Chapter 45: The Trump Card

Watching the crowd from Sanshan City walk away, Lin Zhengren had not yet spoken when his younger brother, Lin Zhengli, expressed his indignation: "Those mountain barbarians are so rude!"

Lin Zhengren was the leader of the Wangjiang City delegation this time, while Lin Zhengli was competing as the representative of the one-year students of the Wangjiang City Dao Academy.

Hearing this, Lin Zhengren merely smiled faintly, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

The Wangjiang City cultivators present were all adorned with pearls and jade; their backgrounds in Wangjiang City were either wealthy or noble, making it inevitable that they carried some decadent, playboy habits. Even within the territory of Fenglin City, they spoke without restraint, cursing whoever they pleased.

"Once the Dao Debate begins, we must teach them a lesson!"

"The people of Fenglin City aren't all that great either. I said I wanted to visit the Sanxiang Pavilion, and they actually ignored me! Such stinginess!"

"Hahaha, they're poor. Look at the courtyard they've arranged for us to stay in—is that even fit for humans? There isn't even a floor heating system. Those mattresses are just ordinary silk cotton!"

"Sigh, these impoverished, fallen families, what can one do? I've already sent servants to arrange for better things. Let's just make do for a couple of days."

As the group continued their complaining, a voice suddenly interjected: "Where is that fellow Fu Baosong? Did he not show up again?"

"Who cares about him!" Lin Zhengli sneered. "I don't know how the Dean managed to sneak him in; he's both sour and stinky."

Lin Zhengren gently placed his wine cup on the table, and Lin Zhengli immediately shut his mouth.

Lin Zhengren lifted his chopsticks: "Eat."

The atmosphere instantly became lively again.

...

Under Jiang Wang's supervision, Jiang An'an returned all the treasure she had earned from her classmates. She also stated that she would no longer help her classmates cheat on exams and would henceforth study hard to achieve results with style, bringing honor to the Jiang family.

The condition was that she must receive an extra serving of Guixiangzhai pastries after every dinner.

She wasn't even afraid of losing her teeth!

While Ling He and the others were hosting their friends from the distant Sanshan City, Jiang Wang, after finishing his daily cultivation, went to Mingde Hall to pick up his sister from school.

It had to be said that with the help of the Yuan Control Technique, his control over Dao Yuan was improving at a very impressive rate. The most direct manifestation was that he could now list array points with ease and grace, having not made a mistake in a long time.

Combined with the physical strengthening from the Four Spirits Body Refining Technique, the frequency of his meridian-clearing cultivation had increased significantly. Had he not exercised restraint, he might have already succeeded in establishing his foundation. But even without maximizing his body's potential, he was not far from foundation establishment.

After picking up Jiang An'an and preparing to go for a good meal, a young girl with many small braids suddenly jumped in front of him.

Pointing a finger at Jiang Wang, she spoke quite rudely: "Are you the one who won't let An'an play with me?"

Jiang Wang recognized her; this was the little troublemaker he had seen at the old gentleman's place in Mingde Hall—a young girl who looked clearly pampered and spoiled.

The tiny pearls, jade beads, and emerald beads hanging from her braids alone were enough to show her wealth.

Jiang Wang had nothing to argue about with a child: "Little friend, I only told An'an not to cheat with you; I didn't tell her she couldn't play with you."

The braided girl huffed: "Then why did you return those treasures to me? Those were the witnesses to our friendship!"

"Friendship cannot be witnessed by money." Jiang Wang lacked much patience for other people's children, so he offered a casual piece of education before saying, "Alright, I'm taking An'an home now."

"No! You can't leave until you explain clearly!" The braided girl spread her arms, blocking the path.

Helpless, Jiang Wang had to use his trump card: "I'll tell your teacher, you know."

"You dare?" The braided girl pulled up her sleeves in anger. "Believe it or not, I'll beat you up!"

Before Jiang Wang could speak, Jiang An'an chimed in: "Qingzhi, if you hit my brother, I really won't play with you anymore!"

"Oh, don't. Then I won't hit him." The little girl named Qingzhi immediately pulled her sleeves back down.

