Chapter 4

The church fell silent for a moment due to the sudden interruption by the young man in brocade clothes. Many of the young men and women glanced at him and then quietly withdrew their gazes, for this person was no ordinary individual.

The young man in brocade clothes was named Xu Lin, whose father was the governor of the Western Commandery of the Great Zhou Dynasty. Of course, in terms of status and position, he was far inferior to Zhou Yuan, the prince of the Great Zhou Dynasty. However, everyone knew that Xu Lin had the backing of Prince Qi, Qi Yue.

Zhou Yuan glanced at Xu Lin, lightly tapped the table with his finger, and then casually withdrew his gaze. This guy was truly going to any lengths to please Qi Yue.

"Xu Lin is so eager to please Qi Yue... It seems his father has also joined Prince Qi's camp..."

Zhou Yuan's eyes became more profound. He had heard his father, Zhou Qing, mention that Prince Qi was supported by the Great Wu Dynasty, and for years, he had been causing trouble in the Great Zhou Dynasty, clearly not intending to let the Great Zhou live in peace.

Due to the fear of the Great Wu, Zhou Qing dared not take direct action against Prince Qi, as it might give them an excuse to attack the Great Zhou Dynasty. However, there were secret struggles going on behind the scenes.

Because of this, Qi Yue, who was also studying in the Great Zhou Academy, naturally had conflicts with Zhou Yuan.

Seeing that Zhou Yuan did not respond, the mocking smile on Xu Lin's lips grew even more pronounced. Just as he was about to continue speaking, the lecturer suddenly glared at him, forcing him to shut his mouth.

Being expelled from the Great Zhou Academy would be a significant loss for him.

As the two of them fell silent, the atmosphere in the lecture hall gradually returned to normal. The lecturer continued explaining the three source patterns until the bell rang after two incense sticks had burned.

"Alright, that's it for today. We'll continue tomorrow." The lecturer tidied up his things and left the church.

With the lecturer's departure, the tense atmosphere in the lecture hall immediately relaxed. The young men and women gathered together, bursting into lively laughter and chatter.

Zhou Yuan also hastily tidied up his desk, preparing to leave.

"Your Highness."

As he was tidying up, a gentle voice suddenly sounded. Zhou Yuan looked up and saw a girl standing beside his desk, smiling at him.

The girl was wearing the uniform of the Great Zhou Academy. Although it was somewhat loose, it still outlined her well-developed figure. The simple trousers accentuated her long, straight legs.

Her skin was fair and tender, her nose was straight, and her willow-like eyebrows and almond-shaped eyes made her a rare beauty. A tear mole at the corner of her eye added a touch of charm.

Her rosy lips were lightly pursed, and though she wore no expensive jewelry, she looked simple yet strong. Her long hair was tied into a ponytail, exuding vitality.

Just by standing there, she attracted the covert gazes of many young men in the church.

Zhou Yuan looked at the bright and intelligent girl before him, and a smile appeared on his slightly scholarly face. "It's Youwei."

The girl's surname was Su, and her name was Youwei.

Meeting Zhou Yuan's gaze, Su Youwei's face turned slightly red, and she looked away, then knelt down and said, "Your Highness, let me help you tidy up."

Zhou Yuan smiled and did not refuse, as their relationship was indeed special.

Thus, the girl busied herself at Zhou Yuan's desk, neatly organizing the scattered items, which drew the burning gazes of many young men in the church, their eyes filled with envy.

"Is your grandfather's illness all better now?" Zhou Yuan asked, propping his chin on his hand as he watched her work.

Hearing Zhou Yuan's words, Su Youwei lifted her face, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, and a smile appeared on her face.

"It's all better. Grandfather said that if you have time, he would like to invite you to our home, but our house is in such a state, and I'm afraid..."

"Sure, I'll come next time I have a break," Zhou Yuan said with a smile.

Hearing Zhou Yuan's immediate response, Su Youwei bit her lower lip lightly, her eyes glistening as she looked at him, then quickly lowered her head, afraid of being noticed.

She still remembered the day she met Zhou Yuan a year ago.

That might have been her most desperate day, but it was also the day when hope began to dawn.

On that day, her grandfather, with whom she had lived since childhood, fell seriously ill, and her already broken family collapsed. In the heavy rain, she carried her grandfather on her small frame, lacking money, she could only kneel in front of the pharmacies, crying and begging the doctors to save her grandfather.

At that time, she was covered in mud and looked extremely wretched.

In the end, all the pharmacies remained coldly closed. In the rain, she felt the sky turn dark, and her heart turned to ice.

Just as she was on the verge of despair, she felt someone walk up to her, place an umbrella in her hand, and then, in her unfocused gaze, he walked forward and kicked open the tightly closed pharmacy door.

At that moment, a cold voice seemed to come from there.

"Open the door, save the person!"

The one who kicked open the pharmacy door was, of course, Zhou Yuan. At that moment, Su Youwei stared at his back, and although she had always disliked such rich young men, she felt that the back of this young man who kicked open the door was something she would never forget...

From that day on, she got to know Zhou Yuan and later learned about his identity as the prince of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Later, Zhou Yuan noticed that she had a talent for cultivation and recommended her to the Great Zhou Academy. From then on, she underwent a tremendous transformation...

In just the first month of entering the Great Zhou Academy, she successfully opened her first pulse, becoming the fastest person to open a pulse in the history of the academy, and thus became known as a genius among the students.

Suddenly becoming the focus of attention, Su Youwei felt somewhat uncomfortable, and sometimes, people would envy her relationship with Zhou Yuan, saying that he only helped her because of her beauty.

