Loyalty

The next morning, after the seven from the dormitory finished breakfast, Zhuang Jin and Xiong Lei turned off toward the Martial Student Training Ground. Xiang Qichen asked casually, and Zhuang Jin did not hide it, saying they were going to see whether they could still drink Qi Channel Opening Soup.

"Fine, then go ahead!"

Xiang Qichen waved them off. Now that he was the dormitory boss, he did not think he could bring himself to do something so beneath his dignity. At the same time, he looked down somewhat on Zhuang Jin's penny-pinching behavior.

Qian Wende was tempted too, but when he considered the impression he had left on Ping Yongfeng, he had no choice but to abandon the idea.

"Brother Zhuang, I'll head to the Training Ground first." This time, even Bi Kai did not follow. He knew Zhuang Jin had been personally sent over by Ping Yongfeng; he did not have that kind of standing with Ping Yongfeng.

Lin Hong and Jiao Kun had originally belonged to other Training Grounds, so they did not go either.

As Zhuang Jin and Xiong Lei made their way over, Zhuang Jin noticed that Xiong Lei seemed rather nervous. His hands kept wiping sweat on his clothes as he asked, "Jinzi, how do I look today? Is there anything off about me?"

Zhuang Jin looked him up and down. "You look fine. Nothing's off. No, Brother Xiong, it's not like you haven't met Miss Yun before. You weren't like this last time, were you?"

Xiong Lei scratched his head, somewhat embarrassed. "Well, we haven't seen each other for a day or two. I don't know if Miss Yun has forgotten me... Say, I didn't prepare anything. Isn't that a little bad?"

Zhuang Jin: ...

What, did he think this was some matchmaking meeting? He even needed to prepare a gift?

Seeing Xiong Lei so flustered, at a loss for what to do, Zhuang Jin secretly shook his head. Leaving aside the fact that their focus right now should be training, even if he wanted to chase a woman, how could anything come after this when he was so nervous he could barely speak?

When Zhuang Jin and Xiong Lei arrived at Epsilon-Character Number One Training Field, the more than twenty Martial Students were all surprised to see them return. Many greeted them and asked about matters among the Formal Martial Artists. Unlike Xiong Lei, who could not handle such enthusiasm and felt somewhat unaccustomed to it, Zhuang Jin was much more natural. He remained neither overly familiar nor arrogant, and simply answered a few questions.

Since they had come after estimating the time, Song Lan arrived to distribute the Qi Channel Opening Soup after only a few words. The Martial Students promptly went over to line up.

Song Lan was quite surprised and delighted to see Zhuang Jin. She greeted him and even offered to ladle him a bowl. Zhuang Jin declined with a smile and did not let her serve him. Though that was precisely why he had come, he still intended to follow the plan and wait for Ping Yongfeng to arrive so he could inform him first.

Yes, in this world that judged by looks, Song Lan seemed to notice Xiong Lei at Zhuang Jin's side only after finishing her conversation with Zhuang Jin. She stuck out her tongue apologetically and greeted him as well.

Miss Yun did not come today. After all, she did not inspect the grounds every day; perhaps she had other matters to attend to. Xiong Lei was quite disappointed. Seeing how absent-minded and soul-lost he looked, Zhuang Jin told him to leave first. Yet Xiong Lei forced out a stiff smile, patted his chest, and declared that he had to be loyal, refusing to go.

Song Lan suddenly chimed in from the side, "When I came over, I saw Sister Yun at the Epsilon-Character Number 3 Training Field. If you head out now, you might run into her!"

She was only fifteen or sixteen, at the lively age of Spirit Movement. She was clearly teasing him.

"Really?" Xiong Lei instantly became excited. Then he looked at Zhuang Jin, coughed twice, and said, "Well, Jinzi, I trust you'll be fine on your own. I just remembered I have something to do, so I'll be going first!"

With that, he rushed out as though his backside were on fire.

Zhuang Jin: ...

Hadn't they just agreed to be loyal? Look at him, putting women before friends. Truly worthy of being Xiong Lei!

Song Lan could not help smiling at the sight, covering her mouth as she chuckled softly.

