Chapter 3

She seemed not to have recovered from her fright. When he approached, she instinctively took a step back, looking at him with unease and wariness. Xiao Yan raised his hand and pointed toward the sword scabbard on his back. “I was the one who saved you just now.” His voice was deep, and there was little emotion in his tone. He sounded as though he were merely stating a fact. Lu Renjia froze for a moment before moving her lips. “Th-thank you?” Her gaze fell upon the sword scabbard behind the man, then returned to him. He was very tall, even taller than Zhang Lin, yet he lacked the arrogant, overbearing presence Zhang Lin carried. His aura was more restrained and steady. This put Lu Renjia somewhat at ease. “Thank you, Senior Brother, for helping me just now. I am truly grateful.” Other than this rather dry expression of thanks, Lu Renjia genuinely had nothing else with which to repay him. Feeling somewhat embarrassed, she pursed her lips slightly. “May I ask your name and which peak you reside at? If I have the opportunity in the future, I will personally visit you and offer my thanks.” As soon as she finished speaking, the man before her answered clearly. “Myriad Swords Peak. Xiao Yan.” Lu Renjia was slightly startled. As an outer-sect servant disciple who rarely left the sect grounds, she knew that the Heavenly Evolution Sect had more than a hundred peaks of various sizes, but she did not know the details of all of them. Even so, she knew of Myriad Swords Peak. It was said that most of the disciples of Myriad Swords Peak were geniuses selected from among countless candidates. Not only did they need superior spiritual roots, they also needed exceptional temperament and naturally possessed Sword Bones. Looking at the man before her, although he was dressed entirely in black, the high-grade spiritual jade artifact hanging from his waist was something only direct disciples were entitled to possess. It was a symbol of a direct disciple of Myriad Swords Peak. “So you're Senior Brother Xiao. Thank you, Senior Brother Xiao.” Lu Renjia felt much more at ease. Most disciples of Myriad Swords Peak were said to be righteous and warmhearted. They were nothing like people such as Zhang Lin. “If I get the opportunity in the future, I will definitely bring a generous gift and personally visit you to express my gratitude.” She solemnly repeated her promise, earning a slight nod from Xiao Yan. “There is no need to wait until the future.” His expression was serious and his voice deep as he summoned the flying sword from his back. “Today will do.” “...?” Lu Renjia was stunned. “Today?” She wondered if she had heard him incorrectly and stared at Xiao Yan in bewilderment. Xiao Yan's gaze also fell upon her face. The girl's lips parted slightly in surprise, revealing a hint of pearly white teeth that made her lips appear even more vividly red. Her brows unconsciously drew together, as though she found the situation difficult but did not dare question him again. She merely blinked at him, the tip of her nose wrinkling slightly. That expression was both pitiful and adorable. Xiao Yan's gaze wavered. Almost instinctively, he raised his hand, intending to lightly touch the girl's wrinkled nose. Suddenly, a curved blade flew out of nowhere, carrying a murderous intent as it shot straight toward the wrist of the hand he had extended toward the girl. However, as a Foundation Establishment cultivator and a sword cultivator, Xiao Yan naturally would not be driven back by a mere curved blade. Without even turning his head, he simply flicked his fingertip. The curved blade struck an invisible, solid barrier and could not advance another inch. Xiao Yan's gaze remained fixed on the girl before him. At that moment, nothing in the entire world could compare to the sight of her looking up at him. Yet that gaze gradually shifted away from him, passing over his shoulder and settling on the person behind him. Her eyes lit up with delight. “Senior Sister Su.” The person standing not far away was none other than Su Wanqing. She was also dressed in green, but unlike the gentle elegance of Lu Renjia's green robes, hers carried a hint of coolness and indifference. There was not even a trace of her usual affection in her eyes as she looked coldly and disdainfully at Xiao Yan. Then her gaze slowly shifted toward the delicate girl almost completely enclosed by the tall man's figure. “Junior Sister Lu, come here.” She looked calmly at Lu Renjia. For a brief moment, her gaze softened slightly, though her tone remained as indifferent as ever. Lu Renjia's heart immediately brightened. Compared with a lofty direct disciple and cultivation genius, she naturally felt much closer to a fellow female servant disciple who was also her neighbor. Without hesitation, she was about to walk toward Su Wanqing. However, the instant she moved her arm, another hand—hot and firm—gripped her wrist, stopping her in her tracks. Lu Renjia was stunned. She raised her eyes toward the man before her, only to see Xiao Yan frowning in displeasure. “Junior Sister, you just said that you would go to Myriad Swords Peak to thank me.” Lu Renjia became even more bewildered. Yes, she had said that. But hadn't she said she would bring a generous gift and visit him **in the future**? And today, she had absolutely nothing on