Douluo Continent: I ushered in this era

A vast sword intent erupted, and the domineering and supremely self-centered sword intent instantly annihilated the brilliant meteor on the spot.

"Chong-"

The Star God Sword in Ye Xinglan's hand flew out and landed on the training ground, trembling for a long time before finally calming down.

Tianzhu's sword tip stopped steadily three inches from Ye Xinglan's neck. Chu Ci held the sword in one hand, with the other hand behind his back, and smiled faintly.

"You lost again, Xinglan."

Chapter 230 Ye Xinglan treats everyone, three people spy on each other.

Chu Ci put away the Heavenly Candle and stood aside with his hands behind his back.

Ye Xinglan sighed, reached out and beckoned, and the Star God Sword automatically flew back into her hand, where she sheathed it.

Chu Ci glanced at the scabbard and advised, "The most important ability of the Star Moon Scabbard is the accumulation of Starfall Sword Intent. Starfall Sword Intent can not only improve your combat power, but also temper your sword intent. It has endless uses. You should pay more attention to developing these aspects in the future."

Ye Xinglan nodded. "I understand."

"Alright, that's it for today's training. I'm leaving." Chu Ci turned to leave.

"Wait, wait a minute," Ye Xinglan suddenly said.

Chu Ci turned around and looked at Ye Xinglan with a puzzled expression. "What's wrong? Is there anything else?"

A blush crept onto Ye Xinglan's pretty face as she said softly, "You've spent a lot of time helping me practice swordsmanship these past two days, which must have been very tiring. I'd like to treat you to a meal to express my gratitude."

Chu Ci was taken aback. He hadn't expected that Ye Xinglan, who was always aloof and proud, would take the initiative to invite him to dinner.

After a two-second silence, Chu Ci remembered that Gu Yue had gone to the Spirit Pagoda today and wouldn't be in the inner courtyard in the afternoon.

"Okay." Chu Ci nodded and agreed.

Upon hearing this, Ye Xinglan finally revealed a stunning smile.

Before long, Ye Xinglan led Chu Ci to a luxurious-looking restaurant in Shrek City for dinner.

This restaurant is similar to the high-end Western restaurants of my previous life. Elegant music echoes in the restaurant, and men and women sit quietly at the tables, enjoying expensive but small portions of food.

Fortunately, the ingredients used in the meal were all highly nutritious, so Chu Ci could have fewer late-night snacks after returning home.

After all the dishes were served, Chu Ci and Ye Xinglan began to eat in silence, occasionally glancing up and accidentally making eye contact before quickly looking down again. The atmosphere was incredibly awkward because neither of them knew what to say.

The awkward atmosphere at Chu Ci and Ye Xinglan's table quickly attracted the attention of several neighboring tables. They were all puzzled; the man and woman at the table were handsome and beautiful, and seemed quite well-matched, but the atmosphere at the table felt very oppressive.

At that moment, three good-looking teenagers stepped into the restaurant.

The most handsome black-haired boy in the middle hesitated slightly before saying to the blond boy beside him, "Jungwoo, I've heard that the food in these kinds of restaurants is expensive and the portions are small. You know my appetite, so this kind of place doesn't seem to suit me."

Le Zhengyu patted the black-haired boy on the shoulder and said generously, "If the portion is small, then have the restaurant bring a few more. I have plenty of money. I said I'd treat you and Xie Xie to a high-end lifestyle today, so I'll definitely treat you until you're full."

"That's good!" Tang Wulin finally felt relieved, as he was afraid that Le Zhengyu might run away after being invited so much.

"It's a pity that Ryuji couldn't come because he was in seclusion breaking through to level 50," Tang Wulin said regretfully.

Le Zhengyu waved his hand dismissively and said magnanimously, "What's the big deal? We'll treat him to another meal later to celebrate his breakthrough."

"Young Master Yue is so generous!" Tang Wulin gave a thumbs up.

"You're right, aren't you, Xie Xie?" Le Zhengyu turned his gaze to Xie Xie, who was secretly looking at someone beside him.

