“What’s so difficult about this? I’m doing it for your own good. What if this kid’s been fooling around outside… Hmph.”
Dean Yu Qing crossed her arms over her chest, pushing her already ample bosom into even more spectacular prominence. Her loose robe did nothing to hide it. She fixed Yan Zhen with a sharp gaze, adopting the posture of an elder.
“Stop hiding behind Xuan’er and come here. Let this Dean check you out. You look so flustered—don’t tell me I hit the nail on the head?”
Mentor Yu Xuan shielded Yan Zhen behind her, refusing to let her little aunt touch him.
“Little Aunt, Yan Zhen’s shy around strangers. He’s only close to me.”
Yan Zhen broke into a sweat, thinking to himself that Mentor Yu Xuan was exaggerating a bit, but he nodded along cooperatively.
“Yeah right!” Dean Yu Qing didn’t buy it for a second. “With that sharp tongue of his from earlier? Shy? Why not say he’s scared of dying!”
Yan Zhen immediately chimed in:
“I’m scared of dying.”
Mentor Yu Xuan backed him up:
“He said it himself.”
Dean Yu Qing: “……”
Grand Mentor Shui Bailan: “……”
“Fine, whatever. You’re not even a son-in-law of the Yu Family anymore anyway. Do whatever you want.” Dean Yu Qing dropped it. “You can go. Xuan’er stays.”
Yan Zhen tensed up instantly.
“Are you going to punish Mentor Yu Xuan?”
“There are laws in the land, and rules in every household.” Dean Yu Qing replied indifferently. “Xuan’er broke the family rules. Of course she’ll be punished.”
Yan Zhen’s brows furrowed, his expression darkening.
“Punished how?”
“Don’t worry. She hasn’t lost her purity, so the punishment won’t be too severe…” Grand Mentor Shui Bailan seemed to be deliberately soothing Yan Zhen’s nerves. “You should leave first.”
Mentor Yu Xuan had already steeled herself mentally. She said softly,
“Go on ahead, Yan Zhen. I’ll come find you later.”
Yan Zhen clearly wasn’t having it. He shook his head.
“No way. How can I just stand by and watch my mentor get punished? If there’s punishment, we take it together. Or we leave together.”
A sweet warmth bloomed in Mentor Yu Xuan’s heart. She gently patted Yan Zhen’s head.
“Be good. I’ll be fine. At worst, they’ll just give me a few lashes with a whip.”
“Not even one lash!” Yan Zhen was adamant. “Mentor didn’t do anything wrong in the first place. A twenty-something-year-old talking about romance, and the family has to micromanage every little thing? That’s messed up!”
As he spoke, Yan Zhen shot a glance at Dean Yu Qing and Grand Mentor Shui Bailan.
Mentor Yu Xuan inwardly cried trouble.
“Yan Zhen, don’t say that…”
“You little punk, who’re you calling messed up?” Dean Yu Qing was furious on the spot. “Don’t think I won’t lay a hand on you. Keep talking smack, and I’ll tan your hide!”
“I said it!” Yan Zhen had been dying to vent. “Banning heirs from romance? What an idiotic rule. You don’t want to commit for real, but you still want to reel in talented guys willing to join the Yu Family as live-in sons-in-law? That’s just pie in the sky… From back then until now, how many true-hearted sons-in-law have actually stuck with the Yu Family? Most are probably just social climbers or straight-up opportunists, right? Using the Yu Family as a stepping stone—or worse, scheming to take it over. Why not learn from the past and stop blindly following this rule? Times have changed. Free love is all the rage now. Get it? You two probably never even dated, huh?”
That last line was a direct hit. Both elders’ faces darkened instantly—especially Dean Yu Qing’s. Her fists clenched with audible cracks, mystic power surging around her.
“You… say that again!”
“Once wasn’t enough? I’m done wasting my breath.” Yan Zhen curled his lip. “Anyway, I’m leaving with Mentor Yu Xuan today, and no one’s stopping us!”
“You’re asking for a beating!”
With that, Dean Yu Qing’s figure vanished in a whoosh. Her fist rocketed toward Yan Zhen’s face. She hadn’t put her full strength into it, but it was enough to flatten his nose.
A Mystic Ancestor expert’s Shifting Form Exchange was lightning-fast. Even with his Manifest Realm spiritual power, Yan Zhen barely reacted in time. On pure instinct, he activated the Star Shifting Fire Seal, pulling himself and Mentor Yu Xuan into the Crystal Stone Space. He left her there and popped back out alone.
Dean Yu Qing’s fist passed straight through Yan Zhen’s body, hitting nothing but air. The punch’s shockwave slammed into the office wall, activating the defensive runes etched there.
Dean Yu Qing’s eyes widened in shock—more than when she’d seen him summon that gray Extreme Flame. She had clearly sensed spatial fluctuations!
Spatial Power—the hallmark of a Mystic Venerable expert. True, Mystic Ancestor cultivators could wield a bit of it, but hers was limited to barriers or locks. Slipping into another space so swiftly and naturally? Most Mystic Venerable experts couldn’t pull that off so smoothly.
Unwilling to believe it, she halted abruptly and spun back for another go. Her fist morphed into a chopping hand knife aimed at the back of Yan Zhen’s neck—precisely measured to knock out a mere Mystic Master like him.
Once again, Dean Yu Qing’s hand sliced through his body.
Yan Zhen’s “afterimage” faded slowly. Glittering starlight lingered in its place, then reappeared elsewhere moments later.
Grand Mentor Shui Bailan was utterly stunned. She never imagined Yan Zhen could dodge her attacks twice, and in such a bizarre way. Crucially—where was her niece?
Dean Yu Qing guessed it immediately.
“You’ve got a Spatial Secret Treasure on you?”
Yan Zhen didn’t answer. Boiling mystic power coalesced into a layer of Flame Armor around him. Behind his back, faint silhouettes of an Evil Dragon, the Crimson Female Valkyrie, and the Gold-Silver Greatsword began to emerge.
At the same time, gray flame burned in one hand and scarlet flame in the other. He shaped them into claws, palms facing each other. A third Extreme Flame—of shimmering gold and silver—ignited between them.
A terrifying energy rapidly gathered. Mystic Qi in the surrounding heaven and earth churned wildly. Winds whipped up sand and stones around Rain Heaven Pavilion; even the curtain of rain grew unstable.
The overwhelming pressure made Dean Yu Qing and Grand Mentor Shui Bailan’s expressions shift dramatically. Nearby mentors and attendants looked over in alarm and confusion.
Feeling his power drain swiftly, Yan Zhen said coldly,
“Don’t make me do this for real. Otherwise, no one walks away happy.”
Dean Yu Qing’s face flickered with uncertainty, as if she’d been cowed.
Grand Mentor Shui Bailan quickly interjected from the side,
“Stop it now, Yan Zhen! We can talk this out!”
Yan Zhen paused compressing the Three Extreme Flames, but he kept the small energy orb stable in his hands. He snorted.
“It was Dean who threw the first punch… You all just think a little Mystic Master like me is an easy mark, right? Well, come at me then. See who’s afraid.”
Dean Yu Qing bristled, one hand on her hip as she jabbed a finger at him.
“Bring it! Whoever backs down’s a coward!”
Tch! Yan Zhen immediately resumed compressing the Extreme Flames, the small energy orb swelling larger.
“Fine then. I’ll level this Rain Heaven Pavilion to the ground!”
Dean Yu Qing was livid.
“You wouldn’t dare!”
Yan Zhen showed no fear.
“Watch me!”
