Meng Tiancheng did not know why Chen Shaojie had said that. His dizziness slowly subsided and, after a while, he finally regained the ability to think normally.
His face was now swollen like a dumpling, becoming 1.5 times its original size. The bridge of his nose was a little crooked. Any slight movement in his facial muscles made him gasp in pain.
But because he had reached the realms of "Wronsh Shkin and Iron Woness", as long as his body's core was not hurt, small injuries like these would heal very fast, much faster than for normal people.
He endured the pain and started to wonder how Chen Shaojie could reach such an advanced stage in his cultivation.
Meng Tiancheng joined the sect three years earlier than Chen Shaojie and understood the situation of the lower court servant disciples very well. Currently, the only ones who had any hope of completing "Qing Yu Body Forging Technique" and get promoted to the upper court were only Li Xuejiao and himself.
There were others who had also reached the Bronze Skin realm, and a few who had even reached the Iron Bones realm, but they had limited natural talent, so without external help, it was basically impossible for them to reach the Mineral Digestion realm in their lifetime.
As far as he knew, Chen Shaojie had only been here for a year and did not have much talent.
Based on the previous contacts he had made with Chen Shaojie, this kid's only redeeming feature was his good looks.
Who could have thought that he would suddenly display such cultivation prowess? It was truly shocking, at least it was for Meng Tiancheng.
"One year. He reached this stage in only one year. How...is this possible?"
Meng Tiancheng stole a glance at Chen Shaojie. In order to not upset the balance of the universe, an unbelievably handsome face like that should only be acceptable if it existed on a worthless person.
This situation...was truly out of the ordinary.
"How can it be possible? Unless...he's encountered some kind of special opportunity?"
A sudden realization came upon Meng Tiancheng. He recalled that Chen Shaojie was previously taken away by Grandmaster Qing Zhu... He immediately understood a lot of things.
"Could he have obtained something valuable from Grandmaster Qing Zhu?"
"Yes, that must be it. His Qi-Attracting Pill must have come from Grandmaster Qing Zhu as well… After leaving with Grandmaster Qing Zhu on that day, the Grandmaster must have given it to him in private."
"So Grandmaster Qing Zhu didn't just give him a Qi-Attracting Pill; there should have been other rewards too – rewards that enabled him to reach such a high cultivation level in such a short period of time."
Meng Tiancheng felt that he had solved the mystery. He had found a reasonable explanation for all his doubts. He could not help looking at Chen Shaojie with unbridled envy and jealousy.
"How can this kid have such good luck? How can he gain the favor of Grandmaster Qing Zhu for a tiny matter like organizing the Book Depository? What heavenly injustice!"
"Ugh...wait a minute, if he has gained Grandmaster Qing Zhu's favor, shouldn't I avoid getting into conflict with him from now on?"
"If I accidentally injure him… I'll anger Grandmaster Qing Zhu, and my path to the upper court will become more difficult... Hell no, no way I'll let something like this hinder my promotion to the upper court. I have more important things to accomplish. "
"Fine, I'll hold myself back and tolerate him a little from now on. Hmph, after I accomplish what I want, I'll definitely teach him a lesson!"
Meng Tiancheng secretly made up his mind.
Chen Shaojie had no idea that the guy lying on the ground with a crooked nose and swollen lips had performed such high-intensity internal strategizing in such a short period of time. He sat down and rested for a while until his stamina completely recovered. After that, he felt it was about time to go back.
Chen Shaojie stood up and patted his butt, then asked Meng Tiancheng, "How are you doing? Can you get up?"
"I-I-I...I can!"
Meng Tiancheng quickly climbed up from the ground. He was so well-behaved that he seemed like a completely different person from before.
Sure enough, facing this kind of madman, one must take him into the forest to teach him a lesson so that he would learn to behave!
Chen Shaojie was very satisfied with the result of his training. He nodded and said, "Good. Let's go."
He pointed, gesturing for Meng Tiancheng to go ahead.
Meng Tiancheng obeyed and walked out of the forest.
"This guy seems to have some masochistic tendencies…" Chen Shaojie mumbled as he followed behind Meng Tiancheng.
He let Meng Tiancheng walk in front in order to prevent being sneak-attacked. It would be terrible if this ship was to capsize at the final moment.
As soon as they left the forest, they saw Wu Fulai and a few other servant disciples talking anxiously to the steward of the Book Depository.
The steward immediately noticed them and turned to look at them.
Noticing the condition of Meng Tiancheng's face, the steward scowled and asked, "What's going on here? What did you two do in the forest?"
"I-I-I..."
Meng Tiancheng, who was walking in front, wanted to say something, but he was having a hard time speaking due to the condition his mouth was in. Chen Shaojie immediately seized the chance to speak first, "It's like this, steward. The two of us went into the forest to talk about something, but Senior Brother Meng accidentally slipped and rolled down a slope, injuring himself a little."
After a short pause, Chen Shaojie turned to Meng Tiancheng and asked, "Isn't that right, Senior Brother Meng?"
Meng Tiancheng took a look at Chen Shaojie before he answered, "T-T-That's...that's right!"
Ah, the training worked...
Chen Shaojie gave him an approving glance.
The steward stared at Chen Shaojie, then at Meng Tiancheng...
In the end, he nodded and said, "I see. Be more careful in the future."
After saying that, he took out a small porcelain bottle and threw it to Meng Tiancheng. "Here's some ointment. Apply it to the wound. It'll quickly stop the pain and reduce the swelling."
The steward was very accurate in his aim. Meng Tiancheng had no problem catching it. "T-T-Thank you, steward."
The steward turned around and left.
Wu Fulai and the other servant disciples immediately gathered around Chen Shaojie and Meng Tiancheng. They first looked Chen Shaojie over, then observed the miserable state Meng Tiancheng was in. The had so many questions, but because Meng Tiancheng was there, they did not dare to ask right away.
Chen Shaojie could guess what they wanted to ask. He lightly coughed and told everyone, "I had a long talk with Brother Meng in the forest. He now understands his wrongdoings and has decided to turn over a new leaf. I hope everyone can give him a chance to do so."
After a slight pause, he turned to Meng Tiancheng and asked again, "Isn't that right, Senior Brother Meng?"
"T-T-That's...that's right!"
"..."
Wu Fulai and the other servant disciples looked on in shock. They stared at Chen Shaojie, then at Meng Tiancheng. None of them could say a word.
Chen Shaojie did not care what other people thought. He told Meng Tiancheng, "It's still early, Senior Brother Meng. Hurry up and go cultivate in the Book Depository!"
"Huh?"
Meng Tiancheng was stunned, completely confused as to what Chen Shaojie was trying to do.
Chen Shaojie frowned and said icily, "I said go cultivate. Do I need to repeat myself?"
"Okay, okay, okay..."
Meng Tiancheng accidentally tugged at his wound in panic, causing him to gasp in pain. After that, he quickly sprinted towards the Book Depository.
Chen Shaojie stared after Meng Tiancheng's back. The corners of his mouth could not help but curl up in satisfaction.
You can't treat this kind of people who had masochistic tendencies too kindly. You must frequently make them doubt themself so that they would wish to improve themself and wish to gain the approval of a third party. Only then would they become a perfect masochist.
Chen Shaojie would take his time training Meng Tiancheng. There's no rush...
For now, let's cultivate first.