Senior Brother Zhao? Junior Brother Zhao?

Yang Zilan saw that Zhao Han was somewhat of a talent, and since he was the only other person in the martial arts hall besides herself who liked archery, she had a mind to set him on the right path.

"My personality is innate; I can't change it," Zhao Han said, shaking his head.

If I have the strength, why would I need to take someone as a master? My master is the System.

As for others, who could enable him to master a martial art in a single day?

If they couldn't do that, yet still wanted to be his master and make him kowtow to them, forget it.

"Sigh... you'd better take care of yourself," Yang Zilan sighed and walked away.

Yu Qiuyue had not heard their conversation from a distance.

But seeing that Zhao Han had established a connection with Yang Zilan, the anger in her heart grew even more intense, yet she dared not bully Zhao Han anymore.

"When will that mysterious person finally appear? If he were to help me, let alone a mere Liang Feng, even the position of Head of the Yu Family would be within my grasp."

"Sigh..."

Yu Qiuyue was tormented internally. She cast a resentful glance at Zhao Han before walking out of the martial arts hall's gate to prepare the Twenty Taels of Silver that Liang Feng demanded.

Once everyone had left, Han Yang and the other two roommates, who had respectful expressions on their faces, finally stepped forward and said:

"Junior Brother Zhao—no, we should call you Senior Brother Zhao now."

"I saw that Senior Sister Yang was paying special attention to you just now. Senior Sister Yang rarely pays attention to others; you've managed to get on her good side."

Zhao Han shook his head: "Not at all. It's just that we both like archery, so she specifically wanted to guide me."

"Besides, I haven't even entered the threshold of the Mad Saber Nine Forms yet. The master doesn't want to take me as a disciple; he told me to wait until after next month's assessment to decide."

"Ah! Is that so..." Han Yang was somewhat surprised.

If someone with Innate Divine Strength couldn't become a disciple, what about himself? He had only just barely finished the first layer and couldn't even grasp the techniques for the second layer yet.

Becoming a disciple was too far off.

Or rather, the Skin Refining Realm was not easy.

The other two were secretly pleased; now they didn't have to call him Senior Brother.

Han Yang smiled: "Let's go, Junior Brother Zhao. It's getting late, and we agreed to go have a good meal."

Just a moment ago they were calling him Senior Brother Zhao, and now it was Junior Brother Zhao again. It seemed that Zhao Han failing to become a disciple was very much to their liking.

"That's right, Junior Brother Zhao. We're treating you tonight, just eat to your heart's content."

"You were the biggest contributor to today's assessment, after all!"

Zhao Han smiled without calling him out; it was just a title, no need to get hung up on it.

The four of them walked out with their arms around each other's shoulders, leaving many disciples looking at one another in confusion.

Wang Qiang and Liu Gang breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, Zhao Han hadn't become a disciple; otherwise, they would have felt very uncomfortable.

"Innate Divine Strength, nothing more than that."

On the street, Han Yang kept introducing everything around them.

He had chatted with Zhao Han before and knew that Zhao Han was not a local.

Zhao Han possessed Innate Divine Strength, comparable to the Skin Tempering realm, and Han Yang was keen to befriend him to avoid having no one to rely on at the martial arts academy.

By evening, the four of them arrived at an ordinary restaurant called Four Seas Restaurant.

Han Yang said with a smile, "Junior Brother Zhao, don't let this place's plain appearance fool you. The food here is actually better than at Bright Moon Restaurant, and the prices are quite affordable."

"Then I'll have to give it a try."

Entering Four Seas Restaurant, the four of them requested a table by the window on the second floor and ordered their meal.

Various dishes were served in less than half an hour, along with some low-alcohol wine.

Zhao Han tucked in with gusto; this was the best meal he had eaten since transmigrating.

After the meal, the relationship between the four had grown much closer.

When it came time to pay, Han Yang footed the bill, which came to a full three taels of silver.

A single meal cost him an entire month's tuition, and the pain was clearly visible on Han Yang's face.

And this was just an ordinary restaurant; if it had been a higher-end one, he would have likely suffered a major financial blow.

Just as the four of them were walking out, another group of diners entered. These people wore black clothes and black conical hats, clearly belonging to some faction.

As Zhao Han passed by, he distinctly felt a familiar aura coming from them.

It was the aura of Yin Tong Cult cultists.

Zhao Han remained calm, laughing and chatting with the other three as they left the restaurant, without drawing any attention from the group.

By the time they returned to the martial arts academy, it was already past eight o'clock. Old Man Mi opened the gate for the four of them, looking displeased.

"It's not peaceful out there right now, so you four had better not wander around blindly."

"If you can stay at the academy and practice your blade techniques, then do so. I've seen quite a few strangers loitering outside our gates lately."

Old Man Mi offered a well-intentioned warning.

"Got it, Old Man Mi. Just go to sleep, you have no business here," Han Yang said, waving his hand impatiently.

A gatekeeping old man, yet he thinks he can boss us apprentices around? Just stick to opening and closing the gate and stop with all the nonsense.

"We pay tuition to the martial arts hall, and the hall gives you a meal, which basically means we're the ones feeding you. Do you have to nag us every time we come back? How annoying."

"Old Han, what's the point of talking to an old man with one foot in the grave? Getting back to sleep is what matters."

"I need to take a cold shower so I can get some sleep later."

Zhao Han, however, remembered Yu Qiuyue from earlier that day. She had promised him one hundred taels of silver, and he still needed to collect it.

He said to Old Man Mi, "Right, Senior Brother Han, you guys go ahead. I have some business to take care of outside, so I might be back quite late."

"Old Man Mi, leave the gate for me later."

"Wah..."

"Heh, I know, I know. You kid is always staying out late; I've got you memorized," Old Man Mi replied with a yawn.

"Junior Brother Zhao, is there something important you need to do, going out this late?" Han Yang asked.

"Just a small private matter, I'll be back soon," Zhao Han said, waving him off.

Seeing that Zhao Han didn't want to talk about it, Han Yang smiled. "In that case, we'll leave the door to our room unlocked for you too. Stay safe on the road and come back early."

"Many thanks!" Zhao Han thanked him and turned to leave.

Watching Zhao Han's retreating figure, Old Man Mi was certain that this newcomer was likely heading out to train in martial arts deep into the night. Truly, young people were full of vigor.

The Yu family was a small clan in Blackwater County with over thirty members, half of whom were kin and the other half servants.

They made a living running small businesses and couldn't compare to high-ranking households like the Liu family.

After finding a passerby on the street who was out late and paying a few copper coins to make some inquiries, Zhao Han set off.

Arriving outside the Yu Family Residence, he pressed his ear against the wall to listen; there was no one inside.

He then took out a bamboo hat and a face mask, putting them on, and changed into a set of sturdy outdoor clothes so that no one would recognize him.

With a single leap, he grabbed the edge of the wall and vaulted inside.

"Woof, woof, woof..."

A big black dog suddenly began to bark wildly. This was something Zhao Han hadn't expected—he hadn't anticipated a dog being here.

"Here, eat this!"

He took a piece of dried meat from his storage space and tossed it out. It landed in front of the big black dog, which immediately stopped barking.

Sure enough, give a dog a bite to eat, and it thinks you're a good person.

Fortunately, the big black dog's barking didn't attract anyone's attention. Perhaps the dog barked for no reason often, and as a result, nothing ever happened.

It was just like the story of "The Boy Who Cried Wolf"—after a while, no one would bother to come and check.

Unless it kept barking continuously, then it would definitely mean someone had broken in.