Talking to you, are you deaf?

"S-seduce Su Muyun?"

Ye Xiao's brain stalled for a full five seconds.

Then, he reacted.

"Wait, Old Man Black, your choice of words is inappropriate!"

"What do you mean by seduce?"

"Are you trying to make me pursue Su Muyun?"

"Why?"

Old Man Black glanced at Ye Xiao indifferently and said, "No reason. Just tell me whether you'll do it or not."

"If you don't want to, then compensate me for the Tiger Sun Pill."

Ye Xiao swallowed hard and asked, "How much does one Tiger Sun Pill cost?"

Old Man Black held up one finger.

Ye Xiao tentatively asked, "Ten thousand?"

Old Man Black shook his head.

Ye Xiao asked again, "One hundred thousand?"

Old Man Black still shook his head.

Ye Xiao's expression changed: "It wouldn't be a million, would it?"

Old Man Black simply stopped paying attention to Ye Xiao.

He then returned to his workstation.

Outside, there was still a crowd of juniors and seniors lining up to insert their cards and enter the Gravity Training Tower.

Ye Xiao wanted to continue questioning him, but seeing the situation, he hesitated and held his tongue.

Just then.

Fatty Wang's voice rang out.

"Ye Xiao, you finally came out!"

Only after seeing Fatty Wang did Ye Xiao realize he had agreed to have lunch with him.

He casually pulled out Zhou Ming's Gravity Training Card.

"I've been waiting for you for so long! I'm practically starving to death! Let's go eat."

Fatty Wang waved at Ye Xiao with a smile.

Ye Xiao put the card in his pocket and walked over.

"Let's go, lunch first."

Fatty Wang curiously sized up the Gravity Training Tower.

The two chatted as they walked.

"I heard that this Gravity Training Tower is only open to juniors and seniors."

"You were in there for several hours, how did it feel?"

Ye Xiao recalled the experience and replied.

"Under gravity, you get very tired, as if you have lead weights tied all over your body."

"But training in such an environment, you can clearly feel your body growing stronger."

At this moment.

Fatty Wang squeezed Ye Xiao's arm and said with a smile, "The results are clearly visible; your arm has become so much firmer."

Ye Xiao said, "If you want to go in and train too, I'll help you figure out a way."

Upon hearing this, Fatty Wang immediately shook his head.

"Forget it, I'm not going in. I heard from the seniors that training inside the Gravity Training Tower is too grueling."

"People with weak bodies can't handle it at all, and there's even a risk of death."

"I heard that in the past, a genius with an SS-rank class even died in there!"

"Anyway, my class is a Qi Refiner; as long as I know how to meditate and contemplate, I don't need to forge my body like you Martialist types."

Ye Xiao was speechless and gave a helpless smile.

"Actually, if you meditate and contemplate inside the Gravity Training Tower, the results are also quite outstanding."

But Fatty Wang was clearly not someone who could endure hardship.

He was a microcosm of the vast majority of professionals in this era.

Everyone wanted to take shortcuts and seek an easier, simpler way to cultivate.

The most primitive mode of ascetic training had been slowly abandoned by the people.

It is generally believed that anyone still practicing in the most foolish and clumsy way is, without exception, either mentally deficient or stuck in a pathetic profession.

The Martialist Cafeteria was bustling with noise in the afternoon.

Ye Xiao and Fatty Wang arrived a bit late.

Although the peak mealtime had passed, many students were still flooding into the three-story building.

The air was filled with the aroma of spirit food and the clamor of voices.

Long lines formed at the standard windows on the first floor, students from the Elite Class occasionally swiped their cards to enter the elevator to the second floor, while the VIP area on the third floor was as quiet as another world.

Ye Xiao walked out from a standard window on the first floor, carrying a stainless steel tray.

On the tray was a standard meal—two portions of rice, one meat dish, one vegetable dish, and a bowl of free egg drop soup.

This was the best meal a student receiving financial aid could afford with their monthly subsidy.

In the entire school, apart from Ye Xiao, there was not a second person who ate the relief meal.

He found a corner against the wall and sat down.

Soon, Fatty Wang sat down in front of him, carrying a massive tray piled with seven meat dishes and no vegetables.

"Ye Xiao, are you only eating that little?"

Ye Xiao smiled, a hint of embarrassment over his empty pockets showing on his face.

Fatty Wang immediately understood.

He promptly pushed his own tray in front of Ye Xiao.

Then, he took away Ye Xiao's tray.

"Eat mine!"

"I'll go buy another portion."

Fatty Wang stood up and left immediately to buy more food.

Ye Xiao stared at Fatty Wang's retreating back.

He sighed inwardly, Fatty Wang is a good person; he is worth befriending.

In his heart, Ye Xiao had already silently made a decision.

When he achieved some success in the future, he would definitely take Fatty Wang along.

Even if Fatty Wang had a lazy personality and spent his whole life just drifting by, he would never abandon this guy.

The noise in the cafeteria rose and fell.

Some were discussing classes and cultivation, some were gossiping about a girl from the Genius Class, and others were complaining about next week's combat assessment.

Ye Xiao lowered his head to eat, picking up a piece of braised pork with his chopsticks and putting it into his mouth.

The taste was average.

But it was far better than the relief meal.

Just then, footsteps approached from behind.

They were not from one person.

There were three or four of them, their footsteps heavy, carrying a deliberate force meant to announce their presence.

Ye Xiao did not turn around.

A palm slammed onto the table in front of him.

With a bang, the tray shook, and some egg drop soup spilled out.

"Yo, isn't this our academy's 'Martialist' genius?"

The voice was shrill and mocking.

It immediately attracted the attention of the surrounding students.

Ye Xiao recognized the voice—it was one of the two lackeys around Lin Yun. What was his name again? It seemed his surname was Sun.

"I heard you went to the Gravity Cultivation Tower this morning? And stayed inside for several hours?"

Another voice rang out, deeper; it was the other lackey, surnamed Zhou.

"Tsk tsk tsk, impressive, truly impressive. A Martialist, and a freshman at that, actually managing to enter the Gravity Cultivation Tower. Tell me, is he a nepotism hire or what?"

"Heh, he certainly wouldn't admit to being a nepotism hire! But as far as I know, the Gravity Training Tower is only accessible to juniors and above!"

"Who knows? A normal person with connections would try to keep a low profile to avoid suspicion, but look at him—it hasn't even been a few hours, and the whole academy knows about it."

"His father dies, and he gets a special admission spot. Looking at him, he doesn't seem sad at all. It seems his father died quite conveniently, bringing him so many benefits that he can enjoy with a clear conscience."

The group burst into laughter.

The cafeteria grew much quieter.

Nearby students put down their chopsticks and looked over.

Some wore expressions of anticipation for a show, while others frowned, but no one stepped forward to speak.

Ye Xiao continued to eat.

Sun the Lackey saw he didn't react, and his expression darkened.

He reached out, picked up the bowl of egg drop soup from Ye Xiao's tray, and waved it in front of him.

"I'm talking to you. Are you deaf?"