Chapter Forty-Eight: His Second Sister Is Truly Terrifying!-Eu sou um tolo, que más intenções poderia ter?(Pena de ganso selvagem batata-doce)

Xue Yuan looked intently, and the status tags hovering above the muscular man's head came into view:

[7th-grade upper tier Military Strategist | Military Soul | Loyal and Dutiful | June sun, Second Sister's fists | When will the brother-in-law appear, hurry and tame Second Sister | Second Sister hasn't beaten me in three days | If I get into Egret Academy, Second Sister won't be able to hit me anymore | I really want to find a brother-in-law who can beat Second Sister | My roommate doesn't look like a decent person | Will he hit me?]

"Ah, this..."

After reading through them, Xue Yuan's lips twitched uncontrollably, and his eyes narrowed into slits.

The first thought that popped into his mind was—

His Second Sister was terrifyingly formidable!

To be able to bully a stalwart man standing eight feet tall, a mighty warrior of the 7th-grade upper tier, into such a pathetic state, just what kind of shrew and blood-drinking termagant must she be?

Such a woman would probably demand the upper position even in bed... Goodness knows what kind of out-of-his-mind man would dare to marry her, tsk tsk tsk!

Especially the last two tags, which struck a deep chord within him and stirred his pity.

"Who doesn't know that Your Prince here is kind-hearted and peerlessly handsome? To think such a distinguished and talented person like me doesn't even look like a decent person in his eyes—just look at how severely lacking this good brother is in a sense of security!"

Xue Yuan sniffed, completely oblivious to the fact that he was also well-built and, at least in the eyes of most people, a reckless fellow whose total brain capacity did not exceed half a walnut.

However, his gaze soon focused on the bolded, red-highlighted tags "Military Soul" and "Loyal and Dutiful" floating above the man's head!

He could understand "Loyal and Dutiful," which was probably second only to Sword Seven's "Loyalty Without Peer"!

As for the tag "Military Soul," he was not entirely clear on its specific effects.

Xue Yuan only knew that throughout history, any army that could fight, dared to fight, and was capable of creating miracles possessed its own "Military Soul"!

To look no further than television, the army of Li Yunlong in the shows had a "Military Soul," and that military soul was called the "Spiritual Sword-Drawing Resolve"!

Since this good brother possessed the "Military Soul" tag naturally, could it mean that he was capable of forging an iron-willed army equipped with a "Military Soul"?

Xue Yuan frowned.

"An old saying goes: a weak general leads a weak army. Since he's as cowardly as this, wouldn't the military soul of the army he trains be headed by the character for 'cowardice'?"

On second thought, however, the status tags had never played a joke on him. Since it was highlighted in bold red, it implied that this man's "Military Soul" attribute should be of the normal, genuine variety!

"Besides, he was only beaten into cowardice by his Second Sister. At worst, I'll find some time to talk to her about child education..."

At this thought, the look Xue Yuan cast toward the other man grew intensely warm!

After all, a prince who didn't want to command troops wasn't a good fool. He had originally wanted to build an army of his own, but was troubled by the lack of a reliable and badass military commander!

If he could recruit this bearer of the "Military Soul" tag, it would truly be sending charcoal in the depth of winter!

Thus, he immediately cupped his fists toward him and asked with friendly amiability, "Brother, what is your honorable surname?"

The man hurriedly returned the courtesy and said, "My humble surname is Qi, given name Yuansheng—the 'yuan' of vitality, the 'sheng' of triumph. May I ask your esteemed name, brother?"

"Qi Yuansheng?" Xue Yuan nodded and said, "A fine name! My surname is Xue, with the single given name Yuan—the 'yuan' of the living waters at the source."

Upon hearing that Xue Yuan's surname was Xue, Qi Yuansheng immediately looked surprised and said, "The imperial surname? Could Your Excellency be a member of the royal family?"

Xue Yuan smiled and said, "Whether I'm of the royal family or not doesn't matter much. The important thing is that the two of us sharing a room is truly a matter of fate! Brother Qi, after we get settled, shall we go to the dining hall together?"

