Royal palace.

　　"Great, great, Yuan'er is truly the dragon of our Zhou clan!"

　　At the dining table, there was a healthy radiant glow on Zhou Qing's face while his usually sterness was replaced by unconcealable happiness. He beamed as he looked towards Zhou Yuan and chuckled, "You might not know but Chu Tianyang specially made a trip to the palace and praised you a whole lot."

　　Evidently, he was aware of Zhou Yuan's performance in the newcomer exam today.

　　By the side, Qin Yu was practically glowing as she looked at Zhou Yuan, her eyes similarly filled with joy.

　　Zhou Yuan ate his food and merely smiled in response to Zhou Qing's and Qin Yu's praise as he said, "It's only a newcomer exam. The important one is the cla.s.s ranking exam at the end of the year."

　　Zhou Qing nodded upon hearing this and gleefully said, "No arrogance after victory. Brat, your years of suffering have not been in vain."

　　"The year-end cla.s.s ranking exam is indeed very important."

　　Zhou Qing slowly continued, "Qi Manor has been eyeing the Great Zhou Inst.i.tute and have secretly schemed for a long time. If they are allowed to take the number one spot in the year-end cla.s.s ranking exam again, I'm afraid that they will begin to make things difficult."

　　Cold light flashed in Zhou Qing's eyes. It was clear that he hated Qi Manor to the extreme.

　　Qin Yu tenderly looked at Zhou Yuan and said in a somewhat hesitant manner, "But that Qi Yue has already opened six meridian channels and will likely become even stronger by the end of the year. Yuan'er's starting point is much later than his…"

　　To make up for the gap between them, Zhou Yuan had to put in a tremendous amount of hard work.

　　Contrary to expectation, Zhou Yuan's expression remained undisturbed. He smiled at Qin Yu and said, "Don't worry mother and father. I will not let them have their way."

　　Due to being unable to locate his meridian channels, the past him could only hide beneath his father's wings. Now that he was able to cultivate, Zhou Yuan would naturally give his best effort to share some of the pressure his father was facing.

　　He clearly understood how dangerous the current situation was for Great Zhou.

　　Zhou Qing and Qin Yu felt gratified when they saw Zhou Yuan's sensibility. However, the feelings of self-blame and heartache were greater. If they had realised king Wu's plot in advance back then, Great Zhou would not have fallen to such a state and Zhou Yuan would not have to shoulder these burdens at his tender age.

　　Zhou Yuan sensed Zhou Qing's and Qin Yu's gloomy moods and immediately changed the topic. "Truthfully speaking, my success in the exam is mostly thanks to big sis Yaoyao's guidance."

　　By the side, when the silently dining Yaoyao with Tuntun on her lap heard these words, her gaze lightly swept across Zhou Yuan as if unhappy that he had s.h.i.+fted the attention to her.

　　Zhou Qing nodded upon hearing this and smiled. "Miss Yaoyao is indeed our benefactor. Come, I'll toast a cup to you."

　　The moment he said this, Qin Yu's displeased glare arrived. In her eyes, Yaoyao was still a young girl and Zhou Qing's actions were practically leading her astray.

　　However, before she could speak, the eyes of the originally silent Yaoyao brightened slightly as she raised her wine cup and drained it in a single gulp.

　　Zhou Qing was stunned. He glanced at Qin Yu, seeing her displeased gaze and awkwardly laughed before quickly finis.h.i.+ng the wine in his cup. After which, he no longer dared to speak of toasting.

　　 …

　　Qi Manor.

　　An oil lamp burned within a study, spreading dusky yellow light.

　　A middle-aged man in yellow robes sat upright behind a desk, expressionless as he flipped through the books. A cold and stern aura rose from between his brows, while a faint pressure spread outwards, causing no one to dare to underestimate this individual.

　　Qi Yue stood in front of the desk, his hands hanging by his side while his face respectful.

　　"You say that crippled prince is now able to engage in channel opening cultivation?" After a long silence, the middle-aged man in yellow finally s.h.i.+fted his gaze away from his books and dully said.