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A group of people who hurriedly came from the cave residence stopped at the edge of the martial arts training ground, and the surroundings fell into a dead silence for several miles.
Their gaze fell on the breathtakingly beautiful young man, not an ordinary-looking youth. His every move and gesture captured the hearts of those who saw him.
Ning Runxin’s eyes trembled slightly, and he couldn’t recover from his shock for a while. He had never imagined that the unremarkable young man he had met in the Eastern Wasteland would hide such a stunning appearance, beautiful enough to mesmerize anyone.
Having closed his doors for many years, Ning Runxin knew little about the outside world and couldn’t grasp Shen Liuxiang’s identity immediately. He was simply astonished by the exquisite beauty of the young man’s face.
Zhao Lin was different. When he saw the handsome features of the youth, his heart surged with waves of emotions.
He recognized that face.
It was Qingling Immortal Lord, Shen Liuxiang!
In the past ten years, Zhao Lin had expelled countless people from the Sword Sect with his sword, showing no mercy and even injuring them several times. Little did he know that one of those people was Brother Shen Xiang?!
Zhao Lin’s face turned white in an instant.
More than just them, everyone present was stunned. Most of them had never seen Shen Liuxiang before.
“Who is this person?! Why have we never heard of someone with a Nascent Soul stage cultivation before?”
“If he’s so stunning, I can understand why Ning Runxin and others have been interested in him for years.”
“This… this is Shen Liuxiang?! Why did he disguise himself as an ordinary person? Such beauty should be revealed to the world!”
“Ah, oh no, I want to join Qingling Sect!”
Ye Shi stood still, stunned.
His worries for Shen Liuxiang had reached the breaking point. Seeing this scene unfold, he felt even more anxious. He thought sadly: It’s time to prepare himself for the funeral.
He remembered telling the story of Shameless Shen in the morning, and Shen Liuxiang listened with relish, appearing calm on the surface but probably already plotting how to kill him deep down.
Ye Shi’s legs went weak, and he almost kneeled to the ground. A group of younger martial brothers and sisters rushed over to support him.
Their faces were all beaming with bright smiles, and they seemed very optimistic.
“Ah, he looks much better now. With such appearance and cultivation, whether it’s Senior Ning or Senior Zhao, our Sword Sect won’t be at a loss.”
“Exactly, it turns out Senior Ning and Senior Zhao had great foresight, knowing that Shen Liuxiang was exceptional.”
“Let me tell you secretly, if Senior Ning and Senior Zhao can, then maybe I can too.”
Ye Shi was left dumbfounded, but after a moment, he finally understood why his martial brothers and sisters had turned into foolishly sweet individuals.
“Idiots!!!” Ye Shi pointed angrily, unable to contain himself, and yelled, “Open your eyes wide and look! He’s Shen Liuxiang from Qingling Sect, the person who has pursued our Sword Master for ten years!”
Ye Shi’s voice, powerful and resounding, echoed throughout the square, reaching the ears of everyone present.
“Pursued… Sword Master… for ten years…”
This statement was like a bolt from the blue, causing everyone to react.
Who didn’t know Qingling Shen Immortal Lord, the one who shamelessly pursued the North Moon Sword Master for ten years? If Shen Liuxiang was him, then wouldn’t the other two famous individuals who had been in recent rumors with him be…
Everyone: “Wow—!”
Ye Bingran was about to face the moment of intense attention.
He maintained a cold and handsome face, seemingly unchanged from usual when facing the gaze from all around. However, upon closer inspection, one could notice that his lips were tightly pressed into a line, and his expression was unusually rigid.
Especially when he noticed the glances coming from Ning Runxin and Zhao Lin, his face became even more stiff.
Ye Bingran felt a chill down his back.
The disciples of the Sword Sect exploded like fireworks, seemingly ascending to the sky in a 360-degree spiral.
Mournful cries and wailing filled the air, non-stop.
“Ah! Can someone tell me this isn’t real! It can’t be real!”
“It’s him? Why would it be him? Even a dog would be better than him.”
“Damn it! This is just too much. The future three pillars of our Sword Sect, all falling for the same person. It’s madness!”
“I know! It must be because he couldn’t get the Sword Soverign, so he tried to get close to Ning Shishu and Senior Brother Zhao, causing them to turn against each other. He’s really scheming and despicable!”
“That’s not right, according to the timeline, the Sword Soverign was the last one.”
“That’s even more terrifying. It means that Shen Liuxiang had planned it all along, to bewitch the three of them and cause internal strife, so he could easily disintegrate the Sword Sect from within.”
“Could it be that Qingling is planning to annex the Sword Sect?!”
“Frightening to think about it. If the Sword Sovereign hadn’t seen through his charm, Qingling Sect would have succeeded.”
