The Glory of the Sun and Moon in the Peerless Tang Sect

Compared to Dai Huabin, she showed even more obvious hostility towards Xu Zihuang.

Having been brainwashed by her family for a long time, Dai Huabin was everything to her.

Xu Zihuang's smile remained unchanged; with his magnanimity, how could such a thing affect his mood?

He has never considered Dai Huabin and his ilk as his rivals. He never has, and he never will.

Chapter 136 Beast Fighting Area

Just as Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu left, Zhou Sichen, Cao Jinxuan, and Tuoba Yu walked towards them.

Cao Jinxuan chuckled and said, "Hey, class monitor, what have you been up to these past few days? Teacher Wang is avoiding the topic of your absences. It's all so mysterious."

"I didn't do anything. I just spent a few days with some senior students from the inner academy," Xu Zihuang casually offered as an excuse.

It wasn't that he wanted to hide the fact that he had obtained his fourth spirit ring, but given the personalities of these three guys, they would make a huge fuss about it if they found out.

It would be better to wait until the afternoon's promotion assessment and let the facts speak for themselves. That way, he won't waste his breath explaining.

Upon hearing the words "senior sister," Zhou Sichen's eyes immediately lit up.

"Class monitor, are those female students from the inner academy you mentioned pretty?"

"Si Chen, can you please stop being so lewd every time?" Tuoba Yu said with a forced serious expression.

Little did he know that his enthusiastic facial expression had already betrayed his true thoughts.

Zhou Sichen retorted irritably, "Tuoba, you have the nerve to talk back to me? Who was it that insisted on dragging me and Jinxuan to talk about Senior Jiang from sixth grade last night?"

"You're talking nonsense! When did I say that?!" Tuoba Yu's face turned red, and he looked around at the second-year students in Class 1 who hadn't left the classroom yet, feeling a little embarrassed.

This guy is secretly a bit of a flirt, but he's always very conscious of his image in class.

Then the two began a tit-for-tat self-destruction battle.

Xu Zihuang and Cao Jinxuan watched the two arguing with amusement, as if they were watching a monkey show.

Cao Jinxuan had somehow taken out a bag of nuts from his storage soul tool, grabbed a handful for himself, and handed them to Xu Zihuang.

Xu Zihuang didn't stand on ceremony and began to savor the taste.

Zhou Sichen and Tuoba Yu were playfully fighting, their faces turning red, a sight the other students in the classroom were used to. Their playful fight certainly didn't involve their martial spirits or soul power, but both were soul masters with soul power around level 30, and their physical strength alone was enough to create quite a commotion.

Some of the female trainees glanced at the two with disdain and quickly stepped aside. Meanwhile, the male trainees, who felt no pressure about the afternoon's advancement assessment and enjoyed watching the spectacle, gathered around Xu Zihuang and Cao Jinxuan, eating nuts that Xu Zihuang offered while watching the show.

The most excited one was Huang Chutian, who exclaimed excitedly.

"Tuoba, are you even up to the task? Cut Zhou Sichen in the middle!"

“Zhou Sichen, don’t try to fight Tuoba head-on. You’re a weapon spirit master, and Tuoba is a beast spirit master. Your strength is definitely not as good as his.”

It's unclear whether it's because his martial soul is the incredibly strong Hercules ape, but he especially loves physical contact.

Gradually, Zhou Sichen and Tuoba Yu also realized that something was wrong. They stopped what they were doing and glared at Huang Chutian fiercely.

"Huang Chutian, aren't you a smooth talker? Come on, why don't you show us what you're made of?"

"With the two of you?" Huang Chutian's face showed disdain.

Do you think I'm stupid?

"Everyone, you can disperse now. We still need to prepare well for the upgrade assessment this afternoon." At this moment, Xu Zihuang also spoke up.

After he said that, the crowd stopped making a fuss and dispersed.

The simple words, however, demonstrated a powerful appeal.