Qi Yuansheng, having presumably ascertained that Xue Yuan was not a bad person, immediately grinned happily and said, "Alright then, Brother Xue, allow me to make my bed first."

With that, he unstrapped the bundle from his back, took out a clean, plain-colored bedsheet, spread it over the bed closest to the door, tucked the edges under the wooden board, and then smoothed out every single wrinkle with his large hands, flattening even the folded corners.

This caused Xue Yuan to glance involuntarily at his own bare wooden plank of a bed, making him feel like the actual blood-drinking savage.

Damn it, that fellow Chu Yanxiu didn't even mention in advance that I'd be staying overnight!

Once everything was tidied up, the two of them went to the dining hall together.

Egret Academy had seven or eight dining halls, each capable of accommodating dozens to a hundred people dining simultaneously, and all meals were completely free of charge.

As soon as Xue Yuan and Qi Yuansheng appeared, many students queuing ahead of them voluntarily stepped aside. After all, they assumed these two roughnecks wanted to cut the line, and failing to step aside would do a disservice to their intimidating faces.

"Look, Brother Qi, the students of Egret Academy are indeed polite and modest every single one of them!"

Xue Yuan smiled cheerfully as he served himself a large bowl of rice and three dishes.

Qi Yuansheng, on the other hand, served three massive basins—the large kind used for holding soup. Two of the basins were piled high with rice like miniature mountains, while the other was packed to the brim with vegetables.

Finding a table, the two of them began to devour their food with ravenous appetites like a pair of fierce gluttons.

Right at that moment, a voice sounded from behind them.

"Qi Yusheng, you dog of a bastard, you still have the appetite to eat?"

Xue Yuan found the voice somewhat familiar. He turned his head to look and discovered it was Chen Qishan.

Chen Qishan, the son of Prefect Chen, whom he had seen during the sacrificial ceremony!

He also knew that Chen Qishan was the one who had wiped out Wang Yu'er's entire family, and Wang Yu'er's fiancé had also been a student studying at this academy before Chen Qishan beat him to death.

Taking advantage of the moment, he quietly cast a glance at Chen's status tags.

Setting the last tag aside, Xue Yuan felt a surge of rage boiling in his chest after reading the rest!

"This bastard didn't just wipe out Wang Yu'er's in-laws, he also wiped out several other families? Damn it, is he a walking butcher?"

"And for a bastard like this, the status tag actually gave him 'Wealthy and prosperous for a lifetime'?"

"The virtuous are oppressed while the wicked enjoy wealth and honor—does that mean his original destiny was set to be this way?"

At this thought, the anger in Xue Yuan's chest surged straight to the crown of his head!

"Damn it, even if this was originally his fate, now that the heavens have let me see it, his fate is changed!"

"If I don't screw you over, I'll take your family name!"

Chen Qishan had also spotted Xue Yuan by this time, a trace of slight surprise crossing his face as he muttered, "How did this fool end up here too?"

Soon, however, he dismissed Xue Yuan with unconcern and walked straight up to Qi Yusheng, gently patting him on the shoulder.

With a smile that didn't reach his eyes, he said, "Brother Qi, I heard that a few days ago you drew up a 'Yanhuai Valley' defense deployment map, implicitly mocking that three months ago, the prefectural troops lost Yanhuai Valley and over three hundred brothers died in battle due to improper defense and incompetent commanding generals?"

Qi Yusheng was slightly startled upon hearing this. It was precisely by virtue of that map that he had earned the qualification to listen to Grand Academician Chu expound on the scriptures tomorrow!

However, that map had clearly been submitted to several academy teachers; he had no idea how Chen Qishan had come to know about it.

Not daring to be slow-witted, he hurriedly swallowed the mouthful of food that was bulging his cheeks, nearly rolling his eyes from choking.

After his Adam's apple bobbed up and down several times, he hastened to say, "This young master jokes. Those were merely student... student's idle fancies, absolutely no hidden mockery intended!"

He shrank his neck like a startled brown bear, speaking in a very timid, delicate voice.

