Watching this unfold, Ye Xuan could not help giving his fellow disciples a mental thumbs-up.
Now that's brotherhood between fellow disciples. You guys rock!
Awesome!
"Holy Son, after you."
"Holy Son, don't pay that jumping clown any mind. He isn't worthy."
"Holy Son, where are you going? Your senior sister can show you the way."
After lambasting Song Yu until his face turned ashen, the disciples all turned to Ye Xuan with excitement written across their faces.
The female disciples in particular had eyes brimming with fervor.
Peerless talent, outstanding bearing, and most importantly, handsome looks.
The bolder senior sisters' hearts had already begun rippling with uncontrollable romantic longing.
"Ahem, thank you, senior brothers and sisters. I'm taking Lin Xue back."
Ye Xuan found the senior sisters' enthusiasm a little too much to bear, especially the one in red.
Why do you keep winking at me? Did sand get in your eyes?
And what's that busty senior sister in blue trying to do? Winking is one thing, but keep your hands to yourself!
Oh dear, I can't stay here. I'd better make a quick getaway.
Grumbling inwardly, Ye Xuan pulled Lin Xue along and swiftly disappeared.
"Junior Brother Ye-no, Senior Brother Ye, are... are you really the Holy Son?"
Once they were far from those enthusiastic senior brothers and sisters, Lin Xue widened her large, innocent eyes and stared intently at Ye Xuan.
Even now, she felt as though she were dreaming and could not believe it.
Ye Xuan chuckled. "Of course. Didn't I already tell you? You were the one who didn't believe me."
As he spoke, he took out a bottle of healing pills. "Keep these pills. They'll help your injuries heal."
Lin Xue did not take them, however.
After receiving Ye Xuan's confirmation, she seemed to remember something.
Suddenly, her pretty face flushed scarlet. Goosebumps rose all over her body, and she felt itchy all over, as though something were clawing at her heart and lungs. She wished she could die on the spot.
She remembered perfectly well how, back in the rear mountains, she had told Ye Xuan that she really wanted to see what a heroic figure the Holy Son was and admire his extraordinary splendor.
To think Ye Xuan was the Holy Son, and she had said such embarrassing things right to his face.
Aaaah! Lin Xue felt she truly could not go on living. Her face and ears burned with shame.
Seeing this, Ye Xuan casually slipped the healing pills into Lin Xue's hands and, bringing up the very thing she least wanted mentioned, said with a chuckle:
"Senior Sister Lin Xue, didn't you really want to admire the Holy Son's splendor? Now that you've seen it, what do you think?"
This bastard-
Lin Xue flew into a rage!
Unable to hold back any longer, she raised her delicate fists and pounded Ye Xuan, thump after thump.
Ye Xuan roared with laughter.
Watching someone else suffer social death, especially a beautiful junior senior sister like Lin Xue...
One word: awesome!
After pummeling Ye Xuan for a while, Lin Xue suddenly stopped. She stared at him and snorted.
"I remember someone saying back then that the Holy Son had extraordinary bearing, that his magnificence was unmatched, that he was peerless in all the world, that no one could compare to him. Mm, and finally, he said the Holy Son was very handsome, too."
If I'm going down, we're going down together!
Lin Xue gritted her teeth.
Ye Xuan immediately stopped laughing.
He felt utterly embarrassed.
Social death really is terrifying!
Very soon, however, he forcibly weathered this wave of social-death magic attacks with his invincible, world-conquering iron-face art.
He said calmly, "Was anything I said wrong? Am I not handsome? All right, it's getting late. I'll head back first."
With that, he turned dashingly and strode away.
Lin Xue: "..."
How could he be so shameless?
Lin Xue secretly gritted her teeth. She had only just bathed and changed when a crowd of inner and outer disciples came swarming over.
"Junior Sister Lin Xue, are your injuries all right? I have healing pills here."
"Junior Sister Lin Xue, are you short on cultivation resources? If you are, just say the word. Don't be shy."
"Junior Sister Lin Xue, do you want to train in the rear mountains? Shall we go together?"
"Junior Sister Lin Xue, if anyone dares cause you trouble in the future, come to me. I'll handle it for you."
