Settling an Old Debt

Chapter 30: Settling an Old Debt

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The night passed quickly, and the next day arrived.

It was still dark while the first rays of the sun had yet to appear.

The air was cool, with only a few sounds of early birds echoing from time to time.

In this peaceful atmosphere, one person was training, undisturbed by the rest of the world.

The person in question was none other than Zhu Rong, who had woken up early as usual to do his morning exercises.

Even though it had only been two days since he started his training routine, he could already feel improvements in his body.

His muscles were becoming tougher and more flexible, finally starting to build some resistance against the intensity of the exercises he had begun.

His bones too had started to harden, especially now that Qi was flowing through them as well.

He had noticed some improvement in his running speed and his stamina, which was higher than usual.

Even if it had only been a short time, the intensity of the training combined with the presence of spiritual Qi in his body had finally started to show its effects.

On the surface, his body didn't seem to have changed, but he could tell he was improving by leaps and bounds.

If someone who had seen him two days ago were to see him now, they'd wonder what kind of drugs he had taken to improve so fast.

That said, he still wasn't satisfied and planned to continue like this for a few more days before increasing the intensity of his training even further.

Especially after fully stepping into the Body Tempering stage.

He intended to push his improvements to the max at every stage, and with his new cultivation technique this would multiply several times over, making his initial foundations stronger than ever.

He kept going, switching exercises every few sets, and finally around 7 in the morning, he went to clean himself up before heading towards the instructors' residential area.

He knew very well that woman's routine because he knew that right about now she was also finishing up her morning training.

His past self had been so obsessed with her that he had done his fair share of research on what she did during the day, when she ate, what she liked, even when and where she went to shower.

The more he thought back to the in depth "research" his past self had done, the more he wanted to slap himself and crawl into a hole.

"Hah, no wonder she hate me so much, even I wouldn't be able to stand myself, '

 he thought as he arrived in front of the building where she lived.

Last time he'd gone around and climbed straight over the garden wall.

This time, he figured it was better to go through the front door.

Who knew if she'd attack him again or not, so better not take risks.

The sound of knocking on the door caught the attention of Liang Yuexin's maid, who, not expecting a visitor at this hour, went to see who it was.

Hmm?

As soon as she opened the door, her gaze landed on a boy just a little taller than her, dressed in a disciple's robe.

It didn't take long for her to immediately recognize who it was, and as soon as she did, she stared at him with a blank expression and simply closed the door.

Zhu Rong: "…"

'The hell was that supposed to be? Woman, is that any way to act?'

A vein popped on Zhu Rong's forehead, but he held it in and knocked again.

The door opened once more, this time only halfway, as the maid looked at him with an annoyed expression.

"If you knock one more time, I'm telling the young mistress you're causing trouble again," she said, already getting ready to shut the door again.

"Hey, don't close it without even listening! I came to give something to Yuexin," Zhu Rong said, holding back his urge to kick the door.

What did she mean by causing trouble again?

Was his reputation so bad that even a simple maid looked down on him like this?

The maid wasn't convinced, but remembering something, she decided to let him in.

Zhu Rong expected a bit more resistance, but instead, here he was walking toward the back garden.

He wasn't sure why, but he felt like the maid in front of him was glaring at him even worse than before.

'Haa, why is it always so complicated dealing with women?' he thought, deciding to ignore her altogether.

It was too much of a hassle for him to figure out what was going through the maid's head, and honestly, he didn't care.

So he walked silently and finally arrived at the garden.

There, under the shade of a tree, a woman was sitting at a small table with a steaming cup of green tea.

Noticing their presence, her gaze shifted toward them, and soon enough, Zhu Rong was in her sights.

"Little bastard, you sure took your time to show up," she muttered as she saw him approaching.

Zhu Rong, already a bit irritated because of the maid, got even more annoyed hearing this, and a vein appeared on his forehead.

"Woman, can you be a little nicer?" he said, stepping toward her, deciding to get this over with quickly.

He thought that if he stayed here a minute longer, he'd end up saying something he shouldn't.

Liang Yuexin was about to snap back at him when she saw him come even closer.

Her expression tensed up, and she was about to ask what he was doing, but at that moment, Zhu Rong raised his right hand and without hesitation pressed two fingers to her forehead.

"you dare-" Liang Yuexin, clearly not happy with this move, was ready to send him flying with a punch, but soon stopped when she felt a jolt in her head.

She quickly felt her mind struck by an unfamiliar flow of energy, and in no time, a series of information appeared in her head.

It took her a few seconds to process all of it, and when she did, her eyes widened as she turned her gaze to the boy standing in front of her.

He had a calm expression, while his almond colored eyes stared at her with a steady look.

It felt like standing in front of her wasn't a boy younger than her, but someone much older, looking at her the way a master would look at a disciple.

"This technique… is it really okay for you to just give it to me like this?" she asked, uncertain.

They had both agreed that in exchange for the complete technique, she would help him get that herb deep in the forest.

She already had doubts about the level of the technique because, with just the initial part she had, she could already tell that the technique was on a level way too high,

many times above that of her family, and even that was more than enough for the small favor he had asked of her.

But now, when she received the rest of the technique, she realized she was still underestimating it.

Not only did she receive the complete technique, but she also gained a certain degree of understanding of it, and it shook her, because she discovered that the technique was much more than just a simple Heaven grade technique.

Now she was sure it was close to Divine grade.

A Divine-grade technique!

Where the hell had this guy gotten his hands on such a technique, and more importantly, how had he managed to get it?

She knew the Zhu family didn't have a technique like this,

if they did, they would've already surpassed all the families in the capital a long time ago.

And now he had handed her a technique like this as if it was nothing?

Since when had getting a Divine grade technique become so easy?

Zhu Rong looked at her calmly and said,

"Think of it as compensation for all the trouble I've caused you so far.

With this, you should have everything you need to avoid being forced into doing things you don't want by our two families."

He said it with a smile.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure my family doesn't push the issue of our marriage anymore.

You don't have to feel forced to be with me," he said., then he turned to leave.

He had already said everything he wanted to say, and with this, he had settled the favor he owed her from his past life.

The two of them had never had a real bond to begin with, and even what little there was had been forced by their families.

Even though he didn't mind the situation, he knew that for an ambitious woman like her, it was a torment.

And even so, she had helped him when he needed it most, and now that he had the chance, he had given her the means to break free from the chains that tied her down.

Liang Yuexin was stunned by his words and, for a moment, didn't say anything.

Zhu Rong was right,

with a technique of this level, she could make incredible progress in her cultivation and reach stages she had never thought possible before.

He had given her the key to achieving everything she had always wanted.

Her gaze shifted to the figure walking away, and she felt that the person she was looking at in that moment was different from the annoying boy she used to know.

His posture was straight, and his steps steady.

"His bearing was calm and confident, as if nothing in the world could stop him."

An almost imperceptible gleam appeared in Liang Yuexin's eyes, as for the first time since she'd known him, she felt like something in him had changed.

"You… who are you?" she murmured, feeling that the figure before her didn't match the annoying person she had in her memories.