Read Ahead Upto Chapter 50 On Patreon : : https://www.patreon.com/yezar
Chapter 42: Long Chen's Visit to the Outer Sect
I did not dare to practice any longer, afraid that my meridians would become crippled. Overloading a single area with all the Qi in the body—even a three-year-old could tell what the result would be: Ka-Boom!
I laughed at my own imagination and walked around the courtyard. I was not at all tired after practicing a set of boxing techniques. As a cultivator, techniques of such low caliber fell into the realm of mortals. The waves of Qi in the air crashed against my body and disappeared. My body silently absorbed any Qi that approached it. Suddenly, a funny thought appeared in my mind: Would it also work if someone attacked me with a Spiritual Energy technique? Not possible, right?
I would have to give it a try in the future. Imagine an opponent attacking me, only for their attack to disappear when it gets close enough, leaving the audience and the opponent flabbergasted. Even the elder supervising might be confused. But I still had no plans to participate in the upcoming tournament. Many disciples might fight for the top position, but it was not for me. If I wanted, I could also take the resources of the Saintess, Jin Meiyu—not that I wished to try.
Bored, I left the residence and walked outside. However, outside, the common scenery of disciples bustling about was scarce. Only a few souls, like me, were either uninterested or simply lacked the hope to even clear the top thousand. As a solo traveler, I did not have friends to accompany me. Friends? Well, there were a few acquaintances, but none were close enough for me.
"Hello~, Handsome~" I did not dodge. Although I knew Mei Xueyin was behind me, walking stealthily, I did nothing to attract unnecessary attention. I acted shocked and distanced myself from her. To the world, I only had a cultivation base at the first level of the Qi Condensation Realm. And the person in front of me—judging from the sheer amount of Qi she emitted—should be at the eighth level of Qi Condensation, if not the peak of this realm.
But for the master of the Dao of Silence, trying to stealthily approach me was like a child playing tricks in a circus. On top of that, I could see the Qi level and judge how much strength someone had, as long as the other party did not exceed me by a whole major realm.
I nodded at her and distanced myself again. Mei Xueyin smiled, seeing that her "attack" had succeeded. She looked me over from head to toe, and I shivered, feeling like I was being eyed by a predator.
"Why are you walking around alone? Don't you have any friends~?" she asked with a bell-like laugh, waiting for me to take out my notebook and answer her. But one minute passed, then two, and I did nothing. I coughed and made signs that I thought were easily understood by her. We both looked into each other's eyes. It is said that eyes are the window to one's soul. By looking into someone's eyes, one can easily understand their intentions.
For the first time, Mei Xueyin doubted her charm. In the eyes of the handsome boy she had recently been attracted to, there was no lust, hidden intentions, or filthy motives like others had. Instead, his eyes were clear. He looked directly into my eyes, not moving away an inch, nor trying to sneak glances at other parts of my body when I wasn't noticing.
"I..." Before she could continue, both of us turned our attention toward a group of disciples approaching. What caught our attention was not the group itself but the robes of the five leading disciples—sky-blue robes, with the one in the lead even having golden dragons embroidered all over his robe. I was surprised because such robes were only worn by core disciples. And the person wearing this robe was someone I was quite familiar with—Long Chen.
He saw me, and a mocking expression appeared on his face. 'Look where I have reached, and you are still here in the outer sect. Humph!' Long Chen's attention shifted from me to Mei Xueyin, and upon seeing her beauty, his mouth hung agape. 'What is such a beauty doing with that bastard?' Instantly, he became angry, even forgetting that the distance between Xu Mo and Mei Xueyin was almost nine feet.
Long Chen walked confidently toward us, tucking away a strand of hair from his forehead, his head held high and his nose almost touching the sky. The other four disciples, who were walking behind Long Chen, noticed that the core disciple had suddenly increased his speed, leaving them behind.
I thought Long Chen would at least greet me or nod in my direction, but he completely ignored me and walked past me toward Mei Xueyin. I had expected this to some extent. But wasn't he interested in Jin Meiyu? What was the fight in the trial about, then? I smiled and shook my head, then smartly tried to blend into the crowd of outer disciples and vanish.
"Hello, Beautiful. What is your name?" Long Chen struck a pose that, according to him, was that of a true gentleman. He thought that this woman would surely fall head over heels for him the moment she recognized his status. Mei Xueyin felt uncomfortable under Long Chen's gaze. His look was not at all pleasant, but she had grown used to such looks over the years, and they no longer affected her.
"B-Brother, save me~" Mei Xueyin cried out, calling for help as if she were being kidnapped. Long Chen felt a burning sensation on his face, as if he had just been slapped. His expression crumbled, but hearing Mei Xueyin's seductive voice quickly resolved his ruined mood.
His companions rushed toward Long Chen, as did the crowd of outer disciples. "Senior, this is Senior Sister Mei Xueyin, who ranks in the top three in the outer sect. For some reason, she has not advanced to the inner sect," an outer disciple said, seeing the clear interest in the core disciple's eyes and not forgetting to score points.
She skillfully dodged the hand that was about to rest on her shoulder and moved to the very back of the crowd, toward Xu Mo. I had seen through her plan long before she uttered the line, "Brother, save me," and I had already vanished from the spot. I hadn't gone far, as I was still weak, but thanks to my practice of the Dao of Silence, I was able to move unnoticed.
Mei Xueyin blinked her eyes and saw that Xu Mo had vanished. She frowned. Just a moment ago, she had seen him, and now he was gone. "Sorry if I was being rude. Let me introduce myself first. I am Core Disciple Long Chen," Long Chen said, appearing behind Mei Xueyin. "Who was the brother you were asking for help from?" he asked, his voice laced with coldness. He did not like his women being with other men, even if that man was her blood brother. Long Chen had long forgotten about mocking Xu Mo, as he was now focused on this new beauty, whose charm was comparable to Jin Meiyu, the Saintess.
"O-Oh, sorry. I am Mei Xueyin."
"I know," Long Chen said, having already heard what the random outer disciple had said.
"It's a brother in name only. I made him up. He was here just moments ago, but I don't know where he went," Mei Xueyin said. It was clear from the earlier encounter that Long Chen and that handsome boy knew each other. If she could get the name of that handsome boy, it would be easier to find him in the future.