Chapter 318: Chapter 159: He’s At It Again

News of this spread throughout the academy in no time.

In the Wall-Facing Chamber in the foothills of Mingcan Courtyard, Zhao Rui looked at the spotless room and asked curiously, "Did you clean this?"

"Of course I did!"

"You’re the best!"

Zhao Rui casually dropped his suitcase and flopped onto the bed. He stretched his arms out wide in a long, satisfying stretch.

Seeing his roguish behavior, Qin Rui couldn’t help but remember what he was like before, back at the academy.

It was a completely different style from the ramrod-straight, dignified man she had seen just moments ago.

’If I can’t get a handle on this, I’ll just have to take the plunge!’

Her mind made up, Qin Rui suddenly walked to the edge of the bed. She leaned over slightly, looking down at Zhao Rui.

"Wh-what are you doing?"

Zhao Rui jumped in surprise.

Without another word, Qin Rui pressed her bright red lips down toward his.

"Holy crap!"

Zhao Rui yelped, "You’re actually serious!"

Just as he was hesitating, his phone suddenly started ringing.

He quickly seized the opportunity to roll to his side and sit up, pulling out his phone.

The call was from Li Xinran.

"Hey, Xinran!"

"You’re back? You didn’t even tell me! I only found out because I heard everyone talking about it."

"I just got back. I wanted to rest a bit first."

"Hmph. I bet Qin Rui is with you. Friends are quickly forgotten when there’s a pretty face around!"

Li Xinran grumbled, dissatisfied.

Hearing this, Qin Rui feigned a "great rage."

She stormed over to Zhao Rui, snatched the phone, and whined, "Li Xinran, you ruined everything! This isn’t over between us!"

"What did I ruin?"

"I’m not going to spell it out for you! You just did, that’s all!"

Not wanting to listen to them bicker, Zhao Rui quickly got up and left the Wall-Facing Chamber.

Outside, he looked all around.

The autumn sky was high and the air was crisp. The lush greenery was everywhere. It all felt so familiar.

The garden and fishpond by the door had also been tidied up, and a few goldfish were swimming leisurely inside.

Zhao Rui crouched down and idly teased the fish for a moment before Qin Rui came out, holding the phone.

"Change out of your uniform. Xinran and Old Cao are coming over in a bit."

"Why should I change just because they’re coming?"

"I’m afraid Xinran will fall for you!"

"..."

On his first night back, he naturally got together with Li Xinran and the others to satisfy their craving for a good drink.

Cao Guannan had also just returned from his military service not long ago. As two veterans meeting again, they naturally had endless things to talk about.

In the service, you want to go home.

But once you’re home, you miss the life you left behind.

It was just as the saying goes: The party ends, the feelings linger; we look back and find a spring that’s passed.

...

The next day, Zhao Rui got up on time and headed down the mountain to the Martial Arts Team.

The team members he met along the way all greeted him.

But none of them looked particularly surprised. Clearly, word of his return yesterday had already spread far and wide.

He walked through the gates of Mingcan Courtyard and straight into the main hall.

"Old Wang, I’m back!"

"You’ve gotten thinner, and tanner!"

Wang Zhanshan said with a smile, sizing Zhao Rui up.

"It’d be a miracle if I wasn’t, with all the sun I’ve been getting."

"You know that Wang Dalong and his group want to challenge you, right?"

"Yeah, I know."

"Are you confident you can win? They’ve improved by leaps and bounds this past year. You can’t afford to underestimate them."

"It shouldn’t be a problem. How hard do you want me to be on them?"

"You rascal."

With that one sentence, Wang Zhanshan knew all he needed to.

It seemed that Zhao Rui hadn’t let his Cultivation slide during his year in the service.

"Let’s go. I’ll take you over. Looks like I’ll have to be the referee, too!"

Wang Zhanshan shook his head in resignation, getting up and walking out of the hall.

Ever since Wang Dalong and Cai Zhengyang broke through to the Grandmaster Realm, an undercurrent of discontent had been stirring in the Martial Arts Academy.

Namely, why was the captain of their Martial Arts Team someone from the Outer Courtyard?

Didn’t that make the students of the Martial Arts Academy look incompetent?

It wasn’t as if the Martial Arts Academy didn’t have its own students who had reached the Grandmaster Realm.

Naturally, this discontent reached the ears of Wang Dalong and Cai Zhengyang. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

The two of them had already grown immensely powerful after breaking through to the Grandmaster Realm, and with the added boost of the Spiritual Qi Revival, their Martial Arts were now on a completely different level than before.

With their own ambitions stirring, they immediately found a pretext to challenge Zhao Rui.

Publicly and privately, they often voiced their desire to win back some honor for the Martial Arts Academy.

It was only human nature, after all.

The autumn colors rippled like waves, and a cold mist settled over layers of green.

