In the past, Little Cherry had experienced the pain of parting, so she had buried her feelings deep in her heart. Not only was it to protect me, but it was also to remind herself not to pursue that unrealistic true love.
When she heard the commander-in-chief praise me, a ray of light lit up in her world. Even if that dream was easily shattered, she still had expectations and longing. Today, the dream was no longer a dream. Even if she hadn't broken off the engagement, she had already found this familiar embrace.
It was obvious that Little Cherry was satisfied. She wanted to strike while the iron was hot and break off the engagement, but she didn't want to give me any pressure.
I kissed her cheek. Originally, I wanted to kiss her on the lips, but the fairy teacher wasn't far from me. I didn't want to show off our affection. Then, Du Hongchen hooked his finger at me. I knew what he meant.
The reward for the champion wasn't just glory and inner pellets, there was also a high-grade martial art. When I experienced the effects of the Body Metamorphose Scripture, I looked forward to the additional reward. In this day and age, the rarity of high-grade martial arts was something that only martial artists understood. Even among the geniuses participating in the competition, there were only a few who possessed high-grade martial arts.
Ou Yangjun was one of them. As for the others, they didn't seem to have used it. However, I faintly felt that Lou Zihan, who hadn't made a move yet, should be a very powerful martial artist. At the very least, he wasn't any weaker than Ou Yangjun in his normal state. It was just that he was born at the wrong time. When he encountered the two of us, he could only helplessly obtain third place.
"Hey, Little Cutie, you've got these injuries. Sit down and rest."
Even though she had undergone simple treatment, Little Cherry's abrasions made my heart ache. On the contrary, I was brimming with energy. Previously, when Ou Yangjun had beaten me into a pig's head, the power of darkness had awakened. Not only had it given me incomparable strength, it had also healed my injuries. It was truly miraculous.
Of course, this scene was seen by many people. In fact, I was very worried about what would happen if the secret of the black ball was exposed. Master had told me before that the black ball belonged to the evil and crooked path. Moreover, people had a kind of jealous mentality. A dark horse like me would inevitably attract the jealousy of others. Once these things were exposed, it was very likely that I wouldn't have peaceful days. This was also what Guan Ruolan had been worried about all along.
"Mm." Little Cherry nodded obediently. She looked at me with eyes full of love.
Then, I reluctantly let go of Little Cherry and walked toward Curator Du. Just now, when I was in a crazed state, I could almost see through Master Ouyang's strength. However, this Curator Du was like a mystery that I couldn't see through. If I wasn't mistaken, his strength was one level higher than Master Ouyang's!
Come to think of it, it wasn't strange at all. To be able to sit on such a large martial arts academy meant that he was blessed by the heavens in Nan Yun Province. Just take the big shots from the various parties for example. There were a bunch of them who wanted to curry favor with Du Hongchen and place their elites and outstanding talents in the martial arts academy. However, he didn't agree to any of them. One could well imagine how high his threshold was.
Of course, Du Hongchen's temperament was hard to fathom. In fact, he didn't like to have dealings with those martial arts aristocratic families. On the contrary, he was more willing to nurture martial artists who were free and unfettered. This way, it would be a bit more fun, and it wouldn't involve too many benefits.
Seeing that I was approaching, the two big shots stopped talking. Du Hongchen looked at me and waved his hand. "Come with me."
I hurriedly responded and smiled at the commander-in-chief. He nodded. "Go, I'll go accompany Wan 'er."
I also glanced at the fairy master and said in a low voice, "Miss Guan, don't go. I still have to thank you properly!"
She rolled her eyes, pouted her pink lips, and lightly snorted. I didn't know what she meant.
Following behind Du Hongchen, I felt waves of pressure. Because the atmosphere was a bit awkward, he took the initiative to speak. "Little guy, your performance was really not bad. In this year's competition, there are only a few people that I admire the most. You're definitely one of them. There's also that Lou Zihan. He also has some skills. As for Wang Jing, although his strength is a bit lacking, his heart is firm. This point alone is enough to make most of the martial artists pale in comparison."
"Hehe, many thanks for Senior Du's praise." I smiled embarrassedly and was quite modest. In front of this big shot, I didn't dare to put on any airs.
He didn't say anything. Not long after, we walked to a hidden passageway.
"Heh, it might really be an exaggeration. Tell me honestly, where did the dark power in your body come from?"
Du Hongchen suddenly turned around. I was startled and almost couldn't stop. The most important thing was that he mentioned the dark power. My heart thumped.
As expected of the leader of the Heavenly Eagle Martial Arts Academy!
He was actually able to hit the nail on the head. You have to know that when I fought with Master Ouyang, he was able to experience the destructive power of the fusion of the power of darkness with my qi. Even so, Master Ouyang wasn't able to see through the power of darkness, but Du Hongchen, who was watching the fight from the side, was actually able to see through it with a single glance.
At this time, my heart was thumping and I couldn't help but cover my pocket. I was afraid that he wouldn't give me the advanced martial arts and would take away the inner core.
"Little guy, don't be nervous. Your box is empty."
He said casually and looked at me with interest. His sharp eyes seemed to be able to see through everything.
My face slightly twitched. I took out the exquisite box and opened it. As expected, it was empty, not even a fart.
Damn, this Du Hongchen, was he deliberately playing with me?!
But it was also true. In a sense, the dark power was a kind of evil thing. Since ancient times, the good and the evil had always been at odds. As the leader of the Heavenly Eagle Martial Arts Academy, he couldn't let the inner core fall into my hands. Once I reached Neutral Strength, it would set off a catastrophe in the martial arts world!
However, I actually didn't intend to take the inner core myself. Relatively speaking, Guan Ruolan needed it more than me. It was just that time was tight, so I didn't have time to tell her.
But when I found out that the box was empty, I immediately became depressed. It seemed that I was happy for nothing. Seeing my uncertain expression, Curator Du opened his palm.
Curator Du opened his palm, revealing a small round bead hovering above his palm. It emitted a warm light, and I could clearly feel the majestic power contained in it!
It seemed that this was the inner core that countless martial artists coveted!
"Do you want to keep the inner core for yourself?!"
I frowned and asked coldly. If my dark power hadn't retreated, I might still have had the strength to fight. But now, what could I use to fight him?
"Haha, little guy, you're looking down on me too much. Although the Inner Core is very precious, it doesn't have much use for me. Let's continue with my previous question, where did you get your Dark Force from? If you can give me a satisfactory answer, not only will the Inner Core be yours, I will also give you the high-ranked martial arts that I promised you." Du Hongchen didn't know whether to laugh or cry.