Protagonist Treatment?

Chu Yuan felt somewhat numb, having roughly pieced together what had transpired.

It seemed Chu Ying possessed some sort of talent that had caught the eye of a powerful expert who wanted to take her as a disciple.

As for why he was a powerful expert... judging by his entrance, he was undoubtedly far stronger than a Supernatural Realm martial artist like Qi Da.

He had appeared out of thin air like a ghost, leaving not a single trace behind.

Who would have thought that a silly girl like Chu Ying would have the treatment of a protagonist? Triggering the "old master" plotline...

Chu Yuan also noticed that although the old man and Chu Ying were arguing, the students and teachers passing by seemed to see nothing at all.

They naturally bypassed the pair's location... as if some sort of force field existed.

However, it was clear that Chu Ying did not trust this old man.

Firstly, the old man's appearance lacked any air of a master; he looked exactly like a loser drifting through life.

Secondly, for the vast majority of people, it was common knowledge that one could not practice any cultivation techniques before the college entrance exam!

Otherwise, one would be disqualified from entering a martial arts university... effectively ruining one's own future.

Any student standing in her position would have made the same choice as Chu Ying.

After a moment of thought, Chu Yuan raised his wrist and dialed Chu Ying's terminal.

"Yingying."

"What is it, Brother?"

"Nothing, I'm here to pick you up from school. Where are you?"

"I'm at the school gate. Where are you, Brother?"

"How come I don't see you?"

"How could that be... I can see you!" Chu Ying jumped up, waving her hand and shouting, "Brother! I'm over here!"

Chu Yuan walked over, his pupils slightly constricting.

By now, the old man had vanished, as if he had never appeared at all.

His departure was just as eerie as his arrival.

Only a faint, lingering scent of alcohol remained in the air.

Chu Ying also noticed the old man was gone, but she didn't take it to heart.

She simply figured the old man must have seen her brother arrive and didn't dare to pester her anymore.

After all... even though that old man was fierce enough to put someone in the hospital, her own brother was someone who could kill with a wave of his hand!

"Brother, didn't you go to school today?"

Chu Yuan shook his head. "I came to see if you were skipping class."

"..." Chu Ying looked a bit resentful. "Can't you just say it's because you missed me?"

Chu Yuan said meaningfully, "I don't need to, do I? Isn't there someone else missing you?"

Chu Ying's little face turned pale, and she stammered, "What do you mean? Who would miss me..."

"Who is Du Kai?

Was it because of him that you were skipping class before?"

Chu Ying's face turned even paler. "Brother, you knew?"

"Are you going to confess yourself, or should I wait for Mom to ask you?"

Chu Ying muttered, "Oh, Mom is so busy, let's not worry her with such a small matter..."

"The busiest thing Mom does now is checking how much interest has been deposited every day..."

"..." After a moment of silence, Chu Ying squeezed out, "Brother, I am not dating!"

She then proceeded to explain the whole situation in detail.

Du Kai was a boy in Chu Ying's class who had been pursuing her frantically lately.

Chu Ying naturally wouldn't agree to him, but she had no experience in dealing with such things and could only avoid him every day.

She didn't know if her behavior made Du Kai feel like he had lost face, or if it had simply stoked his fighting spirit.

Du Kai's behavior not only failed to subside, it became even more frantic; he even brought people to block Chu Ying after school to listen to his confessions.

Although he didn't dare to do anything more outrageous, this alone was enough to make Chu Yuan feel a surge of anger.

He prepared to teach him another lesson...

But compared to this, Chu Yuan was still more concerned about that old man.

He continued to ask, "What about that boy named Du Kai? Is he at school now?"

"No, he's in the hospital..."

"Oh?"

This time, before he could even ask, Chu Ying spoke up impatiently: "Brother! I ran into a crazy old man!"

He saw Du Kai pestering me, so he beat him up!

Then Du Kai ended up in the hospital... My teacher has been asking me for the past two days what my relationship is with that old man..."

"The past two days?"

"Yeah, the day before yesterday when school started, I saw that old man on my way to school;

He was passed out drunk on a bench by the side of the road, and I thought he was a beggar, so I gave him five yuan..."

"The day before yesterday..." Chu Yuan pondered to himself, having a gut feeling;

This old man had likely been drawn here by the chaos in Chenyang City.

But the other party didn't look like someone from the official authorities... neither in his behavior nor his rhetoric.

"Then... I got pestered by him again! He insists that I follow him to practice martial arts!" Chu Ying's voice was filled with indignation, as she detested any attempt to interfere with her future;

Chu Yuan said casually, "Don't pay him any mind. If he pesters you again, report him to the Public Security Bureau."

That old man might indeed be a powerful martial artist, but so what?

As long as Chu Ying doesn't like it, it doesn't matter how strong he is;

Chu Yuan was confident that given time, he himself would be the biggest pillar of support for Chu Ying!

It was just a pity that the old man arrived a bit late; otherwise, he would have definitely made him taste the Blood Sea Soul-Locking Array!

But ignoring him completely wouldn't do either...

He sent a message to Jiang Fei;

[Are there martial artists outside the official Great Qin system?]

[??? Aren't they everywhere? You can find them in any martial arts gym or security company; the martial artists there aren't part of the official system.]

[...I'm talking about experts, not those at the first or second realm.]

[There are. For example, the founder of the Precious Jade Pavilion isn't an official martial artist;

However, such martial artists are few in number, mostly old fogies who survived from the early days of the martial arts revival... Why are you suddenly asking this?]

[Just curious... The early days of martial arts, wouldn't that mean they've lived for two or three hundred years?]

[Correct.]

[Then what is the reputation of such martial artists?]

[Those with bad reputations were cleared out long ago. The ones left have decent reputations, but for various reasons, they just don't want to join the official ranks;

But sometimes, they do cooperate with the authorities!]

[If they are experts, how could they be cleared out so easily?] Chu Yuan was a bit puzzled. Was the title of "expert" really that watered down?

[Strong as they may be, they aren't stronger than the official authorities. Why else would we be the orthodox ones...]

[Alright, never mind then.]

[Wait a second, did you know there are three spots for the Secret Realm trial at your school tomorrow?]

[I heard. What about it?] Chu Yuan thought to himself, I know more than anyone, considering it was because of me...

Jiang Fei continued to send messages, his annoyance palpable even through the screen: [The reward for first place is simply outrageous!

I suspect some big shot is securing benefits for their own descendant, using items from our Martial Suppression Bureau to curry favor!

Damn these parasites!

I think the higher-ups have lost their minds too! How could they agree to something like this!]

[Calm down, calm down...]

[Forget it, I won't say any more. In any case, you must participate!

With your strength, it's very likely you could snatch the first-place reward for yourself!]

[...]