Time had passed half a month in the monotonous practice of Jiang Yun. During this time, the outer disciples had begun their second round of quizzes, and this time, Zhou Ziyue's popularity had soared.
"Zhou Ziyue has become the top disciple among the outer disciples now. Just look at how many people follow him around. It's making me quite envious and jealous."
"Hmph, it's only because Jiang Yun suddenly disappeared. Otherwise, he wouldn't have garnered so much attention."
With fame comes controversy, and Zhou Ziyue's sudden popularity made many others envious. Combined with Zhou Ziyue's own lack of restraint and his tendency to belittle others, he naturally stirred up a lot of envy and resentment.
Li Dadan had arrived at the martial arena early to participate in the quiz. As he walked, he bumped into Zhou Ziyue and his entourage. Hatred gleamed in Li Dadan's eyes, but he still intended to give way.
However, sometimes stepping back doesn't lead to resolving everything. Zhou Ziyue spotted Li Dadan immediately and sauntered over with a fan in hand. He spoke disdainfully, "Li Dadan, how about we make another bet for this quiz?"
Li Dadan clenched his fists, feeling the frustration in his heart unable to be expressed. He lowered his head in silence.
"Oh, I forgot. Your backer Jiang Yun is hiding somewhere in obscurity now. In the last quiz, you bet that Jiang Yun would appear. Since you're so confident in Jiang Yun, why aren't you willing to bet this time?"
After emerging as the top scorer in the previous quiz, Zhou Ziyue had started displaying his arrogant nature, shedding the veneer of elegance he once had. He continued to provoke Li Dadan incessantly.
"There are no tigers in the mountains; the monkey reigns as king."
Faced with Zhou Ziyue's provocation, Li Dadan could no longer endure. He looked up at Zhou Ziyue squarely and spoke.
As if stepping on a sore spot, Zhou Ziyue nearly exploded with anger. He pointed at Li Dadan's nose and even spat in his face, "Who are you calling a monkey? Do you think Jiang Yun is a tiger?"
"Pah!" Zhou Ziyue spat on the ground in anger, then continued indignantly, "Jiang Yun, a tiger? He's nothing more than a cowardly turtle."
"Haha, Zhou Ziyue, don't fool yourself. If you're not afraid of Jiang Yun, why are you so riled up?" Li Dadan and Zhou Ziyue locked horns, refusing to back down.
"Am I afraid of him? If you're so sure, make him appear now and let's see who's really afraid of whom."
Zhou Ziyue's weak spot had been targeted by Li Dadan's words, prompting him to scream in response, unaware that the people around them had fallen silent.
"Are you talking about me?"
Zhou Ziyue was about to explode, but then he heard a voice that hadn't been heard in a long time, causing the words he had prepared to swallow up in an instant.
Zhou Ziyue stiffly turned his neck and saw Jiang Yun standing behind him with a cold expression. The onlookers around them watched the scene as if it were a spectacle.
"Are you talking about me?" Jiang Yun repeated, looking at Zhou Ziyue.
With all eyes on him, Zhou Ziyue had to force himself to remain composed. "Yes, Jiang Yun, you're here, which is great. I want to formally challenge you here today."
"Me? Challenge me?" Jiang Yun frowned, his tone sounding as if he was saying, "You're not qualified to challenge me."
"Yes, Jiang Yun, I want to challenge you. Are you afraid to accept?" Zhou Ziyue spoke with a mixture of intensity and trepidation. In truth, this Jiang Yun in front of him was utterly inscrutable, leaving him with little confidence.
"Alright, I accept your challenge. See you at the martial arena."
Jiang Yun suddenly smiled. He hadn't expected someone to challenge him immediately upon his return. He had actually come back to collect some Body-Refining Pills since his Compound Pills had been depleted, but unexpectedly, he found himself in this situation.
Zhou Ziyue watched as Li Dadan left with Jiang Yun, the flames of jealousy burning even brighter within him. The mere appearance of Jiang Yun silenced the entire scene. Yet, despite achieving first place in the previous quiz, Zhou Ziyue still faced numerous challengers. There were even people like Li Dadan, who had said things like "there are no tigers in the mountains; the monkey reigns as king," fueling his frustration.
Frowning, Jiang Yun looked at Li Dadan and asked, "Why is your cultivation progressing so slowly? Didn't you use the Body-Refining Pills?"
Li Dadan's cultivation was still at the Ninth Level of Qi Martial Arts, but two months ago, he had already reached the Eighth Level. Jiang Yun had left him with over thirty Body-Refining Pills. Without a doubt, his cultivation should have advanced faster with the assistance of those pills.
"Well, those Body-Refining Pills were all won by Zhou Ziyue." Li Dadan said awkwardly, his head lowered as if admitting a mistake. He explained the situation to Jiang Yun.
As it turned out, during the last quiz, Zhou Ziyue had intentionally provoked Li Dadan, claiming that Jiang Yun was afraid and wouldn't participate. Naturally, Li Dadan didn't believe that Jiang Yun would be afraid, so he made a bet with Zhou Ziyue involving the Body-Refining Pills. However, since Jiang Yun hadn't shown up, Zhou Ziyue had won all of the Body-Refining Pills.
It was only now that Jiang Yun understood why Zhou Ziyue was acting so arrogantly. It seemed that Zhou Ziyue had borrowed his momentum and won all the Body-Refining Pills from Li Dadan's hands. With the aid of these pills, Zhou Ziyue's cultivation had already reached the Seventh Layer of Elemental Martial Arts. No wonder he had the audacity to challenge Jiang Yun.
As Jiang Yun appeared at the martial arena for the quiz, he immediately caught the attention of many. The disciples who had been oppressed by Zhou Ziyue in the past two months became visibly excited. Finally, someone was going to strike a blow against Zhou Ziyue's arrogance, otherwise, he would continue to act as if he owned the sky.
"Isn't that Jiang Yun? Why did he suddenly show up? I thought he might be absent for this quiz too."
"Yes, it seems he's emerged from his closed-door cultivation. Zhou Ziyue is in for a tough time now. He had just challenged Jiang Yun earlier. It's really satisfying to see."
"Not necessarily. I've heard that Zhou Ziyue possesses an ancestral sword technique that's quite formidable. He severely injured an inner disciple with it the last time. I'm not sure who will win between him and Jiang Yun."
Not everyone had confidence in Jiang Yun, as he had disappeared from people's view for far too long.
"What do you know? Even Wan Yankun had his hand severed by Jiang Yun's sword. Zhou Ziyue is at best a little stronger than Wan Yankun was back then. Do you think Jiang Yun hasn't made any progress in the past two months?"
Ignoring how others perceived him, Jiang Yun first went to collect the two months' worth of Body-Refining Pills that were rightfully his. Returning to the martial arena, the quiz was already underway. On the stage, Zhou Ziyue was currently engaged in combat against another opponent.
Zhou Ziyue's cultivation had indeed improved significantly. His opponent seemed to be a Level Two Elemental Martial Artist, yet the fight barely lasted three exchanges before Zhou Ziyue sent his opponent's sword flying and won the battle with ease.
Jiang Yun casually glanced at the ongoing fight on the stage, then found a place to sit. He no longer had much interest in battles of this intensity. If it weren't for Zhou Ziyue's challenge, he wouldn't have bothered paying attention at all.