Meanwhile, at the Shrek Inner Court.
Zhang Lexuan hovered in midair, still holding her original pose.
Soul Power swirled around her, casting a faint silver moonlight that made her look like a goddess.
Below her, Dai Yueheng lay sprawled on the ground in a sorry state. His face was visibly battered and bruised, to the point that he was almost unrecognizable.
Zhang Lexuan was truly angry this time. Aside from deliberately avoiding his vital points, she held nothing back, thoroughly avenging Zhang Yang.
Eight rings beating six-it was a crushing victory with no suspense.
At first, Dai Yueheng wanted to grit his teeth and bear it.
He wanted to show the goddess in his heart just how tough he was, but that thought lasted only an instant.
Soon, layer upon layer of moonlight struck his body in flowing streams, and the intense pain made him crack on the spot.
His screams spread, attracting the attention of the Inner Court disciples and even the elders, yet no one came forward to speak up for him, leaving him to suffer a terrible beating.
"Dai Yueheng, keep yourself and your younger brother in line from now on."
"I don't want to hear about the same thing a second time."
After beating him for more than half an hour, Zhang Lexuan finally stopped when she saw that he could no longer get up.
Her cold warning filled Dai Yueheng's mind. Besides the physical pain, there was naturally pain in his heart.
His goddess had actually treated him like an enemy for another man's sake, without any clear evidence.
Damn it! How could this happen!
What has that Zhang Yang turned Eldest Senior Sister into?
Even after that brutal beating, Dai Yueheng still didn't blame his goddess. All his hatred converged on his love rival.
But he didn't dare show it, afraid of displeasing Zhang Lexuan, so he deliberately played dead without making a sound.
"Take this bottle of healing pills and use them."
Zhang Lexuan was kind after all. Once her anger passed, she couldn't bear to leave him like that.
Before leaving, she tossed a jade bottle down from the air. It contained high-quality medicinal pills.
It landed precisely beside Dai Yueheng's hand. A rich medicinal fragrance wafted into his nose; the pills were anything but ordinary.
At once, his mood eased. Although my goddess beat me, her heart still softened in the end!
It must have been Zhang Yang who bewitched Eldest Senior Sister!
This boy is dangerous. He absolutely can't be allowed to stay, but I can't act openly.
That good-for-nothing Dai Huabin couldn't even handle such a small matter. Looks like I'll have to think of another way.
With the pills in his hand, Dai Yueheng stood up again after a long while and staggered back to his room as if nothing had happened.
Deep down, though, the more he thought about it, the angrier he became. If Zhang Yang hadn't been up to something, how could Eldest Senior Sister, given her temperament, have lost her temper for no reason?
He couldn't let the matter end like this...
Dai Yueheng gritted his teeth, his hatred mounting higher and higher.
Instead, he calmed down. Unlike his impetuous younger brother, he considered how to take revenge in secret.
Zhang Lexuan knew nothing of this. She had already returned to her residence and regained her usual gentleness.
She was still thinking about whether to visit Zhang Yang in the Outer Court, see if he was hurt, and find out whether he needed her to look after him.
But then, as shyness and nervousness appeared on her mature, beautiful face, she abandoned the plan. She was destined to toss and turn all night.
"I'll have Luochen pass on a message tomorrow."
"It's also time to fulfill the promise I made back then."
"Zhang Yang's Martial Soul is special, so it won't be easy to find suitable Soul Rings. I'll have to spend a few more days outside. Mm, that's right!"
Zhang Lexuan muttered quietly in her bedchamber.
She had no idea that the young man constantly on her mind
was currently by Sea God Lake, making out with a little loli.
What was more, the competition was fiercer than she had imagined. Besides Xiao Xiao, quite a few others had thoughts of their own.
Wang Dong'er had just returned to her dormitory and was sitting alone by the window, admiring the moon. Her heart was racing, and it was unclear what she was thinking about.
