Chapter 333 - 211: Taking the Field in Turns

Chapter 333: Chapter 211: Taking the Field in Turns

But Luo Shuang’s lecture made him instantly understand the importance of the opening move. He also grasped the logic behind the sequence of the Cloud Dragon Nine Forms Swordsmanship, and his previous questions were answered in a flash. He couldn’t stop nodding.

’Now, when I go back to practice this profound swordsmanship, I should be able to make great progress.’

Just as Xie Yuan was relishing his newfound understanding, he heard Luo Shuang call out:

"Lin Zhen, Zhang Mountain, come with me."

WHOOSH. Countless gazes shot toward them. A scene similar to yesterday’s played out once more.

But this time, Xie Yuan was completely taken by surprise. Just like everyone else, he couldn’t figure it out.

’Yao Yue Peak only accepts female disciples. Why is she calling for me?’

’Could it be...’

Xie Yuan instantly grew wary. He exchanged a look with Lin Zhen beside him and followed, his heart filled with apprehension.

Upon entering the same tea room as yesterday, Xie Yuan felt even more unsettled, his heart pounding. He had no idea what Luo Shuang wanted.

Once the serving disciples had prepared the tea, Luo Shuang, unlike the reserved Lu Pei, got straight to the point.

Her directness left both Xie Yuan and Lin Zhen utterly dumbfounded.

"Lin Zhen, Zhang Mountain, you two are from the same sect and have been through life and death together in the West Desert. Your bond is profound. Why don’t I take the liberty of arranging a marriage for you within the sect?"

"???"

Both Xie Yuan and Lin Zhen stared with their mouths agape, too shocked to form a single word for a long while.

Lin Zhen was the first to recover. She glanced at Xie Yuan and lowered her head, her cheeks flushing slightly.

"Elder Luo, this disciple is burdened by a family vendetta and has no mind for romantic affairs."

Luo Shuang glanced at her and said bluntly:

"Is your heart already taken?"

"...It is."

Lin Zhen’s face grew even redder as she spoke in a low voice.

Luo Shuang looked at Lin Zhen and shook her head with a strange expression, then turned her gaze to Xie Yuan.

"Ah, well, this disciple does too."

Xie Yuan replied, utterly bewildered.

’I just went to the lantern festival with the young miss and we even held hands. Why is an elder trying to play matchmaker now?’

’It must be Junior Sister Chen...’

Lin Zhen instantly thought of this old friend whom she hadn’t seen for so long, and she sighed softly.

From behind her veil, Luo Shuang’s gaze sized up Xie Yuan. She said flatly:

"I wasn’t asking you about that.

"I’m asking you, what do you think of me?"

Huh?

It wasn’t just Xie Yuan; Lin Zhen’s head also snapped up, and she stared at Luo Shuang in disbelief.

Xie Yuan was dumbstruck. It took him a moment to process before he said:

"I think Elder Luo still has her charm, it’s just..."

Luo Shuang froze for a second, then murmured:

"’Still... has her charm?’"

When she processed what he’d said, her face instantly flushed, and she snapped in embarrassment and anger:

"What on earth are you talking about? I was asking if you would be willing to take me as your master! How would you feel about me being your teacher?!"

Fortunately, Luo Shuang was wearing a veil. Otherwise, the brilliant crimson blush on her face, so charming it was hard to describe, would have completely undermined her dignity as a Grandmaster.

She couldn’t help but scoff.

"What is going through your head, you little rascal? I told you I wasn’t asking about any of that!"

Xie Yuan and Lin Zhen both looked mortified. Their thoughts had been perfectly in sync.

’Still,’ they grumbled internally, ’it’s not our fault for jumping to conclusions. One second Elder Luo is trying to arrange a marriage, and the next she’s asking this? Who could have seen that coming?’

Seeing Xie Yuan’s stunned expression, Luo Shuang couldn’t help but ask:

"When Senior Brother Lu came looking for you yesterday, didn’t he mention this?"

"Oh, right, he did..."

Xie Yuan assumed she was referring to accepting him as a disciple and said sheepishly:

"Elder Luo, it’s just that Yao Yue Peak has never accepted male disciples, so the thought never crossed my mind."

"That’s why I suggested the marriage. If you marry a disciple from Yao Yue Peak, you can naturally be considered a successor of my lineage. But as it turns out..."

Luo Shuang glanced at Lin Zhen and shook her head.

The two of them immediately understood and were left somewhat speechless. ’This elder’s way of thinking is truly... one of a kind,’ they thought.

"If it doesn’t work out between you two, then find another female disciple on Yao Yue Peak. As long as the feelings are mutual, I will officiate your wedding myself, within one month. The disciples of my Yao Yue Peak are all graceful and elegant, with gentle and quiet temperaments. Any one of them would be an excellent match," Luo Shuang continued.

Lin Zhen listened, her heart reeling with shock.

’So that’s why Elder Lu came yesterday, to take Junior Brother Zhang Mountain as his disciple! Not only did he refuse, but today Elder Luo is willing to practically pimp out her own disciples to get him?’

’Wait, did Elder Luo mean that if I married him, I could enter Yao Yue Peak too? This...’

Lin Zhen’s feelings were suddenly a tangled mess, and she stared blankly into space.

Meanwhile, Xie Yuan was breaking out in a cold sweat.

"Well, Elder Luo, even if I were interested in a disciple from your esteemed peak, there’s no guarantee they would be interested in me..."

