Chapter 49: Instructor Liang's Helplessness

"Sigh! I hope Wang Fuhai doesn't bring trouble upon himself."

Facing Facing Cang Luo sighed lightly and continued carrying the spear-pig toward the southwest corner of the Outer Sect training ground.

At a glance, the Outer Sect training ground of the Profound Tianmen was bustling with noise; thousands of Outer Sect disciples were sweating under the scorching sun, striving to practice martial arts techniques.

Some disciples were practicing alone against stone men, throwing punch after punch of martial arts techniques, kicking kick after kick of martial arts techniques, thereby deepening their proficiency in the techniques and strengthening their physical bodies.

Some disciples were sparring in pairs, cultivating moves and formations, training their reaction times; actual combat is the only method to test the results of cultivation.

Some disciples were listening attentively to the instructors' guidance...

Among the disciples were both men and women; if this were on Earth, this would be a group of Gao Zhongshengs in puberty.

This scene looked a bit like being at school to Facing Facing Cang Luo, making him feel much more at ease and less lonely.

Peace and harmony are what Facing Facing Cang Luo hopes for most, whether on the Yuanwu Continent or on Earth.

Walking slowly across the vast training ground, Facing Facing Cang Luo looked toward a plot of land in the southwest corner; that was the cultivation ground shared by Dormitory Xin 176 and the two adjacent dormitories.

Generally speaking, the dormitory with the bigger fists owns the larger cultivation ground.

Clearly, the fists of Xin 176 and the other two dormitories were not big; that plot of land was less than two hundred square meters. Divided among three dormitories, each dormitory had only a little over sixty square meters, making it difficult to fully deploy martial arts techniques during practice.

At this moment, that small plot of less than two hundred square meters was gathering more than thirty Outer Sect disciples, along with four instructors.

Facing Facing Cang Luo searched for the figures of Cang Feng and Liu Xuande and others; after connecting his satellite, he saw them quickly, but his brows suddenly furrowed as he spotted a familiar bald head...

Southwest corner of the training ground, the training ground where Dormitory Xin 176 was located, under Facing Facing Cang Luo's satellite view.

At this moment, the thirty-plus Outer Sect disciples, led by four Outer Sect instructors, had split into two opposing forces.

One side consisted of the disciples of Dormitory Xin 176 led by Instructor Liang, and the disciples of Dormitories Xin 175 and Xin 177 led by the two adjacent instructors; altogether, there were more than twenty people, including Cang Feng, Liu Xuande, and Li Zhanxing.

The other side had fewer people; including the instructor, there were exactly eleven, all from one dormitory. Except for that bald head, Facing Facing Cang Luo did not recognize anyone.

The two opposing forces were clearly separated, just like two gangs fighting on the street, fighting over territory.

In fact, both sides were fighting over territory, fighting over the training ground; the outcome would be decided by a martial arts duel between the disciples, and the instructors would not participate.

Right now, Dormitories Xin 175, Xin 176, and Xin 177 were the defending side, while the side where the bald head was located was the challenger.

They wanted to seize the training ground of less than two hundred square meters owned by Dormitories Xin 175, Xin 176, and Xin 177.

If they won, that territory would be theirs; they could use it themselves or sell it to other dormitories.

And the losing defending side, aside from losing face, would have no ground to cultivate in the future; they could only buy from other dormitories or go and seize it back.

This phenomenon of fighting over territory is tacitly approved by the Sect, aiming to increase the competitive awareness among Outer Sect disciples; trivial matters between gangs formed by the disciples are handled the same way. As long as they do not violate Sect rules, the Sect does not interfere.

If you are weak, then you don't even have a place to cultivate...

At this moment, two disciples in the center of the ground were dueling, fighting with extraordinary intensity.

The instructors of the three dormitories—Xin 175, Xin 176, and Xin 177—all watched the two fighting with solemn expressions; both were at the Warrior Stage 6 cultivation level.

The one at a disadvantage, a boy with a clean face, was a disciple of Dormitory Xin 176 led by Instructor Liang; he was one of the six roommates Facing Facing Cang Luo had never met, named Zhao Renwu.

Zhao Renwu had the highest cultivation level among the three dormitories, but his opponent was even stronger.

Instructor Liang judged that at most five more moves, Zhao Renwu would be defeated by the opponent.

Indeed, after three moves, the two fighters on the field determined the victor just as Instructor Liang had predicted.

Zhao Renwu lost; he was knocked to the ground by a heavy punch from his opponent, a tall bald boy, and fainted on the spot. He was finally dragged back by the people of Dormitory Xin 176.

This was already the third match; the first two matches were disciples from Dormitories Xin 175 and Xin 177, and they also lost.

"Good! Senior Brother Chen did well."

