Junior Brother Pays Respect to You: Chapter 7 - Friendly Relations, Part 2

June 12, 2025 Oyen 0 Comments

Happy Reading~

Chapter 7: Friendly Relations, Part 2

 

Qin Zheng clenched his fists, tightened them, then loosened them again. He took a deep breath and finally held back the urge to hit someone.

 

While still being hugged, he said each word slowly and clearly: “Morning class is about to start. If you're late, Master will punish you, and then you'll drag me down with you.”

 

“So, stand properly! Once I fix your clothes, I’ll take you to class.”

 

Whether it was fear of their master's punishment or worry about implicating his senior brother, Qin Su obediently let go of Qin Zheng and returned to his original position.

 

Qin Zheng symbolically tidied his junior’s clothes and then pretended to inspect his appearance. He slowly backed away toward the table holding the buns, putting a safe distance between them, and finally nodded.

 

“Alright, you’re good. Follow me.”

 

Qin Su stood obediently on the bed watching his senior brother, only to realize he was already turning toward the door. He quickly jumped off the bed, put on his shoes, and chased after him.

 

As he passed the table, he couldn’t help but glance at the buns his senior had made for him. Then he turned to look at the person who was about to step out the door.

 

Suddenly, one of the buns floated out of the plate and landed directly in Qin Su’s hand.

 

With the bun in hand, he immediately ran to the door, afraid his senior brother would disappear if he stepped out.

 

Qin Zheng, hoping to avoid any more unreasonable requests from Qin Su, turned and made to leave, expecting Qin Su to follow on his own.

 

Fortunately, Qin Su didn’t throw a tantrum like many children would.

 

When Qin Zheng heard the sound of someone jumping down behind him, he secretly let out a breath of relief and walked out without hesitation.

 

If Qin Su had acted spoiled and demanded to be carried, Qin Zheng wasn’t sure he could’ve managed it.

 

The footsteps behind him grew closer.

 

Qin Zheng couldn’t help but smile to himself: Seems like the kid runs pretty fast.

 

Just as he was feeling a little pleased, something warm and soft grabbed his hand.

 

Qin Zheng stopped and looked down—it was Qin Su. One hand held a bun, the other was grasping his.

 

When he saw Qin Zheng look down at him, Qin Su gave a big, bright smile.

 

Qin Zheng moved his fingers slightly but ultimately didn’t shake off the boy’s hand.

 

Holding hands—he could tolerate that. Besides, the whole reason he came here was to build a good relationship with this person. If he couldn’t even handle this, then how could he talk about getting along?

 

Children tend to be clingy—grit your teeth and bear it. Just one month.

 

So Qin Zheng held Qin Su’s hand all the way to the Sanqing Hall.

 

By now, the hall was already filled with many fellow disciples.

 

When Qin Zheng entered the hall with Qin Su in tow, the lively chatter among the disciples immediately ceased. They all turned to look at him, and then a flurry of whispered conversations broke out again.

 

They weren’t even trying to keep their voices down, so Qin Zheng could clearly hear what they were saying.

 

“What’s going on with Qin Zheng today? He actually came in holding hands with the new kid.”

 

“Doesn’t he usually hate kids the most? Every younger disciple here has been bullied by him at some point.”

 

“Maybe it’s because the new kid is good-looking?”

 

Qin Zheng ignored them and led Qin Su straight to the front of the hall.

 

As the head disciple of the sect leader, he naturally stood at the front. Behind him was Qin Shuang, whom he had chased off earlier. Surprisingly, Qin Shuang wasn’t angry about that incident—instead, he stared in astonishment at the two hands that were still joined.

 

Once Qin Zheng stopped, Qin Shuang lowered his voice and asked, “Did something happen to you? Why are you treating the junior so well?”

 

Qin Zheng glanced at him with a cold smile. “I think I treat you quite well too.”

 

That gave Qin Shuang goosebumps.

 

The disciples sat in two rows. On Qin Zheng’s left was Qin Ke, the head disciple of the elder master.

 

Since Qin Su was the second disciple, he stood behind Qin Shuang. At this moment, Qin Zheng was more than happy to let Qin Shuang take care of him.

 

Shaking out the hand Qin Su had finally let go of, Qin Zheng felt a wave of relief.

 

Not long after Qin Zheng sat down, the sect leader entered the hall with the elder master.

 

As he passed by Qin Zheng, he nodded in satisfaction before ascending to the platform.

 

“Today, we won’t be learning anything new. Instead, I will test the level of cultivation you have achieved so far.”

 

As he finished speaking, with a wave of his hand, a previously empty space at the front of the hall now held a low table—probably to accommodate the younger disciples.

 

On it was a pile of messy stones, seemingly ordinary with nothing special about them.

 

Pointing to the stones, the sect leader explained, “Some of these stones have been infused with spiritual energy; some have not. Among those that do, the amount of energy varies. Close your eyes and, using your cultivation, choose one stone from the table. The amount of energy in the stone you select will reflect the strength of your spiritual power.”

 

“If your cultivation is strong enough, you’ll move on to the next phase of training. If not, you’ll continue in the current stage.”

 

As soon as he said this, the disciples in the hall exploded into murmurs.