Le Zhengyu couldn't help but tap Xie Xie on the head and asked, "Who are you peeking at? Do you know how lewd you are?"

"Hey," Xie Xie glared at Le Zhengyu, not bothering to argue with him, and pointed in a direction, saying.

"Hey, look, isn't that Ci-ge and Xinglan over there?"

Upon hearing this, Tang Wulin hurriedly widened his eyes and looked in the direction Xie Xie was pointing. What he saw startled him.

"Oh really, what are they doing eating here?"

Le Zhengyu pinched his chin; he could already smell the gossip.

At that moment, a waiter came over and politely asked, "Are you three gentlemen here for a meal?"

Le Zhengyu noticed the suspicious look in the waiter's eyes and realized that their behavior might look no different from that of a pervert.

So he quickly pulled Tang Wulin and Xie Xie to a seat where they could clearly see Chu Ci and Ye Xinglan, and then ordered the food and successfully sent the waiter away.

The three of them secretly spied on Chu Ci and Ye Xinglan, discussing in hushed tones.

"I think they were just having a simple meal, nothing wrong with that," Tang Wulin said.

Xie Xie rolled his eyes at Tang Wulin and said in a low voice, "Has Xinglan ever eaten alone with you?"

"No," Tang Wulin shook his head.

"Have we ever eaten together?" Xie Xie asked Le Zhengyu.

“No,” Yue Zhengyu also shook his head.

Xie Xie, with an expression that seemed to see through everything, said confidently, "Isn't this a problem? And they even secretly chose such a high-end restaurant to eat at, without letting a word out. This is obviously something going on."

Tang Wulin still had some objections, "Didn't Ci-ge and Xinglan have dinner together after practicing their swordsmanship yesterday? What's wrong with them having dinner here today?"

Le Zhengyu patted Tang Wulin on the shoulder, looking inscrutable. "Wulin, you don't understand. If there's nothing wrong, why didn't they eat together at the academy today? Isn't it to avoid us? Are they afraid we'll see them?"

"And Wu Lin, look closely, although they didn't say anything, Xing Lan kept secretly peeking at Ci Ge."

"And Ci-ge appears calm and collected on the surface, but his legs, which are crossed under the table, are clearly tense."

"Tell me, if there's nothing wrong between them, would they be so reserved with each other? They're not strangers."

After listening to Le Zhengyu's speech, Tang Wulin's heart began to waver. Indeed, if the two of them didn't have any ulterior motives, why would they be so nervous and reserved?

"Then, what about Ryuji?" Tang Wulin asked.

The three of them looked at each other for a moment, at a loss for words. Anyone could see Xu Lizhi's feelings for Ye Xinglan, but given the current situation, it was a huge blow to Xu Lizhi!

Le Zhengyu shrugged and said helplessly, "Although I hate to admit it, I have to say that Ci-ge's attraction to girls is far greater than Li Zhi's."

"But doesn't Brother Ke already have that guy Gu Yue?" Xie Xie said.

“If Brother Ci really thinks wildflowers are fragrant, Gu Yue, this cultivated flower, might not be able to control him,” Le Zhengyu said.

"Sigh, men!" Xie Xie said, looking heartbroken.

Tang Wulin frowned in thought, when he suddenly noticed that Le Zhengyu had taken out his phone and pointed it at Chu Ci and Ye Xinglan.

"Zhengyu, what are you doing?" Tang Wulin asked in surprise.

"Of course, it's to preserve evidence so we can interrogate Brother Ci when we get back," Yue Zhengyu said righteously.

Chapter 231 Three People Punished, Soul Soldiers of the Turbid World

Le Zhengyu turned on his phone, opened the camera, turned off the flash and sound, pointed the lens at Chu Ci and Ye Xinglan's table, and finally pressed the shutter.

At this moment, Chu Ci at the other table was feeling extremely tormented. He wasn't stupid; he understood Ye Xinglan's feelings, but having only ever held the hand of one girl, Gu Yue, in both his past and present lives, he really didn't know how to respond.

