The Martial Saint rose to power starting as a substitute bridegroom.

Chapter 60 Challenge

A young disciple stood beside him, holding a towel, his eyes wide, watching Li Yuan practice his boxing with rapt attention.

Lu Qing recognized him; Su Xuan, the newcomer, and also a penniless wretch.

They fawned over Li Yuan all day long.

"Senior Brother Li, here's a towel." After Li Yuan finished his set of punches, Su Xuan quickly handed him the towel.

Li Yuan took it, wiping the sweat from his brow: "How's your practice going?"

"I think I've got it figured out!" Su Xuan's eyes shone like they'd struck gold. "It shouldn't be long before I can reach the Guanming Jin level!"

"Practice diligently," Li Yuan said, his voice flat. "If you have any questions, feel free to ask me."

At this time.

The light at the doorway was blocked by a crimson figure.

Chen Ting stood there, her makeup so exquisite that every stroke was calculated with perfect angle. Her eyebrows were drawn long and slender, her lips were painted with a trendy blush color, and her neckline was low, revealing a dazzling expanse of white.

I don't know how she trained, but her chest is even bigger than when she first arrived.

The moment she stood still, all the sounds in the courtyard vanished.

The disciples froze in mid-air, their eyes fixed on the expanse of white.

Lu Qing sprang up from the bamboo chair, feeling as if he had been pricked in the buttocks with a needle.

Chen Ting's gaze swept across the courtyard, lingering on Lu Qing for less than a moment. Her eyes looked at him as if he were looking at a pebble on the ground, the moss in the corner of the wall, or any insignificant thing.

Then she smiled, a smile as bright as peach blossoms in March, and walked towards Li Yuan.

"Junior Brother Li, it's been a long time." Her voice was soft and sweet, with a slight upward slant at the end.

Li Yuan nodded as a greeting, then bent down to pick up the stone lock from the ground.

Chen Ting quickly took two steps to stop him, took out a gold-embossed invitation from her sleeve, and presented it with both hands, leaning slightly forward, making the snow-white collar even more dazzling: "My father's fiftieth birthday is on the eighth day of next month. I would like to invite Junior Brother Li to grace us with his presence."

Li Yuan was taken aback.

But after thinking about it for a moment, I immediately understood.

The Chen family is a family with a moderate influence, but Chen Ting is not highly regarded in the family because she was born to a concubine and is a woman. This invitation is probably because she wants me to support her.

"See?" Li Yuan said casually.

"You absolutely must go. Many celebrities from Linjiang City will be there; it's a great opportunity to network and don't miss it."

'

Without warning, Lu Qing rushed over.

His legs weren't fully recovered yet, and he limped when he ran, looking somewhat comical.

"Chen Ting!" He reached out to grab Chen Ting's arm, his fingers trembling. "Ting'er, my injuries are fully healed, I can go too, right?"

Chen Ting took two steps back, her bright smile instantly freezing into ice.

She looked at Lu Qing, her eyes filled with undisguised disgust: "Junior Brother Lu, please have some self-respect."

"Self-respect?" Lu Qing said, his gaze fixed on Chen Ting's snow-white chest, then he laughed, "Ting'er, didn't you used to like me a lot?"

"Like?" Chen Ting laughed, her laughter cold and crisp, and said without any politeness, "Lu Qing, you should face reality. Look at what you've become. How could I like such a piece of trash! Don't blame me for being harsh, but you're not even qualified to be a gatekeeper for the Chen family now. Please show some respect and stop bothering me."

Lu Qing's clenched fist trembled slightly, his fingertips digging into his palm without feeling any pain, a fierce sense of humiliation swirling in his heart.

He remembered how Chen Ting had flirted and fawned over him when he was in high spirits.

Now, he has humbled himself and taken the initiative to make amends, only to be met with merciless ridicule and humiliation.

Their eyes met, and though it was only a few seconds, it felt like an eternity.

call-

Lu Qing let out a long breath, his clenched fist suddenly loosened, and he forced a smile.

