137: Chapter 137 When did your relationship become so good?

*Creak—*

Four Seas Academy, Heaven Class Dormitory Area.

Chen Shanzhi pushed open the door and strode out.

The early morning sunlight spilled over his angular face, which bore a hint of a lazy smile.

He stretched comfortably, and his entire body immediately emitted a series of crackling sounds, like beans popping in a pan.

"Whew—"

Chen Shanzhi opened his mouth and exhaled a visible cloud of white turbid Qi.

This turbid Qi traveled a full three feet through the air before slowly dissipating.

Chen Shanzhi clenched his fists, feeling the surging, torrential power within him like a racing river; the smile at the corner of his mouth grew even more pronounced.

He had achieved a Breakthrough!

Xuan Guan Ten Apertures!

Going from the Xuanguan Nine Apertures to the Xuan Guan Ten Apertures was an extremely important watershed moment.

According to the martial arts settings of this world, the Xuanguan Seven Apertures allowed one to condense Protective Astral Qi, but at the Xuan Guan Ten Apertures, one could truly achieve "External True Essence Release, Killing from a Hundred Paces"!

Chen Shanzhi raised his right hand, pressed his index and middle fingers together, and casually pointed toward a rockery in the courtyard.

*Swoosh!*

An incredibly condensed, faintly golden True Essence finger-sword instantly shot out from his hand!

With a muffled *thud*...

The surface of that hard Taihu stone rockery was directly pierced through by this True Essence finger-sword, leaving a small hole an inch deep!

The cut was extremely smooth, without the slightest bit of messiness.

Chen Shanzhi withdrew his hand with satisfaction.

True Essence release was indeed domineering.

And all of this had only taken about ten days!

In this world, a normal Martial Artist wanting to open a major aperture often required several years or even over a decade of bitter cultivation and tempering.

Yet he was practically moving as if he were riding a rocket.

"This Yang Parasite of Jiang Yingrao's Heart-Devouring Life-Sharing Gu is truly a Divine Artifact for AFK leveling."

Chen Shanzhi touched his chest, secretly clicking his tongue in amazement.

Not only did this Yang Parasite automatically absorb Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi every day to help nourish his Meridians...

But during this time, relying on his status as the heir to the Marquis of Zhenguo, he had also swiped a large batch of cultivation resources from the Marquis Estate's treasury as if they were free, popping them like candy.

With the two combined, this cultivation speed was simply terrifying!

"Alright, time to get to work. Today, I'm going to crash a party."

Chen Shanzhi dusted off the hem of his silk robes and set off toward the South City Vegetable Market.

...

The Hour of the Dragon, South City Vegetable Market.

It was as noisy as ever, with meat sellers and vegetable vendors haggling in a cacophony of voices, the air filled with that familiar scent of the marketplace.

Under the great archway.

Jiang Feiyu and Murong Yun had already arrived.

At this moment, Murong Yun was squatting on a stone pedestal without any regard for his image, yawning.

Behind him, standing as straight as an iron tower, was a middle-aged man with a full beard wearing grey martial attire.

The man had his arms crossed and his eyelids slightly lowered, showing no signs of external True Essence release.

But just by standing there, he gave off a heavy sense of pressure, as if one were facing an abyss.

The passing commoners all unconsciously detoured thirty feet away from him.

Xuanguan Peak!

A death-sworn guard of the Murong Manor.

Just as Chen Shanzhi approached the archway...

A person who had been squatting on the ground nearby suddenly stood up.

This person wore faded coarse cloth short-garb and a tattered straw hat; his appearance was extremely ordinary, the kind that would instantly vanish if thrown into a crowd.

He patted the dust off his buttocks and walked naturally behind Chen Shanzhi, keeping a distance that was neither too far nor too close—exactly two paces.

It was exactly Zhao Er, whom Chen Shanzhi had arranged for yesterday.

Zhao Er did not speak or offer a greeting; like an ordinary attendant, he quietly became Chen Shanzhi's shadow.

Chen Shanzhi also knew that Zhao Er was a man of few words, so he didn't turn back to talk to him.

"Chen Shanzhi! Over here!"

Jiang Feiyu was sharp-eyed and spotted Chen Shanzhi walking over immediately.

