Translator: Larbre Studio Editor: Larbre Studio
“Yun Zheng.” The old woman coughed and called out to stop the middle-aged man.
Yun Zheng respected the old woman, so he immediately pulled his hand back. He still glared at Mu Lingxi coldly and huffed.
The old woman looked at Mu Lingxi with a gentle gaze. “Lingxi, you've been having fun outside for so long. It's time to return to chief temple.”
“Master, I…”
Mu Lingxi bit her lip. Her moving starry eyes secretly darted toward Zhang Ruochen. She didn't want to return to the Demonic Sect at all. Once she returned, she might never be able to do what she wanted. It would be difficult to see Zhang Ruochen again as well.
The old woman glanced at Zhang Ruochen and discovered something. “Are you the Time and s.p.a.ce Descendant, Zhang Ruochen?”
“It is I,” Zhang Ruochen said.
Since the old woman was Mu Lingxi's teacher, Zhang Ruochen had to respect her. His expression was humble and yet not submissive.
The old woman nodded. She then looked at Mu Lingxi. “Lingxi,” she said. “There are some things that I would like to talk to you about privately. Come here!”
“Yes,” Mu Lingxi said softly.
The old woman and Mu Lingxi walked over the fallen leaves into the forest and quickly disappeared amongst the thick trees.
Zhang Ruochen didn't follow them. Instead, he stayed in place and waited quietly.
Yun Zheng stared at Zhang Ruochen coldly. “Zhang Ruochen,” he said. “Lin Yue, pride of the Yin and Yang Sect, should be you as well, right?”
“Senior, you can say whatever you'd like,” Zhang Ruochen said.
Yun Zheng put his arms behind him. Powerful Holy Qi rippled off of him. The leaves on the ground spun with crackling sounds.
“You and Lingxi aren't the same type of people,” he said. “I hope that you can stay away from her.”
“Why?” Zhang Ruochen asked.
Yun Zheng was honestly too domineering. He gave off an authoritative feeling, as if everyone had to follow his orders. Even though Zhang Ruochen had just met him, he felt resentful already.
No wonder Mu Lingxi would have a bad relations.h.i.+p with him. It wasn't unfounded.
Yun Feng's eyes were sharp and cold. “Did you ask me why? Then can I ask you what you can give her?”
Hearing this, Zhang Ruochen realized he couldn't reply.
“I won't beat around the bush,” Yun Zheng said. “You are indeed talented and you are a young pride. You are at Lingxi's level. However, you have a fiancée. I do not wish for my daughter to marry someone like you. That is one reason.”
“The second is that if you truly love Lingxi, you should know that she is one of the Divine Sect's Saintesses, but she doesn't actually have much authority. She is discriminated against in the family too. Can you help her?”
“Thirdly, your ident.i.ty is too problematic. There are countless people who want to kill you. Do you think I'd let my daughter flee across the world and live every day in fear?”
“With Lingxi's great attributes, she can easily marry the heir of a middle-age clan. There are at least three in the Divine Sect. If she has the support of a middle-age clan, she can stabilize her status in the sect. From then on, no one in the Mu Family would dare to discriminate against her.”
“Thus, you can't give her what she needs. You can only bring danger and pain to her.”
Admittedly, Yun Zheng was a realistic man. However, his every word hit Zhang Ruochen's sore spot. He couldn't refute them at all.
To Yun Zheng, Zhang Ruochen was talented, but he was only a young junior. He didn't have any support and couldn't compare with the clans from the middle ages.
He and Mu Lingxi needed a powerful force for support, instead of investing great resources to develop a genius. Indeed, Zhang Ruochen could be valuable to develop, but he was also very risky.
Zhang Ruochen chuckled bitterly. “I would like to know if this is what you want or what Mu Lingxi wants.”
“As her father, I would try my hardest to fight for what she wants. The compet.i.tion within the Divine Sect is extremely cruel. If she doesn't work hard to fight for her own interest, she'll die in the cruel battles. You will never understand this.”
“A genius like you,” Yun Zheng continued, “should be fought over by the various large forces. But do you know why I don't want to tempt you into joining the Divine Sect?”
“Why?” Zhang Ruochen asked.
“Because even if you do join, you won't survive more than a few days,” Yun Zheng said emotionlessly.
Seeing the doubt in Zhang Ruochen's eyes, Yun Zheng paused and said, “The Divine Sect already has a Deity. We don't need another genius who's just as talented as him. He would only threaten the Deity. The people behind the Deity definitely wouldn't let him mature. If I take you back to the Divine Sect, I would be going against the Deity and the people behind him.”
