Three days and three nights passed just like that.
Zhou Hong could finally move.
These three days and three nights felt like an eternity to Zhou Hong.
"Protector Wan Yan, you old dog, I will repay the suffering I endured these three days tenfold," Zhou Hong gritted his teeth internally.
Zhou Hong did not linger, and quickly returned to his dormitory.
"Zhou Hong, how are you?" his roommates asked with concern.
"I'm fine." Zhou Hong had no external injuries, but the internal wounds were beyond the understanding of outsiders. During these three days and three nights, countless people at the Taikoo Academy had seen him, pointing and secretly snickering behind his back. Zhou Hong could only silently remember this humiliation.
"Liao Yong, what has our class been doing these past three days?" Zhou Hong asked after returning to his room and taking a shower.
"Because our class performed very well in the freshman competition, the Taikoo Academy rewarded our class with one hundred thousand class coins. So, we've all been waiting for you these past few days. Then, all thirty of us in Class 30 entered the Spiritual Gathering Formation to cultivate. One hundred thousand class coins allows us to cultivate on the second level of the Spiritual Gathering Formation," Liao Yong replied.
"Second level?" Zhou Hong was slightly startled, a sense of anticipation stirring within him. Zhou Hong already knew that cultivating on the first level of the Spiritual Gathering Formation for three days was equivalent to three months. On the second level, three days of cultivation were equivalent to three years.
The condition for unlocking the second level was a hundred thousand class coins.
"Yes, our Class 30 won first place in the freshman competition's team event, directly rewarding us with one hundred thousand class coins. By the way, Zhou Hong, you won first place in the individual category during the freshman competition. Your reward is still with Instructor Lu."
"What is my reward?" Zhou Hong asked urgently. If Liao Yong hadn't mentioned it, Zhou Hong would have forgotten that he had won first place in the individual competition of the freshman contest.
"I'm not sure about that. You should go ask Instructor Lu yourself. She has already claimed it for you. I'm sure it's not ordinary."
"Mhm, mhm," Zhou Hong nodded with anticipation.
"Zhou Hong, our Class 30 being able to enter the second level for cultivation together this time is all thanks to you. Without you, we wouldn't have been able to defeat Class 1 and receive the reward of one hundred thousand class coins," Liao Yong said sincerely.
"Haha, this is nothing, we are all classmates."
"Zhou Hong, cultivating for three days on the second level is equivalent to three years in the outside world. Do you know what this means? It means that after three days, all of us will come out with at least one level of improvement in strength. The gratitude of all the students in Class 30 towards you is beyond words."
"Alright, let's not talk about these pleasantries anymore. I'm going to find Lu Qianqian and see what my freshman competition champion prize is." Zhou Hong quickly left the dormitory and headed towards Lu Qianqian's dormitory.
"Zhou Hong." As Zhou Hong was walking, a woman's voice suddenly called out from the woods by the roadside.
Zhou Hong turned his head and saw that it was his former fiancée from the Purple Cloud Continent, Nalan Yunzhu.
"It's you, Nalan Yunzhu." Zhou Hong said indifferently. If she hadn't suddenly appeared, Zhou Hong would have almost forgotten about her.
Nalan Yunzhu had some reputation for beauty on the Purple Cloud Continent, but after arriving at Taikoo Academy, her beauty was at most ranked first in her class, merely that of a class beauty, comparable to the class monitor named Ning Xiang in Zhou Hong's class.
However, Nalan Yunzhu was in Class 50 of the second year, the last class of their cohort. Therefore, at Taikoo Academy, she was at the bottom of the social hierarchy, with a very low status.
Now, with Zhou Hong, a prominent figure, standing before Nalan Yunzhu, he was an existence she could no longer look up to.
"Zhou Hong, I didn't expect to run into you on the road. It's been a while." Nalan Yunzhu sighed, her heart filled with mixed emotions. Six months ago, because she had been admitted to Taikoo Academy and Zhou Hong was in a coma at home, she had broken off their engagement.
Yet, six months later, Zhou Hong had become someone she could not look up to.
"It has indeed been many days since we last met," Zhou Hong replied, his face expressionless, as if looking at a completely unrelated passerby.
Seeing the unfeeling expression on Zhou Hong's face, Nalan Yunzhu felt a pang of sadness. Her nose stung, and she thought every day about how wonderful it would be if she and Zhou Hong were still engaged. She would be the happiest woman.
"Is there anything else? If not, I'll be leaving." Zhou Hong turned to leave, having no desire to waste words with Nalan Yunzhu.
"Zhou Hong, wait." Nalan Yunzhu suddenly mustered up her courage and shouted.
"Speak quickly if you have something to say." Zhou Hong would not have spoken so much with Nalan Yunzhu if it weren't for the fact that they had known each other in the past.
"Between us... is there still a chance?" Nalan Yunzhu asked cautiously.
"Heh, you shouldn't ask me that. You should go ask the countless girls in Taikoo Academy if they agree," Zhou Hong sneered. Zhou Hong was undoubtedly one of the top hundred most popular male students among girls in Taikoo Academy. If Zhou Hong so much as gestured, an untold number of girls would flock to him.
"Heh, yes, I am a class beauty from Class 50 of the second year, undoubtedly a trash student at Taikoo Academy, how could I be worthy of you? Zhou Hong, then can we be friends? Just like you are with Gu Daochen and the others, after all, we are all from the same continent," Nalan Yunzhu pleaded. If she couldn't be Zhou Hong's fiancée, then being friends would at least be some form of consolation.
"Is there a need for that? Wouldn't it be better if we just didn't disturb each other?" Zhou Hong said speechlessly.
"Zhou Hong, I know I can't reach you now. I was blind before, and I don't dare to hope to be your fiancée anymore. But I was once your fiancée, and you've slept with me, can't we even be friends?" Nalan Yunzhu asked with tears, resorting to emotional appeals.
Zhou Hong didn't know what to say. He wished he hadn't had that kind of relationship with her back then. If he refused to even be friends now, it would seem too heartless.
"Fine then, ordinary friends," Zhou Hong said.
"Mhm, mhm, thank you," Nalan Yunzhu happily wiped away her tears. She hadn't expected to even be ordinary friends. It was just that from being his fiancée to becoming an ordinary friend with her own hands, her heart was filled with mixed emotions.
Zhou Hong couldn't be bothered to waste any more time with Nalan Yunzhu and quickly walked away.
In the blink of an eye, Zhou Hong had already forgotten about Nalan Yunzhu. Ordinary friends were not something he would keep in mind.
Soon, Zhou Hong arrived in front of Lu Qianqian's dormitory.
"Hello, Instructor, could you please ask Instructor Lu Qianqian to come down?" Zhou Hong stopped a female instructor in front of the dormitory building and asked her to pass on a message.