Tang Mu

"Look, Junior Brother Tang Mu is here!"

"Is that him? The genius with superior bone structure!"

"He looks so plain, yet his talent is terrifying..."

At this moment, a wave of commotion erupted.

A dark-skinned, simple-looking youth approached, surrounded by a crowd of disciples.

Under the gaze of everyone in the cafeteria, the youth was clearly at a loss, instinctively moving to line up for a coarse flour bun.

"Junior Brother Tang, let me treat you to a meal."

A slender, graceful figure stepped to Tang Mu's side.

That person was none other than the flower of the Outer Courtyard, Wang Qingzhu.

The usually cold and reserved Wang Qingzhu seemed like a different person; not only was she beaming like a flower, but she also naturally took Tang Mu's arm.

"Se, Senior Sister..."

Tang Mu, already flustered, stiffened completely as Wang Qingzhu held him so intimately, his face turning as red as a monkey's backside.

Seeing Tang Mu's reaction, the corners of Wang Qingzhu's mouth curled up slightly.

She possessed only ordinary bone structure, and her family had never held high hopes for her; the only reason they sent her to the Martial Arts Hall was to hook a wealthy husband.

Unfortunately.

The Outer Courtyard disciples were too mediocre to catch her eye.

The Inner Courtyard disciples were too arrogant and wouldn't take her bait.

Now, among the newly admitted disciples, there was a peerless genius with superior bone structure, so she naturally had to pull out all the stops to win him over.

"So this is the treatment a genius gets."

Seeing that scene, Luo Yang felt even more envious.

Is this really the cold, aloof flower of the courtyard from before?

She's acting even more like a sycophant than Jiang Chen ever did.

Thinking of this, Luo Yang couldn't help but glance at Jiang Chen.

Although, judging by Jiang Chen's behavior lately, he seemed to have truly moved on from Wang Qingzhu, he had still spent over half a year chasing after her.

Seeing this scene now, he must be feeling quite uncomfortable.

After all, Jiang Chen had never even touched Wang Qingzhu's hand from start to finish, let alone received such intimate treatment.

"Isn't this junior brother supposed to have superior bone structure? Why hasn't he gone to the Inner Courtyard?"

Jiang Chen's attention, however, was not on Wang Qingzhu at all.

According to the rules of the Martial Arts Hall, there were only two ways for an Outer Courtyard disciple to enter the Inner Courtyard.

First, to pass the Three Qi and Blood Gates within a year and show potential to reach the True Martial Realm.

Second, to possess sufficiently strong talent.

Logically speaking.

With the talent of superior bone structure, it wouldn't be an exaggeration for him to not only enter the Inner Courtyard but also be taken as a personal disciple by the Hall Master and receive focused cultivation from the Zhou Clan.

"That's right, why is he still staying in the Outer Courtyard?"

Luo Yang also realized this and looked at the puppet-like Tang Mu.

Could it be that the rumors were wrong and Tang Mu didn't actually have superior bone structure?

That shouldn't be the case, though.

Wang Qingzhu was incredibly proud and had never smiled at an Outer Courtyard disciple before.

The fact that she was being so intimate with Tang Mu now could only be because of his talent.

"It seems he is likely only suspected of having superior bone structure; the final conclusion will depend on his subsequent cultivation speed."

Jiang Chen spoke up.

To cause such a stir, Tang Mu's talent shouldn't be bad; it just remained to be seen to what extent it would reach.

Even taking a step back, even if Tang Mu only had mid-tier bone structure, it would likely be enough to look down upon the entire Martial Arts Hall.

One must know that even among those with mid-tier bone structure, there are still varying grades of quality.

"Tell me, we're all human, so why is the gap between us so large?"

Luo Yang sighed.

Ever since he joined the Martial Arts Hall, he hadn't slacked off in the slightest.

Even so, it had taken him nearly two months to successfully condense his martial qi and blood.

Compared to Tang Mu, it was like the difference between heaven and earth.

The gap was so vast it was practically despair-inducing.

"If you put it that way, what are those without any spirit roots supposed to think?"

Jiang Chen said with a smile.

Tang Mu's martial arts talent was indeed outstanding, enough to leave them in the dust, yet he felt no sense of shock.

The existence of the Myriad Dao Chart gave him more than enough confidence.

It came back to the same point.

With the help of the Myriad Dao Chart, he would eventually reach the pinnacle of martial arts; there was no need to compete for short-term superiority.

What he needed to do now was cultivate diligently and step into the True Martial Realm as soon as possible.

He aimed to secure a good ranking in the year-end Martial Exam.

"Junior Brother Tang."

At that moment, a crisp voice rang out.

Everyone in the cafeteria turned toward the sound.

A group of imposing figures approached.

"Senior Sister Zhou!"

"Senior Brother Zhao!"

