The Three-Year Pact

Qin Xuelan's question made Chen Zhengqing feel that something was amiss.

"That's right. Is there a problem?" Chen Zhengqing asked, his eyes shifting slightly.

"Yiyue is going to become the Saintess of my Water Immortal Palace. Her status will be incomparably noble."

"And I heard that your adopted son used to be a good-for-nothing wastrel. He has only changed a little now."

"Someone like him is unworthy of our Saintess. Therefore, this marriage pact is void. Have Yiyue write him a divorce letter."

Qin Xuelan spoke with force, as if she were not asking for their opinion but delivering a decisive order.

"Fortunately, they haven't consummated their marriage yet. It's still not too late to destroy the marriage pact."

The voices outside were loud, and Yang Lingtian heard everything from inside.

Yang Lingtian had no objection to Water Immortal Palace making Chen Yiyue its Saintess.

But asking his legally wedded wife to divorce him—how could he, a true man, endure that?

Since when did wives divorce their husbands?

So he rushed straight out and shouted, "I disagree!"

His voice was loud and resolute.

Everyone turned toward Yang Lingtian, who had suddenly charged out, their faces filled with astonishment.

The dozen or so female disciples behind Qin Xuelan all cried out in alarm when they saw Yang Lingtian.

"It's him! It's him! It's definitely him!"

"Master, he's the lecher we told you about—the one who spied on us while we were bathing."

Chen Zhengqing and Chen Yiyue looked shocked as well, and they turned toward Yang Lingtian.

When Qin Xuelan heard this, her expression abruptly changed. "What? It was you who peeped at the people of Water Immortal Palace while they were bathing?"

"Family Head Chen, is this your so-called adopted son? As expected, he's a lecher."

"I heard that on the day of his eighteenth coming-of-age ceremony, this boy ran off to fool around in a Brothel. A leopard can't change its spots!"

Hearing Qin Xuelan curse her adopted son so mercilessly, Chen Zhengqing's expression turned displeased.

"Elder Qin, there must be some misunderstanding. Ling Tian isn't that kind of person." Chen Zhengqing carefully argued back.

"I already told them that I fell asleep while bathing upstream and accidentally encountered them after drifting downstream."

Yang Lingtian explained. He had been too lazy to explain before, but with his adoptive father and Yiyue here, he had to say something.

Otherwise, if they misunderstood him, the poor impression they already had of him would only become worse.

"See? Ling Tian didn't do it on purpose." Chen Zhengqing continued defending him.

"No matter what, this marriage pact is definitely being destroyed. Yiyue, hurry up and write him a divorce letter."

"As long as you divorce him, you can become the Saintess of Water Immortal Palace."

"By then, in Water Immortal Palace, your status will be second only to the Palace Master and those few ancestors."

"This is an opportunity countless people dream of!" Qin Xuelan urged her.

This infuriated Yang Lingtian, and he began firing off one retort after another.

"Is your Water Immortal Palace really that impressive? In what way am I unworthy of my Yiyue?"

"Marriage is a family matter. What gives you the right to meddle?"

"You old hag, who do you think you are? You say divorce, and she divorces him? You say the pact is void, and it's void?"

"If you can destroy it just by saying so, wouldn't that make us look utterly shameless?"

"Yiyue, don't listen to her. What Water Immortal Palace? It's nothing but a broken sect."

Everyone was stunned when they heard this. Yang Lingtian had actually been so impolite.

Even Chen Zhengqing broke out in a cold sweat.

This was Water Immortal Palace, one of the three great sects. Even he had to speak cautiously around them.

Yet Yang Lingtian had immediately belittled their sect and cursed their elder to her face.

He truly had an extraordinary talent for getting into trouble. He was far too reckless.

However, Chen Yiyue did not lose her composure when she heard this. Instead, she smiled faintly.

She seemed to admire Yang Lingtian's fearlessness in the face of death.

At that moment, the system's voice suddenly rang out in Yang Lingtian's mind, startling him.

[Chen Yiyue has developed some admiration for the host. You have advanced another step in completing the mission to win Chen Yiyue's heart.]

[Reward: Ninth-tier alchemy knowledge and skills, Ninth-tier Formation knowledge and skills.]

Suddenly, a jumble of strange knowledge appeared in his mind.

"What? The cheat this system gave me is way too powerful. It jumped straight to the ninth tier?"

"A ninth-tier alchemist and a ninth-tier artificer are legendary existences in this world."

"I might even be the only ninth-tier alchemist and ninth-tier artificer in the entire world."

"So damn cool. It feels like I've reached max level in pills and formations."

"What an unexpected delight. Could it be that I made Yiyue's heart flutter a little just now?"

"Looks like Yiyue likes men who are tough. The tougher I am, the more she likes me!"

Yang Lingtian was overjoyed. The frustration he had felt moments ago vanished in an instant.

When Qin Xuelan heard this torrent of words, she froze for a moment.

She had never expected that a mere live-in son-in-law would dare speak to her like this. Where did he get that confidence?

How many years had it been since anyone dared to contradict her so brazenly?

She flew into a rage. A violent aura erupted from her, and powerful pressure swept toward Yang Lingtian.

"Boy, you've got quite some nerve. How dare you insult our Water Immortal Palace!"

Peak Golden Core!

The moment Qin Xuelan released her aura, Chen Zhengqing and the others sensed its formidable peak-Golden-Core might.

