At that moment, the dark horse of the Heavenly Wind Kingdom, Su Chen, lay motionless on the bed.

  Pain… excruciating pain everywhere!

  Su Chen felt as though his body had been shattered and barely held together. Every inch of skin burned as if sliced open by countless knives.

  A thousand cuts, ten thousand slashes.

  Wang Bailu, Li Ming, and the familiar faces of Soaring Clouds Martial Academy surrounded him, all watching with tense concern.

  Wang Bailu leaned against the windowsill, clutching Su Chen's hand tightly. Tiny tears rolled from her eyes one after another, soaking the bedding.

  Truly, women were made of water.

  Despite the agony, Su Chen forced a reassuring smile. "I'm fine now. I'm awake."

  No one believed him. His face remained deathly pale, and their expressions showed deep doubt.

  He quickly changed the subject. "In my final match against Nangong Meng of the Heavenly Wave Sect… who won?"

  The moment he mentioned it, everyone erupted into excited chatter.

  "Of course you won, Junior Brother Jiang!"

  A pretty senior sister gazed at him with shining eyes.

  Su Chen felt something soft and cool press against his hand—warm yet refreshing. Wang Bailu had rested her cheek there, quietly staking her claim. The gesture made him both amused and exasperated. Even the sharp pain from his wounds eased a little.

  "Now the entire capital is buzzing with tales of you, Junior Brother Jiang. Nangong Meng was a top-three favorite, yet she lost to you and missed the top ten entirely!"

  A senior brother chimed in, his tone filled with genuine admiration.

  "Junior Brother Jiang's martial spirit is truly worthy of respect. That's what the martial path should be—charging forward without fear of death. It sets the blood ablaze!"

  Another senior brother nodded fervently, already completely won over by Su Chen.

  In reality, Su Chen was inwardly screaming from the pain.

  Martial spirit? As long as he didn't die, that was enough.

  The real reason he had fought so desperately was simple: Nangong Meng was the disciple Li Qingyue prized above all others.

  The memory of Li Qingyue arrogantly annulling their engagement in his previous life still burned in his mind. He couldn't touch Li Qingyue herself, but surely he could defeat her most cherished disciple?

  This had been a battle of vindication. Su Chen had told himself he could not lose. In the end, only one thought had echoed in his mind: defeat Nangong Meng. And so he had won.

  In a pure contest of skill, he could never have matched her. But in terms of raw combat experience forged on the edge of death, Nangong Meng stood no chance.

  "Jiang Chen, you're absolutely insane!"

  "Nangong Meng—the Dream Fairy, one of the ten greatest beauties of the younger generation—actually cried and surrendered to you!"

  Li Ming stared at him in open awe, practically shouting in excitement. Watching his best friend rise to fame filled Li Ming with pride and exhilaration.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  Wealth and honor—share them together. Glory and disgrace—bear them as one.

  Su Chen, however, sank into deep recollection. A giant question mark formed in his mind.

  Did that really happen?

  For a true prodigy to be beaten to tears seemed utterly absurd. As the one who had fought her, how could he not remember Nangong Meng crying?

  He spoke slowly. "When did this happen? Nangong Meng is a martial prodigy. She wouldn't cry just from losing, would she?"

  Li Ming swore solemnly. "It's the talk of every street and alley right now. Storytellers are spinning epic tales about how you made the Dream Fairy weep. Now, a bunch of young elites from various powers are banding together to come find trouble with you. If your injuries haven't healed yet, I'd suggest laying low for a while."

  A stampede of special plants thundered through Su Chen's mind. If he ever found out who started this rumor, he would string them up and give them a thorough whipping. It wasn't that he minded the idea of making Nangong Meng cry. The problem was that he hadn't done it—and yet he had somehow earned himself an enormous pile of trouble for free.

  What a sin!

  At that moment, a middle-aged man strode into the room. Seeing that Su Chen had awakened, he laughed heartily and slapped him on the shoulder.

