, the dining hall was packed today. Many people looked exhausted, yet they were wolfing down their food.

Some disciples' clothes were extremely dirty. Clearly, today's tasks had been far from easy.

Yang Chen once again felt fortunate about his decision. Without those five Spirit Crystals, he would likely have been just like these people, worn down by arduous tasks with barely any time left to cultivate.

He swept his gaze around but did not spot Zhu Xi. After a brief moment of thought, he headed straight for the second floor.

"Damn it, another one heading upstairs!"

Seeing him climb the stairs, many of those who noticed revealed envious expressions.

Because it meant the other party had enough Spirit Crystals in his pocket—and Spirit Crystals meant the speed at which one advanced.

"Good birth is better than anything."

"Isn't that the truth? If we're talking talent, they might not even be stronger than me!"

"Keep your voice down. Those who can eat on the second floor are bound to cultivate far faster than us. Don't let them bear a grudge against you, or disaster may come knocking someday."

At those words, some disciples immediately fell silent.

Yet a small number still looked indignant, silently swearing that they would cultivate diligently and trample these so-called geniuses from aristocratic clans beneath their feet.

What they could not possibly know was that those richer than them would only work even harder at cultivation. Thus, upon scales that had never been balanced to begin with, the gap between them would not shrink—it would only grow wider and wider.

Yang Chen vaguely heard people discussing him, but he paid it no mind. With his head held high and chest out, he arrived on the second floor.

The second floor was considerably smaller, but both its quietness and furnishings far surpassed those downstairs. Every seat was spaced more than a zhang apart, and even the tables and chairs were exceptionally refined.

At a glance, over a dozen people had already arrived on the second floor. Every one of them was spotless, clearly indicating that their tasks had all been quite easy.

Quite a few people looked over at his arrival, including the girl Yang Chen had encountered today. She was seated with two young men of extraordinary bearing.

Their gazes met. Yang Chen gave a slight nod before withdrawing his gaze and heading toward the serving window.

"Qingqing, what is his background?"

Beside the girl, a handsome young man asked in a low voice.

Qingqing shook her head. "I met him once in the spirit fields. Other than that, I know nothing."

The two young men nodded and casually dropped the subject.

Most of those who ate on the second floor had extraordinary factions backing them. But Feng Country was vast, with forces large and small as numerous as ox hairs. They had no interest in learning about every last one.

Yang Chen arrived at the window and learned the prices after a short conversation.

The second floor offered Fierce Beast Meat. One Spirit Crystal could be exchanged for eighty jin of First Order Early Stage Fierce Beast Meat, with a minimum payment of one Spirit Crystal each time. Any unfinished Fierce Beast Meat could be saved for the next meal.

Beast Soup was also available. For one Spirit Crystal, one could drink two large bowls every day.

Yang Chen did not hesitate much before readily paying two Spirit Crystals.

"Give me ten jin of Fierce Beast Meat first."

A moment later, he carried a tray in one hand and a bowl of soup in the other, found an empty seat, and sat down.

After a whole day, he had long since become ravenous. The moment he sat down, he could not wait to dig in.

"Pfft..."

Suddenly, a scoff sounded beside him. Yang Chen glanced over and saw a thick-browed, big-eyed young man looking at him with faint disdain.

Seeing Yang Chen look over, the young man arrogantly raised his chin and scrutinized Yang Chen from on high.

Yang Chen truly had not expected someone to flaunt their superiority even over this. Too lazy to argue with him, he simply did as he pleased and buried his head in his food.

"Hey, could you keep it down? Or perhaps, would you kindly go eat on the first floor?"

The thick-browed young man spoke with evident impatience, his tone carrying a hint of coldness.

Slurp!

Yang Chen took a large gulp of soup and patted his stomach in satisfaction. Only then did he say calmly, "If you find it too noisy, you can take your food back to your residence and savor it slowly. You can come to this second floor, I can come here, and so can everyone else."

"Insolence! Where are you from, to dare show such disrespect to this young lord?!"

The thick-browed young man slammed the table, a flash of anger at being slighted passing through his eyes.

His status was noble, and he had always ordered people about as he pleased. From childhood to adulthood, no one had ever dared act so brazenly before him.

"You'll naturally learn who I am in the future. This is the Sun Moon Sword Sect, not your own little patch of land. There's no need to use your status to suppress others—it will only make you a laughingstock."

Yang Chen did not fear him. Within the Sun Moon Sword Sect, one's status outside held very little sway—unless this young man could truly cover the heavens with one hand even here.

But if he truly had such a background, he presumably would not have needed to enter the Sun Moon Sword Sect through the assessment, much less be in the same place as Yang Chen, starting out as a Labor Disciple.

Quite a few people on the second floor wore expressions of watching a show. The young man beside Qingqing chuckled softly. "This fellow has quite the nerve. He actually dared to anger a direct descendant of the Meng Clan of Leizhou."

Qingqing did not even raise her head. "The Meng Clan is nothing special."

As the two spoke, the last of the three young men did not so much as lift his eyelids. He merely said faintly, "Eat."

The moment he spoke, the youth immediately fell silent, even withdrawing his gaze.

On the other side, the thick-browed youth's expression darkened slightly. He did not continue making trouble, seemingly realizing that throwing his status around here really was laughable.

He gave Yang Chen a deep look, then flicked his sleeve and left with a grim face.

Such a clean and decisive departure instead left a faint knot in Yang Chen's heart, but that was all. In the Sun Moon Sword Sect, strength was the only standard by which one earned the right to speak.

He was confident that he could advance by leaps and bounds, crushing the outstanding talents of his generation beneath him. When that day came, the dispute of words today would naturally be settled.

He swept through the food like a whirlwind through fallen leaves, then left at last, thoroughly satisfied.

The moment he stepped out of the dining hall, he saw Zhu Xi hurrying over. Yang Chen stopped him. "Brother Zhu, why are you so late today?"

At the sight of Yang Chen, Zhu Xi's eyes lit up with a smile. "Ah! I got too absorbed in cultivation again!"

Yang Chen could not help laughing. He did not know much about Zhu Xi, but now it seemed the other truly was a cultivation fanatic.

"This is already the second time. If you're any later next time, the dining hall won't save any food for you. Go eat. I'll head back first."

Leaving those words behind, Yang Chen strode away.

After returning to his room, he lay down on the bed and began restoring his vitality and spirit.

This time, he woke after less than an hour. Upon waking, he summoned the panel:

[Realm: Quasi-Martialist, Punching Force: 904 kilograms]

"As expected of a Spirit Grade Top-tier Cultivation Method. Even without a Qi Strength Pill, one round of cultivation actually increased my punching force by eleven kilograms."

Joy appeared in Yang Chen's eyes as he once more realized the benefits of a great sect. If it had been the cultivation method of the Fu Long Yang Clan, even after cultivating until he was utterly exhausted, gaining three kilograms would already have counted as extraordinary talent.

Of course, cultivating like this consumed a tremendous amount of blood and vitality. Fortunately, he could now eat Fierce Beast Meat at every meal. He only needed to press forward with all his strength in cultivation, without worrying at all about running short of blood and vitality.

With a smile on his face, Yang Chen threw himself into cultivation once more.