Bearing the tremendous pressure, Yang Lingtian still refused to back down. "What? As an elder of a great sect, are you going to attack a little Foundation Establishment cultivator like me?"

"So you really only know how to bully those weaker than you. Aren't you afraid of becoming a laughingstock if word gets out?"

Hearing this, Qin Xuelan reined in her aura. She also felt that she had lost her composure.

But the anger in her heart had not faded. "Hmph. I'll say the same thing."

"Your marriage pact must be destroyed. If you truly care about Yiyue, you should let her go."

What kind of nonsense was that? Did loving her mean learning to let go?

Yang Lingtian had no intention of doing so. He persisted, "No. Why must the Saintess of Water Immortal Palace be single?"

"Have you been single for too long and become unable to stand seeing other people happy together?"

The moment these words came out, the people of Water Immortal Palace were furious.

Qin Xuelan snapped, "What nonsense are you spouting? The people of Water Immortal Palace can marry as well."

"It's just that there are too few men in this world worthy of our Water Immortal Palace."

"Moreover, our Saintess Yiyue possesses the Taiyin Sacred Body. Her future is limitless."

"You broke through to Foundation Establishment at eighteen. Your talent can only be considered decent. Compared with our Saintess, you're still nothing but trash."

"So you're fundamentally unworthy of Yiyue. You'd better obediently let her go!"

Yang Lingtian snorted and mocked her. "You call me trash? The people of Water Immortal Palace are the real trash."

"I wonder which sect you people are from. More than a dozen people at the same cultivation level couldn't even take me down."

"What? What happened?" Qin Xuelan asked in confusion, looking toward the disciples behind her.

Clearly, her dozen or so disciples had not told her about their attack on Yang Lingtian.

It was indeed too humiliating. More than a dozen people had failed to hold back one man.

Afterward, they honestly recounted what had happened.

"Hmph. So many of you couldn't even take down a Foundation Establishment Early Stage cultivator?"

"How embarrassing. I should never have brought you out." Qin Xuelan's voice was icy.

She then turned to Yang Lingtian and said disdainfully, "Those were merely the weakest disciples in our sect. What's there to be proud of in escaping from them?"

"I'll say it again: you're still unworthy of Yiyue."

With the conversation having reached this point, the atmosphere became tense.

"Enough. Whether I go to Water Immortal Palace and whether I destroy the marriage pact are my affairs. I'll decide for myself."

Chen Yiyue calmly stepped forward and addressed Qin Xuelan.

"How about this? I'll go to Water Immortal Palace first. If Ling Tian's cultivation is lower than mine three years from now, I'll divorce him."

"But if Ling Tian's cultivation is equal to or higher than mine by then, our status as husband and wife will continue."

"Elder Qin, what do you think? Of course, I'll cultivate with all my strength."

The moment she finished speaking, Qin Xuelan was faintly shocked.

She realized that Chen Yiyue had remained calm the entire time, composed and utterly unruffled.

Even after hearing about Water Immortal Palace and facing a top expert like herself, she had not lost her composure.

She was only an eighteen-year-old girl, yet she lacked the timidity and nervousness one would expect at her age.

She seemed to have experienced countless major events, as if nothing in the world was worth mentioning in her eyes.

Could this be the innate aura of a superior that came with possessing the Taiyin Sacred Body?

Chen Zhengqing and Yang Lingtian also noticed that Chen Yiyue was indeed somewhat different from before. Her bearing had clearly changed.

After a moment of hesitation, Qin Xuelan replied, "Then we'll do as the Saintess says."

"However, I hope you won't reveal that Yiyue possesses the Taiyin Sacred Body and is becoming the Saintess of Water Immortal Palace."

"This matter is of great importance. For Yiyue's safety, we'll secretly take her back."

Water Immortal Palace had quite a few enemies. The Saintess who possessed the Taiyin Sacred Body was their sect's hope of rising to prominence.

Therefore, before the Saintess matured, they did not want this news to spread.

Chen Zhengqing understood. For the sake of his daughter's safety, he agreed as well.

As for why Qin Xuelan had agreed so readily, it was because she believed that Yang Lingtian's cultivation could not possibly surpass the Saintess's three years later.

After all, the Saintess possessed the heaven-defying Taiyin Sacred Body and would receive Water Immortal Palace's full support.

How could a cultivator from some remote backwater place, without any exceptionally powerful constitution, cultivate faster than the Saintess?

Yang Lingtian also agreed to the three-year pact without hesitation.

He had great confidence in himself. As long as he continued completing the system's missions, he would obtain more rewards.

Perhaps he might even be rewarded with an exceptionally powerful constitution!

However, with Chen Yiyue going to Water Immortal Palace, completing the system mission to win Chen Yiyue's heart would become rather difficult.

He could only wait for another opportunity.

After both sides agreed, everything calmed down.

Chen Yiyue packed her belongings and followed Qin Xuelan back to Water Immortal Palace.

Only a few members of the Chen Family knew that Chen Yiyue had become the Saintess of Water Immortal Palace.

With this connection, although Water Immortal Palace was now the Chen Family's backer, it was not a backer in the open.

After all, no one knew that Chen Yiyue had become the Saintess of Water Immortal Palace.

At that moment, inside the True Elixir Pavilion, Master Lei Yi paced back and forth anxiously.

"Did Lei Gang actually manage to capture that boy Yang Lingtian?"

"How did those two vanish into thin air without making a sound?"