Chapter 3: Su Youwei

The lecture hall fell silent for a moment as the young man in brocade suddenly spoke. Many of the students glanced at him, then quietly averted their eyes, knowing that this speaker's identity was far from ordinary.

The young man in brocade was named Xu Lin. His father was the Prefect of Zhenxi Commandery in the Great Zhou Dynasty. Of course, in terms of status, he was far inferior to Zhou Yuan, a prince of the Great Zhou Dynasty. But everyone knew that Xu Lin's backer was Qi Yue, the Young Prince of the Qi Royal Estate.

Zhou Yuan glanced at Xu Lin, lightly tapped the table with a finger, and then casually withdrew his gaze. This fellow would stop at nothing to curry favor with Qi Yue.

"Xu Lin is so eager to please Qi Yue... his father must have joined King Qi's faction then..." Zhou Yuan's eyes deepened. He had heard his father, King Zhou Qing, say that King Qi was backed by the Great Wu Dynasty. For years, King Qi had been secretly stirring up trouble within the Great Zhou Dynasty, clearly not wanting them to have peace.

Out of fear of the Great Wu Dynasty, and to avoid giving them an excuse to attack the Great Zhou Dynasty, Zhou Qing could not directly confront King Qi openly. However, there had naturally been covert struggles between them. Because of this relationship, Qi Yue, who also studied at the Great Zhou Academy, naturally had frequent friction with Zhou Yuan.

Seeing that Zhou Yuan remained silent, the mockery on Xu Lin's lips deepened. Just as he was about to speak again, the lecturer suddenly glared fiercely, forcing him to shut his mouth. Being expelled from the Great Zhou Academy would be a significant loss for him.

As the two settled down, the atmosphere in the lecture hall gradually returned to normal. The lecturer continued explaining the three source patterns until the bell rang two incense sticks later.

"Alright, that's all for today. We'll continue tomorrow." The lecturer packed his things and left the hall.

With the lecturer's departure, the tense atmosphere in the hall immediately relaxed. Many young men and women gathered together, erupting in lively laughter and chatter.

Zhou Yuan also haphazardly packed his desk, preparing to leave.

"Your Highness."

As he was packing, a soft voice suddenly sounded. Zhou Yuan looked up and saw a girl smiling at him by his desk.

The girl wore the Great Zhou Academy's uniform. Though somewhat loose, it still outlined her well-developed figure, and her simple trousers accentuated her long, straight legs. Her skin was fair and delicate, her nose elegantly upturned, and her willow eyebrows framed almond-shaped eyes, making her a rare beauty. Notably, a tear mole at the corner of her eye added a unique charm. Her rosy lips were gently pursed. Though she wore no expensive jewelry and appeared rather plain, she exuded a sense of quiet strength. Her long hair was tied into a lively ponytail.

Simply standing there, she secretly drew the gaze of many young men in the hall.

Zhou Yuan looked at the bright and charming girl before him, and a smile appeared on his slightly scholarly face. "It's Youwei."

The girl's surname was Su, and her given name was Youwei.

Meeting Zhou Yuan's gaze, the girl named Su Youwei's pretty face flushed slightly. She then averted her eyes, looking at Zhou Yuan's cluttered desk, and knelt down, pursing her lips. "Your Highness, let me help you pack."

Zhou Yuan smiled and did not refuse, as their relationship was indeed unusual.

So, the girl busied herself by Zhou Yuan's desk, neatly organizing all his messy belongings. This drew the heated gazes of many young men in the hall, who stared at Zhou Yuan with visible envy.

"Is your grandfather's illness completely gone?" Zhou Yuan asked, resting his chin on his palm, watching the busy girl.

Hearing Zhou Yuan's words, Su Youwei lifted her pretty face. With a delicate hand, she tucked a wisp of dark hair that had fallen across her eyes, and a smile appeared on her cheek.

"Yes, he's all better now. Grandpa said if you have time, he'd like to invite Your Highness to our home, but it's too dilapidated, I'm afraid..."

"No worries, I'll go next time there's a holiday," Zhou Yuan said with a smile.

Hearing Zhou Yuan's unhesitating reply, Su Youwei gently bit her rosy lip, her eyes looking at him. A glimmer of moisture flashed within them before she quickly lowered her head, afraid he might notice.

She still remembered the day she met Zhou Yuan a year ago. That might have been her most desperate day, yet it was also the day hope began to arrive.

On that day, her grandfather, with whom she had lived since childhood, fell seriously ill. Their already dilapidated family instantly collapsed. She braved the torrential rain, carrying her grandfather on her small back. Lacking money, she could only kneel in the downpour before one pharmacy after another, crying and pleading, hoping the doctors inside would save her grandfather. At that time, she was covered in mud and utterly disheveled.

