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Su Yi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
He and Xia Qingyuan had a good relationship, but they weren’t “in a relationship.”
It was obvious that Pu Surong and the others had misunderstood.
Before he could respond, Pu Surong said softly, “I’m well aware that doing so will hurt you emotionally, but please, understand. Qingyuan will return to the clan with me, and she is destined never to have any entanglements with men!”
She said that last part with staunch assurance.
Su Yi furrowed his brow. “Unless my ears deceive me, it seems you just said that Miss Qingyuan can never love a man?”
Pu Surong nodded as if it were a matter of course. “If she wants to receive our clan’s benevolence, she must pay the corresponding price and accept the accompanying responsibility.”
Something occurred to Su Yi, and he instantly understood. “Are you taking Miss Qingyuan back to the Purple Moon Foxes to become their next holy maiden?”
Pu Surong was stunned. “So, young lord, you already knew about this?”
Su Yi sighed. “Does that mean that when you left the Xia Emperor, it was to become the next so-called ‘holy maiden’ too?”
“That’s right.” Pu Surong nodded.
Su Yi instantly fell silent.
According to the rules of the Purple Moon Foxes, becoming the holy maiden required severing all romantic attachments. Only then could one inherit their ancestral legacy, the Moon-Summoning Sacred Canon.
Su Yi had no intention of labeling this rule “good” or “bad.”
But at the very least, he didn’t want to see Xia Qingyuan become a “heartless” woman. It was far too great a price to pay for the seat of holy maiden.
“You’ve already hurt the Xia Emperor. Now, you want to hurt your daughter too? Is the seat of holy maiden really that important to you?” asked Su Yi.
This question wasn’t at all polite, but Pu Surong didn’t get angry. She said solemnly, “When parents love their children, they plan for their futures. I’m Qingyuan’s mother, so I’m naturally doing this for her own good.”
“As she agreed to leave with you?” asked Su Yi.
Pu Surong said calmly, “Xia Yunjing hasn’t let me see her yet, but it doesn’t matter. When I leave, I’ll definitely take my daughter with me. She might be angry, and she might oppose it, and she might not understand why I’m doing this, but once she becomes the holy maiden, she’ll naturally understand my good intentions.”
She looked at Su Yi. “Please, grant me this request. I guarantee that so long as you end your relationship with my daughter, I’ll help ensure your safety.”
A’Leng and Ruo Huan looked at Su Yi too.
She’d already said everything she had to say. Now, they had to wait and see how Su Yi responded.
However, Su Yi just said coolly, “I can make you a guarantee too. Unless Miss Qingyuan agrees to go with you, not even the Imperial Realm ancestors of the Purple Moon Foxes can take her away.”
The atmosphere was instantly tense and stifled.
Pu Surong’s painted eyebrows gradually furrowed.
A’Leng, however, couldn’t help but laugh coldly. “Su Yi, you can’t act on impulse. I know you’re upset, and I know you have heaven-defying foundations and tyrannical combat abilities. I know you’re far beyond a typical genius.”
A moment later, he sharply changed tacks, and a mocking jeer tugged at his lips. “Still, although this might be unpleasant to hear, if you stick to this course of action, you’ll be no different from a mantis trying to block a chariot!”
Ruo Huan couldn’t help but chime in too. “Young Lord Su, we just want you to distance yourself from Little Sister Qingyuan, yet you’ve gone and proclaimed that you’ll stop us from leaving with her…. Don’t you think that’s a bit excessive?”
Su Yi gazed up at the horizon, where dusk was setting in, and said with waning interest, “I already said everything I had to say. It’s time for you to leave.”
The way A’Leng saw it, he’d already been quite tolerant, but Su Yi was completely intractable. He couldn’t help but lose his temper.
However, just as he was about to say something, Pu Surong intervened. “Don’t make trouble.”
A’Leng felt angry and stifled. “Big Sis, can’t you see how awful this guy’s attitude is? Seems to me that unless we teach him a lesson, he’ll think we’re a bunch of pushovers!”
Pu Surong ignored his resentment completely. Instead, she looked at the still-reclining Su Yi. “Young Lord Su, I trust that when you realize how much danger you’re in, you’ll change your tune. When the time comes, I’ll still be willing to assist you.”
She seemed quite confident, as if she’d planned everything out.
Su Yi didn’t even look at her. In truth, he had nothing else to say.
Pu Surong saw this and was just about to leave when Weng Jiu’s voice rang out just beyond the gates: “Fellow Daoist Su, Third Elder Mi Tianhe of the House of the Skywalking Sword has come for an audience with several experts of his sect.”
Pu Surong’s expression turned a bit strange, and she didn’t rush to leave.
“Let’s wait and see what’s happening,” she transmitted to Ruo Huan and A’Leng. Both of them nodded.
Su Yi could tell at a glance that they planned to stick around and watch the show, but he couldn’t be bothered to pay them any heed. “Bring them inside.”
It was already dusk, and the skies over the horizon were the dull gray of lead. The streetlights were freshly lit, and the sound of hustle and bustle emanated from afar.
When Weng Jiu led a group of cultivators inside, Azurecloud Court seemed a lot more crowded.
“Fellow Daoist Pu, what are you doing here?” Weng Jiu was instantly surprised.
“Go ahead and chat,” said Pu Surong with a tranquil look on her face. She led A’Leng and Ruo Huan away, and the three of them watched from the far end of the courtyard.
