Fang Yuan entered the dream realm once again.
This time, he was fully prepared for the punch that was being thrown at him, and so he was able to weave away. "That was a good one," the boy in front of him said yet again.
They continued to spar, though Fang Yuan was holding back. His reasoning was that he had already failed at this juncture and was trying to determine what it was that he had to do to succeed.
Based on what he understood, this fight was entirely physical and did not involve gu worms at all. More likely than not, that was because the person he currently was had Rank Two cultivation, while the other only had Rank One. That meant that there was a massive gap between the two of them when it came to cultivation and that he would win without a doubt if they had a real fight. They had likely agreed to fight using only their fists so that this would not become an issue.
However, at the same time, they were not fighting in a public place, but rather a rather secluded arena away from prying eyes.
Aside from the girl standing there, who seemed to already know the two of them well. Additionally, there was no true malice in his opponent's strikes.
He didn't seem to be trying to actually hurt Fang Yuan, but at the same time, he did not want to give up either.
'What are these two fighting for?' Fang Yuan thought to himself. He felt that if he knew what the purpose of their match was, whether it was a simple practice match or something else, it would make him realize what the purpose of this dream realm was and what the criteria for solving it were.
"You're a bit distracted," Fang Yuan noted, as his opponent kept glancing over to a certain spot on the field, towards the girl. 'Could it be?' Fang Yuan thought to himself, feeling that he had solved it. There was only one real way for him to figure it out. He went in this time fighting for real, though he once again avoided hitting his opponent in any painful area.
"Whoa, whoa! Calm down there," his opponent said. Once he had caught his breath, "Gosh, where did you learn to fight like that? And were you holding back all the way up until now?" He let out a small chuckle.
Last time, Fang Yuan had walked away after winning the fight, expecting the dream realm to be over. But that clearly wasn't all of it. He instead walked over to his opponent and extended his hand. "Need some help getting up?"
"Yeah, I'd appreciate it," his opponent said as he grabbed onto Fang Yuan's hand and then pulled himself up. His opponent then slapped him on the shoulder. "All right then. Like we said, it looks like you won. You really are the better man, huh?"
"Are the two of you done now?" the girl asked, sighing. As Fang Yuan got a closer look at her, he noted that she had some rather striking features. Her cheeks were a bit fuller, but she had a pair of striking blue eyes, which was rare in the Southern Border. She also had Rank One Peak Stage cultivation. Her dress was somewhat above average so she likely had somewhat wealthy parents.
Her features were marred slightly by the fact that she had crossed her arms and was pouting. Still, it could be said that she appeared somewhat cute, even then.
"Yeah, we're done. You don't need to worry, Teng Mei," his opponent said.
Fang Yuan found that he was no longer in control of this person's body anymore. So he had passed this section of the dream realm, although it had not concluded as of yet.
"You didn't need to take things so far, Teng Ling," the girl answered. "And don't you think it's a bit much? Teng Mingyu only just returned from a difficult mission, and then you already challenged him to a fight. You should have some concern and respect for the position he's in and the fact that he might be tired. Couldn't you have challenged him another day?"
"Hey, Teng Mingyu, isn't tired, and he could have always said no if he wanted to, right? Yeah, that's right," Teng Ling answered. "Hey, uh, listen, Teng Mei, you can go on ahead. I have something I just wanted to speak to him about."
"All right then. I'll wait for you. Do you want to meet up at the same wine tavern shop?"
"Of course," Teng Mingyu said. "This time, the drinks are on me. Consider it a celebration of my victory."
"All right then," she said. "I'll look forward to it." She trotted off.
Teng Ling turned towards Teng Mingyu. "So I guess that really settles it. Then you are the better man between the two of us. I won't get in your way, as promised." The person who Fang Yuan was inhabiting was filled with a degree of remorse and sorrow, though it was not as much as before, and he was not kicked out of the dream realm this time. "Hope that you can keep Teng Mei happy!"
Fang Yuan had indeed managed to figure out what was going on. These three people had likely been friends since childhood, based on how they had reacted towards this person when he was revealed to have B-grade aptitude even if both of them were ordinary.
Now, they had graduated from the academy, and he was leaving the others behind in the dust when it came to cultivation. While these two boys were friends, something had come between them. Ultimately, what was the most common reason for men to fight? It was over a woman. Both of them likely loved that girl, and so to settle things between them without it turning sour, they had arranged this little spar in her presence, agreeing to not use gu worms so that Teng Mingyu would not have that much of an advantage.
The reason that Fang Yuan had failed the dream realm last time was because although Teng Mingyu had wanted to win, he also didn't want to jeopardize his friendship either. When Fang Yuan had just walked off after defeating his opponent, such a cold gesture would not have been received well.
"You fought bravely," Teng Mingyu said. "You have nothing to feel ashamed about, and I'm sure you'll find someone."
"Yeah, yeah," Teng Ling said. "Listen, before you go, I just want to give you this to show that there were no hard feelings between the two of us." He took out a gu from his aperture, which looked like two tiny human hands clasped together, though it seemed to be made out of woven grass rather than actual flesh.
"This is..." Teng Mingyu said, "isn't this Friendship Gu? Didn't you have to spend a large amount of time to get this? Are you really giving it to me?"
"Well, it is Friendship Gu after all," Teng Ling said. "It has a portion of my will inside and also has a portion of Teng Mei's inside as well. No matter where you go on your missions or however you manage to climb, or even if all of us become separated sometime in the future, this way we can always be with you."
Fang Yuan had heard of Friendship Gu in his past life, so as he took it, it seemed to be a Gu that could store the wills of one's friends for some time. It also appeared to be a Human Path Gu worm, much like Charity Gu.
"Thank you," Teng Mingyu said after receiving the Friendship Gu.