Chapter 35: Just an Ordinary Day

Konoha Forest, Training Ground.

Sarutobi Yuanfei Rizhan was so excited he stayed awake all night; before the agreed time even arrived, he had already come to the Training Ground early.

The moon was obscured by clouds, and visibility was very low.

He could only grope his way toward the direction of the Training Ground from memory.

After he got closer, he finally noticed a dark silhouette standing in the center of the Training Ground.

Because the environment was too dark, he couldn't recognize the silhouette's identity.

Sarutobi Yuanfei Rizhan prepared to move closer and take a look.

As his footsteps sounded, the person in the center of the Training Ground suddenly turned their head and barked coldly, "Who is it?"

Hearing this familiar voice, Sarutobi Yuanfei Rizhan's eyes lit up—wasn't the owner of this voice his good buddy Tuan Cang?

He was just about to reveal his identity when a Shuriken grazed past his ear and embedded itself into the tree trunk.

Cold sweat immediately broke out on Sarutobi Yuanfei Rizhan's face, and he swallowed hard.

If it hadn't been so dark that Tuan Cang's Shuriken was thrown off course, he would be a corpse right now...

"Tuan... Tuan Cang, it's me, Ri Zhan..."

Zhi Cun Tuan Zang came closer, and upon seeing the visitor's face clearly, he frowned and put away his weapon. "Ri Zhan, why is it you?"

In the middle of the night, what was Ri Zhan doing in a place like this?

Could it be... he had also become Lord Feijian's disciple?

Sure enough, Ri Zhan's next words confirmed his guess.

"Tuan Cang, I've been taken in as a disciple by Lord Feijian. He told me to gather here," Sarutobi Yuanfei Rizhan explained.

Hearing this, Tuan Cang revealed an expression of "just as I expected."

He should have guessed it earlier—if he himself, ranked fifth, could become Lord Feijian's disciple, then naturally Ri Zhan, ranked first, could too.

He subconsciously clenched his fists; Ri Zhan was also Lord Feijian's disciple, and this was not good news for him.

He had originally thought that with Lord Feijian's guidance, he could widen the gap between himself and Ri Zhan, only to find that Ri Zhan was also Lord Feijian's disciple.

His wish could only go down the drain now...

Tuan Cang's expression grew increasingly ugly; Ri Zhan's talent was higher than his, and with Lord Feijian's personal guidance on top of that, the gap between the two would only grow wider and wider.

Sarutobi Yuanfei Rizhan didn't notice his good friend's expression and put an arm around his shoulder, laughing, "That's great, Tuan Cang. I didn't expect that we'd both become Lord Feijian's disciples—we can train together from now on."

The fact that Tuan Cang could come here in the middle of the night meant he was also Lord Feijian's disciple.

Sarutobi Yuanfei Rizhan was genuinely happy for his good friend.

Zhi Cun Tuan Zang forced a smile. "Haha, you're right. Let's work hard together and get stronger."

"Yeah, let's get stronger together!"

"Oh my, you two are here too?"

Just then, a female voice came from behind them.

The two turned to look and saw Xiaochun Zhuanqin and Shuihu Menyan walking side by side toward them.

Tuan Cang frowned in displeasure and looked at Xiaochun Zhuanqin. "You're also Teacher Feijian's disciple?"

These days, were Lord Feijian's disciples that cheap?

How come just any Tom, Dick, or Harry could become Teacher Feijian's disciple?

"Mm-hm, Lord Feijian said I have a talent for being a Medical Ninja, so he took me in as a disciple," Xiaochun Zhuanqin said with a smile.

"Haha, congratulations, congratulations," Sarutobi Yuanfei Rizhan said cheerfully.

Before long, a figure walked toward the Training Ground from out of the darkness.

When the person got closer, the group could finally see who it was.

"Mirror, I figured it would be you!" Sarutobi Yuanfei Rizhan said with a laugh.

Uchiha Mirror smiled. "Hello, everyone."