Jiang Wang listened from the side, speechless. *Can you even beat me? You little brat!*

"I'll say it one more time, little friend. As long as you don't do bad things together, like cheating or skipping school, I won't object to An'an playing with you. Do you understand? Once you understand, wait here for your family to pick you up. An'an and I are going to have meatball soup now!"

Jiang An'an had originally wanted to say a few more words to her good friend, but upon hearing about the soup, she immediately lost interest and waved repeatedly: "Goodbye, Qingzhi! See you tomorrow!"

As the braided girl stepped aside while waving, Jiang Wang carried Jiang An'an away with large strides.

Watching Jiang Wang's retreating figure, she huffed again and muttered, "What's the big deal."

...

The cultivators from Sanshan City finally arrived at the small courtyard prepared for them by the Fenglin City Dao Academy.

As soon as the door closed, the person in black—whom the people of Fenglin City regarded as a hidden Great Demon King—slumped onto the ground, his voice filled with inexplicable grief and indignation: "Can we disperse now? We're already in Fenglin City; where else can I run to?"

Along the way, he had attempted hundreds of ways to escape back to Sanshan City, but he was caught every single time. By the time they neared Fenglin City, they had even surrounded him to enter the city.

The Sanshan City cultivators felt somewhat awkward upon hearing this; some looked at the sky, some looked at the ground, and two were pointing at each other's fingers. Not a single person moved an inch.

The actual Great Demon King hopped and skipped into the rooms, circling all six before jumping back into the courtyard. She pointed toward the westernmost room; on both of her wrists were silver chains with small silver hammers hanging from the ends, swaying with her movements.

"Alright, go pick your rooms! That room is mine."

Only then did the crowd scatter.

"Fatty Sun!" Sun Xiaoman called out to Sun Xiaoyan, who was scrambling to get up. "You're staying in the room next to mine!"

"I don't want to!" Sun Xiaoyan roared, but upon meeting Sun Xiaoman's gaze, his voice immediately dropped: "Can I... not?"

"No, you can't," Sun Xiaoman blinked.

She had large, bright eyes; when she blinked, it was as if the moonlight was reflected in a mountain stream.

But Sun Xiaoyan only wanted to tremble.

Sun Xiaoman walked forward with her hands behind her back, skipping along. The pair of silver hammer ornaments swayed from side to side, occasionally striking together to produce a crisp sound. "Fatty, come with big sister~"

Sun Xiaoyan followed her reluctantly into the room, complaining aggrievedly, "Can you please not call me Fatty Sun? I have a proper name!"

"Okay, Fatty Sun." Sun Xiaoman turned around and waved him off indifferently. "Come, sit here."

Sun Xiaoyan sat down obediently, his layers of fat filling the armchair to capacity.

Sun Xiaoman reached out and pulled down his hood, revealing his chubby face.

"Oh my, look at that swelling." When Sun Xiaoman wasn't being fierce, her voice was actually quite soft and cute.

*My god, I'm being cared for.* Sun Xiaoyan felt a strange warmth in his heart.

But he immediately snapped out of it. *Pah!*

He spat fiercely in his mind.

Sun Xiaoman took out a small jade bottle and removed the wooden stopper, releasing a wisp of fragrance.

Using her pinky nail, she scooped out a bit of translucent ointment, pressed it gently onto Sun Xiaoyan's face, and slowly spread it with her fingertip.

Sun Xiaoyan didn't dare to resist and remained motionless to receive it. His face first felt a coolness, followed by a sense of comfort. The painful areas seemed to soothe instantly.

"There!" After applying the medicine, Sun Xiaoman patted Sun Xiaoyan's large face. "Leave it on overnight, and the swelling will go down tomorrow."

A "thank you" almost escaped Sun Xiaoyan's lips instinctively, but he bit it back.

Sun Xiaoman put away the jade bottle and said with a smile, "Remember not to be so impulsive in the future. It would be so ugly to be disfigured, and it would be such a disgrace to Sanshan City."

*Who even hit me?!*

Sun Xiaoyan felt grief and indignation in his heart, but he forced a smile onto his face and said obediently, "Okay, Jie Jie."