For a moment.
Within the Chen Family's great hall, the atmosphere became somewhat silent.
"Why are you not speaking? Could it be that I've made myself so clear, yet you still refuse to back down?"
Lu Ying frowned and said.
"..." Chen Zhixing was speechless, and after a long pause, he took a deep breath and asked in return, "Miss Lu, I'm very curious, what exactly makes you think that I must fancy you? That it has to be you?"
Lu Ying replied indifferently, "If you didn't fancy me, would the Chen Family have approached my father, asking for me to be paired with you as a Dao companion? If you didn't fancy me, why would you investigate and find out I like osmanthus cakes and then buy some specifically to see me?"
As soon as these words fell.
"Silence!"
A middle-aged man in a hemp robe stood up with a flushed face, both embarrassed and angry, saying, "Lu Ying, about the matter of you marrying Nephew Zhixing, it was I who proactively approached Patriarch Chen, persuading him to agree to introduce you to Nephew Zhixing!
Before this, the boy didn't even know who you were!"
Whoosh—!
In an instant, Lu Ying's complexion turned pale.
A strong sense of shame and embarrassment instantly filled her heart.
Before she could react.
A subtle sound of footsteps arose.
Soon after, a clear, cold female voice echoed from outside the great hall.
"Miss Lu, right? I think you are mistaken, these osmanthus cakes were probably bought by Zhixing for me."
A woman with an impeccably beautiful face, dressed in white, stepped into the great hall.
Upon hearing the voice, Chen Zhixing looked and immediately showed a gentle smile, got up, and walked past Lu Ying, advancing in front of the woman in white.
He didn't even glance at Lu Ying.
"Sister Yue'er, you're here." Chen Zhixing handed the osmanthus cakes to Mo Qingyue.
"Little Zhixing, you've grown taller, you're as tall as I am now." Mo Qingyue, revealing her beautiful face, accepted the osmanthus cakes and smiled at Chen Zhixing.
Immediately, she turned her gaze back to Lu Ying, whose face was pale, standing in place, and said lightly:
"Miss Lu, you keep looking down on Zhixing, but have you ever thought that maybe he doesn't even care about you?"
As soon as these words fell.
It was like a critical hit.
Lu Ying's face turned even paler, and she stood frozen, as if struck by lightning, alone in the center of the hall, only feeling countless gazes looking down at her with sneering eyes as if she were a clown.
Chen Zhixing did not pay attention to her any longer; instead, he looked at Chen Daoyan seated at the head and casually asked, "Patriarch, is there anything else? If not, I'll take my leave."
Chen Daoyan nodded and replied, "Hmm, nothing major, it's just that in a few days, the family will hold a trial in the Southern Border, in preparation for next month's East Profound Domain Grand Competition. All the Chen Family disciples will participate, don't forget.
And Zhaosheng has returned from Qianyang Academy, he will also participate in this trial and the East Profound Domain Grand Competition, perhaps you should go to meet him... Forget it, you probably won't go, you may leave."
As he finished speaking, Chen Daoyan pinched his brow with a slight headache.
Chen Zhaosheng and Chen Zhixing were both Qilin Children, yet they couldn't get along at all.
He was truly at his wit's end.
"Alright, then I'll take my leave."
Chen Zhixing cupped his hands toward Chen Daoyan and then left together with Mo Qingyue.
Throughout the entire time, neither of them looked at Lu Ying again.
Watching their departing figures.
Chen Daoyan patted Lu Yuan's shoulder and sighed, "Brother Lu, your little daughter... is really confused!"
Lu Yuan replied with a bitter smile, saying, "Never mind, let's just say the two of them aren't fated."
Upon hearing this, Chen Daoyan shook his head in his heart, thinking that Lu Yuan probably still believed it was merely a failed marriage alliance with the Chen Family, without realizing what he had missed!
Of course, he wouldn't say more about this.
He would naturally support Lu Ying becoming a Dao companion with Chen Zhixing, but if they couldn't, it didn't matter either.
