"What else?"
Yu He threw him a look that said that he was basically a frog under the well. He laughed as he said, "Other suitors have given four thousand taels of silver and not even met her once."
"Although they only met once, during that time, Sun Zhengpin even had to stand outside the door, facing the street while Wang Qingqing stood at the front door. At least four or five feet separated the two of them, and there was zero contact at all. Still, Sun Zhengpin thought he was the only one who received affection from her.
"Since then, the second young master from the Sun family continued to spend money for her in a frenzy for an entire month and finally, his wish was granted, and he successfully asked Wang Qingqing out for a meal. It was just a meal and nothing else. It was said that he never even touched her hand.
"As I was chatting with someone earlier, I heard that Sun Zhengpin had spent at least five thousand taels of silver for this month."
"Five thousand?!" Zhou Heng was stupefied. He opened his mouth and said, "My God… Does God just hand him money every single day?!"
He almost wanted to spit out a string of curses.
The impoverished Zhou Heng nearly wanted to explode. After all, his monthly salary was less than two taels of silver.
In contrast to that, Sun Zhengpin could simply put down eight thousand taels of silver just to pursue a lady. Zhou Heng would have had to save up that sum of money by working for more than three hundred years without eating and drinking.
So, such were the joys of rich people?
'I wish to become a wealthy man too! ARRRGHHHH!'
On the other hand, what kind of magical power did the Wang family's eldest daughter actually possess to actually charm people to such an extent?
Was there something unusual about her?
"Tsk tsk! Don't be jealous. With your martial arts talent, wouldn't it be merely a piece of cake for you to earn a few thousand taels of silver in the future?" Yu He smiled, and he said, "That's pretty much the situation. By the way, what were you thinking just now?"
"Nothing important. I've another question." Zhou Heng shook his head and asked, "How's the relationship between Sun Zhengpin and his big brother?"
"They used to be close. However, for the last three months, the both of them are often butting heads…" As Yu He said this, he could not help but freeze for a moment. He asked in shock, "Are you saying that those rumors are related to Sun Zhengfeng?"
"That's right. I guess that Sun Zhengfeng is simply using those rumors to enrage Sun Zhengpin. At that same time, he wanted to make everyone in the city aware of the competition." Zhou Heng nodded faintly and with a straight face, he continued, "He wants Sun Zhengpin to give up his pursuit of Wang Qingqing."
"Huh?" Yu He scratched his head and asked doubtfully, "How did it come to that?"
"Those rumors were used as a means to piss Sun Zhengpin off so that he can't wait to defeat or even kill me before the public during the competition," Zhou Heng explained, "In the end, Sun Zhengpin will be defeated by me before the eyes of the public. By then, he will be mad and embarrassed at the same time and subsequently, no longer be interested in pursuing Ms. Wang."
"Yeah, that sounds reasonable." Yu He nodded thoughtfully. However, he quickly saw another loophole and said, "Wait, something's not right. How can Sun Zhengfeng be so sure that you can prevail against Sun Zhengpin?"
"Maybe it's because I'm handsome." Zhou Heng laughed as he said.
He was not going to tell him about Sun Zhengfeng's sudden ambush. After all, he did not know how to explain that he had managed to identify the man when it was clear that Sun Zhengfeng had disguised his voice at that time.
"Bah." Yu He spat. He could see that Zhou Heng was not telling the whole story. As such, there was no need to dwell on this issue anymore. He then turned, smiled and said, "Since you're so confident, I'll have to get myself prepared for a good show."
"No worries." Zhou Heng turned and drew a steel sword. He laughed as he said, "I'm going to practice martial arts now."
"You've been practicing hard for Ninth-Class Twelve Mountain Splitting Saber Technique. The level of proficiency increased by 2."
"You've been practicing hard for Ninth-Class Twelve Mountain Splitting Saber Technique. The level of proficiency increased by 3."
'To be honest, martial arts practice is still the best.'
Zhou Heng was getting addicted to martial arts practice. He wished to brush up his level of proficiency like this forever.
After all, this was way better than worrying about money.
He did not even want to attend the competition tomorrow.
But he still had to go on with his life. He would still need to work for a living.
He would still need to attend the competition to earn ten taels of silver.
Of course, martial arts practice was equally important too.
Strength was the most important thing.
Even after he had acquired the Thirteen Autumn Rain Swords and was likely to win in the competition, he could not take the competition lightly.
