Chen Yuyang could understand the desire to take him as a disciple.
From their perspective, seeing such a young, monstrous alchemical genius appear, anyone would be unable to resist the urge to recruit him.
But… what on earth was with the marriage proposal?
Moreover, it was actually the grandfather of that girl, Yan Luo, who had personally come to propose.
Being raised by the number one family in the Northern Region, the granddaughter of an ancestor at the Great Perfection of the Mahayana Realm—good grief, what a set of conditions.
If he hadn’t experienced a hundred lives and a hundred refinements, having seen and tasted the best the world had to offer, and if he hadn’t accumulated a massive fortune of his own, what other young man could have withstood this?
“Cough, cough. Senior, you must be joking. How could a youngster like me be worthy of marrying into the Yan family? Besides, I already have a Master. My Master has treated me well and even raised me. How could I abandon my sect for the sake of a little profit?”
Chen Yuyang’s expression remained unchanged.
He wasn’t moved in the slightest by the promises Yan Dangmo offered.
Instead, he spoke with a face full of calm sincerity.
Feeling the boy’s soul fluctuations, Yan Dangmo realized that this kid was actually speaking from the heart, rather than out of modesty or pretense.
Good boy…
Is my massive Yan family really not even worth your consideration?
After a brief moment of thought, Yan Dangmo immediately stated: “I’m not asking you to leave the Hehuan Sect. I’m only asking you to marry into my Yan family. Becoming a son-in-law of my Yan family and continuing as a disciple of the Hehuan Sect are not conflicting identities.”
Although Yan Dangmo had initially thought of having Chen Yuyang cut ties with the Hehuan Sect, seeing the boy’s firm and non-negotiable attitude, he chose to yield.
Even if this kid took some of his own family’s resources to subsidize the Hehuan Sect, given the potential and talent he had shown, it was a price worth paying.
As the current ancestor of the Yan family, Yan Dangmo’s vision and schemes were not focused on the present, but on the next ten years, a hundred years, or even several hundred years.
This boy absolutely possessed that kind of value.
Ah, this…
Hearing Yan Dangmo’s words, Chen Yuyang for a moment didn’t know how to refuse again.
He couldn’t exactly say he had no feelings for the man’s granddaughter and didn’t care much for the Yan family’s fortune.
“Senior, matters of the heart cannot be forced,” Chen Yuyang could only say this much.
However, the meaning of his polite refusal was already quite obvious.
But Yan Dangmo had already set his sights on Chen Yuyang.
The more he couldn’t have him, the more his heart craved it.
My Yan family must have this kid!
However, he shouldn’t be too hasty for now.
If he pushed too hard and the boy developed a sense of resistance, it would be bad. “Anyway, the Alchemy Convention is still long. You can give it some careful thought.”
Leaving behind this sentence, Yan Dangmo departed for the time being.
By the time the elders of the Pill Sect finished inspecting the pills and confirmed his results, only three hours had passed.
Cupping his hands toward the crowd in a simple gesture of courtesy, Chen Yuyang was the first to take to the air, flying toward Ling Xi outside the arena.
“Alright, Junior Sister, let’s go.”
Arriving before the young girl, Chen Yuyang’s voice was as calm as usual.
It was as if everything that had just happened was completely insignificant.
Ling Xi, however, was still rooted to the spot.
Her eyes were wide and round, her small mouth slightly agape, and a dazed expression hung on her face.
She had not yet recovered from the series of shocks.
“Junior Sister?”
Seeing no reaction, Chen Yuyang took a step closer and reached out, intending to pinch the girl’s slightly chubby, cute face.
The moment his fingertips were about to touch her, Ling Xi finally snapped out of it as if waking from a dream.
She shuddered violently and quickly pulled her neck back.
Her wide eyes stared straight at the youth before her, her gaze filled with complexity.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
Seeing her reaction was quite amusing, Chen Yuyang couldn’t help but smile and ask, “Is there something on my face?”
“No… it’s nothing.”
Ling Xi quickly turned her gaze away, her eyes flickering as she didn’t dare to meet his gaze again.
However, she felt the heart in her chest thumping wildly at this moment.
Unconsciously, her face also felt somewhat hot and flushed.
In Ling Xi’s heart, a stormy sea was raging, unable to calm down for a long time.
Her Senior Brother had actually rejected the Yan family ancestor’s personal recruitment in front of so many people!
That was the Yan family!
The Yan family, the number one family in the Northern Region, possessed overwhelming power.
They were an existence that could make the entire Northern Region’s cultivation world tremble just by stamping their feet.
How many people broke their heads trying to cling to them but had no way in?
At this moment, the Yan family ancestor had personally spoken and even proposed to marry his granddaughter to her Senior Brother.
What kind of opportunity and honor was that?
As long as her Senior Brother nodded, he would directly enter the core high-level ranks of the Yan family, enjoy endless resources, and have an immeasurable future.
But he had actually refused.
And setting the Yan family aside…
Even the Sect Master of the Pill Sect, Zhu Tian, who had previously stated he would no longer take disciples, had personally spoken after witnessing her Senior Brother’s alchemical talent, saying he wanted to take him as a personal disciple.
This was likewise an opportunity that countless cultivators sought but could not obtain.
If her Senior Brother had agreed…
Whether he chose the Yan family or the Pill Sect, his future would be a smooth path, and his future achievements would be immeasurable.
Instead, if he chose to stay…
In the Hehuan Sect, even if he had such world-shaking talent, the sect could not satisfy his needs.
