Nalan Yanran

The Misty Cloud Sect's Great Elder, Yun Leng!

Chen Guan recognized him at a glance. They had met before at the Coming-of-Age Ceremony.

Seeing Chen Guan look over, Yun Leng did not avoid his gaze and returned a meaningful smile. No matter how one looked at it, he resembled a venomous snake.

Behind Yun Leng sat another familiar face: Mo Cheng, the Mo Family's Great Elder. Who knew what they were discussing through voice transmission? He too was sizing up the young man.

Seeing the two colluding together, Chen Guan had a feeling that their topic was him—and not anything good.

His Spiritual Power stirred slightly. After thinking for a moment, Chen Guan ultimately did not spread it out to eavesdrop. That would have been far too obvious; none of the people present were weak.

Not to mention anyone else, Fama and Gu He above would definitely have sensed it. Chen Guan returned an equally inscrutable smile and buried his thoughts deep within.

However, what Chen Guan never expected was that his actions just now gave someone the wrong impression.

By sheer coincidence, Mo Cheng met Chen Guan's eyes just as his Spiritual Power surged. His mind immediately went hazy, and it took several moments before he recovered.

What kind of eyes are these?!

Mo Cheng was deeply shaken.

He had never considered that Chen Guan's Spiritual Power vastly surpassed his own. He dismissed the correct answer immediately and merely assumed he had discovered a pair of Mystical Eyes.

Let's be frank: a bold thought arose within him.

He wanted Chen Guan's eyes!

He glanced at Jia Xingtian, who was chatting merrily with Fama across from him. He was incredibly, incredibly strong—a gap so vast that Mo Cheng had no Power to Resist, enough to inspire dread. Yet when he thought of Yun Leng before him and the Misty Cloud Sect behind him, Mo Cheng felt that perhaps there was still room to maneuver.

"That is the Misty Cloud Sect's Great Elder, Yun Leng. Behind him is Mo Cheng, Great Elder of the Mo Family from Northwest Salt City. He has always followed the Great Elder's lead."

A cool voice entered his ears from beside him as Nalan Yanran took the initiative to introduce them.

Clearly, she had been watching the young man's movements all along and thought he was curious about the two.

Nalan Yanran felt some resistance toward Yun Leng and Mo Cheng. Her teacher was clearly the sect leader, yet neither of them showed her much respect.

Yun Leng could be excused for relying on his seniority, but Mo Cheng was even worse. Whenever he saw her teacher, he merely offered a perfunctory salute. He was completely the Great Elder's lackey.

Although Nalan Yanran had only become a disciple a few years ago, Yun Yun cared greatly for her. Their master-disciple relationship was excellent; they were master and disciple, yet also like sisters.

As a firm supporter of the sect leader, it was naturally difficult for her to feel any goodwill toward those two.

"Thank you." Chen Guan nodded in thanks.

The Mo Family?

They were nothing but a rabble. There was no need to pay them much attention.

Only Yun Leng had some real strength, but unfortunately, he was an idiot with a defective brain.

In the Original Trajectory, the Misty Cloud Sect's miserable fate could be said to have been ninety-nine percent this Old Fellow's doing. If not for him, once Xiao Huohuo had regained his dignity, the Three-Year Agreement would have essentially come to an end, and they would have gone their separate ways.

Yet Yun Leng had insisted on courting death with his own abilities, dragging the entire Misty Cloud Sect down with him. If Chen Guan were Yun Shan, he would probably have wanted to kill him.

He truly was a single rat dropping that ruined an entire pot of soup.

No longer paying attention to Yun Leng, Chen Guan looked toward the Training Ground.

After an elder finished his lengthy speech and encouragement, the Disciple Grand Competition finally began.

The Misty Cloud Sect's disciples were divided into Outer Sect, Inner Sect, and Core Disciples.

Accordingly, the competition was divided into three stages.

