380 - Rebirth of a Star: Another Day, Another Drama

Chapter 380: The Crying Young Master Chen As soon as the challenge was issued, all eyes shifted between Ye Linglong and Chen Zikun, filled with a sense of anticipation and amusement. Ye Linglong couldn't help but smile wryly, "Why should I compete with you?" Chen Zikun's proud posture stiffened instantly, and he looked bewildered, as if things weren't unfolding as he had expected. "What do you mean 'why compete with me'? This is a public challenge; you have to accept it. If you lose, you have to tell Master Zou that you won’t be his apprentice anymore." In Master Chen’s mind, he believed that by lowering himself to issue a challenge, the opponent ought to accept it. In his past two hundred years, everything had developed according to his wishes without fail. Unfortunately for him, he was unaware that certain things would not go his way. If he hadn’t encountered such a situation before, now he has. Ye Linglong immediately discerned the young master's character and couldn’t help but smile mischievously, "Since you issued the challenge, I certainly have the right to decline it." Chen Zikun was anxious; this wasn’t how it was supposed to play out! "You... you can't refuse. If you do, won’t you be a coward?" Ye Linglong shrugged, "Then I'll be a coward. It's no big deal. I wouldn’t lose anything, and accepting your challenge offers me no benefits. I won’t do anything that’s all effort and no gain." Chen Zikun: "……" Sweat began to appear on his handsome face. "If you don't accept, then... I won't acknowledge you as Master Zou's apprentice!" Ye Linglong's smile deepened, "What does it matter whether you acknowledge it or not? As long as my master acknowledges it, that’s enough for me." The crowd: "Pfft~" Suddenly, everyone thought she made an excellent point. Even Mu Mianmian covered her mouth and laughed. Young Master Chen, who had always had a smooth life, found himself at a loss for words, and his fingers trembled with anger as he pointed at Ye Linglong. In the end, tears began to fall uncontrollably from his eyes. Ye Linglong: "???" What just happened? Could she have upset him so much that he started crying? Ye Linglong was a bit baffled, but the more Chen Zikun cried, the redder his eyes became, and the tears simply wouldn't stop. Others were also taken aback, unsure whether to laugh at a grown man crying like that or to comfort the young master, considering that he seemed genuinely miserable. Some people glanced towards their teacher, but the teacher had quietly made an exit at some point. Mu Mianmian approached Ye Linglong and whispered, "What should we do? He is, after all, the young master of the Chen family." Ye Linglong pursed her lips, thinking to herself, how should I know what to do? She had never encountered someone who cried at the drop of a hat in both her lives. They say women are made of water, but could men have so many tears too? She had no choice but to relent, "Okay, okay, stop crying. I'll accept your challenge, all right?" Chen Zikun looked at Ye Linglong with red eyes, but the tears kept flowing. At this moment, Chen Zikun felt quite helpless. He didn’t want to cry either, but the tears seemed out of his control, flowing without his consent. Ye Linglong felt her head throbbing with helplessness. "You want to compete, right? In what? High-level Yellow Rank formations are no big deal. How about we compete with Profound Rank formations?" She casually demarcated a space and, with continuous gestures, completed a Profound Rank killing array. With the final gesture, a light emanated from the array, and it began to operate, exuding an overwhelming sense of killing intent. The crowd gasped in amazement. "It’s unbelievable how easily she set up a Profound Rank formation." "Indeed, no wonder Master Zou took her as his apprentice." "But do you think Young Master Chen can match that?" "Shh~ quieter…" The formation now complete, Ye Linglong thought this should have stopped the tears. But when she glanced at Chen Zikun, he was staring dumbfoundedly at the formation she had just set up, mouth slightly agape. After a moment, his tears began to fall even harder. He had thought his earlier successful completion of a Profound Rank formation was impressive, but Ye Linglong had done it effortlessly. He couldn't compete. Young Master Chen had faced more setbacks today than ever before in his life. Ye Linglong was starting to feel exasperated; why was he crying again? Despite being pampered since childhood, Young Master Chen wasn't unreasonable: "It's not your fault; I didn’t want to cry either. I just couldn’t hold back the tears. I've lost and I accept it. Don’t worry about me." Saying this, he returned to his place to compose himself. Ye Linglong felt a little worn out, wondering if this child simply had a low threshold for tears. Once the matter concluded, the previously missing teacher reappeared, praised Ye Linglong’s completion of the Profound Rank formation, and then sternly instructed everyone to continue practicing their unfinished formations. After class, as everyone left the classroom, Ye Linglong walked out holding Xiao Hei, who had just returned from playing, with Mu Mianmian by her side. She thought to herself that attending these classes was no longer beneficial at her level. It would be better to discuss with her newly appointed master about skipping the future sessions and inquiring about the seal situation at Xianling Academy. Engrossed in her thoughts, Ye Linglong didn’t notice the group approaching until they were right in front of her, wearing the robes of the Alchemy Institute, one man and one woman leading the group. The group stopped in front of Ye Linglong. Ye Linglong, suddenly in shadow, looked up and saw the unfriendly faces blocking her path. "You’re Ye Linglong, aren’t you?!" the woman leading the group asked with certainty. Ye Linglong: "……" What is happening today? Are they here to challenge me too? Did they arrange to come in groups? Resolutely, she shook her head, "You've got the wrong person; I’m not!"