Being forced to grow like a pig? But I'm immune to the consequences!

"You piece of trash." Soguli was also panting heavily, looking down at him. "You have no skills but dare to act arrogantly in front of me? You really think you're something special."

Just then, Ning Yi arrived quickly with an instructor.

"Stop right now!"

The newcomer was Tavin. His face was ashen as he rushed forward and shouted angrily.

Soguli stood still and did not make another move.

Tavin glanced at Zhou Wei on the ground, then at Suoguli, his face extremely grim: "Do either of you know the rules of the Martial Academy?!"

"I know," Soguli nodded.

From the moment he took action, he was prepared to be punished.

Tavin stared at him, then suddenly asked, "Who struck first?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Dele immediately frowned.

In a place like the Martial Arts Academy, why would anyone care who strikes first? It was clearly Zhou Wei who provoked first, so what does Tavin mean by asking that question?

His gaze shifted to Ning Yi—she was the one who brought the person.

Ning Yi simply stood to the side, her face calm and expressionless.

"I asked who started it!" Tavin repeated, his tone even harsher.

Soguli paused for a moment, then spoke: "Me."

"Alright." Tavan pointed to Zhou Wei on the ground. "He's sentenced to three days of potential-enhancing potions. You're sentenced to five days!"

Suoguli's face darkened.

He wanted to ask why, but in the end, he didn't voice his doubts to the instructor.

Wu Sheng witnessed all of this from a short distance away.

He suddenly turned his head and looked at Cheng Mingyuan beside him.

"Brother Cheng, can you do me a favor?"

Cheng Mingyuan didn't speak, he just looked at him.

Wu Sheng gestured with his chin toward Suoguli: "Say a fair word for me."

"Your friend?"

"I guess so."

Cheng Mingyuan nodded: "Okay."

He strode toward Tavin.

"Instructor Tawen," Cheng Mingyuan greeted her first, his attitude neither humble nor arrogant.

Tavin noticed his advanced training uniform and nodded slightly.

"May I speak to you in private?" Cheng Mingyuan gestured.

The two walked to the side.

Cheng Mingyuan spoke up, his tone sincere: "Instructor Tawen, I saw what happened. It was the student on the ground who provoked me first, which led to the other party's attack. The one on the ground was less skilled and no match for him, which is why we are in this situation now."

He paused, then continued, "The Martial Academy has its own rules, I understand. They broke the rules and angered you, so they deserve punishment. But ultimately, this matter was caused by the person who provoked them first. If the one who provoked them first and is also less skilled receives a lighter punishment... wouldn't that easily encourage certain unhealthy practices?"

"Please, Instructor Tavin, make a wise judgment."

Cheng Mingyuan spoke sincerely and logically. Logically speaking, it would be somewhat offensive for a student to question the instructor's judgment like this—but he had the ability to make people listen without feeling offended.

Tawen looked at him, then at Soguli and Zhou Wei not far away, and remained silent for a moment.

He didn't actually know what Cheng Mingyuan's relationship was with the people who fought.

But it was a trivial matter, and he didn't care at all. Since Cheng Mingyuan had asked, there was no harm in doing him a favor.

"Forget it." Tavin waved his hand. "It was a small matter anyway, just that I made a wasted trip. I thought I'd teach them a lesson."

The reason he was so angry was because Ning Yi said that the two sides had a verbal argument, and the other party started to fight without saying a word. She tried to stop them, but the other party's people wouldn't let her.

Your one-stop haven for novel reading.

That's when he realized how outrageous these people from the outer city were.

However, now that someone from the advanced training ground has spoken up, this matter can be dropped.

Tavin walked back to the arena, glanced at Soguri, and said, "Fine, I'll let you off this time. You'll still be punished with three days off. If you have any conflicts again, you can settle them in the ring during training time."

He glanced at Zhou Wei on the ground again, his tone filled with undisguised disdain: "And you, you have no skills but dare to provoke others, you deserve to be beaten."

After saying that, he turned and left.

Cheng Mingyuan returned to Wu Sheng's side.

Suoguli saw everything and understood. He nodded gratefully to Wu Sheng.

Wu Sheng didn't say much, just nodded slightly, and then returned to the advanced training ground with Cheng Mingyuan.

In the arena, only Xu Fei, Zhou Wei, Liu Zhi, Yan Liang, and Ning Yi, who was standing not far away, remained.

Zhou Wei was helped up by Liu Zhi and Yan Liang. His face was covered in bruises and he looked utterly disheveled.

Xu Fei stood still, his gaze following the direction in which Wu Sheng had disappeared.

The appearance of that advanced training ground student, and then Wu Sheng entering and leaving the advanced training ground with him, all of this was like a thorn stuck in his heart, one that he couldn't get rid of.

He couldn't understand how Wu Sheng, this lowly bastard from out of town, had managed to hook up with a student from the advanced training ground.

Did they use some underhanded tricks, or...?

Xu Fei's face was gloomy, and he felt extremely choked up.

He couldn't accept that someone he used to look down on was now hanging out with someone he had to look up to!

Yan Liang stood aside, glancing at Xu Fei's expression and then at the direction Wu Sheng had disappeared in, and a strange feeling welled up in his heart.

He's been licking for so long, from the outer city to the inner city, from Liao Xing to Xu Fei—but in the end, what did he get?

He's been licking for so long, from the outer city to the inner city, from Liao Xing to Xu Fei—but in the end, what did he get?

And Wu Sheng, whom he considered "isolated," the Wu Sheng he intended to use as a stepping stone to integrate into the group—

They're already in the advanced training grounds, standing alongside the real "big shots."

In the distance, Ning Yi's gaze swept in that direction, a thoughtful look flashing in his eyes.

……

night.

In Xu Fei's dormitory.

"Why is Wu Sheng at the advanced training ground? Do you know what's going on?"

Xu Fei leaned against the bedside, his tone seemingly casual as he asked, but his eyes glanced at Yan Liang.

Seeing Wu Sheng come out of the advanced training ground today, standing with that person in advanced training clothes, suddenly gave him a strange feeling.

The guy he had never taken seriously seemed to have become someone he couldn't understand without him noticing.

Xu Fei felt a little flustered.

He was eager to know Wu Sheng's background.

"I don't know either." Yan Liang shook his head.

As he said this, his gaze lingered on Xu Fei's face for a moment.

Xu Fei's seemingly casual yet undeniably concerned demeanor suddenly made Yan Liang's feelings change.

In his eyes, Xu Fei had always been someone he looked up to. With a good family background, connections, and an older brother to look after him in the inner city—such a person should be standing firmly at the top, looking down on them, who came from the outer city.

But now that Xu Fei is in this state, and thinking about how Zhou Wei was beaten to a pulp today without gaining any advantage—Yan Liang suddenly couldn't tell the difference.

What exactly is the status of these people in the inner city?

He'd been hanging out with them for days, but hadn't gained any advantage; in fact, he'd suffered quite a bit of loss.

But deep down, Yan Liang still instinctively believed that he would be rewarded.

After all, compared to Tu Nan's group who had no background or connections, even if Xu Fei and his group were at their worst, they could still pave a road for him in the inner city, right?