Having had his fill of juicy gossip, Tang Yan leaned back against his chair in high spirits and took a sip of Spirit Tea.
Although he had only been reciting everything in his head, he still felt thirsty.
The other Peak Masters, elders, and disciples secretly listening in were thoroughly satisfied too.
Jiang Mei belched in the void, while somewhere else, two female disciples let out contented burps.
Just then, Xiao Jixue finished his round and returned to Tang Yan's side.
There were still two rounds left.
Wei Lianyi was also taking part in today's competition. Dressed in white brocade robes, she walked gracefully to her place and sat down.
Tang Yan watched her from afar and sighed inwardly.
[Wei Lianyi's entering this little competition too? Didn't she only reach the early Golden Core stage recently? She can already make seventh-tier spirit talismans suited to the Golden Core realm?]
Tang Yan was a little surprised, but quickly accepted it.
[As expected of this world's heroine, who shoulders the responsibility of saving it. Talents of the highest caliber, an exceptional character—she can master all four cultivation arts to perfection.]
Propping his chin on his hand, he recalled, [If I remember correctly, the heroine will become not only an astonishingly brilliant Alchemy Grandmaster on the Immortal Spirit Continent, but also a renowned Array Grandmaster and Talisman Grandmaster.]
Wei Lianyi paused, a flicker of surprise passing through her lowered eyes.
Her future self was that amazing? Was Junior Brother Tang really talking about her, and not someone else with the exact same name?
Wei Lianyi sighed inwardly.
Every time she heard Junior Brother Tang describe her future achievements, she felt as though she were having an utterly absurd, wonderful dream.
Xu You, up in the void, froze as well.
Once it sank in that his darling daughter would become so accomplished, his face immediately glowed with pride and satisfaction.
"Hahaha, excellent! That's my daughter!"
Jiang Mei, Li Rong, and the others looked positively green with envy. "You lucky bastard. A wonderful daughter like that practically fell into your lap."
The other disciples sucked in sharp breaths too.
Gazes shot toward Wei Lianyi, burning with admiration—the sort of looks reserved for both monstrous geniuses and idols.
The Pill Peak disciples puffed out their chests proudly.
Hmph! Our junior sister really is amazing!
The disciples from the other peaks thought, Pfft! Junior Sister Wei is the entire Ten Thousand Swords Sect's junior sister. What are the Pill Peak disciples acting so smug about?
Throughout the Immortal Spirit Continent, disciples of the Ten Thousand Swords Sect had always been known as battle maniacs, with an attitude best summed up as "Life or death, who cares? Got a problem? Fight me."
Their usual approach was simple: if their fists could settle something, they never wasted time running their mouths.
Besides, the Ten Thousand Swords Sect's disciples were straightforward, without much taste for scheming, and believed even more firmly that strength commanded respect.
So even after learning of Wei Lianyi's extraordinary Talents and incredible future accomplishments,
the disciples felt no jealousy. Instead, they were filled with pride that such an unparalleled prodigy belonged to the Ten Thousand Swords Sect.
[The heroine's artifact refining talent is much weaker than her talent in the other three arts, but she'll still become a celebrated Artifact Refining Master.]
"Pfft!" In the distance, a disciple sprayed out every mouthful of tea.
The disciples wore complicated expressions, practically coughing up blood at what they had heard.
Just listen to what Junior Brother Tang was saying!
Damn it! Who the hell could have "weaker Talents" and still become that ridiculously accomplished?
An Artifact Refining Master! Ha! They wanted to be as weak as their junior sister too!
The disciples' gazes burned even hotter as they looked at Wei Lianyi, each of them screaming inwardly.
Latch onto her! We absolutely have to latch onto Junior Sister Wei!
From now on, they would be friends with an Alchemy Grandmaster, Talisman Grandmaster, Array Grandmaster, and Artifact Refining Master!
Wei Lianyi, who had already begun making her spirit talisman in the competition area, suddenly shivered.
With so many people staring at her, she felt exactly like a performing monkey.
Tang Yan's admiring gaze remained fixed on Wei Lianyi.
Xiao Jixue had just finished exchanging voice transmissions with Li Mo beside him. Turning his head, he caught someone staring unblinkingly at Wei Lianyi like a lovestruck fool.
The young man's handsome brows instantly knitted tightly enough to crush a fly. A faint chill entered his silver-black eyes as he glanced at Wei Lianyi.