Ye Xinglan gently stirred the fish soup in front of her with a spoon, once clockwise and once counterclockwise, but she didn't drink it. No one knew what she was thinking.

Finally, the tasteless dinner was finished in an awkward atmosphere. Just as Chu Ci and Ye Xinglan got up to leave, they saw three very familiar-looking boys sitting at a table piled with plates not far away, their faces covered.

"Wu Lin, Zheng Yu, Xie Xie, what are you three doing here?" Chu Ci walked over and said in surprise.

Ye Xinglan's expression changed, and her ears instantly turned bright red.

Xie Xie smiled awkwardly and explained, "Zheng Yu brought me and Wu Lin here to experience a high-end lifestyle."

Chu Ci's expression remained unchanged, and his voice was still calm, "Xinglan and I are here because Xinglan is treating me to dinner to thank me for accompanying her in sword practice these past two days, understand?"

Tang Wulin and the other two suddenly felt a heavy pressure and quickly nodded in unison, "Understood."

Chu Ci placed her hand on Tang Wulin's shoulder and said with a smile, "I have already explained the cause of the matter to you, so I don't want to hear any other versions of the rumors."

Tang Wulin and the other two nodded vigorously, because they clearly sensed an extremely strong killing intent locked onto them.

Tang Wulin, in particular, felt as if a thousand pounds were weighing on his shoulders at this moment, and sat up straight, not daring to move at all.

"That's good!" Chu Ci smiled and withdrew his hand, then beckoned Ye Xinglan to leave together.

After Chu Ci and Ye Xinglan left the restaurant, Tang Wulin and the other two breathed a sigh of relief.

Xie Xie leaned closer to the two of them and whispered, "Now I'm even more certain that there's something fishy going on between Brother Ci and Xinglan."

“Hmm,” Tang Wulin nodded in deep agreement, “So what’s next? Should we tell the others about this?”

"Well, you can't really say anything about matters of the heart. They have to sort it out themselves. We just need to stay by their side and make sure nothing bad happens," Le Zhengyu said helplessly, rubbing his forehead.

"Oh, okay!" Tang Wulin nodded and then started to eat the food in front of him. He hadn't eaten well because he had been observing Chu Ci and Ye Xinglan.

“However,” Yue Zhengyu revealed a sly smile, “we can give the photos of Ci Ge and Xinglan having dinner to Gu Yue to give their story a boost.”

But when Yue Zhengyu opened the photo album, his expression changed, his fingers flipped up and down, and finally he exclaimed in surprise.

"Where are the photos I took?!"

Chu Ci's phone beeped with a message; a message had been sent to him from an invalid number.

"The photo has been deleted."

From the moment Chu Ci saw the three people, he guessed that they might take pictures of him and Ye Xinglan eating. So he sent a message to Taiyi, asking it to hack into Tang Wulin and the other two's phones and check.

Upon investigation, photos of Le Zhengyu and Ye Xinglan having dinner were indeed found on Le Zhengyu's phone. Taiyi decisively deleted the photos completely, making them impossible to find no matter what method was used.

Chu Ci escorted Ye Xinglan back to her dormitory. The two stood facing each other downstairs.

"Can I practice swordsmanship with you again tomorrow?" Ye Xinglan asked softly.

Chu Ci thought for a moment and replied, "We'll see. I do have something to do tomorrow, so I'll let you know when I have time."

"Okay, I'm going up now." Ye Xinglan said, then turned and went into the dormitory building.

Chu Ci sighed and slowly strolled back to her dormitory.

The next day, Chu Ci boarded a small boat bound for Poseidon Island.

Upon setting foot on the island of Haishen, Chu Ci went straight to the pavilion where Zhuo Shi lived.

In the living room, Chu Ci and Zhuo Shi sat facing each other.

Chu Ci handed Zhuo Shi a piece of paper, then picked up his teacup, took a small sip, and said, "Grandmaster, these are my conditions."

Zhuoshi took the paper, flipped it over, and then laughed, "You're quite something, kid. You even found out pretty much everything about your grandmaster's collection. You're quite the expert."