You promised yourself to be a caged bird, but you became the supreme young master?

"Miss Qingyan, is there something you need from me?"

When faced with the girl who came looking for him, Lu Heng, who already had a guess in his mind, calmly asked her.

"I never expected you to have such courage." Lu Qingyan said with a sigh as she carefully examined the young man in front of her.

Given her background, with just a casual remark, her family could investigate everything about Lu Heng's outward appearance.

The family split up, leaving only the boy, who was of ordinary birth. It sounds cruel, but it's actually quite normal when families split up.

Without any support, Lu Heng had the courage to borrow ten spirit coins from the gang, and he even managed to get the loan.

That's truly impressive!

Lu Qingyan wasn't some pampered young lady who was oblivious to the world around her; she knew perfectly well that ten spirit coins might not mean much to her.

However, for the young members of the branch family who were still in the outer courtyard at the early stage of body refinement...

However, it was a huge sum of money, without any discounts.

Taking on such a huge loan is tantamount to gambling with one's life.

Even if an ordinary student from the outer academy is eliminated and reduced to a menial job, he only needs to complete one task forcibly assigned by his family each month.

Although the tasks assigned by the family are either time-consuming or extremely damaging to the body, there is still a glimmer of hope.

As long as one can raise their cultivation to the late stage of the Body Refinement Secret Realm, they will be able to get rid of their status as a menial servant.

Once burdened with such a huge loan, and eliminated from the outer court, one would likely have to take on tasks that would harm oneself in order to repay the loan, in addition to the tasks forcibly assigned by the family.

It can be said that if the boy in front of us is eliminated from the outer academy, he will fall into an abyss of no return.

How can you remain so calm?

Lu Qingyan suddenly recalled a saying her grandfather had once remarked: "Those who achieve great things possess composure."

But knowing is one thing, but how many people can actually put their words into practice?

It doesn't matter when you're just watching, but when it actually happens to you, how many people can remain calm?

Lu Qingyan admitted that she couldn't do it; she hadn't experienced enough.

But the boy in front of me seems to have done it.

However, Lu Qingyan did not develop any curiosity about Lu Heng because of this.

At least for now, nothing seems to be possible between the two of them.

She felt a sense of appreciation for talent almost subconsciously.

Originally, I thought that three months of proficient-level "Basic Body Refining Method" was the standard for becoming her follower, but I could lower it a bit more.

Of course, all of this ultimately depends on the performance of the young man in front of him today.

As far as Lu Qingyan knew, because of her, one or two young men from the main family in the outer courtyard had developed some interest in Lu Heng.

What was not originally a challenge has become inevitable.

Furthermore, the person who made the challenge was most likely a peak early-stage Body Refinement cultivator, or a third-level Body Refinement cultivator from the outer academy.

She came here only intending to give Lu Heng a reminder.

Now, however, they've changed their minds.

"Have you heard the rumors circulating in the foreign language department?" she asked, seemingly casually.

"It's not just rumors," Lu Heng shook his head, denying it frankly.

Lu Qingyan was slightly satisfied, but on the surface, she asked as if nothing had happened.

"Are you ready? If your friend had warned you, you should have known that someone might challenge you today?"

I'm telling you now, there will definitely be a challenge, and the challenger will be a cultivator at the third level of the Body Refinement Secret Realm.

Are you prepared to take on the challenge?

"Thank you for informing me, Ms. Qingyan. I have no intention of running away."

Realizing that trouble was inevitable, Lu Heng sighed inwardly and replied calmly.

"The reason someone is challenging you this time is because of me."

So I can give you two choices.

"Either I lend you a low-grade spiritual weapon, or I can ask them to give you another ten days to prepare for improving your cultivation."

Based on her own thoughts, Lu Qingyan ultimately decided to offer help, while she was also curious about which option the young man in front of her would choose.

In her eyes, it was actually better for the latter to improve his cultivation in ten days.

For her, ten days was enough time to improve significantly.

However, for Lu Heng, ten days might not be enough to improve his cultivation level, so choosing a low-grade spiritual weapon would be a good option.

"There's no need to trouble Miss Qingyan." Lu Heng replied calmly as always, but this time his words were surprising.

"Are you sure? If you lose, I have no reason to continue having you as my sparring partner."

Things didn't go as she expected, but Lu Qingyan wasn't angry. Instead, she asked again.

"Miss Qingyan, I have also reached the third level of Body Refinement."

Lu Heng nodded in confirmation, and then spoke.

"Body Refinement Level 3?!" Lu Qingyan exclaimed softly, looking at the young man with some surprise and uncertainty.

With the right resources, even a beginner-level "Basic Body Refining Method" could potentially boost one's cultivation to the second level of Body Refining directly.

However, reaching the third level of body refinement is absolutely impossible.

Relying solely on resources, without corresponding cultivation techniques, is insufficient to meet the requirements for improving one's cultivation level.

The fact that Lu Heng dared to claim he was at the third level of body refinement—a lie that would be easily exposed if it were false—means that he was most likely telling the truth.

This means that his "Basic Body Refining Method" could not be at the beginner level; it must be at least at the advanced beginner level.

According to Lu Qingyan's understanding, Lu Heng's talent for cultivation was only below average.

If that's all there is to it, it's impossible to quickly improve one's "Basic Body Refining Method" level unless one accumulates a massive amount of resources.

Clearly, if a young man has fallen so low as to borrow money to maintain his cultivation, he certainly wouldn't have the vast resources to build up his own cultivation techniques.

In other words...

Besides his talent for cultivation, Lu Heng also possesses other talents.

Although Lu Qingyan and Lu Jinnian thought from different perspectives, they still came to the same conclusion.

Besides his talent for cultivation, Lu Heng is very likely to possess talent for comprehension!

In addition, it should be noted that he also possesses combat skills that can be described as genius-level.

Almost immediately, Lu Qingyan had the idea of ​​forcibly bringing the boy in front of her to be her follower.

Even her grandfather wouldn't take such a talented seed with a very high probability of reaching the Qi Refining Secret Realm lightly.

Even if the other party is unwilling to be a follower, investing is actually a good option.

However, Lu Qingyan quickly suppressed this thought.

As a sparring partner, Lu Heng can run away, but he can't escape the consequences, so there's no need to rush.

She was now quite curious about what Lu Heng, this seemingly ordinary young man from a branch family who, apart from his handsome appearance, could actually achieve.

Since that's the case, there's no need to draw conclusions too early.