Chapter 37: Hahaha, Times Have Changed, Mister!
Dragon Head Forest.
This forest was located on the west side of Tianxuan City. Looking down at the entire forest, one would find that the shape of the forest formed the shape of a dragon’s head. There were many monsters in the forest, and ordinary people did not dare to approach it at all.
However, there were also times when cultivators would enter the forest to hunt monsters and obtain the materials they needed. Therefore, every year, many cultivators would die here.
Ye Yu, dressed in black robes, stood at the entrance of the forest, his eyes fixed on the carriage slowly approaching ahead.
He recognized that carriage. It belonged to the Mu family.
They finally came…
Ye Yu took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, his eyes filled with an unquenchable fire of battle.
He had waited too long for this day. For the past few nights, he had never slept well. Every time he returned to his room, he would start cultivating, all for the sake of quickly narrowing the gap with Mu Zhi’an.
And… to take revenge for the previous grievances!
Although he had no certainty, Mu Zhi’an was not a normal Qi Condensation stage cultivator. His body had long been hollowed out by beauties in the past two years. As long as he dealt with him calmly and carefully, it shouldn’t be too difficult…
Just as Ye Yu thought of this, he raised his head again to look.
A handsome young man jumped down from the carriage.
He had black hair, and from his appearance, he looked a bit delicate, giving people a gentle feeling like a boy next door.
However… this was just Mu Zhi’an’s disguise.
This guy was just a useless young master indulging in beauties.
Even if he was disguised so well now, it couldn’t change this fact.
Calmly deal with him, then trample him under his feet…
Ye Yu just had this thought flash through his mind and was about to speak.
But before he could say anything, he saw Mu Zhi’an make a circle and arrive at the other side of the carriage, reaching out his hand.
Inside the carriage, a slender, jade-white hand lightly rested on Mu Zhi’an’s palm. Then, she lifted the curtain. Her feet, wearing a pair of white boots, showed her slender and straight legs like white jade under her knee-length dress.
That side profile was snow-white and flawless. Two strands of hair gently rested on her cheeks on either side. A pair of peach blossom-like beautiful eyes belonged to Bai Ruoxi, who had made the talented young men of Tianxuan City infatuated in the past.
She obviously also noticed Ye Yu’s gaze in the distance, but she only glanced at him lightly before withdrawing her gaze.
This indifferent attitude further stung Ye Yu’s heart. From beginning to end, Bai Ruoxi had never given him a good attitude, but in the past, Bai Ruoxi had also never given Mu Zhi’an a good attitude.
However, now she seemed to be docile and obedient to Mu Zhi’an, even allowing him to hold her hand.
Ye Yu’s fists clenched tightly, and the anger in his heart was almost out of control. He didn’t even notice that his nails had dug into his palms.
“Mu Zhi’an!” He finally spoke up, staring at Mu Zhi’an with undisguised anger in his eyes.
Hmm, he seems anxious… Mu Zhi’an took everything in but didn’t mind.
He let Bai Ruoxi wait near the carriage, then walked over at a leisurely pace, observing this delicate-looking young man.
In fact, not only Ye Yu, but Mu Zhi’an had also been waiting for this day.
Once he got rid of the “protagonist”, the damn words “supporting role” on his interface should turn gray or even disappear, right?
It was just that he wasn’t as anxious as Ye Yu.
In the end, he was very open-minded from the beginning. If this “protagonist”‘s talent and destiny were so strong that they were unstoppable, he could just lie flat and be done with it.
Anyway, while lying flat, he should enjoy himself as much as possible and do all the fun things first. At least it wouldn’t be a wasted trip.
If by chance he won… that would be even better.
Eliminating Ye Yu and making the title of “supporting role” disappear, then he could become the “protagonist” of the new world.
Relying on the Mu family’s vast resources, he could advance to the peak of the Qi Condensation stage, then go to the Two Polarity Sect. In the future, he might even be able to attain the Dao and become an emperor or something.
Of course, the premise was that he could ensure to eliminate the “protagonist” in front of him first.
“You came really early.” Mu Zhi’an smiled.
Ye Yu stared at Mu Zhi’an coldly, ignoring him.
Seeing the young man’s calm and collected appearance, Mu Zhi’an continued, “I chatted a bit too much with Ruoxi last night and accidentally spent the whole night.”
Ye Yu’s face darkened, “It’s just an intimate exchange between a woman who is vain and a prodigal son of the Mu family. What does it have to do with me?”
Mu Zhi’an smiled, “She just doesn’t like you. How does that make her vain?”
“Don’t tell me all women have to revolve around you?”
