Yun Liu sighed.
He had sensed the audience long ago, but he hadn’t expected Commander Geng to be this dense.
Loyalty was fine, but could he not read the room?
Was it really that hard to stay quiet or just leave?
“Ignore him,” Yun Liu said.
Yun Liu pretended he hadn’t heard anything and lowered his head to continue the “tasting,” but Jing Tan’er shook her head frantically.
How could she ignore a grown man standing right there!?
“Um, this general is still here.”
“No, you aren’t.”
A rare trace of killing intent appeared in Yun Liu’s eyes.
Geng Zhi rubbed the back of his head and awkwardly turned around to retreat.
Behind him, he heard muffled sounds of protest and pleading.
‘Tsk, tsk. Her Majesty and the Consort Prince really are deeply in love. It reminds me of the former King.’
Starting from her initial shyness and hesitation to her bold reciprocation, the Villainous Young Lady gradually revealed her domineering side, standing on her tiptoes to pull him into a firm embrace.
Qin Cha’s kiss was sweet and moist, like playing hide-and-seek with a startled fawn in the woods.
Jing Tan’er, however, was like a panting, wild mare.
This kiss had a massive afterglow; the next day, while watching the sword contest, Jing Tan’er was still resting her chin in her hand, staring blankly.
She didn’t respond even when others called out to her twice.
Though she knew nothing about the intricacies of romance, the girl in the throes of passion had already consciously entered a “trying-to-conceive” phase.
She was pondering whose surname their first child should take.
‘If it’s a boy, I’ll name him Jing Yun, and he’ll inherit the throne in the future.’
‘If it’s a girl, her name will be Yun Jing. She can learn swordplay from her father or study alchemy; it’s up to her. In any case, she won’t be lonely and bullied like Xiao Yun was.’
‘No, no, a girl can also inherit the Zhusheng line. I can’t be biased!’
‘It would be best to have twins, one for each name. But if they have different surnames, they might feel lonely.’
‘Wait, isn’t that a bit too casual…’
Lu’er was used to Her Majesty occasionally immersing herself in her own fantasies, but at this moment, she had to raise her voice to wake the King from her daydream.
“Your Majesty, in the battle between Lu Fang of Clear Mist Peak and Yun Liu of Celestial Phenomena Peak, the Grand Elder is asking who you favor.”
“Is that even a question? Of course the first child should be a girl. An older sister will take care of her younger brothers and sisters. Boys are much too mischievous.”
“…”
Jing Tan’er continued talking to herself, and only when she snapped out of it did she notice the strange looks on the Elders’ faces.
Realizing she had answered the wrong question, her small face flushed beet-red again.
“Ahem, the Grand Elder is referring to the outcome of the match.”
“I know! You don’t need to say it again!”
Jing Tan’er covered her face and lowered her head, not daring to look at her Master’s laughing expression.
Lu’er pursed her lips, looking somewhat innocent.
‘Yun Liu will definitely win. That’s a certainty,’ the Empress thought with a proud smile.
It was during their first meeting at the Cloud Top Go Sword contest, when the geniuses of the Five Peaks had all come forth, that the Princess had set her eyes on that white-robed youth who surged forward without hesitation.
No matter how strong his opponent was, he never wavered.
That bright moonlight in her heart had never been stained by a speck of dust, even during his most desolate times.
The second round of the Great Competition had already begun.
Compared to those predictable matches, today’s focus was on the two infuriating newcomers and the weakest Chief in history.
Above the clouds, there was a sword arena as red as Jing Tan’er’s cheeks.
The Sunset sword momentum ignited the clouds on the horizon like a wildfire.
“Layered Woods Dyed!”
The red-clothed girl stood gracefully in the sky, her shout sharp and piercing.
Rolling flames surged in wave after wave.
The blazing fire spirit advanced in three stages, knocking her opponent directly out of the arena.
The Mist Concealment disciple spat out blood as he retreated.
Throughout the entire match, he had been one-sidedly suppressed by this Junior Sister who had just entered the Inner Sect.
It wasn’t that his Qi Sea or Spirit Breath was inferior, but rather that his sword momentum was repeatedly broken.
“Xiao Xinran, victor!”
“Xinran’s Sword Intent has begun to take shape. Not bad, not bad. Reaching Level 3 of the Sword Canon is truly entering the hall of mastery.”
Tu Gou was beaming with joy.
Even though he was the one who had given her private lessons, he couldn’t help but boast about the rising star of Sunset Peak.
