Her Face is Thick

"Brother Xia Qing, you're up early to practice your sword," Xia Wantang said, a little surprised. In the original owner's memories, there wasn't much information about Xia Qing.

The original owner had always been reclusive, and Xia Qing had spent most of the previous years training outside, rarely returning to the Xia Family.

Of course, it was precisely because of this that he hadn't been spoiled into becoming a useless person like Xia Ba by Xia Yingwu and his wife.

Seeing Xia Wantang, Xia Qing's expression was one of pleasant surprise:

"Wantang, are you here to practice your sword too?"

"I was just lamenting that I had no one to spar with. If Wantang doesn't mind my shallow cultivation, perhaps we could practice swordplay together?"

Although Xia Qing was far inferior to Ye Xing, he was still a person.

Xia Wantang practicing by herself in the air was indeed less effective.

Moreover, practicing with another person meant getting familiar with another fighting style, so there was no downside.

With that thought, Xia Wantang nodded:

"Okay, thank you for your trouble, Brother Xia Qing."

The two exchanged sword techniques for a while, and Xia Qing's admiration for Xia Wantang deepened:

He had initially thought that her rapid increase in strength to the peak of the Mystic Martial Realm in just six months meant her foundation must be unstable. He hadn't expected her fundamental skills to be so solid, her spiritual power controlled with such finesse and precision, and her every move sharp and decisive.

To match him, Xia Wantang had even deliberately suppressed her spiritual power to the early stage of the Mystic Martial Realm. To be able to achieve so much while intentionally suppressing herself was truly admirable.

If he hadn't known that Xia Wantang's cultivation had been very low before, Xia Qing would have thought she had been practicing swordplay since birth.

Xia Wantang felt that Xia Qing was also a good sparring partner.

Although his attacking power and spiritual power control were far inferior to Ye Xing's, Xia Qing was quite adept at finding clever angles, and some of his attacks came from very tricky directions. This practice session gave her a flash of inspiration; she could imitate Xia Qing's moves in future practical combat.

After they had practiced for a short while, they heard two sets of footsteps approaching.

"I was wondering who was so enthusiastic to be practicing swordplay so early in the morning. So, it's the young master and Wantang."

Xia Wantang turned her head at the sound and saw two elders, one fat and one thin, walking over from not far away.

Based on her memories, she recognized them as the Xia Family's First Elder, Xia Qian, and Second Elder, Xia Kun.

Xia Qing stepped forward to greet them:

"Greetings, First Elder and Second Elder."

Xia Wantang also lazily offered a greeting:

"Good morning to you both."

Honestly, even saying that felt like she was giving them too much credit.

Both of them were at the early stage of the Mystic Martial Realm. Not only was their cultivation low, but they were also the ones who had pushed the original owner to her death.

Their appearance so early in the morning was unlikely to bring any good news.

As expected, Xia Qian started by finding fault with Xia Wantang:

"I heard you asked the family head for a lot of things yesterday."

"Wantang, ultimately, you are a member of the Xia Family and must consider the bigger picture and the family's interests."

"If it weren't for the Xia Family giving you the opportunity, you wouldn't have become the Saintess of Azure Cloud Palace, nor would our ancestor have appeared in your dreams."

"Therefore, you shouldn't have been so greedy and asked for so many things."

The barrage of accusatory words made Xia Wantang's head spin.

Moreover, she wasn't stupid; she could tell that Xia Yingwu regretted agreeing to her demands yesterday.

Yesterday, Xia Wantang had helped Xia Ba immensely, and Xia Yingwu, knowing he was in the wrong, found it inconvenient to speak to her himself, so he sent the two elders to do the talking.

They dared to say this because they were betting that she was young and shy, and wouldn't dare to argue with her elders.

But, unfortunately for them, her skin was quite thick.

"Hey, but that's because I've worked hard for it. The ancestor said that if my identity was found to be problematic, the entire Xia Family would be in danger! In essence, I am the Xia Family's lifesaver."

