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

The two started chatting in the car.

"I never expected this deal to be so worthwhile—I only used two unused votes, and each of us got a potential potion in exchange, plus a free meal."

"Those kids know how to handle things, not bad, not bad."

……

After the two men left, Liu Zhi and his companions did not go back immediately, but instead strolled around the streets to digest their food.

The group chatted as they walked.

Liu Zhi suddenly remembered something and casually said, "Oh right, I asked a friend about Wu Sheng—he's working as a sparring partner at the advanced training ground."

"A sparring partner?" Xu Fei was taken aback, then chuckled, "I thought he was something special, turns out he's just a sparring partner? That's hilarious."

"Exactly!" Zhou Wei laughed along. "Those from the outer city are only fit to do this kind of work."

"He's just a clown from the outer city, no need to pay him any attention," Liu Zhi commented with the air of someone who'd been there before.

When Yan Liang heard these words, he couldn't help but nod in agreement.

Indeed, my choice was right.

Only by following Liu Zhi and his group can one gain a foothold in the inner city. Wu Sheng, who works as a sparring partner, is destined to be just a sparring partner at best; how can he compare to the promising future I have?

He never even considered that Wu Sheng could get a potential potion in three days by being a sparring partner; and what had he gained by following Liu Zhi and the others for these past few days?

……

Soon after, the group returned to the entrance of the martial arts academy.

Yan Liang suddenly remembered something and said, "Oh right, I paid more than three thousand for that meal just now. Let's just say three thousand. There are five of us, so it's six hundred each."

His reasons for being so generous in paying the bill were twofold. First, he wanted to impress the two strangers—those who could treat everyone along with Xu Fei and his group must be of high status, and he wanted to leave a good impression. Second, he had already decided that since Liu Zhi and his group had organized the gathering, he couldn't pay for everything himself; splitting the bill wouldn't cost him much.

But he never expected—

Liu Zhi's expression changed instantly.

The smile he had shown when facing those two was completely gone, replaced by a look of disgust and impatience.

"Hey, that's not a good point," Liu Zhi frowned. "We were having a nice meal together, and you insisted on paying, so we thought you were treating. Now you want money back—what do you mean by that?"

Yan Liang's face stiffened.

What does "he invited" mean? Why did he invite you?

He only paid the bill because he saw that Liu Zhi and the others were taking their time to pay.

He opened his mouth, wanting to explain something, but for a moment he didn't know how to start.

Liu Zhi then said, "Why make such a fuss? It's just a meal. We can always treat you again next time."

Xu Fei, drawing out his words, chimed in, "Tch—exactly!"

Zhou Wei chimed in, "That's right, why are you fussing over such a small thing?"

Facing several of them alone, Yan Liang ultimately lacked confidence.

He swallowed the words that were about to come out and fell silent.

He comforted himself: Oh well, Liu Zhi said they'd treat next time, so he'd get his money's worth then.

……

The group entered the martial arts academy and returned to their respective dormitories.

On the way, Liu Zhi leaned close to Xu Fei and whispered, "There are some things I don't know whether I should say or not—Xu Fei, it's really not that I'm trying to cause trouble, but Yan Liang is too calculating."

Xu Fei nodded: "Those people from the outer city, they're just like that."

Zhou Wei chimed in, "People who are too calculating shouldn't be trusted."

Xu Fei made the final decision: "Then we won't invite him to meals anymore."

In just a few words, Yan Liang was excluded from their circle.

And he was completely unaware.

……

Yan Liang returned to his dormitory.

As soon as he entered the room, he saw Wu Sheng lying on the bed.

Recalling what Liu Zhi had said on the way, a smug smile crept onto his lips.

"Wu Sheng," he drawled, his tone laced with obvious schadenfreude, "I heard you're working as a sparring partner at the advanced training ground?"

Wu Sheng didn't even lift his eyelids.

To him, those words were no different from a dog barking.

Seeing that Wu Sheng ignored him, Yan Liang became even more smug. He felt that he had hit a nerve, leaving the other party speechless. He couldn't stop smiling.

This scene caught Zhao Dele's eye, and he couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

He glanced at Wu Sheng, who remained unmoved on the bed, and then at Yan Liang, who looked smug. Suddenly, a plan formed in his mind.

"Yan Liang," Zhao Dele said with a chuckle, his tone slightly teasing, "Where have you been? How come you're so well-informed? You even know about Wu Sheng working as a sparring partner?"

Yan Liang raised his chin: "I had a dinner party with some friends, and I just went to eat with them."

He didn't say who those friends were, but Zhao Dele and the others knew perfectly well—it was definitely Xu Fei's group.

"Oh—went to eat?" Zhao Dele drawled, "You reaped quite a harvest, huh? What did you get in return? Tell us brothers!"

Yan Liang's smile froze slightly.

The three thousand yuan he had just pulled out flashed through his mind, as did Liu Zhi's disdainful face and the humiliating scene from just moments ago—

Zhao Dele noticed this subtle change in expression.

He immediately realized that Yan Liang had definitely not gained any benefit and had most likely suffered a loss.

Yan Liang forced a nonchalant wave and said, "Hey, it's nothing, just a meal."

"Don't be so modest!" Zhao Dele persisted, his tone full of admiration. "Yan Liang, I'm not exaggerating, but in our dorm, you're the most successful! You hang out with those inner-city elites every day, you're incredibly impressive! The things they casually peek out are things we outer-city folks can only dream of!"

He became more and more enthusiastic as he spoke, but his tone subtly changed:

"Unlike us, we can only do menial cleaning jobs and work ourselves to the bone to earn those few points."

"Unlike Wu Sheng—who can only work as a sparring partner, earning an hour every night and only one potential potion every three days."

He paused, then smiled at Yan Liang: "Unlike you, following a powerful figure, your future is limitless!"

Yan Liang's eyes widened immediately upon hearing this.

What did he hear?

One hour of sparring every day? Three days is like a potential booster!

That's incredibly generous a reward.

Having a sparring partner doesn't waste time; on the contrary, it can improve your skills.

This is much better than him having to drudge cleaning the training ground.

He had to clean the training ground for two weeks to earn a potential potion, and he also lost precious training time in the process.

But Wu Sheng was able to obtain a potential potion while cultivating.

This isn't hard work; it's clearly about latching onto a powerful patron!

For a moment, Yan Liang was stunned.

He asked incredulously, "Really? One potential-enhancing drug every three days?"

Zhao Dele laughed and said, "Of course it's true, why would I lie to you?"

"Sigh, what's this? It's nothing compared to Yan Liang. I bet when you guys go out to eat, you're eating meat from exotic beasts."