What happened if Sun Zhengpin went all out on him and pushed him past his limits?
What happened if Sun Zhengfeng suddenly changed his mind after watching his brother lose to him? What if he attacked him in the ring and killed him?
There were many possibilities.
As such, he could not let his guard down.
"You've been practicing hard for Ninth-Class Twelve Mountain Splitting Saber Technique. The level of proficiency increased by 2."
"You've been practicing hard for Ninth-Class Twelve Mountain Splitting Saber Technique. The level of proficiency increased by 3."
"Congratulations! Your continuous practice has triggered Heavenly Reward and has increased your insights from Ninth-Class Twelve Mountain Splitting Saber Technique. The level of proficiency increased by 30."
That was cool!
Zhou Heng was full of joy and prepared to farm for the next Heavenly Reward.
Just then, Lin Cang suddenly came to him. Without a word, he dragged Zhou Heng into his private martial arts training room.
Bang!
He closed the door of the room.
The lights went out.
"Master Lin, what are you doing?" Zhou Heng was stunned.
At the same time, he subconsciously took a step backward and thought carefully if Lin Cang had any special fetishes.
Yes. It seemed like he did not have any of them. He should be fine.
Lin Cang did not notice Zhou Heng's expression. He simply asked him, "Have you heard of the news about you that has been spreading like wildfire outside? Do you know about them?"
"Yes, I do." Zhou Heng nodded.
"Then, I'll make it short." Lin Cang lowered his head and asked him, "Are you confident in winning Sun Zhengpin?
"What are the odds?" Lin Cang continued.
"99%," Zhou Heng answered seriously.
He had already acquired the sword technique that was his opponent's best skill, and with that, he was absolutely going to win. Otherwise, he really should forgo the cheat code.
"Why don't you say it's 100%?" Lin Cang smiled.
"Haven't you said that before? Do not be proud." Zhou Heng returned his smile and said, "99% is not considered proud."
"How daring of you to joke around with me, kid!"
Lin Cang laughed and scolded him. Then, he continued, "Seriously, during the selection of external disciples, Longevity Sect not only will take into consideration one's strength, but also his talents and fame.
"Apparently, your fame is significantly lesser compared to the other two participants from other martial arts schools. This used to be your drawback but now, the Sun family has actually extended you a favor by lending you a helping hand, but the prerequisite is for you to win against Sun Zhengpin."
"Master Lin, you can be rest assured." Zhou Heng nodded. He smiled and said, "I can guarantee you that I can win the match!"
At North District in Yellow Wood City, inside the house of the Sun family, Sun Zhengfeng was sipping tea in a lakeside pavilion. A dainty maid was by his side, reporting to him regarding the situation outside for the morning. Most of them being about the spreading of those rumors.
The results from the survey showed that a majority of the people at Yellow Wood City knew about the event. Moreover, they were bragging about Zhou Heng and disparaging Sun Zhengpin. As a result, tomorrow's competition caught the attention of many people.
It was estimated that there would be a few thousand, or even a few hundred thousand watching that show.
'My good second brother, it's not my fault for bringing you down. It's you who have obsessed over that demonic woman who seems to have taken the soul out of you. As a big brother, I must crush your confidence so that you will give up on that woman.'
Sun Zhengfeng sighed softly to himself. He could not help but recall the days when both of them used to live in harmony. Then, he felt a bit remorseful and thought to himself, 'When you come back to your senses and are no longer obsessed with that woman, I'll capture Zhou Heng and bring him back to you so that you can kill him yourself to release your anger.'
Since the beginning, he had been using Zhou Heng as a worthy tool for him to make use of. His life and death had never been a matter to him.
At that moment, inside a room at the Sun Family's mansion, Sun Zhengpin's expression was dark as he watched the servants reporting the rumors from outside. Rage consumed his body until he trembled, gritted his teeth, and clenched his fists.
"Good! What a great big brother of mine! How can you despise me like that?
"Are you sure that yokel can defeat me and crush my confidence so that I'll give up on Ms. Wang?
"Dream on!"
He crumpled the paper with rumors written on it into a ball and smashed it to the ground. Then, he carefully took out a jade box from his sleeves.
He held the jade box in his hand, and his expression instantly turned soft and filled with glee.
"With this, that yokel can never win against me! Besides, this was given by Ms. Wang. She really does think highly of me!
"There's no way I will lose!"