Hua Shirong looked at the youth who surpassed others in both demeanor and charisma, sighing inwardly.
He was Hua's future clan leader, Hua Shixuan, also known as "Third Brother" among his peers in the "Shi" generation.
In terms of character, cultivation, and knowledge, Hua Shixuan stood out among all the siblings in the family. He was currently the only member of the Hua family in the academy who had reached the ninth level of the Martial Disciple realm.
It was said that he had already touched the barrier of the Martial Master realm and only needed an opportunity to break through.
It could be said that Hua Shixuan had the most prestige among the family's siblings, and coupled with his identity as the young master, he was able to quickly gather dozens of people to engage in a battle with the Ling family, the largest force in Yishui Town. Although they lost, the other siblings admired and respected him.
Hua Shirong, who had traveled through time, had his own set of standards when it came to acknowledging a person. He wouldn't change his views based on a single fight or event, and he didn't want to stand out or go against the flow. He needed to gradually adapt to this environment.
"Third Brother, you shouldn't be like this. If we, the brothers, didn't unite, we would have been bullied to death by the other families' disciples. If I got injured, it's not their fault but my lack of skill. After this incident, I believe that the Hua family's disciples will become more united, ashamed of their weaknesses, and courageous!" Hua Shirong spoke sincerely while keeping his distance from Hua Shixuan.
Hua Shirong's words were calm, but Hua Shixuan listened with boiling blood, applauding repeatedly.
"Shirong speaks the truth. Through this battle, we have also discovered many of our own shortcomings. We must be ashamed of our weaknesses and strive for improvement. Come, Shirong, let's exchange a few moves."
Seeing the envious expressions of the other siblings, Hua Shirong knew that with Hua Shixuan's skills, there were few opponents among them. Everyone hoped to spar with him in order to enhance their understanding of martial arts and find their own shortcomings.
"My body hasn't fully recovered yet, so I can only make some adjustments. Third Brother, you should spar with the other brothers first. I'll go for a run and warm up," Hua Shirong quickly refused.
Hua Shixuan didn't insist and nodded, saying, "Health is more important. Don't rush it. We have plenty of time. Let's all practice together. We have less than two years to see if we can enter the Phoenix Academy and make a breakthrough."
Among the siblings of the various families, only Hua Shixuan had reached the ninth level of the Martial Disciple realm. The other siblings were either at the eighth, seventh, or sixth level. It was feared that only Hua Shixuan would be able to enter the Phoenix Academy.
As for the other siblings, it would be considered fortunate if they could advance to the ninth level of the Martial Disciple realm within two years. Crossing from the Martial Disciple realm to the Martial Master realm was a realm breakthrough, and it wasn't so easy.
Entering the Phoenix Academy was something these naive youths had never even considered!
However, Hua Shirong and Hua Sichong had it even worse. Both of them were only at the fourth level of the Martial Disciple realm, ranking at the bottom among the family's siblings, which highlighted their stark difference in cultivation talent.
In their daily lives, Hua Shirong and Hua Sichong were treated poorly by the other family members. They were used to being bossed around and had thick skins, becoming immune to such treatment.
As the other siblings engaged in sparring, Hua Shirong turned and walked towards the edge of the training ground, starting to jog.
Hua Sichong hesitated for a moment but decided to follow along, running slowly beside him. These two difficult brothers rarely showed such harmony.
"Shirong, you have to be careful!" After running several tens of meters, Hua Sichong spoke mysteriously and in a hushed tone.
Seeing Hua Sichong's demeanor, Hua Shirong smiled and asked, "What do you want to say?"
"The Ling family's disciples might seek revenge!" Hua Sichong lowered his voice, afraid of being overheard.
Hua Shirong was taken aback. "It's not... I was the one who almost died. I'm the victim here. And they still want to retaliate against me? It's good enough that I'm not causing trouble for them."
Hua Shirong became agitated and vented his frustration.
Hua Sichong's mouth curved slightly, as if suppressing a laugh.
"This incident has caused quite a stir. Teacher Hu is furious. All the Ling family disciples who participated in the fight had their five hundred academic credits deducted and were punished with one month of mining in the mine. If they fail to complete the assigned tasks, they won't be allowed to return."
"That's quite serious!" Hua Shirong gasped, then chuckled suddenly. "Well, it's good for them to learn a lesson. Next time they engage with someone, they'll know the consequences. It's not a matter of life and death, no need to resort to such extreme measures!"
"How do you know it's not a matter of life and death?" Hua Sichong rolled his eyes at Hua Shirong.
"What do you know?" Hua Shirong glanced at Hua Sichong, feeling a spark of curiosity.
The two of them chose to jog along a side path outside the training ground, with few people around. Hua Sichong glanced around before whispering, "Don't you really know?"
"I really don't know!" Hua Shirong pondered for a moment and shook his head with certainty.
Hua Shirong recalled, "When Shiye came to summon me, weren't we together? I remember you even asked, 'Who are we going to beat?' with an excited look on your face."
"I didn't say a word and just followed Shiye. You know what happened afterward. I got knocked out and passed out. I'm still confused about it. How did I end up clashing with the strongest disciples of the Yi Water Town's prominent family?"
Hua Sichong glanced back at the other Hua family disciples in the distance and whispered, "You're right, it really was about romance."
