Chapter 39 is awesome!
Lu Jinlan's vision blurred as she began to question her own taste. Wu Xin was right; why did she always seem to provoke the fiercest men?
This world is full of charming, coquettish men, but men who know martial arts are a rare breed. Yet, Lu Jinlan doesn't like the average type; she's set her sights on two tall, strong, and capable fighters.
They secretly competed with each other in front of her, which was one thing. But good heavens, they actually started fighting when she wasn't around?
Lu Jinlan followed the crowd of onlookers toward the street corner with an unhappy expression. As she walked, she realized something was wrong. The person who brought the news was misleading. Why did they only mention that the two young masters were fighting, but not that they were surrounded and attacked by a group of women?
There were about seven or eight thugs on the other side, all of whom appeared to be trained martial artists. Lin Cheng and Lou Yumian were surrounded, and even though both of them were skilled in martial arts and fought hard, they were still no match for them.
Lu Jinlan saw Lou Yumin take two kicks from afar, and immediately frowned. He leaped into the encirclement and used a set of Cloud Turning Hands.
To be honest, among all the students at the Royal Academy, Lu Jinlan was the least diligent in martial arts training. Xiang Ruzhen was a daily fixture at the training ground; she possessed superhuman strength and still practiced diligently. Yan Wuxin, while lazy in his academic classes, loved martial arts and practiced for at least one or two hours every day.
Lu Jinlan's appearance at the training ground had only a few purposes: to find Xiang Ruzhen, to find Yan Wuxin, and to find the two of them...
She slept in every day until she was fully awake, then rushed to class on time. Xiang Ruzhen had reminded her, "Practicing martial arts is like rowing against the current; if you don't advance, you fall behind. If you continue to be so lazy, your muscles and bones will become more and more flexible, and you won't be able to generate any power."
Lu Jinlan: "I have extraordinary bone structure, and I can improve my skills while I'm asleep. You can try it if you don't believe me."
When the two clashed, Xiang Ruzhen was startled. Lu Jinlan's attacks were not only lightning fast, but his moves were also unpredictable. It had been almost a month since their last encounter, and Lu Jinlan's internal strength had greatly increased—an effect that ordinary people couldn't achieve even after a year of arduous training.
Although Lu Jinlan's strength was not yet comparable to Xiang Ruzhen's, the exquisite and cunning of his moves made Xiang Ruzhen feel that she was not easy to deal with and needed to be careful.
A month ago, their strength was roughly equal at 30/70, but now it's more like 40/60.
This is all thanks to the system. As Lu Jinlan's life points increased dramatically, the system shop underwent several upgrades, and the martial arts manuals inside became increasingly advanced.
Lu Jinlan had more life points than she could use, and adhering to the principle that you get what you pay for, she only exchanged for the most expensive items. Every night before bed, she would activate her cultivation mode, and her power would increase with each breath.
The "Turning Clouds Hand" manual is a new advanced palm technique that Lu Jinlan has been practicing. Today, he'll put it to the test in a real battle.
When the thugs saw a sixteen or seventeen-year-old boy rush into the battle, they initially didn't take him seriously. They reasoned that martial arts skills require accumulation, and a sixteen or seventeen-year-old was still just a kid; how much skill could he possibly have?
However, Lu Jinlan reacted swiftly, grabbing one of the women's arms. The woman instinctively tried to break free, but Lu Jinlan, as if she had anticipated this, used the opening to strike her in the chest.
The newcomer was also hostile. With one hand restrained, she quickly raised her other hand to counter. But Lu Jinlan's move was a feint. With a flick of her wrist, like a swimming fish, she not only blocked the other's hand but also turned behind her, striking her in the back.
With a snap, the newcomer felt a tingling sensation down his spine and a jolt through his internal organs. A sweet, metallic taste rose in his throat, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.
