I'm not getting involved in this mess.

During free practice time, Huang Bingbing used a short spear as a sword and practiced with Xiang Tianyou using the moves of the Nine Sword Style.

Her nine sword techniques only have form; she knows each one, but she doesn't master any of them, merely possessing the outward appearance.

It's clear that she wasn't particularly talented in martial arts; she was just lucky.

Yang Ding has a system that controls his movements. If his proficiency in the Sweeping Sword Style is below 100, he cannot achieve the top-level effect of the "Starry Night" technique and therefore cannot practice the second move.

Xiang Tianyou has indeed made great progress and is probably about to break through to the middle stage of the first rank. In addition, he has used a lightweight steel axe, making his axe skills more fluid and agile than before.

In next Monday's match, all we need to do is keep Xiang Tianyou in the lead.

If someone can defeat a mid-level first-grade cultivator, then naturally, Yang Ding's cultivation level must be stronger, or at least on par with theirs.

"Brother Ding, this kid is improving by leaps and bounds. Are you his match?" Mao Jian asked worriedly.

"My wife and I are also training like crazy, but I'm hiding some of my strength."

Why hide it?

"At the poker table, you can't let anyone see your hole cards. If your opponent can see them, it means you did it on purpose."

"Can I see through it?"

Yang Ding smiled and said, "Of course you can, you're my friend."

Mao Jian was very pleased and leaned closer to whisper, "Then tell me, brother, what's your strength now? Has it exceeded eight hundred?"

"Come here, come here..." Yang Ding whispered in Mao Jian's ear, "999, hehe!"

"No way, that's amazing! Is the genius girl's internal energy really that effective?"

"Shh, keep a low profile, don't let that little bitch Huang Bingbing find out."

"I understand!"

Then the two of them began practicing their own martial arts techniques.

Huang Bingbing had been monitoring Yang Ding's hearing. When she heard him proudly say "999" and chuckle twice, she felt extremely contemptuous.

"Hmph, a pig farmer who's never seen the world."

She certainly had the right to laugh; her martial arts cultivation had just broken through to the upper third rank, making her a level higher than Mao Jian's mother's punching power, and her hearing was naturally not bad either.

According to the martial arts ranking rules of the Jinglong Empire, the punching power must increase several times with each level of cultivation, and the punching power increases by 50% for each of the three realms within a rank.

For example, when Yang Ding was in the first rank of the upper realm, his fist strength was 1800 jin. When he reached the second rank of the lower realm, it would be 3600 jin. When he was in the second rank of the upper realm, his fist strength would be multiplied by 3, jumping directly from 8100 jin to 24300 jin.

The higher the level, the more difficult it is to upgrade the grade.

Based on this calculation, Huang Bingbing's punching power exceeded 50,000 jin, almost ten times that of Yang Ding.

To put this into perspective, it's the ability to punch through a 10cm thick steel plate and throw a car several meters away.

Huang Bingbing walked over with her hands behind her back, sizing up Yang Ding as he practiced the Nine Forms of Swordplay.

"Why do you practice the first move every day?"

"none of your business?"

At the Stinger organization, if any man dares to speak to Wong Bing-bing like that, he will be castrated an hour later.

Since joining the Poison Sting at the age of sixteen, she has castrated thirteen men in six years, all of whom she did herself.

Her subordinates secretly called her "Eggplant Thirteen," or simply Eggplant Girl.

But Zhou Ruoxi's words last night indirectly protected Yang Ding, meaning that at least in the short term, this guy can't be touched, not even castrated.

If you castrate this guy, you have to kill Ye Rou, otherwise Ye Rou will kill you in return. One Ye Rou can beat a hundred of her.

Huang Bingbing barely suppressed her anger. "Seeing how quickly Xiang Tianyou has improved, aren't you feeling insecure?"

"They're all second-rate noobs. If a second-rate noob tries to teach another first-rate noob, it's just a case of the noobs pecking at each other."

Huang Bingbing was so angry she almost jumped up. She thought she was just being sarcastic, but Yang Ding was even worse.

"I'll cut you off someday."

