Huang Dequan stopped after running a few steps.
He stood beneath the blazing sun, the smile on his face completely frozen. He lingered there awkwardly, unsure what to do.
His embarrassed yet hopeful gaze fell on Zhou Heling, but she remained expressionless and didn't even look his way. It was obvious that, in her eyes, the lackey who waited on her hand and foot held no status at all.
Wei Shan's scolding, along with countless gazes from those around them, came crashing down on him.
Huang Dequan's face flushed scarlet. He wished he could find a crack in the ground and crawl into it!
Some disciples who had been bullied by Huang Dequan felt an indescribable sense of satisfaction when they saw him like that.
You'd been putting on airs ever since you latched onto an Inner Courtyard disciple.
You strutted around all day like you were somebody. Anyone who didn't know better would've thought you were the Outer Courtyard's senior brother. And now you could take a hit like this?
"Senior Brother Huang, are you free?" Wei Shan looked toward the pale-skinned, slightly chubby youth beneath the tree and smiled warmly. "Come on, let's go eat!"
But Huang Xuanhe acted as if he hadn't heard him.
He lounged beneath the tree, clumsily puffing out smoke, one leg casually crossed over the other.
When Huang Xuanhe ignored him, Wei Shan felt a little awkward and tried again. "Senior Brother Huang, coming or not? Let's go to the River-Viewing Pavilion and drink to Junior Brother Qin's success!"
Huang Xuanhe still showed no sign of getting up.
Only after Wei Shan called out a couple more times did Huang Xuanhe finally reply impatiently, "I'm ignoring you. Isn't that clear enough?"
"Why do you keep calling and calling? What for? Do you have to humiliate yourself before you're satisfied?"
"He's a bootlicking dog, and you're a snob who looks down on people. You're birds of a feather. I hate people like you most of all. And besides, so what if he broke through to the Blood-Tempering Realm? Is that such a big deal?"
"Someone in the Blood-Tempering Realm wouldn't even qualify to guard my family's gate. And this guy took a whole week and a pill just to become a Blood-Tempering Realm martial artist."
"Is that something worth bragging about?"
"Damn it, this is what you call an Inner Courtyard genius? This is the kind of person you all fawn over?"
"This is fucking hilarious!"
Huang Xuanhe's face was full of scorn as he dangled his cigar and blew out smoke.
Though there wasn't the slightest trace of martial training about him, the confidence he radiated from deep within somehow stunned Wei Shan.
It had actually stunned Wei Shan.
Wei Shan's expression was ugly, but in the end, he returned to the group without saying another word.
The atmosphere abruptly turned awkward and heavy.
Huang Xuanhe's words hadn't only humiliated Wei Shan. They had also left the arrogant Qin Huan looking distinctly unpleasant. His fists clenched tight, and he wished he could charge over and beat the chubby kid to a pulp!
But everyone knew that Master Li had brought Huang Xuanhe here personally.
Master Li was very amiable toward Huang Xuanhe. It was plain that he wasn't an ordinary person.
Who would dare offend him?
"You're Senior Brother Yan, right?" Huang Xuanhe suddenly said. "You're generous with favors and make friends everywhere, but you spread yourself too thin. It's meaningless. In the end, nobody will treat you like a true friend."
"That old-fashioned approach of yours—you learned it from your elders, didn't you?"
"It's outdated. Stop using it."
"Not only is it a waste of money, sometimes it might even come back to hurt you."
"A small favor breeds a small grudge; a great favor breeds a great grudge!"
"Also, I'm pretty good at reading people. This kid comes from a poor family and hasn't weathered any real storms. Maybe you've taken a liking to his potential, but I'd advise you to sign a contract with him and keep his behavior in check."
"Otherwise, he'll take your kindness for granted. One day, when you're no longer useful to him, or someone else offers him more than you do, this kid will definitely run off. Just wait and see."
Those words made Qin Huan's face darken completely. His breathing turned ragged.
His fists clenched so hard they cracked.
But because of Huang Xuanhe's mysterious background, he didn't dare make a move.
And since he didn't dare, Huang Xuanhe only sneered. "Deep down, you're still a bully who picks on the weak. If you'd argued back, or even kept a straight face, I might've thought more highly of you. But now it's clear you'll never amount to much."
Yan Kai coughed lightly to ease the awkwardness. "Since Junior Brother Huang is busy, we'll head over first. Junior Brother Huang, let's make plans another day."
He gave an awkward laugh, then led the way.
The awkwardness passed.
