Meanwhile.
"..."
Standing beside An Ziqing, Meng Lian was also discreetly studying Ye Li near the seat of honor.
This was her first time seeing the Supreme Clarity Palace Heir, whose name had recently swept across the Cold Sea Continent, in person.
An ink-colored long robe.
Black hair and black eyes.
He gave off no particularly startling aura.
Yet even with several True Cultivators present, he sat at ease, without the slightest trace of restraint in his expression.
That bearing alone set him apart from the prodigies of ordinary sects.
He really is no ordinary person...
As Meng Lian silently marveled, her gaze shifted slightly.
It landed on Lu Wan behind Ye Li.
The ethereal Saintess of the Supreme Clarity Palace stood beside Ye Li, quietly watching the two visitors.
There was a clear hint of wariness in her eyes.
Now this is interesting.
Meng Lian thought to herself:
If Shen Zhaozhao saw this, she'd absolutely fly into a rage, wouldn't she?
That [Thunderclap Sword], who ranked twenty-sixth on the Three Continents Prodigy Ranking, had already confided in her before.
In Shen Zhaozhao's mind, Lu Wan was already the woman she had chosen as her wife.
Yet now, Lu Wan stood behind Ye Li like a dutiful wife, silently wary of another woman's arrival.
If word of this reached Shen Zhaozhao, she would probably storm the Supreme Clarity Palace's Mountain Gate that very day.
As for how that would end, that was beyond consideration.
In response to An Ziqing's words,
Ye Li finally chuckled:
"Even if that's true, what does it prove?"
His willingness to bear the consequences alone did not mean what he was doing today was right.
Taking the initiative to distance himself from Mountain Gate did earn him a measure of Ye Li's respect.
But that was