Has Senior Sister Changed Her Ways?

The familiar greeting carried the same gentleness and warmth, but Zhong Xian nearly bolted in a panic!

Her footsteps came to an abrupt stop. Zhong Xian forcibly suppressed the urge to run and looked at the smiling face across from her.

Yesterday, after returning to the Battle Space for the first time in a month, she had been full of ambition, ready to challenge her limits. Then this man had appeared and hacked her into several pieces!

After that battle, Zhong Xian had nearly fallen into depression!

At the same time, she had deeply understood one truth.

If she wanted others to listen to her, she first needed the strength to make them listen!

Zhong Xian's chest rose and fell. The reprimand she had prepared was forcibly swallowed, turning into a dry explanation.

"It wasn't a coincidence. I was going to Wuyi City too. I was the one who arrived late."

Li Qingshan nodded in satisfaction, as though offering his approval.

"You weren't late. I just got here too."

"That's good." Zhong Xian let out a breath of relief.

Both sides spoke calmly, as though this were an ordinary exchange of pleasantries.

But everyone around them was dumbfounded, unable to believe their eyes.

"Huh?" Zhao Hongzhou's mouth fell open. He exchanged looks with Yu Lei and Hong Qian, seeing the same shock in their eyes.

Hadn't Zhong Xian rushed here without stopping to scold everyone indiscriminately first?

How had it turned into such a boring greeting?

When had Senior Sister Zhong Xian changed her ways?

Compared to Zhao Hongzhou and the others' shock, Liu Haibing and the other four lying on the ground were even more frantic.

Was Senior Sister Zhong Xian blind? Didn't she see Li Qingshan brazenly attack and knock all of them down?

"Senior Sister, you have to stand up for us!"

Liu Haibing could no longer hold back. Crying miserably, she crawled toward Zhong Xian and reached out to hug her leg.

"Senior Sister, Li Qingshan has gone too far. He has no respect for us second-years at all."

"Yeah, Senior Sister. It would be one thing if he only looked down on us, but he doesn't even respect you!"

"Exactly. He's only a first-year, yet he's already this arrogant, beating up senior students. If this goes on, who knows what he'll do in the future?"

The other four followed behind Liu Haibing, tearfully embellishing the story and doing their utmost to sow discord.

Their five pairs of eyes occasionally glanced at Li Qingshan, filled with smug satisfaction.

They knew Zhong Xian well. With her love of lecturing others, she would never ignore this.

"You're full of shit! When did Brother Shan ever provoke you? You were the ones who came looking for trouble!"

Zhao Hongzhou was enraged by their twisted version of events and immediately wanted to step forward and kick them a few times.

Yu Lei held Zhao Hongzhou back and anxiously said to Zhong Xian,

"Senior Sister, don't listen to their nonsense. They were the ones who provoked us first, and only then did Li Qingshan..."

"No need to explain. I saw everything."

Zhong Xian's delicate brows furrowed slightly as she waved a hand to cut her off.

It was over. It was over.

Yu Lei, Zhao Hongzhou, and Hong Qian all went pale.

Here it came. Here it came.

Even if she only punished both sides equally, Li Qingshan still wouldn't get away with it!

Liu Haibing and the other four perked up, staring intently at Zhong Xian.

Bang!

Liu Haibing's outstretched hand was kicked away, and her whole body toppled backward onto the ground.

Zhong Xian withdrew her foot and said coldly,

"You cry after losing a fight? Then what are you practicing martial arts for?"

"Huh?"

The five on the ground froze, at a complete loss.

"Is the ground that comfortable? Or do you want to keep embarrassing our martial arts class here at the station?"

As she spoke, Zhong Xian's right hand tightened around her sword hilt.

The five shuddered and hurriedly climbed to their feet, cautiously studying Zhong Xian.

Wasn't she supposed to punish both sides equally? Why were only they being punished? What about Li Qingshan?

Unfortunately, no matter how they looked, Zhong Xian showed no intention of making another move. Her cold gaze remained fixed on them, and she did not look at Li Qingshan even once.

Just then, a hearty laugh rang out.

"Hahaha, you students are full of energy!"

Wan Keshan rubbed his chin as he walked over from nearby, followed by a helpless-looking Teacher Li.

Li Qingshan's gaze shifted. He carefully observed Wan Keshan's subtle click of the tongue, sensing a hint of regret in it.

