Chapter 97

Zhang Ruochen gave a healing holy nirvana pill to Zhang Shaochu, then carried him and walked towards the Dragon Martial Hall.

Duanmu Xingling, with her hands behind her back and her plump bosom standing out, walked behind Zhang Ruochen, staring at Zhang Shaochu with disdain, her brows tightly furrowed. "Zhang Ruochen, is he really your brother? He doesn't look like a prince at all!"

Zhang Ruochen had met the Eighth Prince, Sixth Prince, Fifth Prince, and Third Prince, but he had never felt any brotherly affection from them.

Although Zhang Shaochu was not as handsome as those princes, he had the courage to stand up and help Zhang Ruochen when he was in the greatest danger and most in need of help. For this reason alone, Zhang Ruochen was willing to call him Fourth Brother.

Duanmu Xingling said again, "Zhang Ruochen, you're not going to carry this fatty to the Dragon Martial Hall, are you?"

Zhang Ruochen replied, "He is seriously injured. Can't I take him back to recover?"

Duanmu Xingling immediately blocked Zhang Ruochen's path, hands on her hips, and said, "No, men are not allowed to enter the Dragon Martial Hall."

Zhang Ruochen asked, "Who made that rule?"

"This is the rule of the Western Academy!" Duanmu Xingling's face twisted, looking very proud.

Zhang Ruochen ignored her and walked past her, entering the gate of the Dragon Martial Hall. "If I can enter the Dragon Martial Hall, Fourth Brother can also enter."

Duanmu Xingling chased after him and said, "The reason we didn't make things difficult for you is that we recognize your talent. Otherwise, could you have walked out of the Dragon Martial Hall unharmed last night?"

Zhang Ruochen seemed to ignore Duanmu Xingling's words and walked directly towards the Yellow No. 1 hall.

Suddenly, Zhang Ruochen stopped, let out a light exclamation, and stared at the plaque above, saying, "Strange! This is clearly Yellow No. 1, but it has become Earth No. 1!"

The plaque above the side hall indeed read "Earth No. 1."

Zhang Ruochen's memory was very strong, and he was sure he had not taken the wrong path. Therefore, there was only one possibility—the plaque above the side hall had been switched.

Who would be so bored as to switch the plaques of Earth No. 1 and Yellow No. 1?

Zhang Ruochen took out the bronze key, inserted it into the lock, and found that the lock would not open. Clearly, the lock had also been replaced.

Duanmu Xingling's face showed an unnatural expression, her eyes blinking lightly, and she said in a low voice, "Zhang Ruochen, you've taken the wrong path. Yellow No. 1 is on the opposite side. This is Earth No. 1, where Sister Chen lives."

"It's impossible. Last night, I came here, and I definitely didn't take the wrong path," Zhang Ruochen said firmly.

Duanmu Xingling said, "Maybe it was too dark last night, and you took the wrong path!"

"There's no such possibility."

Zhang Ruochen pulled out the bronze key, turned around, and stared at Duanmu Xingling, saying, "If this is Earth No. 1, then there is only one possibility: last night, someone switched the plaques and locks of Earth No. 1 and Yellow No. 1, trying to lure me into Earth No. 1. Am I right?"

Zhang Ruochen's eyes were fixed on Duanmu Xingling.

Duanmu Xingling, feeling guilty, stared at the ground and said, "Who would be so bored?"

Zhang Ruochen said, "In the Western Academy, no one dares to intrude on the Dragon Martial Hall. Outsiders wouldn't dare to come in. Only three female devils live in the Dragon Martial Hall: Luoshuihan, Huang Yuchen, and Duanmu Xingling. Huang Yuchen wouldn't do this, so the person who did this must be you or Luoshuihan. Who is it? Let's go ask Luoshuihan, and we'll have the answer!"

"No need, it was me!"

Duanmu Xingling finally admitted, trying to force a smile. "Actually, I just wanted to play a joke on you. No one expected it to cause such an uncontrollable situation last night."

Zhang Ruochen sighed and said, "I felt something was off about you this morning. It turns out it was you. Why did you do this? Do you know that you almost got me killed last night, and almost got Huang Yuchen killed too?"

The truth was finally revealed!

Duanmu Xingling felt a bit guilty and put on a pitiful look, saying, "I already said, I just wanted to play a joke. Who would have thought you would peek at Sister Chen bathing? Besides... you got a big bargain. By the way, what exactly happened between you and Sister Chen last night? When I saw her, she was crying, and I've never seen her cry before."

Zhang Ruochen felt a bit guilty, as he had indeed misunderstood Huang Yuchen last night and severely injured her.

If it came down to it, the most wronged person was Huang Yuchen.

Zhang Ruochen said, "A martial artist on the Mystic List, and a recognized female devil, would cry?"

Duanmu Xingling nodded vigorously, saying, "She really cried, and she was very sad. Did you severely injure her and then do something inhuman to her?"

"Did she tell you that?" Zhang Ruochen asked.

"Of course not."

Duanmu Xingling continued, "I asked her, but she didn't say. So, I'm asking you!"

