181 - A Preposterous Request

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“Bullshit! Do you think I'll stand for this?" Jingfei exclaimed, unbothered by the countless gazes resting on her that this outburst elicited.

She was known to be a woman as cold as ice. Most of the audience had never seen her lose her temper, much less cry out in such a way, yet the boy's surrender was an affront to her pride, and most of the onlookers, especially the various elders, were fully aware of it.

However, it seemed only the boy was completely oblivious. The shock on his face seemed genuine, as did the awkwardness that followed. Seeing this, Yun Jingfei managed to reign in her rage and calm down, but she couldn't stop a look of disdain from gracing her eyes.

Upon seeing this, the boy’s expression twisted with remorse. He tried to open his mouth and explain himself, but Jingfei had no intentions of hearing him out. She turned around and leapt off the stage, the crowd parting as she walked until she disappeared from the stadium where their fight occurred, leaving all stunned, especially the various elders.

All except one.

Unlike all the others who felt outrage at this young disciple's disrespect, Feng Yanmei's expression remained as stone. While she didn't condone her disciple simply leaving, the match had already concluded. Even if the boy didn't mean it in this way, his surrender was final, and Jingfei was, therefore, the victor.

“That impudent... Who does she think she is?"

To her right was an old woman who seemed to be in her late forties. Although time had left its mark on her visage, unlike Yanmei, the woman remained a beauty—not enough for all heads to turn from her mere presence, but enough to awaken the desires of the many older males present around them and some of the disciples down below. It also helped that her dress was revealing enough to attract their gazes.

All those who knew her knew it was meant to be so, especially Yanmei. That woman never missed an opportunity to remind her there were countless men among the elders who sought to court her, yet Yanmei knew this was but an act for the man this woman wanted more than anything was out of her league.

That woman had spoken those words aloud, barely intent on muffling them, for they were meant for Yanmei's ears. Feng Yanmei felt a tinge of malice sprout in her heart, weary of this woman's constant antagonizing nature, but another chose to speak up before she could retaliate.

"I must admit, I didn't expect the two to be so evenly matched. Although there is a formation preventing death, I suppose we should count ourselves lucky this ended before they resorted to their trump cards. I would rather not lose one of our Core Disciples to an unlucky mistake."

The one who spoke was a male elder. Despite his youthful appearance of no more than thirty, the man exuded an air of experience and might. His cultivation was high, much higher than that of the first woman who had spoken, as was his authority, for all other elders seemed to defer to him. Even Feng Yanmei, in her aloofness, couldn't bring herself to ignore this man.

Still, she showed no signs of appreciation and retained her uninterested expression.

“That may be so, but that doesn't excuse the fact that she left before the result of the match was formally announced. Doesn't she put us elders into her eyes at all? It seems her education has been lacking. I propose both should be punished for it. We, as elders, must always be seen as examples to live by, by all disciples. We cannot let our reputation falter due to the actions of a single individual."

That woman had put so much poison in her words that all other elders were barely able to stop the shivers creeping up their spine. Some glanced at Yanmei from the corner of their eyes, gauging her reaction, but upon seeing her remaining indifferent, they couldn’t help but turn away, unwilling to be part of this. Only a few courageous ones looked upon both women openly, the male elder being one of them. In fact, he didn’t even hide the large smile plastered on his lips.

And yet, the woman felt something was wrong. She expected Yanmei to have flown into a rage by now. After all, she was known for her fiery temper, never to take such an affront lying down. But she had yet to say a single word back. Her gaze was fixed onto the stage—more precisely on the young man still despondent, as if his soul had left his body.

She found his actions peculiar. Had the fight continued in the same direction, Feng Yanmei knew that her disciple would be hard-pressed to emerge victorious. She could aim for a draw at best, yet the young man had preemptively surrendered.

It wasn’t as if he lacked the strength to be triumphant. In fact, his victory was expected. After all, he was a genius that dwarfed even her own disciple. They would be hard-pressed to find another comparable one in the entire history of the Immortal Phoenix Sect.

He may even be able to exceed the Sect Master—on second thought, maybe not. In all those years, I’ve never seen that man’s limits, she thought. He is in a class of his own—just like that strange young man... I do wonder what he is up to. She may not show it, but Jingfei misses him dearly. As much as I hate to admit it, I hope he returns soon before her temper flares up and she does something she'll regret...

To the woman's dismay, Feng Yanmei rose and left for the door without a single word to those around her. The woman gritted her teeth and clenched her tiny fist so tight that her nails bit into her palm hard enough to draw blood. Tiny beads of red liquid dropped to the floor but exploded into searing flames mid-air, leaving a slightly charred scent laced with a metallic fragrance.