  "Jiang Chen, well done! Our Soaring Clouds Martial Academy has finally produced a top-ten finisher in this grand competition!"

  The elder's face glowed with delight. But when he bent down to look closer, Su Chen lay motionless on the bed once more, barely able to twitch.

  A faint voice drifted up.

  "Elder Mu… could you please be a little gentler…"

  Su Chen fainted again.

  The entire room turned to stare silently at Elder Mu.

  Elder Mu gave an awkward laugh and, with visible pain, produced a third-grade pill and fed it to Su Chen.

  There was no choice. Soaring Clouds Martial Academy had gone five consecutive grand competitions without a single top-ten placement. Now that Su Chen had finally appeared, if he ended up crippled because of this, the old fogeys back at the academy would surely skin him alive.

  Elder Mu thought to himself how wonderful it would have been if he had simply stayed away today. A third-grade pill—worth over a hundred thousand gold coins.

  …

  Su Chen eventually woke once more and tasted the effects of a third-grade pill for the first time. It felt nothing short of divine.

  The royal capital's rewards proved quite generous: three days of cultivation in the spirit pool, one azure Spirit Vein Fruit, and a choice of a Profound-grade lower-tier weapon.

  Su Chen selected a long spear. One inch longer meant one inch stronger.

  Three days later, his cultivation advanced another step, crossing into the eighth layer of Spirit Gathering.

  As he left the spirit pool, Su Chen caught sight of a familiar figure. A slender form was perfectly outlined by purple robes. Her face was cold as frost-covered snow, with a few stray strands of hair falling across her forehead, lending her an ethereal, dreamlike quality.

  She was the kind of beauty countless men dreamed of day and night. If only her gaze hadn't carried murderous intent.

  Su Chen inwardly groaned. The newcomer was none other than Nangong Meng, the one he had defeated.

  "Jiang Chen, I challenge you!"

  Nangong Meng burned with unwillingness. Every street and alley rang with tales of how the madman from Soaring Clouds Martial Academy had beaten her to tears, forcing her to concede and leave the stage in disgrace. She accepted the loss itself—she refused to stoop to arguing with a lunatic. But she had not cried!

  Nangong Meng intended to prove it. She would defeat Su Chen and wash away the humiliation.

  Su Chen simply stepped aside. His cultivation had now reached the eighth layer of Spirit Gathering. Defeating Nangong Meng would not be difficult. But he had no desire to fight.

  Seeing herself ignored, Nangong Meng nearly exploded with rage. "Jiang Chen, are you even a man?!"

  Su Chen turned back to look at her furious expression, tilting his head in genuine confusion. "Whether I'm a man or not—what does that have to do with accepting your challenge?"

  He truly failed to grasp the logic of these young girls.

  Nangong Meng's anger boiled over. She decided to take matters into her own hands. Gripping her sword, she charged straight at him.

  "She looks so cold and aloof, yet she's actually a hot-tempered tigress," Su Chen muttered under his breath.

  The words reached her ears perfectly.

  He raised his long spear. The tip gleamed with chilling light. The spear point stopped precisely against her forehead—piercing that delicate skin with a single drop of crimson blood. It lent her an unexpectedly poignant, tragic beauty.

  Su Chen withdrew the spear and waved his hand dismissively. "Little girl, wait until you step into the Spirit Vein Realm before you come challenge me again."

  With that, he turned and walked away without a backward glance.

  Nangong Meng stood frozen for a long time. Apart from the blood on her forehead, tears welled up in her eyes and fell in steady drops.

  "Bastard! Jiang Chen, you bastard!"

  That day, the royal capital shook once more.

  Rumors spread like wildfire: the Dream Fairy had been toyed with and abandoned by Jiang Chen, heartbroken and weeping for an entire day.

  The younger generation of the Heavenly Wind Kingdom roared in outrage, vowing to make the man who had bullied the Dream Fairy pay dearly.