“Yuyang!”
Gu Qiushui was overjoyed.
However, she forced herself to hold back the urge to step forward.
The reason?
None other.
Because she saw, standing beside Chen Yuyang, were Yun Lian and Yan Luo of the Yan family.
She knew that Yun Lian had gone out to train with her junior brother.
But what was this Yan Luo doing here?
Gu Qiushui’s gaze fell on Yan Luo, her eyes carrying a hint of curiosity and concern.
She didn’t have a good impression of this eldest daughter of the Yan family, who had once tried to take her junior brother for herself and had also offended their master.
Gu Qiushui then discreetly signaled Ling Xi with a glance, indicating for her to look outside the arena.
Alerted, Ling Xi lifted her head in confusion and followed the direction to the entrance of the Martial Arena.
When she saw the figure of the young man she had been thinking about day and night, Ling Xi was completely stunned.
“S-Senior Brother…”
“He… he’s back!”
The pent-up longing of seven or eight months burst forth all at once.
Suddenly, that longing transformed into fighting spirit.
Ling Xi abruptly raised the Cunduan sword in her hand, its tip pointing straight at Chen Yuyang.
Spiritual power erupted around her, her aura astonishing, and her voice trembled slightly with excitement: “Senior Brother, you’re finally back!”
“Come, come, Senior Brother, fight me!”
Feeling the familiar look of the girl, Chen Yuyang revealed a helpless smile.
He nodded gently toward Ling Xi, then stepped out from between Yun Lian and Yan Luo and walked toward the Martial Arena.
Since his junior sister was so eager, Chen Yuyang naturally did not intend to refuse this long-awaited spar.
After all, he really had been away for too long.
Outside the arena, seeing this, Yan Luo raised an eyebrow with interest.
She couldn’t help but turn to Yun Lian beside her and ask, “Do they always act like this, Senior Brother and Junior Sister?”
Yun Lian nodded and replied calmly, “Mm, they’ve always been like this. Back when he was here, they’d fight every few days, sometimes even several times a day.”
Yan Luo nodded thoughtfully, watching Ling Xi, and said nothing more.
In her peripheral vision, she also glanced at Gu Qiushui.
They were all stunning beauties.
Perhaps none of them were as cute as her.
But when it came to figure… she was no match for them…
This made Yan Luo feel a pressure.
The pressure of competition.
Just then, at the edge of the Martial Arena, Yan Luo suddenly felt an intangible yet powerful pressure quietly descend.
Yan Luo almost instantly sensed the source of the pressure, not far behind her.
Her pupils dilated slightly, and she whirled around.
Behind her stood a stunningly beautiful woman in purple robes, standing proudly with her hands behind her back.
She did not deliberately release her aura or make a sound, but her mere presence exuded an inviolable dignity.
“Master!”
Yun Lian immediately bowed upon seeing the newcomer.
“Senior Tai!”
Yan Luo was startled, quickly put away all casualness, and respectfully performed a bow with cupped hands.
She had heard that Tai Lingxuan raised the orphaned Yuyang.
In other words… if she wanted her relationship with Yuyang to succeed, it would be difficult without her approval.
Tai Lingxuan’s gaze lingered on Yan Luo for a moment, then she smiled gently at her and nodded, considering it a return greeting.
However, Tai Lingxuan’s heart stirred with doubt.
‘How did this Yan family girl come back with Yuyang? Could it be that this brat Yuyang has already taken her in…?’
Thinking this, Tai Lingxuan’s heart skipped a beat.
‘This is going to be a headache. Behind this girl Yan Luo stands the Yan family… I have tacitly allowed this boy to be a flirt, but if he sets his heart on Yan Luo and flirts with her, isn’t he afraid that Yan Dangmo will slap him to death? No, I must give this boy a stern warning later.’
Tai Lingxuan thought to herself, her face expressionless.
At the same time, Tai Lingxuan turned her gaze to Yun Lian standing nearby.
When she sensed the Nascent Soul stage aura emanating from her, her eyes flashed with surprise.
‘Nascent Soul… Even Yun Lian has broken through? Following Yuyang on his training journey, one after another, their advancement speed is too fast. Nascent Soul cultivators under twenty years old—even among the top sects, there are few to be found. But in my small Hehuan Sect, we now have Ling Xi, Yun Lian, and Yuyang—three of them!’
Thinking this, Tai Lingxuan felt a surge of emotion, and the corners of her mouth lifted involuntarily.
Although she knew that none of this had much to do with her, it was mostly due to the opportunities brought by that boy Yuyang, that didn’t stop her from feeling a little proud as their master.
In the center of the Martial Arena, Chen Yuyang and Ling Xi stood facing each other.
The crimson tip of Ling Xi’s sword pointed diagonally at the ground, her gaze complex as she looked at the young man before her.
After a long moment, Ling Xi finally spoke softly, “Senior Brother, why didn’t you take me with you on this training trip? Do you think I would hold you back?”
Chen Yuyang couldn’t help but smile bitterly.
He never expected that the first thing he’d have to do upon returning was answer such a question.
“I… I originally only wanted to go alone,” Chen Yuyang explained helplessly.
Hearing this, Ling Xi pouted, her face showing a hurt expression, and immediately said, “Liar! You clearly took Junior Sister Yun Lian with you, and… and outside, you also brought that woman from the Yan family…”
As she spoke, Ling Xi stole a glance at Yan Luo outside the arena, her jealousy almost undisguised.
Chen Yuyang really couldn’t explain.
It was all coincidence and accident.
But things like this couldn’t be explained clearly; the more he explained, the more confused it became.