"By the way, Brother Daoyan, the Zhaosheng you mentioned earlier, is he the Nine Ancient Patteners of the Innate King Map in the Chen Family?" Lu Yuan suddenly asked.
"That's right, why?" Chen Daoyan was momentarily taken aback.
"I thought... maybe I should introduce my daughter to Zhaosheng? They are young people, surely they have topics to talk about." Lu Yuan said.
"This..." Chen Daoyan frowned and said, "Alright, then you should come with me to meet Zhaosheng."
In the great hall.
Lu Ying, whose face was originally pale, had her eyes light up quietly upon hearing the keywords 'Innate King Map', 'Nine Ancient Patterners'.
...
...
On the mountain road to the Third Peak.
Chen Zhixing and Mo Qingyue walked ahead, with Biluo following closely behind.
"Little Zhixing, it's been about a year since we last met, hasn't it?" Mo Qingyue smiled slightly and said.
"Yes, Sister Yue'er is looking more and more beautiful." Chen Zhixing smiled and said.
"You smooth talker!" Mo Qingyue pretended to be angry and glared at Chen Zhixing, then couldn't help but turn her head and smile.
"You really have become sly, knowing how to make your sister happy."
The two chatted idly as they headed toward the Third Peak.
"Sister Yue'er, how's the rebuilding of the Jia Family going?" Chen Zhixing casually asked.
"It's alright." Mo Qingyue replied casually, then squinted her beautiful eyes and said, "But during the reformation, I realized there are still many things about cultivation I don't understand, and this time I returned specifically to consult you about them."
Speaking of this, Mo Qingyue quietly glanced at Chen Zhixing.
Several years ago, she discovered by chance that Chen Zhixing had extremely good comprehension, even solving difficult issues she faced in cultivation effortlessly.
This made Mo Qingyue find him astonishing like a celestial being.
Later on, she would often use the pretext of 'rebuilding the Jia Family, with many unanswered questions' to test Chen Zhixing's understanding, wanting to know his limits.
This time, she returned from the Celestial Saint Palace because of an elder highly dedicated to researching divine techniques. While creating a Fire Tao Divine Technique called 'Heaven-Burning Skill', the elder encountered a difficulty.
That difficulty had prevented the 'Heaven-Burning Skill' from achieving perfection!
With the mindset of giving it a try, she wanted to see if Chen Zhixing, who had solutions to everything, could solve a problem that even the Celestial Saint Palace elder couldn't!
After all, the elder was well-known in the cultivation realm, recognized as a master of divine techniques!
"Alright, Sister Yue'er, just speak as you like." Chen Zhixing didn't think much of it and responded casually.
"Great! Little Zhixing, then I won't hold back!"
The two arrived at a cliff on the Third Peak.
Mo Qingyue immediately began operating the core principles of the Heaven-Burning Skill, deliberately weakening its power immensely to let Chen Zhixing clearly observe it.
Threads of light emerged in Mo Qingyue's body surface, then these lights circulated through her meridians in a grand cycle, forming a special complex pattern of operation.
Eventually, all these lights gathered in Mo Qingyue's palm, turning into a fiercely burning black flame.
"How about it? Can you figure out anything?"
Mo Qingyue looked at Chen Zhixing, worrying that he might not manage and thinking she might need to demonstrate it several more times.
However.
Before she could finish her sentence.
A black flame appeared in Chen Zhixing's hand, seemingly similar but weakened by countless times.
"Ah?"
Mo Qingyue's beautiful eyes widened instantly.
The Heaven-Burning Skill appeared in Chen Zhixing's hand, weakened but the core operation of the technique remained unchanged.
"What do you see? Can you figure something out from this?"
Mo Qingyue looked at Chen Zhixing with anticipation, unsure if he could spot the problem with the Heaven-Burning Skill without being shown again.
"This technique's structure... there's an issue at a particular node."
Chen Zhixing pondered with a serene expression and said.
Second update presented, usually during the new book period, the editor stipulates that two updates are fixed daily; the author checks the situation and will try to create two more during the daytime.