"I've cultivated day and night for half a year, pushing my health and body to the limit. What's wrong with asking for some compensation? Won't the Xia Family prosper because of me in the future?"

"The things I asked for are not even as valuable as the rewards Azure Cloud Palace gave the Xia Family. Can that be considered being greedy?"

"And last night, wasn't it thanks to me that Xia Ba's situation was resolved..."

Listening to Xia Wantang's incessant chatter, the other three present were all stunned.

Where was the quiet, beautiful woman they expected?

Seeing Xia Wantang's words becoming more and more outrageous, Xia Kun quickly stepped in as a peacemaker:

"Alright, alright, First Elder, Wantang, let's not argue about this anymore. It's better to see what Wantang and the family head think!"

The implication of his words was that they wouldn't help the family head with the 'thought work' and would let the family head solve it himself!

Hearing this, Xia Qian could only give up. He let out a cold snort and left with Xia Kun.

"Wantang, perhaps father is just short-sighted and doesn't understand the value of an Azure Cloud Palace Saintess."

Xia Wantang turned around and saw Xia Qing looking at her with a complex expression, clearly wanting to explain on behalf of his father.

Unlike the other members of the Xia Family, Xia Qing had been training outside for many years and naturally knew how much benefit the Xia Family would gain from associating with Azure Cloud Palace.

Moreover, what Xia Wantang said wasn't wrong. Half a year ago, because the Xia Family had produced a Saintess that satisfied Azure Cloud Palace, Azure Cloud Palace had rewarded the Xia Family with many spirit herbs, spirit pills, and magic artifacts, rare items that couldn't be found in Luoxia City.

"It's fine."

"Actually, your talent is quite good, and your swordsmanship has its own unique ingenuity. You shouldn't be confined to the small Luoxia City."

Xia Qing was a bit older, already over twenty-five.

Although his talent couldn't compare to the disciples in Azure Cloud Palace, it wouldn't be difficult for him to join some small to medium-sized sects.

He was the most talented among the younger generation of the entire Xia Family. If he could encounter some fortuitous encounters during his training, it wouldn't be difficult for him to break through to the Profound Heaven Realm in the future.

Hearing Xia Wantang's encouragement, Xia Qing's ears turned slightly red, and he said with a serious expression:

"Okay, I will work hard."

After being disturbed by Xia Qian and Xia Kun, Xia Wantang lost the mood to practice her sword and decided to go directly to Xia Yingwu to retrieve what belonged to her.

"Knock! Knock! Knock!"

Hearing the knock on the door, Xia Yingwu's expression turned bitter:

Without even thinking, he knew that the person outside the door must be Xia Wantang, the debt collector.

The two elders had already reported to him that Xia Wantang was not afraid of moral blackmail at all; in fact, she had even turned it back on them.

The main thing was that, whether it was the incident half a year ago or last night's incident, the Xia Family was indeed in the wrong. It was understandable for Xia Wantang to ask for some benefits.

After much deliberation, Xia Yingwu steeled himself, resigned himself to fate, and turned to open the door.

As soon as he opened the door, he saw Xia Wantang smiling brightly.

"Patriarch Xia, have the items been prepared?"

She got straight to the point, not giving him any chance to refuse.

Xia Yingwu: ...

"This storage bag contains the spirit stones, Heaven Grade Spirit Herbs, and Heaven Grade Spirit Pills you asked for."

He handed the storage bag to Xia Wantang with a pained expression, his hand still lingering on the bag reluctantly.

Xia Wantang snatched the storage bag and, after confirming that nothing was missing, continued:

"What about the treasure left by the ancestor?"

"Oh, right. I heard Azure Cloud Palace also gave many good magic treasures. I want to pick another one."

Faced with her shameless price gouging, Xia Yingwu's eyes widened, and he directly refused:

"Wantang, didn't we agree yesterday that you would only get one magic treasure?"