The Advanced Secret Realm Building.
Lobby.
Outside the secret realm gate, students swarmed in, and in a moment, it was packed.
Only after everyone had exited did the secret realm gate behind them close with a bang.
Feeling the changes in themselves, they all began to discuss.
"It was worth the trip, these five hours of cultivation are equivalent to ten days of my usual practice!"
"What a shame it's only one chance. If only we could come once a month!"
"You wish. The monsters inside have all been killed. Don't you think they need time to reproduce?"
"That's right. With a chance to enter once a year, the monsters inside should have repopulated by the next time."
In a corner, Lin Yu remained silent, neither speaking nor trying to draw attention, quietly walking towards the exit.
Meanwhile, Li Wu, with his head down, not wanting anyone to see his swollen face, quietly made his way to the duty office.
Seeing a few teachers inside looking at documents, but his second uncle nowhere in sight, he asked curiously:
"Where is my second uncle?"
"Who are you looking for?"
"Li Cong!"
"Li Cong was severely injured by Zhao Ke and is hospitalized. Also, he's been suspended for slandering Lin Yu. You're Li Wu, right? You should hurry to the hospital to visit him!"
Li Wu was stunned by the news.
What on earth had happened? It felt like many major events had occurred the moment he exited the secret realm.
He quickly opened his wristband to check online and soon understood the situation.
"This... how could this happen?" He was utterly dejected, his mind in a daze. This series of blows made him feel as if the entire world was against him.
Having never experienced such setbacks, he felt a sense of questioning his own existence.
On the other side, as Lin Yu just walked out of the building, he heard people around him discussing, with his name faintly appearing. He perked up his ears.
In a short while, he understood.
"So, Zhao Ke avenged me!"
He fell into deep thought, smiling sweetly.
Just then, his shoulder suddenly felt a weight, and a delicate hand rested on it. Looking up, he saw Zhao Ke's cold and beautiful face.
"You're out?"
"Mm!"
"Let's go, we're having a meal!"
"Huh?"
Before Lin Yu could react, Zhao Ke had already pulled him outside.
Bai Xiaosa and two others accompanied them, following behind and watching the pair, covering their mouths and chuckling.
Seeing Lin Yu in such a predicament was immensely amusing to them; it was a rare sight.
Thus, Lin Yu was led to a private room in a restaurant outside the school!
They all took their seats, and Zhao Ke gestured for Lin Yu to sit at the head of the table.
Lin Yu said, "So, you guys even booked a private room!"
Bai Xiaosa laughed, "It's a welcome banquet for you. We were prepared long ago!"
Lin Yu said gratefully, "Thank you all for your help this time. Otherwise, I would have been forced to swallow this loss in silence."
Zhao Ke said, "Now you know the importance of cultivation, don't you? After dinner, you'll hunt with me tomorrow!"
"Ah?" Zhao Ke's expression was one of concern for him. If anyone else had adopted such a posture, Lin Yu would have found it extremely annoying, but Zhao Ke's demeanor filled him with warmth.
This time, Zhao Ke had dared to offend the principal for him; this was no small favor.
As for the others helping, a large part of their motivation was the life-saving grace he had shown them.
However, since they were willing to help, they were friends, indicating they were people who repaid kindness, and their character was indeed commendable.
Lin Yu spoke to them in a gentle tone, showing a desire to form friendships.
If it were yesterday, he wouldn't have bothered much with these people. Apart from Zhao Ke, the others were mere background characters, and Zhao Ke wouldn't have cared whether they existed or not.
But after today's events, he was deeply touched and decided to make friends with them.
They clinked glasses, drinking and chatting about life.
"To all of you, cheers!"
"Cheers!"
It was said that the easiest way to deepen bonds between men was to get drunk together, and Lin Yu wholeheartedly agreed.
They all became tipsy, linking arms, calling each other brothers, their camaraderie seemingly elevated to that of blood relatives.
Zhao Ke smiled, watching the four of them. She had the best alcohol tolerance, her Thunder Force tempering her entire body, giving her a superior physique, making her virtually immune to alcohol.
Each of the four picked up a skewer of roasted meat, held it in both hands, and facing the sky, bowed in unison.
"Today, we four become sworn brothers!"
"I'm the eldest brother!" Lin Yu slurred, drunk.
"I'm the second brother!" Bai Xiaosa hiccuped.
"I'm the third brother!" The slender, stern-looking young man, Feng Busi, tilted his head and declared firmly.
"I'm the fourth brother!" The slightly chubby, endearingly naive young man, Zhu Fei, half-supported by the table, one eye open and one closed, said.
"We don't ask to be born in the same year, same month, but we wish to live in the same year, same month~"
"Hic~" They all let out simultaneous hiccups and could no longer resist the intoxication, falling down with a thud, piled on top of each other like a human pyramid, still hiccupping.
"Hic~"
Zhao Ke shook her head and chuckled, looking at their state, "You started the brotherhood ceremony halfway, and this is also your destiny. I hope you can complete the remaining rituals in the future and become true brothers. Sigh, I still have to take you all back, honestly!"
Zhao Ke closed her eyes slightly, and her Thunder Force condensed, manifesting a phantom of the Thunder Emperor behind her.
This time, the Thunder Emperor was clearer. The Thunder Emperor opened its eyes and waved a hand gently. The lightning transformed into four long snakes that coiled around the waists of the four men. The lightning danced, carrying them as they floated in the air.
Zhao Ke thus walked out of the private room. The waiter, upon witnessing this scene, exclaimed in surprise. Looking at her face, he immediately guessed it was Zhao Ke.
Zhao Ke said, "Bai Xiaosa will settle the bill tomorrow!"
"Ah?" The waiter was momentarily stunned, then quickly reacted and said, "Okay, okay, it's charged to your account. Please take care."
Zhao Ke was incredibly swift, quickly sending the other three back.
Finally, she arrived at Lin Yu's home, searched him for his keys, and opened the door.
She laid Lin Yu on the bed and whispered, "Sleep well. We'll go out hunting tomorrow!"
She lowered her head slightly and gently kissed Lin Yu's forehead. Her face flushed, and she quickly turned and left.
Lin Yu mumbled groggily, "Drink, keep drinking!"
The night passed without incident, and dawn broke.
In the early morning, Lin Yu sat up, holding his heavy head.
The events of the previous night's drinking session slowly surfaced in his mind.
He smacked his head hard and cursed, "Drinking leads to trouble, it's too dangerous!"
"Fortunately, Zhao Ke was there, otherwise the consequences would have been unpredictable!" He felt a lingering fear, having just offended the Li family and being so careless. He didn't know how he would die in the future.
"Sigh, we almost became sworn brothers yesterday! What a mess!" Lin Yu felt a wave of embarrassment remembering the absurd things they had done.
They had mistaken roasted skewers for incense and almost sworn brotherhood?
The world truly was vast and full of wonders!
Fortunately, they had gained something. At least their relationship had moved a step closer!
Lin Yu shook his head, closed his eyes to rest, and the aftereffects of the hangover gradually subsided.
Suddenly, his wristband chimed.
Beep beep beep!!!
He opened his wristband to check and found a message from Zhao Ke.
"Come to the Awakened Guild immediately!"
"Okay!" Lin Yu then remembered that he had promised Zhao Ke yesterday that they would go hunting together today.
"Let's go! Target: Awakened Guild!"