Seeing that the newcomer was Mirror, Zhi Cun Tuan Zang couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Thank goodness it wasn't that guy Yuzhi Bo Lianye...

He had already been beaten by Lian Ye badly enough to develop a psychological shadow; as long as it wasn't that bastard, it was fine.

Thinking back to the scene of being brutally beaten by Lian Ye, Tuan Cang subconsciously clenched his fists, his face turning livid.

He swore in his heart that once he became stronger in the future, he would absolutely make Yuzhi Bo Lianye pay the price!

"Hmph, Yuzhi Bo Lianye, just you wait!"

Even at this point, there was still no sign of Lian Ye.

It looked like he hadn't been taken in as a disciple by Lord Feijian.

How pathetic!

Hearing Tuan Cang mention Lian Ye, Sarutobi Yuanfei Rizhan suddenly thought of something. "Do you guys think Lian Ye was taken in as a disciple by Teacher Feijian?"

Hearing this, everyone looked at each other in dismay.

Lian Ye's strength was beyond question, but his theory grades were another story entirely.

Uchiha Mirror said, "If Lord Feijian only looked at practical combat results, Lian Ye would definitely be taken in as a disciple. If he looked at overall grades, though..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but everyone understood clearly in their hearts.

"Sigh, it's really a shame for Lian Yejun," Sarutobi Yuanfei Rizhan said with some regret.

"Haha, serves him right! Who told him not to study normally?" Zhi Cun Tuan Zang wore a face full of schadenfreude.

He believed that with Teacher Feijian's guidance, his strength would absolutely grow stronger and stronger until he surpassed Yuzhi Bo Lianye.

When that time came, he would repay all the humiliation he had previously suffered back to Lian Ye twofold.

He could already envision the scene of himself crushing Lian Ye underfoot.

I believe that day won't be too far off...

"Hey, hey, hey, are you badmouthing me behind my back again?"

Lian Ye's voice came from the distance. Tuan Cang's body stiffened, and he turned his head with difficulty to look.

In the darkness, two figures—one large, one small—walked over slowly.

It was none other than Qianshou Feijian and Yuzhi Bo Lianye.

"Good morning, Teacher!" The five bowed respectfully.

Qianshou Feijian nodded and praised, "Not bad. No one is late."

Lian Ye looked at the five and finally understood why Qianshou Feijian wanted him to come here for training.

So this old fox had been quietly taking disciples behind his back...

"Warm up first."

After saying that, Qianshou Feijian leaned against a tree and closed his eyes to rest.

The gazes of Yuanfei Rizhan and the others fell on Lian Ye in unison.

"Lian Yejun, have you also become the teacher's disciple?" Uchiha Jing asked softly.

"No," Lian Ye said.

Qianshou Feijian at most guided his training; he couldn't be considered his teacher.

"Hmph, since you're not, please leave. The teacher is about to guide our training soon," Zhi Cun Tuan Zang said coldly.

As Lian Ye began warming up, he said, "What you've been hoping for all along is just my daily routine."

He paused and held up one finger. "Starting training every day at the Tiger hour—I've kept up this schedule for a year already."

Hearing this, their pupils shrank sharply.

So Lian Ye had already been training with the teacher for a year?

Only then did Zhi Cun Tuan Zang recall that Yuzhi Bo Lianye had long been taken in by the teacher.

It was perfectly normal for the teacher to guide his training when free.

At this thought, his eyes filled with jealousy.

Why him?

What kind of dumb luck did this damn guy have to be taken in by the teacher?

Seeing Tuan Cang's envious, jealous, and resentful expression, Lian Ye felt thoroughly pleased.

Just thinking about how miserable Tuan Cang would look during training made him want to laugh.

Did they really think the training plan Qianshou Feijian devised would be easy?

"Warm-up is over. Kid, you lead them through training first."

Lian Ye: "???"

Wait, is this right?

Damn it, this old fox was using him as free labor?!