Most of the other elders pretended to not see anything. Instead, they scanned the audience below for potential recruits for the Inner Sect, but as expected, not a single one of them met the requirements. They were all found lacking against the harsh conditions needed from them.

As for the boy, he stood silent in the middle of the arena, stunned by Jingfei’s departure. It was only when the murmurs of the surrounding audience grew too large to ignore that he snapped back to reality.

His visage turned a deep red as he resisted the urge to hide it behind his sleeve. Still, in front of all these cultivators, there was nothing he could possibly do to hide his current state. Therefore, after taking a deep, long breath, he finally calmed himself and stood upon the arena like a young mighty hero before leaping over the crowd, headed for the same exit Jingfei had used.

With both contestants gone and no victor announced, the crowd turned toward where the elders were seated, but they gasped in unison when they realized they were all gone. They all left without a sound, leaving them dazed and confused but also with a sense of unfulfillment in their hearts. They could only slowly leave disappointed.

As for Yun Jingfei, she was already long gone, headed toward her master's refuge. Unfortunately, the sect prohibited the disciple from using flying artifacts to move around the sect, so she could only slowly walk. As the arena was located near the central peak, she had a long way to go to reach the mountain she was familiar with, but she used the time to put her thoughts in order.

Never had she felt so humiliated. It was one thing to be openly ridiculed or even behind her back, but to be shown such mercy and pity by someone so much younger than her was a first. She thought her recent experience had eradicated her foolish pride at being deigned a genius, but it seemed an ember remained ever since her return. Her first order of business would be to remedy this so that she would not fall into the same pitfall once again.

She would never allow herself to make the same mistake.

Yet, something was plaguing her mind.

Why would he go so far as to forfeit? She asked herself. Considering our masters' relationship with each other, it's doubtful he has been asked to do so. In fact, it should be more probable that he was incentivized to win. If so, why would he do this? What does he have to gain?

She couldn't make sense of it. The boy was a genius—there was no doubt about it. Not many within the Western Outer Domain could claim to be as talented as he was, reaching this level at his young age—less than five for sure, all pillars of the new generation within the Four Great Sects.

They could have everything they wanted, for they shouldered the future of their respective sect. Jingfei was once considered one of them, but since her "accident,"... Well, there was no use dwelling on the past. She knew best that even at her prime, she could only barely be considered among them. She was the least talented by far—above millions but so far from the apex.

She had long made her peace on the subject. Even with the edge her husband had given her—this sword at her waist and the strength swordplay she practised—she doubted she would ever be good enough to be mentioned alongside them. She had lost too much time while they would only continue to grow.

Despite how cold and aloof she seemed outwardly, Jingfei couldn't help but look crestfallen, which alienated those who witnessed her. They intentionally avoided her, too afraid of crossing her path, for while they denigrated her in private, they would never have the guts to do so in her face.

While basking in melancholy, Jingfei’s features hardened, for she felt a presence at her back. She held the handle of her sword tightly as she maintained a steady cadence, her red dress fluttering in the wind of these high peaks, exposing but a slight trace of skin in the area between her knee-high boots and the hem of her skirt, enough to enchant any who would dare to look at her in this way.

Fortunately, none were daring enough.

Then, she suddenly stopped and turned around, her blade ready to be unleashed, for she had sensed someone standing behind her. Her eyes narrowed as she recognized the man who followed after her. He was the boy she had battled a few minutes ago, but despite being familiar with him, she didn't let go of her sword, and it seemed the young man noticed, for his expression grew awkward.

They were both currently in the middle of a long flight of stairs going up to a transfer array leading to her master's private mountain, with Jingfei being above, looking down on the young man. Despite not intending to, just her usual demeanour, she looked like a goddess of war ready to strike her enemies. She was majestic and imposing. The young boy could hardly look at her without blushing, which she could scarcely comprehend. He had never shown such an expression when they were trying to kill each other on the arena.

“What do you want?” she spat, showing the young man not even an ounce of courtesy. The pity she had been shown remained bitter in her heart, and couldn’t help but be transmitted through her speech, yet it seemed the young boy was too absorbed in his own world to notice the poison laced within.

His gaze was lowered, and he seemed to be psyching himself up, regulating his breathing with all his might. However, as the man didn't promptly state his purpose, Jingfei turned around and began her ascent again, leaving him behind, completely speechless.

However, when she was a few tens of meters away, the boy finally snapped out of it and blurted out loudly something Yun Jingfei could hardly believe. She couldn't help but pinch herself, if only to ensure she wasn't having a bad dream.

"I couldn't avert my gaze since the first time I laid eyes on you. It may be presumptuous of me to say so, but this is the first time I feel this way, and I cannot keep these feelings contained any longer. I desire everything about you. Will you consider marrying me?" he had said.

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