Chapter 24 – If You Don’t Eat Enthusiastically, Something’s Wrong with You
Song Zhen’s matches were incredibly exciting, and the other disciples weren’t holding back either.
The senior brothers and sisters who had higher cultivation levels and joined the sect earlier still observed proper etiquette, but the younger disciples had completely let themselves loose.
Seeing what was happening with Song Zhen only boosted their confidence even more.
One disciple even seized the opportunity in broad daylight to pull off someone’s boots—and went so far as to tickle the soles of their feet.
“Hahaha, let go of me! What you’re doing is totally unfair!” The grabbed disciple was already laughing until tears came.
The Mystic Cloud Sect disciple smiled leisurely and replied with confidence, “Unfair? I’m just exploiting your weakness, that’s all.”
“Our little junior sister has always said, in every match, you must give it your all because you never know what real danger looks like. Every match should be treated as a real simulation.”
Song Zhen, whose name had been mentioned, nodded from the sidelines. That was exactly right.
The disciples from other sects were completely dumbfounded.
Elder Rong felt utterly humiliated among the other elders, regretting countless times why he had agreed to lead the team.
Wouldn’t it have been better to just stay safely in the sect? Why did he have to come out here and suffer like this?
Today’s matches were far more thrilling than all previous days combined.
For the first time, so few disciples from Mystic Cloud Sword Sect were eliminated.
It was just that the senior brothers and sisters were still a bit too concerned with saving face, so they ended up at a disadvantage.
That evening, Elder Rong called everyone together again.
“Can you all just calm down for once? You’ve got no shame, and I still have to keep my face!”
Elder Rong was on the verge of a breakdown. He had lived most of his life upright, never doing anything improper. Not to brag, but he could truly be called a gentleman.
He had always taken pride in his flawless conduct—but now? Now, in front of everyone else, he couldn’t even hold his head up!
“We’re not the ones without shame, Elder! You’re wrong—on this battlefield, we’re supposed to give it our all. We haven’t even gone all out yet.”
Song Zhen felt she hadn’t done anything wrong; in fact, she had been holding back quite a lot.
On the contrary, she thought the senior brothers and sisters were far too concerned with face.
The defeated seniors had been upright and gentlemanly enough, hadn’t they? Meanwhile, the opponents had used plenty of little tricks—the seniors simply lost because they were too much of gentlemen.
Lifting her head, Song Zhen looked seriously at Elder Rong and said:
“Elder, maybe it’s time to rethink your perspective. Our Mystic Cloud Sect is strong, so why do we always lose in the Tournament? I’m sure you know the reason.”
“But every time our disciples go on real adventures outside, we Mystic Cloud Sword Sect disciples are the strongest. That’s because nobody holds back then—when facing monsters or demons, everyone goes all out.”
The senior brothers and sisters lowered their heads, beginning to seriously reflect on the problem themselves.
Indeed, when facing other cultivators, they were too cautious, afraid that any improper action might tarnish the sect’s reputation.
Elder Rong was speechless but still tried to argue:
“Can’t you use slightly more respectable methods? Look at what you’ve done today—it’s completely disgraceful!”
“And Fang Qiong, taking someone’s boots off and tickling their feet? Isn’t that filthy? And after the match, I saw you grab food without washing your hands. I’ll have a word with your master—someone your age shouldn’t be so unhygienic!”
Hearing this, everyone quietly moved a little away from Fang Qiong.
Song Zhen gave Fang Qiong a disgusted glance. Wait—didn’t he pad her head with his hand? No way! Gross! I’m filthy now!
Fang Qiong awkwardly scratched his face. He hadn’t really thought much of it, but… yeah, he probably wasn’t very careful.
Seeing him scratching his head and face like that, a senior sister nearby couldn’t take it anymore. She slapped his hand away and, while she was at it, cast a cleansing spell on him.
Elder Rong watched the scene and felt both his eyes hurt and his heart ache.
The other sect’s disciples were clean and meticulous in their speech, behavior, and daily habits—so why did his own disciples live so… rough?
Tonight, not only had he failed to keep everyone in line, he’d actually been brainwashed by Song Zhen.
Other sects were also buzzing with gossip—Mystic Cloud Sect had given them an enormous surprise today.
The elders of the Magic Sect were utterly baffled.
“What happened to Mystic Cloud Sword Sect? How did their disciples suddenly turn into this? Weren’t they advocates of gentlemanly conduct?”
One Magic Sect disciple replied, “They still value gentlemanly conduct… but only with female disciples. They’re gentle with women, but harsh with men—they favor females over males.”
He nodded confidently, thinking of how he had been beaten while his senior sister had not been harmed.
The Magic Sect elders exchanged a glance.
…Why do I get the feeling our own disciples have gone completely dumb from the duel?
Other sects’ elders shared this sentiment, and their minds wandered to that “big trap” incident.
Normally, they would never associate Mystic Cloud Sect with such scheming—they were famous for integrity.
But now, they could imagine the younger disciples doing something like that, though there was no evidence. Without proof, they couldn’t accuse anyone.
All the sect elders shared a common feeling—frustration and a sense of helpless loss.
Previously, Mystic Cloud Sword Sect had always been the victims of their underhanded tactics. Their strong but upright disciples couldn’t bring themselves to harm other cultivators, so opponents exploited this.
That was why Mystic Cloud Sword Sect had never won the trial tournament.
Now, with their sudden change in behavior, the other sects had suffered a big, silent loss.
That night, only the Mystic Cloud Sect disciples slept soundly. Everyone else, consumed with thoughts of revenge or embarrassment, stayed awake all night.
Early the next morning, while everyone else was still asleep, Song Zhen was already leading a large group of disciples to the dining hall.
“Eating is an attitude! If you don’t eat enthusiastically, your mindset is broken! Charge!”
With her personal meal bowl in hand, Song Zhen dashed forward like lightning.
The other disciples who weren’t on fasting training followed suit, rushing out with the energy of survivors in a zombie apocalypse.
The senior brothers and sisters who had somehow gotten dragged along looked utterly bewildered.
“Wait… why are we even here? We’re fasting—we don’t need to eat!”
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