Expectation

Boom!

A tremendous crash rang out.

The ground trembled, water splashed from the pond, and the fish fled in terror.

Dust billowed up, blotting out everything before their eyes, while tall, verdant bamboo stalks were crushed and snapped.

Only after a long while did the dust drifting through the bamboo grove clearing gradually settle under the pressure of an invisible force.

Xu Xing and Bie Xuening were both covered in dust, looking thoroughly bedraggled.

Before them lay three Moon Crown Bamboo stalks, piled together, their surfaces flowing with a faint silvery radiance tinged with traces of green.

Though they were lying flat, they still reached the two of them up to the thighs.

The hell, these were bamboo?!

Looking at the Moon Crown Bamboo before him—so thick that one person could not wrap both arms around it, as though it had been cast from pure silver and coated with a thin layer of jade—Xu Xing could not help but have that thought flash through his mind.

The bamboo sap roasted from this kind of bamboo should taste really good, right? Bie Xuening thought.

Soon, a thin old man dressed in plain-colored robes descended from the sky and landed beside the Moon Crown Bamboo.

"Master." x2

The two spoke in unison.

"Mhm."

Wu Shi gave a slight nod, his gaze sweeping over them.

"You didn't slack off in your training this morning, did you?"

"Don't worry, Master!"

Bie Xuening lifted her chin, a hint of pride in her voice.

"With me watching him, Junior Brother wouldn't dare slack off!"

Xu Xing paused, saying nothing.

"That's good."

Thinking of what he had learned last night, his gaze lingered on Xu Xing for a little longer.

Little Xing had his own opinions, extraordinary knowledge, and excellent aptitude.

And his origins were so...

Bizarre.