But Su Youwei just smiled, as only she knew how dirty and skinny she was when she first met Zhou Yuan...

"Hey, how high are you going to stack my books?" Zhou Yuan looked at Su Youwei helplessly, as she was clearly distracted and had stacked his books like a tower.

"Ah?" Su Youwei came back to her senses, looked at her creation, and her face turned red. She quickly put the books down. "I'm sorry, Your Highness, I'll tidy up again!"

Her appearance was even more endearing, and the gazes of the surrounding young men immediately turned more fierce, as if they would have come to save the goddess if not for Zhou Yuan's princely status.

"Now you're so beautiful, I don't dare to ask you to do anything," Zhou Yuan said, noticing the gazes and shaking his head.

Su Youwei smiled softly. "Then I'll put some stuff on my face to make myself uglier?"

Zhou Yuan could only roll his eyes.

"By the way..." Zhou Yuan tapped the table. "How many pulses have you opened now?"

Su Youwei hesitated, looked at Zhou Yuan, and then said cautiously, "Three pulses."

She knew that Zhou Yuan, for some reason, could not open his pulses, so she never brought up the topic of opening pulses when they were together, nor did she boast about her progress, fearing that it might hurt his sensitive feelings.

"Three pulses. At this rate, you'll probably open all eight pulses in another year or two," Zhou Yuan praised. Su Youwei's talent in cultivation was clearly outstanding, as she had achieved in less than a year what others took years to accomplish.

This made him particularly proud, as it seemed he had unintentionally found a gem.

"In two months, it will be the annual exam. Try your best to open your fourth pulse and enter the top ten in the exam. I went through a lot of trouble to get you that spot. If you enter the top ten, you'll receive personal guidance from the academy's leaders, which will be very beneficial for you," Zhou Yuan said.

Su Youwei's hands, which were tidying the desk, paused, and she lowered her head, not daring to look at Zhou Yuan.

"What's wrong?" Zhou Yuan asked, noticing her change.

Su Youwei's face was almost buried in her chest as she whispered, "I, I don't have that spot anymore."

Zhou Yuan was taken aback, then his brows furrowed. "What happened?"

His tone was not harsh, but it made Su Youwei's heart beat faster. She bit her lip and couldn't speak for a long time. A girl who was close to Su Youwei interjected, "It's all because of Xu Lin. A few days ago, he was spreading rumors about you in the academy. Youwei confronted him and asked him to apologize. That guy said that if Youwei could beat him in a fight, he would apologize, but if she lost, she would have to give him her exam spot."

Zhou Yuan's brows furrowed. "Xu Lin has only opened two pulses, shouldn't he be no match for Youwei?"

The girl pouted. "Youwei just opened her third pulse recently, and Xu Lin, being shameless, relied on his source weapon to barely win Youwei."

Zhou Yuan's expression darkened. He stared at Su Youwei, who was looking down, and said reproachfully, "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

Su Youwei's hands twisted together, and she said softly, "I'm useless, I didn't want to trouble Your Highness more."

Seeing her like this, Zhou Yuan felt a pang of pain. This girl, when she was stubborn, could be quite a headache. His cold gaze turned to Xu Lin, who was still grinning at them from across the church.

"Setting up a trap to bully a girl, Xu Lin, you really have some good tricks," Zhou Yuan said coldly. This guy clearly had his eye on Su Youwei's exam spot, so he deliberately set up a trap to provoke her into a fight.

Xu Lin said lazily, "I don't know what Your Highness is talking about. Everyone saw that I won the spot fairly. Even if Your Highness asks for it personally, I won't give it back."

Zhou Yuan said coolly, "Dare to have another fight?"

Xu Lin chuckled. "Not interested."

The last time he won by luck, and now that Su Youwei had opened her third pulse, he wouldn't stand a chance.

Zhou Yuan glanced at Xu Lin and said coldly, "I didn't ask you to fight Youwei. I said, let's have a fight!"

As he spoke, he took out a jade pendant that glowed faintly and placed it on the desk. "If you win, this source-gathering jade is yours."

The church erupted in exclamations, and many gazes were filled with greed as they looked at the jade pendant. This source-gathering jade was very beneficial for cultivation, and wearing it long-term could speed up the process of opening the eight pulses, making it quite valuable.

"Your Highness!" Su Youwei was greatly alarmed.

It wasn't because of the source-gathering jade, but because Zhou Yuan was going to fight Xu Lin himself. Zhou Yuan hadn't opened a single pulse, how could he possibly be a match for Xu Lin, who had opened two?

Zhou Yuan waved at Su Youwei, playing with the jade pendant, and smiled at Xu Lin, his smile tinged with mockery.

"Will you dare now?"

Xu Lin's eyes gleamed as he stared at the source-gathering jade, licked his lips, and then sneered at Zhou Yuan. "Since Your Highness insists on giving me this source-gathering jade, I'll accept it with gratitude."

"But fists and feet have no eyes. If I hurt Your Highness, don't blame me."

Although puzzled by Zhou Yuan's actions, Xu Lin didn't think that he, who had opened two pulses, would lose to someone who hadn't opened a single one!

"Hope you have the ability," Zhou Yuan said indifferently.

Xu Lin laughed loudly, thinking Zhou Yuan was just being stubborn. He shook his sleeves and walked out, his low laughter filled with amusement and mockery, echoing back.

"Fine, I'll wait for Your Highness in the training ground. I want to see how Your Highness will win back the spot today!"