True Solution of the Sword Dao
Chapter 295 - 280: Night 2

Chapter 295: Chapter 280: Night 2

It seems that this Zhang Minghui might belong to the pure martial artists who have truly transcended the limitations of Inner Strength. Inner Strength that has disappeared for many years, if it really has been successfully cultivated by him, or even if he has found a way to cultivate Inner Strength, perhaps the revitalization of martial artists truly won’t be a dream.

The family banquet was not yet over when Dong Yaofei and Lin Fei left the villa. Walking on the extremely spacious lawn outside, bursts of breeze carrying the scent of fresh grass blew on them, feeling somewhat chilly.

"Master, is there a way to quickly achieve a powerful Strength like you all have in a short period of time?" Dong Yaofei said helplessly. "As you have seen, I am indeed the least favored at home. If it were not for the strong influence of my family, I wouldn’t have any status outside either. Even my university admission was through connections and backdoor pulls."

"To obtain Strength without any effort, that’s impossible," Lin Fei said with a wry smile. "If such good things were so common, why would it be your turn?"

"Or rather, I can give up other things, besides hard work and time and energy, is there such a method?" Dong Yaofei also asked with a try-it-and-see attitude, after all, such thinking was far too idealistic.

"What do you need Strength for? Your family has powerful influence and can wield great Strength; you don’t need personal Strength at all."

"Master, do you really think I can’t see?" Dong Yaofei said with a bitter smile, "You, Brother Minghui, and the two who came over today, the way they look at us in their eyes, just like looking at ants. It’s a condescending gaze, as if they are fundamentally different from us. I can’t ignore it like my father and my two elder brothers do. In their eyes, I am good for nothing but causing trouble. To outsiders, our kind of life seems privileged, surely very happy, but in reality it’s not like what they think at all."

Lin Fei walked ahead, silent for a while before speaking.

"You just want more," she said.

"I know," Dong Yaofei replied, looking at Lin Fei expectantly.

Lin Fei turned around and glanced at him. "Once you step into this world, it’s a matter of life and death. You are not ready."

Dong Yaofei opened his mouth but said nothing more.

He had grown up in an extremely privileged environment, never lacking anything from birth, and enjoying top-level indulgences that others might strive their whole lives to possibly achieve only by a small chance. But all along, no matter how hard he tried, the powerful aura of his two elder brothers shrouded over him like two large mountains pressing down, rendering him immobile. His efforts were seen as taken for granted. His efforts were never recognized. He knew his brothers looked down on him; even their wives and children regarded him with disdain. The only people willing to associate with him were the more frivolous children from other families, no serious people. That was also why he valued Zhang Minghui and Lin Fei greatly. In his eyes, they were top-level individuals in his social circle, recognized and acknowledged by anyone.

"Father, grandfather, maternal grandfather, they’ve never looked at me properly. Both my father’s side and my mother’s side, the only one who truly treated me well. There were only one or two people." Dong Yaofei spoke calmly, "My cousin Zhao Ningruan, my brother-in-law Zhang Minghui."

Lin Fei shook her head slightly.

Zhang Minghui was a person who did not disdain anyone, regardless of how weak, influence-less, or lacking in potential the person was. He seemed to treat everyone equally, and perhaps even this equality, to Dong Yaofei, constituted a form of relative recognition and importance.

The only one who might truly have been good to him was Zhao Ningruan.

"Now Zhao Ningruan, because she often hangs around with me, has also started to be gossiped about by people from my maternal grandfather’s side. Even though she is still as good to me as ever and keeps encouraging me, I don’t want her to be affected by me anymore. I don’t want to let her down," Dong Yaofei said with a bit of melancholy.

Lin Fei watched him quietly, speechless for a moment.

*******************

Ping City

Lin You glanced at Chris sitting across from him, then at Merrill and Cheng Guang by his side, and finally at the unfamiliar woman sitting opposite the three of them.

The woman appeared to be in her early twenties, with delicate features and a good figure, dressed in a pale white office suit skirt, wrapped in thin transparent stockings, her feet neatly together as she sat quietly on the couch.

"Ding Ning??!!" Lin You immediately recognized the woman opposite him as the Ding Ning who had recently fallen into the Third Middle School.

"Good, it seems you remember me, Lin You, that makes things easier," Ding Ning said calmly. "Since I was transferred to the school, why have there been such frequent disturbances of Strength around the school centered on you, Lin You? I don’t know what you, a high school student, have actually encountered, but at your age..."

"Wait!" Merrill interrupted with her broken Chinese. "So, Teacher Ding Ning, you’re not an ordinary person either?"

Ding Ning glanced at Merrill. "Miss, it is very rude to interrupt others."

Their eyes met for an instant, and Merrill immediately nodded her head.

"All right, I admit I was impolite."

"Good," Ding Ning continued. "As you can see, I, Ding Ning, am just an ordinary school teacher. I am here only for the safety of my students and to address any negative impacts that might affect the school’s surroundings."

Lin You felt a headache coming on. His life was already chaotic enough without the sudden appearance of a teacher who seemed ordinary but was likely anything but simple.