Chapter 568

But that young man seemed to be staring at Luo En all along.

This surprised Luo En—he appeared to harbor deep hostility toward him.

Not long after, the man came before Luo En.

He raised his cup as if to toast Luo En.

Luo En also lifted his cup.

Naizi said to Luo En, "This is the family's young master, Matsushita Shida; his strength is also quite impressive."

"If possible, you two should exchange more—this will surely benefit your future."

Naizi believed Matsushita Shida's initiative to toast Luo En proved he valued him.

Building a good relationship with this family would count as a major step toward success.

So she was very pleased.

She gestured for Luo En to converse well with the young man.

Then she said to Luo En.

"I'll go keep others company; you wander around freely."

"Everyone will become familiar soon."

Luo En nodded.

"Go ahead."

After Naizi left.

Matsushita Shida came before Luo En, a smirk curling at his lips.

"You must be a student from the academy, right?"

Luo En nodded and said.

"Yes, I am a student of that academy."

Matsushita Shida sized Luo En up and down.

Then he asked, "It's clear you're not from a great family."

Luo En felt there was no need to hide it; having come here, everyone would likely learn his identity soon.

So he nodded and said.

"Yes, I'm not from a great family—just an ordinary student."

Matsushita Shida laughed, "I never expected you'd attend such a gathering."

"You clearly don't belong here—haven't you noticed that yourself?"

Luo En said, "Naizi invited me."

"As for whether I belong here, I haven't sensed it—though you seem different from the others too."

"At least none of them are as aggressive as you."

Matsushita Shida's face turned instantly ashen; he spoke coldly.

"Don't force yourself into circles you don't belong in."

"That won't do you any good."

"Consider this my advice to you."

Luo En clearly sensed this man's ill intent; he smiled faintly, "No need for your advice."

"As for whether I can join—my own heart knows best."

"Is that so? But without relying on a woman,

you might not even have gotten near the entrance."

Luo En finally understood: this man's hostility stemmed entirely from Naizi.

He was clearly jealous of Luo En—for being invited by Naizi to this gathering.

Luo En said.

"Then don't trouble yourself."

"Whether I have the right to attend isn't your call."

"After all, the host of this gathering isn't your family."

With that, Luo En smiled lightly and tapped his cup against the young man's.

"You'd better go mingle with the others from noble families."

"It's clear your status isn't very high."

The young man clenched his teeth—he never expected Luo En would dare speak to him like this.

After all, who here wasn't from a great family?

Many were even highly respected figures.

Though he indeed struggled to fit in here—his age and talent drew little attention from anyone.

Even with his great family backing him.

But he'd begged and pleaded to come this time, solely to catch a glimpse of Naizi.

He'd even been punished by his father for it.

But he accepted it.

Yet he never imagined Naizi would bring another stranger into this gathering.

It was an outright declaration of war.

He simply could not accept this reality.

So he devised a way to test Luo En.

Perhaps Luo En is a scion of some family, in which case he could fairly compete with Luo En.

But no one expected Luo En to be merely an ordinary student of the academy.

He felt this was tantamount to grinding his face into the ground.

He seriously analyzed the situation.

Luo En was just an ordinary academy student, not even a scion of a great family.

It seemed he had no powerful backing behind him.

This meant Luo En had received no substantial resource support.

So his strength could not possibly be very high.

As for captivating Naizi, it was most likely due to his face.

He immediately devised a plan.

He suddenly shouted loudly at Luo En.

"What did you say? You want to spar with me? This isn't a good place to spar."

His voice was not loud, but everyone present could almost hear it.

Luo En blinked in surprise; he had not expected the other to say such a thing.

Before he could speak, Matsushita Shida added:

"Since you insist on sparring with me, I'll reluctantly agree."

"But this place is too cramped—let's go outside."

Almost everyone turned their gaze toward Luo En and Matsushita Shida.

Everyone's faces showed surprise.

Who would have thought of sparring at a gathering? But considering their youthful vigor…

Perhaps each wanted to test the other's strength; a spar was understandable.

But this instantly stirred everyone's enthusiasm.

Everyone wanted to see which of the two was stronger.

Matsushita Shida was among the top young talents of his great family.

Otherwise, he would not have qualified to enter here.

But he was still only among the younger generation.

So his overall strength was roughly mid-to-lower tier—already quite impressive.

As for Luo En, since he had only just arrived, no one knew his true strength.

So everyone wanted to see for themselves.

Someone invited by Naizi as a guest must surely be no ordinary person.