Everything happened in the blink of an eye. Before anyone could see what was going on, Lu Jinlan had already knocked down three or four people in succession. With a few consecutive kicks, she knocked back the rest of them, grabbed the leader, pinned her against the wall, and raised her hand to slap her. Suddenly, Lin Cheng exclaimed, "Have mercy!"
Lu Jinlan glanced at him, and Lin Cheng looked troubled. "They...they are people who work for my mother."
The leader seized the opportunity to persuade him, "Young master, come back with us. The patriarch misses you very much."
Lin Cheng shook his head. "I can't leave now. The situation isn't what you think. Anyway, I'm fine. You can go back now. I'll explain to my mother later."
It turns out this group of people came to arrest Rin Cheng, probably to take him back and force him to get married to someone he doesn't like.
Lu Jinlan said angrily, "Did you hear that? He doesn't want to go back. Go back and tell your family head to cancel the engagement. I'll marry him. When I have time, I'll go to your family to propose."
The leader sneered and mocked, "Where did you come from, little girl? Just because you have some skills doesn't mean you know your place. Do you even know who he is? You want to marry him? You're not worthy."
Lu Jinlan scoffed, "Do you even know who I am? You're incredibly arrogant. Let me tell you, no matter his identity, I'm going to marry him. He's mine, and his own mother can't interfere with our marriage. I'm letting you off this time, but if you dare snatch someone from the street again, I'll send you to the Jingzhao Prefecture. Get out!"
Seeing that they were no match for the enemy, the leader sighed helplessly, helped the wounded man up, and slunk away.
Lin Cheng looked a little uncomfortable and said in a low voice, "How could you say such nonsense? What do you mean I'm your person? My mother would probably faint if she heard that."
Lu Jinlan smiled, "If I didn't say that, would she give up? Do you think you'd go back and marry someone else?"
Lin Cheng pursed his thin lips, hesitating as if he wanted to say something, but finally said in a muffled voice, "I'll go back first."
Lu Jinlan was about to ask a few more questions when the person behind her hissed.
She turned around and saw Lou Yumin clutching her shoulder, wincing in pain.
Lu Jinlan: "Those people were quite ruthless; did they hurt you?"
Lou Yumin: "Hmm, it's my fault for not being skilled enough."
Lu Jinlan laughed and said, "I can't blame you. The people Lin Cheng's mother sent didn't dare to target him, so they naturally came for you. Come on, I'll take you to Jiu'an Hall and have the doctor give you a proper check-up."
Lou Yumin quickly pulled her back and whispered in her ear, "You don't need to go to Jiu'an Hall, just take a look. Anyway, I'm yours."
Lu Jinlan smiled and shook his head. He was waiting here.
"Alright." Lu Jinlan took Lou Yumin's hand and headed back home.
When he got home, he took off his clothes and saw that Lou Yumin had two red marks the size of bowls on his shoulder.
Lu Jinlan frowned slightly, somewhat regretting, "I thought it was just the two of you having a little tiff, so I didn't rush over. If I had known, I would have gone faster, and you wouldn't have gotten hurt."
Lou Yumin quickly replied, "It's alright. You warned me beforehand, how could I possibly fight with Young Master Lin? However, I am curious..."
Lu Jinlan applied the medicated oil to his palm and rubbed it on his wound. "Curious that he's not mine yet?"
"Um, why? Can I ask?"
Lu Jinlan sighed helplessly, "Because his family has strict rules, and he wants me to keep his chastity mark before we get married. He said he can agree to anything else, but this is his bottom line."
"Oh, I see," Lou Yumin replied softly.
Seeing him smiling and his eyes darting around, Lu Jinlan pinched his cheek and asked, "What are you secretly thinking about?"
Lou Yumin pressed down on her hand, unable to suppress the urge to smile, "So, you're saying that even if we move to the new house, you won't live with him?"
Lu Jinlan chuckled, "If he wants to remain chaste, why would I live with him? To train my willpower? Are you thinking that if I don't live with him, I can live with you every day?"
