Newcomer

Time flew by, and six or seven days passed. As usual, Zhuang Jin drank a bowl of Qi Channel Opening Soup every morning, then threw himself into martial training for the rest of the day. Stance Training refined the Black Essence Powder, while Quiet Cultivation condensed it. The Inner Breath in his first meridian grew rapidly, accompanied, naturally, by the swift consumption of cultivation provisions. Two packets of Black Essence Powder had already been used up, forcing him to make another trip to the Pill Department.

There was not much else to mention. If anything was worth noting, it was that after agreeing to reconcile, Hou Yong indeed never appeared before him again. When they encountered Guo Jun in the outer courtyard, they would even nod to each other in greeting.

As for the others in the dormitory?

After hesitating, Xiang Qichen ultimately chose to focus on improving his Cultivation Realm rather than pursuing Martial Skills. After all, he considered himself the most talented person in the dormitory. Focusing solely on Martial Skills was something he could not accept, and he harbored even greater ambitions. Perhaps next month, he would not only break through to the Second Meridian, but after doing so, still have enough time left to get his Black Fiend Palm started as well!

There was not much to say about Xiong Lei, the second in the dormitory. Whenever everyone else trained, he trained along with them, though he did not seem particularly invested. Perhaps he was still thinking about Miss Yun?

Other than that, there was the love-hate saga between him and Qian Wende. Qian Wende had a habit of relieving himself at night. Every time, he would ask Xiong Lei for Blotting Paper, and he always forgot to close the door when going in and out. Xiong Lei, who slept by the door, suffered terribly from it. Every time, he would curse and grumble, only to choose forgiveness when Qian Wende called him "Brother Xiong" over and over again. It added no small amount of amusement to the dormitory.

Jiao Kun, the third in the dormitory, also trained in the mornings and afternoons, but he never did any extra training. Every day or two, he would go out to listen to music and watch operas, giving himself a chance to unwind. His days were carefree indeed.

Xiong Lei earnestly tried to persuade him twice because of this, but Jiao Kun did not appreciate it at all, and they nearly got into an argument. It only blew over after the others stepped in to smooth things out.

As for Lin Hong, the fourth in the dormitory, Zhuang Jin had come to see him clearly. Lin Hong did not talk much, but his mind was clear and he kept his talents hidden within. He would not take advantage of others, but neither would he let others take advantage of him. Qian Wende, for instance, could hardly get anything out of Lin Hong. Moreover, though he seemed easy to get along with, he appeared to maintain a certain distance from everyone else in the dormitory.

Qian Wende, the sixth in the dormitory, was living quite happily. He called Jiao Kun "Third Brother" at every turn and ate quite a few of the latter's snacks. As for Xiong Lei, he had probably tested the boundaries and found them, so he kept plucking this sheep for wool. Every time he took paper, he grabbed a small stack. Whenever Xiong Lei said something, he would reply, "I only do this because we're close enough not to stand on ceremony. I wouldn't do this with anyone else." He still often left the door open when coming and going, making Xiong Lei curse and grumble.

At first, Zhuang Jin had spoken privately with Xiong Lei about it once. But Xiong Lei merely waved it off, saying, "Just a few things, just trivial matters. Not worth fussing over." Zhuang Jin shook his head and never mentioned it again. The man himself did not care, so what else could he say?

Yet there was one strange thing. Compared with Zhuang Jin and Lin Hong, whom he could not take advantage of, Bi Kai and Xiang Qichen were also rather generous with what they had. Yet Qian Wende rarely tried to get anything from them. Instead, he called them "Boss" at every turn, like a lackey, doing everything he could to curry favor.

Bi Kai, the seventh in the dormitory, had likely learned his lesson after nearly being strangled to death that night. Recently, he had kept an extremely low profile. Even though Qian Wende went to great lengths to ingratiate himself with him because of his distant uncle Chang Hetong, he was not particularly close with the others in the dormitory.

The sole exception was Zhuang Jin. Perhaps remembering that favor, Bi Kai followed Zhuang Jin around every day, moving in step with him like a younger brother. Gradually, he became closer to Zhuang Jin than even Xiong Lei was, leaving the latter rather sour.

