Promise!

Chapter 19, Backlash

After returning from the martial arts training ground, Zhuang Jin returned to the dormitory. He met a martial artist who was going out to wash up and nodded to him. He greeted him in return.

When I entered the dormitory, I found that except for Xiong Lei who had moved out, almost everyone else was there. However, they were just lying on the bed. They were not chatting like they had been doing in the past few days. There was silence everywhere.

——Everyone practiced extra exercises in the evening and just came back. After washing up, they were so tired that they didn’t want to move a finger. In addition to physical fatigue, there was also psychological pressure. Today was the seventeenth day, but many people hadn’t even achieved the first step of controlling the qi and blood. They really didn’t have the mood to chat.

Wang Rui's expression was particularly gloomy, as if a low-pressure rain cloud was floating overhead, signaling rain would soon fall. One could tell from his expression that he still hadn't mastered the art of Qi and Blood. I didn't see him ask anyone else about their progress today; I wonder if he'd already done so, or if he was just in a bad mood and didn't feel like asking.

Zhuang Jin hadn't mentioned his official martial arts credentials. Was he bragging about it? Was he trying to slap Wang Rui in the face, or to get back at Hou Yong for the sarcasm he'd gotten from him that night?
He is not so naive as to play such a childish game of house.

Of course, even if Zhuang Jin didn't say it tonight, these martial artists would still know it tomorrow morning, and they would be envious, jealous, and even... hateful.

But... who cares?
To Zhuang Jin, these martial artists who shared the same dormitory had simply lived in the same dormitory. After tomorrow, they might never have any contact with each other again in their entire lives.

His attitude towards these people is like that of roadside weeds. He will not do anything, nor will he deliberately not do anything. He will just act at his own pace and according to his own pros and cons... This is exactly the mentality of the strong, or the superior.

Zhuang Jin was about to go out to wash up.

Bi Kai came in, his high, excited voice like singing an opera: "Hey, I just went to wash up and fetched water to rinse my feet, and suddenly I had an inspiration. I practiced the standing meditation by the well. Hey, guess what? As I was practicing, the bottleneck of the martial artist was like the paper covering the window... it broke! Master Bi is now a formal martial artist. How about it, isn't it amazing?"

"When Xiong Lei left yesterday, I told him I was just one step ahead. I can catch up with him anytime soon. Hey, tomorrow morning I'll tell Master Ping to move in with the official warriors too!"

Like Zhuang Jin, he also felt that it was no need to rush at this time tonight, and it would not be too late to tell him tomorrow morning... Moreover, this move also suited his wishes. He could take advantage of this evening to show off in front of Wu Sheng, who was in the same dormitory, and show off his prowess in front of others.

The roommates were originally silent, and after hearing Bi Kai's words, they seemed to be even more silent for a moment, until someone said dryly, "Brother Bi, congratulations," and then the others also said congratulations.

Bi Kai could see that these people's congratulations were reluctant, but he didn't care. He just wanted to enjoy the opportunity to show off in front of others. He didn't care whether other people's congratulations were sincere or not.
Even this reluctant and unwilling congratulations made him feel even more helpless - it was to make you envious and jealous, but no matter how envious and jealous you were, you could never compare to or catch up with him, there was nothing you could do, hey!
On the bunk next to him, Wang Rui listened to Bi Kai's boasting. His sideways body enveloped half of his face in the light of the oil lamp, while the other half was buried in the shadows that could not reach him. He looked like a Buddha or a demon. However, it was a fleeting illusion that quickly disappeared. He turned around and sat up with an exaggerated expression of amazement: "Brother Bi, you are amazing! Congratulations! I hope you can help me in the future!"

"No problem! No problem!" Compared to other people in the dormitory, Wang Rui's congratulations were more sincere, which made Bi Kai smile even wider. But although he said "no problem" and "no problem", he felt a little disdainful in his heart and looked down on Wang Rui. After all, they would be people of a different level in the future.

Zhuang Jin took all of this in, and also congratulated Bi Kai, then went to wash up quietly, as if he was a nobody and had no sense of existence.

……

In the middle of the night, Zhuang Jin was in a light sleep when he suddenly heard a plop sound as if a quilt had fallen to the ground, followed by a sound of something rubbing against his teeth that made his teeth ache. He immediately opened his eyes alertly, sat up, and looked in the direction of the sound.