In the end, all the pharmacies remained coldly closed. Under the heavy rain, she felt as if the entire sky had darkened, and her heart was as cold as ice. Just as she was about to become numb with despair, she felt someone walk up to her, place an umbrella in her hand, and then, in her unfocused gaze, step forward and violently kick open the tightly shut pharmacy door.

At that moment, a cold voice seemed to emanate from there: "Open the door, save him!"

The one who kicked open the pharmacy door was, of course, Zhou Yuan. At that time, Su Youwei stared blankly at his back. In the past, she most disliked such pampered young masters, but at that moment, she felt that the back of the young man who kicked open the door was one she might never forget until her dying day.

And from that day on, she came to know Zhou Yuan. Later, she learned his identity: the Prince of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Later, by chance, Zhou Yuan discovered her talent for cultivation, so he recommended her to the Great Zhou Academy. From then on, she underwent a tremendous transformation. In just her first month at the Great Zhou Academy, she successfully opened her first meridian, becoming the fastest person to open a meridian since the academy's founding, thus earning the title of "genius" among the students.

Suddenly going from unnoticed to the center of attention, Su Youwei felt a bit uncomfortable. Sometimes, people who disapproved of her relationship with Zhou Yuan would secretly say that Zhou Yuan only helped her because he was attracted to her beauty. But Su Youwei merely smiled at this, because only she knew how dirty and scrawny she had been when she first met Zhou Yuan.

"Hey, how tall are you going to stack my books?" Zhou Yuan watched Su Youwei helplessly. She was clearly a bit distracted at the moment, stacking his desk books into a towering pillar like a human pyramid.

"Ah?" Su Youwei snapped back to reality. Seeing her masterpiece, her small face immediately turned crimson. She quickly put them down. "Your Highness, I'm sorry, I'll tidy them again!"

Her appearance in this state made her even cuter, and the surrounding gazes directed at Zhou Yuan immediately turned much fiercer. One could imagine that if not for fear of Zhou Yuan's princely status, they would have long since rushed forward to "rescue their goddess."

"You're so pretty now, I don't dare to order you around," Zhou Yuan muttered softly, noticing those gazes, shaking his head.

Su Youwei heard this and let out a soft laugh. "Then should I put something on my face to make myself uglier?"

Zhou Yuan could only roll his eyes at that.

"Oh, right..." Zhou Yuan tapped the table with his finger. "How many meridians have you opened now?"

Su Youwei paused, looked at Zhou Yuan, and then cautiously replied, "My third meridian." She knew that Zhou Yuan, due to certain reasons, had seemingly been unable to open his meridians for cultivation. So, whenever they were together, she never proactively brought up the topic of meridian opening or boasted about her progress, fearing she might hurt Zhou Yuan's feelings.

"Your third meridian? At this rate, you'll probably open all eight meridians in another year or two," Zhou Yuan praised. Su Youwei's talent in cultivation was clearly exceptional; in less than a year, she had achieved what others took several years to accomplish. This made him particularly proud. It seemed he had inadvertently picked up a treasure.

"The grand examination is in two months. Work hard to open your fourth meridian and aim for a top ten spot in the exam. That spot, I worked incredibly hard to get for you. As long as you make it into the top ten, you'll receive personal guidance from the Prefect and others, which will greatly benefit you," Zhou Yuan said.

Su Youwei's small hands, which were tidying the desk, stiffened slightly. She lowered her head, hesitant to look at Zhou Yuan.

"What's wrong?" Zhou Yuan asked, sensing her change.

Su Youwei's face was almost buried in her chest. She whispered, "I... I don't have that spot anymore."

Zhou Yuan was stunned, then his brows furrowed. "What happened?"

His tone wasn't harsh, but it made Su Youwei's heart beat faster. She bit her rosy lip tightly, unable to speak for a long time. It was another girl, a friend of Su Youwei's, who interjected, "It's all Xu Lin! The other day, he was slandering you all over the academy. Youwei argued with him and asked him to apologize. That guy said if Youwei fought him and won, he'd apologize. But if she lost, she'd have to give him her exam spot."

Zhou Yuan frowned deeply. "But Xu Lin has only opened two meridians. He shouldn't be able to beat Youwei, right?"

The girl pouted. "Youwei only opened her third meridian recently. And that Xu Lin, he's utterly shameless. He relied on the advantage of a source weapon and only managed to win against Youwei by sheer luck."

