Chapter 306 - 155: Urgent Summons

Aunt Li was about to call out again, but Zhuang Zhen gently stopped her.

"Aunt Li,"

Zhuang Zhen lowered her voice, glancing at the tightly shut door.

"Junior Brother Chen might be at a critical point in his training. We shouldn’t disturb him for now."

"Alright, I’ll listen to you."

Aunt Li chuckled, not saying another word.

Zhuang Zhen had often stayed over recently, and her relationship with Aunt Li had grown increasingly close. Aunt Li treated her like her own daughter, agreeing to everything she said.

The two of them ate breakfast together.

Zhuang Zhen continued to practice in the front courtyard, focusing on the Hidden Dragon Fist. She would also occasionally mix in a Sword Skill she had redeemed from the Evil Extermination Bureau with her Military Merit.

Meanwhile, Aunt Li rolled up her sleeves and began washing dishes, wiping tables, sweeping, and feeding the Treasure Fish. She kept everything inside and out in perfect order. After finishing her chores, she moved a small stool to the veranda, sat down in the sunlight, and threaded a needle to continue sewing a spring shirt for Chen Cheng.

Suddenly, there was a rapid, forceful knocking on the courtyard gate.

Aunt Li put down her needle and thread and walked briskly to open the gate.

The visitor was an unfamiliar young man, around twenty-seven or twenty-eight, with a cold expression. He shot Aunt Li a sideways glance without a word and raised his foot to barge inside.

Aunt Li was no longer the timid, submissive ant from the lowest rungs of society who let others walk all over her.

Her brow furrowed. She raised a hand to block the doorway, her body barring the entrance, a sharp rebuke already on the tip of her tongue.

"Aunt Li."

Just then, Zhuang Zhen walked over quickly and said softly,

"This is a Senior Brother from our Dragon Mountain Hall. He’s probably here to see me. You can go inside and rest."

Aunt Li nodded and turned back toward the veranda.

"Senior Brother Kuang, what brings you here in person?"

The moment Aunt Li left, Zhuang Zhen’s expression turned cold. Although she addressed him as Senior Brother, her tone was more distant than if she were speaking to a stranger.

"You think I wanted to come?"

Kuang Yifeng’s face grew even darker, the corners of his mouth turning down in a sneer, his eyes filled with undisguised disgust.

"Ever since you rejected me, I never thought of pestering you again... But you—you can’t just let yourself sink this low, can you?"

"With your standing, the scions of the great families in the Inner City would be lining up for you to choose from! But look at you, getting mixed up with some mud-legged country bumpkin from the bottom..."

"Watch your mouth."

Zhuang Zhen cut him off directly. Her voice wasn’t loud, but it was like a blade scraping against stone, carrying an undeniable sharpness.

"Besides, you have no right to lecture me. Three years ago, you plotted against me. I didn’t see it for what it was back then, but you think I can’t figure it out now?"

"...What are you talking about? I don’t understand."

Kuang Yifeng’s expression didn’t change as he adopted a businesslike tone.

"I’m here to inform you and that kid with the surname Chen that the Hall Master is urgently summoning all Upper Courtyard Disciples to return. Immediately."

"Understood."

Zhuang Zhen acknowledged him, then swung the gate shut with a clean, crisp BANG.

Kuang Yifeng nearly had his nose smashed by the gate, forcing him to take a sharp step back.

He stared intently at the closed gate before him, his chest heaving twice as his face instantly darkened.

"Aunt Li, it seems something urgent has come up at the Martial Arts Hall. I have to go back immediately."

Zhuang Zhen said,

"When Junior Brother Chen comes out, have him hurry over as well! I’ll ask the Hall Master for a leave of absence for him in advance."

"Okay, I’ll remember that."

Aunt Li nodded and glanced toward the inner courtyard again. There was still no movement from Chen Cheng’s room.

...

「Dragon Mountain Upper Courtyard.」

At a glance, the vast courtyard looked no different than before.

But as Zhuang Zhen stepped over the threshold once more, she couldn’t shake the feeling that something had changed.

It was as if something had been drained away, leaving an indescribable air of desolation and gloom.

Inner Courtyard.

Hall Master Wan Qianshan sat upright in a large, wide armchair, a thick, soft cushion propped behind his back.

To this day, he still hadn’t recovered from his severe injuries. His complexion was sallow, his cheeks were sunken, and his eye sockets had caved in to form two dark pits.

