Chapter 17: The Collapsing Zhang Xu!

The news of Zhang Xu's failure to knock on the door of the Hidden Force realm was like a thunderclap on flat ground, instantly sweeping through the inner and outer courtyards of the entire martial arts academy.

At first, it was just suppressed commotion and whispers in the circle of core inner courtyard disciples.

But soon, this shocking news grew wings, and accompanied by various embellished speculations and undisguised discussions, it spread rapidly.

"Have you heard?! Zhang Zhang Shixiong Zhang Xu... knocked on the door of the Hidden Force realm and failed!"

"What?! That's impossible! Zhang Zhang Shixiong Zhang has a superior foundation and a wealthy family background; he eats pills like candy. Knocking on the door of the Hidden Force realm shouldn't be a matter of course for him?"

"Absolutely true! I saw with my own eyes that he was supported by two people coming out of the academy master's study. His face was as white as paper, and his aura was extremely unstable; it was clearly a failure to knock on the door, damaging his vitality!"

"Hiss... even a superior foundation can fail? It seems that what the academy master often says, 'foundation is not the only thing' and 'temperament determines success or failure,' is definitely not empty talk."

"Hehe, if you ask me, failure is normal!"

"That guy Zhang Xu, relying on his family background and foundation, has his eyes almost grown to the top of his head. All day long, he is either calling friends to hang out in restaurants or figuring out how to win people over and put on airs. He probably has limited time to truly settle down to temper his Qi and blood and understand the transformation of force!"

"Exactly, I'm afraid his strength is used in other places? Wine, women, wealth, and spirit—which one doesn't consume essence, Qi, and spirit? The Hidden Force barrier is so subtle; if the heart is not pure and the Qi is not clean, failure is deserved!"

Although the inner courtyard disciples' discussions were not loud, the undisguised schadenfreude and sarcasm were like fine needles, piercing through doors and windows and stabbing into the ears of everyone who knew the truth.

Zhang Xu was arrogant and flamboyant on weekdays and had offended many people; now seeing him fall, most were cold bystanders, and some were even secretly satisfied.

Inside the study.

The atmosphere was so solemn that it could almost drip water.

Liu Qingshi stood with his hands behind his back in front of the window, his back to Zhang Xu, who was slumped on the ground with a withered aura, his brows tightly locked.

A moment later.

He slowly turned around and looked at the disciple before him, whose face was as pale as paper and whose forehead was sweating from the exertion, finally turning into a deep sigh:

"Zhang Xu, you possess a superior foundation and a wealthy family background, and you have never lacked cultivation resources; this was a blessing that ordinary people could only dream of."

Liu Qingshi's voice was not high, but every word was clear, faintly carrying a trace of heaviness.

"However, your mind is cluttered, and you have failed to focus entirely on the martial path. Wine banquets, social entanglements—all have invisibly dissipated your essence, Qi, and spirit, and worn down your martial will."

"The Hidden Force barrier prioritizes 'purity of heart and intent, and transparency of force.' Your accumulation was not full, and your heart was impetuous; to force it, failure... is not an accident."

Zhang Xu sat cross-legged on the cold floor tiles, his hands clenched tightly into fists, his knuckles turning white, his teeth clenched, and one could even hear the sound of grinding.

He hung his head low, his disheveled hair covering part of his face, but the gloom and rage surging in his eyes were like a volcano about to erupt.

He, a genius with a superior foundation, had actually failed to knock on the door of the Hidden Force realm in front of everyone!

This was no different from tearing all his superiority to shreds in public and then stomping it into the mud!

In fact, before knocking on the door, he could vaguely feel that his accumulation might still be lacking a tiny bit.

But it just so happened that today Hu Tian and Shi Lei reached the entry level of their fist arts one after another, and the entire academy was filled with the illusion that "today's luck is quite good."

Coupled with his deep-seated arrogance and eagerness for success, he held onto a fluke mentality and forced his way to knock on the door...

As a result, reality gave him the coldest and most ruthless slap in the face.

Liu Qingshi looked at him like this, and his heart was also complex.

He shook his head slightly, his tone softening a little, carrying a sense of persuasion:

"Fortunately, your foundation is not damaged, only your vitality is greatly injured. With your foundation and family background, go back and recuperate well, nourish your Qi and blood, and then quietly accumulate for a period of time, remove distracting thoughts, and in the future... there may not be no chance to knock on the door again."

After speaking, he said no more and called two inner courtyard disciples who usually followed Zhang Xu, who were now also looking anxious, and ordered them to carefully escort Zhang Xu home to recuperate.

When those two disciples, one on each side, were almost carrying Zhang Xu, who was light-footed and exuding a decadent aura, and carefully moved him out of the study.

Gazes were cast from all directions.

In these gazes, there was undisguised curiosity, suppressed snickering, naked schadenfreude, and a few complex sympathies, but more of it was a kind of scrutiny and satisfaction at seeing someone who had been high and mighty suddenly fall.

"Zhang Zhang Shixiong Zhang Xu, are you okay?"

Hu Tian didn't know when he had run over, his face filled with obvious concern.

He had just entered the inner courtyard and had not yet fully figured out the undercurrents here, only asking based on the thought of "sticking close to the big brother" and a bit of genuine worry.

However, what greeted him was a cold, gloomy look from Zhang Xu, who had suddenly turned around, even carrying a hint of hidden anger and abandonment.

At this moment, in Zhang Xu's twisted heart, if it weren't for Hu Tian and Shi Lei "reporting good news" today, stirring him up and causing him to misjudge the situation, how could he have rushed to knock on the door and ended up in such a state?

These two, along with that eyesore Shi Lei, had all become part of his failure and shame, and he secretly held a grudge against them.

Hu Tian was stunned by this sudden cold reception and stood there at a loss, only thinking that Zhang Xu was in a terrible mood and didn't think deeply.

"Ah ah ah ah, damn it!!!"

Feeling the gazes cast on him by the surrounding disciples, Zhang Xu felt great shame.

What made him collapse the most was that he caught a glimpse of Liu Yiyi out of the corner of his eye.

On that face, which was always as cold as a snow lotus, the woman he cared about most, there seemed to be a trace of... contempt?

And Su Yan, standing beside Liu Yiyi, was looking at him with interest, her beautiful eyes filled with undisguised schadenfreude.

This made Zhang Xu feel like he was going crazy.

"Did you not eat?! Walk faster!"

He turned his head abruptly and let out a low, angry roar through his teeth at the two followers supporting him, the veins on his forehead bulging.

The two followers were so frightened that they trembled and dared not be the slightest bit negligent, using all their strength to half-drag and half-carry Zhang Xu, rushing out of the inner courtyard as if fleeing, heading toward the academy gate, as if there were flood dragons and wild beasts chasing them from behind.

Jiang Ye, sitting on a small stool outside the gatehouse, although he had already pieced together the general situation from the commotion and fragments of words drifting from the courtyard, still shook his head imperceptibly when he saw Zhang Xu's pale, bloodless appearance, his essence, Qi, and spirit seemingly drained, needing others to support him to walk.

"Superior foundation, failure to knock on the door... expected."

A trace of mockery flashed in Jiang Ye's dim, old eyes.

At this time, he did not know that Zhang Xu's subsequent madness would cause him to accidentally lose the virginity he had kept for seventy years.