637: Chapter 637 Green Bamboo Dining Garden.

"I wonder, Miss Jiang Li, what business do you have with me?"

Qin Yan asked.

He did not reject making acquaintances, but he also did not care for beating around the bush with pleasantries.

Rather than going in circles, it was better to simply ask and get a clear answer.

"It is nothing of importance; I just wanted to get to know you, Young Master, and be friends."

Jiang Li went straight to the point without a word of nonsense.

Her tone was calm, her gaze fixed directly on Qin Yan, and her Face held a sincere smile.

"You are ranked first on the contribution list, Young Master. I hope you will not look down on me, ranked eleventh."

Jiang Li added with a light laugh.

Truth be told, when she first saw that Qin Yan was first on the individual contribution list, she was completely stunned.

Over the past three months, she had fought through countless battlefields with her long spear to accumulate 4,500 points of contribution.

This number, among more than 30,000 Outer Court Disciples, was already enough to look down upon the masses.

But what about Qin Yan?

6,891 points of contribution.

Over 2,000 more than her.

Terrifying.

And this only solidified her intention to befriend Qin Yan. Such a person was worth her lowering her status to actively befriend.

"Miss Jiang Li, you jest."

Qin Yan laughed lightly, his tone indifferent.

His first place, when it came down to it, still had a bit of luck involved.

If the Inner Court assessment were held again now, he definitely would not be able to get first place.

The reason was simple—the strength of Huang Jiuli and the others had all seen a Breakthrough.

When he met Huang Jiuli a few days ago, she had already stepped into the Rank 6 Peak.

Yin Li should be about the same, and those Heavenly Ladder Clearers like Lin Ruoxi, Su Qingwan, and Long Aotian would likely not be far behind.

Although there was only a small Realm difference between the Rank 6 Peak and the Sixth-Rank Late Stage, the gap in strength was immense.

At this level, a difference of one Realm often meant a difference of hundreds of thousands of units of Qi and blood.

With their strength at the Rank 6 Peak, killing Vicious Beasts at the Half-step Grandmaster level, while perhaps not as easy as slicing melons and vegetables, would definitely be much easier than it was for him during the beast tide.

Over time, their contributions would definitely reach a terrifying level.

However, that was fate.

Who let them have their Breakthroughs late?

For these Holy Land Disciples, the saying 'one step slow, every step slow' really was not just talk.

At the juncture of the Inner Court assessment, if you have a Breakthrough early, you can take on harder missions and get more contributions; if you have a Breakthrough late, you can only follow behind others and eat dust.

Falling behind once could mean falling behind forever.

Qin Yan suppressed these thoughts in his heart, his Face still wearing a faint smile.

He chatted with the two women for a while longer.

Jiang Li spoke straightforwardly and crisply, while Lin Qingyue remained her usual cold and indifferent self; the atmosphere between the three was quite harmonious.

When Jiang Li brought up the topic of "eating together" again, Qin Yan pondered for a moment before nodding and agreeing.

He had his own considerations—in this Taixuan Holy Land, having one more friend was always better than having one more enemy.

Jiang Li was strong, frank, and sincere, and was also Lin Qingyue's teammate; she was worth befriending.

More friends meant more paths; he understood this principle.

...

Green Bamboo Dining Garden.

This was a rather famous dining garden in the Inner Court, located on a flat piece of land between two True Disciple peaks, with a quiet environment and abundant Spiritual Qi.

The architecture of the dining garden was antique, with flying eaves, bucket arches, and carved beams and painted pillars.

Two rows of spiritual bamboo were planted in front of the door, dripping with emerald green, rustling when a breeze blew.

Four people sat at a table.

Qin Yan, Lin Qingyue, Jiang Li, and one other person—Shen Wanqian.

Originally, the three of them had agreed to eat together, but when they arrived at the dining garden, they ran into Shen Wanqian.

In the end, the table for three became a table for four.

On the table were various spiritual foods, complete with color, aroma, and taste, which increased one's appetite just by looking at them.

They also contained rich Spiritual Qi.

Long-term consumption was very beneficial for Cultivation.

Of course, the price was not cheap either.

This meal would cost at least a dozen taixuan points.

"Fatty Shen, how do you know Qin Yan?"

Jiang Li picked up a piece of spiritual loach with her chopsticks, put it in her mouth, and asked while looking at Shen Wanqian as she chewed.

When Shen Wanqian heard the words "Fatty Shen," the smile on his Face instantly froze.

In a fit of anger, he got angry for a moment.

Then, he still spoke with a wronged expression:

"Jiang Li, there are so many people here, give me some Face."

His voice carried a bit of pleading and a bit of helplessness.

Hearing this, Jiang Li thought for a moment, nodded, and said: "Fine."

She didn't mean to embarrass Shen Wanqian; she was just used to calling him that and couldn't change it immediately.

Seeing this, Qin Yan was slightly stunned and asked: "You two know each other?"

"We do."

Jiang Li nodded.

"How do you know each other?" Qin Yan asked curiously.

"In the area where my Jiang Family is located, there is a branch of the Wanbao Chamber of Commerce. And one of the two people in charge of that branch is Shen Wanqian's father."

Jiang Li explained.

Qin Yan understood upon hearing this.

So that was it.

Shen Wanqian was secretly relieved to hear that Jiang Li didn't call him "Fatty Shen" again.

He picked up his teacup, took a sip, and calmed his nerves.

In this Taixuan Holy Land, the person he most wanted to see and yet most did not want to see was Jiang Li.

He wanted to see her because his father had given him a strict order—to pursue Jiang Li.

His father's exact words were: "Wanqian, that girl from the Jiang Family is good; she has a good Family background, high talent, and is beautiful. If you can win her over, our father-son position in the Wanbao Chamber of Commerce will be secure. By then, not to mention a branch, even a core position at the headquarters is not impossible to think about."

Shen Wanqian remembered his father's words clearly.

For the sake of the Family and his father, he had to bite the bullet.

He didn't want to see her because... he was afraid.

Back then, he was young and arrogant, relying on his father being a True King, and acted recklessly within the Wanbao Chamber of Commerce, developing a condescending personality.

When he first pursued Jiang Li, he spoke frivolously and said some inappropriate things.

And then—

He was brutally beaten by Jiang Li.

It was a real beating.

Every punch landed on the flesh; she showed no mercy.

Shen Wanqian was beaten until his nose was bruised and his Face was swollen; he almost didn't recognize himself.

From then on, Shen Wanqian's legs would go weak whenever he saw Jiang Li.

But Jiang Li was relentless. As long as she saw him, she would beat him.

Once, twice, three times... Shen Wanqian was beaten until he doubted his existence.

Finally, it was his father who dragged him along to apologize in person; he gave gifts and offered apologies, and only then did Jiang Li reluctantly let him off.

Strangely enough, because of this, the two fathers became friends.

A True King-level friend was something that could be sought but not found.

Shen Wanqian's father was naturally happy to see this and would run to the Jiang Family every few days, calling it "visiting an old friend."

The relationship between Shen Wanqian and Jiang Li slowly changed from "enemies" to "friends."

Of course, this "friend" had to be in quotation marks.

Because Jiang Li would still occasionally beat him to vent her anger.

For example, if he spoke too greasily, she would beat him;

for example, if he dressed too gaudily, she would beat him;

for example, if she was in a bad mood, she would beat him;

for example, if she was in too good a mood, she would also beat him...