"Senior Brother Chen is mighty! Senior Brother Chen has won three battles in a row, invincible."

"You on the other side, can you even do it? If not, get lost and hand over the ground."

The bald boy's side won again; the senior and junior brothers of the dormitory immediately shouted to cheer them on, praising their bald Senior Brother Chen as rare in the heavens and unique on earth.

"Who else!?"

The bald boy shouted loudly, though his voice carried a slight sharpness.

He swept his gaze toward the opposite side; he was looking for someone, looking for the person who had ruined his descendants' root more than twenty days ago, that damn Facing Facing Cang Luo!

This bald boy was Chen Dahu; his injuries had recovered two days ago. Although his body was fine, it had left him with an unspeakable pain.

He had lost the ability to continue his lineage.

His descendants' root was ruined!

It would never stand up again.

The little tiger that used to be fierce and proud had now become a Shar-Pei cat, head hung low in dejection, soft and limp...

Chen Dahu turned his grief and indignation into strength, cultivating desperately, almost suffering qi deviation. Unexpectedly, in just two days, he broke through from Warrior Stage 5 to Warrior Stage 6, and even to the high segment of Stage 6.

Although his strength had increased greatly, he could not feel happy.

Having a whole body of cultivation but being unable to enjoy life, unable to cherish the junior sisters, what meaning would that have?

Thinking of this, Chen Dahu (note: text says Chen Dalong here, context implies Chen Dahu) was filled with rage; he vowed to make Facing Facing Cang Luo taste this feeling as well.

So, he asked his older brother Chen Dalong to take action to avenge him. After investigation, he learned that Facing Facing Cang Luo had been hiding in the Beast Mountain Forest cultivating since that day, too afraid to return to the Profound Tianmen.

After waiting half a month like a hunter waiting for a rabbit, he finally saw Facing Facing Cang Luo at a camp outside the Beast Mountain Forest. Upon receiving the news, his brother Chen Dalong set out overnight, determined to capture Facing Facing Cang Luo alive and bring him back for Chen Dahu to deal with.

And he was waiting at the Sect, but five days had passed, and no matter how long he waited left or right, he had not received news from his brother.

He was very anxious, but he only thought the Beast Mountain Forest was too big and they had not found him yet.

The expected news never came. Chen Dahu's anger had nowhere to vent, so he set his sights on the senior and junior brothers of Facing Facing Cang Luo's dormitory, intending to seize territory and first take some interest from them.

Especially that guy named Cang Feng; if he hadn't interfered back then, he would have ruined Facing Facing Cang Luo in one move, and none of the subsequent events would have happened.

"Hehe! Old Liang, your disciples' strength is not good. By the end of the year, quite a few will likely be eliminated and expelled from the Sect. What will you do about this year's evaluation? You're going to freeze!"

The speaker was an instructor on Chen Dahu's side, surnamed Zhang. When Chen Dahu told him in the morning that he wanted to seize territory, he checked the opponent's strength and readily agreed, which led to the current duel.

Instructor Zhang's words made Instructor Liang and the other two instructors, Instructor Wang and Instructor Liu, deeply worried.

The three instructors exchanged glances, their faces full of helplessness.

The three of them had a good relationship; they were inner disciples of the same cohort and, after graduating, became outer hall stewards together.

Because the dormitories they led were adjacent, and the disciples' strength was roughly equal, with the highest cultivation being only Warrior Stage 6, they had united.

In the past two years, the disciples assigned to their three dormitories by the Liang Zhishi Pavilion had very average aptitude.

Moreover, they were all from commoner families who could not afford expensive cultivation resources; their future achievements were already foreseeable, with mediocre prospects.

As the saying goes, "Poor in literature, rich in martial arts"; even if your aptitude is excellent, without sufficient cultivation resources, it is all in vain.

They, the veterans, understood this very well: so-called geniuses are actually mostly fed by massive amounts of resources.

Ordinary people without resources can only strive through hard work, through desperate effort, and through opportunities to seize a sliver of hope and achieve the Martial Dao.

In reality, the three stewards Liang, Wang, and Liu did not expect their disciples to achieve anything; they only hoped that more than half of the disciples could pass the year-end assessment and not be expelled from the sect.

That would be enough for them; it would not affect their steward evaluations.

However, to speak honestly, although the disciples of the three dormitories had mediocre aptitude, lacked family resources, and had no connections,

they could touch their own consciences and say that they had never slacked off because of this; instead, they had imparted all their experience and knowledge, answered every question, and kept nothing back.

Yet, the highest cultivation among the three dormitories was only Warrior Stage 6, which was Zhao Renwu, who had just lost to Chen Dahu; let alone the others.

What does this prove?

