“Who is it? Out with it, Dafu,” Zhang Tie urged.
An Dafu ignored him, waiting until everyone had asked before finally revealing the answer.
“It's none other than Su Renchou, the guy who has repeatedly rejected Ye Guichen's challenge invitations. People think he's as cowardly as a mouse, so they mockingly call him ‘Rat Renchou.’”
Oh, him... Zhuang Xun realized.
To be honest, he felt the Outer Court disciples of the martial academy behaved a bit like the troublesome villagers of Konoha. They would bully anyone who challenged them, and if someone refused a challenge, they would give them a nickname to bully them anyway.
An Dafu continued, “Back then, Guichen blocked his door to challenge him. Seeing that he couldn't refuse, Su Renchou had no choice but to accept. In that fight, his movement technique, Leap Step, was praised by a passing deacon as having reached great perfection. He is one of the only four disciples in the Outer Court to have mastered a martial art to great perfection.”
“As for the others on the Outer Court Disciple Ranking, they are basically at the level of Nine Stones of strength and great accomplishment in their martial arts. None of them have any other special traits like Luo Yangguan. In my opinion, their strengths are all pretty much the same. Those ranked higher simply broke through earlier, so it doesn't really mean much.”
Having said this, An Dafu glanced at Yan Pingsheng and smiled.
“Pingsheng, you are also one of the only four disciples in the Outer Court to have mastered a martial art to great perfection. If your strength also reaches Nine Stones, your strength will easily rank in the top six of the entire Outer Court. Wouldn't a spot in the Upper Two Courts be practically yours for the taking?”
Zhuang Xun smiled without saying a word.
But for some reason, An Dafu suddenly felt a sudden jolt.
Don't tell me Pingsheng really will manage to reach Nine Stones of strength before the promotion assessment?
...
At noon, inside the crowded dining hall, there was a long table where only one person sat, and even the surrounding seats were completely empty.
It was a beautiful-looking, slender youth.
He was eating quietly. He took very small bites, chewing for a long time, and ate with utmost focus.
The youth's eyes were very beautiful and heterochromatic; one was a normal color, while the other was a slightly dull gray and lacked liveliness.
His name was Luo Yangguan, a name without any profound meaning.
His mother had simply believed that a humble name made a child easier to raise. Among humble names like Gousheng, Niudan, Zhuzai, and Yangguan, she found Yangguan to be the most pleasant-sounding.
In another corner of the dining hall, three youths were secretly staring at Luo Yangguan. Their breathing was slightly heavy, as if they were mentally preparing themselves.
After a moment, playful grins appeared on their faces as they swaggered toward Luo Yangguan.
“Yo, Yangguan, eating lunch?”
The leading youth slapped his hand down on Luo Yangguan's slender shoulder. He used so much force that Luo Yangguan's body visibly sank.
But Luo Yangguan didn't say a word. He merely frowned and chewed faster.
Yet the youth refused to let it go. Looking at Luo Yangguan's food, he made a show of concerned reproach. “Why are you eating such plain food? There's no nutrition in this. Here, let me add some dishes for you.”
With that, he lifted the bowl he had been holding and poured the lard inside all over the food.
The lard didn't all land in Luo Yangguan's food; a large portion of it splashed onto his clothes.
Luo Yangguan finally stopped eating. Bloodshot veins rapidly crept into his eyes, and his body trembled uncontrollably.
But suddenly, the image of him being warned by the Head Instructor after crushing a disciple's groin last time flashed through his mind. He forced himself to suppress his rage, his voice trembling as he said,
“If you want to fight, let's go to the martial arts field.”
Wanxing Martial Academy did not forbid fights between disciples; it only prohibited them from fighting anywhere outside the martial arts fields.
He had already been warned once. He could not make another mistake.
“Huh? Fight? Yangguan, you've completely misunderstood us. I'm just looking out for you.”
The youth hadn't expected Luo Yangguan to actually endure this. While feigning grievance, his eyes darted to the other two youths, gesturing for them to turn up the heat.
The two youths nodded and chimed in.
“Exactly, Yangguan. We're just looking out for you. Oh, by the way, Yangguan, I heard your mother is a prostitute. How about you lead the three of us to your house tonight so we can support your family business?”
