Chapter 371-372 On How to Conquer System Fairies and Make Them Your Wives 371-372 |
Luo Qiaoqiao woke up around noon, her head aching from the previous night’s drinking.
“Chen Yin…?”
“He went to get breakfast with Luo Luo,” Sword Maiden said, appearing at the doorway. “They didn’t want to wake you. They’ve been gone for almost an hour. You can go find them if you want.”
Luo Qiaoqiao, her head still pounding, decided to go for a walk to clear her head.
She wandered through the streets, and after a while, she noticed a crowd gathered at the city gates.
She spotted Chen Yin and Luo Luo among them.
“What are you looking at? Why aren’t you back at the inn yet…?” She walked over and saw a notice posted on the wall.
A martial arts marriage competition, hosted by the Yu family of the Abyssal Gaze Realm, open to all challengers.
The winner would marry the Yu family’s long-lost daughter.
“Isn’t that… Immortal Yu Ling? Did she have the same idea as me? Using such a clichéd method to attract our attention?” She chuckled, unconcerned. She wasn’t worried about Yu Ling’s strength. She assumed it was just a way to make a scene, to make it easier for them to find her.
But then she saw the grim expression on Chen Yin’s face, an expression she had never seen before.
“…I’m not so sure.”
“Something’s not right,” he frowned, his gaze fixed on the words of the notice.
Yu Manor. Long-lost daughter. Martial arts marriage competition.
The words filled him with a sense of unease.
“What’s wrong?” Luo Qiaoqiao asked, curious.
“I don’t know,” he shook his head, his eyes dark with worry, “but I have to go and see.”
“See who?”
“The Yu family.”
The Yu family resided at the heart of the Abyssal Gaze Realm.
Even using the fastest teleportation formations, it still took Chen Yin almost half a month to reach the central city, Lin Yuan City.
And above the city, like a celestial palace, floated the Yu Manor, the residence of the Dao Venerable, a symbol of his power and authority.
The city was overflowing with cultivators and immortals, all here for the martial arts competition, the inns and taverns filled to capacity.
“Did you hear? The prize is the Yu family’s daughter! The Dao Venerable’s sister!”
“Imagine marrying into the Dao Venerable’s family! It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!”
“And I heard she’s a breathtaking beauty! She was lost in the Lower Realm as a child and cultivated her way back to the Upper Realm! They say she’s incredibly talented, already at the Immortal Realm at such a young age!”
Chen Yin sat in a tavern, listening to the excited chatter, the air thick with anticipation.
The entire city was buzzing with excitement, the Yu family’s competition the main topic of conversation.
Luo Luo, seeing his silence, his hand gripping his wine cup tightly, his gaze distant and unfocused, wanted to comfort him, but she didn’t know what to say. She looked at Luo Qiaoqiao, her eyes pleading for help.
“This isn’t like you,” Luo Qiaoqiao said, her voice filled with concern. “You know how strong Yu Ling is. Don’t you trust her? Do you really think she would… betray you?”
Chen Yin didn’t believe it.
He knew Yu Ling. She was stubborn and independent, even a Dao Venerable couldn’t force her to do anything she didn’t want to do.
But that’s precisely why he was so worried.
Why would she make such a big fuss just to find us?
And the name “Yu family” also bothered him.
He had never heard her mention her family. She had always been an orphan, alone in the world.
But thinking back, there were… inconsistencies.
Master’s talent was extraordinary, beyond anything he had ever seen in the Lower Realm.
She was almost… too strong.
He had suspected she might have origins in the Upper Realm, but he hadn’t pursued it. It didn’t seem important. Even if she had family, after a thousand years, there was no point in searching for them.
But if she truly was from a Dao Venerable family…
What is she planning?
A warm hand covered his, and Luo Qiaoqiao’s voice, soft and gentle, whispered in his ear, “Don’t worry too much. We’ll see her soon, and then you’ll know.”
Chen Yin nodded, drained his cup, and left the tavern with Luo Luo and Luo Qiaoqiao.
Although the Yu Manor floated in the sky above the city, a powerful formation connected it to the city below. The only way to enter was through the main gate, a long, winding staircase leading up to the heavens.
They reached the magnificent gates of the Yu Manor, and Chen Yin approached a servant girl. “Could you please inform your young mistress that an old friend wishes to see her?”
“The young mistress is in seclusion. She’s not seeing anyone,” the servant girl replied politely.
Chen Yin frowned. “Can’t you even deliver a message?”
