Seeking Advice, Slandering

The melodious chime of the bell rang out, signaling the end of the first afternoon class.

The old instructor didn't keep them late this time, but Xian Wu wished he had, just to finish explaining the remaining lines of the Seven Star Divine Curse.

If the instructor wasn't his own, Xian Wu would have kicked his fat ass with his boots. It was infuriating!

"Hey, Brother Wu, what kind of background do you think this new girl has? The Dean himself arranged for her," Lu Piao asked, slinging an arm around Xian Wu's shoulders. "Could she be the Dean's daughter?"

Xian Wu greatly admired Lu Piao's thought process. The Dean's surname was Gao, and his daughter's surname was Ye? This daughter must belong to Old Man Ye next door.

"No matter what her background is, she's someone you and I, as mere plebs, can't afford to mess with," Xian Wu said, crushing his friend's hopes without mercy. Though he hated to admit it, he was a pleb. He wasn't short or ugly, but he was poor.

Poverty was the original sin!

Lu Piao shoved Xian Wu. "Get lost! I'm not a pleb!" He turned and pointed at their deskmate. "Ask Nie Li, Nie Li, am I a pleb?"

Nie Li frowned and nodded absently.

"Huh??? Are you even listening to me, you brat?" Lu Piao grabbed Nie Li by the neck and shook him violently. You ungrateful wretch, calling me a pleb, how dare you!

Seeing that nodding was the wrong answer, Nie Li quickly shook his head.

Lu Piao slung an arm around Nie Li's neck, leaning down to see what he was looking at. He saw Nie Li peeking at the new student, his brow furrowed, his eyes glaring as if the girl owed him a fortune.

"Stop looking, or you'll get a sty!" Lu Piao said, giving Nie Li's shoulder a heavy pat. "She has a noble status; she's not for plebs like you."

As soon as Lu Piao finished speaking, Nie Li's head lolled to the side, and he fainted onto the floor.

"What's wrong, Nie Li? What happened?" Lu Piao quickly helped the upside-down Nie Li up, asking nervously. He had only said a few words, and Nie Li had fainted from anger? How fragile must his mental fortitude be?

"Quick, pinch his philtrum!" Xian Wu reminded him. "Don't just stand there. It's that spot between the nose and the upper lip. Pinch hard; a light pinch won't work."

Lu Piao was truly ruthless, pinching Nie Li's jaw so hard it started to bleed.

With a jolt of intense stimulation, Nie Li slowly regained consciousness.

Seeing that he was lying in Lu Piao's arms, he quickly broke free. He wasn't into that.

"You're awake?" Lu Piao asked, shaking the blood off his hands. "What's wrong, brother? I just said a few jokes, and you fainted?"

Nie Li touched his throbbing lip and looked at his hand, surprised to see blood.

"What... what did you do to me?" Nie Li asked, his eyes wide. As he spoke, his wound pulled, and his entire face contorted in pain.

"What did I do? Of course, I woke you up. Xian Wu told me to pinch your philtrum hard, so blame him if you want to blame anyone." Lu Piao shifted the blame to Xian Wu.

Xian Wu immediately threw the blame back. "I told you to pinch his philtrum, not to pinch it with all your might."

"You said a light pinch wouldn't work, so I used all my strength!" Lu Piao said, hands on his hips, his tone righteous.

As they bickered, Nie Li didn't know who to hold accountable.

Xian Wu changed the subject. "Nie Li, why did you suddenly faint? Did you skip lunch or stay up all night?" He couldn't just faint for no reason, could he? This protagonist was really pathetic.

"I don't know!" Nie Li shook his head. Ever since Ye Ziyun appeared, he had been distracted, as if possessed by something.

"Don't bother me, I'm going to sleep." Nie Li warned them both, then lay down on his desk, resting his arms and falling asleep.

Xian Wu scratched his head, utterly bewildered. Did Nie Li stay up all night cultivating again? Were the students in the beginner Warrior class all this competitive?

The second class was still Demonic Beast Class, covering a Bronze-level Demonic Beast – the Wind Snow Banshee.

Ye Ziyun seemed to have a deep understanding of Wind Snow Demonic Beasts, even correcting the instructor on several minor errors during class.

After class, unable to suppress his longing, Xian Wu, with a nervous heart, approached Ye Ziyun's seat, holding the parchment.

Xiao Ning'er was cold and aloof, while Ye Ziyun was approachable and seemed easy to talk to.

"Hello, classmate Ye Ziyun. My name is Xian Wu. Could you help me interpret these few sentences?" Xian Wu asked, pointing to the Seven Star Divine Curse on the parchment. For someone with OCD, not having the complete cultivation technique was agonizing.

Ye Ziyun picked up the parchment, pouted her lips, and glanced at it. "Although I don't have the profound knowledge of the instructor, I can still interpret these few sentences with some effort. Listen closely..."

Xian Wu had already memorized the Seven Star Divine Curse by heart. Even without looking at the parchment, he could understand which part and which sentence Ye Ziyun was interpreting.

Although Ye Ziyun's interpretation was not as thorough and detailed as the instructor's, with her help, Xian Wu had a general understanding of the meaning of the last few sentences in the latter half.

"Thank you, classmate Ye Ziyun! You've helped me a lot! I'll treat you to a meal tonight – Meal C at the cafeteria, all you can eat!" Xian Wu said excitedly. He finally had the complete cultivation technique and could begin cultivating his Soul Force.

Ye Ziyun smiled and shook her head. "You're welcome, but there's no need for a meal. I'm going home tonight and won't be eating at the academy."

"Oh, I see..." Xian Wu scratched his head. "Consider it a favor I owe you." With that, Xian Wu took back the parchment and skipped back to his seat.

Lu Piao walked over, slung an arm around Xian Wu's neck, gave him a thumbs-up, and whispered with a wink, "Not bad, Brother Wu, your flirting skills are quite advanced. Teach me sometime."

Xian Wu told Lu Piao to get lost and not to distract him from understanding and digesting the Seven Star Divine Curse.

The pure are pure; he had only approached Ye Ziyun for academic purposes. Those with dirty minds saw everything as dirty. He was speechless.

To prevent Ye Ziyun from bothering him, Xiao Ning'er left the classroom as soon as the bell rang.

A female student to Xiao Ning'er's right moved to Xiao Ning'er's seat and whispered, "Classmate Ye Ziyun, I must warn you, be careful of that guy just now."

"Be careful of him?" Ye Ziyun asked, confused.

The female student explained, "His nickname is 'Pants-Stripping Fiend.' On the first day of school, he took off his pants in front of Xiao Ning'er. He's a total pervert! He probably approached you just now for some perverted reason. You must be very careful."

"He... he actually did that to Ning'er!" Ye Ziyun's teeth clenched in anger, her body trembling. She wished she could pin Xian Wu to the ground and beat him up.

The female student fanned the flames. "You're new to the academy, so you don't know, but our academy's Meal C is completely free. He offered to treat you to Meal C because he didn't want to spend money. He's just a stingy cheapskate."

"And also, he likes to report things to the instructors. Be careful not to give him any leverage, or he might use it to blackmail you."

The more Ye Ziyun listened, the angrier she became. She wished her father would immediately expel Xian Wu from the City of Brilliance.

How could such a wicked person exist in this world!