Lou Yumin leaned in and kissed her chin in a flattering way, "Isn't it good to live with me? You can do whatever you want. Haven't I been taking good care of you these past few days?"
Lu Jinlan closed his eyes, a slight smile playing on his lips, and nodded with a wistful expression. "I must say, Fengchun Pavilion has something special. You really have satisfied me."
Lou Yumin leaned down, took her belt in his mouth, and said with a glint in his eyes, "I can make you even more satisfied."
Lu Jinlan took a deep breath, "Still restless even when you're injured?"
Lou Yumin said vaguely, "Actually, it didn't hurt much and it didn't interfere with my work."
Lu Jinlan chuckled softly and nodded slightly.
Actually, she already knew he was faking it, but she didn't call him out on it.
She understood the meaning of that sentence: "It's good that you're willing to put in the effort for me."
She enjoyed the feeling of him going to great lengths to please her in order to win her favor; it was very satisfying.
*
A month has passed since we started school, and the new students are facing their first monthly exam. Everyone was quite nervous on the day the results were released.
Acting supervisor Situ Mei, holding a stack of test papers, stood on the podium and began to announce the rankings: "This monthly exam consisted of ten subjects, and the first place overall is... Lu Jinlan."
"Wow!" Yan Wuxin led the applause and cheers.
"Second place, Xiang Ruzhen."
"Wow!" Yan Wuxin was still cheering.
“Third place, Yan…” Situ Mei glanced at the audience, and Yan Wuxin pointed to himself, “Me?”
Situ Mei shook her head, "Yan Yu."
The class burst into laughter. These three people are together every day, and everyone knows they have a good relationship. They are used to their names being next to each other, but they didn't expect that this time they wouldn't be next to each other.
Yan Wuxin sighed and rubbed her forehead in exasperation. Lu Jinlan and Xiang Ruzhen patted her shoulders on either side, unable to suppress their laughter.
Yan Wuxin was severely unbalanced in his studies. Of the ten subjects, he excelled only in three: martial arts, archery, and military strategy. He was completely clueless in the other seven.
There were a total of one hundred students in the class. Apart from Yan Yu, the top ten were all from out of town. Yan Wuxin, however, ranked fifty-first. This was a very average score, acceptable to his family.
She sighed to herself: Luckily, the royal family sent in quite a few people with connections this year, otherwise, without these royal relatives at the bottom, I would probably be ranked at the bottom.
When the test papers were handed out, Lu Jinlan and Xiang Ruzhen gathered around, saying, "Let's see how you wrote them."
Yan Wuxin casually pulled out a "Water Conservancy" exam paper and handed it to them, only to find a big zero on it.
Upon closer inspection, the two burst out laughing. The problem involved a complex river with a long course, requiring the design of at least three water conservancy projects, taking into account factors such as farmland, houses, and the inflow of other rivers along the way.
Yan Wuxin, seeking to save trouble, cleverly designed a dam at the very upstream of the main road and then diverted the river to the side, directly diverting the water to the sea.
In this way, there's no need to worry about floods. If the villagers don't die of thirst, they'll have to busy themselves digging wells to combat the drought.
The water conservancy teacher was so angry that he gave her a zero score and still wasn't satisfied. He even left a message on the test paper: "Your poison is worse than the flood!"
The translation is: You are more terrifying than a flood!
Lu Jinlan laughed and said, "We must celebrate for Wuxin today. She was the first to figure out her direction, and she will definitely become a military general in the future."
Just as the three of them finished eating in the cafeteria, Manager Ping came over and said, "Congratulations to the young master for winning first place, congratulations to Miss Xiang for winning second place, and... congratulations also to Miss Yan, who will surely become a powerful military general in the future."
Yan Wuxin looked utterly dejected. "Thanks, it's kind of you to take me with you."
As everyone was chatting and laughing, the cafeteria door was kicked open with a bang, and Chu Yishu shouted, "Help! Ling Zhaoren is going to die!"
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