"???"
Zhang Yang spotted the three of them as well.
He was quite surprised. Affection could be negative, for freaking real?
And this was after his max-level charm had triggered and, in theory, boosted his stats.
It was hard to imagine what the scene would have been like without it. Straight to negative 100?
"Tang Ya only just got here, and her eyes are already glued to me. It's normal for her boyfriend to be upset."
"Besides, given Bei Bei's status, he must already know the eldest senior sister brought me back."
"It's no surprise his affection is low. It'll probably be hard to change his impression of me, too. I'm afraid I won't get the reward..."
Zhang Yang looked at the three of them.
In an instant, he had a rough idea of what they were thinking.
As for Xu Sanshi, whose affection was also negative? Maybe he was jealous of Zhang Yang's good looks, or maybe his best bro had influenced him.
In short, although the system had triggered a check-in, from Zhang Yang's perspective, he couldn't even muster the interest to farm their affection.
Rather than waste time and effort on these two "-50" men, he might as well focus on the girls. Just look at how easy Tang Ya was.
Like Wang Dong'er, she had started at 40 points.
He only needed to put in a little effort to get the first reward.
Comparing the two, there was no need to think about which to choose. He had already made up his mind.
Bei Bei, Bei Bei, I'm truly sorry. I stole your child bride, and now I'm going to steal your current girlfriend too.
"Hmph, looks like that kid's spotted us. He's stolen all the limelight from us Outer Court Twin Stars!"
Xu Sanshi muttered under his breath.
He looked around, but not a single person was willing to pay him any attention.
Every gaze was fixed on Zhang Yang, leaving the young sect master looking thoroughly gloomy.
"He's got innate full soul power, but instead of making the most of his time to cultivate, he's messing around with all this nonsense."
"You're wrong. Someone like that is no threat. Good looks won't put food on the table, much less serve as strength!"
Bei Bei pretended to be calm on the surface.
In truth, he was little better off than Xu Sanshi.
For all his words, the faint "fire" in his eyes betrayed what he really thought.
Good looks might not put food on the table, but they sure made a meal more appetizing! Besides, who said they couldn't serve as strength? That just meant someone wasn't handsome enough!
"Hey, hey, you two..."
"He's good-looking. Do you really have to grumble about it?"
"Come on, let's go buy a few skewers of grilled fish at Yuhao's stall. We can get a closer look while we're at it."
"A handsome, dashing guy like that would make a great image ambassador if we brought him into the Tang Sect!"
Tang Ya smiled, then started walking.
Her eagerness made Bei Bei even more anxious.
What? Admiring him isn't enough? She's planning to talk him into joining the Tang Sect too? Isn't that inviting a wolf into the house!
Bei Bei said he was no threat, but his sense of crisis was actually through the roof. The feeling Zhang Yang gave him was terrible!
Zhang Yang had an ambiguous relationship with his "child bride," Zhang Lexuan, and he still didn't know exactly what was going on between them.
Although he didn't want the marriage and didn't like that eldest senior sister, having someone inexplicably steal her away still upset him.
And that wasn't all. What was Zhang Yang doing now?
Not only was he surrounded by countless young women, like a star in the spotlight,
but Bei Bei had even just seen that girl called Xiao Xiao feed grilled fish straight into his mouth.
Don't you have "a thing" with the eldest senior sister? How come you're flirting with someone else too? You might as well have "scumbag" pasted on your forehead.
And now his girlfriend wanted to invite this guy into the Tang Sect.
From Bei Bei's perspective, how could he not oppose it and try to stop her?
With Zhang Yang's looks, bearing, and uncanny charisma,
heaven knew whether Bei Bei would go into seclusion for a few days and come out wearing a green hat. The very thought was explosive.
He and Xu Sanshi exchanged a glance. The best bros understood each other so well that they could read each other's meaning without a word.
[Bei Bei's affection -10, current: -60 (check-in unavailable)] [Xu Sanshi's affection -10, current: -60 (check-in unavailable)]
Zhang Yang noticed their reaction too and was even more speechless. It could actually drop further?