"Master Lin said I still have a chance. Aren't I a genius? I can make a comeback."

When you're under someone's roof, you have to bow your head.

Once I, Lu Qing, recover my cultivation, the first family I will humiliate is your Chen family!

Chen Ting looked at him as if he were a freak, then turned and left coldly without saying a word.

The courtyard was deathly silent.

Qi Xiuyuan chuckled and unfurled his white folding fan: "People must learn to face reality. They can't always live in the shadow of the past. They have to look forward, don't they?"

Several of Lu Qing's fellow disciples, who usually didn't get along with him, chimed in, making the scene extremely awkward.

Lu Qing suddenly turned his head, his eyes wide with fury.

He desperately wanted to pounce on Qi Xiuyuan and tear him to shreds.

but..

he can not.

He dare not.

Three months ago, Qi Xiuyuan was someone he could easily defeat with one hand, but now... now he can't even withstand a single move from Qi Xiuyuan.

The fire reached the top of his head, then instantly went out, leaving only cold ashes.

Lu Qing lowered his head, dragged his limping leg, and slowly moved back to the bamboo chair. He covered his face with his sleeve, pretended to be asleep, and stopped paying attention to any gossip.

But the face beneath the sleeve was trembling slightly.

Su Xuan sidled up to Li Yuan, his eyes gleaming: "Senior Brother Li, Senior Sister Chen Ting seems to have a crush on you!"

Li Yuan slapped him on the back of the head: "Gossiping all day long will increase your martial arts skills? Get back to practicing your skills!"

"Yes, yes, yes." Su Xuan grinned and was about to go back when he suddenly looked towards the door. "Oh, someone's here."

The arrival of this person suddenly made the atmosphere in the courtyard tense.

Walking in front was an elderly man with white hair, wearing a faded blue cloth robe and cloth shoes with mud on his feet.

He stood ramrod straight, his feet never touching the ground when he walked, his eyes half-closed, but when he occasionally opened them, they shone with a sharp light, like a sword hidden in its sheath.

Behind him stood a towering, dark-skinned man.

He had to duck slightly to avoid bumping his head on the doorframe when he entered.

His skin was as dark as cast iron, and his muscles bulged out, stretching his coarse cloth clothes so tight they seemed about to burst.

He stood there, like a wall suddenly moved into the yard, blocking out most of the light.

"Shi Wanquan, the master of Iron Fist Manor, and his son Shi Dazhuang." Su Xuan lowered his voice to a very low level, with reverence, "These two came yesterday, and I served them in the inner hall."

All the disciples in the courtyard stopped what they were doing and turned their gazes to the burly man, Shi Dazhuang. His large, fan-like hands caused the bluestone ground to tremble slightly as he walked, and he exuded an aura of savage wild beast.

Shi Dazhuang seemed somewhat uneasy.

His dark face wore an incomprehensible expression, his thick fingers twisted together, and his eyes timidly scanned the group of Qingniu Martial Arts Society disciples until they landed on Li Yuan, at which point he paused for a moment.

Lin Chong strode out of the inner hall.

"Brother Wanquan, I'm so sorry for not greeting you sooner." Lin Chong cupped his hands in greeting, his voice showing both exhaustion and forced spirit.

Shi Wanquan returned the greeting and got straight to the point: "Brother Lin, you're too kind. What do you think of my suggestion from yesterday?"

Everyone was stunned.

Lin Chong smiled awkwardly, then gestured, "Come on, let's go inside and talk."

The group went inside.

"Yesterday, it was those two who planned to challenge the Green Ox Martial Arts Society," Su Xuan said to the crowd gathered in a circle.

His words stirred up a huge wave of discussion.

"challenge?"

"Could it be a challenge to Senior Brother Li Yuan?"

"You mean that black man?"

"The dark-skinned man? He's a top-tier expert in internal energy who made it onto the martial arts rankings, ranking third, two places higher than Junior Brother Li!"