It is not that the stewards teach poorly, but that the disciples' aptitude is too poor.

Thinking of this, the three stewards sighed helplessly, especially Liang Zhishi, who sighed repeatedly.

The reason Liang Zhishi sighed was not only that Zhao Renwu had just lost the duel, but also another matter troubling him.

More than twenty days ago, another disciple had been assigned to his dormitory.

An older disciple, twenty-two years old with only Warrior Stage 3 cultivation, apparently named Facing Facing Cang Luo; it seemed he hadn't been seen for some time.

Why assign a disciple with such aptitude to my dormitory? Just because my dormitory has nine people?

With such aptitude, how can he pass the year-end assessment? Is this intentionally harming me?

Failing the year-end assessment would affect one's annual evaluation; a poor annual evaluation score would affect one's year-end bonus, thereby affecting one's quality of life, and one might even be dismissed by the Liang Zhishi Pavilion...

"Sigh!"

Liang Zhishi sighed again, exchanged a glance with Stewards Wang and Liu, then turned to the twenty-odd young boys behind him and said, "Who else wants to step forward? Cang Feng?"

Cang Feng was the only disciple he had high hopes for; he had entered the outer hall at the end of last year, and his cultivation progress was acceptable, having just reached Warrior Stage 5 these past few days.

Moreover, his combat ability was quite remarkable, and his battle experience was rich; he should be able to fight the opponent, though it was unknown why he had been so low-key recently, not even going to the Demon Beast Mountain Forest for training.

If Cang Feng could defeat Chen Dahu by overcoming a level, perhaps they could still keep this venue.

The rules of this duel were very simple: fight until no one dares to fight, until no one dares to step forward.

Cang Feng is at Warrior Stage 5; after defeating Chen Dahu at Warrior Stage 6, the opponent surely wouldn't be shameless enough to send out a disciple at Warrior Stage 7, right?

Stewards Liang, Wang, and Liu looked at Cang Feng with expectation, but Cang Feng gently shook his head, his eyes darting away, refusing to step forward.

He had grievances he could not speak; if the opponent had dared to provoke him like this more than twenty days ago, he would have already stepped out to teach them a lesson.

But now, his greatest reliance, his Martial Saint master, had fallen into slumber and could not provide him with help; therefore, to avoid unnecessary trouble, he had no choice but to act low-key.

During this time, he had been cultivating within the sect; barring unexpected events, he planned to stay until his Martial Saint master woke up; as for the monthly sect missions, he had plenty of ways to handle them.

Seeing that even Cang Feng, who had the strongest combat ability among the brothers of the three dormitories, dared not step forward, there was no point in expecting anything from the others.

The crowd hung their heads in dejection, their eyes darting away, afraid to meet the stewards' gaze, and even more afraid to look directly at Chen Dahu and his group.

Liang Zhishi helplessly shook his head; aptitude is innate, they had tried their best, and it could not be blamed on them.

Bowing to Zhang Zhishi, he said, "Senior Brother Zhang, our skills are inferior to yours; let us stop here for today. Tonight, I will host; meet us at the Profound Heaven Town Restaurant."

He did not mention the venue issue but instead offered to host dinner tonight, intending to negotiate with the other party; after all, they all knew each other, and besides, the other party did not lack this piece of land.

"Good! I've been waiting for you to say that. I want two Blazing Fire Rabbits." Zhang Zhishi happily snapped his fingers, looking at the other party with a lecherous grin.

Upon hearing he wanted to eat Blazing Fire Rabbits, Liang Zhishi and the others immediately understood his conditions: Blazing Fire Rabbits are aphrodisiacs; after eating them, one must find a woman to vent, otherwise one will suffocate from holding it in.

The Blazing Fire Rabbit is a Second-Rank Demon Beast; excluding the demon core, one is worth ten low-grade Spirit Stones, so two are twenty, equivalent to two hundred taels of silver.

Furthermore, the money for finding a woman after eating must also be paid by them.

The three stewards sighed heavily, unconsciously touched their purses, then helplessly glanced back at the twenty-odd disciples behind them.

Suddenly, Liang Zhishi's eyebrows raised; he saw someone he hadn't seen in a long time, that older disciple with only Warrior Stage 3 cultivation, Facing Facing Cang Luo.

Hmm? He is actually carrying a Spear Pig; does he know he is not cut out for cultivation, so he has switched careers to become a butcher?

Facing Facing Cang Luo nodded to Liang Zhishi, did not even go over to greet him, and casually threw the Spear Pig onto the ground.

Then, amidst the puzzled and surprised gazes of the disciples, he leisurely walked to the center of the venue, looked at the furious Chen Dalong, subconsciously glanced at his lower body, and then loudly declared, "I will be your opponent."