Did Yan have feelings for Junior Sister Wei?
As that thought drifted through his mind, Xiao Jixue's brows drew even closer together.
His heart felt as though it had been submerged in icy water in the depths of winter, then steeped in a jar of aged vinegar—cold, sour, and bitter.
He could not explain these strange emotions welling up inside him.
He simply felt unhappy, inexplicably disliking the way Tang Yan looked at Junior Sister Wei.
"Do you have feelings for her?"
Hearing Xiao Jixue's suddenly cold voice beside his ear, Tang Yan froze. "What?"
He turned to find his eldest senior brother watching him with a dark, chilly gaze.
"Her." Xiao Jixue's voice grew colder still.
[Ding—Xiao Jixue's favorability -10. Total favorability: 18]
Tang Yan: "???"
[Is Xiao Jixue on his man-period? What's with these wild mood swings?]
Beside them, Feng Sheng clenched her fists, watching the two intently out of the corner of her eye.
Roar, roar, roar! Eldest Senior Brother was absolutely, definitely jealous!
This was exactly how the storybooks described it. She knew her stuff!
Utterly bewildered, Tang Yan followed Xiao Jixue's gaze toward Wei Lianyi and immediately understood what he meant.
Tang Yan shook his head vigorously, looking completely opposed to the idea. "When did I ever say I liked Senior Sister Wei?"
[What a joke. Never mind that I have absolutely no interest in Wei Lianyi—the heroine won't fall for me anyway. Her future cultivation partner is someone else.]
Wei Lianyi: "??"
The Qilin Brush in her hand paused briefly, and her red lips curved with interest.
She really did want to hear who she would fall in love with in the future.
A friend Wei Lianyi had once met in the Eastern Region spent all day declaring, "I'm the greatest! I'm number one in the world! No man in this world deserves me!" and "Men only slow down my sword draw."
After spending more than a month with that friend, Wei Lianyi had also begun following the principle of "With no men in your heart, your swordsmanship becomes divine."
The warmth quietly returned to Xiao Jixue's eyes, and his gaze softened again.
It was as though someone had fished his heart out of that icy water and jar of aged vinegar and immersed it in warm water instead, filling it with gentle warmth.
"Good, as long as you don't."
[Ding—Xiao Jixue's favorability +100. Total favorability: 118]
Up in the void, Xu You abruptly rose to his feet, his face brimming with murderous intent.
Who?! Which little bastard was going to steal his darling daughter away?!
Xu You's razor-sharp gaze swept over the direct disciples below, all but flashing with blades.
It swept from Pill Peak to Artifact Peak, then to Talisman Peak...
The disciples shivered under his scrutiny. Though they had no idea what was happening, they were seething inwardly too.
Which damned scoundrel had stolen away their Ten Thousand Swords Sect's prodigious junior sister?!
[When will the male lead, Nangong Lin, show up? He's the heroine's destined love. I kind of want to see their first meeting.]
The disciples from the various peaks thought, What?! So it's that damned— ahem, Martial Uncle Nangong! Never mind, never mind!
Xu You thought, Well, well! So it's that little bastard, Junior Brother Nangong! Damn him!
The furious middle-aged man vanished from the void in a flash and charged toward Ten Thousand Swords Peak at breakneck speed!
Jiang Mei lowered the hand she had stretched out dramatically to stop him.
Oh, well! She had been about to remind Senior Brother Xu that Senior Brother Nangong was still in seclusion...
Tang Yan studied Xiao Jixue intently.
[Wait! Did Xiao Jixue ask me that because he likes Wei Lianyi too?]
[Tsk!]
Faint threads of an indescribable emotion immediately rose in Tang Yan's heart.
But Tang Yan, who had been single for over twenty years and had never even held a girl's hand, did not understand what those little feelings meant.
"Do you like Senior Sister Wei?" he asked bluntly.
[Please don't. The heroine belongs with her destined male lead. A supporting male character who falls for her is bound to get hurt—either his heart or his body.]
Xiao Jixue's thin lips curved, and he shook his head. "No."
"Whew!" Tang Yan exhaled, feeling instantly refreshed. Those little emotions in his heart disappeared too.
"That's good, then." Tang Yan's expression brightened, his smile tinged with pleasure.
Xiao Jixue had kept his attention on him the entire time. Seeing him smile, he could not help smiling a little more deeply himself.
[Ding—Xiao Jixue's favorability +10. Total favorability: 128]
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