Guests Come Calling (Recommendations Requested)

Under countless astonished, shocked gazes, Lin Qingyun walked to the very end of the line.

But sighs of amazement still drifted over, and plenty of eyes remained fixed on him.

"Brother Yun, you really are... badass!"

Xiao Yan looked at Lin Qingyun, utterly shocked. He knew exactly when the latter had started cultivating.

Seven days!

In a mere seven days, he had risen four stages in a row. Even Xiao Yan back then could not have done that.

Badass!

"Brother Qingyun, congratulations!" Xiao Xun'er also said softly, her blinking eyes especially adorable.

"Thanks!" Lin Qingyun nodded with a faint smile.

"Let's go. It's over. We'll celebrate today, my treat!" Lin Qingyun clasped both hands behind his head and strolled leisurely at the very front.

It was not that he did not want to walk shoulder to shoulder with them.

It was just that there was way too damn much public flirting behind him!

He was already stuffed!

"Coming!" Xiao Yan also smiled faintly, a little less gloomy than usual, as he held Xiao Xun'er's hand.

On the bed, the young man sat cross-legged with his eyes closed, his hands forming a strange seal in front of him. His chest rose and fell slightly, and with each breath in and out, it formed a perfect cycle. Amid that cycle of breathing, faint white currents of air slipped into his body through his mouth and nose, nourishing his bones and limbs.

Beside the young man were many books as well. Clearly, he was cultivating by referring to what was written in them.

"Phew!" Slowly exhaling a breath of turbid air, the young man's eyes suddenly opened. A faint gleam flashed through his dark pupils; this was the result of the Dou Qi in his body reaching a certain level.

"Stage 5 Dou Qi!" After focusing inward and sensing his body, Lin Qingyun's face revealed a trace of gratified smile. But when he looked again at the books and scrolls piled into a heap beside him on the bed, his small face immediately turned bitter.

Yesterday, he had stayed up the entire night before finally finishing all those books and scrolls, converting them into Dou Qi through the Dragonless Heart Method.

With his usual lazy personality, being able to persist until he finished reading them was already a miracle, let alone keeping at it through an entire night.

"Cultivation is damn tiring!" Lin Qingyun raised his head to look at the ceiling and complained. Then, as if he had thought of something, he murmured, "Today seems to be the day Nalan Yanran comes to visit. Xiao Yanzi is going to have his engagement broken off. Mm, the check-in location seems to be there!"

The moment he thought of checking in, Lin Qingyun's spirits instantly hit their peak. With a carp flip, he sprang straight off the bed, casually put on a few pieces of clothing, and charged out the door.

"Old man!"

The moment he stepped out, he saw the Fourth Elder walking over with a tray.

"You brat, you actually got up. Not bad. Seems you've reached Stage 5 Dou Qi!"

The instant he saw Lin Qingyun, the Fourth Elder immediately revealed a gratified smile.

Although the Dou Qi in one's body was extremely concealed while in the Dou Qi stages, as a Nine-star Dou Shi, he could still see through it at a glance.

He had gone up another stage in a single night. This speed could only really be described as far too...

Although he did have some doubts about this overly fast cultivation speed, he could also feel that the Dou Qi inside Lin Qingyun's body was extremely solid, not at all like something that had been forcefully raised.

Sigh, being young was wonderful. Back in my day...

"Old man, I'm off first. Urgent business!" After saying that, Lin Qingyun directly took a fried dough stick from the tray and rushed off into the distance.

"This... brat!"

The Fourth Elder blew his beard and glared, but soon smiled again, shook his head, and carried the tray back.

Xiao Family Hall!

Though it was called a hall, in truth, it was only a very large reception hall.

Usually, any clan meetings or receptions for important guests would be held here.

Lin Qingyun entered through the back door. At this moment, quite a few people were already seated inside the hall.

The hall was very spacious. Seated at the very top were the Xiao clan leader, Xiao Zhan, as well as three elders with indifferent expressions. They were the Xiao family's top three elders, all of whom held real authority, and considerable authority at that. They were unlike the Fourth Elder, who merely managed a family warehouse.

Below the four people's left side sat some elders of the family who had the right to speak and whose strength was not weak. Beside them were also some younger generation members who had performed outstandingly within the family.

On the other side sat three strangers. Or rather, not precisely strangers—two of them were familiar. The woman wore a silver-moon white robe that perfectly outlined her relatively flawless figure. That curvy, well-proportioned feeling was clearly visible to Lin Qingyun, and the gazes of many youths in the hall had been drawn over.

However, the woman's expression was very cold, as if someone owed her tens of thousands of gold coins.

The young man beside the woman was the same.

Only at the end did Lin Qingyun look toward that old man. In the original work, he was called Ge Ye, a seven-star Da Dou Shi, and his strength was even greater than the Xiao clan leader's.

After sweeping his gaze around, Lin Qingyun very quickly spotted Xiao Xun'er, so he walked over.

"Brother Qingyun!" Xiao Xun'er's brows furrowed slightly at the person who suddenly appeared beside her, but after she quickly saw who it was, she revealed a trace of a smile, then continued immersing herself in the book in her hands.

Faced with such treatment, Lin Qingyun could only rub his nose and laugh dryly a few times. He knew very well that the young girl before him had long since had her heart hooked away by a certain someone. Perhaps only that certain someone could stir her emotions.

Ugh!

Why did it feel like he had been fed another mouthful of dog food?

Not long after Lin Qingyun arrived, Xiao Yan also walked over.

It was nothing more than the plot he had seen in the book before. In the end, Xiao Yan walked to Xiao Xun'er's side, and the two squeezed into the same seat.

