Ye Qizhen wanted to say something more, but after feeling the gazes around her, she said, "Let's talk in private."
Jiang Fan nodded. "That's exactly what I was thinking too."
After the two reached a secluded spot away from the crowd, Jiang Fan spoke first, "When I first met you, you were only Middle-Stage Martial Apprentice. I never imagined you'd become Middle-Stage First-Rank Martial Artist in the blink of an eye. How did you manage to do that?"
Jiang Fan genuinely curious. As Spirit Master, Ye Qizhen naturally specialized in Psychic Power, yet she had made consecutive breakthroughs in such a short period of time.
If Ye Qizhen's method also works for him, and he adds another system on top of that, wouldn't he take off?
"What are you saying? You're already Late-Stage Second Rank, okay?"
Ye Qizhen's words were dripping with sarcasm, "And I learned from Yan Shuai that you're now Advanced Psychic."
As she finished speaking, not only did her tone become increasingly sarcastic, but even the way she looked at Jiang Fan became resentful.
Although the two were far from the crowd, it did not prevent people from seeing their expressions and demeanor.
When everyone saw Ye Qizhen's expression, they suddenly felt it was very familiar, just like when they first saw Ye Qizhen appear.
Once such thoughts take hold, they spread like wildfire, becoming uncontrollable.
What the heck? How could this be? They must have seen wrong.
Yes! That's absolutely right, they must have seen it wrong!
How could a Spirit Master possibly be jealous of a Late-Stage Second Rank Martial Artist?
Although they acknowledged that Jiang Fan was indeed a very talented person, compared to Ye Qizhen...
They're not even in the same league.
As for the talent mentioned earlier, to be honest, Fortress No. 1 has no shortage of geniuses.
In their view, Jiang Fan was just lucky; he encountered an incredible opportunity that allowed his strength to improve so quickly.
So it all depends on how long he can hold onto that opportunity.
Perhaps he's only making rapid progress in the Lower Three Ranks; once he reaches the Middle Three Ranks, he might fade into obscurity.
He might only ever reach the lowest rank (Lower Three Ranks) in his lifetime.
This speculation isn't because they look down on Jiang Fan, but because there have been many similar examples in the past.
Moreover, Jiang Fan has no background or backing, which means he will have a serious weakness in terms of resources, unless he chooses to join a powerful force.
In any case, she can't compare to Ye Qizhen, a Spirit Master.
In fact, as things stand now, they're not even as good as the likes of Chao Yang and Gao Shou.
However, the reality is that Ye Qizhen's attitude towards Jiang Fan makes it hard not to have some doubts.
Ye Qizhen had no idea what others thought, nor did he care; he only wanted to know how Jiang Fan had managed to do it.
"Bro, want to share this? If you're willing to share, I promise I'll go through fire and water for you in the future!"
"It's not that I don't want to share, it's just that..."
Jiang Fan tried hard to find the right words, speaking in the most sincere tone possible:
"But as you've heard, I received a special opportunity, and this opportunity cannot be shared."
He wasn't exactly lying; he was indeed reborn and bound to a system.
This cheat code only benefits the user; it's useless to others.
Ye Qizhen believed what Jiang Fan said.
This was also based on his understanding of Jiang Fan. He felt that if Jiang Fan didn't want to talk about it, he could simply not talk about it; there was no need to make up such a lie.
"On the contrary, how did you break through?" Jiang Fan asked the same question he had asked before.
Ye Qizhen didn't hold back, stating frankly, "After I broke through to the Martial Artist, Yan Shuai arranged for me to go to the Outer Wilderness Zone, where I experienced numerous life-or-death battles. It was precisely because of this that my strength made such a significant breakthrough."
You went to the Outer Wilderness Zone!
Jiang Fan was no wonder surprised, considering that Ye Qizhen had only just broken through to the Martial Artist before going to the Outer Wilderness Zone!
To be honest, he had underestimated Ye Qizhen's courage and boldness before.
This also made Jiang Fan even more excited for his upcoming trip to the Outer Wilderness Zone.
Just as the two were talking, a beautiful figure appeared, instantly drawing everyone's attention.
Men admire her, women envy her.
"She's the school beauty of Qingwu School, my goddess!"
"Wow—when the goddess appeared, I felt like the whole world had become just a backdrop."
These words displeased the women around him, but they had to admit that it was true.
It's so sour I'm speechless.
As Lan Shengxue walked through the crowd, she seemed to emanate an aura of isolation, causing onlookers to step aside. The scene looked even more exaggerated than when Ye Qizhen appeared.
Seeing this, Ye Qizhen couldn't help but sigh.
"She really is, as always."
As soon as they finished speaking, Lan Shengxue suddenly stopped and looked in their direction.
Ye Qizhen thought the other person was going to greet her, and just as she raised her hand, Lan Shengxue coldly turned her face away, quickened her pace, and her every step seemed icy.
???
Ye Qizhen looked puzzled, awkwardly lowered her hand, and looked at Jiang Fan, "I didn't offend her, did I?"
"Perhaps you have offended someone, but you don't know where you offended them," Jiang Fan said without batting an eye.
"I see... that makes sense." Ye Qizhen nodded in agreement.
After all, a woman's temper is unpredictable and hard to fathom.
"You're here for this competition too? I don't remember you being on the list?"
If Ye Qizhen were here, Jiang Fan would definitely know.
There's no way around it; a person's reputation is like a shadow cast by a tree.
If Ye Qizhen participated in the competition, it would be hard for him not to know.
"Of course not, I'm not qualified. I just happened to be back from the Outer Wilderness Zone and learned from Yan Shuai that you would be participating in this competition, so I came to check it out."
Jiang Fan was taken aback by Ye Qizhen's words.
Did you come here specifically for him?
Something sounds a little off.
Before long, Jiang Fan returned to Yuanwu's team.
Upon returning, he saw Su Xiaoyan, Zhao Zhidong, and the others all looking at him with curious eyes.
Before he could even ask, the others eagerly blurted out their questions.
"Tell me honestly, how did you meet Ye Qizhen?"
"You two seem to have a very good relationship. That shouldn't be the case. You're from Fortress No. 31, while Ye Qizhen is Spirit Master who stays by the side of the commander of the Divine Wind Camp. You two are worlds apart, if not heaven and earth. There's no way you could have known each other. Even if you did meet by chance, you two wouldn't be close friends."
These words sounded ordinary to others, but the fat man felt like he wanted to complain on the spot.
Yes, Fan Brother Fan and Ye Qizhen are indeed worlds apart, but Brother Fan is the cloud, okay?
"It's quite a coincidence, I'll explain it to you later."
Jiang Fan was too lazy to say much and planned to just brush it off.
Su Xiaoyan was good at giving perfunctory answers, but Wang Yao, who appeared out of nowhere, insisted on getting to the bottom of things.
"I'd like to know too. It seems you two have some kind of secret."
Jiang Fan turned around and was met with Wang Yao's aunt-like smile.