Zhou Yuan's expression was not good. He stared at Su Youwei, who had her head down, and chided, "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

Su Youwei wrung her delicate hands together and whispered, "I was useless. I didn't want to cause Your Highness any more trouble."

Seeing her like this, Zhou Yuan felt a pang of heartache. This girl, when she was stubborn, could also be a headache. So, his gaze, containing a hint of coldness, turned towards Xu Lin, who had been grinning and watching them from across the hall.

"Setting a trap to bully a girl, Xu Lin, you certainly have fine methods, don't you?" Zhou Yuan sneered. This fellow clearly coveted the exam spot in Su Youwei's possession, so he deliberately set a trap to provoke Su Youwei into a fight over the spot.

Xu Lin said lazily, "I don't know what Your Highness is talking about. So many people saw it. I won that spot fair and square with my skill. So even if Your Highness personally asks for it, I won't give it back."

Zhou Yuan said indifferently, "Do you dare to fight again?"

Xu Lin chuckled. "No interest." Last time was just luck, and now that Su Youwei had opened three meridians, he wouldn't stand a chance against her.

Zhou Yuan glanced at Xu Lin and sneered, "I didn't say you should fight Youwei. I said, fight me!" With that, he pulled out a faintly glowing jade pendant from his pocket, placed it on the desk, and said, "If you win, this Origin Gathering Jade is yours."

The hall immediately erupted in gasps of surprise. Many eyes gazed covetously at the jade pendant. This kind of Origin Gathering Jade was beneficial for cultivation; wearing it for an extended period could accelerate the process of opening the eight meridians, and it was quite valuable.

"Your Highness!" Su Youwei also cried out in alarm. She wasn't worried about the Origin Gathering Jade but about Zhou Yuan fighting Xu Lin himself. Zhou Yuan hadn't even opened a single meridian, how could he be a match for Xu Lin, who had opened two?

Zhou Yuan waved his hand at Su Youwei, playing with the jade pendant, and smiled at Xu Lin, his smile laced with sarcasm. "Now, do you dare?"

Xu Lin's eyes gleamed hotly at the Origin Gathering Jade. He licked his lips, then sneered at Zhou Yuan. "Since Your Highness insists on giving me this Origin Gathering Jade, then I would be remiss to refuse."

"However, fights have no eyes. If Your Highness gets hurt later, please don't blame me." Although curious about Zhou Yuan's actions, Xu Lin didn't believe that he, a person with two opened meridians, couldn't beat someone who hadn't opened any!

"I hope you have the skill," Zhou Yuan said noncommittally.

Xu Lin laughed loudly, dismissing Zhou Yuan's words as mere bravado. He swung his robe and headed outside, his low laughter, tinged with amusement and mockery, echoing back from a distance. "Good, I'll wait for Your Highness at the training grounds. I'd like to see how Your Highness wins that spot back today!"

**Chapter 4: The Power of Source Patterns**

**Great Zhou Academy, Training Grounds.**

Rows of training platforms stood tall, where many young men shouted and sparred, their punches and kicks creating powerful gusts of wind, displaying considerable might. Below, numerous spectators cheered from time to time, including quite a few youthful and beautiful girls whose sparkling eyes attracted the young men on the platforms, making them even more eager to show off and gain attention. In the Great Zhou Academy, the training grounds were clearly quite popular.

As Xu Lin slowly ascended one of the training platforms, the news of his impending fight with Zhou Yuan, manipulated by him in secret, had already spread throughout the entire training grounds.

"What? Prince Zhou Yuan is going to fight Xu Lin?!"

"How is that possible! Prince Zhou Yuan hasn't opened any meridians yet, while Xu Lin has already opened two!"

"This Xu Lin is truly bullying people. He must have used some despicable trick to force Prince Zhou Yuan."

When many students heard this news, they immediately erupted in incredulous exclamations. Some commoner students even voiced their indignation for Zhou Yuan, simply because such a match was far too unfair.

For those who had opened meridians, with each meridian opened, their physical capabilities improved significantly. Their strength, speed, and reaction time far surpassed those who had not opened any. It could be said without exaggeration that someone who had opened one meridian could easily defeat dozens of people who had not.

Xu Lin stood on the platform, hearing these voices, and merely smiled faintly. No matter what others said, after today, the news of Zhou Yuan being thoroughly beaten by him would undoubtedly spread throughout the Great Zhou Academy, which would undoubtedly deal a blow to the latter's reputation and turn him into a laughingstock.

As Xu Lin's ill-intentioned thoughts churned, the dense crowd surrounding his training platform suddenly parted. A slender young man was seen walking leisurely towards them.