In the Martial Arts Academy’s Martial Arts Arena, team members were practicing their Martial Arts to improve their strength.

With the Spiritual Qi Revival, not only had individual Cultivation speeds increased, but the power of their techniques had also grown far beyond what it once was.

Now, there wasn’t a single person on the team below Level 8.

There were two in the Grandmaster Realm and six in the True Transformation Realm.

Compared to before, they were like a completely different team.

Wang Dalong sat cross-legged in a corner, bathing in the sunlight. Faint Spiritual Qi swirled around his body, refracting the light around him.

It made him look as if he were in an Illusion Realm.

"Senior Brother Wang is so incredible!"

"I heard Captain Zhao is back. Do you think Senior Brother Wang can beat him?"

"I think so. Senior Brother Wang’s strength is unfathomable now. Senior Brother Zhao was in the military, training and fighting all day. He definitely didn’t have time for his Martial Arts."

"Yeah, that’s a good point."

Team members in the distance whispered among themselves, all extremely interested in what was about to unfold.

"What a poser."

Not far away, Cai Zhengyang shot a disdainful glance at Wang Dalong, utterly scornful of his pretentious act.

’Isn’t it exhausting, pretending to be some grand master all day long?’

’Always having to save face, always putting on airs.’

’Not like me at all.’

With that thought, a smirk played on his lips. He reached out and placed a hand on the waist of a junior female student next to him. Leaning in gently toward her neck, he toyed with a strand of her hair and said, "With your senior brother here, I’ll make sure you master this."

"Okay, Senior Brother. I’ll listen to you!"

Looking at them, not even a dog would believe there wasn’t something going on between them.

Now that Cai Zhengyang was also a Grandmaster, Wang Zhanshan couldn’t be bothered to deal with him, generally turning a blind eye.

As long as he didn’t cross the line.

"Hm?"

Just then, Wang Dalong, still cross-legged in the corner, suddenly opened his eyes. A sharp glint flashed within them.

Cai Zhengyang also straightened up slightly, his gaze turning to the entrance of the Martial Arts Arena.

"What is it, Senior Brother?"

The junior student in front of him asked curiously.

"He’s here."

"Who?"

"Zhao Rui."

Cai Zhengyang released the pretty junior’s waist and strode directly toward Wang Dalong.

Meanwhile, Wang Dalong also rose to his feet from his corner.

"You want to go first, or should I?"

"Let’s see who he chooses."

"If that’s how it is, then I’m going up!"

Cai Zhengyang said with a sneer. ’If you’re too scared, just say so. Stop pretending.’

He had been waiting for this day for a very long time.

’Zhao Rui, you’ve kept me down for two years. Now, it’s finally time for me to erase that humiliation!’

Cai Zhengyang secretly clenched his fists.

"Everyone, quiet down!"

A moment later, Wang Zhanshan and Zhao Rui entered the Martial Arts Arena together.

"Zhao Rui has successfully fulfilled his sacred duty of military service to the nation and is officially returning to the academy today. Let’s give him a warm welcome."

Wang Zhanshan announced in a clear, loud voice.

The team members in the arena broke into applause. Although they were all waiting for the drama to unfold, they still held a fair amount of respect for Zhao Rui.

After all, he had been an excellent captain to everyone.

It was just that, because of the circulating discontent, it was understandable from the Martial Arts Students’ perspective that they wanted to see if there was a chance to get a "proper" Martial Arts Student as their captain.

Let the strongest lead, right?

Besides, everyone wanted to see a showdown between Grandmasters.

"Zhao Rui, say a few words to the team. Tell them what your time in the service was like."

Wang Zhanshan said, looking at Zhao Rui.

Zhao Rui nodded. His gaze swept over the crowd before he began, "A year in the military goes by fast, but it had a profound impact on my life..."

"I hope that any of you who have the chance can go see the frontier... This peace we enjoy doesn’t come easily."

"Alright, enough sentimental talk. Before I came over, I heard someone on our team wanted to challenge me?"

Zhao Rui’s gaze shifted slightly, landing on Wang Dalong and Cai Zhengyang in the corner.

Cai Zhengyang, who had just been full of aggressive confidence, flinched when that gaze fell upon him. His cheek twitched, and he almost looked away.

He was genuinely intimidated by Zhao Rui’s insidious nature.

But it was only for a second. He craned his neck and forced himself to meet Zhao Rui’s eyes.

"That’s right. Wang Dalong and I have both advanced to the Grandmaster Realm. We’d like to have a friendly spar with you."

Cai Zhengyang declared loudly. After getting the words out, he seemed to stand a little taller.

"A spar? Sure. Both of you can come at me at once."

"..."

’This shameless bastard, showing off again!’

Cai Zhengyang felt the courage he had just mustered instantly deflate by half.

’He’s doing it again!’