Chapter 491 - 483: Let’s See How Many Times You Can Block for This Trash

Chapter 491: Chapter 483: Let’s See How Many Times You Can Block for This Trash

"Kid, your food! Two large portions, no extra charge!"

CLANG! CLANG! Two trays were placed in front of Mu Chen. Master Ling leaned in and whispered secretively, "I added something special to the tray on the left. Guaranteed good stuff. You owe me for this one, kid."

With that, Master Ling gave a sly chuckle and disappeared back into the kitchen, leaving Mu Chen utterly baffled. Shaking his head, he picked up both trays and, with a furrowed brow, walked toward Chu Aoqing.

He didn’t ask what Master Ling had put in the left tray. ’Since he added something special, it must be good,’ Mu Chen reasoned. He placed that tray in front of Chu Aoqing, then sat down beside her—with a deliberate one-person gap between them, of course.

He wasn’t sitting this way to get closer to Chu Aoqing. Rather, it was the only solution he could devise after the unsettling experience of being stared at nonstop when they sat face-to-face during lunch.

"Heh..." Seeing this, Chu Aoqing smiled faintly and reached for her chopsticks to grab some food. But as soon as she extended her hand, her brow knitted together.

"What’s wrong?"

Mu Chen, sitting right beside her, was the first to notice her change in expression. He asked, but Chu Aoqing didn’t answer. Instead, from not too far away, someone suddenly shouted.

"Shan Tianyu is here..."

"Shan Tianyu?"

The name Mu Chen had just dismissed immediately popped back into his head. Lifting his gaze, he saw a group of no less than twenty people striding into the dining hall. Their pace was brisk, and in the overly quiet hall, their footsteps rang out clearly in everyone’s ears. Innumerable students, high-level and low-level alike, immediately lowered their heads. In the entire dining hall, aside from Mu Chen, Chu Aoqing, and a handful of others, no one dared to meet their gaze.

As the twenty of them drew nearer, Shan Tianyu’s features came into focus for Mu Chen. ’I heard he’s Shan Ziyan’s older brother, so he should look something like her,’ he mused. ’Even if he’s not handsome, he should at least be a little attractive.’

Surprisingly, however, Shan Tianyu’s looks were utterly ordinary—so ordinary that even Mu Chen considered himself better looking. And yet, this plain-looking man not only had a gorgeous, goddess-like sister, but also possessed an immeasurable Martial Arts Cultivation.

His eyes swept over the other nineteen people following Shan Tianyu, and his gaze immediately locked onto a slender, graceful woman. It was none other than the person he’d just thought of, Shan Ziyan.

The moment Mu Chen’s eyes fell on her, Shan Ziyan’s gaze landed on him as well. For some reason, he could feel a palpable sense of hatred, loathing, and even revulsion in her stare.

His brow furrowed, and he set down the piece of food he had just lifted to his lips. ’I’ve never done anything to offend her,’ he thought. ’I can tolerate it once, give way a second time, and stay out of her path a third time. But my patience isn’t infinite.’ When it came to people who showed him hostility, he never cared whether they were male or female, beautiful or ugly.

"Don’t say a word later. Leave everything to me." With that said, the tension in Chu Aoqing’s brow eased, and she began to eat with a casual, elegant grace.

’Since my self-appointed bodyguard said she’ll handle it, I’m happy to oblige,’ Mu Chen thought. He couldn’t discern the Martial Artist Realm of a single person in that group of twenty anyway. ’This is obviously way out of my league. Might as well eat.’

Shan Tianyu was in an absolutely foul mood today. He should have been quietly engrossed in his Step Technique, but his little sister—whom he had spoiled rotten since they were children—had suddenly run to him in tears, wailing that Chu Aoqing had been stolen from him.

At first, Shan Tianyu was utterly confused. In a one-on-one fight, Chu Aoqing was even a bit stronger than him. Who in the entire Inner Mountain could possibly "steal" her? But then Shan Ziyan gave him an embellished account of what Shan Qiuhen had said and how Chu Aoqing had left, and his rage exploded.

Everyone in the academy knew that Chu Aoqing was the woman he, Shan Tianyu, desired. She was destined to be his. It was his intimidating presence alone that kept anyone in the Inner Mountain from even thinking about pursuing her. But look at today! Not only did Chu Aoqing stoop to go from the Fourth Level all the way down to the First Level for some new student, she even ate lunch with him. The news had already spread across the second and third levels, and he was the only one left in the dark.

"The rest of you, step aside."

Upon seeing Mu Chen and Chu Aoqing eating together with his own eyes, Shan Tianyu’s expression darkened instantly. He addressed the crowd behind him in a voice that was bone-chillingly cold.

The dozen or so followers immediately backed off, each finding a good vantage point to sit down, their eyes now fixed on Mu Chen with expressions of pity.

"Did you not hear me? I said get out of the way!"

Suddenly, Shan Tianyu whipped his head around and snarled. This wasn’t directed at the others, but at Shan Ziyan!

"But, Brother, I... I..."

"Do as I say. I don’t want to say it a third time!"

