Li Donglai's eyes turned to Zhang Chen, and upon seeing Zhang Chen's expression, he immediately realized that he wasn't believed. He hurriedly said, "I know you don't trust me, think I'm talkative, but that wretch has already teamed up with Zhang Xiaohua and pledged allegiance to her. He is our natural enemy, and we must not let it slide."

While Li Donglai was complaining with a face full of anger, Chengyu walked in from outside, his speech full of dissatisfaction: "You fatso, stop spouting nonsense! Clearly, you came uninvited, and even if you came on your own accord, you had to say Senior Brother Chu Mingyue's Nightlight Cup was pointless, only beautiful but useless, belittling it completely. The other senior brothers were incensed and argued with you. You relied on your Copper Skin and Iron Bones and started fighting, disrupting a perfectly good feast."

Li Donglai argued confidently, "If he had invited me and not looked down on me, would I have disrupted his feast?"

At this point, he turned his head toward Zhang Chen: "Junior Brother Zhang, you're a reasonable person, you should judge this situation."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Chen shook his head, having witnessed this small, chubby guy's unreasonable antics almost three times previously.

"The matter has already happened, let's go to bed early, what's the point of talking so much?" Zhang Chen said irritably.

Zhang Chen walked into the house, leaving only Li Donglai facing Chengyu in the yard. Seeing Chengyu clenching his fist inside his sleeve, an ominous premonition surged through Li Donglai's mind. He immediately shut his mouth, stopped arguing, and turned around to go back inside to sleep.

Xiaodouding was displeased to see Li Donglai staying in the yard to sleep and quickly rushed up to stop him: "Hey fatty, why aren't you going to your own dorm, what are you doing here?"

"I told him to stay," Zhang Chen called out from inside the house, stopping the conflict.

Xiaodouding raised his small, fair, and tender fists, making a threatening gesture at Li Donglai, scaring him into a shiver, then turned and walked into Zhang Chen's room: "Junior brother, don't listen to that fatso's nonsense. Senior Brother Chu Mingyue is a very nice person, gentle and elegant, handsome and generous, really a gentleman. He's not as annoying as that fatso says."

Zhang Chen looked at Xiaodouding in surprise, his eyes full of curiosity: "Why do you like Chu Mingyue so much?"

Hearing this, Xiaodouding blushed with embarrassment, then spoke defiantly, puffing up his small frame: "Adults' business, kids shouldn't inquire."

Observing Xiaodouding, Zhang Chen couldn't help but smile to himself: "So, it's idol worship, huh? This kid already knows how to idolize someone, how mature the kids are nowadays."

"Not exactly. It's just that Senior Brother Chu and I were neighbors in my hometown. We came to Yellow Heaven Dao together. Back then, all the people in that village were killed, leaving only me and Senior Brother Chu." Xiaodouding sighed softly, eyes filled with sorrow: "I remember often playing with Senior Brother Chu in the past. My father treated him like his own son. He was like my older brother, but after the calamity, we parted ways and have become a bit estranged."

Zhang Chen was stunned to hear this, not expecting such a backstory and unsure of how to offer comfort.

"Zhang Chen, I don't think you're a match for Senior Brother Chu Mingyue; you should abstain from competing. If you get hurt by Senior Brother Chu, I'd feel conflicted," Xiaodouding said, seemingly remembering something.

Zhang Chen glanced at Xiaodouding, "You've turned against us, you little traitor. You used to hope I'd take first place, and now you speak for your Senior Brother Chu Mingyue. You've betrayed our beliefs."

"Even though you're my junior brother, Senior Brother Chu Mingyue, as a mere mortal, slaughtered a Divine Spirit, making him my idol and a guiding light for martial artists like us. Idols need to be revered. Mark my words, give up the competition. When Senior Brother Chu makes a move, you won't stand a chance!" Xiaodouding said proudly.

Zhang Chen chuckled silently, lying on the bed, too lazy to care about this little imp. A five-year-old kid doesn't know anything, anyway.

Watching Zhang Chen's attitude, Chengyu paid no heed, feeling quite pleased as he went upstairs, occasionally chuckling foolishly, lost in some thought.

That night.

Zhang Chen followed his usual routine of sneaking underground to steal points, emerging the next morning before morning class. Once class was over, Li Donglai and Xiaodouding were nowhere to be seen, leaving Zhang Chen alone to head to the cafeteria for a meal.

From a distance, Zhang Chen saw Chu Mingyue sitting with Zhang Xiaohua. The food on their table was not something from the cafeteria but rather the exquisite delicacies from Prince Pingbian's Mansion.

All the senior brothers were gathered around them, continuously raising their glasses in flattery.

Zhang Chen stood to the side, observing coldly, watching everyone's actions and Chu Mingyue in the center. He thought to himself, "Though Chu Mingyue pretends to be aloof, his understated praise for Zhang Xiaohua is evident. This guy isn't simple; he's very calculating."

But none of this mattered to Zhang Chen. He only needed to focus on stealing points to improve his skills. He didn't want to forge deep connections with these fellow disciples to avoid getting too entrenched in their affairs, which could lead to entanglements.

Lost in thought, Zhang Chen walked back. As he passed the Ancestral Master's Hall, his steps suddenly slowed when he heard Liu Feng and Elder Wu speaking inside:

"Master, why has the God Sealing Ceremony been delayed for so long without a decision? Various factions are already secretly agitated, probing for information behind the scenes. Some suspect Yellow Heaven Dao of bluffing or causing mischief, and others think there might be a problem with Yellow Heaven Dao. If this continues, it could lead to many troubles."

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