Chapter 256

Chen Xiaoxiao, standing not far away, also looked distractedly at the crowd surrounding Bai Lu and Su Jinchen, who were talking and laughing.

If it were in the past, she would always be surrounded by a group of chattering Dark Guards.

At the beginning, she even found those people noisy.

But now that it was cold and quiet around her, she felt a bit unaccustomed to it.

Chen Xiaoxiao couldn't accept this result, and even less could she accept her own failure.

She was the Tang family's number one Dark Guard, the most gifted martial artist; how could she lose to Qiao Mu, this follower?

But at the same time, she finally realized that even a follower like Qiao Mu could surpass her within a few months; perhaps she didn't have anything special after all.

Just as Chen Xiaoxiao was feeling lost, a coat was draped over her shoulders.

She turned her head and saw Gu Beicheng, with his gentle gaze, standing behind her.

Gu Beicheng brought her a coat, and the coat still retained the scent of his usual cold pine perfume.

"Gu Xiansheng?"

Chen Xiaoxiao's nose felt sore, and she said in a low voice: "I let you down."

Gu Beicheng's tone was gentle: "It's just a trial, don't take it to heart."

"As the saying goes, victory and defeat are common matters for soldiers; even top-tier martial artists cannot achieve eternal invincibility."

"You are only in your twenties, the road ahead is still long, don't be overly concerned with temporary gains and losses."

"But what I care about isn't entirely just winning or losing."

Chen Xiaoxiao looked at Gu Beicheng seriously and said: "I just realized that my mindset had a problem; I kept mocking Xu Tian, saying he was a pretty boy, a useless piece of trash, but now I find that his strength is far above mine..."

"You're agonizing over this."

Gu Beicheng smiled: "Xu Tian is a man; he naturally has an advantage in training and physical conditions."

"And Bingyan values him so much; for his safety, she would definitely hire top martial artists for him and give him lessons; it's reasonable that his strength is stronger than yours."

"As for Qiao Mu, actually his talent is not as good as yours, but recently it seems he suddenly had a breakthrough and rose a level all at once; as for comprehension, everyone's situation is different; even experts might stay at a stage for a long time, unable to break through for a long time."

Chen Xiaoxiao was startled and suddenly recalled what Qiao Mu had said to her before.

He said his rise was also instigated by Gu Xiansheng.

Could it be that Gu Xiansheng really wanted Qiao Mu to sit in the Commander's position, which is why he gave him special training to help him break through?

Chen Xiaoxiao knew the principle that the winner takes all; she shouldn't make excuses for losing, but the thought that Gu Beicheng valued Qiao Mu more still made her feel unbalanced.

Clearly, her relationship with Gu Xiansheng was closer, so why did he choose Qiao Mu?

"Alright, stop letting your imagination run wild, go back and continue to work hard, strive to win it back next time."

Gu Beicheng glanced at his watch and continued: "I have something else to do, I'm leaving first."

"Walk slowly, Gu Xiansheng."

Chen Xiaoxiao didn't know why, but looking at Gu Beicheng's back, she suddenly felt a bit strange, as if she had never truly understood this person.

She had always admired Gu Beicheng and hoped that Gu Beicheng could be with Tang Bingyan.

In her eyes, only Gu Beicheng, who was excellent in every aspect, could be worthy of Tang Bingyan, and Gu Beicheng had a gentle personality and would certainly not let Tang Bingyan down.

But just at the moment Gu Beicheng turned around, something in her heart suddenly felt like it had shattered, making her feel extremely uncomfortable.

A hospital under the Tang family's name.

When Gu Beicheng walked into the ward, Qiao Mu had just finished a bottle of IV drip.

"Gu Xiansheng!"

When Qiao Mu saw Gu Beicheng, he subconsciously wanted to get up to salute, but was supported by him and lay back down.

"Don't move around, the doctor said you need quiet rest."

"Many thanks for Gu Xiansheng's concern."

Qiao Mu didn't expect Gu Beicheng to have specifically asked the doctor about his condition, and he couldn't help but feel a bit moved.

"You are someone by Bingyan's side, naturally I must show more concern."

Gu Beicheng sat down on the chair beside the hospital bed: "You performed well in today's trial; as for the matter of fighting Xu Tian, it cannot be blamed entirely on you."

"Gu Xiansheng, it was all that pretty boy Xu Tian playing dirty tricks! If it weren't for him, I would be the Dark Guard Commander now!"

As soon as Xu Tian was mentioned, Qiao Mu's swollen face, which couldn't even distinguish his features, immediately turned bright red, and his resentful gaze was full of anger.

"Even if Xu Tian is good at playing tricks, he can't compare to your position in Tang Zong's heart, Gu Xiansheng; after all, you and Tang Zong are childhood sweethearts and understand each other."

"Besides, whether it's academic qualifications or business talent, or even martial arts, you are enough to crush him; you only spent a few months to successfully help me break through and promote a level, while that piece of trash Xu Tian could only teach useless things like Bai Lu."

"Gu Xiansheng, I am your person; he humiliated me like this in public, which is actually slapping your face and not giving you face; you must not let him off just like that!"

Gu Beicheng was very scheming; how could he not understand Qiao Mu's deliberate provocation?

He darkened his face slightly and said in a neither cold nor hot tone:

"Don't talk nonsense, you are Bingyan's Dark Guard, how could you be my person?"

"And when you fought at the beginning, Bingyan personally agreed to follow the arena rules, which indicates there was no room for other operations."

Qiao Mu remained unwilling: "But Tang Zong's decision was too hasty! She is the Tang family head, yet she let an outsider interfere in the Tang family's affairs; no matter how you look at it, it's not according to the rules."

Although many people inside the Tang family knew that Xu Tian and Tang Bingyan had already registered their marriage, most people still refused to acknowledge his identity.

In their eyes, this marriage couldn't last long, and Xu Tian had no qualifications to interfere in the Tang family's private affairs.

Qiao Mu saw that Gu Beicheng was unmoved by his words, secretly gritted his teeth, and couldn't help but add more fuel to the fire.

"Gu Xiansheng, I understand your intention in cultivating me; I won't be like that stupid woman Chen Xiaoxiao, who doesn't know how to be flexible and only knows how to be blindly loyal to Tang Zong; in order not to let that pretty boy mess around, I will pay attention to all his movements."

At the same time, Xu Tian was surrounded by the First Squad Dark Guards and walked out of the martial arts hall.

"Mr. Xu, what kind of fist technique did you use when you beat Qiao Mu just now? It's so powerful!"

The team members hadn't yet escaped from the excitement, and some even took the opportunity to want Xu Tian to teach them a move or two.

"Mr. Xu, can you bring me along for the next class?"

"And me!"

"Can I sign up? I want to learn that fist technique that beat Qiao Mu..."

A certain Dark Guard said while gesturing with his hands and feet, the scene was very lively.

"Sure."

Xu Tian didn't hide his secrets: "As long as you have time, you can all audit."

Seeing that Xu Tian didn't have any airs and was willing to teach them, the First Squad Dark Guards became even more enthusiastic towards him.

Before, they had also been influenced by others and held prejudices against Xu Tian.

But after experiencing this trial, their impression of Xu Tian had also completely changed.