“Senior Sister, what are your plans next? I heard from Little Qingqing that your situation isn’t great.”
“I’m determined to claim the Holy Lord’s position. It’s the only way to save Evergreen Holy Land.”
Huangfu Wenqing propped her chin on her hands, staring at Yan Zhen across from her.
“I’m just worried that Heavenly Sword Old Ancestor and the others might resort to dirty tricks.”
Yan Zhen picked up a piece of honey jujube cake and held it to his fiancée’s lips.
“Don’t worry. Jiu Youyue and I are here to help you now.”
Huangfu Wenqing smiled sweetly, taking a bite of the cake at her mouth, her face beaming with happiness as she chewed.
Seeing this, Jiu Youyue grabbed a piece of cake and fed it to Yan Zhen.
Once he had eaten it, she grinned and looked at Yun Xiu, who hesitated for a moment but couldn’t resist joining in the playful interaction with her little darling.
The teasing from the women left Yan Zhen feeling all warm and fuzzy inside. He was just about to get handsy when he sensed a unfamiliar aura racing toward them at high speed. Looking up, he saw a young man he didn’t recognize standing at the main entrance. Judging by the man’s cultivation, he was either an elder or a holy son.
Because he was a Mystic Venerable powerhouse!
The man called out loudly.
“Junior Sister Huangfu, are you free to come out and meet?”
At those words, Yan Zhen, Yun Xiu, and Jiu Youyue all turned their gazes to Huangfu Wenqing. She frowned, a flash of annoyance in her eyes.
“This guy’s back again.”
Jiu Youyue said with a mischievous smile.
“Isn’t this the Evergreen Holy Son? Is he pursuing you, Little Qingqing?”
Yun Xiu explained on her disciple’s behalf.
“He claims to be courting her, but I always feel like he has ulterior motives.”
Huangfu Wenqing snorted lightly.
“It’s obvious he just wants to use me to convince my master to hand over the Inheritance Sword. He should take a good look in the mirror—who does he think he is, sticking an onion up his nose and pretending to be a big shot?”
With her insight from her previous life, she naturally didn’t take a mere Mystic Venerable seriously. Not to mention that her heart and body were already fully occupied by a certain someone.
Jiu Youyue couldn’t help but laugh even harder.
“He probably thinks Little Qingqing is some naive little girl fresh out of the gate.”
Huangfu Wenqing was quite irritated.
“If my strength allowed it, I’d slap that smug face of his twice at least.”
She had also received the Sword Saint Inheritance, and her cultivation had now reached the Mystic Ancestor Realm. Against a Mystic Venerable powerhouse—especially a high-star one—her odds weren’t great.
Yun Xiu soothed her.
“Don’t be hasty, Wenqing. Just hold on a little longer.”
Yan Zhen cleared his throat twice, feigning displeasure.
“Hold on for what? Do you think I’m just for show? A puny Mystic Venerable dares to eye my fiancée? He really deserves a beating.”
Jiu Youyue, ever one to stir the pot, chimed in.
“Oh dear, Little Zhen Zhen is mad. Are you going to stand up for Little Qingqing?”
Yun Xiu, on the other hand, was a bit concerned.
“If you’re going to throw down, go easy on him. Don’t kill the guy.”
If things escalated and drew out Heavenly Sword Old Ancestor, it could get messy.
Yan Zhen put on the air of the man of the house.
“Relax, I’ve got this under control. You all stay here. I’ll be right back.”
Huangfu Wenqing stood up with him.
“I’ll go with you, Yan Zhen.”
Yan Zhen had no objections. With a flicker of his figure, he and Huangfu Wenqing appeared together in the sky above the floating island’s entrance, facing off against the Evergreen Holy Son from afar.
The Evergreen Holy Son was taken aback. He hadn’t expected a man to pop up on Cloud Arrival Island—and one who was holding Huangfu Wenqing’s hand, no less. Their relationship was clearly no simple thing. He frowned, anger surging in his chest.