Thinking of Wan Keshan's usual bad taste, along with the helplessness on Teacher Li's face,

he could almost conclude that Wan Keshan had arrived long ago and had been watching the show from the sidelines!

Li Qingshan took the initiative to approach him and said meaningfully,

"We were late and kept the two teachers waiting for a long time."

He heavily emphasized the words "waiting for a long time," and a trace of awkwardness flashed across Teacher Li's face.

"Haha!"

Wan Keshan's expression remained unchanged, completely unconcerned.

"The train hasn't left yet anyway. There's no need to hurry."

With that, he waved his large hand and led the group toward the platform.

It only took two hours to travel from Luoying to Wuyi City, and there were many departures, so the platform was not very crowded.

Before long, the martial arts class successfully boarded the train.

After everyone had taken their seats, Wan Keshan reached out and pulled Li Qingshan up, calling to Teacher Li,

"Teacher Li, keep an eye on these little ones for now. I'll come back later."

Under many curious gazes, Li Qingshan followed Wan Keshan into the next carriage.

This carriage was quite empty, with only a few scattered passengers.

As soon as they entered, Wan Keshan suddenly spoke.

"You fought Zhong Xian before, didn't you?"

Li Qingshan nodded.

"That's right. We fought once in the Battle Space yesterday."

"I knew it. Otherwise, with that little girl's personality, how could she possibly hold herself back?"

Wan Keshan smiled and asked curiously,

"You definitely won, but what's your ranking now?"

"23,874."

"Twenty thousand... Wait!" Wan Keshan's smile froze as he stared at Li Qingshan.

"You mean you're ranked in the twenty-thousands now?"

Li Qingshan nodded.

Hiss!

Wan Keshan sucked in a sharp breath and lightly rubbed his temples.

"No, no. How could you have matched with Zhong Xian when you were ranked in the twenty-thousands?"

"Teacher, when I matched with Senior Sister Zhong Xian yesterday, I was still around rank sixty thousand." Li Qingshan answered honestly.

"Uh..." Wan Keshan choked for a moment before reorganizing his words.

"You mean that yesterday, in the Battle Space, you fought all the way from rank sixty thousand to 23,874?"

"Teacher, there's no need to be so surprised." Li Qingshan looked calm as he said evenly,

"I just wanted to see what level I was at among the second-years. Rank 23,874 probably still isn't enough to secure a spot in the top ten, right?"

"Do you really think you're a second-year now?" Wan Keshan was so annoyed that he laughed.

No need to be surprised!

A first-year martial arts student had already climbed into the ranks of the top second-years. Who wouldn't be surprised?

Three months ago, he had thought it was merely an offhand remark, yet Li Qingshan had actually intended to achieve it!

At that thought, Wan Keshan's expression gradually turned serious.

"At rank 23,874, you should be at the Body Tempering Fifth Stage. Your Wind Shadow Blade is perfected, while your Lost-Trace Steps are still at the major accomplishment stage and haven't broken through yet, right?"

"Teacher, your insight is truly remarkable!" Li Qingshan casually flattered him, not feeling surprised at all.

As a martial arts teacher, it would have been strange if he could not infer even that much.

Wan Keshan waved a hand and analyzed carefully,

"You were right before. Rank 23,874 truly isn't enough."

"If you want to reliably secure a top ten spot, your Lost-Trace Steps must break through to perfection, and your ranking must be within the top 21,000."

"But we're going to Wuyi City now, and the official competition is tomorrow. There's no time left for you to break through."

Wan Keshan shook his head and looked at his student.

"Forget about fighting above your grade. There will be other chances for you to obtain a C-rank martial skill later."

"How can we just forget about it?!" Li Qingshan immediately grew anxious and hurriedly said,

"Don't worry, Teacher. I've already gained some insight. I'll be able to break through tomorrow morning!"

"Heh, you're quite something. You can even time a breakthrough this precisely?"

Wan Keshan sneered, not believing him at all.

"The final 'Mystery of a Square Inch' in the Lost-Trace Steps is profoundly mysterious."

"You either understand it or you don't. Even I was stuck at this step back then and had no choice but to give up on the Heavenly Net Lost-Trace Steps."

"Teacher!"

Li Qingshan's expression turned solemn. Looking at Wan Keshan, he said seriously,

"I really am confident!"