Before long, Ping Yongfeng arrived. When Zhuang Jin explained why he had come, Ping Yongfeng immediately laughed and scolded, "You brat, you've already become a Formal Martial Artist, yet you're still thinking about this Qi Channel Opening Soup!"

Seeing that Ping Yongfeng was clearly not angry, Zhuang Jin put on a pitiful face and said, "Master Ping, you know it too. A dose of Black Essence Powder costs five qian of silver, and each Black Fiend Palm Medicine Pack costs another qian of silver... I'm poor, so how could I not pinch pennies and calculate every coin? I came shamelessly to beg you for a bowl, to tide me over!"

He did not say that he was drinking the bowl that had originally belonged to him. Instead, he said he wished to ask Ping Yongfeng for a bowl, immediately turning the question of whether Martial Students could return for Qi Channel Opening Soup after becoming Formal Martial Artists into a matter between the two of them.

Ping Yongfeng immediately understood and played along. "By rights, once you become Formal Martial Artists, you can no longer come back for Qi Channel Opening Soup. There's no such rule. But I see you as one of my own younger kin, and you look dear to me... Fine, fine. Consider this bowl my treat."

He had realized the issue as well. Even if he did not mind Zhuang Jin returning daily to drink his bowl—and even welcomed Zhuang Jin's lack of formality—what if the other Formal Martial Artists who left from here this month followed suit after seeing Zhuang Jin's example?

On a larger scale, this would not even be limited to Epsilon-Character Number One Training Field. What if Martial Artists from other Training Grounds followed suit as well? Would he not, as the one who started it all, offend people for no reason?

But now that Zhuang Jin had changed his wording, turning the matter of drinking his daily bowl of Qi Channel Opening Soup into asking Ping Yongfeng for a bowl, the initiative rested with the Martial Arts Instructor. It sidestepped that issue, so there was no fear of other Formal Martial Artists copying him.

This boy is clever, Ping Yongfeng secretly marveled. The more he looked at Zhuang Jin, the more he liked him. If not for the fact that he had no daughter, he would have wanted to take him on as a son-in-law.

After watching Zhuang Jin finish a bowl of Qi Channel Opening Soup, Ping Yongfeng called him aside and cautioned him, "You are now a Formal Martial Artist. Unlike when you were a Martial Student, when one bowl of Qi Channel Opening Soup could supply a whole day's expenditure from practicing Stance Training, you can probably refine the medicinal power in a bowl within half an hour now. So afterward, you still need to use Black Essence Powder when you should. You mustn't skimp on it and hurt your body."

"Also, after drinking the Qi Channel Opening Soup, you need to refine it as quickly as possible. The faster you refine it, the less harm it does to your body..."

That was also one reason why, after teaching for the time it took an incense stick to burn each day, he immediately left: he had to refine the medicinal power of the Qi Channel Opening Soup.

"Thank you for your guidance, Master Ping. Then I'll be leaving?" Zhuang Jin listened earnestly, gave a respectful bow, and only then made as if to depart.

"Get lost, get lost!" Though Ping Yongfeng scolded him with a smile, his feet did not stop moving. He escorted Zhuang Jin out before turning back. When he returned and saw the Martial Students not practicing Stance Training but instead huddled together and watching the excitement, he immediately found the sight displeasing and barked, "What are you looking at? Have every last one of you grasped your blood qi? Have you sensed the Martial Practitioner Bottleneck? When will you become Formal Martial Artists?"

Under those three soul-snatching questions, the Martial Students all became like wilted flowers, hanging their heads in dejection.

Only then did Ping Yongfeng nod in satisfaction before scolding again, "Look at Zhuang Jin! Excellent aptitude, yet he still thinks diligently and trains bitterly. Now look at every one of you—poor aptitude, yet you still don't know how to work hard. What a pack of useless good-for-nothings!"

When the Martial Students heard Ping Yongfeng compare them to Zhuang Jin, then considered the difference in treatment, how could they not know that Zhuang Jin was Ping Yongfeng's favorite, while they were the useless good-for-nothings he could not stand no matter how he looked at them? Envious of Zhuang Jin and thoroughly provoked, a sense of urgency rose in all their hearts.