Shan Tianyu’s face was contorted with rage. It was the first time Shan Ziyan had ever seen her brother this furious. Perhaps it was the shock, or perhaps it was the reaction of a child who had been spoiled her whole life, but she suddenly retreated to the side like she’d been scolded. Her nose began to sting, but she forcefully held back the tears, refusing to let them fall.

In truth, after he said this, a flicker of remorse crossed Shan Tianyu’s face for just an instant. But he concealed it so well that no one noticed.

"You’re Mu Chen?!"

The tone, impossibly cold yet supremely arrogant, made Mu Chen extremely uncomfortable. Still, he bit his tongue and said nothing.

"Shan Tianyu, I’m eating," Chu Aoqing said, setting down her chopsticks. Her voice was a shade colder than his. "And you should know what I hate most when I’m trying to eat."

"Hah..." Shan Tianyu turned to Chu Aoqing with a cold sneer. "The thing you hate most? It seems your ’most hated thing’ has suddenly become your favorite."

"What did you say...?"

A flicker of ethereal blue fire flashed within Chu Aoqing’s red eyes. In that instant, Mu Chen felt an incredibly dangerous aura emanate from her. In response, the Primordial Power in his own body surged forth automatically, enveloping him in a protective layer.

As his Primordial Power manifested, a single Martial Ring, shimmering with a dark blue light, materialized at his feet, drawing the eyes of everyone present.

"A First-Ring Martial Sect... Utterly laughable!" Upon seeing Mu Chen’s Martial Artist Realm, Shan Tianyu’s eyes filled with thick disdain and seething resentment. He roared hysterically, "Chu Aoqing, how is a piece of trash like this better than me?! I’ve loved you for so many years! Don’t you feel anything for me at all?!"

"Trash!!"

That word echoed in Mu Chen’s mind once more. His suppressed fury nearly boiled over. Behind his closed eyelids, a purple-gold Thunder Light flashed erratically, though no one else could see it.

"Shan Tianyu, I think you’re mistaken. It’s not that he and I have the kind of relationship you’re imagining, but even if we did, it would have nothing to do with you. In my eyes, you’ve never even registered. It’s not because you aren’t exceptional; it’s because you and I are simply not people from the same world."

Her words were utterly dispassionate—free of anger, emotion, or even the slightest ripple. That tone alone was enough to give Shan Tianyu his answer. When you’re with someone you love, no matter how angry you get or how much you pout, you can never achieve that level of pure indifference. Your eyes and your unconscious habits will always give you away.

Her words struck him like a vicious slap across the face. The color drained from Shan Tianyu’s grim face, leaving it deathly pale. He had always known her feelings toward him were lukewarm at best, but she had never once openly rejected his advances. And yet today, for the sake of this absolute bottom-feeding trash, she had just slapped him in the face in front of everyone!

’It’s him!! It’s all because of this piece of trash!!’

Shan Tianyu’s face turned crimson, and he fixed a death-stare on Mu Chen. The Primordial Power in his body pulsed violently, expanding and contracting as if it were on the verge of a catastrophic explosion, just waiting for a trigger!

"DIE!!!"

Finally, seeing the utter lack of fear on Mu Chen’s face, Shan Tianyu completely snapped. A terrifying torrent of Primordial Power erupted skyward, blasting the surrounding tables and benches to splinters. SWISH! Three silver Martial Rings materialized beneath his feet as an oppressive aura, thick with the stench of death, swept toward Mu Chen.

"A Three-Ring Martial Venerable!!"

BANG!

Before Mu Chen even realized what had happened, a dull thud echoed in front of him. He whipped his head around to see two figures locked in a stalemate, a fist pressed hard against a palm. A few seconds later, they were blasted apart. Shan Tianyu was thrown back a full step, while Chu Aoqing’s well-proportioned body only swayed for a moment before she regained her balance.

"Chu Aoqing, you dare block me again!!"

Shan Tianyu became even more frenzied. A spatial fluctuation flickered for a bare instant. Before Mu Chen could even locate its source, Chu Aoqing moved! She was unbelievably fast! Her figure vanished like a phantom, even escaping his Extreme Ice Demon Pupils. When she reappeared, she was already at his right front. With a thrust of her palm and a flutter of her purple hair, she blocked Shan Tianyu’s attack once again.

Not only that, but because Shan Tianyu was in the middle of a rapid assault, his center of gravity was unstable. Furthermore, in martial arts, a palm can counter a fist. Chu Aoqing’s strike blasted Shan Tianyu right out of the Spatial Rift he’d created, sending him staggering back several steps.

But from that very first exchange, Mu Chen could already tell: ’There’s a difference in their strength, but the gap definitely isn’t wide! If they were to fight for real, it wouldn’t be over any time soon.’

"Boss!"

Seeing Shan Tianyu get knocked back by Chu Aoqing, the dozen-odd followers he had ordered to stand aside all shot to their feet, their eyes flashing with anger.

"All of you, shut up!!" he roared at his men. "If anyone dares to interfere, I, Shan Tianyu, will deal with them myself!" He steadied his stance, his face a mask of hatred, but a cruel smile played on his lips as he stared at Mu Chen and Chu Aoqing. "Fine!! Just fine!! Let’s see just how many times you, Chu Aoqing, can save this piece of trash from me!!"