Zhong Ming's Influence

Among the few people watching Zhong Ming, Jiang Yue was undoubtedly the most helpless.

Yesterday, he had already sensed that Zhong Ming might have a chance of earning a Class A rating.

And he had chosen the course of action most beneficial to himself.

—Have his younger sister befriend Zhong Ming, perhaps even marry into an alliance with him, using that bond to form an alliance within Dragon Stream Peak.

Of course, that was not his primary goal.

Because they had made a deal before, he had also wanted to trade with Zhong Ming for the secret that gave him confidence in earning a Class A rating.

"Zhong Ming has most likely comprehended something else again..."

Jiang Yue's schemes were sound, but Jiang Xiaoyu was unwilling... or rather, she did not want to take the initiative.

"Zhong Ming might not even earn a Class A rating... And even if there is a marriage alliance, he should be the one pursuing me."

"..."

Those words made Jiang Yue sigh deeply.

Damn it, I shouldn't have spoiled Xiao Yu so much before.

The two of them were in different circumstances.

From childhood, Jiang Yue had been raised as the family's direct heir. Everything he learned and considered was about maximizing benefits.

Jiang Xiaoyu, on the other hand, had slightly poorer talent. Coupled with Jiang Yue's past indulgence, she had never been raised as the family's direct successor and could act as she pleased.

As such, she was a spoiled young lady—more willful and more concerned with saving face.

At this moment, she did not particularly despise Zhong Ming. She was merely throwing a little tantrum, wanting Zhong Ming to pursue her instead.

That attitude left Jiang Yue anxious and powerless.

With Zhong Ming's single-minded devotion to cultivation, how could he possibly come pursue someone?

And quite a few people have already noticed Zhong Ming. If we delay any longer, it will all be too late!

Jiang Yue had a headache. On the other side, Liu Wanyu was also filled with conflict.

Her temperament was similar to Jiang Yue's—she sought to maximize benefits.

But she was not certain whether Zhong Ming could earn a Class A rating.

What troubled her even more was this:

"Even if he earns Class A, will Zhong Ming, born into a poor family, truly cultivate faster in the future than a family disciple rated Class B?"

"...Forget it. I'll wait a little longer. There's no rush."

Besides those two, the ones concerned about Zhong Ming were Youlan and Yi Yunya.

They wanted to know what backing Zhong Ming, a poor-born cultivator with a Third-grade Spiritual Root, had that made him reject their recruitment.

Then, the two women saw Zhong Ming by the stream bank, reading, practicing his sword, and drinking all at once.

Because his reading had reached Minor Accomplishment, Zhong Ming already possessed an air of scholarly refinement. This unusual cultivation method gave him, beyond that Scholarly Demeanor, an added carefree and unrestrained air.

Yet this sight left Yi Yunya speechless.

"Wine, books, and a sword—it does look rather carefree. But does he really think Senior Sister Mo Shuying will value such things and give him a Class A rating?"

Before she had even finished, she added with some disappointment, "I hope his backing is not merely these superficial things. Otherwise..."

Yi Yunya did not finish her sentence, but Youlan already understood what her young lady meant.

If Zhong Ming's reliance went no further than this, she would not give him a second chance.

At the same time, Youlan... was also utterly speechless at Zhong Ming's behavior.

Zhong Ming, drunk and fast asleep, naturally had no idea what others thought of him.

The exhaustion of cultivation, coupled with drinking too much, gave Zhong Ming a thoroughly satisfying sleep.

When he woke, Zhong Ming discovered that it was already the next morning.

Seeing this, Zhong Ming washed up, ate a little, and headed to the place where they cultivated.

But the instant he arrived at the cultivation grounds, Zhong Ming froze.

To his utter speechlessness, he found that today, nearly every cultivator held a book in their left hand, a sword in their right, and had a pot of clear wine beside them.

"???"

"What is going on?"

The scene before him left Zhong Ming completely baffled.

Jiang Yue, whom he questioned, awkwardly hid his wine pot behind his back.