“Enough of this fake talk. Don’t you know in your heart why she chose you?” Ye Yu’s voice suddenly rose a few degrees.
Mu Zhi’an shook his head and smiled, “You said before that Miss Bai broke off the engagement to humiliate you, but that was a childhood engagement arranged by the previous generation. She had no choice at all. After breaking off the engagement, pursuing her own feelings becomes vanity?”
Mu Zhi’an continued, “Also, Young Master Ye, you seem to have forgotten what attitude Ruoxi had towards me at first.”
This chosen one with great destiny didn’t seem to realize that there was anything wrong with him. In his view, breaking off the engagement was an unforgivable thing, and Bai Ruoxi should have married into the Ye family as his fiancée.
And Bai Ruoxi shouldn’t have been so cold to him either.
In the end, Ye Yu only treated Bai Ruoxi as his own private property and thought that the world should revolve around him.
He never thought about why Bai Ruoxi would reject him…
“Young Master Ye, if you win against me today, who do you think Ruoxi will choose?” Mu Zhi’an struck at his heart.
Ye Yu could no longer hold back. In the next moment, he took a step forward. Judging from his speed, it was actually comparable to a cultivator at the second level of Qi Condensation.
If Mu Zhi’an hadn’t directly crushed tens of thousands of spirit stones last night and absorbed their spiritual energy, facing Ye Yu’s astonishing speed would have been quite a challenge.
Mu Zhi’an raised his hand and slapped out a palm from a distance. A wave of energy surged towards Ye Yu head-on.
“Third level of Qi Condensation?!”
A hint of surprise flashed in Ye Yu’s eyes, but the speed under his feet did not hold back at all. He pushed his potential to the extreme, his fingers guiding the qi.
Clang!
The heavy sword behind him flew out. He gripped the hilt and slashed at Mu Zhi’an with one sword.
This strike was unexpected, but Mu Zhi’an was already on guard. He also drew his sword and held it in front of him.
As the sound of weapons colliding rang out, a shockwave spread out with the two of them at the center.
The advantage in cultivation level was revealed at this moment. Mu Zhi’an emitted the pressure that only existed in the Qi Condensation stage. He guided the qi, and the surrounding spiritual energy turned into several sharp blades, rushing towards Ye Yu.
Ye Yu’s face slightly changed. The Heavenly Dao Aura in his body circulated rapidly, and a thin film seemed to appear on his body. Those incoming spiritual energy blades quietly dissipated and scattered between heaven and earth.
Mu Zhi’an showed no emotion on his face and did not give Ye Yu a chance to catch his breath. He raised his sword again and slashed at Ye Yu.
But Ye Yu’s speed was too fast. Every time Mu Zhi’an’s blade was about to hit Ye Yu, his speed would increase like a ghost, avoiding the attack.
Although the spiritual energy of a Qi Condensation stage cultivator was much more abundant than that of the Qi Refinement stage, after several fierce attacks were avoided by Ye Yu, even Mu Zhi’an found it a bit hard to handle.
Bai Ruoxi stood not far away, frowning as she watched this scene. Her eyes showed a hint of surprise when she looked at Ye Yu.
Although he was only at the Qi Refinement stage, Ye Yu’s movement technique and speed… were already almost no different from the Qi Condensation stage.
Father was right. This Ye Yu was indeed a genius.
But… no matter how much of a genius he was, it had nothing to do with her.
The reason she broke off the engagement was not simply because Ye Yu had become useless, but because she didn’t like this marriage.
As another sword was dodged by Ye Yu, Mu Zhi’an’s face also became much paler than before.
The price of indulging in beauties in the past was now manifested. After launching several consecutive attacks, Mu Zhi’an’s physical strength was greatly consumed.
Ye Yu’s face was also pale. Sweat covered his forehead, and he was panting heavily. He stared intently at Mu Zhi’an and slowly said, “It seems that cultivators in the Qi Condensation stage are not that impressive.”
“No,” Ye Yu quickly shook his head and said indifferently, “You’re just like this because your body has been hollowed out by beauties. If I were fighting against a real Qi Condensation stage cultivator, it probably wouldn’t be that easy.”
That calm tone, plus the slightly disdainful faint smile, would have angered an ordinary person.
However, Mu Zhi’an still had a smile on his face and said, “That’s not wrong. Indulging in beauties in the past did indeed affect my normal performance.”
“And chatting with Ruoxi all night did indeed consume too much energy…”
Ye Yu’s eyes suddenly widened. That last sentence completely broke his composure.
The spiritual energy that was already nearly exhausted actually surged back into his body like a rising tide. Mu Zhi’an took a closer look and saw Ye Yu take out a pill from his pocket and put it into his mouth.
