"You!" Ren Chong was furious and ignored Gu Chen, throwing another punch at Li Yiran.
"Hmph!" Li Yiran's smile vanished instantly, and then with a muffled groan, she grabbed Ren Chong's fist with her hand in a claw-like motion, her five fingers spread wide.
Bang!
A burst of energy collided at the center of their clash, spreading out in a large, invisible ripple.
The two fought to a standstill, but neither was willing to give way. Their eyes met, filled with fighting spirit and coldness; neither would back down an inch.
As the instigator, Gu Chen dusted himself off, stood up, and went to sit on another chair, watching the fight unfold from the sidelines, completely lacking any awareness of being the instigator.
At his level, even after being reborn, he had experienced countless battles, both large and small. Even figures of Ning Yufeng's caliber had died under his sword. He simply couldn't muster any interest in such a conflict between younger generations.
Before the conference began, these young masters from prominent families all knew the rules. Although there was considerable conflict, it was clear that a fight was unlikely. A few minutes later, after some people persuaded them, Ren Chong and Li Yiran separated.
This made Gu Chen shake his head, quite disappointed. After all, he already knew the identities of these two people; Sun Da had mentioned them to him, and they were both suitors of Sun Jiangman. Regardless of whether Luo Yunxi had given any indication, after Xiaoxiang Peak, Gu Chen had already considered Sun Jiangman as his own, and these people were his rivals in love. Gu Chen was somewhat regretful that they were unharmed.
Ren Chong stormed off to the other side, while Li Yiran dusted off her robes and approached Gu Chen. Looking at Gu Chen sitting in a chair eating fruit, she put on a completely fake smile and said, "My friend, are you alright?"
"It's nothing." Gu Chen, unsure of this guy's intentions, clasped his hands in a fist and bowed, saying in a refined manner, "Young Master Li, your martial arts are truly impressive."
"It's good that you're alright." Li Yiran sat down next to Gu Chen and said calmly, "That guy was Ren Chong. Although he's quite strong, he's a brainless brute. It's a tragedy that the Ren Family has produced such an idiot in this generation. Don't bother with him, friend."
Li Yiran was very observant. He had noticed earlier when Sun Jiangman arrived at the mountaintop that Gu Chen and Sun Jiangman walking side by side, even ahead of Sun Da. They were definitely not servants.
He might also be a rich young master, whose status might not be lower than Sun Jiangman's.
So after witnessing Gu Chen's trickery of Ren Chong, Li Yiran became even more certain and immediately approached him to befriend him. Li Yiran also had a little scheme in mind: to use this opportunity to teach Ren Chong a lesson, to curry favor with Gu Chen, and to say a few bad things about Ren Chong to incite Gu Chen's jealousy.
Gu Chen smiled faintly. In the world of cultivation, there is plenty of deceit and treachery. Li Yiran thought she was being proper, but little did she know that he had already seen through her little schemes.
"What exactly is Young Master Li trying to say?" Gu Chen took another bite of peach and asked casually, "If there's nothing else, don't disturb me while I'm enjoying the scenery."
"The scenery?" Li Yiran was taken aback. Following Gu Chen's gaze, she realized that he was looking entirely in the direction of the young ladies from aristocratic families.
Sweat beaded on his forehead, and he couldn't help but say, "My friend has a truly discerning eye. Those three are young ladies from the Duanmu Family. The Duanmu Family has a thriving female line this generation, so all those attending this time are women, and their looks are beyond reproach."
"How could my taste be the same as yours?" Gu Chen glanced at them with displeasure, pointing to the mountain behind the Duanmu girls, and said, "I was looking at that magnificent mountain, a masterpiece of nature, imbued with the Dao of Heavenly Dao, a perfect opportunity to examine it closely, and you actually think I'm a lecherous man!"
"Uh..." Li Yiran was speechless for a moment; he really couldn't find a topic to talk about with this kid.
He wasn't sure if Gu Chen was joking on purpose, so he went straight to the point. "Friend, if I may ask, what is your relationship with Miss Sun Jiangman?"
"What's your relationship?" Gu Chen gave him a half-smile and said, "Young Master Li, you must have wanted to ask this for a long time, right?"
"Just asking." Li Yiran smiled casually and said, "A beautiful and virtuous woman is sought after by gentlemen, after all."
"You're a good shot," Gu Chen glanced at his physique, a smile playing on his lips. "If I said I was Miss Sun's fiancé, would you believe me?"
"My friend is joking." Li Yiran was taken aback at first, then shook her head and said, "As everyone knows, the Sun Family family does not have any arranged marriages. Miss Sun is still single."
Gu Chen hesitated for a moment, then said, "There are some things I'm not sure if I should say."
"Friend, now that it's just the two of us, please feel free to speak," Li Yiran said.
"Alright, then I'll tell you. You said earlier that Miss Sun is still single, but you're wrong. Your information is way out of date." Gu Chen shook his head, moved closer to Li Yiran, and sighed, "I'll just tell you this secretly, but don't tell anyone else. Actually, Sun Jiangman and I have been secretly dating for a long time, and we're mutually attracted. The reason I accompanied her to this Aristocratic Family Assembly was to announce this to everyone..."
"Shoot!"
Li Yiran slammed her hand on the table, stood up abruptly, glared at Gu Chen, and said, "Friend, I kindly wanted to befriend you, and you actually make such a joke? Don't you think that's going too far?"
Gu Chen shrugged and said, "See? I didn't want to say it, but you insisted I say it. Now that I've said it, you don't believe me. You're really putting me in a difficult position."
"No one would believe that," Li Yiran sneered. "Friend, may I ask your name?"
"Gu Chen," Gu Chen said calmly.
"Gu Chen?" Upon hearing this, Li Yiran repeated the name to herself, looked at Gu Chen, and asked in surprise, "You're from the Gu Family?"
Although the Gu Family is currently weak, they still hold a place in the Land of Heaven and Earth, albeit with limited power.
But if that's the case, Li Yiran doesn't need to worry about it.
Gu Chen smiled, neither denying nor admitting, and said, "Young Master Li, even if Sun Jiangman is my fiancée, don't be nervous. There are plenty of fish in the sea. Those Miss Duanmu are quite nice, aren't they?"
"As far as I know, the Gu Family has very few geniuses in this generation. The only one they can be proud of seems to be Gu Mingheng, who was recruited from the secular world." Li Yiran saw that Gu Chen was putting him down, so she immediately stopped giving Gu Chen face and sneered, "If he had the ability to enter the top ten of the Tiger Ranking, I would think more highly of him, but you? Heh, your status is so low that I'm ashamed to even mention it. And a guy like you who spouts nonsense, is he worthy of Miss Sun?"
Gu Mingheng?!
In Gu Chen's mind, the image of that arrogant and condescending young man who had disliked him since childhood came to mind.
That person was the only son of his uncle, Gu Changfeng.
His name will be Gu Mingheng!
Gu Mingheng had left the Gu Family several years ago. Only now, through Li Yiran's words, did Gu Chen understand that he had been absorbed into the Gu Family in the Land of Heaven and Earth.
Even his father didn't receive this treatment back then.