They simply couldn’t supply the spirit stones and heavenly treasures required for his cultivation.
Moreover, because of the sect’s reputation, he would occasionally be looked down upon and marginalized by other cultivators.
Ling Xi stole a glance, looking at Chen Yuyang again.
The youth’s profile was clearly defined under the perfect sunlight of today, shrouded in a faint halo.
At this moment, he was like gold, radiating brilliance.
Back at the inn.
The door to the room where their Master stayed was still tightly shut without the slightest movement.
Chen Yuyang sensed slightly and knew that Tai Lingxuan was still in the midst of her epiphany.
Chen Yuyang and Ling Xi returned to the guest room they shared.
After entering the door, a long silence persisted.
In the air, only the sound of each other’s breathing remained.
Finally, Ling Xi couldn’t help it.
Her voice trembled slightly as she asked, “Senior Brother, why… why didn’t you agree to them?”
Chen Yuyang was sitting by the table and had just poured himself a cup of hot tea.
Hearing this, he put down the teapot and looked up at the girl.
A faint smile curled at the corners of his mouth as he asked back, “Why should I have agreed?”
“Because… that’s the Yan family and the Pill Sect!”
Ling Xi suddenly raised her head, her tone carrying a hint of urgency.
“This means that as long as you agree, Senior Brother, your future will be limitless. But in the Hehuan Sect, you… you clearly have such incredible alchemical skills, you’re such a genius, yet you’ve always… I didn’t even know you were such an amazing person.”
“I’m amazing in many ways, not just alchemy.”
As he spoke, the smile on Chen Yuyang’s face became a bit more radiant.
He sat forward slightly, his eyes even carrying a bit of playfulness as he continued to ask, “So, speaking of which, do you really want me to leave the Hehuan Sect, Junior Sister?”
“Of course I don’t!”
Hearing this, Ling Xi immediately became anxious and waved her hands hurriedly, her voice rising slightly.
“Of course I don’t want you to leave, Senior Brother. It’s just… just if that really is a better choice for you, a brighter future… I… I…”
Ling Xi didn’t say the words that followed.
But there was no need to say more; Chen Yuyang knew she was sincerely considering his future.
Shaking his head, the smile on Chen Yuyang’s face gradually faded, replaced by seriousness and determination.
“I won’t leave.”
“In this life, since I am a person of the Hehuan Sect, then even if I die, I will die in the Hehuan Sect.”
He paused, his gaze looking out the window, his eyes peaceful.
“Admittedly, their promises and those so-called conditions sound very tempting. Power, status, endless cultivation resources… who wouldn’t want those things? But in life, there are things more important than those.”
“To me, in the Hehuan Sect, there are things more important than those.”
“Things more important than those…” Ling Xi’s eyes instantly lit up.
She stared fixedly at Chen Yuyang and couldn’t help but ask curiously, “What… what are they?”
Looking at the girl’s eyes full of expectation and curiosity, Chen Yuyang suddenly laughed.
Then, he extended a finger and lightly tapped Ling Xi’s forehead.
Ling Xi’s head tilted back slightly, but her cheeks were quickly dyed crimson.
The girl instinctively pulled her neck back, and her heart began to thump wildly and uncontrollably again.
Senior Brother… what does he mean by this?
Is he referring to… me?
Did he stay because of me?
Once this thought surfaced, it began to grow wildly in her heart.
The girl felt both shy and excited, while also harboring a trace of secret joy.
Ling Xi lowered her eyes, not daring to look into Chen Yuyang’s eyes again, only keeping her head down and stealing glances at him with her peripheral vision.
After finishing the gesture, Chen Yuyang turned around and stood with his hands behind his back, his eyes full of emotion.
Indeed, even for this lifetime, in terms of future development, agreeing would have brought him more benefits.
If it were any other life, he might have left some compensation for the Hehuan Sect and then turned to join the Pill Sect or the Yan family, using their resources to grow and using their strength and influence to protect himself while he became powerful.
But this life was different.
Between himself and his Master, a strong karmic bond had already been created that could no longer be easily severed.
On the other hand, through a hundred lives and a hundred refinements, he felt a sense of “home” for the first time in the Hehuan Sect.
Resources were easy for him to obtain, and increasing his strength wasn’t too big of a problem.
But this kind of environment, this atmosphere, and this feeling were things that could be encountered but not sought.
Therefore, Chen Yuyang decided to stay.
To stay in the Hehuan Sect, to stay among his fellow disciples, and to stay… by Tai Lingxuan’s side.
Thinking of this, a peculiar light flickered in the youth’s eyes.
Ling Xi gazed at the youth, her pretty face slightly red, her mind still replaying his actions.
Her Senior Brother had stayed because of her.
What did she, Ling Xi, have to deserve such affection from her Senior Brother, to make him willing to give up his future…
Thinking of this, a ripple of emotion and a surge of gratitude rose in Ling Xi’s heart.
Rustle!
The sound of fabric rubbing.
Before Chen Yuyang could react, a pair of hands and a person had already tightly hugged him from behind.
“Junior Sister?”
The girl buried her head and her burning cheeks against the youth’s back.
After a long time, she finally plucked up the courage to squeeze a sentence out of her throat.
“Senior Brother, I… I understand…”
Chen Yuyang: “???”
What do you understand?
The words he just spoke were less of an answer to Ling Xi and more of something he told himself.
Raising her head, the girl looked at the youth with pleading eyes.
“Senior Brother, let us… let the two of us become Dao companions!”