Ye Yu suddenly raised his head. The originally pale face had regained some redness.
“Young Master Mu, I forgot to tell you. My other identity… is an alchemist!”
In addition to cultivation, he had also prepared many medicinal materials these days to refine pills, all for today’s battle with Mu Zhi’an.
Ye Yu took a step back, and his whole body seemed to transform into a stream of light, rushing towards Mu Zhi’an. His eyes carried a hint of ruthlessness, and the heavy sword in his hand slashed at Mu Zhi’an mercilessly.
When facing an enemy, showing mercy would only leave a greater hidden danger for oneself.
Ye Yu was going to make a deadly move!
In the distance, Bai Ruoxi saw the killing intent bursting out from Ye Yu. Her slender hand subconsciously gripped the hem of her dress tightly, staring intently at Mu Zhi’an.
The spiritual energy on her body slowly surged, and the thin white dress slightly fluttered with the spiritual energy.
Mu Zhi’an’s current state was really too poor. If she didn’t stop it, he might really die an unjust death.
However, at this moment, Bai Ruoxi suddenly noticed something wrong.
Not only Ye Yu, but the originally exhausted spiritual energy on Mu Zhi’an was also slowly recovering, and the recovery speed was much faster than Ye Yu’s.
Ye Yu’s sword was deflected by Mu Zhi’an’s sword.
The two long swords fell to the ground at the same time. Mu Zhi’an punched Ye Yu’s abdomen. A wave of energy penetrated through his abdomen and out his back. The leaves on the big tree behind him trembled, startling the birds in the forest.
Ye Yu was sent flying, heavily crashing into the tree roots behind him.
He spat out a mouthful of blood, raised his head with difficulty, and stared at Mu Zhi’an in disbelief, only to see him open his mouth.
In Mu Zhi’an’s mouth, there was actually a Life Renewal Pill that had just been refined not long ago.
“Young Master Ye, since when did you have the misconception that only you have recovery pills?” Mu Zhi’an said indifferently.
Life Renewal Pill?!
Ye Yu clutched his chest, staring intently at Mu Zhi’an, his eyes filled with incredulity.
As an alchemist, he naturally knew the value of the Life Renewal Pill. Even the Mu family shouldn’t have been able to find the Beast King Vine… But what Mu Zhi’an was taking now, wasn’t it the Life Renewal Pill?!
Behind him, Bai Ruoxi stepped forward and said in a low voice, “Are you alright?”
Mu Zhi’an shook his head and said, “I got a bit lucky. I’m fine.”
As he spoke, he glanced at Bai Ruoxi again, his gaze lingering on her beautiful face for a moment.
He had just thought of an extremely interesting thing.
If he hadn’t stopped Ye Yu from buying the bronze piece at the auction that day, would the current Ye Yu also be able to use that bronze sword?
According to his deduction, that bronze sword was most likely passed down from the ancestors of the Bai family.
However, Ye Yu was the chosen one. Judging from Ye Yu’s desire for the bronze piece at that time, he was very likely to be able to activate the power of the bronze piece as well.
If that were the case, the one standing now would not be Mu Zhi’an, but Ye Yu.
Because the bronze sword Bai Ruoxi unleashed at that time, with only one piece, had a power comparable to the peak of Qi Condensation. When the two pieces were combined, the destructive power even reached the level of a Spirit Transformation stage cultivator.
Wasn’t this a growth technique specifically for the “protagonist”?
Fortunately, I’m a paid player… Even if Ye Yu’s luck as a whale is so good, as long as I have money, the one who can ultimately win the bronze piece will only be me…
Mu Zhi’an sighed in his heart and silently watched the young man who once again climbed up and took a few pills.
Bai Ruoxi frowned slightly and said softly, “Enough, Ye Yu. There is no deep hatred between you two. There’s no need to fight to the death. This competition is already over.”
“Over?”
A faint smile appeared on Ye Yu’s face. When he raised his head again, his black eyes had already gained a hint of strange light.
In the battle with Mu Zhi’an just now, the old man sleeping in his body was also awakened. As long as he made a move, let alone Mu Zhi’an, even if Mu Zhi’an and Bai Ruoxi joined hands, they would not be a match for him.
Although the old man was seriously injured, his current strength was at least at the Spirit Transformation stage!
“I’ll leave it to you, Master.” Ye Yu said softly in his heart.
The old man’s laughing voice sounded in Ye Yu’s mind, “If this old man makes a move, I can’t guarantee the safety of that little doll. Have you considered it clearly?”
Ye Yu’s face was expressionless. He just nodded in response.