her with which to thank him. “Senior Brother Xiao, I meant in the future...” Lu Renjia gently tried to pull her wrist free, only to discover that although he appeared to be holding her casually, the strength in his palm was as heavy as a thousand pounds. She could not break free even with the slightest struggle. She had no choice but to give up. Looking up at him cautiously, she said, “Besides, I don't have anything with me today that I could give you as a token of gratitude. I'm afraid—” “No gift is necessary. There is no need to wait.” Xiao Yan interrupted her. “You only need to come.” Lu Renjia's words were cut short by him. Seeing how forceful his attitude was, she could only turn her head toward Su Wanqing, her eyes silently asking for help. Su Wanqing stood quietly in the distance. She had known Xiao Yan for more than ten years, yet this was the first time she had ever seen him behave this way toward a woman. It would be a lie to say she felt heartbroken. After more than seven hundred years of marriage with Xiao Yan in her previous life, she had long since lost any romantic feelings for him. What remained was only the resentment of having cultivated bitterly for so many years and still failing to surpass him. And yet Xiao Yan, who had spent more than seven hundred years as her husband in her previous life while remaining devoted solely to the great path of immortality, had now fallen in love with another woman at first sight. Su Wanqing sneered inwardly. Then, when she noticed the delicate girl looking at her with a vulnerable gaze, a strange feeling inexplicably welled up inside her. She followed Lu Renjia's gaze. After a moment of silence, she still walked over. “Xiao Yan.” In front of everyone, Su Wanqing made no attempt to conceal the matter. “You're holding hands with another woman in front of your own fiancée. Is this the kind of upbringing your Xiao family and Myriad Swords Peak have taught you?” The words **“your fiancée”** finally caused Xiao Yan's brows to twitch. His hand was still gripping Lu Renjia's wrist as he turned around. Not far away stood a woman who looked vaguely familiar. Su Wanqing, the eldest legitimate daughter of the Su family of the cultivation world. Xiao Yan almost immediately guessed her identity, and his brows furrowed even deeper. The story of their engagement could be traced back to the ancestors of the Xiao and Su families. Back then, the two ancestors had been brothers-in-arms who ventured into a secret realm together. At a moment when their lives were hanging by a thread, they arranged a marriage between their future children. Unfortunately, the second generation of both families consisted entirely of sons, so the marriage had to be postponed to the next generation. Thus, the engagement eventually fell upon Xiao Yan, the eldest legitimate grandson of the Xiao family, and Su Wanqing, the eldest legitimate granddaughter of the Su family. A betrothal arranged by their elders and childhood sweethearts—on the surface, it sounded like a romantic story. Unfortunately, Xiao Yan had been discovered to possess Sword Bones while he was still an infant and was subsequently accepted as a disciple of Myriad Swords Peak in the Heavenly Evolution Sect. Su Wanqing, on the other hand, did not have her spiritual root aptitude tested until she was seven years old. The two had never grown up together. They merely knew that they had been bound by a marriage arrangement. Xiao Yan was relatively indifferent about it. Su Wanqing, however, had been deeply unwilling to accept the fact that she was destined to become someone's wife before she had even been born. Thus, she devoted herself wholeheartedly to cultivation, hoping that one day she could surpass Xiao Yan and then call off the engagement herself. Unfortunately, her spiritual root aptitude was truly poor. Despite years of painstaking cultivation, and even after entering the Heavenly Evolution Sect, she had only managed to reach the fourth level of Qi Refinement. Xiao Yan was completely different. He had successfully broken through to Foundation Establishment at the age of thirteen, and now his cultivation had already reached the late Foundation Establishment stage. As the gap between their cultivation levels grew wider and wider, Su Wanqing would become furious whenever she thought about Xiao Yan. And somehow, as that anger accumulated, she gradually began to believe that she had fallen for him. That was why, in her previous life, she had eventually clung desperately to Xiao Yan. But unlike her, Xiao Yan had never approved of this marriage from beginning to end. Even when Su Wanqing later threatened him with a keepsake left behind by her grandfather, he still made his position perfectly clear. He would devote his entire life to pursuing the Great Dao of Immortality. He would never develop romantic feelings for anyone. Even if he married her, they would merely be fellow Daoists. It was therefore obvious just how strongly Xiao Yan opposed this marriage. In fact, the reason he had come to the outer sect's Servant Disciples' Courtyard today was precisely because of this engagement. He intended to call it off. “Su Wanqing?” Xiao Yan looked at the woman standing in the distance. Her name vaguely surfaced in his memory. In a low voice, he spoke each word clearly. “You are Su Wanqing?”