In the end, the old woman and Yun Zheng took Mu Lingxi away.
Mu Lingxi bowed her head as she walked away. Her eyes were swollen and red. She'd clearly cried, but Zhang Ruochen didn't know what the old woman had said to her. Mu Lingxi hadn't said a word to Zhang Ruochen this entire time. She was abnormally quiet and her eyes were dull. She was either pondering something or she'd lost her soul, and walked away like a puppet.
Zhang Ruochen seemed to have turned to stone as well. He stood there without moving.
In the distance, Han Qiu gripped her chin and stared at Zhang Ruochen. “I thought the Monks of the Demonic Sect were all the cruelest demons and that they'd attack without saying anything. I didn't expect that they'd use words instead of actions.”
“They're worried that Senior Sister Duanmu would refuse to return to the Demonic Sect and rebel,” Zhang Ruochen said. “Fighting would only make things worse.” He closed his eyes, actually feeling pain in his heart.
Both the Demonic Sect and the Mu Family were like pits of fire to Mu Lingxi. Zhang Ruochen could only watch her walk into the fire, unable to pull her back. This feeling was horrible.
“If you said something, I think she would've tried to stay no matter what,” Han Qiu said.
Zhang Ruochen gave her a look and then went straight back to Shentai City without saying anything.
Han Qiu was left alone. Finding it strange, she muttered to herself, “Am I wrong?”
Han Qiu wasn't wrong. The problem was with Zhang Ruochen. Even now, he still wasn't sure what he felt toward Mu Lingxi. Yun Zheng's words had affected him greatly as well. In a way, his current condition truly wasn't able to give Mu Lingxi what she needed.
“It'll be better to be back in the Demonic Sect with her father and teacher than being chased after with me. It'll be safer.”
Zhang Ruochen tried convincing himself. Finally, he sighed deeply.
Wan Ji had been killed by the old woman. Cao Gu had been taken away. Only the injured Cao Feng remained.
Zhang Ruochen didn't kill him. Instead, he placed Cao Feng inside the Universe Spiritual Map and handed him to Blackie. Now, there was finally a Half-Saint physical laborer inside the scroll world. He would definitely be good at building cities and residences.
Han Qiu was no longer impressed with the various techniques that Zhang Ruochen used. She couldn't help but say, “Zhang Ruochen, the power and resources you have now are comparable to those Saint families. I don't know why Mu Lingxi's dad looks down on you. Anyone else would be ecstatic to have a son-in-law like you.”
Naturally, she said this after seeing Ghost King Bloodmoon. After all, most of the Saint families only had one Saint as the main force. But not only did Zhang Ruochen have a Ghost King, he was also powerful himself. He could indeed counter some of those influential saint families.
Zhang Ruochen didn't want to discuss this anymore. “I remember the Yin and Yang Sect has a wormhole to the Central Region, right?” he asked.
“You're going to the Central Region?” Han Qiu asked.
“Yes.”
Zhang Ruochen's eyes were determined. Whether it was for the Pluto Sword Tomb or to investigate the truth from 800 years ago, he had to go to the Central Region.
Some things had to be faced.
It was time to go back!
“The Yin and Yang Sect does have a wormhole,” Han Qiu said. “It has existed since the ancient times. The disciples that go to train in the Central Region all go through this wormhole. Since you want to go, I'll ask around for when it opens next.”
“Thanks,” Zhang Ruochen said.
Han Qiu smiled, revealing her pearly whites. “I have to help you if I take something from you. Plus, this is easy for me.”
Next, Zhang Ruochen followed Han Qiu into the Yin and Yang Sect under the disguise of an outsider disciple.
Nowadays, Han Qiu was the top disciple of the G.o.ddess Academy. She had a very high status in the sect, second only to those Half-Saints and elders. It was easy for her to bring someone into the sect.
However, all the Monks in the G.o.ddess Academy were women. Han Qiu was also one of the four beauties of the Yin and Yang Sect. She had mesmerizing beauty and was famous amongst the sect. Zhang Ruochen naturally attracted a lot of curious and jealous gazes as he walked with her.
Thankfully, Han Qiu's cultivation was high enough that no one dared to offend her. The journey was smooth. In the time after that, Zhang Ruochen stayed temporarily in Han Qiu's cultivation residence.