After coughing lightly, he explained why things had turned out this way.

"Ahem, Brother Zhong, they are all imitating you."

"..." Zhong Ming said, "Is that really necessary?"

Zhong Ming was utterly helpless after saying that.

What he did not notice was that Dong Hai, standing behind him, looked as though he wanted to speak but held back, his expression incomparably complicated.

—Zhong Ming had somewhat underestimated his standing among the ordinary disciples of Dragon Stream Peak.

Indeed, during this period, many people had thought Zhong Ming was overestimating himself.

But first, the one judging Zhong Ming was Yi Yunya, the most talented person in their class.

Second, they had noticed that Zhong Ming's target was Class A.

Even Jiang Yue, Liu Wanyu, and the other family disciples with Second-Class Spiritual Roots could not be completely certain of receiving that rating.

Under such circumstances, for a poor-born cultivator with a Third-grade Spiritual Root to set his sights so high naturally gave people the impression that he did not know his own limits.

But while a Class A rating might be beyond him, Zhong Ming was a sure thing for Class B.

Not only Jiang Yue and Liu Wanyu believed that—everyone else at Dragon Stream Peak did as well.

For the ordinary disciples of Dragon Stream Peak, they had never dared hope for a Class A rating. Class B was already the highest pursuit they could aspire to.

That fact alone was enough to make them pay attention to Zhong Ming.

Of course, if that were all, they would have noticed Zhong Ming but would not have imitated his behavior.

The reason nearly everyone had copied him was that among all the disciples certain to receive a Class B rating, Zhong Ming alone came from a poor family and possessed only a Third-grade Spiritual Root!

That resonated with many ordinary disciples and let them glimpse a sliver of hope.

"Jiang Yue has a Second-Class Spiritual Root and an excellent family background. He relies purely on talent; there is no way to learn from him. But Zhong Ming is different. He has a Third-grade Spiritual Root, and so do I. If I imitate Zhong Ming's cultivation method, could I cultivate faster too?"

"I heard that when Zhong Ming was studying the Mountain Stream Diagram, he comprehended something. That was why he gained Jiang Yue's attention... This proves that Zhong Ming's comprehension is outstanding. Someone like him would never do anything useless. There must be some mystery in his reading, drinking, and sword practice."

"I think so too..."

When people were backed into a corner, they became mad.

In his previous life, just to score a few more points on the college entrance exam, countless people had prayed to gods and worshipped Buddha even in a godless society.

Now, the Hundred Day Assessment's rating was not only tied to the ordinary disciples' futures—it was also connected to their lives.

Under such circumstances, having caught sight of a ray of hope, they naturally became especially frenzied.

"..."

After understanding everything, Zhong Ming felt both helpless and conflicted.

Should I warn them?

After considering it, Zhong Ming shook his head. He did not intend to do something so futile.

He understood human nature very well.

"People only believe what they want to believe... If I warn them, they may not believe me. Instead, they may think they have discovered my secret."

"They may even take my advice as proof that I'm afraid they'll use my cultivation method..."

Thinking this, Zhong Ming no longer wished to waste time involving himself in the matter.

"Let them practice slowly. Once they get nothing out of it, they'll naturally give up."

Having made his decision, Zhong Ming intended to ignore everything and begin his own cultivation.

But as soon as he turned around, he saw Mo Shuying standing before him with a dark expression.

"Uh... Senior Disciple Sister, why are you here?"

Those words made Mo Shuying's expression turn even colder.

"Hmph. If I hadn't come, would you have turned Dragon Stream Peak into a gathering place for drunkards?!"

Clearly, Mo Shuying was very dissatisfied with Zhong Ming for causing all this.

Zhong Ming could ignore it, but as the Senior Disciple Sister, with the peak master absent, she held an extremely high position and had to manage Dragon Stream Peak properly. Thus, she needed to deal with this matter.

Understanding that, Zhong Ming could only change his mind.

—He did not want to offend the Senior Disciple Sister, who held high status and controlled the allocation of a portion of the resources.