Today she was wearing a crisp academy martial uniform, holding a steaming hot meat bun in her hands, eating until her mouth was glistening with grease.

Seeing Chen Shanzhi approach, Jiang Feiyu practicedly swiped her academy Waist Token at her hip.

With a faint flicker of light, a white, plump, and steaming meat bun appeared in her fair hands.

"Here."

Jiang Feiyu tossed the bun directly over: "I knew you definitely didn't eat breakfast. Hurry up and line your stomach; we're going to a fight today."

Chen Shanzhi caught it steadily and wasn't polite, taking a large bite.

With one bite, the juices overflowed, and his mouth was filled with fragrance.

"Thanks," Chen Shanzhi said indistinctly.

Seeing this, Murong Yun, who was squatting on the stone pedestal, immediately had his stomach growl quite unhelpfully.

He had gone back yesterday to borrow someone from his eldest sister and had been so scared he didn't sleep well all night.

He had rushed here early this morning to meet up and hadn't even had a chance to drink a drop of water.

"Feiyu!"

Murong Yun quickly jumped down from the stone pedestal and hurried over to Jiang Feiyu in a few strides.

He held out his hand expectantly and rubbed his palms together: "I haven't had breakfast either, give me one too!"

Jiang Feiyu stopped chewing.

She turned her head and looked Murong Yun up and down with her clear, large eyes.

Then, she suddenly opened her cherry-pink mouth and took a huge bite.

In an extremely savage manner, she stuffed the remaining half of the meat bun in her hand entirely into her mouth!

Her cheeks instantly puffed out like a hamster's.

Immediately following that, she naturally lowered her left hand, which had been about to reach for her Waist Token, and hid it behind her back.

"Mmph... No more."

While struggling to chew the bun in her mouth, Jiang Feiyu said in a muffled voice: "The last... the last one."

Murong Yun's hand, extended in mid-air, instantly froze.

The corner of his eye twitched wildly as he stared intently at Jiang Feiyu's bulging cheeks.

"You're full of it!"

Murong Yun pointed at her Waist Token in exasperation:

"I clearly saw your hand touch the Waist Token just now.

As soon as Brother Chen comes, there are buns to eat, but as soon as I open my mouth, they're gone?

This is a blatant double standard!!"

"The world is going to the dogs, truly going to the dogs!" Murong Yun lamented with deep grief.

Jiang Feiyu rolled her eyes, finally managed to swallow the food in her mouth, and replied with absolute righteousness:

"This young lady's buns are for whoever I want to give them to, what's it to you?"

Murong Yun was so choked he could only roll his eyes; he helplessly turned his head to look at Chen Shanzhi, who was eating with great relish.

As he looked, the suspicion in his heart began to grow wildly like weeds.

Murong Yun leaned in close to Chen Shanzhi, nudged him with his elbow, and lowered his voice, his tone dripping with intense gossip and confusion:

"Brother Chen, give me the honest truth."

"Exactly what kind of bewitching potion did you give my eldest sister?"

Chen Shanzhi swallowed the last bite of the bun and patted the crumbs off his hands: "What bewitching potion? Did you borrow the person?"

"I borrowed him! Isn't he standing right here!"

Murong Yun pointed at the bearded man behind him, his face full of disbelief:

"You have no idea! When I went back yesterday, I went to see my eldest sister with the resolve to die!"

"At the time, she was cleaning her spear at the Martial Arts Field. As soon as I went over, my legs were shaking, and I stuttered that you wanted to see her and borrow a Xuanguan Peak guard."

Murong Yun's eyes widened as he vividly reenacted the scene:

"And guess what happened?"

"My eldest sister didn't even ask what you were going to do!

She just stopped cleaning her spear, and the corner of her mouth actually curled up slightly!

Then she just waved her hand and assigned Uncle Biao to me!

She even told me to warn you to be careful while doing business!"

Speaking to this point, Murong Yun found it hard to believe:

"My eldest sister actually knows how to smile? Chen Shanzhi..."

Murong Yun stared fixedly at Chen Shanzhi, as if trying to see through his Soul:

"Tell me exactly what is going on.

Didn't you two just meet once at our Murong Manor during the last day off?

Since when did your relationship get this good?"