As a warrior, he mobilized his inner energy, his hearing and vision far surpassing those of ordinary people. He saw, in the dim light of the room, a sliver of moonlight streaming in through the window. Wang Rui had found a thumb-thick rope from somewhere and wrapped it around Bi Kai's neck from behind. He pressed his knee against Bi Kai's back and yanked the rope back hard, a mad, sickly grin on his face. Bi Kai lay on his side like a toad, his neck strangled from behind. His face flushed, his eyes bulging, his hands clutching his neck. The quilt fell from his body as he struggled. Survival instincts made his feet rub against the bed, making a teeth-grinding sound.

——In fact, Bi Kai had already become a formal warrior and should not have fallen to this point. However, he was not alert and was attacked by Wang Rui while he was sleeping. He was not prepared and was strangled by the rope around his neck, suffocating him. In this abnormal state, Bi Kai was a formal warrior who had just broken through tonight. He was not proficient in the use of internal energy and it was difficult for him to concentrate and mobilize his internal energy. Not to mention mobilizing internal energy, it was difficult for him to gather strength in this state. Even if he struggled instinctively, he could not reach Wang Rui at all because of this posture.

Bi Kai and Wang Rui were sleeping next to each other. At this moment, the Wusheng next to them was also startled awake, but after seeing what was happening, he instinctively moved away - human nature is selfish, and when seeing danger, the first reaction is naturally to avoid it, rather than approaching the source of danger.

By the time they realized what had happened, it was difficult for them to risk Bi Kai's life by confronting the now frantic Wang Rui and playing with his chestnuts in the fire. Furthermore, Bi Kai's boasting about his breakthrough to the official warrior level had already left them feeling extremely unbalanced. Seeing Bi Kai's miserable state, they even felt a dark, unspoken pleasure.

The only exception is Zhuang Jin!
"When Bi Kai showed off his breakthrough tonight, I felt something was wrong with Wang Rui, and sure enough, something went wrong."

Zhuang Jin's eyes were deep, and he saw through everything: from the seventh day when Xiang Qichen took the lead in controlling his Qi and blood, the atmosphere in the training ground had become increasingly impetuous, even extending to the dormitory. In recent days, there had been a series of breakthroughs to become warriors, but more than 90% of the people in the dormitory were still unable to even control their Qi and blood. The contrast between the two had pushed this impetuous atmosphere to the extreme.

Bi Kai's show of breaking through tonight was undoubtedly the last straw that broke the camel's back...

And tonight, Bi Kai finally brought upon himself a severe backlash for his show-off and display of power in public since the first day.

He thought about all this, and then the next moment he was thinking rapidly about whether to take action, as well as the pros and cons: "If I don't take action, I won't have to face Wang Rui, but if Bi Kai, a formal warrior, really gets into trouble, as my roommate, I might be implicated and bear some responsibility. If I take action, the price is facing Wang Rui, but the benefit is saving Bi Kai, who is already a formal warrior and seems quite wealthy, and gaining his favor and the possibility of his subsequent repayment."

The pros and cons are clear at a glance.

Another point worth mentioning is that if other martial artists in the dormitory were to face Wang Rui in his current crazy state, they might be in danger, but for Zhuang Jin now, this danger can be ignored.

——As a formal warrior, Wang Rui, a mere man, would be no match for the opponent unless he was attacked intentionally or accidentally, or even if he was attacked by surprise, as long as he was a little more vigilant!
At the same time, in addition to the pros and cons, Zhuang Jin also recalled one thing at this moment. On the night when Hou Yong came, Wang Rui mocked and ridiculed him, and Bi Kai spoke up for him to get him out of the predicament.

He asked himself, he was not a good person, but he could clearly distinguish between gratitude and resentment. Although Bi Kai's words that day were not a great favor, even the favor was reluctant. After all, even if the other party did not speak, he could still handle it. It was just a goodwill after all, and he acknowledged it!

Thinking of this, Zhuang Jin's heart suddenly tilted in favor, and he made the decision and took action immediately.

"Get out of the way!" He shouted in a deep voice, passed through the martial artist in front of him, and leaped over like a roc spreading its wings. He came in front of Bi Kai and Wang Rui, and pressed his palm on the back of Wang Rui.

……

(End of this chapter)