Weng Jiu then looked at Su Yi, and when he saw that Su Yi didn’t object, he smiled and introduced their guests, one by one.
A total of four House of the Skywalking Sword experts had come.
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The first was a thin, blue-robed man with graying temples. He carried an ancient sword on his back, and he stood out of the crowd. His name was Mi Tianhe, and he was a peak Spiritual Incarnation Realm cultivator, as well as the House of the Skywalking Sword’s third elder.
His three companions, two men and one woman, all looked young. They were legacy disciples of the sect, and all three were in the Spiritual Manifestation Realm.
Even in the modern Great Xia, their cultivations were exceptional.
They’d be considered elites of the younger generation even in the Nine Provinces of the Wilds. After all, anyone who stepped into the Spirit Dao at such a tender age was sure to be extraordinary.
However, people like them had long since ceased to interest Su Yi.
“Greetings, Fellow Daoist Su!” Mi Tianhe approached with a smile.
Su Yi waved the greeting away. “I dislike pleasantries. If you have something to say, just say it.”
The three youths accompanying Mi Tianhe frowned.
Pu Surong, A’Leng, and Ruo Huan looked at each other. They finally understood; it wasn’t that Su Yi was ostracizing them.
He treated everyone like this!
“Were this the Bright Sky Realm, with that brazen, prideful way of doing things, he’d have been killed countless times over by now!” jeered A’Leng.
Meanwhile, by the bank of the pond.
Mi Tianhe let out a burst of hearty laughter. “On the way here, Fellow Daoist Weng told me you were forthright and direct, and that you had no taste for elaborate formalities. It seems that is indeed the case. However…”
He glanced at Pu Surong and her companions.
Weng Jiu said hurriedly, “Fellow Daoist Mi, please rest assured. No matter what you’ve come here to discuss, with their statuses, Fellow Daoist Pu and her companions won’t leak a word of it.”
Once he had Weng Jiu’s guarantee, Mi Tianhe smiled and nodded.
Then, without any further hesitation, he directly stated his intentions. “Fellow Daoist Su, I’ve come here today on the sect leader’s orders. We hope to invite you to join the House of the Skywalking Sword!”
Silence greeted this declaration.
Weng Jiu was caught off guard, and his gaze flickered.
Pu Surong and her companions were stunned too.
Earlier, they’d thought that since Su Yi was in dire straits, they could “send him coal in a blizzard” and convince him to obediently end things with Xia Qingyuan.
They wouldn’t have guessed that the House of the Skywalking Sword had similar plans!
Su Yi asked in confusion, “Aren’t you worried about offending the various ancient factions?”
Mi Tianhe smiled. “There’s no need to hide it. Since we dared come here, we’ve naturally considered the risks and come up with a countermeasure.”
This piqued Su Yi’s interest. “Let’s hear it, then.”
The others pricked up their ears as well.
“It’s actually rather simple. First, we’ll need you to cooperate with us and temporarily adopt a pseudonym and new identity,” Mi Tianhe said directly. “However, if the ancient factions see through our ruse and view us with enmity, we’re not afraid to contend with them. Even if we lose in the end, we can always choose to depart the Azure Continent.”
He paused, then smiled. “However, in my estimations, I’m afraid the ancient factions won’t dare cast aside all pretenses of cordiality with the House of the Skywalking Sword on your account, Fellow Daoist Su.”
Su Yi felt enlightened. The House of the Skywalking Sword was from another world, and this was the Azure Continent! They could advance and attack, or retreat and defend as they pleased!
This was the greatest source of their confidence!
Mi Tianhe smiled. “Furthermore, as an expression of our sincerity, so long as you choose to join us, we can break protocol and promote you directly to core disciple. Furthermore, you won’t be restricted by our sect’s rules, and you’ll have no need to obey senior sect members' orders!
“On top of that, we’ll pour all of our cultivation resources into helping you establish the firmest possible foundations in the Spirit Dao in preparation for breaking into the Imperial Realm!”
This time, even Pu Surong and her cohort were stunned.
They could tell that the House of the Skywalking Sword attached enormous importance to Su Yi. Otherwise, they would never have offered such lavish conditions.
Especially the part about being exempt from the rules and under no obligation to follow orders. That was almost impossible for any top faction to agree to!
Weng Jiu’s heart clenched.
If the House of the Skywalking Sect lured Su Yi away, who would help the imperial family repair the Nine Tripod Suppression Barrier Formation?
The three disciples accompanying Mi Tianhe couldn’t help but be jealous.
Although they were legacy disciples of the Spiritual Manifestation Realm, they were in no way qualified to enjoy such special treatment!
However, against all expectations, Su Yi didn’t even stop to think. He just shook his head and refused. “I’m not interested in joining a sect to cultivate.”
He’d said this out of consideration for their sincerity, and he figured he was being polite.
Otherwise, he would have long since turned up his nose and ignored them.
After all, in his past life, he reigned supreme over the wilds, his sword suppressing the heavens. His accomplishments would have been dazzling in any era, past or present.
How could such an invitation tempt him?
If his friends in his past life heard about this, they might well clutch their stomachs and laugh uproariously.
When they heard Su Yi’s refusal, those present were stunned. They almost dared not believe their ears.
Just like that… he refused them so casually?
Even Weng Jiu was dazed.
He admitted to himself, In his shoes, in the face of such generous conditions and special treatment, I would have at least been tempted!
But it seems Su Yi didn’t care at all…