Chapter 35: Prologue to selection
They both walked into a restaurant that was also connected to the inn but it was on the third floor. There was no wall, only a short wooden railing and beams holding the roof.
As they sat down, Li Chen counted over seven men who eyed Xiu Ying. Although they weren't stupid enough to approach seeing his mean metallic face, it proved how disastrous her actual looks were.
Even this downplayed version was already at its peak in the mortal realm. Anymore, a mortal might either grow an unhealthy urge to make her his property or worship her.
Ordering a little meal with rice wine, Xiu Ying picked up her chopsticks. Li Chen watched her eat for a while before averting his gaze when she shot him a glance.
"Hey, I heard the prodigy of the Sea Dragon clan will be in the capital tomorrow!" Someone said this to his partner.
They didn't bother lowering their tone because the arrival of Autumn Haven's sect was the talk of the city. Along with it were the prodigies certain to be chosen by the Masters!
"I heard she recently conquered the 100th floor of their clan's Abyssal pagoda and gained a secondary bloodline!"
'Secondary bloodline!' Li Chen's eyes gleamed and from the corners of his eyes, he saw Xiu Ying's ears perk.
"She's as impressive as the famous princess Xiu Ying of the Phoenix Arrow Clan."
"I heard the Phoenix Arrow Clan's patriarch say she had left for the heaven realm. Her talent is unprecedented."
Subconsciously, Li Chen looked at Xiu Ying and saw she was focused on her meal. 'I thought she was the one. Maybe I thought wrong,' he said inwardly.
"Forget about Xiu Ying. She won't be coming. We should talk about General Lu's third son, Lu Feng, and Feng Lanxi."
"Feng Lanxi! That monster!"
"I heard he swindled an innkeeper of all his wine. Apparently, he helped the innkeeper deal with a vengeful spirit and refused monetary payments."
"Ha! He's talented but such a wrong character." An old man sighed, shaking his head.
Li Chen's head snapped towards the old man. When they spoke about Feng Lanxi, he felt proud. After all, he created Feng Lanxi to be the peak.
Feng Lanxi was talented, handsome, and loved wine just like Li Chen. He practically created himself but with a better-looking body.
"Lanxi, that bastard!" Xiu Ying gritted her teeth. 'I should probably never think of telling her I practically caused that scar.' Li Chen thought.
After her lunch, Xiu Ying went to her room. She paused at the door and turned back to the tall, golden-masked man behind her.
"Train. Tomorrow is a big day. It's really important to me because I don't want to spend another day with no important improvement to my cultivation."
[...?]
Xiu Ying chuckled, seeing the glowing words between them. "Just train Old Cat."
She closed the door and her figure vanished as she went further inside. Li Chen remained rooted to the ground, his eyes blank.
Xiu Ying had changed.
Was it because he saved her?
And why did seeing this part of her make him feel a little sorry for her?
'She's alone.' He thought inwardly.
"Old Cat. It seems she finally warmed up to you. I told you she's a nice little girl."
Li Chen turned to Tiger Yi, who stood at the edge of the corridor.
He approached and turned toward Xiu Ying's door. "Thank you. If it weren't for you, I would have lost Young Miss."
[Young Miss? You know her real identity?!] Li Chen's voice went several volumes higher.
Tiger Yi revealed a bitter smile. "Focus on training. It's more important than the past. And we should leave before Miss Ye."
"LI CHEN, WHAT ARE YOU STILL DOING THERE?!"
Alarmed, Li Chen flickered forward. Just in time to avoid the flames that left her dainty fist. Sealing his door shut, Li Chen fell onto his bed. 'That bipolar silly girl! She almost burned me! Wasn't she just smilinga few moments ago? Just how could her temperament change so suddenly?
Even the person who made her that way was confused. All he could do was draw and whatever he drew would manifest but the intricate knowledge of those things was not known.
After thinking for a while, he sat up and assumed a lotus position. He would have drawn money to buy an energy-gathering pill but those jades weren't just carved. They had imprints of the laws of this world.
'Wait, did I gain any divine point for those runaways?'
You did.
For creating a side plot that has affected over a thousand souls: 5 divine points
His points were a total of eight! Two more and Li Chen would be able to perform higher feats.
"Why does that sound ominous?" Li Chen didn't think much about it and started cultivating. He appeared in his vast sea of consciousness and saw Xiu Ying's constellation glowing brightly.
It wasn't only hers. There are over a hundred constellations of both mortal-level and immortal-level human-level cultivators.
They were connected in the star realm and could see those close to them. However, it was impossible to track anyone by their position in the star realm.
At least no one in the mortal realm could do it.
****
The next morning, Xiu Ying, Li Chen, Tiger Yi, and Pig Yun stood amongst a large crowd of eager youths in a vast expanse before a forest.
"What's that?"
"It's a skyship!"
People gasped, causing Li Chen to look. He saw a sky-blue ship burst out of the clouds and levitate.
"It's the Sea Dragon clan members!"
As people were talking, another ship came out. This one had prominent red flags.
"It's General Lu's flag! The Lu family is here."
More skyships emerged in the sky and Li Chen crossed his arms.
He turned toward Xiu Ying and saw her unfazed. In fact, there was contempt in her eyes as she watched them showcase their wealth and power.
After waiting for a while, a mountain, situated on a small island, appeared on the horizon.
The magnificent presence of the island overshadowed the ships. The forcefield covering the island went down and a man clad in white floated out.
"Greetings, citizens of the Northern Dynasty. We're sorry to have kept you waiting." The man clasped his hands and bowed to the people on the ships.
"Haha, old Tian. It's nothing." A man from the Lu Skyship responded.
Smiling, Old Tian brought out a scroll from his sleeve and opened it.
"Where is Feng Lanxi?"
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