Those inner disciples who had once acted so lofty, disdaining her and refusing even to look her in the eye, now wore flattering smiles and spouted empty pleasantries.
Lin Xue stared blankly at the scene for a long time before coming back to her senses.
She knew these disciples were like a drunkard whose interest lay elsewhere than the wine.
Ye Xuan had brought her all of this.
Meanwhile.
News that Holy Son Ye Xuan had flown into a towering rage for the outer disciple Lin Xue, stormed the Law Enforcement Hall, and slain Yang Xiong of the Essence Condensation Realm Seventh Layer spread throughout the entire holy land in an extremely short time.
It was said that the Holy Son and Lin Xue had known each other since childhood and were childhood sweethearts. Even after awakening his Chaos Sacred Body, he had never forgotten his original heart.
Upon learning that his childhood sweetheart Lin Xue had been bullied, he had immediately stormed the Law Enforcement Hall in fury.
The Holy Son had first crippled the outer disciple Xue Yao, then slain Yang Xiong, the son of Law Enforcement Hall Elder Yang Kaitai.
Even when facing Elder Yang Kaitai, he had refused to yield a single step, sparing no cost for the girl he loved. Truly, his fury had lifted his crown for a beauty's sake. It was deeply moving.
Others said that the Holy Son had entered the rear mountains to cultivate, happened upon Lin Xue, and fallen in love at first sight.
The Law Enforcement Hall elder's son had also happened to take a fancy to Lin Xue, but had resorted to improper means.
He had forcibly taken her into the Law Enforcement Hall with wicked intentions, thus enraging the Holy Son and bringing about everything that followed.
Still others said that the Holy Son had merely been passing by and, unable to stomach the Law Enforcement Hall bullying others with its power, had stepped in to uphold justice.
In short, countless versions of the story about Ye Xuan and Lin Xue swiftly topped the Ancient Desolate Holy Land's trending list in a short time, causing an earth-shaking sensation!
"Aaaah! Why wasn't I there for something so sensational!"
"What a moving story! The Holy Son is loyal and righteous, truly a model for us all. We must learn from him."
"Childhood sweethearts in their impoverished youth. Now that he's risen, he still hasn't forgotten his original heart. How wonderful it would be to have a man love me so deeply."
"That scoundrel Yang Xiong deserved to die! And that Song Yu actually wanted to challenge the Holy Son by taking advantage of his cultivation. Absolutely shameless!"
"Pah! What does he amount to? Does he deserve to be compared to the Holy Son?"
"Exactly! The Holy Son's talent is peerless, unrivaled through the ages! After just two months in the holy land, he'd already cultivated Thunder God Palm and Deadly Sword Strike to perfection.
"And at the Meridian Opening realm, he slew Yang Xiong of the Essence Condensation Seventh Layer with a single sword strike. Could Song Yu achieve such astonishing cultivation talent and battle results?"
For a time, all sorts of voices rang out, and almost every disciple was discussing Ye Xuan.
As for the true version, although it circulated too, it was drowned out by all those fanciful versions. No one believed it at all.
Many disciples regretted not having been there, regretted missing the chance to witness that legendary Holy Son's peerless splendor.
Ye Xuan knew nothing of any of this. After returning to the Holy Son Hall, he saw his beautiful master, dressed in snowy white.
His beautiful master stood there with her back to him, slender and graceful, her silhouette enchanting.
She was like an immortal maiden above the nine heavens, too lofty to reach.
She was like a snow lotus atop a mountain, to be admired from afar but never profaned.
Every time Ye Xuan saw this master of his, his heart would thump wildly despite himself.
A brilliant smile spread across his handsome face, and he dashed over. "Master, what brings you here?"
Han Bingning turned her head. There was not the slightest smile on her exquisite face, and the former gentleness in her beautiful eyes was gone, leaving only indifference.
Looking at Ye Xuan, she said evenly, "Your investiture ceremony as Holy Son is approaching. To keep you from disgracing our holy land and your master, I have come specifically to test the results of your cultivation."
"Huh?" Ye Xuan's mouth fell open. For no apparent reason, he shivered, feeling as though the world was filled with malice.
The corner of Ye Xuan's mouth twitched. He was just about to say a few words when his vision blurred, and he found himself on the martial platform.