The Assessment

A week later, at the Seventh Courtyard's martial arts field.

Zhuang Xun controlled Yan Pingsheng to blend into the crowd of spectating disciples, watching a youth lift stone locks on the sparring platform.

This was Instructor Huang assessing the disciples, checking their cultivation progress over the past week.

After a while, hearing the male disciple holding the register call out Yan Pingsheng's name, Zhuang Xun walked over and waited quietly below the platform.

Once the disciple on the platform finished lifting the stone lock and came down, he stepped up. Coming before a four-stone stone lock, he first bent his waist and arched his back, grabbed the handle, and then with a sudden push of his feet, swung the stone lock upward.

The reaction below the platform was lukewarm.

Aside from his three roommates and the disciples waiting to go up, the others only gave a casual glance. Seeing that Yan Pingsheng looked completely ordinary and possessed unremarkable strength, they lost interest and went back to their own business.

Zhuang Xun held it for about ten seconds until his hands grew weak, then set the stone lock down and exhaled deeply.

“Not bad,” Instructor Huang, standing off to the side, commented. “Quite a bit better than during the entrance exam. Keep working hard, and let's see if you can break through to five stone by the end of the month.”

“Yes, sir,” Zhuang Xun said, cupping his fists to Huang Wei before stepping down to find Zhang Tie and the others.

“Haha, Dafu, that medicinal soup of yours that costs one tael a bowl is useless! You almost couldn't even lift a four-stone lock. If you ask me, you've got to eat meat! That's what really builds strength. Look at me! How sturdy! I can lift a five-stone lock just like that, and it's all from eating meat...”

Even before he got close, Zhuang Xun could hear Zhang Tie's signature booming voice.

From a distance, he looked at An Dafu's forced smile and Zhang Tie showing off, raising an eyebrow.

“He sure knows how to talk.”

Zhuang Xun abandoned his plan to head over and turned to walk away.

He also only had four stone of strength and drank a bowl of medicinal soup a day. If he went over, Zhang Tie would probably use him to show off too.

...

“Where did Pingsheng go? I just saw him come down a moment ago.” Zhang Tie looked around, showing a look of regret when he couldn't find Yan Pingsheng.

He had wanted to show off in front of Yan Pingsheng too.

Bored, Zhuang Xun returned to the crowd below the sparring platform to spectate, lest it be too awkward if he failed to hear when Bai Yujing's name was called.

He also wanted to see if there was anyone else worth noting in the Seventh Courtyard.

“Zeng Yingcai, four stone of strength.”

“Li Zigeng, five stone of strength.”

...

“Chen Jinzhu, six stone of strength.”

Whoa—!

A small commotion broke out, and the crowd below the platform grew noticeably larger, filled with voices singing her praises.

“Oh! The Fifth Young Lady is amazing!”

“Oh! The Fifth Young Lady is peerless and unmatched!”

“Aside from Senior Brother Bai, the Fif—Senior Sister Chen must be the strongest in our courtyard!”

“More than that! She's the strongest in the entire Outer Court, aside from Senior Brother Bai!”

“First and second place—they sound like a perfect match! Senior Sister Chen is so beautiful, too. Only she is worthy of Senior Brother Bai!”

“Exactly! Senior Sister Chen and Senior Brother Bai look so good together. They're a match made in heaven!”

The spectating disciples looked at the few people leading the conversation, speechless.

Many female disciples snorted inwardly. What a cheap trick. Do they really think they can get Senior Brother Bai's attention this way?

On the sparring platform, a young girl who looked to be around fifteen years old easily lifted a stone lock larger than her head.

She was petite and strikingly beautiful, adorned in glittering jewelry. With her chin held high and the corners of her mouth curled upward, she carried an air of looking down on everyone, as proud as a peacock.

This was the very Chen Jinzhu they were talking about.

As soon as Chen Jinzhu set the stone lock down, she immediately looked toward the figure she was constantly thinking of.

To her frustration, however, that person did not spare her a single glance.

Sullen, Chen Jinzhu ignored Huang Wei, who was speaking to her, and walked straight down the platform.

“Out of the way!” she barked, dismissing the spectating disciples blocking her path. Leading her entourage, she stopped at a spot close to Bai Yujing, pretending to practice the Wanxing Body-Tempering Technique.

The disciple assessment continued.

The disciple holding the register called out names one by one in a monotone voice.

After watching for a while, Zhuang Xun found that the general level of the Seventh Courtyard's disciples was only four or five stone of strength. Even the very best only had six stone of strength, which was a far cry from his clone, Bai Yujing.

