Completely unaware, Qin Chuan took advantage of the free afternoon to do some training in the garden below his apartment complex.

Through this period of dual cultivation and training, he still had sixteen steps to go to reach the Middle Stage of Qi Cultivation.

Qin Chuan discovered that the closer he got to the bottleneck, the less effective dual cultivation became.

In the past, dual cultivation twice could generally push him forward one step.

But now, even after four times, he couldn't take a step forward.

"Am I going to end up exhausted to death in bed?"

Qin Chuan thought helplessly, both laughing and crying.

However, such matters cannot be rushed; the key to cultivation is to advance steadily, step by step. Otherwise, future bottlenecks will be even harder to break through.

With this in mind, Qin Chuan took out his phone and sent a message to Shi Qing.

"I wonder if she'll still remember what we planned the other day," Qin Chuan thought.

The other day, they had agreed that on the weekend, Shi Qing would help him buy another house and two cars.

But by the end of the conversation, Shi Qing had left him on the roadside.

He didn't know whether she had cooled off yet.

"Don't worry, I'm not someone like you who breaks promises. What I promised, I'll certainly do. I'll wait for you downstairs at your place at 8 a.m. tomorrow morning." Shi Qing quickly replied to his message.

However, there was still an air of resentment between the lines, clearly indicating she was still upset.

Sigh...

Qin Chuan sighed helplessly. It seemed like he would have to find an opportunity to have a good chat with Shi Qing tomorrow.

On the other side, after replying to Qin Chuan's message, Shi Qing tossed her phone aside in anger.

"Why are you taking it out on your phone? Did the phone offend you?" A middle-aged elegant woman sitting across from Shi Qing teased.

If Qin Chuan were here, he would surely recognize her as the Hall Master of the Tiger Hall in the Red Dragon Association, Meng Wantang.

"The phone didn't offend me, the person inside did. It's infuriating, like a stone in a latrine, both smelly and stubborn!" Shi Qing complained.

"To make our President Shi this angry, it seems this person is not simple.

Meng Wantang chuckled, teasingly asking, "A man?"

"Correction, a smelly man!" Shi Qing scoffed.

"Heh heh heh..."

Meng Wantang giggled, "I never thought I'd see the day when our typically uninterested-in-men President Shi would be vexed by one? If that got out, it would make headlines."

"Oh, stop it. I'm not worried about him. I'm just mad, and I feel like smashing his dumb head." Shi Qing feigned anger.

"You can fool me, but don't fool yourself. If he were really standing in front of you, I wonder if you could bear it." Meng Wantang teased.

"Let's not talk about men, it's annoying just to mention them."

Shi Qing ended the topic voluntarily, "What's the current stance of the Red Dragon Association on the Martial Arts competition?"

"A few days ago, several Hall Masters and I gathered together. The situation is likely even more serious than we imagined."

Meng Wantang stopped smiling and said seriously, "I initially thought only the Dog Hall was bought off, but after my observations, it's highly likely that the Rabbit, Snake, and Sheep Halls have also been infiltrated by Chu Hualong."

"What's the attitude of the other halls now?" Shi Qing asked.

"The Bull, Horse, and Pig Halls have ambiguous attitudes; they're likely fence-sitters. Only the Tiger, Dragon, Monkey, and Chicken Halls truly oppose." Meng Wantang replied.

"What about the Rat Hall?" Shi Qing noticed Meng Wantang hadn't mentioned the Rat Hall.

As the leader of the Red Dragon Twelve Halls, the Rat Hall has always been the most powerful.

At the same time, it's also the most mysterious, known as the brain of the Red Dragon Association.

Even Meng Wantang wasn't sure how many experts were in the Rat Hall.

All she knew was that even if the other eleven halls joined forces, they wouldn't dare to act rashly in front of the Rat Hall.

"To be honest, I haven't seen anyone from the Rat Hall for three years." Meng Wantang said solemnly.

"Three years? You haven't seen a single Rat Hall member?" Shi Qing asked, slightly surprised, as she was unaware of this Red Dragon Association secret.

However, she didn't blame Meng Wantang for keeping it from her.

If outsiders knew the Rat Hall had been missing for three years, the entire Red Dragon Association might collapse.

If a storm weren't impending, Meng Wantang probably wouldn't have revealed this information to her.

"Yes, not a single one."

Meng Wantang said seriously: "The reason that the Rabbit, Snake, Sheep, and Dog Halls opted to side with Chu Hualong is considerably due to this."

With the Rat Hall, the Red Dragon Association and without it are completely different forces.

Without the Rat Hall, the Red Dragon Association is, at best, a second-tier power in Jiangcheng, unable to contend with the other groups.

"No wonder Chu Hualong hasn't returned yet, but Xiang Dongsheng couldn't wait to switch sides." Shi Qing realized suddenly.

Then, she couldn't help but ask: "Since the Rat Hall is missing, doesn't that mean the Red Dragon Association has no one to stand against you at this Martial Arts competition?"

"I've discussed it with the three other Hall Masters of the Dragon, Monkey, and Chicken Halls. We'll send some people to participate, but ultimately, our strength is limited. Stopping Chu Hualong will still depend on your efforts." Meng Wantang said bluntly.

Shi Qing nodded, unable to resist muttering to herself: "In such a dangerous situation, I don't know what possessed that idiot to blindly dive in."

"The idiot you're talking about wouldn't happen to be Qin Chuan, would it?" Meng Wantang suspiciously stared at Shi Qing.

"Besides him, is there another idiot in the whole of Jiangcheng?" Shi Qing didn't conceal it.

Meng Wantang, upon hearing this, curled her lips into a knowing smile: "You seem quite concerned about him. How's it going between you two?"

Shi Qing's current state made Meng Wantang think of a young girl sulking with her boyfriend.

In the past, witnessing such a state in Shi Qing was as hard as climbing to the heavens.

But through their recent encounters, Meng Wantang noticed that Shi Qing was exuding more and more femininity.

"Concerned about him? Who, who's concerned about him? I'd love for someone to smash his head apart."

Shi Qing's eyes wandered, and her expression became unnatural.

"Qin Chuan is a good guy. You could really consider him." Meng Wantang teased.

"He's just a super invincible scumbag!"

Shi Qing feigned disdain, "He has so many women around him, they're almost enough for two Mahjong tables."

"It's true he has a lot of women, but he's also responsible."

Meng Wantang said earnestly: "Nowadays, what capable man doesn't have a few close female friends? If you really like him, just be a little more proactive. You're not a little girl anymore. It's time to think about yourself."

"Why are you so long-winded today, like an old lady?"

Shi Qing pouted, narrowing her eyes to scrutinize Meng Wantang, "And why do you keep speaking on behalf of Qin Chuan? Meng, could it be that you've also been charmed by that kid? Or is it..."

At this point, Shi Qing paused, then widened her eyes, "Have you already slept with him?"

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