“Can you give us a fellow disciple discount? Since the three of us are going together to bring you some volume, we'll make sure Madam Luo doesn't lose out.”
Snap. The thread of sanity in Luo Yangguan's mind instantly snapped.
“You're... dead!” He crushed his porcelain bowl, the shards digging into his flesh and drawing blood.
Yet he seemed completely unable to feel the pain, gripping the shards even tighter as he slashed toward the throat of the youth behind him.
That youth had been on guard ever since he arrived. Prepared for this, he dodged to the side and immediately scrambled backward with the other two.
“Ah! Murder! ‘Madman’ Luo Yangguan is going crazy again!”
The three screamed as they ran toward the crowded areas, with Luo Yangguan chasing closely behind, clutching the shards in his hand.
Wherever they went, the crowd scattered with startled screams. In an instant, the entire dining hall was thrown into utter chaos.
Holy crap, what's going on? Identity V?
Zhuang Xun, who was currently eating, heard the screams from behind. He turned his head and saw a beautiful-looking youth with hands covered in blood, clutching a long shard. The youth was lowing like a madman as he chased after three people, leaving a trail of blood in his wake.
Seeing that the four of them were heading straight in his direction, he quickly picked up his food tray and ducked toward the entrance. Blending into the crowd, he continued to watch while eating.
...
I must look a lot like Senior Brother Bai right now.
Right in the center of the dining hall, Yu Wuyong—who wore a white robe and was barely handsome enough to pass—sat perfectly upright as he ate.
He slightly furrowed his brows, sniffled, and pursed his lips very thin. His expression seemed frozen as he maintained this posture, firmly believing that everyone in the dining hall had to be looking at him.
They must be talking about me, thinking how much I look like Senior Brother Bai.
With this thought in mind, he used his chopsticks to pick up a piece of meat as if drawing a sword. Then, as if sheathing it, he brought the meat to his mouth. Keeping his hand still, he tilted his head slightly to showcase his sharp jawline. Finally, like a crocodile lunging forward, he went to bite the meat.
A sudden scream startled him. His hand shook, and the meat dropped onto his clothes.
He quickly brushed the meat off. Keeping his body perfectly still, his eyes darted around in panic as he repeatedly thought:
They didn't see it, they didn't see it, they didn't see it. No one's laughing, so they definitely didn't see it...
Even Senior Brother Bai makes mistakes sometimes.
Holding onto this thought, the panic in his heart instantly eased a great deal.
Just then, a few more loud shouts rang out. He feigned a calm expression and turned his head, only then realizing what was happening.
However, he didn't run. Because Senior Brother Bai would never run in a situation like this.
Everyone else ran but me. They must be looking at me, thinking how much I resemble Senior Brother Bai.
Right, what would Senior Brother Bai do if he were here?
After pondering for a moment, he stood up, placed his hands behind his back, and tilted his head high. Staring up at the rafters, he said with supreme pride, “Give me, Wuyong, some face—”
“Run! Run! Ah! He's catching up!”
“Kill, kill, kill, kill!”
Yu Wuyong paused, then tried again. “Give me, Wuyong, some face—”
“No! We have to find a way to fight back! If we keep running, we'll definitely get caught!”
“Kill, kill, kill, kill!”
“Give me, Wuyong, some fa—”
“Chairs! Quick, grab the chairs! Smash him!”
“Kill, kill, kill, kill!”
“Give me, Wuyong, some—”
“Dammit! Why did you two run?! You disloyal bastards, wait for me!”
“Kill, kill, kill, kill! Kill!”
“Give me, Wuyong—”
“Pfft, hahaha!” Several bursts of laughter from out of nowhere pierced directly into Yu Wuyong's ears.
“Who is that? So stupid. ‘Give me, Wuyong, some face’? Does he think he's Senior Brother Bai? Senior Brother Bai would never say something so foolish.”
“Why is he wearing the exact same clothes as Senior Brother Bai? Is he trying to copy him?”
“Oh, he really is. I wouldn't have noticed if you hadn't mentioned it. He's just too ugly; he looks nothing like him at all.”
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