"Senior Sister, please wait a moment. I'll settle this right away."

With that, Zhong Ming loudly explained to the people around him:

"Ahem, you should have heard the saying: those who learn from me live; those who merely imitate me die."

"My temperament is a little too restrained, and the Dragon Creek Breathing Technique has reached Level 2. To comprehend the vitality of Level 3, I wanted to use drunkenness to make my temperament wild and unbridled."

"You have not even reached Level 2. Your control over the Spiritual Energy within your bodies is already insufficient. If you drink too much, you will only ruin things."

"However, while drinking is no good, you can read more books."

After explaining, Zhong Ming looked toward his Senior Disciple Sister again.

This time, her expression had improved considerably.

"Do not cause such things again next time." After saying that, she did not immediately leave. Instead, she said to Zhong Ming, "To comprehend the Dragon Creek Breathing Technique to Level 2 so quickly, your comprehension is indeed not bad... What grade Spiritual Root did you test as?"

Mo Shuying asked this with a degree of expectation.

Clearly, as Dragon Stream Peak's Senior Disciple Sister, she hoped there would be more geniuses in the sect.

"Third-grade."

"...What a pity."

The ordinary grade of his Spiritual Root brought visible disappointment to Mo Shuying's face, and she immediately abandoned some of her previous thoughts.

However, she did not leave right away. After pondering for a moment, she took out a book from her storage ring.

"These are some cultivation insights I recorded. Since you like books, study them properly."

"Thank you, Senior Disciple Sister."

"No need. Cultivate well—that will be the greatest repayment you can give me."

As she spoke, Mo Shuying went over to Xue Yao's side and began giving her special instruction.

After Zhong Ming's warning, some people believed him and tossed their wine pots aside, while others did not and continued drinking.

Zhong Ming ignored them, and Mo Shuying... ignored them as well.

She only concerned herself with the broader direction. If someone was determined to court death, she would not stop them.

At the same time, Zhong Ming's speech had exposed that he had cultivated his Fundamental Cultivation Method to Level 2.

This made Jiang Yue even more anxious.

"Xiao Yu, if you still don't act, it will all be too late."

Those words made Jiang Xiaoyu turn to look at Zhong Ming. Seeing that he had no intention of paying attention to her at all, Jiang Xiaoyu turned her head away and said unhappily:

"Hmph, then let it be too late. It's not as if I have to marry him."

"You..."

Jiang Xiaoyu was willful, while Liu Wanyu on the other side was also hesitating.

Like Mo Shuying, she disliked Zhong Ming's Third-grade Spiritual Root.

—Among the ordinary disciples of Dragon Stream Peak, a Third-grade Spiritual Root was sufficient. But for true prodigies, it was somewhat lacking.

That burden made Liu Wanyu unable to make up her mind.

On the other side, the mistress-and-servant pair, Youlan and Yi Yunya, were the same.

Yi Yunya said, "In such a short time, he cultivated the Dragon Creek Breathing Technique to Level 2, and he even thought of using 'drinking' to indulge his temperament. Zhong Ming truly has some talent."

Youlan asked, "Should we recruit him?"

Without nearly any hesitation, Yi Yunya shook her head. "I already recruited him once, and both my sincerity and offer were generous. A Mystic-grade retainer of the Golden Jade Tower would normally be beyond the rating of someone with a Third-grade Spiritual Root."

"Unfortunately, his ambitions are too great. And I only have two Earth-tier Retainer slots. For retainers of that rank, I only have the right to recommend them. If I gave him a slot but he failed to pass, I would face some trouble as well..."

At this point, Yi Yunya calmly said:

"Wait until seven days later. By then, the Class A rating will be over, and he will have recognized reality. If you recruit him then, it will work ten times better than it would now."

Because of the flaw of his mediocre Spiritual Root, Liu Wanyu and Yi Yunya both chose to wait.

Unfortunately, they had forgotten something.

Time... was not entirely on their side.

Sometimes, a moment's hesitation became a lifetime of missed opportunity.