Not far away, outside the senior girls' dormitory building, Bei Bei had escorted his girlfriend home, and they too were discussing Zhang Yang.
"Xiao Ya, I still think we were too hasty."
"We don't know where Zhang Yang came from, and he only enrolled today."
"Even if he's good-looking, we should have been more cautious. How could we bring him into the Tang Sect on the spot?"
Bei Bei had held it in all the way, but in the end he couldn't help himself. Before leaving, he spoke up to remind Tang Ya to be careful.
In any case, he simply felt that something was wrong with Zhang Yang. He had no concrete evidence, but that was what his intuition as a man told him.
"Bei Bei! What exactly are you trying to say?"
Tang Ya frowned, her tone clearly displeased.
Seeing this, Bei Bei felt even worse and almost blurted out, "I just think there's something not quite right about Zhang Yang..."
Those words lit the powder keg. Tang Ya cut him off at once. "You're the one who's not right! Didn't you see? After I invited Zhang Yang to join, everyone started paying attention to the Tang Sect! It's such a good start, yet you're gossiping behind his back. You're just jealous because he's more dashing and handsome than you!"
With that, Tang Ya turned around in a huff.
She marched straight into the dormitory, ignoring her stunned boyfriend.
Bei Bei was utterly disheveled in the wind. A nameless anger surged up inside him, yet he had no way to vent it.
Gossiping? I was clearly looking out for you! For the first time, he found Tang Ya's unreasonable behavior unacceptable.
"Come out! Why are you still hiding?"
Bei Bei took a deep breath and looked coldly toward the woods behind him.
Xu Sanshi emerged awkwardly, scratching his head as he approached and stood beside his good buddy.
"I just thought something was off with you, so I was worried and came to check. I really didn't mean to watch the show." He meant every word.
"Hmph, you've already seen it... I'm in a bad mood. Come on, have a spar with me!" Bei Bei didn't care about any of that. Xu Sanshi was just the outlet he needed.
"Are you kidding me? The snack street's closed, and the arena closed ages ago. Where are we supposed to fight?" Xu Sanshi wasn't stupid; he knew he was about to become a sandbag.
Bei Bei waved a hand casually, indicating that he would take care of it.
He was Mu En's blood descendant, after all, so he did have some access privileges.
There was no helping it. No matter how much Tang Ya acted up, he couldn't bear to lay a hand on her.
As for Zhang Yang, his girlfriend was paying special attention to him, so even if Bei Bei wanted to beat him up, he couldn't for the time being.
That left Xu Sanshi to suffer. Wasn't that what buddies were for? Besides, they often sparred anyway.
"I've got some choice words, but I don't know if I should say them." Xu Sanshi was speechless. So he had to take this beating no matter what?
"You have my permission to say them while you're lying on the ground after I beat you down." Bei Bei didn't stand on ceremony at all. With that, he pulled Xu Sanshi away.
Neither noticed that Tang Ya was standing by a corridor window.
She looked down, watching the two of them, and let out a faint sigh.
Yet Zhang Yang's face appeared in her mind and refused to leave, making her cheeks flush slightly.
Her favorability was a full 80 points, reaching the self-persuasion stage, and she had already begun to fantasize.
Compared with her current boyfriend's immature, inadequate behavior, Zhang Yang's calm, easygoing smile was simply impossible to forget.
His distinctive, confident and elegant bearing, which suited an image ambassador, and the benefits he brought to the Tang Sect also made Tang Ya's heart flutter.
I shouldn't be letting my thoughts run wild!
But... it's really hard to stop.
Tang Ya hurried back to her dormitory and ran into the bathroom to wash her face, but it didn't help much.
She too found sleep elusive that night. As she rolled back and forth in bed, certain thoughts secretly began to sprout.
"If Zhang Yang were my boyfriend, we could promote the Tang Sect together. We'd be much more efficient, wouldn't we? Yes! I'm doing this to revive the Tang Sect. It's not that I have a fever..."