Giving Up

"That's terrible!"

Zhang Xuezhou has met many great cultivators.

Our lives aren't peaceful and secure in the clouds; they're filled with all sorts of dangers.

For example, the first person Zhang Xuezhou came into contact with, Zou Bugui, was living a miserable life.

Zhang Xuezhou then spent several more months with the nearly dead Golden Toad Dharma King.

Later, Zhang Xuezhou met Hongku, who had imprisoned him on the Sacred Mountain for decades.

Jin Chang, whose body was Golden Toad Poison, was nearly killed due to his imbalance.

This also includes the Buddhist disciple whose body was nearly shattered from the beating.

As for things like the broken-legged demon crane with Feiyu, those are minor ailments.

If he were to write a book of his observations and experiences, Zhang Xuezhou felt he could write a book called Les Misérables.

Dong Zhongshu would obviously be a character in the book as well.

Using Ruan Qigong's "integrity," Zhang Cigong was conscripted into the army. Zhang Xuezhou couldn't even guess where he would be when he regained consciousness.

He sighed for more than ten seconds before returning to his daily life.

He wasn't doing well on the other side, but he was managing to get by in the real world.

Since the new law came out, Zhang Xuezhou felt that Western Capital was extremely safe.

During that week, he also made an appointment with Zhang Manqian to visit the North Rehe Research Institute to check on the situation.

If the environment isn't too harsh, they will start raising chickens at the North Jehol Research Institute.

Zhang Xuezhou would also conduct a preliminary qualitative analysis of the various medicinal materials available on the market, seeking out medicinal materials similar to the Spirit-Forging Pill.

After washing up and having breakfast, Zhang Manqian sent the message on time.

When Zhang Xuezhou jogged out of the Xuanshi Building, he saw Zhang Manqian coming from the Ji Shi Medical Center.

Zhang Manqian had clearly gotten up earlier than Zhang Xuezhou and had prepared everything for him, but Zhang Manqian still looked listless.

As a 'patient' who must be approved by Professor Luo Hui, Zhang Manqian not only needs to be wary of Professor Luo Hui, but also needs to guard against the attention of Luo Gaogao, Zhu Kuang, and many other related individuals.

Whenever she appears energetic and alert, the news might reach Professor Luo Hui's ears at any moment.

Although Professor Luo Hui and others might not necessarily try to get Zhang Manqian to be Luo Gaogao's teammate right now, Zhang Manqian doesn't want to hinder the relationship that Zhang Xuezhou is trying to build.

If there is any need, Zhang Xuezhou still has a certain probability of purchasing the X432 repair technology from Professor Luo Hui by using Zhang Manqian's need for treatment as an excuse.

In the past, Ren Yisheng close relationship meant that both parties mentioned that such high-end medical care required waiting in line. Given the demand, the more sources of such high-end medical care available, the better.

The two whispered for a while before hiring a car to go to the North Rehe Research Institute.

"Is it true that Zhang Xuezhou only goes out once every seven days, and usually just lies in bed for seven days straight?"

While Zhang Xuezhou and Zhang Manqian were wary of the attention from potential associates of Professor Luo Hui, it was actually Zuo Teng who was paying close attention to Zhang Xuezhou.

As a senior at the Canglan Academy, Zuo Teng could be considered Zhang Xuezhou's senior from a normal perspective.

However, their initial interactions were rife with mutual exploitation, which resulted in a rather strained relationship between Zuo Teng and the Zhang siblings.

Even though Zuo Teng repeatedly extended olive branches, Zhang Xuezhou never gave a normal response.

He lowered his binoculars, and the young man beside him immediately nodded repeatedly.

"Young Master Zuo, I've been keeping an eye on him for two months now. This is his daily routine," the young man said. "At least the Zhang family members eat at the cafeteria, but he doesn't even go out to eat. If it were just once, I could say he's staying home, but it's always like this..."

The young man shrugged.

"Furthermore, I discovered that they had purchased intravenous nutritional solutions, which are presumably used to maintain physiological functions."

"Your investigation was quite good!"