And at that moment, a terrifying spiritual energy different from before burst out from his body. The pressure of that spiritual energy made the magic beasts in the forest let out terrified wails, and the chirping of birds in the jungle was incessant.
Bai Ruoxi frowned slightly and said softly, “Be careful, there’s something strange about him…”
Mu Zhi’an chuckled, “Strange is right… If there’s nothing strange, I would find it strange.”
How could he be called the “protagonist” if he didn’t have some golden finger cheat or something these days?
But… once the supporting role has intelligence, there won’t be a scene of 1v1 being defeated by the protagonist.
Mu Zhi’an raised his head and saw Ye Yu, who was separated from him by a distance. He smiled and said, “Changed person?”
Ye Yu slowly said, “This is also one of my trump cards. Don’t blame me, Young Master Mu.”
As long as Mu Zhi’an could be eliminated, it was worth it no matter what he did.
Mu Zhi’an nodded in agreement and said, “That’s not wrong. The result is the most important thing anyway. As long as you can win, that’s enough.”
“As for whether the process is cheating or not, it doesn’t matter.”
Seeing Ye Yu slowly stepping forward, Mu Zhi’an’s tone suddenly changed and said, “However, has Young Master Ye considered one thing?”
Ye Yu’s footsteps paused slightly, and he frowned. For some reason, he inexplicably felt uneasy in his heart.
He stared at Mu Zhi’an expressionlessly, burst out killing intent, stepped forward, and raised his hand to grab at Mu Zhi’an.
Mu Zhi’an still stood there without moving and said indifferently, “Why did you have the misconception that whatever realm you are in, you will only have enemies of the same realm making trouble for you?”
“Times have changed, Young Master Ye.”
Almost at the moment the words fell, Ye Yu felt an unprecedented sense of crisis coming from mid-air. He abruptly raised his head and saw a mysterious man wearing a bamboo hat descending from mid-air and throwing out a chain.
Without any room for reaction, the chain quickly bound Ye Yu.
The chain rapidly bound Ye Yu, and the black light completely enveloped him, as if forming a cocoon.
Then, a white glowing orb slowly floated out from that cocoon.
Heavenly Dao Aura!
“My Heavenly Dao Aura… Who are you? Who are you?!” Ye Yu’s terrified roar came from inside the cocoon. He never thought that his Heavenly Dao Aura would actually run out of his body. Obviously, it had already chosen him, so why would it run out on its own?
“Your Heavenly Dao Aura?”
The black-robed man sneered, “Just having a bit more luck than ordinary people, you think you’re qualified to possess the Heavenly Dao Aura?”
“The Heavenly Dao Aura will only choose the person with the best luck. Your luck is very good, but it’s only in this Tianxuan City.”
The black-robed man stretched out a pale palm from his robe and grabbed at the Heavenly Dao Aura suspended in mid-air.
“The person who should really possess the Heavenly Dao Aura should be me.”
As if stating a fact, the black-robed man’s tone was extremely calm.
As he touched it, the Heavenly Dao Aura in the form of an orb emitted a faint light, as if resisting the black-robed man.
However, the black-robed man seemed to have prepared long ago. He took out another jade bottle and directly absorbed the Heavenly Dao Aura into the bottle.
All of this happened in a flash. Bai Ruoxi didn’t have time to react at all and just looked at this scene, somewhat stunned.
The black-robed man turned his head to look at the young man with a slightly pale complexion standing not far away, revealing a cold smile, and said, “Thank you for your cooperation, Young Master Mu.”
Although his face was still a bit pale, Mu Zhi’an still had a gentle smile on his face, “This is the reward we agreed on from the beginning. There’s no cooperation or not.”
Hearing this, the black-robed man nodded slightly and said, “Young Master Mu is indeed a man of his word.”
His tone changed and he continued, “So, I decided to give Young Master Mu a surprise.”
At this point, a hint of viciousness appeared in the black-robed man’s eyes.
“Oh?”
Mu Zhi’an showed a hint of surprise on his face and asked in puzzlement, “What surprise?”
“The surprise is that Mu Zhi’an secretly invited Ye Yu to spar in Dragon Head Forest, but for the sake of Bai Ruoxi, he ruthlessly killed Ye Yu. After forcing himself on the young miss of the Bai family, he eventually died miserably in a beast tide in Dragon Head Forest.”
The black-robed man said ominously.
“…You want to frame me?!” Mu Zhi’an showed a “frightened” look.
The corner of the black-robed man’s mouth revealed a cold smile. Just as he was about to speak,
Mu Zhi’an’s tone suddenly changed and he said,
“Then let me give you a surprise too, how about it?”