Naturally, Xiao Yan also saw Lin Qingyun, so he greeted him. "Brother Yun!"

Lin Qingyun also nodded.

But...

Hey, can you two stop spreading dog food? What's this about someone sneaking into her room when they were four years old, using clumsy hands...

Damn it, that was not suitable for children!

And what was with those looks?

Lin Qingyun suddenly deeply regretted it. Why had he come over? Wouldn't staying in his room have been nice?

And so...

"Ahem, Xiao Yanzi! Do you know what their identities are?" Lin Qingyun coughed lightly a few times and decided he had to do something.

Although this was somewhat stealing a certain someone's thunder... (Fine, actually, it was just some dog author padding the word count.)

But it was precisely these two coughs that drew a certain young girl's dangerous gaze.

"You know?" Xiao Yan turned his head curiously and asked in surprise.

"See the cloud-and-silver-sword embroidered on their cuffs?" Lin Qingyun pointed them out indirectly and said.

"Oh!" Xiao Yan's heart stirred, and his gaze turned toward the three people's cuffs. Sure enough, he saw a cloud-shaped silver sword there. As they moved casually, it moved along with the sleeves, as if it had come alive.

"They're people from the Misty Cloud Sect?" Xiao Yan said in a low voice, astonished.

The Misty Cloud Sect was very powerful. It was like the Xiao family's current overlord status in Wutan City, except the Misty Cloud Sect was the overlord of the entire Jia Ma Empire.

"What are they doing at our family?" Xiao Yan asked in a low voice, somewhat puzzled. Logically speaking, a small local landlord like the Xiao family should have nothing to do with a lofty sect like the Misty Cloud Sect.

You'd have to ask yourself that... Lin Qingyun rolled his eyes at Xiao Yan.

At that moment, Xiao Xun'er suddenly spoke. "Perhaps it has something to do with Brother Xiao Yan..."

"Me? I've never had any dealings with them." Hearing this, Xiao Yan was startled and shook his head in denial.

"Do you know what that girl is called?" Xiao Xun'er swept a calm glance over the pampered young girl opposite them.

"What?" Xiao Yan frowned and pressed.

"Nalan Yanran!" A strange look surfaced on Xiao Xun'er's small face as she glanced sideways at Xiao Yan, whose body had gone somewhat stiff.

"Nalan Yanran? Nalan Yanran, the granddaughter of Nalan Jie, Lionheart Marshal of the Jia Ma Empire? That... that fiancée who was betrothed to me before we were born?" Xiao Yan said with a stiff expression.

"Hehe, Grand..."

Xiao Xun'er laughed softly, but before she could finish speaking, Lin Qingyun interrupted her.

"She's here to break off the engagement!" Lin Qingyun said calmly.

At the sudden interruption, Xiao Xun'er's gaze toward Lin Qingyun became even more dangerous.

"Brother Yun, what did you say?" Xiao Yan froze, his expression changing as a burst of anger surged abruptly in his heart.

Seeing Xiao Yan like this, Lin Qingyun could only sigh inwardly. Better a short pain than a long one.

Only, when he thought of Xiao Yan, who had just walked out of the shadows, suffering such a blow again, it was inevitably...

But why hadn't the check-in succeeded yet?

The location was correct! The timing was correct too!

Could it be the system had fallen asleep?

Or...

Damn it, could it be that he had to find some hidden switch again before he could check in?

"If I were a Dou Shi now, who would dare trample me like this?"

Xiao Yan's eyes closed slightly, but the hand hidden inside his sleeve had already clenched tightly.

He hated. He hated his own strength, hated why it had vanished for no reason. He hated that it had given him such powerful talent, only to finally bring him despair!

"Brother Xiao Yan, if she truly acts like this, then it is only her loss. Xun'er believes that one day, she will regret her shortsighted judgment today!"

Xiao Xun'er's voice was very gentle, like bathing in a spring breeze.

And Lin Qingyun could also see that the former's delicate little hand had been firmly clasped over Xiao Yan's hand all along.

Out of sight, out of mind. Lin Qingyun abruptly turned his head away and muttered quietly, "Your Golden Finger is about to arrive soon, but me? I'm still a tragic..."

Sigh, the more said, the more tears.

"Brother Yun, you seem to know a great deal about them. This matter probably hasn't been spread to outsiders, right? How did you learn of it?" Suddenly, Xiao Yan lifted his head, looked at Lin Qingyun, and asked.

Lin Qingyun was slightly startled, then smiled faintly without speaking.

What could he do? Was he supposed to say directly that he had read the original work? Impossible, all right!

Looking at Lin Qingyun's evasive silence, Xiao Yan opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he gave up.

Right then, the atmosphere inside the hall suddenly quieted down, turning somewhat solemn and oppressive.

Lin Qingyun saw that Ge Ye, who had been sitting all along, suddenly stood up.

"Hehe, using the Misty Cloud Sect to pressure Father? This Nalan Yanran truly has fine methods..." Xiao Yan sneered, anger surging through his heart.

"Is the main event finally about to begin?"

Lin Qingyun murmured inwardly.

He glanced at Xiao Yan, who sat in his chair with both hands clenched tightly, and sighed softly.

"Xiao Yanzi, brother is going to offend that woman thoroughly this time. In the future, you'd better treat brother a little better!"

P.S. I have a magical treasure called the Ticket-Collecting Bottle. If I shout, 'Tickets, come,' do you fellow book friends dare to answer?

P.S. Regarding the issue of this book's female lead, of course it'll be a harem, but out of respect for the original work, there won't be any messing around. Xiao Yan's two wives won't be touched.