Chapter 375 - 194: The Envy of Countless

Chapter 375: Chapter 194: The Envy of Countless

Her contribution would be no less than that of Shen Qingshuang, who often left the city to slay demons—in fact, it might even be greater.

When they arrived in Moshan County and truly faced powerful demon beasts, her contribution would still be greater than Shen Qingshuang’s.

"Junior Brother Chen, once we get to Moshan County, you mustn’t try to be a hero. You have to stick close to me.

I’ll look after you and make sure you don’t get eaten by a demon."

Shen Qingyao advised with great seriousness.

"Alright," Chen Cheng replied with a nod.

’He had agreed, but if they truly ran into a powerful demon, it remained to be seen who would be looking after whom!’

...

The older generation of Martial Artists from the Shen Family’s demon-slaying team walked at the very front.

Chen Cheng and the two Shen sisters were next.

After them came the Shen Family’s Muscle Strengthening Realm Martial Artists, Wang Xiongzhang’s group of eight Purple-clothed Guards from the Demon Suppression Department, and various young elites who had joined the Shen Family’s demon-slaying team to get close to the family’s peerless twin beauties.

Bringing up the rear were the Skin Grinding Realm Martial Artists, who were there to help, and finally the horses and carriages.

Shen Qingyao and Shen Qingshuang were undoubtedly the focus of everyone’s attention.

Chen Cheng, on the other hand, was not particularly well-received.

This coolness toward him turned to thick disdain, especially when they saw Shen Qingyao’s maid meticulously explaining the finer points of demon-slaying to Chen Cheng.

’A rookie who doesn’t know a damn thing and has probably never even seen a demon outside the city walls—what right does he have to get so much attention?’

’Getting so close to the peerless twin beauties of Linji City... It’s detestable! Absolutely detestable!’

It wasn’t just the young elites; even many of the Shen Family’s own Muscle Strengthening Realm Martial Artists were quietly disgruntled.

Among them, the Divine Archer Liu Ruofeng was the most resentful.

Liu Ruofeng, twenty-five, was the eldest grandson of Liu Yongzhen and the older brother of Liu Ruolan. He had achieved Muscle Strengthening Realm Perfection.

He had earned all of his achievements the hard way, with a Strong Bow in his hands.

Although Liu Yongzhen was a servant of the Shen Family, his Martial Arts Power was formidable. Known as the Sun-Shooting Divine Arrow, he had once even killed a Tier Three Demon Beast with a single arrow using his Sun-shooting Arrow Technique.

Whenever the Shen Family left the city to slay demons, Liu Yongzhen was always an indispensable part of the main fighting force.

This demon-slaying expedition was no exception. The group implicitly looked to him as their leader, and even the official head of the team, a direct descendant of the Shen Family named Shen Zhiheng, was quite respectful toward him.

Aside from Patriarch Shen, Shen Mingyuan, who had already rushed ahead to Moshan County, Liu Yongzhen was the strongest fighter on the demon-slaying team and also its most senior member.

And Liu Ruofeng, who was the True Inheritor of his grandfather Liu Yongzhen’s skills, was known as the Little Divine Arrow—a famous figure in his own right.

He had even killed a Tier Two Demon Beast with his two-thousand-jin Demon Flood Dragon Longbow!

As the saying goes, "an inch of length is an inch of strength." A weapon like a Strong Bow was truly formidable, and its power was even more pronounced when used to slay demons.

Furthermore, slaying demons with a bow and arrow preserved the creature’s body better, allowing one to collect more materials that could, in turn, be exchanged for more merit.

It could be said that within the Shen Family’s demon-slaying team, Liu Ruofeng’s popularity surpassed even that of Wang Xiongzhang and his eight-man group of Purple-clothed Guards from the Demon Suppression Department.

He was number one among the younger generation!

After all, Shen Qingyao and Shen Qingshuang had advanced to the Bone Forging Realm so early, and their Martial Arts Power was so monstrously high, that everyone had tacitly excluded them from their generation and mentally grouped them with the older Martial Artists!

In truth, Liu Ruofeng also harbored fantasies about the two Shen sisters. He had been cultivating diligently, hoping to break through to the Bone Forging Realm.

’If he broke through to the Bone Forging Realm, wouldn’t he have a chance of winning the favor of the two young ladies of the Shen Family?’

Another reason for Liu Ruofeng’s resentment toward Chen Cheng was his own younger sister, Liu Ruolan.

In Liu Ruofeng’s eyes, while his sister might not compare to Shen Qingyao and Shen Qingshuang, she was still a devastatingly beautiful woman.

Moreover, thanks to Liu Ruolan’s long-standing pride, even the scions of the Shen Family failed to catch her eye. Liu Ruofeng was proud of her for this and treasured her like the apple of his eye.

Anyone who wanted to become his, Liu Ruofeng’s, brother-in-law had to be a Celestial Pride who shone as brightly as the sun, moon, and stars!

It was a feeling only older brothers could understand: the moment you see some guy trying to get his hands on your precious little sister, your first instinct is to beat him to a pulp!

And yet, Liu Ruolan herself seemed to look upon Chen Cheng with special favor, her eyes even holding a hint of affection.

This made Liu Ruofeng burn with rage!

"Ah Feng, that bastard Chen Cheng is truly infuriating. Why don’t we teach him a lesson later?"

The one speaking in a hushed tone was Shen Qingquan, the sole direct descendant of the Shen Family on this demon-slaying team.

