Yan Pingsheng: “Understood. I shall pass this along to Senior Brother Bai in the most direct, straightforward, and blunt manner possible.”
Bai Yujing: “…Stop messing around.”
Little Beggar: “Bai Yujing! Enjoy your arrogance while it lasts! My martial arts are almost here!”
Debt-Lending Bladesman: “The Little Beggar is wasted.”
Zhuang Xun’s mind wandered as he played out this little theater in his head. Meanwhile, his two clones followed Zhou Ziruo, turning left and right before finally arriving outside a simple bamboo house.
Zhou Ziruo told the two to wait at the door while she went inside.
Yan Pingsheng kept his eyes lowered and his mind focused, standing respectfully in place without looking around.
The Little Beggar, however, tiptoed slightly and peeked through the half-open window.
By sheer coincidence, he locked eyes with Yi Xiaoxiang, who was sitting cross-legged on a futon.
Those clear, calm eyes were incredibly tranquil. The Little Beggar immediately lowered his head, not daring to look further.
After a moment, Yi Xiaoxiang walked out, with Zhou Ziruo following behind her.
She wore a conservative, loose white Daoist robe, her jet-black hair pinned up with a wooden hairpin. As the gentle wind blew, it outlined her slender, sculpted figure.
“Master Yi,” Yan Pingsheng greeted with clasped hands.
The Little Beggar hid behind him, looking curiously at Yi Xiaoxiang.
“Mhm.”
Yi Xiaoxiang glanced at Yan Pingsheng, gave a soft response, and then looked at the Little Beggar behind him before walking straight ahead.
At Zhou Ziruo’s beckoning gesture, Yan Pingsheng and the Little Beggar immediately followed.
The journey was very quiet, with no one speaking.
Yan Pingsheng and the Little Beggar followed behind Yi Xiaoxiang and Zhou Ziruo, entering a quiet and elegant pavilion.
Yi Xiaoxiang sat down and said softly to the Little Beggar, “Come here.”
Zhuang Xun walked over sluggishly.
Yi Xiaoxiang did not rush him, quietly watching him. When he arrived in front of her, she reached out and took the Little Beggar’s wrist as if checking his pulse.
Her grip was very light. Zhuang Xun felt her fingertips were cool to the touch. His eyes followed her hand, looking wherever she pressed.
After a moment, Yi Xiaoxiang withdrew her hand.
Zhuang Xun had originally wanted to see what kind of shocked expression she would make, but to his surprise, her face remained calm. She only asked softly, “What is your name?”
“I have two names. The villagers used to call me Little Beggar, and now the people here call me Little Overlord. You can call me Little Overlord.”
Standing nearby, Zhou Ziruo could not help but snicker. She lowered her head and bit her lip, her shoulders trembling.
“Little Overlord? That is not a real name. How about I give you one?” Yi Xiaoxiang asked softly.
Huh?! Zhou Ziruo, who had been suppressing her laughter, suddenly looked up, feeling that the situation was taking an unexpected turn.
“Uh... alright, but I think Little Overlord is pretty good,” Zhuang Xun said, scratching his messy hair.
“Wangyou,” Yi Xiaoxiang said.
“…Wangyou?”
“Yes, Wangyou.” Yi Xiaoxiang looked at his thin, gaunt face and said softly, “Take my surname. From now on, your name is Yi Wangyou. I hope you can live up to this name—forgetting your past sorrows and living this life free of worries.”
“Wangyou... Yi Wangyou...” Zhuang Xun stared at Yi Xiaoxiang blankly.
In reality, he was looking at his Character Creation Panel.
It was a good name. He was going to rename the Little Beggar clone—Yi... wait, which Yi?
“Master, you’re letting him take your surname?! This... this...”
“Yes. Ziruo, Wangyou will be your junior brother from now on.”
“Huh?! Junior... Junior Brother?!” Zhou Ziruo’s mind went completely blank.
Yi Xiaoxiang was about to nod when she suddenly realized she had not asked for Yi Wangyou’s opinion yet. She looked at the dazed, thin, and beautiful child in front of her and asked, “Are you willing to take me as your master? I will pass on everything I have learned in my life to you.”
Which Yi? The 'Yi' for forgetting? Or the 'Yi' for barbarian...