The young man appeared somewhat thin and scholarly, possessing a gentle and refined demeanor, looking almost like a frail scholar. This was, of course, Zhou Yuan.

Amidst the varied expressions of those around him, Zhou Yuan walked directly towards the training platform where Xu Lin stood.

"Your Highness." Behind him, Su Youwei followed with an anxious expression on her pretty face, clearly still wanting Zhou Yuan to reconsider fighting Xu Lin.

"At this point, I can't back down, or I'd become a prince who flees battle," Zhou Yuan said with a smile to Su Youwei.

Su Youwei stopped, biting her rosy lip tightly. She knew that if Zhou Yuan were to bear such a reputation, it would be a huge blow to his prestige.

Su Youwei lifted her pretty face, her beautiful eyes fixed on Xu Lin on the training platform. In that instant, her eyes narrowed slightly, implicitly revealing a hint of sharpness.

"Your Highness, I failed this time and caused you trouble. In the future, I won't be careless, and I won't show any more mercy," Su Youwei whispered. She had lost to Xu Lin partly because she hadn't struck with full force. Otherwise, Xu Lin wouldn't even have had the chance to use his source weapon. But this lesson taught her that if you don't strike a snake at its vital point, it will bite back.

Zhou Yuan paused, then winked at Su Youwei. "We're friends. It's only right to help friends with some trouble." As his words fell, he had already stepped onto the training platform.

Su Youwei watched his retreating figure, a faint smile on her face, warmth flowing through her heart. Then she lowered her eyes, having made up her mind that if Xu Lin dared to injure Zhou Yuan, she would make sure he understood the resentment and retaliation of a young woman.

"Oh, Your Highness actually dared to come. I thought you'd sneak back to the palace," Xu Lin said, watching Zhou Yuan approach, a mocking smile on his face.

"You seem very confident in yourself," Zhou Yuan said, gently adjusting his sleeves.

"I didn't expect even Your Highness to be so impetuous for a beautiful woman, though it's a bit irrational," Xu Lin shrugged, clearly mistaking Zhou Yuan's impulsive behavior as an attempt to win Su Youwei's favor.

"Let's begin," Zhou Yuan said, having no desire for further idle talk. He spread his feet, grounding himself like an old tree, then beckoned to Xu Lin, saying, "You can attack first."

At these words, the many young men and women around the training platform exchanged bewildered glances, unable to fathom what Zhou Yuan was thinking. Though clearly at a disadvantage, he remained so reckless.

"Since Your Highness is so eager to be humiliated, I won't hold back." Being so lightly regarded by Zhou Yuan, a surge of anger welled up in Xu Lin's heart. With a cold laugh, he stomped his foot, and his figure shot forward like an arrow. His five fingers clenched into a fist, and he threw a direct punch at Zhou Yuan. This punch carried a rush of air and immense power; even a stone would crack under it.

Facing the incoming heavy punch, Zhou Yuan did not dodge. Instead, he crossed his arms in front of him, adopting a defensive posture. However, this stance caused expressions of pity to appear on the faces of the onlookers below. With Xu Lin's physical capabilities, having opened two meridians, this punch could likely break Zhou Yuan's bones.

Under the gaze of many tense eyes, Xu Lin descended like a fierce tiger from a mountain, his aggressive punch striking Zhou Yuan's crossed arms with full force, holding nothing back.

A dull thud echoed, and as expected, everyone saw Zhou Yuan's feet slide several meters across the ground before he barely managed to stabilize himself.

A scream erupted. But it wasn't Zhou Yuan who made it; it was Xu Lin, who had just unleashed that powerful punch.

Everyone stared at this scene, dumbfounded. Xu Lin clutched his fist, screaming continuously. His entire fist was bright red, as if he had punched solid steel.

"You! What did you hide in your sleeve?! Despicable!" Xu Lin yelled at Zhou Yuan, tears of pain welling in his eyes.

The surrounding gazes also turned to Zhou Yuan in astonishment. Could His Highness be using underhanded tricks?

Amidst the murmuring gazes, Zhou Yuan slowly pulled up his sleeves. Then, everyone saw a complex luminous pattern on his forearms. The pattern emitted a faint black glow, spreading out and finally covering Zhou Yuan's forearms, making his skin appear like black iron, incredibly hard.

"This..." Many students stared in shock at the complex luminous pattern. Finally, someone suddenly exclaimed, "That's the Iron Skin Pattern the lecturer taught earlier!"

Everyone suddenly understood. It was a source pattern! Su Youwei's tense heart also relaxed at this moment, letting out a sigh of relief. She playfully chided, "So Your Highness can already engrave source patterns onto his body."