Last night, Zhang Ruochen had seen Huang Yuchen's entire body and severely injured her. After a moment of thought, he said, "I owe her an apology."

"Did you really do something inhuman to her?" Duanmu Xingling's eyes widened in surprise.

"Maybe," Zhang Ruochen nodded lightly.

Actually, Zhang Ruochen was a very pure young man and did not truly understand what Duanmu Xingling meant by "inhuman."

In his previous life, he was always devoted to martial arts and rarely dealt with romantic matters. Even his love for Princess Chirao was very pure, limited to holding hands.

Therefore, he knew even less about romantic relationships than Duanmu Xingling.

Zhang Ruochen said, "I still need to explain to her in person."

"No."

Duanmu Xingling blocked Zhang Ruochen again, saying, "If Sister Chen knows that I was the one who caused her to be in such a state, she will definitely hate me to death!"

Zhang Ruochen stared at Duanmu Xingling, saying, "Then am I going to take the blame forever?"

Duanmu Xingling thought for a moment and said, "Besides, explaining now won't help. She will want to kill you as soon as she sees you. If she wants to kill you, she just needs to move a finger. She won't listen to your explanation. How about this: we make a deal. You help me keep last night's incident a secret, and I will help you persuade Sister Chen to spare your life. What do you think?"

"Does she really want to kill me?" Zhang Ruochen asked.

Duanmu Xingling nodded, saying, "Why did you do... that to her? If it were me, I would definitely tear you to pieces. Of course, if I say a few good words for you and persuade her, she might let you off."

"Would she let me off so easily?" Zhang Ruochen asked.

Duanmu Xingling smiled, saying, "Although Sister Chen is called a 'female devil' and an 'ice beauty' by the students, I know that she has always liked extremely talented geniuses and has vowed to marry the most outstanding man in the world."

"For example, the first genius of the thirty-six counties of the Heavenly Demon Ridge, Zhang Tiangu, is always on her lips, and she praises him highly. Your talent is not bad, although you are not as good as Zhang Tiangu, if you work hard, your future achievements will definitely be high."

"Sister Chen might still take a liking to you. Then you can not only save your life but also win her heart. After all, you two have already... done that!"

"Seventh Prince, Zhang Tiangu!" Zhang Ruochen repeated.

Duanmu Xingling's eyes lit up, saying, "That's right! How could I forget? Zhang Tiangu is the Seventh Prince of Yunwu County, your Seventh Brother."

"The first genius of the thirty-six counties of the Heavenly Demon Ridge?" Zhang Ruochen asked.

Duanmu Xingling's eyes showed rare admiration, saying, "Zhang Tiangu is much stronger than you! At sixteen, he had already reached the third rank of the Mystic List, becoming the leader of the young generation."

"At seventeen, he broke through to the Earth Realm and became the top disciple of the YunTai Sect with the best score."

"Now, he is twenty, and no one knows what level his cultivation has reached. Such a genius is rare in a hundred years. Zhang Ruochen, you only reached the middle stage of the Mystic Realm at sixteen, which is far from your Seventh Brother."

Zhang Ruochen said calmly, "One day, I will surpass him."

"Right! If you have such ambition, with your talent, you can definitely become a Mystic List martial artist in three to five years. When you become a Mystic List martial artist, Sister Chen will definitely look at you differently." Duanmu Xingling lightly pursed her lips and smiled, "Let's agree on this, then!"

Zhang Ruochen thought for a moment and said, "Alright! Let's do it this way for now! I need to take Fourth Brother to Yellow No. 1 to recover. Do you have any objections now?"

"No objections, of course not." Duanmu Xingling smiled.

Zhang Ruochen carried Zhang Shaochu to Yellow No. 1, placed him on the bed, and applied bone-healing ointment to his arms.

Although Zhang Shaochu's arm bones were broken, a martial artist's body is much stronger than an ordinary person's. With the help of the bone-healing ointment, his arm bones would recover in about half a month.

"Zhang Tiangu!"

Zhang Ruochen repeated these three words and then shook his head.

His most important task now was to prepare for the battle with Feng Zhilin on the Life and Death Platform in a month.

Feng Zhilin had the cultivation of the Great Mystic Realm, and Zhang Ruochen needed to reach the late stage of the Mystic Realm to have a chance of defeating him.

In a month, breaking through to the late stage of the Mystic Realm might be impossible for other martial artists, but Zhang Ruochen could definitely do it.

Because he had the Time Crystal.

Cultivating for three months inside the Time Crystal would only pass one month outside. In other words, Zhang Ruochen had three months of cultivation time.

"With the abundant cultivation resources I have, reaching the late stage of the Mystic Realm in three months is not difficult."

"My biggest weakness is martial techniques. If I can successfully cultivate the fourth move of the Dragon Elephant Nirvana Palm or the entire set of the Heavenly Heart Sword Technique in three months, defeating Feng Zhilin will be easy!"

With this thought, Zhang Ruochen entered the inner space of the Time Crystal and began to cultivate.