Where does that wicked woman get her conscience?

Someone bullied her? Guan Xun was speechless. How long had it been? Had the news of her fight with Jian Rou already reached the medical hospital?

It seems like everyone in the college is quite gossipy...

She curled the corners of her lips, raised her chin to look at Dongyang, who was half a head taller than her, and teased, "If someone bullies me, are you going to fight them to the death?"

Dongyang frowned, then put on a righteous expression: "Although I may not be able to beat him, I can report it to the teacher. The academy won't tolerate these people running rampant, will it?"

"Pfft." Guan Xun couldn't help but laugh out loud. She shook her head slightly. "It was just a little scuffle. Who could possibly bully me?"

"I heard you're all very busy with classes at your medical school. Did you come here just for this?"

Hearing her younger sister speak so casually, Dongyang breathed a sigh of relief; it seemed she hadn't suffered any loss.

"Yes, I came to see how it is."

After a pause, he added, "The classes at the medical school are really packed, almost from morning till night, with no free time at all. I probably won't be able to come see you as often in the future. If you need anything, you can find me over there, in class A."

Even though Guan Xun thought that she couldn't possibly have any problems, he still nodded in agreement.

"I understand. Aren't you very busy? Go back now."

"Okay." Dongyang gave a few more words of advice before leaving.

As soon as Guan Xun stepped into the small courtyard of the dormitory, he heard a voice with a hint of teasing.

"It seems Miss Guan also has a childhood sweetheart. She's quite pretty, but..."

Ye Fengjing was leaning against a big tree in the yard, fanning himself with a folding fan, looking quite meaningful.

Guan Xun raised an eyebrow slightly. "However? However what? Judging from the other person's appearance and expression, is he trying to say that he's not as handsome as him?"

"Young Master Ye seems to have quite a bit of free time."

Ye Fengjing nodded thoughtfully, then stopped joking with her and said seriously, "You ran straight to the cultivation room as soon as get out of class was over, and even got into a fight with a senior student. Freshmen don't have it easy to get things done in the academy, and now you've offended someone, I'm afraid..."

"Do you know her?" Guan Xun asked casually.

"Who?" Ye Fengjing frowned and asked, then suddenly realized, "Jian Rou? I don't really know her, I've only heard my older brother mention her."

"Sounds like someone from a prominent family in the capital?" Guan Xun kicked the grass at his feet with a hint of boredom. Ye Fengjing was from a prominent family in the capital, so anyone who could catch his attention must be someone extraordinary. It seemed that she had offended a young lady.

"Hmm... I guess so." Ye Fengjing thought for a moment before hesitatingly saying, "She's the second young master of the Ling family's distant cousin, and their relationship sounds pretty good."

So that's how they're related. She thought she was a direct descendant of a young lady. Guan Xun tilted her head. "The Ling family?"

Ye Fengjing raised the corners of his lips, snapped his folding fan shut, and then opened it again, speaking with a hint of pride and smugness: "Miss Guan is visiting the capital for the first time, so she probably doesn't know yet."

"The Ye family, the Li family, and the Ling family are the three major families in the capital, and the Ling family is headed by the current emperor's capable minister, Prime Minister Ling."

So that's how it is. With such powerful backing, no wonder he's so arrogant at the academy. His identity certainly sounds like someone you can't afford to mess with.

Guan Xun shook his head and clicked his tongue twice.

"Aren't you afraid?" Ye Fengjing was taken aback by Guan Xun's nonchalant attitude.

"Afraid?" Guan Xun glanced at him sideways. "What's there to be afraid of? I've already offended him. We'll deal with whatever comes our way."

Ye Fengjing was stunned for a moment before shaking his head helplessly. What a bold girl! She acted with such composure, and...

"By the way, I heard that the academy has a ranking system. Do you know what it's for?" Guan Xun asked.

"Ah...you mean the ranking of the strongest spirit masters, right?"

"Yes, that's it." Guan Xun thought for a moment and replied, "Jian Rou is a Spirit Master, so this must be the ranking list."

"Only the top 50 spirit masters can make it onto the strongest ranking list. The top three on the list can earn 10,000 gold coins per month, while those ranked down to tenth can earn 5,000 gold coins per month."

"So what do they need to do?"

"You don't have to do anything. As long as you're on the leaderboard, you can get gold coins. This is a benefit that the academy has designed to encourage students to cultivate."

"That's great?!" Guan Xun was stunned. As long as she made it onto the list, she could get so many gold coins for free every month. Her eyes sparkled with excitement: "I heard there's a sparring arena where you can challenge and defeat someone on the list and take their place, right?"

“That’s right.” Ye Fengjing nodded. Seeing Guan Xun’s interest, he couldn’t help but find it a little funny. “You should take it easy. The people on the list are not comparable to the freshmen who sparred yesterday. They are all geniuses in the academy, especially the top three.”

"Heh, genius." Guan Xun murmured. The capable are the ones on the list; she doesn't care about geniuses or anything like that.

She pouted and touched her stomach; she had been in a state of cultivation all day and was starving.

Guan Xun took out a large piece of dried marinated animal meat from his storage ring, put it in his mouth, and said somewhat unclearly, "I'll go in first."

Ye Fengjing watched as she took out a dark, unsightly object from her storage ring and put it in her mouth. Curious, he quickly followed her.

"What are you eating? It looks quite appetizing."

Guan Xun paused, turned to look at him: "You want it?"

The dried meat had long lost its moisture, and its nauseating odor could only be detected up close. It was not only dry and hard, but also had an unappetizing color. Ye Fengjing was shamelessly boasting.

"If you don't mind, you can let me try some," Ye Fengjing said.

"..." Guan Xun scoffed, broke off a small piece of the beast meat, and threw it at him, "Good stuff, don't waste it."

What good could this look like? Ye Fengjing is used to eating delicacies and looks down on this kind of food. He was just trying to start a conversation and said it casually. It would be hard for him to actually eat it.

He took the meat, and seeing that Guan Xun hadn't left but was staring straight at him, his hand involuntarily stiffened. He picked up the meat and examined it carefully, saying, "Is this a specialty of your area?"

After saying that, he hesitated for a moment and sniffed with his nose. The next second, his previously smiling face suddenly changed drastically!

His hands seemed to be covered in something indescribable, and he flung them forcefully, throwing the beast meat away without warning.

Immediately, as if he had seen a ghost, he darted to the base of a large tree in the courtyard, one hand supporting the trunk, the other clutching his chest, bending over and vomiting, his face a mixture of pale and ashen, looking utterly wretched.

"You! Ugh...! What is this... Ugh!"