But comparing Bai Yujing to them was honestly in a completely different league.

According to what Zhuang Xun had heard from An Dafu, the publicly recognized strongest person in the Outer Court below Bai Yujing only had seven stone of strength.

“Next! Bai Yujing! Senior Brother Bai!!” the disciple holding the register suddenly shouted in excitement.

Instantly, the noisy martial arts field fell dead silent.

Everyone turned their eyes to the cold, aloof youth.

They saw his expression calm and his pace neither fast nor slow. With each step perfectly measured, he made his way onto the sparring platform.

Just as everyone thought he would stop before the nine-stone lock, he actually kept walking, coming to a halt in front of the ten-stone stone lock.

No way! Could Senior Brother Bai be planning to...

Before anyone could process the thought...

The massive stone lock, over half a person's height, had already left the ground, raised level with his chest.

Throughout the entire process, the youth's expression remained entirely unchanged, as if what he held in his hand was not a heavy stone lock, but a feather light as air.

A resolute-looking disciple stared blankly at the scene, then looked down at the thick calluses on his hands. With a bitter smile, he said, “I've been cultivating since I was five, yet I only have five stone of strength to this day... Senior Brother Bai is truly a mountain we will never reach the peak of in our lifetimes.”

His friend patted his shoulder and consoled him, “Why compare yourself to Senior Brother Bai? Let alone us, probably even few of the true disciples in the Inner Court can rival him.”

“Senior Brother Bai is as radiant as ever...”

Without anyone realizing it, the Seventh Courtyard's form of address for Bai Yujing had unanimously changed to Senior Brother Bai.

“Dafu, this is seriously ridiculous,” Zhang Tie said, clicking his tongue. “Just a few days ago, I heard Bai Yujing only had nine stone of strength, and now it's ten. That's practically two of me. Even if I started cultivating in my mother's womb, I wouldn't be this fast.”

“More than just starting in the womb...” An Dafu was about to reply when a mocking voice drifted over from nearby.

“Mud-legs will be mud-legs. How could you ever comprehend someone like Senior Brother Bai? The nerve of you, comparing yourselves to him and even calling him by his name. If I hear you do it again, I'll have someone break your legs!”

“You—” Zhang Tie was about to glare back, but the moment he saw the girl's face, he immediately lowered his head and shut his mouth.

An Dafu, meanwhile, silently distanced himself from Zhang Tie, pretending not to know him.

Chen Jinzhu—the legitimate daughter of the Chen family, one of the seven great families of Zechuan City.

An Dafu had previously introduced her to them as one of the people in the courtyard they must absolutely never offend.

“Hmph.” Chen Jinzhu strutted past Zhang Tie with her head held high and arms crossed. The disciples ahead of her actively parted to make way.

The several lackeys behind her sneered mockingly as they passed by Zhang Tie.

Zhang Tie kept his head down and remained silent, but his clenched fists bulged with veins.

Seeing this, the group of lackeys laughed and jeered even more.

...

“I'm so cool.” Watching the entire process of his own flex from Yan Pingsheng's bystander perspective, Zhuang Xun marveled inwardly.

“Ten stone?!”

Zhuang Xun glanced at Huang Wei, whose voice was trembling with shock. He controlled Bai Yujing to gently set the stone lock back on the ground and gave a slight nod.

Huang Wei was silent for a moment before asking, “When... when did you break through?”

“The day after I learned the Wanxing Body-Tempering Technique.”

“...Incredible.” Huang Wei was at a loss for words for a long while before finally giving a thumbs-up.

Zhuang Xun slowly walked down the platform, planning to head to the dining hall to eat first while many others had yet to finish their assessments.

Every time Zhuang Xun went to the dining hall as Bai Yujing, a crowd of people would always gather to watch him. Thus, he now avoided peak dining hours so there would at least be fewer people.

“Senior Brother Bai!” Chen Jinzhu jogged over, stopping right in front of Bai Yujing.

Her face was flushed, her posture coy and bashful, completely devoid of her previous arrogant demeanor. “Um, tonight there's a flower boat festival on the Luo River! Jinzhu would like to invite Senior Brother Bai to join me for the flower-viewing banquet...”

Zhuang Xun replied, “My apologies, I am busy tonight.”

“Then when will Senior Brother Bai be free? I... Hmph~” Chen Jinzhu pouted, staring dejectedly at Bai Yujing's receding back.

All around, other female disciples watched the scene on the sly, secretly rejoicing while also sighing helplessly:

Senior Brother Bai is truly hard to approach...