 

“The test results will be announced immediately. I hope everyone will cultivate diligently in the future and not slack off.”

 

“Alright, who wants to go first?”

 

As soon as the sect leader finished speaking, the hall suddenly fell silent.

 

The lazy ones were afraid of being exposed too early, and the diligent ones were worried they hadn’t been diligent enough.

 

In the end, it was Qin Ke who stood up first.

 

“Sect Leader, I’ll go.”

 

The elder master glanced at Qin Ke and nodded in satisfaction.

 

Qin Ke closed his eyes while still at his seat and walked confidently toward the table in front of the hall. Without hesitation, he reached out and picked up a stone before opening his eyes.

 

He handed the stone to the sect leader, who examined it and said with a smile, “Not bad, not bad. Qin Ke’s cultivation has already reached the mid-stage of the second tier. It looks like he can advance directly to second-tier cultivation.”

 

The results drew gasps of admiration from the other disciples.

 

The Tianque Sect follows a tradition of cultivating toward becoming an unbound immortal. Before achieving that, one must pass through seven stages, each divided into beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels. Each level is cultivated in a different place.

 

So much time had passed that Qin Zheng, who hadn’t cared much as a child, could barely remember the details. He only recalled that it had taken him a long time to go from beginner to intermediate in the first stage.

 

Before being expelled from the sect, he had only just managed to reach the second tier.

 

This made him involuntarily glance up at Qin Ke with a hint of envy—only to see Qin Ke, as he stepped down, flashing him a provocative look.

 

Qin Zheng shrugged innocently.

 

After Qin Ke's result was announced, no one else volunteered to go.

 

The sect leader scanned the hall.

 

“Since no one’s stepping up, we’ll go in order,” he said, then looked at Qin Zheng. “Qin Zheng, we’ll start with you.”

 

Being called by name, Qin Zheng stood up reluctantly. It wasn’t that he was afraid of embarrassment—he simply knew himself too well. Every time he got tested, he ended up having to stand as punishment until everyone else finished. That had been his experience for the past thirty years.

 

Qin Zheng closed his eyes, walked to the table, and focused all his senses to find a stone. Finally, among the pile, he sensed one giving off a faint glow and reached out to grab it.

 

Once it was in hand, he opened his eyes and respectfully walked up to the sect leader to present it.

 

The sect leader took the stone, examined it, and his eyebrows instantly furrowed into a deep scowl. He angrily tossed the stone to the elder master beside him. “You announce it,” he said, then turned and sat back in his seat.

 

The elder master looked at the stone in his hand and announced, “Qin Zheng, early stage of the first tier.”

 

The moment the result was announced, laughter erupted in the hall—even Qin Shuang, who was usually closest to him, was chuckling.

 

Qin Zheng casually swept his gaze across the room. When his eyes met Qin Su’s, he found that he was the only one still looking at him seriously. Qin Zheng quickly looked away and strolled down the steps as if entirely unaffected.

 

Just as he was about to sit down, his master’s voice rang out: “Stand to the side! Stay there until someone shows a lower cultivation than you!”

 

Qin Zheng’s relaxed expression immediately fell, and he obediently went to stand off to the side.

 

Next was Qin Shuang. He, too, closed his eyes and walked straight to the table with confidence—his bearing not much different from Qin Ke’s.

 

He quickly picked up a stone and handed it to the elder master.

 

After examining it, the elder said with a serious tone, “Qin Shuang, beginner stage of the second tier. You may proceed to second-tier cultivation.”

 

This result pleased the still-annoyed sect leader, who gave Qin Shuang a look of approval.

 

Qin Zheng sighed inwardly: Who would’ve thought Qin Shuang, who always seems unserious, was actually so skilled?

 

He glanced at Qin Ke and noticed that he too looked shocked, eyes filled with a hint of cold hostility as he watched Qin Shuang walk calmly back to his seat.

 

Now it was Qin Su’s turn.

 

Qin Zheng searched his memory but couldn’t recall what result the sect leader’s junior brother had received in the past.

 

The elder master looked at Qin Su and turned to the sect leader for guidance. “Sect Leader, Qin Su just joined the sect yesterday and hasn’t begun cultivation. Should we skip him for now?”

 

The sect leader shook his head. “Qin Su is my personal disciple—I’d like to see his cultivation. I have enchanted these stones. Even a mortal can pick something up from them, let alone someone I personally selected.”

 

Since the sect leader had spoken, everyone now waited for Qin Su to step forward.

 

But at that moment, Qin Su had his eyes fixed solely on his senior brother standing off to the side and showed no signs of moving.

 

Qin Shuang, sitting in front, turned around curiously and softly reminded, “Junior Brother, go ahead and close your eyes. Pick something you like from the table.” 

 

Qin Su glanced at Qin Shuang, then at the table, then finally looked at Qin Zheng. He obediently closed his eyes.

 

He stood from his seat and slowly walked to the front, raising one hand.

 

As everyone focused on that hand, eager to see which stone he would choose—he suddenly turned and walked directly toward the side of the hall. He reached out and grabbed the hand of Qin Zheng, who was still standing in punishment.

 

With a big smile, he said: “This is the thing I like!” 

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