Chaos and monsters begin with the red dragon's clone.

"Senior brother, don't I need to change my clothes?"

"It's alright, that's just how martial artists are."

The sky was still overcast. Zhang Xun was practicing his punches in the inner courtyard when Zhao Shaoting suddenly came over and said that a cousin of his was outside the boxing academy. He could only wipe his sweat haphazardly with a towel and follow Zhao Shaoting out of the academy. They turned right and walked straight along the side street. At the corner of the main street with its flow of people, they saw a pale yellow carriage and a young girl.

The girl wore a light blue dress and lotus-root embroidered shoes. Her black hair was tied into a single bun, and a white head ornament was attached to her forehead to hold it in place. The ornament was made of special white animal hair, which was soft and textured.

Just by looking at their clothes and appearance, you can tell they come from a wealthy family in town.

"Eleventh Sister said she wants to talk to you alone. She rarely dresses like this. She's trying to intimidate you with her presence. Don't be fooled. Just treat her normally," Zhao Shaoting whispered, stopping at the corner.

Zhang Xun thought to himself that he was a thoughtful person, and he didn't want to find someone who was slow-witted, but he wasn't averse to it either.

He walked over, meeting the girl's scrutinizing gaze.

As soon as he approached, before he could even greet her, the girl spoke.

What do you think of me?

The girl asked the question calmly and without the slightest shyness.

Zhang Xun was somewhat surprised; this was a bit unexpected.

"Intelligent and very opinionated," Zhang Xun praised.

"What do you look like?" the girl smiled.

"A lady from a respectable family." Zhang Xun paused and added, "To be honest, it's a bit beyond my expectations. I originally thought that the person Senior Brother Zhao introduced would be more ordinary."

He didn't object when Zhao Shaoting mentioned introducing him to a decent-looking woman. Since he was considering settling down, he naturally hoped his partner would be attractive. Given his own circumstances and the woman's family background, he felt that someone with average looks but slightly above average would be quite good. He hadn't expected the woman to exceed his expectations… Fortunately, she seemed to have a good impression of him, so perhaps things could work out?

Just as Zhang Xun's heart stirred slightly, he heard the girl chuckle softly.

"I'm quite satisfied with you too." The girl chuckled and nodded. "Third Brother said you're a very good person. I was skeptical at first, but your eyes are calm and you're not impulsive. You come from an ordinary family and have mediocre talent, yet your demeanor and speech are neither timid nor petty. That's rare. Third Brother is probably right this time."

"That's too kind of you."

This was the first time Zhang Xun had been praised to his face, and he felt a little embarrassed.

"My name is Zhao Yuan," the girl introduced herself. "This is a major life event, we can't be hasty. I think we can get to know each other better, what do you think?"

This means they agree. As long as nothing goes wrong, it should be successful.

Zhang Xun felt reassured, believing that he was finally on the right track this time.

"That's only natural."

"By the way, what about your aptitude? How long did it take you to learn the basics of boxing?" the girl asked again.

"Didn't Senior Brother Zhao say?" Zhang Xun was taken aback.

"Third Brother only said you have mediocre talent and told me to ask you again when we meet." The girl smiled slightly and shook her head. "Don't worry, I had my expectations. It doesn't matter if you fall short."

Zhang Xun had a premonition that things might not go smoothly. As soon as he spoke, sure enough, the girl's smile gradually faded, and she frowned...

*

*

On the street, men and women in work clothes from various workshops pass by from time to time, along with carts carrying goods, old farmers carrying hoes and farm tools, and various shouts and calls of vendors.

Song Zhou and his senior brother Chen Kangyu were walking back to the Flying Stone Fist Academy along the street when they saw the Zhao family girl bowing slightly to Zhang Xun before getting into the carriage and leaving in the distance. They both stopped in their tracks.

Chen Kangyu glanced around and knew what had happened. He said coldly, "One reason why people from various families join the boxing academy is to make it easier to find and recruit people. Shaoting still has the same discerning eye as always, thinking that he can find gold in a cold spot. If that's really the case, why does the teacher still need to assess people's potential when recruiting them?"

This time, he even plans to introduce his cousin to someone who's only been in the program for a year. His eye for talent is getting sharper and sharper... But so far, he hasn't seen a single person with mediocre aptitude manage to break through the Body Tempering stage.

"Not even in the inner city?" Song Zhou asked.

"The inner city is different; the barriers to entry for resources are very high." Chen Kangyu shook his head, then asked, "Have the Yu family and the Xie family extended olive branches to you?"

"Senior Sister Xie offered the Xie family six thousand coins a month, while Senior Brother Yu's family offered eight thousand. They asked me to sign a contract and agree to become a nominal retainer of their family. Some details can still be discussed further." Song Zhou nodded.

"You can ask for a higher price, but don't rush to agree," Chen Kangyu said coldly, adding, "Don't be short-sighted and fall for a honey trap. Once your talent has been fully realized, ask your teacher for help in finding a better match. That might help you break through the Body Tempering stage faster."

"Um."

Song Zhou watched the pale yellow carriage depart into the distance. His senior brother Zhang, who had entered the sect on the same day as him, smiled, turned around, and calmly withdrew his gaze.

*

*

"Junior brother, how is it?"

As soon as Zhang Xun returned to the corner of the side street, Zhao Shaoting came up to greet him expectantly.

"Senior brother, you should have explained my aptitude beforehand," Zhang Xun sighed.

"Uh, well." Zhao Shaoting understood the outcome and gave a wry smile, somewhat helpless.

"My eleventh sister is a good match in the clan, with good looks and qualifications. I thought that she would be more lenient with her qualifications after meeting you, so I didn't make it clear beforehand."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Xun understood Zhao's good intentions.

My senior's cousin is beautiful, smart and generous, and comes from a decent family. Overall, she's quite good, but he seems so-so. It's normal that he didn't take a liking to me.

He didn't feel disappointed. He had only met the girl once, so it wasn't worth it. He just thought that his life would get back on track from then on, but now that things had suddenly turned upside down, he couldn't help but feel a little disheartened.

"How about I introduce you to another company, junior brother? This time we need to make things clear beforehand," Zhao Shaoting suggested again.

"Forget it, let's leave this matter at that for now. In the end, we can only rely on ourselves." Zhang Xun shook his head. After this experience, he understood that external forces are all illusory and rootless. Even if a girl takes a liking to him and they actually get together, will everything go smoothly without any trouble? The real power that is worth pursuing is what you earn and control yourself!

"Alright then." Zhao Shaoting sighed helplessly, thinking that his junior brother might have been discouraged by his cousin. Perhaps it would have been better to introduce him to someone more ordinary from the start, but he also felt that his junior brother was capable and didn't want to wrong him... So this is the result. 'Let's talk about it again later. How can he rely on himself alone? He's too naive.'

Zhang Xun returned to the inner courtyard and resumed practicing his boxing.

Having already consumed the exotic beast jerky, we must maximize its effectiveness.

As evening approached, a sudden, intense drowsiness washed over the red dragon.

"Oh, it's time to hibernate and grow from a fledgling dragon into a young dragon!" Zhang Xun was overjoyed.

This stage is the shortest of all the dragon sleeps, and can be completed in about one night.

He hurried home, ate dinner, took a shower, and, exhausted from a day of hard training, went to his room, went to bed, and fell asleep immediately.

Waking up the next morning...

Swish.

At the crater, the red dragon simultaneously opened its eyes.