“Ah? I... I am willing!”
“Good.” A faint smile appeared on Yi Xiaoxiang’s face as she pointed at herself. “Master.”
“Master!”
Zhuang Xun stole a glance at Zhou Ziruo, whose eyes were wide with shock, still clearly unable to process the situation. He felt smug in his heart—Hehe, I won't need you to take care of me anymore. I have my own backer now.
...
“Brother Yan, have you heard? Master Yi suddenly took in a disciple and is personally teaching him. I heard that person only took five days to reach the entry-level of the Posuo Sword and become a martial artist!”
“More importantly, I heard he’s only twelve years old!”
In a waterside pavilion at Yueling Water Pavilion, Liu Ziyang spoke to Yan Pingsheng.
Actually, those five days were spent nursing his health. The actual practice probably took less than an hour... Zhuang Xun put on a slightly shocked expression. “That amazing?”
Beside him, Wang Hou was also filled with shock and felt incredibly anxious.
He reached the entry-level in just five days, while I’ve been practicing for over twenty days and haven't even touched the threshold.
“Yes, the gap between people is truly despairing. There is only a little over a week left until the end of the month, and my martial physique shaping is barely halfway complete.” Liu Ziyang leaned against the back of his chair, looking somewhat dejected.
He remained silent for a long time before saying, “Brother Yan, I plan to leave this afternoon.”
Before Zhuang Xun could speak, Wang Hou beside him gasped in surprise and quickly said, “What?! Brother Liu, you're leaving so early? Why not try a bit more? There is still over a week left!”
“No,” Liu Ziyang shook his head and said. “I’ve tried for twenty-one days, and I’m certain I don't have this talent. There's no need to keep wasting time. It's better to leave early and make other plans.”
He looked at Wang Hou and advised, “Brother Wang, you should also make plans early. Many of the disciples who were promoted to the Inner Court in the same batch as us have already become martial artists. We are already lagging too far behind. If you only leave when the deadline is up, dispersing your energy will take another period of time, and you really won't be able to catch up.”
Leave? Or stay?
Wang Hou clenched his fists, feeling extremely anxious.
Suddenly, he remembered there was still one more person—If Brother Yan is also leaving, then I might as well leave with him.
He let out a sigh of relief, looked up at Yan Pingsheng with expectation, and asked, “Brother Yan, are... are you leaving? I think Brother Liu makes a lot of sense.”
“Me? I plan to try a bit longer.”
Hearing this, Wang Hou became anxious again, wondering if he should also try a bit longer or leave early like Brother Liu.
“Brother Yan, how is your martial physique shaping progressing?” Brother Liu asked.
“I’ve barely completed two-thirds.”
Yan Pingsheng raised his arm. Keeping his arm still, his palm rotated smoothly for half a turn, but then hitched slightly. Even after holding it near the point of completing the circle for a long time, he could not force it any further.
By the end of the month, I should barely be able to reach the entry-level of the Posuo Sword... Zhuang Xun returned his palm to its original position.
The Skeletal Structure of Yan Pingsheng’s body was simply too average. Even though his comprehension of the Posuo Sword was extremely profound, he was still limited by his physical talent, making his martial physique shaping progress very slowly.
He was unlike Bai Yujing and Yi Wangyou, whose cultivation speeds were lightning-fast.
“I’m afraid it’s a close call for me as well. At this rate, we might end up meeting again in the Lower Three Courts,” he said with a helpless smile.
Wang Hou let out a sigh of relief in his heart and urged, “Brother Yan, why don't we just leave with Brother Liu this afternoon then?”
Liu Ziyang said, “No, no, no. Brother Yan still has a chance. He can still try in the Posuo Courtyard.”
“Yes, I’m not willing to give up just like this,” Yan Pingsheng said in a deep voice.
Hearing this, Wang Hou became anxious once more. Should I also try a bit longer? What if I succeed at the very last moment? But if I don't succeed, won't dragging it out too long prevent me from keeping up with others' progress...
Liu Ziyang smiled bitterly and said, “Alas, when we first came, we were full of high spirits, thinking we had a bright future ahead of us. Now...”
He stopped talking, and the other two fell silent as well.
For a moment, only the sound of the wind remained.
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