Chen Qishan, however, suddenly grabbed a handful of Qi Yusheng's topknot and yanked it back fiercely, forcing his neck to arch backward toward the sky.

Looking down at him from his superior height, Chen cursed, "Idle fancies? You motherfucker even used the original defense deployment map for comparison—if this isn't a hidden mockery, what is?

Do you know that the commanding general of that battle was my second brother? After my second brother lost Yanhuai Valley, he personally led the brothers to recapture it at the risk of their lives, and even the imperial court rewarded him for his loyalty and bravery. Yet you, dog of a bastard, slander him for improper defense?

Tell me, should I beat you or not? Should I seek justice for the more than three hundred brothers who died in battle?"

Hearing Chen Qishan's tirade, the group of students surrounding them quickly put away their bowls and chopsticks and retreated to the side.

After all, it wasn't a day or two that Young Master Chen had been running amok in Egret Academy. Over the past few years, countless students had suffered beatings at his hands, and countless others had dropped out because of him. There were even rumors that a few students had been dragged outside the academy by him and beaten to death alive!

That's right, Grand Academician Chu was indeed at Egret Academy, but he was utterly absorbed in his scholarship and paid zero attention to academy affairs on ordinary days, so these matters never reached his ears!

Moreover, Young Master Chen had extremely good relations with the teachers and aristocratic scions in the academy; even the academy proctor had taken him on as a foster son. Thus, even when he committed wrongdoing, it was always handled lightly and brushed aside with mere perfunctory gestures!

At this moment, Qi Yusheng's iron-tower-like physique curled inward as he stammered repeatedly, "This student meant no harm, truly meant no harm..."

But Chen Qishan would not let the matter rest. Grabbing Qi Yusheng by his topknot, he dragged him outward, snapping, "Get your ass out here with me, we'll talk outside!"

Xue Yuan could no longer stand by and watch.

With a cheerful laugh, he said, "Chen Qishan, I heard that on that day, the rebels who attacked Yanhuai Valley numbered only three hundred people, yet your second brother led twelve hundred men in defense and was completely routed. Later on, he had to bring five thousand elite troops just to recapture it—now that truly is a case of a weak general leading a weak army, the man spoke no falsehoods!"

He had also heard about the Yanhuai Valley affair from the people in the prince's estate. In truth, it was merely an uprising of starving refugees in the Jiangnan region who couldn't survive and wanted to claim a mountain as king. They had attacked Yanhuai Valley harboring nothing more than a tentative try-your-luck mindset, and to their surprise, they actually took it.

Later on, due to internal strife among the rebel forces, the court dispatched a large army to encircle and suppress them, which was how they were exterminated.

Such incidents were happening from time to time across the Great Gan empire nowadays.

Upon hearing this, Chen Qishan flew into a rage, raising a hand to knock over Xue Yuan's bowl.

He cursed, "You fool, instead of staying home obediently playing the role of a green-shelled turtle, what brings you here to meddle? Say another word, and see if I don't beat you together with him!"

Xue Yuan patted his chest and said, "I'm so scared! If Young Master Chen beats me to death, what will Grand Academician Chu do when he can't find me?"

Chen Qishan's fists clenched so hard they cracked, yet he was momentarily left speechless.

Because he knew Xue Yuan was here by Grand Academician Chu's invitation, if Grand Academician Chu found out he had beaten him up, it would be no laughing matter!

With a twitch of the fat on his face, he pointed at Xue Yuan and said, "Just wait, you fool, there will be a day when you're crying!"

With those words, he once more grabbed Qi Yusheng's topknot and hauled him toward the exit.

Qi Yusheng didn't dare to resist in the slightest, only shouting repeatedly, "Young Master, please release your hold, Young Master, please release your hold."

This sight ignited Xue Yuan's anonymous anger all over again!

You fucking possess 7th-grade upper tier cultivation, yet you let yourself be bullied to this extent by a good-for-nothing—and you still have the nerve to have a "Military Soul" tag!

Watch and learn, let me show you how it's done!

At this thought, his stalwart body suddenly quivered, his vital energy settled into his Dantian, and he let out a thunderous roar at Chen Qishan!

