The sparring session with Liu Wencai had been more beneficial for the latter than for Jiang Chen, but it wasn't without its gains.
Real combat experience was useful at any time.
Liu Wencai's martial techniques and strength were actually not bad at all. Moreover, the young man possessed exceptional talent. During their exchange, Jiang Chen discovered that perhaps because Liu Wencai was the son of a hunter—having spent his childhood tempering his meridians with various beast bloods—his flesh and blood resonated with an aura of dragons and tigers.
This dragon-and-tiger presence was partly innate and partly the result of cultivation.
"This Liu Wencai might be moldable material. It's a pity his lowborn origins left him without standing in the sect, and without a patron, he's fallen even further. The talent within this boy hasn't been fully uncovered yet. His potential may exceed what anyone imagines."
Through a night of sparring, Jiang Chen had confirmed that Liu Wencai was truly extraordinary.
Back in his room, Jiang Chen sat down to regulate his breathing and rest. After real combat, one entered the best phase for nurturing one's spirit. This was the time when cultivating spiritual power, refining it, and tempering his sea of qi would yield the greatest effect.
It wasn't until the gathering time was nearly upon him that Jiang Chen finally opened his eyes, a faint smile touching the corner of his lips.
A night of sparring had indeed brought him rewards.
Stepping outside, Jiang Chen made his way to the Hundred Battles Arena.
This was the second day of combat, and it was evident that every warrior was giving it their all. A refusal to concede defeat was written on each of their faces.
The fighters in the Earth Spirit tier were indeed more motivated, more ambitious.
In their respective sects, they occupied a position somewhere between second-rate and first-rate. With just a bit of fortune, they could break into the first-rate ranks.
Breaking into the first-rate meant becoming a core disciple — a true inheritor.
It was clear that all of these people were striving toward that goal with everything they had.
Jiang Chen held genuine respect for those who carried dreams.
Still, there were exceptions. Take the disciples of the Purple Sun Sect. Even early in the morning, Jiang Chen could feel their increasingly hostile stares.
Clearly, after a night had passed, those Purple Sun Sect disciples had certainly gathered again to scheme about how to exact their revenge and reclaim their honor.
Although these people might not have had any particularly close relationship with Ouyang Jian, his humiliating defeat had been a blow to the Purple Sun Sect's reputation.
Since the Purple Sun Sect had lost face, their disciples naturally couldn't just shrug it off.
"A pack of losers who can only stick together. Once you separate them, each one is completely worthless." Jiang Chen had nothing but contempt for this bunch of Purple Sun Sect disciples.
He found a relatively open spot, sat cross-legged, and quietly awaited the day's challenges.
Before long, Liu Wencai arrived as well. This time, however, he wasn't alone. He had someone with him, which came as a mild surprise to Jiang Chen.
Because Jiang Chen recognized the person walking alongside Liu Wencai.
It was none other than the chubby disciple from the Myriad Spirit Sect whom Jiang Chen had drawn in yesterday's first match — that comical fellow with the round upper body and an inverted-cone face, pointed at the top and round at the bottom, perched atop a pair of thin legs. The proportions of his entire body looked bizarre.
Thin at both ends, thick in the middle.
His eyebrows were equally distinctive, radiating an almost inherent comedic air the moment you laid eyes on them. Yet those narrow little eyes, when he smiled, squeezed into mere slits that gleamed with the shrewdness of someone always calculating.
A foolish face, but a sharp mind behind it.
That was Jiang Chen's first impression of the chubby youth. But after yesterday's bout, Jiang Chen had actually developed a certain fondness for the guy.
This was the first person Jiang Chen had encountered up to this point who dared to fight back halfheartedly.
Keep in mind, if a challenger fights passively, they could face punishment.
"Brother Panshi, this…" Liu Wencai started to introduce him.
The chubby youth held up a pudgy palm to cut Liu Wencai off, then grinned broadly. "Junior Brother Wencai, no need for introductions. I, Lu Xiaopang, have long heard of Brother Panshi's great name."
This chubby youth was a disciple of the Myriad Spirit Sect named Lu Yali. However, because his appearance resembled a plump pear, everyone had taken to calling him Lu Yali — "Pear Lu."
"Brother Panshi, my name is Lu Yali. Everyone calls me Lu Yali. Please take care of me from now on." The chubby youth was quite the social butterfly, showing not a hint of awkwardness despite having just met.
"Hello." Jiang Chen shook hands with the chubby youth.
Liu Wencai stood to the side, feeling rather awkward. He hadn't expected that Lu Xiaopang would seek him out today, much less that the fellow would insist on tagging along to meet Jiang Chen.
The two of them were fellow disciples and had some casual dealings in the past, but they could hardly be called close.
Moreover, apart from a few lackeys he had in the Mystic Spirit Zone, Liu Wencai had no close friends whatsoever in the Earth Spirit Zone, so he was naturally a bit wary of Lu Xiaopang's sudden appearance.
That said, based on what Liu Wencai knew of Lu Xiaopang, the fellow had always been cast in the role of a pitiful clown within the Myriad Spirits Sect, all thanks to his physique.
He was constantly ridiculed, pranked, and even beaten or verbally abused.
Still, Lu Xiaopang had always been remarkably optimistic. No matter how others treated him, he would greet them with a smile. This survival strategy allowed him to hold his own among the younger generation of the Myriad Spirits Sect.
However, precisely because of this temperament, few of the truly talented disciples ever deigned to look upon him with respect. As a result, Lu Xiaopang had no one in the sect he could truly call a close friend.
It was for this very reason that when Lu Xiaopang had sought out Liu Wencai, he had not been flatly refused.