“No. If you wish to see her, you can participate in the martial arts competition.”
Seeing the darkening expression on his face, Luo Qiaoqiao took his hand and pulled him aside. “There are too many participants. It’s understandable that the Yu family doesn’t want her to be disturbed. Don’t worry. Let Luo Luo try. She might be able to reach her.”
Luo Luo nodded and vanished into the Void, then reappeared a moment later, her ears drooping, her face creased with frustration. “There’s a strange force disrupting the Void around the manor. I can’t get through.”
Luo Qiaoqiao looked at Chen Yin, her eyes filled with worry.
Chen Yin’s gaze lowered slightly, his heart sinking.
…If everything before had been just suspicion, then this confirmed his fears.
Only he, Master, and a few others knew about Luo Luo’s ability to traverse the Void.
The one who was preventing them from meeting…
…was Master herself.
There were many reasons for his unease, but this time, it was particularly acute. He couldn’t quite explain it, but he knew Yu Ling too well. He had a feeling he knew what she was planning, but he didn’t want to believe it. He didn’t understand why she was avoiding him, and that made him even more anxious.
As Luo Qiaoqiao and Luo Luo discussed their options, Chen Yin’s voice, cold and resolute, cut through the air.
“I’m going in.”
“Wait!” Luo Qiaoqiao exclaimed. “Are you sure? This is the center of the city!”
“There must be another way—”
“I can’t wait any longer.” Chen Yin raised his hand, the Changming Sword appearing in his grasp, its blade gleaming with a cold, hard light.
As he was about to charge towards the Yu Manor’s gates, time seemed to slow down, the world around him stretching and distorting, Luo Qiaoqiao and Luo Luo’s figures becoming distant and blurry, the manor’s gates receding into the distance, the steps behind him elongating endlessly.
He stood there alone, his sword raised, his brow furrowed in concentration, Sword Maiden appearing beside him, her gaze fixed on the distorted space before them.
A figure emerged from the warped reality, a young man in white robes, his features hazy and indistinct, yet his presence radiating a power that seemed to resonate with the very fabric of existence.
“Are you the Dao Venerable of the Abyssal Gaze Realm?”
“Chen Yin,” the Qian Yuan Dao Venerable said, his voice soft and gentle, his gaze fixed on him, “I’ve been waiting for you.”
“Waiting for me?” Chen Yin’s frown deepened.
“My sister asked me to tell you,” he said, making a polite gesture of invitation, “she’s in seclusion. She’s not seeing anyone. Please, return.”
“I don’t believe you.”
Chen Yin raised his sword, its tip pointing at the Dao Venerable. “I’m here to see her. Don’t get in my way.”
Qian Yuan didn’t seem offended. “I promised her I wouldn’t let you in.”
“You’re lying,” Chen Yin’s eyes narrowed.
“You know I’m not.”
A tense silence hung in the air, Chen Yin’s sword unwavering, Qian Yuan’s gaze calm and steady.
Chen Yin took a deep breath, pushing away his doubts and anxieties. He had to see her, to hear it from her own lips.
He took a step towards the Yu Manor.
Qian Yuan shook his head slowly. “You won’t reach the gate.”
And as Chen Yin took another step, he felt it.
A strange resistance, as if the very fabric of reality was pushing back against him.
…I can’t reach her.
His intention to reach the manor was the cause, his arrival the effect.
But that causal link had been severed.
Without a cause, there could be no effect. He would never reach the manor.
“…You’re really going to stop me?” Chen Yin’s voice turned cold.
“My sister asked me not to fight you,” Qian Yuan said, his voice still calm and gentle, “but don’t force my hand.”
“I have to see her.”
Chen Yin’s sword blazed with a powerful Sword Qi, its aura sharp and unrelenting, as if it could cut through anything.
Qian Yuan sighed softly, his expression unchanged. “Then I’ll have to… persuade you to stay.”
Faint, shimmering threads of energy appeared around his hands, and as he raised them, everyone in the city felt their hearts skip a beat, a strange, inexplicable sensation, as if countless invisible threads were pulling at their very souls.
The sky above Lin Yuan City turned a strange, ominous color.
“What’s… happening…?” the mortals whispered, their voices filled with fear, looking up at the sky.
Luo Qiaoqiao and Luo Luo huddled together, their eyes wide with anxiety.
