The eldest daughter's scheming, the crown prince's exclusive favor to the venomous concubi

Hei Feng watched silently from the shadows as Jian Yue fought valiantly, falling to the ground time and again only to rise again. His heart continued to pound, but he could no longer calm down and think.

Suddenly, he gave a bitter laugh and sighed softly, "I've made a mess of things for myself. When exactly is this happening? Tsk! Xingke didn't even tell me. My 'Red Phoenix Star' is actually hundreds of years late."

He shook his head painfully, suppressing the ache in his heart, put on a cold mask, and walked to the entrance of the dilapidated temple.

The arrival of Black Wind caused everyone to stop. Black Wind waved his hand and asked, "How many are there?"

Kumu Zhang said angrily, "Forty-two, there are still eight left, but she's already failing."

Hei Feng looked at the person lying on the ground with their eyes closed, their face so swollen that they were unrecognizable. He twitched his hand slightly, but then forcibly suppressed it and did not move. He simply asked indifferently, "Are you alright?"

"fine."

A faint sound rang out, and Hei Feng's brow furrowed even more. Jian Yue had gotten up again and was walking unsteadily toward the remaining eight people. The eight people looked at each other, none of them willing to go forward.

Seeing this, Black Wind said, "Since you can't bear it, just kill her directly, so she won't suffer."

Upon hearing this, Kumu Zhang suddenly stepped forward, grabbed Hei Feng by the collar, and said, "Are you crazy?"

Black Wind sneered: "Isn't that right?"

"What is this? Back then, Shangguan Jianyue never even touched this level of skill, but now you're making her directly endure it. A child who has only just begun to cultivate internal energy, do you think she's a prodigy, an immortal being?"

Kumu Zhang was truly enraged. He couldn't understand why Hei Feng had gone so far this time. Hei Feng, however, looked at Kumu Zhang with calm and indifferent eyes and said, "So what? What she wants is life. If she can't even give life, what's the point of talking about the future?"

Before Kumu Zhang could say anything more, Jian Yue suddenly said, "That's right, he's right."

Kumu looked around, and Jianyue had already turned around. She looked at him and said, "Jianyue thanks Senior Kumu for your protection. But I have said that I will not die, and that is that. Senior, just watch and do nothing else."

She then looked at Hei Feng and said, "What you said is the path that Jian Yue has been pursuing since she had memories: to live, then to take revenge, and finally to protect those I should protect."

Now I truly acknowledge your words and understand them. You are right. If I am not strong, how can I protect others? Acting recklessly is nothing more than hastening death.

Therefore, if I pass this test, and if what you said still holds true, I, Shangguan Jianyue, am willing to become your disciple for life, and my gratitude to you will never change.”

If Hei Feng had heard these words before, he would have been delighted and accepted them readily. But now, having just understood his own heart, he suddenly felt that he had shot himself in the foot.

But even if that's not the case, what's the use? He should have been dead long ago, but he's living on out of resentment. How can he expect anything else? And this young girl can only be his disciple.

After a long, long time, when Jian Yue was lying on his back on the ground after receiving a heavy blow from the last person and was being rescued by Ku Mu Zhang, he finally opened his mouth and uttered a single word.

"it is good."

When Jian Yue woke up again, he was in pain. He felt his face being squeezed, which was very uncomfortable. When he tried to open his eyes, he was scolded: "Don't move, you can't open your eyes now."

Jian Yue paused, obediently closed her eyes again, and said in a hoarse voice, "I told you, I won't die. Senior Kumu didn't waste your medicine, did he?"

Upon hearing this, Kumu Zhang sneered, "You ungrateful brat, you actually recognize a thief as your father! I've saved you so much, and you still want to become that bastard's disciple? Tell me, are you after his looks?"

Jian Yue chuckled, then suddenly felt an uncontrollable pain in her cheek. She grimaced and said, "Who on earth kept punching my face? My beautiful face! Won't it leave a scar?"

Kumu Zhang angrily picked up a hard-boiled egg, peeled it, and rolled it on Jian Yue's face. Jian Yue screamed in pain from the burn. Kumu Zhang roared, "What are you screaming for? If I find out who hit you in the face, I'll chop him up! All these years, I've taught them to be gentle with women for nothing! Luckily, we have Xing Ke's Golden Wound Medicine, otherwise, your face would really be ruined."

"Bear with it, stop howling. You've scared away all the sows outside the window. You can't even handle this little bit of pain? How did you endure the beatings back then? Huh? Good idea, you really are a good idea."

Jian Yue grimaced in pain, unable to speak as Ku Mu Zhang rubbed her so hard she could only hold back her tears and remain silent in grievance.

Outside the door, several people who had participated in the trial that day were looking into the room. Kumu Zhang sneered and said, "You brats, why aren't you getting in? Are you waiting for me to go and invite you in?"

The people outside were at a loss, pushing and shoving each other before finally coming in. Once inside, Kumu Zhang looked at them coldly and said, "Tell me, who punched you in the face? Kid, you've got some nerve, daring to punch someone in the face? Aren't you afraid they'll make things difficult for you after they become the head of the family?"