"Just a little brat, not even fully grown yet, and already learning to be jealous?" Hua Shirong couldn't help but curse.
With a soft "pfft," Hua Sichong burst into laughter, nodding continuously, resembling a swaying garlic bulb in the wind.
"Yes... yes... haha! Just as Shirong said, not fully... grown yet, no, not even grown at all. The last time we bathed together, I saw that he was completely... bare down there, so fair-skinned. On this point, he really can't compare to the two of us! Haha... little brat... you said it right, haha!"
Hua Shirong was also amused and laughed as he asked, "Who is the girl?"
"Qin Jiao! Do you know her?"
Hua Shirong thought for a moment but had no recollection, so he shook his head.
"Never heard of her! Some unknown woman? Is it worth it?"
"Who is Ling Yufeng? He's the young master of the largest family in Yi Water Town. Would he take an interest in an unknown girl?"
Hua Sichong replied with a rhetorical question, making himself appear much smarter than Hua Shirong.
Hua Shirong glanced at Hua Sichong and asked, "What have you found out?"
"Don't you know my nickname is 'Information Broker'? After multiple infiltrations and investigations from all directions, I finally uncovered Qin Jiao's background!"
Hua Sichong proudly raised his head, looking confident.
"Tell me quickly!" Hua Shirong rolled his eyes, not mincing words.
Apart from being overly eager for recognition and having a big mouth, Hua Sichong wasn't really flawed, despite being weaker than Hua Shirong by a significant margin.
However, Hua Shirong was unaware that the original "Hua Shirong" also had this annoying flaw.
Hua Sichong stopped to catch his breath, and Hua Shirong also halted, feeling his chest heaving and gasping for air.
Hua Shirong's stamina was lacking. They had only run this far, and he was already out of breath.
It seemed that in addition to mastering martial arts, they would have to strengthen the overall physical fitness of their bodies.
Without a strong physique, they wouldn't be able to win fights or outrun others. What's the point of venturing into the world with such a cowardly appearance?
As the saying goes, if you can win, fight to the death; if you can't win, run for your life!
As long as there are green mountains, there will be no shortage of firewood!
Hmm, survival is the top priority!
The two of them walked towards a corner of the training ground, away from the crowd of people exercising. Hua Sichong then said, "Qin Jiao, an advanced student..."
"Ad... Advanced student?" Hua Shirong almost blurted out.
"That's right! An advanced student!" Hua Sichong nodded to confirm, puzzled as to why Hua Shirong was so surprised.
"Do you think an advanced female student would take an interest in a young master from a small family?" Hua Shirong countered.
Although Hua Shirong had only transmigrated to the Nine Continents Continent a few days ago, he had already grasped a fact: the people on this continent were very pragmatic, especially when it came to the survival of a family. Hence, his question.
"Wouldn't she...?" Hua Sichong retorted, also uncertain. From his perspective, such a simple question didn't require asking.
"Continue!" Hua Shirong couldn't be bothered to explain and urged him on.
Hua Sichong lowered his head and pondered for a moment, seemingly reorganizing his thoughts.
"The Qin family is located on a small street in the southeastern area of the town, with around a hundred or so members. It is said that in the past century, no one in the Qin family has ever reached the Triple Martial Realm, but in Qin Jiao's generation, a genius like her suddenly emerged. She is not even fourteen years old yet and has already reached the Triple Martial Realm..."
"Triple Martial Realm?"
Hua Shirong was shocked once again, unable to keep his voice down.
Hua Sichong nodded with a solemn expression.
"That's right! Triple Martial Realm! And she's very beautiful, pleasing to the eye."
Hua Shirong's face immediately turned ugly.
"Has Sichong lost his mind? Or has he become blinded by lust, not knowing his own worth? Forget about whether she's beautiful or not, just her cultivation level alone surpasses Sichong by far. Would someone like her even look at him?"
To reach the Triple Martial Realm before the age of fourteen, such talent and aptitude were not one in a million. Even in Yishui Town, they were rarely seen.
A person with such potential had boundless prospects ahead and would not be confined by a small town like Yishui.
The more Hua Shirong spoke, the angrier he became, feeling that the previous "Hua Shirong" had died in vain because of this matter.
To be jealous and fight over a woman who was as elusive as a flower in the mirror or a moon in the water, it was truly absurd to be inexplicably killed. Indeed, it was unjust.
Moreover, the culprit now even threatened to seek revenge against him.
"Our young master has really grown up!"
Hua Shirong muttered this sentence, finally venting some of his inflated anger and calming down.
Hua Sichong looked at Hua Shirong with some concern and asked, "Shirong, are you... are you okay?"
Hua Shirong shook his head, indicating that he was fine.
But in his heart, he sighed. This was the tragedy of being a small character. Many times, one's fate was not in one's own hands but tightly grasped by others.
Even Hua Sichong, who was usually carefree, could now see that something was amiss with Hua Shirong.
Originally, the two of them were insignificant figures that no one paid attention to. If they made any mistakes, they would be ruthlessly mocked and humiliated by their peers in the family. Fortunately, they had thick skin and could find solace and amusement in each other, never taking it too seriously.
But today, Hua Shirong suddenly became angry and upset over this matter, and Hua Sichong found himself feeling uncomfortable, nervously looking at him and not daring to utter a word.