"Chen Qishan, fuck your mother!"

As he spoke, he snatched up Qi Yusheng's large rice basin and smashed it ruthlessly against Chen Qishan's head!

With a resounding crash, the ceramic basin shattered into countless fragments!

Xue Yuan, being as cunning as a chicken, gripped a sharp shard and viciously slashed it across Chen Qishan's face!

He had temporarily wanted to spare Chen Qishan because he still needed the prefect's recommendation to appoint Qin Santai as magistrate, but now that his temper was flared up, he could no longer care about such things!

Youth called for high-spirited vigor; if one wasn't spirited, could one still be called a young man?

Chen Qishan let out a shrill scream. Reaching up to touch his face, his hand came away covered in blood!

He instantly sprang into the air, shrieking, "Stinking fool, how dare you injure me?"

Everyone else in the dining hall was struck dumb, staring as if they had seen a ghost!

"Who is this guy? He dares to hit even Young Master Chen?"

"Is he really a fool?"

"He's finished. Does he think Young Master Chen is just the son of the prefect? That's the fiancé of the Changhe County Princess! How dare he disfigure him?"

Qi Yusheng was even more dumbfounded.

"Brother Xue..."

For his sake, Brother Xue was willing to fight so desperately?

The two guards behind Chen Qishan snapped out of their shock and immediately charged toward Xue Yuan!

Those two were not mere students; they were bodyguards found for Chen Qishan by Chen Zaidao, enrolled in the academy simply for convenience!

Seeing that both possessed cultivation, Xue Yuan immediately roared at the top of his lungs, "I am the Prince of Ning, who dares touch me? Touch me and see if I don't confiscate your entire family's property and make you take my surname!"

Upon hearing this, the two guards froze in their tracks!

The Prince of Ning... if this had been a few days ago, they wouldn't have been afraid at all and would have beaten him regardless!

After all, he had been a puppet fool whom no one took seriously!

But now, who didn't know that this fool had gone mad and would pick a fight with anyone he saw?

And who didn't know that he had a terrifying expert named Sword Seven under his command?

Just a few days ago, he had dared to beat up Prince Yu's men, and after the beating, he had even sealed off dozens of their businesses!

Compared to Prince Yu, Prefect Chen was nothing more than a fart! And what was the Changhe County Princess?

As for the two of them, they didn't even amount to a fart—at best, they were the underwear blasted by a fart, sexy yet stained with shit!

Seeing that the two guards were indeed frightened into submission, Xue Yuan cast all politeness aside!

He immediately stepped forward, kicked Chen Qishan to the ground, straddled his chest, and began pummeling him left and right with a flurry of heavy blows!

"So you're the motherfucker called Chen Qishan, huh?"

"So you're the motherfucker who's the fiancé of the Changhe County Princess, huh?"

"Right in front of me, the dignified Prince of Ning, you dare drop a princess's name to act arrogant? Trying to use a single Q card to trump Big Two, you don't give a damn about the rules at all, do you?"

"You said there'd be a day when I'm crying? When I was making dogs cry, you were still swimming around in your old man's crotch!"

"If I don't beat the living shit out of you today, consider your asshole sealed with superglue!"

His roaring scoldings were stirring and heroic, and the surrounding onlookers felt their blood boiling with excitement!

Although they didn't quite understand everything the Prince was cursing about, let them ask themselves: among the students of Egret Academy, who hadn't secretly wished to curse and beat Chen Qishan to a pulp just like this?

Meanwhile, Qi Yusheng watched with a burning surge of fiery spirit!

"A true man should act thus! Thus indeed!"

"I wish I could do this, I ought to do this, but, but I..."

He clenched his fists tightly, his muscles flexing with cracking sounds.

Yet echoing once more in the depths of his mind was that ominous pronouncement that had haunted and entangled his entire early life!

"This child is the reincarnation of the God of Killing. If he stirs evil intentions, he can create a hundred miles of bloody streams; if he harbors murderous intent, he shall inevitably cover the plains with withered bones!"