Inside the Yu Manor, Yu Zhen and Liu Xiangyun’s faces paled. As Dao Realm cultivators, they could feel the shift in the world around them, the very fabric of reality straining under the pressure of the two powerful beings facing each other, the faint cracks in the Heavenly Dao echoing in their ears.
“A clash between Dao Venerables… can the Heavenly Dao withstand it…?”
Chen Yin’s gaze was fixed on Qian Yuan, his sword raised, its aura sharp and deadly, ready to strike.
Everyone held their breath, their fates hanging in the balance.
But before Chen Yin could attack, the scroll in his chest, dormant for so long, suddenly glowed faintly.
It was a light only he could see.
His eyes flickered, their sharp, predatory glint replaced by a quiet sadness, then he slowly lowered his sword.
The tension in the air dissipated, the sky returning to its normal color, Qian Yuan’s gaze still calm and steady.
“Changed your mind?”
Chen Yin didn’t answer.
He just looked at him, his gaze filled with unspoken words.
Qian Yuan smiled faintly.
Time resumed its flow, and Luo Qiaoqiao and Luo Luo reappeared beside Chen Yin, their faces filled with confusion.
He turned to them, his voice low and cold.
“Let’s go.”
“Where?”
“…To the martial arts competition.” His eyes were like ice.
Half an hour later, in the study of the Yu Manor…
A soft cracking sound echoed through the room as Yu Ling opened her eyes, the boundless energy of the Dao swirling around her, her gaze piercing, seeing everything, knowing everything.
Qian Yuan, transformed into a small bird, perched on a nearby branch. “How did it go?” he asked casually.
“It wasn’t as difficult as I thought,” she said, shaking her head slowly.
“You borrowed the luck and destiny of every being in this world. With your talent, it was inevitable.”
“Should I be thanking you?” Yu Ling pouted playfully. She slumped onto the table, her body exhausted.
After a long silence, she looked up, her voice barely a whisper. “He… he’s gone?”
“Yes,” Qian Yuan said softly, “he’s more reasonable than I thought. He didn’t attack. It would have been… troublesome… dealing with him and maintaining the stability of the Heavenly Dao at the same time.”
“He’s grown up,” Yu Ling murmured, a faint smile on her lips, then she hugged herself, her eyes lowering slightly, a shadow of sadness crossing her face. …But not now. I don’t want you to be reasonable. Not now.
“Now that you’ve reached the Dao Realm,” Qian Yuan said, “focus on mastering the Dao of Time. Although I didn’t fight him… I can sense it… his time is also coming.”
Yu Ling nodded, her eyes still filled with a quiet sadness. “I’ll reach the Dao Venerable realm before him.”
Qian Yuan turned to leave, then paused. “…One more thing.”
“What?” she said, her brow furrowed in annoyance. “Don’t disturb my cultivation.”
“I have to admit,” he said, his voice calm and steady, “that man… he might be a worthy brother-in-law.”
Yu Ling froze, surprised by his words.
She hadn’t expected him, the seemingly emotionless Dao Venerable, to say such a thing.
Then she remembered.
He was her brother.
“He’s… alright, I guess,” she said, her voice softening slightly, “a bit of a show-off, and he has a wandering eye… but he’s not a bad person.”
“And I like pretty girls too,” Qian Yuan said. “If you don’t like his… philandering, I can… remove the competition.”
“Wake up, it’s a new era,” Yu Ling glared at him. “If you get rid of all the pretty girls, who am I supposed to play with?”
“Stay out of my business.”
Qian Yuan was silent for a moment, then he nodded. “As you wish.”
“He’s participating in the martial arts competition. Even if you try to delay him, he’ll reach you eventually. We don’t have much time.”
“I know,” Yu Ling sighed sadly.
“When he finally reaches me, after defeating all those challengers… I’ll be a Dao Venerable, and I’ll crush him with a single finger. He won’t even be able to get angry.”
Qian Yuan glanced at her, then turned and flew away.
Yu Ling stretched languidly and murmured, “No more slacking off. I can’t let that brat catch up to me. He’s improving too quickly… being his Master is hard work…” She chuckled self-deprecatingly.
But her smile faded, and she curled up in a corner of the room, her body trembling slightly, the warmth of the room not reaching her.
She felt like she was back on Mount Buqi,
Alone, drinking and watching the sunset, the bustling city below a distant blur.
But this time, there was no one beside her.
“You brat…” she whispered, her eyes downcast, her voice filled with a mixture of sadness and regret,
“…I’m sorry.”
“This time…”
“It’s my turn to be selfish.”