Huang Bingbing likes to show off in front of Zhou Ruoxi. She always wants to prove that illegitimate daughters are better than the children of the first wife, so she vows to win over Yang Ding.

She believed that Yang Ding, an ordinary person from the lower class who had never seen the world, would inevitably fall into her hands and become her secret slave.

But it doesn't seem that easy now.

The main reason is that this guy suddenly got a wife like Ye Rou, and he got a little too cocky and lost sight of his own position.

After Huang Bingbing left, Sun Li, who was practicing her sword, approached Yang Ding.

"Brother Ding, Huang Bingbing is incredibly wealthy. What's her background? She seems to be very rich."

"I don't know, I guess she's some rich guy keeping a mistress."

However, recalling the hint his sister-in-law had given him last night, Yang Ding couldn't help but suspect that this Bingbing was Poison Sting.

Are the assassins raised by the Lord of Jiangling City really this arrogant and high-profile?

"So, do you prefer black tea or green tea?" Sun Li asked.

Mao Jian said impatiently, "Stop trying to sell yourself everywhere. My brother Ding doesn't think much of you, and you don't think much of me. Why don't you just give me a price? How much per time?"

This was insulting enough, but Sun Li didn't get angry. Instead, she held up five fingers.

"Five...five fifty-fifty?" Mao Jian asked excitedly.

"Eat shit, you're poor and worthless."

Yang Ding's indifference drove Sun Li to despair, and she decided to throw herself into Xiang Tianyou's arms.

Unexpectedly, Xiang Tianyou also rejected her, saying, "How can someone like you compare to Bingbing? Get lost!"

Just as Sun Li was about to turn around, Huang Bingbing stopped her, looking at Xiang Tianyou.

"If you beat Yang Ding in this weekly test, I'll have her accompany you, and I'll pay for it."

"I only want you."

Huang Bingbing sneered disdainfully, "You're only fit to be my dog. Don't even think about it."

At the classroom door, Instructor Zhang and the instructor of Class C1 were smoking, chatting, and watching the students practice.

"Zhang Peng, your class is full of hidden talents."

Coach Zhang's eyes lit up. "How about we switch classes?"

"I'm not getting involved in this mess."

Zhang Peng had already asked several colleagues to switch classes, but no one fell for it. He even made all the instructors in Class C aware that Class C2 might be a trap.

At lunchtime, Yang Ding originally planned to have lunch with his wife, but Ye Rou said she had made an appointment with Fang Jing.

"What does it matter?"

"Honey, I need to find a chance to confront Jing-jie. You don't want her as your second wife anymore?"

"I didn't even take this to heart, but you're so enthusiastic about it, honey. I'm ashamed."

"Come on, I may not understand men, but I understand you. When Sister Jing walks past you, you instinctively sniff the air because you're smelling her fragrance."

"I didn't," Yang Ding shook his head desperately.

"Your wife is a mid-level fifth-grade cultivator. Even the slightest tremor of a fly can't escape my ears. But having Sister Jing around is good too; she can help me share the burden."

In the instructors' canteen, Fang Jing went to reserve a seat, while Ye Rou went to queue for food.

The discipline director plopped down in front of Fang Jing. "Instructor Fang, you haven't gotten your food yet?"

"Instructor Ye is in charge of serving meals today, he'll be here soon."

Fang Jing's meaning was clear: she was telling the discipline director that someone was there.

The discipline master pushed up his black-rimmed glasses. "I need to talk to you about something."

"What is it?"

"marriage."

Fang Jing's face fell. "My husband died on the front lines less than three months ago. What are we talking about marriage for?"

"It used to be three months, but now the Empire's marriage system is only one month. Instead of letting the system randomly match you up, you might as well register yourself. You should know that since the bug appeared, you are very likely to be matched with a pig farmer, a farmer, or even a manure collector."

"I'm not in a hurry."

"To put it another way, the fifth son of Master Zhao of Jiangling City has taken a liking to your abilities and hopes that you can marry him and become his seventh wife."

"Seven wives? How old is he?"

"He's only 49 this year."