The little circle centered around Yan Kai and Sun Mingting also fell silent as they headed out.
For some reason, Sun Mingting wasn't there today.
So Yan Kai had been the one arranging everything.
Who would've thought something this awkward would happen today?
The group walked off in silence for a while.
Only then did Yan Kai turn to comfort Qin Huan. "Junior Brother Qin, your talent is already excellent. It took me a month and a half to refine even a trace of qi and blood back then, and then I put in a lot more effort before I officially reached the Blood-Tempering Realm. You did it in just half a month. That's impressive!"
"I heard a genius disciple also came to Flying Cloud Pavilion. They say he has a ninth-grade bone constitution."
"Heh, he's been there for half a month, and there still hasn't been a word of him refining qi and blood. Compared to him, you're far more impressive, Junior Brother Qin."
The Flying Cloud Pavilion had plenty of old grudges with the Fist Academy.
In recent years, the Flying Cloud Pavilion had adopted a new approach, absorbing other martial arts and changing its enrollment and teaching methods.
It had become quite famous in the city.
The Fist Academy, by contrast, had stayed the same and wasn't well known.
In many outsiders' eyes, the Flying Cloud Pavilion was more formidable than the Fist Academy.
Yan Kai's comparison with the Flying Cloud Pavilion's genius clearly cheered Qin Huan up. He hurriedly replied, "Senior Brother Yan, you're joking. If my teacher hadn't given me a Blood-Nourishing Pill, I might've needed more time before officially becoming a Blood-Tempering Realm martial artist."
"You really are impressive..."
The group walked out through the courtyard gate and gradually disappeared from sight.
"What's all this nonsense about bone constitutions? Who the hell judges a genius by their bone constitution? What kind of martial arts genius could this place possibly have? Ridiculous!"
Huang Xuanhe laughed scornfully.
He didn't care that he'd barely smoked the cigar he'd just lit. He stubbed it out and flicked it into the trash can, then stood and brushed off his backside before heading out. "Old Jiang, let's go!"
"Yes, Young Master!"
The middle-aged man who'd been dozing in the corner got up and followed Huang Xuanhe.
The man's clothes were plain. He wore a loose hemp robe that concealed his build. He stood around 175 centimeters tall and didn't look strong. There was no telling what martial arts he practiced, either.
"This place is dull as hell. So boring. As the saying goes, shallow waters are full of turtles. What a drag."
Huang Xuanhe yawned. "This is so pointless. Come on, I'll buy you a drink."
"Damn it, I don't know what Dad's thinking. That guy was only beaten half to death by the people I hired. He wasn't killed. Why make me hide out in the countryside? What a drag."
"You're right, Young Master," Old Jiang replied with a smile.
The two slowly walked away. Before long, they climbed into a carriage and vanished from everyone's sight.
What had happened today left the Outer Courtyard disciples deeply shaken.
Especially the sight of Huang Xuanhe, an Outer Courtyard disciple, talking back to a group of Inner Courtyard disciples until they fell silent and swallowed their anger. It gave countless Outer Courtyard disciples an indescribable thrill!
It was as if Huang Xuanhe represented their own class, declaring war on the martial artist class—and winning a tremendous victory!
Huang Dequan, meanwhile, stared without blinking at the backs of Huang Xuanhe and Old Jiang as they left.
An indescribably complicated look flickered in his eyes.
He'd spent plenty of money these past few days, waiting on Zhou Heling hand and foot to fit in with the Inner Courtyard and expand his connections.
Who knew that when it mattered, Zhou Heling wouldn't even spare a word to help him?
Instead, someone with no real connection to him had spoken up for him. The experience stirred an indescribable feeling in his heart.
As for Shi Wen—
He kept practicing his punches, untouched by the turmoil. His goal was to train his foundation skill to mastery!
What had happened today seemed like a minor disturbance.
But behind it lay a clash between strength and strength!
Shi Wen had no backing. All he could do was work hard at his training and become his own backing!
"Done!"
Shi Wen threw his final strike, and the words on the Extreme Seal began to shift slowly.
[Baji Fist Introductory Foundation: Perfection (Traits: Penetrating Momentum, Heavenly Spring Treading)]
Boom!
In an instant, Shi Wen felt his heart tremble for a moment.
It was as if a gust of wind had burrowed into his body, making him tremble all over.
Then...
All the qi and blood in his body abruptly contracted into his dantian. An invisible force crushed and compressed it with a rushing roar. His qi and blood shrank by a full third, turning into drops of viscous blood that fell into his dantian.
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