"Junior Brother Jiang!"

The beautiful figure leading the group was none other than the Martial Arts Hall master's daughter, Zhou Yuqing.

The few people behind Zhou Yuqing were all disciples of the Inner Courtyard.

They were either on the verge of entering the True Martial Realm or had already done so.

Clearly, news of Tang Mu had already reached the Inner Courtyard.

The previously noisy cafeteria fell silent at once.

So many Inner Courtyard disciples appearing in the Outer Courtyard cafeteria was something that had never happened before.

"Senior Sister Zhou and Junior Sister Wang are both one-in-a-million beauties!"

Many disciples of the Martial Arts Hall secretly compared the two flowers of the hall.

Both were rare beauties, yet their styles were distinct.

Wang Qingzhu was delicate and glamorous, while Zhou Yuqing was spirited and confident.

Each had her own charm, making it impossible to look away.

"Senior Sister Zhou, Senior Brother Zhao, Senior Brother Jiang..."

Tang Mu, whose face had turned red from Wang Qingzhu's intimate gesture, hurriedly stood up.

"Junior Brother Tang, after you finish eating, come with me to the Inner Courtyard to have your spirit roots re-tested."

Wang Qingzhu smiled as she stated her purpose.

Routine spirit root testing for disciples was usually handled by Sun Wu.

But in a case like Tang Mu's, he had to go to the Inner Courtyard to be tested by her father personally.

She was also very curious whether Tang Mu truly possessed superior spirit roots.

"Superior spirit roots..."

Zhao Kuo, Jiang Xuan, and the others who had followed along sized Tang Mu up.

Once the news of superior spirit roots spread, the entire Inner Courtyard had been stirred.

Currently, the person with the highest talent in the Martial Arts Hall was the personal disciple Meng Wentao.

But even Meng Wentao only possessed mid-tier spirit roots.

Naturally, they were curious to see just what level superior spirit roots could reach.

"I, I'm finished."

Seeing this, Tang Mu wolfed down the rest of his food in a few quick bites.

"Then let's go."

Zhou Yuqing turned around with a smile.

She didn't care at all about Wang Qingzhu and the others who were rushing to get ahead.

In the world of martial arts, one looked first at strength, then at talent.

As for beauty, its only value was for marriage alliances.

The Wang Clan was clearly trying to win over Tang Mu through Wang Qingzhu, but with her Zhou Clan present, she naturally wouldn't let that happen.

Even if there were to be a marriage alliance, it should be with someone from the Zhou Clan; it wasn't the turn of outsiders to snatch the prize.

This was also the core reason why the Zhou Clan opened the Martial Arts Hall.

"Damn it!"

Watching Tang Mu leave in the wake of the Inner Courtyard disciples, Wang Qingzhu clenched her fists, feeling deeply unwilling.

If she had only been given a little more time, she could have completely won Tang Mu over.

Now that he had been taken away by Zhou Yuqing, she had absolutely no confidence to compete for him.

That was right; in front of Zhou Yuqing, she lacked all confidence.

Her greatest trump cards were her looks and her figure.

Yet, Zhou Yuqing's confidence stemmed from her martial arts talent.

One was a vase, the other was a powerhouse.

There was a fundamental difference between the two.

"I didn't expect Senior Sister Zhou to personally come to pick up Tang Mu."

"It seems Junior Brother Tang's bone structure really is of superior talent."

"To successfully condense martial arts Blood Qi in just three days—such terrifying cultivation speed, even if it isn't superior bone structure, it must be the peak of middle-grade."

"I'm afraid it won't be long before Junior Brother Tang becomes the number one person in the Martial Arts Hall."

After the Inner Courtyard disciples left, the cafeteria disciples continued to discuss the matter fervently.

"Cultivate."

Jiang Chen did not get drawn into the discussions of the Martial Arts Hall disciples.

After finishing his lunch, he went to a quiet corner and sat cross-legged to regulate his breathing.

"Hoo!"

Two hours passed; at approximately the hour of Shen, his cultivation session ended.

Neither the Myriad Dao Chart nor the First Aperture showed any changes.

Clearly, if he wanted to break through, he would still need to rely on medicinal pills.

"Go home and get money."

Packing up his belongings, Jiang Chen quickly left the Martial Arts Hall.

To prevent encountering another ambush, he kept his Soul Seal activated to perceive his surroundings the entire way.

Although it constantly consumed the energy of the Soul Seal, his safety was greatly guaranteed.

If anyone were to attack him again, no matter how well they were hidden, he would be able to perceive them with ease.

As for the consumption of the Soul Seal's energy, that was nothing to worry about.

Through his exploration over these past few days, he discovered that the Soul Seal could automatically regenerate.

Simply put, even if the energy were completely drained, the Soul Seal would recover after a night's sleep.

Nothing happened along the way, and he returned home safely.