"You, you actually engraved source patterns onto your body?!" Xu Lin also came to his senses. He looked at the black source patterns on Zhou Yuan's forearms, somewhat incredulous. Although he had seen Zhou Yuan engrave the Iron Skin Pattern on a jade tablet earlier in the hall, engraving it on the body required proficiency in the location of acupuncture points and even meridians to avoid harming the body with the source pattern. Therefore, engraving source patterns on the body was far more difficult than on a jade tablet. But while they couldn't even engrave source patterns on a jade tablet, Zhou Yuan had already begun to apply them in practice... the difference was not small at all.

"Did you really think that just because I haven't opened my meridians, I'm utterly defenseless?" Zhou Yuan smiled.

Xu Lin's face was ashen, filled with the anger of being played. He immediately said coldly, "Do you really think you can win against me today just with an Iron Skin Pattern?"

"Now, let me show you the difference between someone who has opened meridians and someone who hasn't!"

"Open Meridian!" As Xu Lin's roar subsided, faint streams of light suddenly appeared around his body. The dust at his feet swirled, and the Source Qi in the air flowed into his body with his breathing.

Whoosh, whoosh. His entire robe billowed and flapped loudly. A faint glow appeared on the surface of his skin, and everyone could clearly feel Xu Lin's aura surging at this moment.

Many students' expressions subtly changed. At this moment, Source Qi was flowing within Xu Lin's body, and as the Source Qi circulated through his meridians, it would undoubtedly cause his strength and speed to greatly increase.

As many students watched with grave expressions, Zhou Yuan also stared at Xu Lin, muttering to himself, "Two opened meridians, huh..."

"I let you attack first. Now, it's my turn." The moment the words left his lips, Zhou Yuan's foot stomped down, and his body shot directly towards Xu Lin.

"Arrogant! Right now, your speed, strength, and physical condition are less than one-tenth of mine, yet you still dare to attack?" Xu Lin sneered as he watched Zhou Yuan charge.

"Is that so?" Zhou Yuan's lips seemed to curve into a smile.

The next moment, a faint light suddenly appeared around his ankles, with faint patterns visibly extending. Zhou Yuan's body seemed to become much lighter at this moment, his speed suddenly soaring as he dashed forward like a cheetah.

"That's... that's the Light Body Pattern!" Someone with sharp eyes spotted the patterns on Zhou Yuan's ankles and immediately shrieked.

And as they shrieked, Zhou Yuan, who was now very close to Xu Lin, suddenly shook his shoulder violently. A faint light emanated from beneath his clothes. Although it wasn't clear, everyone could distinctly feel that the punch Zhou Yuan threw at this moment was imbued with a crude, raw power.

"Brute Ox Pattern!" Another shriek arose. Iron Skin Pattern, Light Body Pattern, Brute Ox Pattern!

At this point, even Su Youwei couldn't help but cover her mouth, her pretty face filled with disbelief, because in those mere few seconds, Zhou Yuan had successively activated three source patterns. This meant that all three source patterns taught by the lecturer had been completely mastered by Zhou Yuan and were even being used on himself.

Under the gaze of many onlookers, Zhou Yuan, having successively activated three source patterns, struck Xu Lin with a powerful punch. Xu Lin's eyes widened in horror as the punch landed swiftly and heavily on his body.

With the assistance of these three source patterns, Zhou Yuan's speed, strength, and physical condition were clearly no weaker than Xu Lin's. So, when the punch landed, Xu Lin felt a surge of immense force. Then, his body flew directly outwards, crashing heavily onto the ground outside the training platform.

Outside the training platform, the previous commotion now fell silent. Many young men and women stared at Zhou Yuan on the platform with incredible gazes. No one had expected such a result from this fight.

On the training platform, Zhou Yuan slowly retracted his fist. The luminous patterns on his arm seemed to have exhausted their power and quickly disappeared. He rubbed his wrist, then jumped off the platform, reaching into Xu Lin's pocket and pulling out a jade tablet—it was the very one representing the grand examination spot.

"You couldn't even beat someone who hasn't opened any meridians. You might as well not go to the grand examination and embarrass yourself," Zhou Yuan said with a smile to Xu Lin, who was staring fixedly at him.

Hearing this, and feeling the numerous mocking gazes around him, Xu Lin's chest tightened. He finally couldn't hold back a mouthful of blood, which he spat out, then his vision went black, and he fainted directly. He knew that starting tomorrow, he would probably become the newest laughingstock among the many students of the Great Zhou Academy.