The Outer Sect disciples were just weaklings pecking at one another, and few could make the guests' Eyes Lit Up.

The battles among the Inner Sect disciples, however, were far more exciting. All of them possessed strength above the Dou Zhe realm, and Dou Skills of various attributes shone against one another in a dazzling display.

Overall, their standard was quite good, displaying the Misty Cloud Sect's vigorous and flourishing momentum.

Chen Guan glanced at Jia Xingtian, seated diagonally across from him. Sure enough, the Old Man's smile had faded considerably.

After the Outer Sect and Inner Sect matches ended, it was time for the Core Disciples to compete.

This was the segment everyone cared about most. These Core Disciples might not be especially strong now, but each was being raised as an inheritor of the sect's legacy. They could be called the future backbone of the Misty Cloud Sect.

Nalan Yanran appeared in this segment.

As Yun Yun's Core Disciple, she naturally became the focus of the entire audience.

Unafraid of the pressure of being watched by countless people, Nalan Yanran performed brilliantly. At Dou Qi Stage Nine, she defeated six Core Disciples at the Same Level in succession before having to withdraw due to excessive exhaustion.

This battle was enough to make everyone present remember the name Nalan Yanran, and it also upheld the reputation of the sect leader's Core Disciple.

Listening to the tide of praise for Nalan Yanran, Nalan Su laughed heartily, feeling immensely proud.

Even Yun Yun, seated in the place of honor, revealed a satisfied smile at that moment. Like a spring breeze, like evening clouds, she was dignified and beautiful.

Nalan Yanran had long become like Yun Yun. After leaving the stage, she looked toward her teacher first thing, completely ignoring her even more delighted father on the other side. Seeing her teacher's smile, she too beamed with joy.

After returning to her seat, she unexpectedly asked the young man beside her, whom she was not familiar with, "How did I perform?"

She found the rumors about Chen Guan hard to believe, but her teacher would not lie to her. Without even realizing it herself, she had already begun treating catching up to Chen Guan as a goal to strive toward. That was why she was curious about his evaluation now.

"Very impressive. Your future is promising."

Chen Guan said whatever suited the person before him. Nice words cost nothing, after all.

And she truly had performed well. He could hardly compare everyone to himself, could he? Yet what he had not expected was that such high praise did not make Nalan Yanran happy. Instead, it angered her.

"Are you mocking me?"

Turning to look at Nalan Yanran's darkened face, Chen Guan found it utterly baffling. She was not satisfied even when he said something nice—did she need him to arrogantly ridicule her before she felt better?

Do you have some kind of weird tendency? Too lazy to argue with her, Chen Guan rose and moved away, walking toward Yun Yun above. The competition could basically be declared over, and it was time to discuss serious business.

Ignored by him, Nalan Yanran tightly gripped the longsword in her hand. Anger, humiliation, and countless other emotions mixed together. She felt she had never suffered such a grievance in all her life.

Especially when she clearly heard the young man mutter "idiot" as he left. She nearly exploded on the spot, and her resentment skyrocketed. In the blink of an eye, the young man had become number one on her list of bastards who absolutely needed to be taught a lesson. Chen Guan did not know what she was thinking, and even if he had, he would not have cared.

As for the current Nalan Yanran, how should one put it? She was still somewhat childish and idealistic. Whenever things did not go her way, she easily went to extremes, with a touch of the Eldest Young Lady's self-righteous temperament. Only someone with Yun Yun's personality could keep her in check.

Simply put, she had not yet been beaten down by society.

It was not as though she was bad. At her age, given the environment she had grown up in, immaturity was perfectly normal.

Chen Guan could understand it, but he did not like it, nor did he have any intention of playing childish games with her.

Compared to Nalan Yanran, who still had a foolish air about her, he preferred getting along with mature, considerate women like Yaoye and Yun Yun.

Chen Guan solemnly declared here that he had no lewd intentions toward Sister Yaoye, nor had he kept those joking words from back then in his heart. Really!