He even shot a provocative glance at the First Peak Senior Brother.
‘See that? This is the beloved disciple you missed out on. You can’t have your cake and eat it too!’
The Grand Elder glared and huffed, feeling extremely frustrated.
He had hoped to use Ji Shiyu’s brilliant performance to win back some face, but after searching for a while, he realized the blonde-haired girl was nowhere to be found on the field.
“Where is Shiyu?”
The auspicious cloud reflecting Ji Shiyu’s name on the sword post was empty, but the sword arena had already risen, signifying a successful advancement.
The Academy Instructor responsible for maintaining order at the assembly gave a bitter smile and said, “Reporting to the Grand Elder, Ji Shiyu’s opponent withdrew at the last minute. I heard they took the wrong medicine while practicing Qi Refining and Spirit Transformation and had diarrhea all night. She… advanced automatically.”
“…”
Everyone felt a collective sense of embarrassment, stuck between laughter and tears.
Setting aside her skill level for a moment, the young girl’s luck was truly heaven-defying.
The Grand Elder was stunned for a moment.
He pinched his fingers to perform a sword calculation and realized that the girl, Shiyu, had actually not yet returned from her training in the Illusion Pavilion.
‘What on earth is the Sect Leader Senior Brother doing?’
Xiao Xinran won another victory with overwhelming momentum.
The audience watched with great interest, and the Sunset Peak lineage cheered like thunder.
Discussions were rife within Shenhua Pavilion.
People mentioned that her Flame God Spiritual Root lived up to its reputation, but it was a pity that Ji Shiyu, the one who could rival her, had yet to appear.
The Lord of Mist City was also among those watching from the shops.
Seeing his beloved daughter live up to expectations, he felt immensely proud.
‘If only I hadn’t made that huge mistake due to a misunderstanding back then…’
Thinking of this, Xiao Wang sighed again.
Xiao Xinran and Yun Liu should have been a match made in heaven.
After all, how many people in this world could have a Protector Daoist with a Heavenly Dao Pill Realm cultivation?
One by one, the duels above the clouds reached their conclusions.
Everyone’s eyes simultaneously fell upon a white-robed youth, cheering for the “boss” of the shop street.
This young East Pole Pavilion Master could be called the lucky star of the Sea of Clouds.
Mentioning Mr. Yun would earn a thumb’s up from any shopkeeper.
Even if the odds weren’t high, they were willing to go to Yu Steward to place a small wager for good luck.
“Junior Brother Yun, the trick you used against Junior Brother Zhang won’t work on me!”
Lu Fang, dressed in a green-and-white cloud robe, was a slightly plump woman. She wagged her finger, looking quite triumphant.
“Greetings, Senior Sister Lu.”
Yun Liu smiled without a word.
He stood where he was, still possessing that drained, sickly look.
His Innate Spiritual Foundation seemed to be in a worrying state, declining further by the day.
The Qingxia Sword Codex was balanced in both offense and defense, which also meant that neither its aggressiveness nor its defensive power was particularly outstanding.
Since ancient times, the impression it left on other Inner Disciple members was that of a master of attrition, winning entirely through grinding the opponent down.
If one couldn’t break the enemy’s moves within one hundred swords, they had to be careful.
Beyond that point, it became very difficult to win because the endurance of Clear Mist Peak’s sword cultivators was incredibly powerful.
Furthermore, they could use the wood element spiritual energy to corrode the enemy’s body, ensuring their own Qi Sea almost never ran dry.
“There are no siblings at the top of the clouds. If I end up hurting you in a moment, don’t go running to the Senior Sister to complain about me!”
Lu Fang chuckled mischievously.
Ignoring Yun Liu’s mysterious behavior, her spiritual energy transformed into a shield, forming a Flying Flowers Protection around her.
Her azure flying sword lunged forward repeatedly in feint attacks, like a dragonfly skimming the water, before darting away.
She gave her opponent no chance to make contact, slowly wearing down his patience.
Clang!
Yun Liu flicked his finger to block a sword strike.
Without having to divide his Divine Sense, he sensed another gust of Five Elements energy approaching and relied purely on his movement techniques to evade the Sword Qi.
To the observers, this approach was very wise.
Wasting spiritual energy to surround his body would only give Lu Fang the chance to plant wood spirits and drain him dry—the typical tactic of a Clear Mist Peak “hooligan.”
This was especially true considering that Yun Liu’s actual cultivation might be inferior to hers.