Jian Yue was immediately speechless, feeling that Ku Mu Zhang's words were not directed at her, but rather subtly garnered her some opposing votes.

After Kumu Zhang finished speaking, a young man in front of him, who looked to be in his early twenties, took a step forward with his head down and said, "I just accidentally missed."

Jian Yue grinned, about to speak, when Ku Mu Zhang suddenly sprang up and smacked the boy on the head, yelling, "You little brat, is this how I taught you? No wonder you're over twenty and still haven't brought me a daughter-in-law. You don't know how to cherish women, who would dare marry you? Go, go squat in a horse stance for three hours, or I'll tie you to a horse's butt."

Upon hearing this, the man's face immediately fell. But when Ku Mu Zhang glared at him, he dared not say anything more. He stood up straight and bowed solemnly to Jian Yue, saying, "I'm sorry, please take good care of yourself."

He left as soon as he finished speaking, fearing that Jian Yue might say something unforgiving or irresponsible. If Ku Mu Zhang were to lose his temper, it would be more than just three hours of horse stance.

After he left, Kumu Zhang hummed a little tune as he got up and said, "I'll go keep an eye on things. You lie there and don't move. You can open your eyes for a moment now. If you can move your hands, there are eggs here. Peel them yourself and then roll around."

After saying that, Kumu Zhang glared at the two people who were still there and turned to leave. After he left, the two people immediately stepped forward. Jian Yue recognized one of them as Yu Fangzhou, who had said he would pledge his loyalty.

Upon seeing Jian Yue open her eyes, Yu Fangzhou hurriedly asked, "How is it? How is it?"

Jian Yue shook her head and said, "Don't worry, I won't die."

Yu Fangzhou immediately laughed and said, "See? I just love your magnanimity; it's just as unrestrained as any man's."

Another person chimed in, "Yes, I never expected you to be able to hold on. You know, out of a hundred of us, with your internal strength, you'd be completely outmatched by the time you reach thirty."

As he spoke, the man looked at Jian Yue and said, "My name is Liu Dong. I can't reveal my position for now, but like Yu Fangzhou, I admire your perseverance and have decided to support you no matter when or where, whether you pass the final hurdle or not."

The two men's anxious attempts to show their loyalty surprised Jian Yue. She opened her still swollen eyes and said, "Hand me that egg."

Yu Fangzhou was taken aback, then quickly picked up the egg, peeled it considerately, and handed it to Jian Yue. Jian Yue pressed the egg against her eyes, rolling it around as she grinned and asked, "What's the relationship between that guy and Kumu Zhang?"

Yu Fangzhou immediately laughed and said, "His name is Zhang Chaoyue. He is an orphan that Kumu Zhang picked up and raised as his son. So Kumu Zhang has some of his own wicked tastes when it comes to him, and he is more strict with him than we are."

Upon hearing this, Jian Yue asked curiously, "Strict? It's just a horse stance, how can it be strict?"

Liu Dong immediately laughed and said, "You don't know, this horse stance is not an ordinary horse stance. First, more than a dozen daggers are placed on the stool with the tips of the daggers facing upwards. The person squats in the horse stance above the daggers, and a water bag made of sheep bladder is tied to the crotch. A wooden bucket filled with water is placed on the top of the person's head and arms."

The requirements were that the wooden bucket must not tip over, not a single drop could be spilled, and the sheep's bladder could not be cut with a dagger; otherwise, they would be tied to a horse's rump and dragged for miles, their bodies covered in a unique, pungent condiment made by Kumu Zhang.

Upon hearing this, Jian Yue was taken aback, then her eyes filled with admiration for Ku Mu Zhang, and she said, "Impressive. Just hearing the sobbing seasoning is unbearable, so the sheep's bladder is no problem at all."

Yu Fangzhou nodded and sighed, "That's right, this is the initial training program for armored soldiers, so you must take good care of your health, as you will have to go through all of this."

Jian Yue's body stiffened, and then she heard Liu Dong continue, "Miss, you can rest assured. This time you have already surpassed the level, and I believe there will be no other problems in the short term. This period of time is enough for you to recover your health and learn from the leader what you need to be able to handle the tests that come next."

Jian Yue forced a smile, revealing an extremely painful expression. Yu Fangzhou felt a pang of pity and asked, "Miss, are you worried?"

"Do not."

Jian Yue said, "I am worried that once I learn everything he knows, I will take revenge on him."

Jian Yue gritted her teeth as she spoke, when the door opened and Hei Feng walked in from outside, looking at Jian Yue and saying, "Want to take revenge on me? You're getting bolder and bolder."

When Yu Fangzhou and Liu Dong saw Hei Feng enter, they quickly stood up and gave him a military salute. Hei Feng looked at them and said, "One hundred men, you failed to capture a girl. Your training needs to be intensified. Go back, each of you will have an extra hour of horse stance training every day."

Yu Fangzhou and Liu Dong quickly responded and left, which made Jian Yue frown. She said to Hei Feng, "You're being too harsh."

Black Wind coldly replied, "If we're not strict enough, once they get to the battlefield, they'll die in battle, and I'll be collecting their corpses."