Zuo Teng nodded.

"He probably has some kind of medical condition," the young man guessed.

"What kind of illness do you think could make him sleep for seven days, then be awake for seven days, and then go back to sleeping for seven days?" Zuo Teng asked.

"Perhaps it's intermittent vegetative state, the kind of vegetative state that appears intermittently?"

The young man made up a term, which made Zuo Teng feel that the medical community had gained another rare disease.

Regardless of whether this illness is rare or unique, he was certain that Zhang Xuezhou would indeed be unable to participate in the competition as usual.

Moreover, Zhang Manqian was often in a daze, and according to rumors, Luo Gaogao and others beat Zhang Manqian so badly that she suffered a concussion.

This even led the Luo family to use the X432 repair technology once.

However, without Ren Yisheng as a backer, the Luo family clearly did not provide a complete safety net, and Zhang Manqian still suffers from lingering symptoms that have not been cured.

"What a pity!"

One participant was unable to compete on time, and the other had a health problem.

The fact that two promising contenders withdrew from the sequencing conference stage left Zuo Teng with a few sighs.

"Luckily Young Master Zuo didn't bring those two into the group," the young man said.

"You're right!"

Zuo Teng nodded.

The failed attempt to win them over wasn't a bad thing; at least Zhang Xuezhou and Zhang Manqian didn't manage to harm Zuo Teng's team.

But Zuo Teng had to admit that these were indeed two very special players.

Both Zhang Xuezhou's intimidating fighting and marksmanship, and Zhang Manqian's physical skills, were extremely good.

Moreover, these two are not subservient; they have the ability to assess the situation and make choices that are more suitable for the team.

Zuo Teng pondered his own trio, then thought of Zhang Xuezhou and Zhang Manqian.

He couldn't help but lament the shortcomings of the strong championship team members.

"It can only be backward compatible!"

Zuo Teng pondered for a long time before finally giving up on Zhang Xuezhou and Zhang Manqian.

"What a pity about Feiyu Live's incriminating evidence!"

Whether through enticement or coercion, Zuo Teng has the ability to bind Zhang Xuezhou and others to his cause.

However, given that Zhang Xuezhou and Zhang Manqian lacked any value, the incriminating evidence he obtained was of no use.

If he acts without thoroughly investigating the matter, he will inevitably suffer a double loss.

"And I even pulled some strings to try and get him removed from the captain's team to cooperate!"

The series of actions eventually came to a halt, and Zuo Teng, abandoning many ideas, pulled out his contacts.

"Sister Song, this is your brother Zuo Teng. Ah, can't you hear me? Can you hear me now? Still can't hear me? Bad signal? Hello? Hello?"

Zuo Teng dialed the communication button.

But as his voice grew louder, the call was eventually disconnected.

"That bastard Zuo Denggao was half-dead from the bombing and hasn't recovered yet. There's no way Song Sijia would continue to cling to him, right?"

Zuo Teng pondered the composition of his team of three.

The members of the various teams in Western Capital have not yet been fully finalized.

On the one hand, everyone wants to bring along their best teammates; on the other hand, they are all quite intertwined, and even if they are brought together, they may not be able to completely bind themselves together.

For example, if Zuo Teng uses the reputation of his team of three to make invitations, he will likely be able to poach more than 90% of the team members. However, Zuo Teng cannot completely guarantee that they will not be poached by others.

Nobody wants to be teammates with someone who has a higher win rate.

The team leaders who have signed up are either well-connected, belong to top teams from other regions, have set a benchmark in advance, or are as ignorant and fearless as Zhang Xuezhou.

Zuo Teng is naturally a benchmark.

He stretched out his hands, and his muscles immediately crackled and popped.

Luo Gaogao won every single sequencing contest, and Zuo Teng naturally didn't back down either.

Especially with the sequencing competition approaching, this newly crowned sequencing champion is even more popular than Luo Gaogao, attracting many people to join his team.

When proactive communication fails, besides visiting Song Sijia and others to sound them out, Zuo Teng can only prepare to pick and choose suitable partners from among the various people asking to be mentored.