You Two, the Eastern Bian Li Clan Requests Your Presence

"Don't worry. Your master will sever this ill-fated bond for you."

Xiao Yuanjun formed a sword gesture with her fingers and slashed through the air, sending sword light straight at the Marriage Contract.

This sword gesture was not only empowered by [Fivefold Body-Rending Qi] and [Severing Past and Present, Leaving No Trace], but also carried her half-step Heavenly Being Dao status, attained through tenth-turn qi refinement on the Gang Sha Path.

Severing this marriage bond with it should pose no problem.

The sword light was incomparably sharp, seemingly capable of cutting through all things. Yet the moment it touched the Marriage Contract, the surrounding red glow ground it to pieces.

This object was indestructible and could not be separated from its bearer.

Xiao Yuanjun's face drained of color.

That thought was not her own, but a rule inherent to the Marriage Contract itself.

Simply put, the Marriage Contract had been imbued with the rules of indestructibility and inseparability!

Unless erased by an equal Dao status, the Marriage Contract's rules were as impossible to rewrite as the various laws of Heaven and Earth.

This was absolutely beyond the capabilities of anyone in the Qi Refinement Realm. Even a Foundation-Building Heavenly Being might not be able to do it. Then the cultivator behind the rules imbued into the Marriage Contract...

Was a Golden Core True Lord?!

Impossible! She had stirred up so much trouble since beginning her pursuit of the Dao, yet even she had never provoked a Golden Core True Lord. At most, various Foundation-Building Heavenly Beings had hunted her down. How could Zhang Yuan, a mere first qi refinement layer cultivator, possibly prompt a Golden Core True Lord to act?

Xiao Yuanjun found it hard to believe, but the facts lay before her. Whether she believed them or not, she had no choice.

It seemed Zhang Yuan was the true king of troublemakers.

Xiao Yuanjun's expression turned solemn, her brows tightly furrowed. "Zhang Yuan, our bond as master and disciple has run its course. How about we go our separate ways?"

Zhang Yuan: ...

"Your master was joking. It's only a Marriage Contract; there are still ways to resolve this. As the saying goes, whoever tied the bell must untie it. Let's first ask around about this Third Princess of the Bian Kingdom and see what her situation really is," Xiao Yuanjun said with a laugh.

A Golden Core True Lord was indeed someone they could not afford to provoke, but Zhang Yuan was surely not the intended target. At most, he was a pawn swept into the affair by chance.

The true central figure in this matter ought to be the Bian Kingdom's Third Princess, Dongfang Caibai!

She refused to believe that Zhang Yuan could truly have caught a Golden Core True Lord's eye.

Inner City, Clear Shore Teahouse.

Since they wanted to gather information, naturally they had to visit lively places like teahouses and restaurants.

Clear Shore Teahouse was the foremost teahouse in the Bian Kingdom's Capital City, the preferred haunt of many aristocratic clan scions for lofty discussions and refined discourse.

Thus, news heard at Clear Shore Teahouse was generally close to the mark and unlikely to stray far from the truth.

They entered the main hall, where the fragrance of tea curled through a hubbub of voices.

Zhang Yuan and Xiao Yuanjun found a corner to sit in and ordered a pot of the cheapest tea.

There was no helping it. Xiao Yuanjun's Daoist Robe was patched all over, so she clearly had little money. As for Zhang Yuan, there was even less to say—he had nothing but the clothes on his back.

Ordering even the cheapest pot of tea at the capital's foremost teahouse was already the limit of Xiao Yuanjun's means.

After sitting down, Zhang Yuan found himself especially puzzled.

Xiao Yuanjun had attained tenth-turn qi refinement, putting her on par with an outer dao golden core cultivator. How could a cultivator of such cultivation lack even a little worldly gold and silver?

Though the Azure Sky Dust-Stained Realm was a realm of cultivation, cultivators were still a minority compared with the hundreds of millions of mortals in a single kingdom, never mind the even rarer cultivators of the Gang Sha Path.

With those doubts in mind, Zhang Yuan sipped his tea and said in surprise, "This tea's pretty good."

Though it was the cheapest tea available, its flavor was truly unexpected.

"Like drinking tea? Once your master attains the Heavenly Being realm, I'll treat you to the most expensive tea," Xiao Yuanjun declared with a grand wave of her hand, painting him a pie in the sky.

Zhang Yuan chuckled.