Zhou Sichen and Tuoba Yu, who were bickering just a second ago, acted as if nothing had happened and walked towards the cafeteria with Xu Zihuang and Cao Jinxuan.

It's unlikely that such a thing would cause a rift between the two; in fact, these playful, occasional squabbles can actually strengthen their relationship.

After all, both Zhou Sichen and Tuoba Yu are cheerful and easygoing people who don't like to fuss over small things.

There are only two canteens in the outer academy, one for the Martial Soul Department and one for the Soul Guidance Department. However, the canteens are divided into different areas according to the grade level.

When Xu Zihuang and the others arrived at the cafeteria, Wang Dong, who had left earlier than Dai Huabin and had already finished lunch, happened to brush past the four of them.

The burning fighting spirit in Wang Dong's eyes when he looked at Xu Zihuang was even greater than that of Dai Huabin. And how could his efforts over the past year have been any less than Dai Huabin's?

Zhou Sichen, Cao Jinxuan, and Tuoba Yu all frowned.

Among the freshmen in Class 2, Xu Zihuang was undoubtedly the most popular. Dai Huabin and Wang Dong, on the other hand, left the worst impressions on everyone.

These two thought they were very talented and treated everyone in the class with indifference.

Moreover, the fact that Wang Dong and Dai Huabin's team suffered a crushing defeat against Yu Tianhuang's team in the freshman assessment was common knowledge throughout the second year.

Dai Huabin was alright; he had been quietly cultivating all year. But Wang Dong would always deliberately or unintentionally argue with Xiao Xiao and Huo Yuhao, saying that as long as he worked hard, he would definitely be able to surpass Yu Tianhuang.

This kind of Wang Dong gave everyone the impression of being arrogant and conceited.

Xu Zihuang merely glanced at Wang Dong before looking away.

He wanted to build connections at Shrek Academy, not to fawn over someone who wouldn't listen.

Wang Dong's pride was worthless in his eyes.

Before the upgrade assessment, Zhou Sichen, Cao Jinxuan, and Tuoba Yu continued to enjoy the treatment of core disciples.

There weren't many core disciples in the entire second year, including those who enjoyed the benefits of being core disciples. The four of them quickly got a free top-tier dish each at the second-year window.

One of them is the century-old earth dragon tendon.

This earth dragon tendon is the main tendon extracted from the back of a true earth dragon. The combat power of a hundred-year-old earth dragon spirit beast is absolutely top-tier among hundred-year-old spirit beasts. It's a representative of strength-type spirit beasts. Its tendons have special effects on nourishing the bones and muscles of humans, especially for minors who are still developing.

Another dish is stir-fried bluebird marrow with soy sauce. Bluebirds are said to have a trace of phoenix blood, and their marrow is not only delicious but also highly nourishing for human bones.

There was also a large bowl of clear bone broth made from the bones of hundreds of soul beasts.

Even the rice is made from plump, pearl-like grains of crystal-white corn. It nourishes the body and boosts energy.

This is the generous treatment that core disciples can enjoy.

After getting their food, the group casually found a place to sit down.

Zhou Sichen seems to never be idle. After eating a few bites of rice, he suddenly spoke mysteriously to everyone.

Do you know why Huo Yuhao from our class didn't come to class today?

To Zhou Sichen's surprise, Cao Jinxuan seemed completely unaware of this and asked in astonishment, "So Huo Yuhao didn't come to class?"

“I didn’t notice either if you hadn’t said anything,” Tuoba Yu echoed.

Huo Yuhao was basically a nobody in the class. Except for always being last in various tests, which attracted a little attention, he had no presence at all.

Zhou Sichen was speechless, then looked at Xu Zihuang, who was eating the food on his plate with elegant movements but fast speed.

“I did notice that.” Xu Zihuang put down his chopsticks, smiled and nodded, knowingly continuing Zhou Sichen’s words.

"What happened to Huo Yuhao?"