"Why wouldn’t they be? Winter is almost over, and those young ladies are cooped up with only other women all day, clamoring to socialize and cross swords with the senior brothers from other peaks. And since you’ve recently come down from Sword Peak, many of my disciples have been chattering about you, extremely curious. If you’re interested, you could certainly find a fine companion. So? How about it? Care to come to Yao Yue Peak to study under me and, while you’re at it, settle the matter of your marriage? I have more than one peerless beauty in my sect."

Luo Shuang coaxed him patiently, figuring a young hothead not yet twenty would have little else on his mind.

’Never mind someone not yet twenty; even men in their forties and fifties are the same...’ Her thoughts suddenly drifted.

Xie Yuan was aghast. He wiped the sweat from his brow.

"Well..."

Seeing his hesitation, Luo Shuang decided to go all in.

"Fine. If you don’t wish to be shackled for the time being, just become my disciple first. From this day forward, you will be the first male disciple of my Yao Yue Peak, our little junior brother. With a peak full of senior sisters, you’ll surely be showered with affection. How does that sound?"

Xie Yuan was at a loss for words and could only force a wry smile.

"Elder Luo, your offer is incredibly tempting... but the Sect Leader has already told me to remain in the Inner Sect."

He repeated what he’d been told the day before, using it as an excuse.

Upon hearing this, Luo Shuang’s delicate brows shot up in anger. She snorted coldly.

"That Li Xingtuo! To actually use the Sect Leader’s authority like that... Hmph! Fine, forget it!"

She rose to her feet, displeased. After a moment’s thought, still fuming, she added:

"Do you have any idea who it was that wanted to be Yao Yue Peak’s first male disciple, and was nearly punished by the previous Sect Leader for it? Who was it that pestered me day in and day out, calling me ’Senior Sister,’ only to immediately start pestering someone else the moment I ignored him? He couldn’t walk the path himself, so now he’s blocking it for those who come after. To act like this as a Sect Leader... he’s utterly shameless!"

’I shouldn’t be hearing this, I shouldn’t be hearing this...’ Xie Yuan’s ears immediately perked up.

"Be careful of that treacherous Sect Leader. He doesn’t have your best interests at heart!"

Luo Shuang warned.

Her sleeves fluttered as she turned with a graceful twist of her slender waist. Just as she was about to leave, she suddenly looked back over her shoulder, her tone peculiar.

"’Still has her charm’... In your eyes, does that make me some kind of fading beauty?"

Huh?

Xie Yuan’s whole body tensed. This was an incredibly difficult question to answer—a matter of life and death.

Realistically, Luo Shuang was a Martial Arts Grandmaster and only around forty years old. With her level of cultivation, her looks, her temperament, and even her figure were likely far superior to those of ninety-nine percent of younger women.

A peerless beauty with a mature mind but a body still in its prime... she was the woman of countless men’s dreams. Xie Yuan, however, had no such inclinations.

But he couldn’t say that, of course. He immediately replied with the utmost sincerity:

"Elder Luo, your peerless beauty is renowned throughout the world. Even the wielder of the Autumn Water Divine Sword fell at your feet. Countless young women must be mad with jealousy. Ahem, if I hadn’t known you were Elder Luo, I would have certainly just called you ’Senior Sister’ when we met."

Luo Shuang was greatly satisfied by his answer and nodded.

Still, she gave Xie Yuan a sidelong glance and said coolly:

"You little rascal. You look honest, but you certainly know how to flatter. Heh. Your type is the most dangerous... far more dangerous than *him*. Stay away from my disciples from now on."

’Just a moment ago, she was telling me I could take my pick of her disciples, that if one batch wasn’t good enough, I could have another. But the second I refuse to become her disciple, this is how she acts. How pragmatic...’

Seeing that Luo Shuang was now faintly wary of him, Xie Yuan felt utterly helpless.

’Damned if you tell the truth, damned if you lie. It’s true what they say: women and petty men are the hardest to handle.’

After Luo Shuang left, Lin Zhen looked Xie Yuan up and down as if seeing him for the very first time.

Xie Yuan smiled faintly and cupped his hands.

"Congratulations, Senior Sister Lin, on being accepted into Yao Yue Peak."

"Hardly..."

Lin Zhen murmured.

For the next several days, a different Grandmaster came to the Inner Sect each day. Every time, they would call Xie Yuan into a small room for a round of "threats and inducements." But no matter how tempted he was, Xie Yuan could only obediently cite the Sect Leader’s decree, leaving the other elders fuming.

The Inner Sect only quieted down after nearly every elder had taken their turn. The other disciples’ gazes toward Xie Yuan had shifted from envy and longing to astonishment and disbelief, and finally to simple numbness. When they saw he was still there after all that, they began to whisper amongst themselves, entertaining even grander theories.

And only then did Xie Yuan realize just how much the talent he displayed during those nine days on Sword Peak had stirred the hearts of these Sword Dao Grandmasters. They were so eager they practically wanted to take turns trying to spirit him away.

’But that isn’t even my true talent,’ he thought. ’Or rather, it’s just the tip of the iceberg.’

With the matter finally settled, Xie Yuan could at last calm his mind. Free from interruptions, he found that cultivating in the Inner Sect was actually quite good.

The Spiritual Qi on Ruyun Peak allowed his cultivation to progress with half the effort for twice the reward, leaving him feeling refreshed and invigorated.

He consumed the rest of the Blood Lingzhi along with other Spiritual Medicines. In what felt like a flash, his progress soared, and time slipped by quietly as he cultivated.