If It Were You, How Would You Resolve It?

"Yeah, long time no see."

Chen Zhixing likewise looked at Chen Zhaosheng and spoke casually.

Ten years ago, Chen Zhaosheng had entered Treasure Body at the age of three, and the news had quickly swept through the Eastern Xuan Thirteen Provinces.

At five, Chen Zhaosheng had entered the ninth level of Treasure Body, and his fame had soared even higher! Countless people called him a young king! Immediately afterward, Qianyang Academy, the top academy of the Eastern Xuan Region, extended an olive branch to Chen Zhaosheng.

Chen Zhaosheng had then entered Qianyang Academy to cultivate. Counting the time, the two of them had already gone eight years without seeing each other.

"How have Third Uncle and Third Aunt been lately?" Chen Zhaosheng asked.

"Fine, I guess. They went wandering to the ends of the earth," Chen Zhixing replied casually.

After that, Chen Zhaosheng fell silent, as if he had run out of things to say.

Chen Zhixing smiled and did not mind. He turned and found a corner to sit down in.

Chen Zhaosheng had always treated him as an imaginary enemy in his heart.

Chen Zhixing naturally knew this.

This fellow had left Ziwei's Chen Clan for eight years. Every so often, he would send people to inquire about the clan's situation, and even pretend it was "by chance" as he casually asked about Chen Zhixing's situation too.

Wasn't he just trying to find out how far his cultivation had progressed?

As for that, Chen Zhixing only smiled and did not care.

It was just a child's competitive spirit. He could understand.

Suddenly.

"Last month, I stepped into the Profound Clarity Realm," Chen Zhaosheng suddenly said calmly.

The moment these words fell.

It was instantly like one stone stirring up a thousand waves.

The entire mountaintop erupted in an uproar! "What? Chen Zhaosheng has already stepped into the Profound Clarity Realm?"

"Hiss—! If I'm not remembering wrong, Chen Zhaosheng is only thirteen, right? A thirteen-year-old in the Profound Clarity Realm—this is too terrifying!"

"With this speed, even looking across the world today, he counts among the very top tier, doesn't he?"

"So this is a Nine Ancient Marks Wielder? Too astonishing!"

"Sigh, I'm already fifteen, and I'm still spinning around in the Treasure Body Realm. This gap is way too huge!"

"People really can't be compared to people!"

For a moment, the gazes of all the Chen Clan disciples looking at Chen Zhaosheng were filled with amazement and envy.

The Clan Elder responsible for teaching was instantly overjoyed and said, "What? Zhaosheng, you entered the Profound Clarity Realm? For such a joyous matter, why didn't you tell the clan? Hahaha, Zhaosheng truly deserves to be the Prodigy of my Chen Clan. Your future is boundless!"

Chen Zhaosheng paid no attention to these voices. Not even his mood changed.

Praise like today's—over the past eight years, he had seen far, far too much of it.

He still looked at Chen Zhixing. Only, in his calm eyes, there was now a touch of burning intensity.

"Oh, then congratulations. But what does that have to do with me?" Chen Zhixing asked in confusion.

"And you?" Chen Zhaosheng's gaze burned as he spat out two brief words.

"Me?"

Chen Zhixing smiled and was just about to speak.

"Young Master Zhaosheng, why are you asking him? He's just someone who idles about all day. He isn't worth your concern."

A cold female voice suddenly rang out.

Lu Ying walked up from the mountain path to the side, then sat down beside Chen Zhaosheng with extreme naturalness. She took out a fragrant silk handkerchief and gently wiped Chen Zhaosheng's forehead, then spoke softly:

"Young Master Zhaosheng, there's still one issue I don't understand from my cultivation. Could you teach me later?"

At the sight, Chen Zhixing was first stunned, then speechless.

These two had actually gotten together? He glanced at Lu Ying and could not help shaking his head lightly.

A woman who clung to the powerful and trampled the low like this—thank goodness he hadn't taken a liking to her yesterday.

And what was with this woman's inexplicable hostility toward him?

Was it because yesterday, she had felt she lost face in front of everyone? Chen Zhixing did not feel angry. He only found it funny inside.

On the other side.

Seeing the conversation had been interrupted, Chen Zhaosheng frowned slightly and said, "Mm. I'll teach you later, then."

"All right, then I'll have to trouble Young Master Zhaosheng."

Lu Ying immediately squeezed out a sweet smile, then moved a little closer to Chen Zhaosheng, as if she wished she could glue her entire body to him.

Even so, she did not forget to cast Chen Zhixing a sidelong glance and sneered, "Unlike some people, without much ability but with quite the temper."

"He has no small amount of ability."

Chen Zhaosheng suddenly spoke, his voice faint.

"Huh?"

Lu Ying froze, puzzled. She clearly was helping Chen Zhaosheng speak up, so why had Chen Zhaosheng turned around and started speaking up for Chen Zhixing?

"Nothing."

Chen Zhaosheng did not explain. Instead, he gave Chen Zhixing a meaningful look and said, "My little brother, I hope you can give me a surprise in the Southern Border Trial. Don't disappoint me."

With that, Chen Zhaosheng closed his eyes and said no more.