Had his max-level charm stopped working? No, everyone else around him was still as fervent as starstruck fans.
Forget it. I wasn't counting on checking in with those two anyway. So what if it drops to negative 10,000?
He immediately turned his attention to the approaching Tang Ya. She knew Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong well and walked straight up to the stall.
"Hello, classmate. You're Zhang Yang, right? I'm Tang Ya, a friend of Yuhao's... If you don't mind me asking, have you joined a sect?"
The woman got straight to the point.
Before she had even finished speaking, Huo Yuhao's expression turned strange.
Why do Teacher Xiao Ya's words sound so familiar? Is she going to invite him to join next?
"Tang Ya? The Tang Sect's sect master? I've heard a great deal about you. I don't currently belong to a sect or have a master. What can I do for you?"
Zhang Yang understood at once, but pretended he didn't.
Right now, Tang Ya's mind was full of thoughts of revitalizing the Tang Sect.
As long as he agreed, even if he joined in name only, he could absolutely farm a big boost in affection.
Bei Bei saw this too, and when he heard Zhang Yang's answer clearly, his expression darkened on the spot.
The Tang Sect has been in decline for so many years. Even counting Huo Yuhao, there are only three of us now. What are you so enthusiastic for?
Tang Ya, however, didn't give it much thought and had already begun her pitch. "That's wonderful! Our Tang Sect has a long history, with a legacy dating back ten thousand years..."
She knew this spiel backward by now. Zhang Yang listened casually, then smiled and nodded along. "I'm willing to join and do my part to revitalize the Tang Sect."
Never mind whether he meant it or not.
Tang Ya was genuinely delighted to hear it.
I haven't even mentioned revitalizing the Tang Sect, and Zhang Yang has already guessed it. I really didn't misjudge him!
Not only is he handsome and distinguished, he has ideas and awareness too. He's perfect as a spokesperson!
[Tang Ya's affection +30, current: 70 (check-in available)]
The system's voice sounded in Zhang Yang's mind. As expected, her affection had increased.
More surprisingly, the number had risen rather fast. Did his words suit her wishes that well?
It had broken straight through the 60-point mark and leaped to 70, putting her in second place for the time being.
It was worth mentioning that Xiao Xiao's affection had also risen when he resolved the trouble with Dai Huabin in the little grove with her earlier.
Going through danger together and resolving a crisis together were a great help to affection. Hers had now reached 90 points, leaving only the final step!
System, check in with Tang Ya.
I've got to think of something and hurry up and win Xiao Xiao over!
Zhang Yang spoke inwardly, and the system's response arrived as expected.
[Check-in complete. Reward obtained: Tang Sect Secret Arts MAX] [Mysterious Heaven Skill, Mysterious Jade Hand, Purple Demon Eye, Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon, Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, Hundred Hidden Weapon Solutions. Watch carefully! Study hard!]
Perhaps because he had joined the Tang Sect, or perhaps because Tang Ya was the last inheritor of the Tang Sect, the system had given him a complete set of skills this time. It had everything he could ask for.
Zhang Yang glanced through them and was quite satisfied.
Although Tang Ya would provide the cultivation methods for these abilities,
if he lacked the relevant talent, forcing himself to learn them wouldn't produce good results. Now that he had the check-in reward, it was like reaching the stomach in one step!
"Zhang Yang, from now on, just call me Teacher Xiao Ya, like Yuhao does. Here, these are the secret arts passed down through our Tang Sect."
Tang Ya took out a handwritten copy of the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record.
Zhang Yang accepted it, and with that, he had officially joined.
The process was so quick and simple that Bei Bei, a step behind, hadn't even figured out how to stop it.
He could only watch helplessly as Zhang Yang, a potential threat in his eyes, took another step closer to his girlfriend.
He hadn't noticed at all that, thanks to the boost from max-level charm, Tang Ya's affection for Zhang Yang was actually already quite high...