“Cough, cough.”
Chen Yuyang coughed twice and forcibly changed the subject.
“Junior Sister’s strength seems to have grown quite a bit.”
Ling Xi bit her lip, naturally knowing that her senior brother was changing the subject.
However, she didn’t intend to keep pressing.
What was the use of asking him or blaming him?
He was already back; life had to go on, didn’t it?
‘If you want life to be smooth, you have to…’
The girl shook her head, casting aside those messy thoughts.
She gripped her sword again, her eyes sharpening.
“Senior Brother, while you were traveling and enjoying yourself with other girls, I never dared to relax my training for a single moment, afraid that I would fall further and further behind you.”
Ling Xi said resentfully.
Then, with a flick of her wrist, Cunduan vibrated, sending a series of trembling sounds through the air.
“Senior Brother, watch closely! This is your junior sister’s current sword!”
Before her words faded, Ling Xi’s figure moved.
She was extremely fast, instantly transforming into a cyan afterimage.
The long sword in her hand carried a sharp wind as it thrust straight at Chen Yuyang’s face.
Her sword, though not as profound as Yun Lian’s, already faintly contained a hint of her own sword intent.
A gratified smile appeared on Chen Yuyang’s face.
He neither dodged nor avoided, but swung his sword to meet her.
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
The sound of metal clashing rang out without end.
In the blink of an eye, the two had exchanged over a hundred blows.
Chen Yuyang never attacked, only deflected and blocked his junior sister’s strikes, while carefully sensing the changes in her sword techniques and the surrounding spiritual power stirred by each sword stroke.
“Junior Sister’s sword is much sharper than before, and the sword momentum is much steadier, but the transitions between moves still lack something,” Chen Yuyang commented as he defended.
Ling Xi pouted secretly, a hint of unwillingness on her face.
“Then, Senior Brother, try this sword!”
The girl gave a sharp cry, took a half step back, and with a sudden sweep of her long sword, instantly manifested hundreds of sword shadows, layered one upon another, turning into a tangible wave of blades.
This was the second stance of the Canglan Sword Art, interpreted by the junior sister through her own understanding.
In the moment the technique was completed, all the sword shadows instantly converged into one, carrying an almost irresistible force as it slashed down toward Chen Yuyang’s head.
“That sword strike is quite something.”
Outside the arena, Yan Luo’s eyes flickered with surprise, and she couldn’t help but praise.
Yun Lian also nodded in approval, acknowledging the power of Ling Xi’s strike.
Gu Qiushui, however, stood to the side with a smile and said, “What’s powerful about her move is not the sword itself.”
Just as the sword, condensed from hundreds of shadows, was about to strike Chen Yuyang, a sudden change occurred!
The spiritual power that had been scattered chaotically around Chen Yuyang suddenly solidified, turning into strands of spiritual energy threads that intertwined and wove together, forming a large net.
In an instant, they wrapped around and bound Chen Yuyang’s body!
“When did this happen!”
Yan Luo exclaimed in surprise.
As a spectator, she had not noticed at all when these spiritual threads had been set up.
A look of realization dawned in Yun Lian’s eyes.
“So the previous sword techniques were all just a setup? The spiritual power that Senior Sister deliberately left in the air was her real aim!”
Gu Qiushui smiled and nodded.
“That’s right. Ling Xi’s control over these spiritual threads is extremely exquisite. The first time I encountered it, I was caught off guard and almost lost to this move of hers.”
Yan Luo listened, then said with a hint of amusement, “What a pity, though. Her opponent is Yuyang.”
Yun Lian followed with a nod.
“What a pity. It’s Senior Brother.”
Faced with the restraint of the spiritual threads, Chen Yuyang showed no surprise, because he had expected it all.
His junior sister’s technique was indeed very well concealed, somewhat unexpected.
But unfortunately, he had seen similar tricks many times in the past.
Chen Yuyang simply circulated his spiritual power slightly, exerting force with his limbs.
The tough spiritual threads, under his strength, were as fragile as spider silk.
They snapped inch by inch instantly and dissipated back into the air.
Seeing this, Ling Xi’s eyes flickered with surprise, but her movements did not pause.
That sword still thrust toward Chen Yuyang.
‘So what if he broke free? The sword is already inches away. Does Senior Brother still have time to dodge?’
But Chen Yuyang had no intention of dodging.
Just as the tip of the sword was about to pierce Chen Yuyang’s chest, Ling Xi suddenly bit her lip hard and forcibly stopped her body.
In the end, she did not actually stab forward.
Then, the girl quickly withdrew her sword and stepped back several paces, putting distance between herself and Chen Yuyang.
“Senior Brother, you lost!”
Ling Xi raised her chin and announced confidently.
Chen Yuyang was baffled by this.
“I… I lost just like that?”
“Of course!”
Ling Xi said with confidence.
“You couldn’t dodge that sword just now. If I hadn’t pulled back, you’d be dead or seriously injured by now!”
Chen Yuyang was a mix of amused and exasperated.
‘It’s not that I couldn’t dodge, it’s that there was no need to dodge!’
With his current strength, even if he took the strike head-on, he would be fine.
However, Chen Yuyang didn’t intend to argue with his junior sister over this momentary victory.
Since she thought so, what harm was there in letting her win?
“Yes, yes, yes. Junior Sister is amazing. You win.”
Chen Yuyang cupped his hands and admitted defeat with a smile.
Outside the arena, Yun Lian and Yan Luo saw this and couldn’t help exchanging glances, their expressions a mix of speechlessness and envy.
Yun Lian: “…”
Yan Luo: “…”
What was this… like coaxing a child.