He was like an old beast caged for too long—his flesh was withered, his muscles and bones had gone soft, and even the sharp aura befitting a top-tier expert had been completely dulled.

A gentle breeze lifted the stiff, white hair at his temples, creating a scene of indescribable desolation.

Cao Miao stood to his left. He would occasionally let out a cough, but would immediately turn his head, pressing a fist to his lips to muffle the ensuing fit.

To the right stood Zhang Dong, who had the appearance of a wealthy magnate. The industries under Dragon Mountain Hall had recently undergone a massive upheaval, and the stress had left him looking utterly haggard.

"Is everyone here?"

Wan Qianshan spoke slowly, his voice weak and airy, almost a whisper.

Cao Miao’s brows were knitted tightly. He scanned the few figures scattered across the courtyard again and again, the gloom in his eyes deepening.

Just over a month ago, the Dragon Mountain Upper Courtyard had more than twenty disciples, each one high-spirited and with a promising future. Just looking at such a scene had filled Cao Miao with comfort and joy.

But now... Cao Miao counted them over and over again.

Seven.

The great Dragon Mountain Upper Courtyard was left with only seven disciples, scattered across the vast, empty courtyard like fallen leaves scattered by the wind. It was an unprecedented scene of desolation and sorrow.

"Reporting to the Hall Master..."

Zhuang Zhen stepped forward, cupped her fist, and bowed.

"Junior Brother Chen seems to be at a critical point in his training and can’t get away for the moment. He will definitely be here later."

"Chen?"

Wan Qianshan was taken aback. He had no memory of the disciple surnamed Chen that Zhuang Zhen mentioned.

Cao Miao leaned over slightly and reminded him in a low voice,

"Chen Cheng. The same Chen Cheng who defeated the prodigy from Cloud Platform Hall during the Middle Courtyard competition."

"Oh, it was him."

Wan Qianshan nodded slowly as if he remembered, but not a single ripple disturbed his dull, gray eyes.

He turned his head stiffly and said to Cao Miao,

"There’s no need to wait for him. Let’s begin."

"...Yes."

Cao Miao hesitated for a moment. He had wanted to wait for Chen Cheng.

But in this situation, Chen Cheng was the one at fault for being late. How could they make the severely injured Wan Qianshan wait any longer?

"The Hall Master has urgently summoned you all today for an impromptu examination. The content of this examination is something you are all familiar with: the Power Transfer Thought."

Cao Miao paused, his tone growing noticeably heavier.

"Any Dark Force Disciple who performs exceptionally will receive three times their previous resources and be directly promoted to Core Disciple, receiving the hall’s focused cultivation!"

As soon as he said this, the eyes of the three Dark Force Disciples present lit up instantly.

The fat on Fatty Fang’s face quivered. His eyes were narrowed, but they couldn’t hide the two burning beams of light shooting out from them.

Zhou An’s face was flushed, his fists clenched so tightly his nails nearly dug into his palms. His entire body was tense, like a fully drawn bow.

The other disciple, a stocky young woman, was so excited she trembled all over, her lips quivering and her breathing becoming erratic.

At their level, the cultivation resources they needed were often rare items that couldn’t be bought even with silver.

The allure of a free supply of three times their previous resources was self-evident.

Furthermore, the weight carried by the title "Core Disciple" was also immense.

Needless to say, both Cao Miao and Zhang Dong, who now stood by Wan Qianshan’s side, had been Core Disciples specially cultivated by Dragon Mountain Hall in their youth.

They had walked this path, step by step, to become Hall Master Wan Qianshan’s most trusted right-hand men.

Anyone who could reach their level, even without ever obtaining Military Merit, could still expect a smooth and prosperous life, able to protect their descendants and ensure their family’s rise.

At this thought, Fatty Fang and the other two could barely contain their excitement.

Meanwhile, the four surrounding Transforming Force Disciples were also stirred by intense emotions.

They didn’t yet know the true purpose of this examination.

The Hall Master was still gravely injured and the Upper Courtyard was in turmoil. To hold an impromptu examination at such a critical juncture, and with such lavish rewards, seemed unreasonable.

But in any case, if the Dark Force Disciples could receive such a substantial reward, then the reward for them, the Transforming Force Disciples, would undoubtedly be even better.

For a moment, all eyes were fixed on Cao Miao.