The Chen Family disciples around them all looked as if they were watching a show, but none of them dared to cut in.

Whether it was Chen Zhaosheng, who was like a Dragon among Men, or Chen Zhixing, who had nothing but a fine skin and was in truth unremarkable in every other aspect...

They were both direct descendants of the Chen Family, not people branch-family disciples like them could discuss.

In the Chen Family, bloodline was ranked with extreme severity, the river Jing and the river Wei kept utterly distinct! "All right, all right, do you still want to listen to the lesson or not?"

The Clan Elder sitting on the bluestone glared, then immediately pointed at a Chen Family disciple who was letting his attention wander and asked, "You, tell me. Where did this old man get to just now?"

That Chen Family disciple was suddenly called on, and inwardly he cried bitterly. Bracing himself, he replied, "Elder was just talking about how to establish oneself in the Cultivation World?"

"Mm, correct."

The Clan Elder stroked his blue beard in satisfaction and smiled. "If you want to establish yourself in the Cultivation World, aside from being strong enough yourself, you must also have brains."

"Otherwise, if you have no brains, even if your cultivation is stronger, you can easily offend someone stronger than yourself and lose your life for it."

"Such examples are not rare in the Cultivation World."

The Clan Elder pointed at that Chen Family disciple and said, "This old man will give an example."

"Suppose you have just entered the Cultivation World, and in an inn you see a pair of Dao Companions. You observe that the woman is stunningly beautiful, exactly the type you admire, while the man beside her is plain and unremarkable. At once your lust swells, and you hurry forward to hook up with that woman. In the end, it turns out you have eyes but cannot recognize Mount Tai: the man beside that stunning woman is in truth an extremely powerful senior. At the start, you failed to see through his strength and accidentally offended him with your words. This senior immediately reveals his power and, in a fit of anger, is about to make your blood splash three feet."

"This old man asks you: at such a time, how should you resolve it with brains?"

Hearing this, that Chen Family disciple's face immediately produced a smile uglier than crying.

Damn it, why was he the one being called on again?

"R-reporting to Elder, if it were me, I-I would apologize and offer compensation, s-say that I had eyes but failed to recognize Mount Tai and accidentally offended Senior?" the Chen Family disciple stammered.

"Inferior! If apologies were useful, what would anyone need strength for?"

The Clan Elder shook his head, then looked toward another Chen Family disciple and said, "If it were you, how would you resolve and respond to it with brains?"

That Chen Family disciple shook out his shoulders, evidently quite confident.

"Reporting to Elder, if it were me, I would first apologize and offer compensation, saying that I had acted unintentionally and that Senior's Dao Companion could only be blamed for being far too beautiful. Then I would tell him that I come from the Chen Family! This is called courtesy before force—borrowing influence to pressure others and make him feel some fear!"

"Middling! There is something to your method, but if you ran into someone with a fiery temper, he might think you were threatening him. He could simply decide to go through with it to the bitter end and kill you outright!"

The Clan Elder continued shaking his head and pointed at another Chen Family disciple.

After several answers in a row, the Clan Elder was greatly dissatisfied with all of them.

When he once again pointed at a Chen Family disciple and asked, that person immediately answered with a face full of panic, "If it were me... I would kneel down and apologize to him, pay my respects, slap my own face, then say that I looked down on others with dog eyes and had a dog's gall reaching the heavens, and beg him to let me off this once."

"E-Elder, do you think that would work? If not, I... why don't I kowtow to him a few more times?"

After saying this, that person looked nervously at the Clan Elder.

Hearing this, Chen Zhixing, sitting at the back in the corner, could no longer hold it in and burst out laughing.

My heavens! What kind of fatal questions are these?

One word—

Brilliant! Whoosh—! The Clan Elder sitting on the bluestone immediately glared furiously at Chen Zhixing and said, "Impudent!"

"Chen Zhixing, it is one thing for you to be ignorant and incompetent, but how dare you laugh here?"

"What? Have you learned so well, or do you think this old man's question is funny?"

Chen Zhixing waved his hands again and again as he explained, "No, no. This disciple merely thought of some other funny matter and could not help himself for a moment. I was not laughing at Elder. I guarantee I won't laugh again. Mm, hahahaha... apologies, this disciple really can't hold it in, hahahahaha!"

When the Clan Elder saw this, his expression slowly darkened, his face cold as frost.

"Good. You're laughing, are you? Then this old man will ask you: if you encountered such a situation, how would you resolve and respond to it with brains?"

After saying this, the Clan Elder stared coldly at Chen Zhixing, cold light flickering constantly in his eyes.

Chen Zhixing looked at the Clan Elder, who had been thoroughly enraged, and felt helpless in his heart.

After racking his brains for half a day and still failing to think of an answer, Chen Zhixing could only blink and reply, "Th-then I'd tell him: I have brains, so don't mess with me! Mm?"

Hua—! As soon as these words fell, the other Chen Family disciples were first stunned. Then a violent roar of laughter rang out through the hall.

Some went even further, bending over at the waist, laughing so hard they could not straighten up.

"Chen Zhixing!!!"

The Clan Elder's face instantly turned ashen.