Still, as a holy son, he maintained his composure. “Junior Sister Huangfu, you’ve come out… Who is this man? His face seems unfamiliar. He’s not a disciple of our Evergreen Holy Land, is he?”
Huangfu Wenqing replied coolly.
“Senior Brother Jian, perfect timing. Let me introduce you. This is Yan Zhen, my fiancé.”
The Evergreen Holy Son’s expression soured. Though he had come with a mission, he genuinely saw Huangfu Wenqing as a fine choice for a dao companion.
Now this fiancé had popped up out of nowhere, which genuinely pissed him off.
“You really have a fiancé? You’re not just pulling some random guy to fool me, are you?”
—Basic incel with a beer gut, steamed shrimp head.
Yan Zhen thought to himself, then spoke up loudly.
“I am indeed Wenqing’s fiancé, betrothed by our parents’ arrangement. I ask that you, Evergreen Holy Son, stop pestering her. Otherwise, it won’t look good for either side.”
The Evergreen Holy Son narrowed his eyes and sized Yan Zhen up. Then, in a haughty tone, he said.
“A mere nobody like you isn’t worthy of a proud daughter of heaven like Junior Sister Huangfu. May I ask which sect or faction you hail from, and what accomplishments you have?”
Yan Zhen thought, as expected, a deluded nice guy—and kinda greasy to boot.
“What’s it to you? Mind your own business and stop sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong. You’re not worthy.”
“Your tone is awfully rude. Junior Sister Huangfu is a member of our Evergreen Holy Land, and as her senior brother and holy son, I naturally have the right to inquire about her major life decisions.”
“You’re really patting yourself on the back there. Wenqing and I are in love, with our parents’ blessing and a matchmaker’s word. Even Yun Xiu has given her approval. What business is it of yours? Are we close or something? Clown.”
The Evergreen Holy Son’s face darkened. He hadn’t expected Yan Zhen’s tongue to be so sharp. No one had ever dared speak to him like this.
He couldn’t sense Yan Zhen’s cultivation—it was probably deliberately concealed. But someone from a backwater like the Garo Kingdom, what real skill could he have to challenge him?
He was probably just a cocky newbie not afraid of a tiger. A little show of strength would send the kid scampering.
“Is your attitude so arrogant because you don’t put our Evergreen Holy Land in your eyes?”
“Cut the crap. Go back where you came from. This is your warning.”
“Insolent!” the Evergreen Holy Son barked. “For Junior Sister Huangfu’s sake, I’ve tolerated you several times already, but you keep offending me. Are you courting death!?”
As his words fell, mystic power erupted from him, the aura of a Five-Star Mystic Venerable spreading out with waves of pressure.
Yet Yan Zhen was utterly unaffected.
Forget a Five-Star Mystic Venerable—even a Fifth Grade Supreme was just a snack to him.
Yan Zhen swung his palm directly. Space trembled as a massive handprint materialized beside the Evergreen Holy Son and slammed into him with crushing force.
The Evergreen Holy Son’s face twisted in shock. His mystic power shattered instantly, and his defensive Mystic artifacts and treasures activated automatically—only to explode one after another.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Amid the violent shockwave, the Evergreen Holy Son’s figure flew back in disarray, crashing to the ground before the floating island’s entrance. He spat out a mouthful of blood, his eyes filled with horror.
A casual palm strike had wounded him. Supreme—absolutely a Supreme!
“You’re the one courting death,” Yan Zhen said coldly. “Get lost now, or I won’t hold back.”
The Evergreen Holy Son’s face was ashen. He scrambled to his feet and slunk away in defeat, not forgetting to hurl a threat over his shoulder.
“You just wait!”
Yan Zhen couldn’t care less. Calm as ever, he led Huangfu Wenqing back into the Vista Pavilion as if nothing had happened.
The massive commotion drew the attention of nearby floating islands. Seeing His Highness the Holy Son flee in such a pathetic state, they couldn’t help but feel puzzled.
They had sensed an incredibly powerful aura just now. Had the prospective Holy Lord intervened to drive away His Highness the Holy Son?
Something big was probably about to go down.