The two chatted while listening for anyone in the hall discussing the Third Princess.

Unfortunately, they sat there for several hours, until their teapot was empty, without obtaining a single useful piece of information. At most, someone would mention her in passing and say no more.

"How strange. A princess choosing a consort is such a major event. Never mind no one signing up—why is no one even talking about it?" Xiao Yuanjun wondered.

Zhang Yuan shook his head, his brows knitted tightly.

The more it was like this, the more it proved that the waters ran deep.

Just then, a plainly dressed young man approached their corner.

"We're not ordering more tea."

Xiao Yuanjun waved her hand, signaling for the young man to leave.

The young man looked bewildered. He froze for a second, glanced around, and realized there were no teahouse attendants nearby.

In an instant.

The young man, who had been about to speak, flushed scarlet.

"You, you, you..."

Xiao Yuanjun looked surprised. "Zhang Yuan, what do you think is wrong with him?"

Zhang Yuan lowered his voice. "Could the teahouse have a rule that you have to leave once you finish drinking? Has this attendant come to throw us out?"

"So that's it. Never mind, we're hardly going to find anything out anyway. Let's go," Xiao Yuanjun said in realization.

"I am not a teahouse attendant! Aren't you afraid of retaliation for insulting me like this?" the young man snapped angrily.

These two had mistaken him for someone as lowly as a teahouse attendant. They had gone too far!

Zhang Yuan looked up and scrutinized the young man.

So he wasn't a teahouse attendant.

They really could not be blamed for the mistake. Dressed so plainly, he looked much like a teahouse attendant unless one examined him carefully.

"My eyes failed me. Please forgive us." Zhang Yuan cupped his hands in a token apology.

The young man snorted, refusing to accept it. Instead, he said, "I am Li Jiejian of the Eastern Bian Li Clan. An elder of my clan requests your presence upstairs."

"Please!"

Zhang Yuan and Xiao Yuanjun feigned composure, exchanging a glance and communicating with their eyes.

Didn't you say no one was pursuing us?

I have no idea!

Then what now? Do we run?

Two seconds of silence passed.

"Why panic? Our whereabouts shouldn't have been exposed. Let's see what's going on first," Xiao Yuanjun transmitted.

Hearing her voice transmission, Zhang Yuan nodded slightly and regained his calm.

Xiao Yuanjun's divine abilities were quite reliable. The Li Clan could not have acted this quickly.

"Brother, what cultivation does your elder possess to dare ask my master to go upstairs in person?" Zhang Yuan demanded.

Xiao Yuanjun clasped her hands behind her back, maintaining her dignified bearing.

"My fifth uncle has attained eighth-turn qi refining on the Gang Sha Path," Li Jiejian said coldly.

Eighth-turn qi refining?

Zhang Yuan and Xiao Yuanjun breathed sighs of relief.

"Hah! My master is at the peak of ninth-turn qi refining!" Zhang Yuan declared loudly.

Ninth-turn qi refining!

Somewhat startled, Li Jiejian hurriedly cupped his hands toward Xiao Yuanjun and greeted her with utmost respect. "Greetings, Senior."

As expected of someone from an aristocratic clan, his etiquette left nothing to criticize.

"Since a fellow Daoist of the Eastern Bian Li Clan has invited me, I shall go and take a look. Lead the way," Xiao Yuanjun said, flicking her Daoist Robe.

"This way, Senior."

Li Jiejian led the two to a private room on the second floor.

Notes from a zither drifted through the private room, where a middle-aged man was playing. The sound was clear, sweet, and exceedingly pleasant.

Once Zhang Yuan and Xiao Yuanjun entered, the middle-aged man stopped playing. "Jiejian, leave us for now."

Li Jiejian withdrew.

"I am Li Houxuan of the Eastern Bian Li Clan. Greetings, fellow Daoist. May I ask whether your first trial was the [Beggar Trial]?" Li Houxuan rose and cupped his hands as he asked.

Though he belonged to the same Hou generation, he was not of the same lineage as Li Houcheng and Li Houjin, but came from another branch.

Somewhat surprised, Xiao Yuanjun nodded. "Indeed."

"Then that's excellent."

Li Houxuan's eyes brightened, and he deliberately adopted a deferential manner. "I have a presumptuous request. I hope you might share your experience in passing the trial, fellow Daoist. I will certainly reward you generously."