However, Xiong Lei had become a Formal Martial Artist before Zhuang Jin, and his mindset had long since changed. He could not bring himself to keep following Zhuang Jin around as he had when they were Martial Students. Besides, he was somewhat lazy by nature. The environment was no longer as pressing as it had been when they were Martial Students, when failing to become Formal Martial Artists meant leaving. Thus, after lunch and dinner each day, he would first return to the dormitory with Xiang Qichen and the others to rest for a while, and gradually grew more distant.

Time passed just like that, and in the blink of an eye, it was November 25. That day was another of Jiao Kun's self-declared days off. After breakfast, he greeted the others in the dormitory and went out to have some fun.

At noon, the six of them returned to the dormitory and found that a newcomer had arrived.

"My name is Wu Hao. My family works as blacksmiths... These are Frozen Persimmons my father brought over this morning. They're really sweet. Have some." Wu Hao looked dark and thin, with only his eyes shining brightly. His face was square and upright, and one could tell at a glance that he was an honest, straightforward sort of person.

When Zhuang Jin saw Wu Hao, his first thought was that he was probably the hardworking, honest type. His second thought was that Wu Hao likely came from an ordinary family and did not have much of a Cultivation Realm. After all, he was thin, and his palms were covered in calluses.

"You're too polite, little brother!" Qian Wende was still the same as ever, never falling behind when there was an advantage to be had. He was the first to pick out the largest Frozen Persimmon.

Afterward, Xiang Qichen naturally stepped forward and introduced Wu Hao to the rest of the dormitory. Wu Hao then became the eighth in the dormitory as a matter of course.

Martial training that afternoon.

After practicing Quiet Cultivation and condensing the Inner Breath refined through Stance Training, Zhuang Jin emerged from the Quiet Room to find Xiang Qichen reading the Quiet Cultivation booklet to Wu Hao. Seeing him look over, Xiang Qichen explained, "Wu Hao can't read, so I'm reading it to him and explaining a thing or two."

Objectively speaking, after becoming the dormitory boss, Xiang Qichen had indeed taken on the responsibilities of one. Apart from the slightly uncomfortable air of superiority about him, he genuinely did things for the sake of that title. For example, whenever the others asked him questions about cultivation these past few days, he would patiently explain without complaint.

Zhuang Jin nodded, swallowed some Black Essence Powder, and went back to practicing Stance Training.

That afternoon, whenever he came out of the Quiet Room and found no one else outside, Wu Hao would also ask him for guidance. They were dorm mates, after all, and he had eaten the man's Frozen Persimmons at noon, so Zhuang Jin did not mind spending a little time explaining things.

However, he discovered that Wu Hao was somewhat slow-witted. He would first memorize everything by rote, then slowly ponder and digest it on his own.

Even so, with the guidance he received from Zhuang Jin and the others, Wu Hao still gradually grasped Quiet Cultivation over the course of the afternoon. By the time dinner was nearly ready, he had successfully completed one full cycle.

After dinner, Wu Hao did not return to rest for a while like Xiang Qichen, Xiong Lei, Qian Wende, and Lin Hong. Instead, he went straight to the Training Ground with Zhuang Jin and Bi Kai, trained until the Training Ground closed, and returned with them afterward.

When they got back to the dormitory that night, Wu Hao thanked them all again for their guidance that afternoon and handed out Frozen Persimmons.

The Frozen Persimmons really were sweet. Zhuang Jin noticed that Wu Hao had not eaten one himself. He merely sat there, seemingly muttering something under his breath, and Zhuang Jin could not help asking out of curiosity.

"I'm reciting the Quiet Cultivation method. I'm afraid I'll forget it again when I wake up tomorrow morning." Wu Hao smiled sheepishly as he spoke.

Zhuang Jin secretly sighed. This stubborn drive, this willingness to study and work hard—it formed a striking contrast with another person in the dormitory, Jiao Kun.

Speak of Cao Cao, and Cao Cao arrived. Jiao Kun returned just then. There was no need to mention the introductions between him and Wu Hao.

Jiao Kun seemed somewhat off today. His expression was not particularly pleasant when he returned, but they were not close enough for Zhuang Jin to ask about it.

A short while later, Zhuang Jin, Bi Kai, and Xiong Lei returned from washing up outside, only to see Jiao Kun asking Qian Wende to borrow money.