He was the eldest grandson of the Shen Family’s Second Master, Shen Mingde. At twenty-five, he was slightly older than Shen Qingyao and Shen Qingshuang.

However, his Martial Arts Talent was limited. Despite being propped up by the Shen Family’s vast Martial Arts Resources, he had only barely managed to cultivate to Muscle Strengthening Realm Perfection.

From Shen Qingquan’s point of view, he certainly had no desire to become Chen Cheng’s brother-in-law.

Furthermore, Shen Qingquan had an ulterior motive: he had long coveted his younger cousin Shen Qingyao’s maid, Xiaolan, but his multiple marriage proposals had all been rejected.

"Young Master Qingquan, watch your words."

Liu Ruofeng’s response was to roll his eyes.

Liu Ruofeng clearly had no desire to become Shen Qingquan’s brother-in-law. After all, while Shen Qingquan had a sliver of Martial Arts Talent, he was far too debauched.

He had already taken a wife and six concubines, yet he was still not satisfied!

He had his eyes on Liu Ruofeng’s sister, as well as many young ladies from the Shen Family’s vassal families and the daughters of servant families.

’A man so obsessed with women—what future could he possibly have?’

’Even though they were both Perfect Martial Artists of the Muscle Strengthening Realm, Liu Ruofeng was confident he could wipe the floor with three Shen Qingquans at once, even without using his Demon Flood Dragon Longbow!’

Strength commanded respect. This was why Liu Ruofeng, despite being a servant, looked down on Shen Qingquan.

’In Liu Ruofeng’s opinion, if Shen Qingquan could just learn to control his lower body, his combat strength wouldn’t be so pathetic!’

Shen Qingquan paid Liu Ruofeng’s attitude no mind, just smiling sheepishly before saying:

"Hey now... you punk, I’m just looking out for you, you know?"

"Don’t you know? If my cousin Qingyao really marries Chen Cheng, your sister Ruolan will have to go with her as a dowry maid."

"Can you really bear to see your little sister suffer such an indignity?"

Liu Ruofeng continued to ignore him.

’Being a dowry maid would still be better than marrying a good-for-nothing degenerate like you!’

Of course, Liu Ruofeng only said this in his head.

Seeing that Shen Qingquan was about to suggest another one of his terrible ideas, Liu Ruofeng quickened his pace to follow behind Shen Qingyao and her sister.

He was a man of action. If he didn’t want a certain brother-in-law, he would gather information himself and find a way to prevent it.

Being like Shen Qingquan, who had no real ability of his own and just went around stirring up trouble, was utterly useless.

Among the eight Purple-clothed Guards from the Demon Suppression Department, Shen Qingxuan was undoubtedly the most frustrated. She clearly knew more about Chen Cheng than anyone else.

Now, even Shen Qingyao and Shen Qingshuang were growing so close to him, and the Shen Family elders were all singing his praises.

And the charisma Chen Cheng himself now exuded seemed far more brilliant than before!

Compared to Chen Cheng, even Wang Xiongzhang, whom she had always admired, paled in comparison and no longer seemed so exceptional.

Wang Xiongzhang was still very enthusiastic toward Shen Qingxuan, but now that her head was clearer, she couldn’t shake a vague feeling she had.

It was the feeling that Wang Xiongzhang wasn’t as upright and honorable as he seemed. She had once stumbled upon him acting utterly respectful and subservient toward the Wang Family’s Wang Xiongying.

Wang Xiongying, in turn, seemed to think highly of Wang Xiongzhang, looking as if he intended to cultivate him with significant resources.

’The eight-person group of Purple-clothed Guards from the Demon Suppression Department... weren’t we all supposed to be people who weren’t valued by our clans, who had to struggle and make our own way?’

’Weren’t we supposed to advance and retreat as one, to live and die together?’

The ever-obstinate, almost fanatical Shen Qingxuan felt her conviction waver!

But Shen Qingxuan had no time to dwell on it, as the young elites traveling with them were constantly trying to curry favor with the eight-member group of Purple-clothed Guards.

They were particularly enthusiastic toward her, Jiang Ling, and Qin Ruishan of the Qin Family.

Clearly, these young elites were pragmatic; they knew they couldn’t hope to win the affection of the lofty, unattainable peerless twin beauties of Linji City.

So, they decided it was better to spend their energy on other women.

The three beauties among the eight Purple-clothed Guards were undoubtedly excellent targets.

After all, it was common knowledge that the descendants of the Four Great Clans of the Inner City rarely formed marriage alliances with one another.

Another woman pursued by numerous young talents was Sha Yu.

Her background wasn’t as illustrious as that of the three beauties of the Purple-clothed Guard, but in terms of both looks and Martial Arts Power, she was by no means their inferior—in fact, she might even surpass them.

To win her heart and affection would be a feat that would make countless others green with envy.

Sha Yu had originally been walking with the other young people, not to socialize with them, but to find an opportunity to strike up a conversation with Chen Cheng.

With the two Shen sisters there, however, she clearly had no opportunity.

Eventually, growing impatient with the constant pestering from the young elites, she simply went to the front of the formation to walk beside her father, Sha Wuyi.

Only then did she finally get some peace.

In her heart, however, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of emptiness.

’Even Shen Qingyao’s maid has a chance to get close to Young Master Chen, but I, the daughter of the Giant Shark Gang’s Leader, can only attract a swarm of flies!’

’The heavens are so unfair!’