In the eyes of many, Lin Zhengren was an honest and steadfast gentleman, refined and courteous.
And remarkably resilient.
Or perhaps "resilient" was the deepest impression Lin Zhengren had left on them during this period.
People always picked on the soft persimmons.
They all knew how many people had scrambled for a chance to fight Lin Zhengren, and how much effort it had taken to "coincidentally" face him in the selection matches.
Every person who managed to meet Lin Zhengren was naturally confident they could beat him with ease.
On paper, every one of them seemed stronger than Lin Zhengren.
And in fact, they were.
After narrowly winning his first match, Lin Zhengren had been on the back foot in each of the next two.
He had been covered in wounds after every fight.
But each time, he had clenched his teeth and endured to the bitter end. Even in a losing position, he had always found a flaw in his opponent and snatched victory from defeat.
He truly wasn't strong enough, but he truly was resilient.
It was enough to inspire respect.
Stumbling and staggering all the way, he had somehow made it this far.
A refined courtyard somewhere on Jing Street.
Lin Zhengren backed out of the courtyard with a humble expression and said earnestly, "Please, everyone, don't see me out. Senior Sister Jiang's suggestion is something I'll certainly consider carefully."
After a long exchange of courtesies, the people inside dispersed, and the courtyard gate closed.
Lin Zhengren's refined face showed no anger or resentment. He only looked somewhat worried as he shook his head, sighed, and walked back alone.
As one of the Dao-Subordinate kingdoms, the increasingly powerful Zhuang Kingdom could now claim a decent courtyard in Jing Kingdom's territory.
Of course, it still couldn't compare to