Zhou Sichen then regained some interest and said, shaking his head, "Huo Yuhao has transferred to the Soul Guidance Department. I overheard this by chance outside Professor Wang Yan's office."

"It seems he knew he couldn't pass the upgrade assessment, which is why he made this decision in advance. It's quite strange, really. How did someone with his level of cultivation even get into Shrek Academy?"

He didn't actually have any ill intentions towards Huo Yuhao; he was just simply a little curious.

"What else could it be? They got in through connections. Dai Huabin, Xie Huanyue from Class Two, and Ning Tian from Class Three, weren't they all specially admitted?" Tuoba Yu chewed his food and mumbled a reply.

However, when Tuoba Yu mentioned Ning Tian, ​​Zhou Sichen and Cao Jinxuan's gazes towards Xu Zihuang immediately became ambiguous.

Cao Jinxuan chuckled mischievously, "Class monitor, tell me honestly, how's your relationship with Ning Tian going? In the past few days since the start of the semester, she's come to us more than once to ask about you since she noticed you weren't at the academy."

"I heard that Ning Tian is the little princess of the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile School, and the sole heir to the next sect leader. She's a genuine beautiful and wealthy young woman. If you can really latch onto her, you can at least skip fifty years of hard work." Zhou Sichen clicked his tongue in amazement.

Unfortunately, just as the two men's expressions were starting to turn lewd, the person in question arrived.

Ning Tian, ​​also carrying a plate of a top-tier dish reserved for core disciples, approached Xu Zihuang with a charming smile.

"Tianhuang".

Zhou Sichen and Cao Jinxuan stood up awkwardly. Being caught talking about someone behind their back isn't a pleasant experience.

"You guys talk, you guys talk."

Before leaving, they didn't forget to drag away the ravenous Tuoba Yu.

Ning Tian politely greeted the three of them, her fair legs pressed together, her right hand resting on the hem of her knee-length school uniform skirt, and sat down opposite Xu Zihuang.

"I heard you only returned to the college this morning. Was something wrong that delayed you?"

Her voice was very pleasant, and it carried a hint of concern.

Xu Zihuang met Ning Tian's gaze with a gentle smile, and his own reflection could be clearly seen in Ning Tian's clear, light blue eyes.

They gazed at each other for a long time, until a slight blush appeared on Ning Tian's pretty face, before she slowly spoke.

"I recently broke through to level 40 and went to hunt soul beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest with some senior students from the inner academy."

Ning Tian and Zhou Sichen are different; their temperaments are much more mature and rational than their peers. His frankness will not elicit a strong reaction from them.

Just as he had expected, Ning Tian did not react with excessive excitement upon hearing the news.

However, the glint in her beautiful eyes revealed that her emotions were far from calm.

Xu Zihuang picked up his plate and stood up, saying softly, "I have an upgrade assessment this afternoon, so I'll be going now."

Since his trip to the Yin-Yang Well of Ice and Fire, he has a new goal.

That is the top-grade herb, the Love-Sickness Heartbreak Red.

He wanted to obtain the magical herb, but he didn't feel that he was capable of having such sincere and pure feelings for a woman in his current state of mind. So, he could only settle for the second best and hope that a woman would truly fall in love with him.

Therefore, Ning Tian can be considered as a candidate to be decided.

The specific choice will depend on how things develop. He is still very young, and there are too many uncertainties about his future.

Freshmen in their first, second, and third years share a dormitory, while students in their fourth, fifth, and sixth years live in an upperclassman dormitory.

As Xu Zihuang entered his second year, his dormitory naturally moved to the second floor.

The number of second-year students is less than a third of the number of freshmen, around three hundred. This number will decrease further after the promotion assessment.

Therefore, the dormitories for second-year students are noticeably more spacious. In addition to a single room for each student, there is also a common area of ​​about 30 square meters. Bathrooms and toilets are all available.

Xu Zihuang returned to his dormitory, tidied up his bed, and then took a nice bath.