"What on earth happened just now? I thought I heard someone banging on the door," Fang Jueyu had only been gone for about ten minutes, and Guo Xinyu was still bleary-eyed.
"Just a group of so-called martial arts enthusiasts, like a social gang, coming to collect protection fees." Fang Jueyu lay back down. "I beat them so hard they were picking up their teeth from the floor, then got the property security to kick them out."
"Hahaha, you're so bad!" Guo Xinyu chuckled uncontrollably. It's quite the lasting blow for a group of high-and-mighty ancient martial arts students to be swept out by regular people without a chance to fight back.
"Xinyu, you've been pretty diligent in attending the Super God Academy lately, haven't you? Learned a lot, I bet?" Having had their slumber disturbed, neither of them felt sleepy anymore.
"Yeah, the teachers there are incredible. There's so much I've never heard of before." Lately, Guo Xinyu's inner strength had almost reached the Force Transform stage, and when she sang, she infused her inner strength into her voice, making it richer and more penetrating.
"Xinyu, those singing and instrument techniques are just the extras. What's most important is learning how to guide the potential within yourself; that's the foundation, got it?"
"Yes, I got it." Guo Xinyu nodded. Not only had Fang Jueyu emphasized this many times, but even the teachers at school repeatedly told her.
"Hehe, in that case, let's start with some morning exercise!" Fang Jueyu grinned mischievously, flipping over onto her...
Over an hour later, Fang Jueyu came out of the bathroom, freshly showered, just as Zhuang Ying walked into the villa with a letter in hand.
She frowned. How could the villa door have been taken apart overnight? Could a thief have broken in last night? But with Gu Yi here, what kind of thief could get into Fang Jueyu's house?
"Young master, what happened here?" Zhuang Ying asked.
"Oh, just a few crazies came to make trouble. Find someone to fix the door for me, and replace it with a titanium alloy one. One that won't show a mark even if you chop it with a knife," Fang Jueyu said, pointing at the letter in her hand. "What's that? Don't tell me it's someone else coming to collect protection fees?"
"Protection fees?" Zhuang Ying had no idea what Fang Jueyu was talking about. "Young master, this is an invitation from an old gentleman named Bai Ruhai, inviting you to attend his 80th birthday celebration."
"Oh, so that's it. Scared me for a second," Fang Jueyu patted his chest. As long as he didn't have to deal with more crazies, that was fine.
He took the invitation, which was for the 28th of the lunar year. Fang Jueyu and his group planned on going to Guo Shu's place for the New Year on the 30th, so he could make time for it.
"Are you planning to go, young master? If you decide to go, I'll immediately start preparing the itinerary and gifts for you," Zhuang Ying said.
"I'll go—when an elder invites you personally, you've got to give them some respect," Fang Jueyu replied with a smile, "but I can handle the gift preparation myself."
"Alright, young master, I'll go make the arrangements."
"Mm, off you go." Fang Jueyu nodded.
"Xinyu, why don't you come with me?" Fang Jueyu turned to her. "I mentioned before that this old Mr. Bai comes from an ancient martial family. I'll take you to see the hidden world beneath our society."
"Sure." Since the studio work was finished, she might as well follow Fang Jueyu to broaden her horizons.
"I have to think carefully about what gift to prepare." Fang Jueyu knew well that these ancient martial families weren't short on money, so instead of giving something expensive, it was better to choose something meaningful.
"What's most important to these ancient martial families? It's nothing more than cultivation resources and martial arts skills. He wouldn't easily bring out the Guiding Technique, but giving some elixirs or slightly advanced martial arts skills was no big deal."
Bai Ruhai had been stuck at the Force Transform level for a long time. Given his current situation, becoming a resilient expert in this lifetime would be challenging, but with some high-grade elixirs, it would be very simple.
"This will do!" Fang Jueyu rummaged through the mountain of elixirs in his storage space, eventually pulling out a purple elixir and placing it inside an exquisite box. "This should be more than enough!"
Bai Ruhai's birthday feast was held at the Bai family's grand residence. Having visited once before, Fang Jueyu was quite familiar with the place on his second visit.
Although the Bai family wasn't considered top-tier among ancient martial families, leaning closer to the middle or lower in strength, most of the smaller families in this big circle got along quite well, making the event lively.
Every ancient martial family had profound foundations, and the courtyard had practically turned into a luxury car show, filled with expensive cars, every person stepping out exuding extraordinary poise.
Fang Jueyu glanced around; nearly everyone present had some cultivation in ancient martial arts. Most of the young people in their early twenties were either in the Ming Realm or had achieved Dark Strength, while only some middle-aged and older individuals seemed to have reached the Force Transform stage, with only a sparse few achieving the resilient level.
Today, Bai You dressed quite differently from usual, wearing a long dress for once. Thanks to years of martial arts, her figure was near perfect, making her exceptionally captivating today.
She stood outside, not sparingly focusing on any guest but constantly seeking something or someone.
"Bai You, long time no see," a handsome young man approached, greeting Bai You.
"Even Master Qin is here," Bai You was somewhat surprised. This Master Qin was named Qin Yun, from a remarkably powerful ancient martial family. The Qin family boasted an ancestor sitting at the Innate Realm.
Qin Yun and Bai You attended the same university. Qin Yun had been pursuing Bai You, but she knew well, despite his exceptional talent, Qin Yun was overly frivolous, so she repeatedly kept her distance.
"Please go inside first, Master Qin. I'm here to greet some important guests," Bai You, out of politeness, didn't show Qin Yun any attitude.
"Important guests?" Qin Yun sneered, well aware of Bai family's position in the entire ancient martial world. Just his presence at Bai Ruhai's birthday already granted much face, so what could be more important than the Qin family?
Just then, Bai You's eyes lit up, spotting Fang Jueyu and Guo Xinyu walking in her direction.
Bai You respectfully approached them. "Principal, Miss Guo, you're finally here. Grandpa asked me to wait for you two here; let me take you in!"
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"Didn't I say, no calling me principal outside of school," Fang Jueyu said.
"Haha, it's a habit. Mr. Fang, Miss Guo, please come in!" Bai You warmly invited them, completely ignoring Qin Yun.
"Isn't that the guy they recently announced as Huaxia's wealthiest?" Qin Yun seemed also to recognize Fang Jueyu.
In terms of status, being the world's richest man was nothing to scoff at, but in these ancient martial families and sects, ordinary people were perpetually just ordinary people—they could never climb above them. Money held no persuasion in the ancient martial world.
"Uncle Mo, can you discern that young man's level?" This time, the Qin family had not only Qin Yun but also a man named Qin Mo, reaching the third level of resiliency. He was Qin Yun's father's younger brother, considered top tier in the Qin family.
The inability to detect one's level left two possibilities: either the individual's level was far superior, or he was simply an ordinary person. Qin Mo never imagined a young man in his twenties could surpass him.
Qin Mo shook his head. "I can't sense any inner strength from him; he should just be an ordinary person."