“Now things are really bad, Ning Shishu and Senior Brother Zhao… sigh, it’s too late.”
“However,” someone suddenly changed the subject, “don’t you guys think that Immortal Shen and the Sword Sovereign are a perfect match now? We’re not at a loss either.”
The disciples of the Sword Sect frowned and collectively looked at the young man who was fighting against Jin Xiangtian.
Objectively speaking, the Immortal was young, beautiful, and had the cultivation level of the Nascent Soul stage. Moreover, in fact, their proud Sword Sovereign was still at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage.
As a result, the disciples of the Sword Sect fell into a strange silence.
Shen Liuxiang was completely unaware of the situation around him, completely focused on the battle. While resolving Jin Xiangtian’s attacks, he was also waiting for the right moment. After a few moves, he found an opportunity and formed dozens of Binding Spirit Cords that formed a net and attacked the opponent.
“Spirit Binding Art! How could you know this technique?!”
Jin Xiangtian’s face was filled with shock. He hurriedly retreated but was surrounded by the red cords from all sides. Just as it seemed impossible to escape, a faint glow covered the entire square. In an instant, the pressure emanating from the two Nascent Soul stage cultivators disappeared without a trace.
“This is the Sword Sect, not a place for you to seek personal revenge.”
Everyone present broke into a cold sweat and saluted the figure in the sky. “Greetings, Senior.”
The figure appeared for a moment and then disappeared.
Shen Liuxiang also stopped his actions, and so did Jin Xiangtian. He gave Shen Liuxiang a dark look and grabbed Jin Dieshang before turning into a streak of light and leaving.
To respect the face of Sword Master, he had to leave.
Shen Liuxiang let out a slow breath, and his expression relaxed slightly. At this moment, he heard the chaotic footsteps.
He turned around and saw familiar faces, all with astonishing expressions.
“Daddy~”
Shen Bu Bu ran over joyfully, hugging his leg and rubbing his cheek against his robe. “Daddy looks like this, so handsome!”
Shen Liuxiang: “…”
This is a complete disaster.
From today onwards, news of his adopted son will spread throughout the cultivation world.
Ning Runxin: “Should I call you Shen Liu or Shen Liuxiang?”
In the gaze filled with ten years of resentment, Shen Liuxiang lowered his head slightly. His slender and fair fingers twisted together as if he had done something wrong and was receiving criticism.
“It wasn’t me who deceived you!”
Shen Liuxiang screamed in his heart, but on the surface, he remained as cold as frost, weakly responding, “Call me whatever you like.”
“Brother Shen Xiang, I didn’t know it was you, so I drove you out of the Sword Sect three times.”
On the other side, Zhao Lin’s face was pale. “Don’t blame me.”
Finally, he encountered a soft target, and Shen Liuxiang regained his spirit. He smiled wryly, “Rest assured, I don’t blame you.”
Zhao Lin was still self-reproaching and sighed, “Brother Shen Xiang, if I had known you were interested in Senior Brother, I wouldn’t have disturbed your good fortune.”
He said softly, “Senior Brother has a noble demeanor, and your admiration for him is perfectly normal.”
Shen Liuxiang’s face changed, and he repeatedly denied, “No, don’t talk nonsense, there’s nothing like that.”
Seeing how Shen Liuxiang desperately denied it, Zhao Lin’s face showed a pained expression, and he reached out and grabbed Shen Liuxiang’s hand.
“Brother Shen Xiang, don’t be like this. It’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have burned the love letters you wrote to Senior Brother or smashed the birthday gift you gave him… If it weren’t for that, maybe you would have been together with Senior Brother by now.”
“?!”
Shen Liuxiang sensed an increasingly sinister gaze.
“Stop talking!!”
Shen Liuxiang quickly pulled his hand back, looking around in panic. He couldn’t tell whose gaze it was, but it gave him a chilling sense of danger.
“Don’t mention the past.”
Shen Liuxiang tried to save himself and salvage his reputation. “We should look forward. Your Senior Brother is already in the past, and I won’t cause any more trouble.”
Ye Bingran’s face turned colder.
Zhao Lin was stunned, “Really?”
Shen Liuxiang nodded, “Yes, yes.”
Zhao Lin pursed his lips, his eyes slightly brightened, “Shen Xiang, I’m standing in front of you now. Do you think I’m good enough?”
“???”
Before he could speak, someone coldly hummed and unceremoniously pushed Zhao Lin away.
“The junior is still young; it’s better to focus on cultivation.”
Ning Runxin walked up to Shen Liuxiang with a smile on his handsome face.
“I still prefer to call you Shen Liu. When we were attacked by countless demons before, we lived and died together. At that time, I made up my mind that if I survived, I would make you my Dao companion.”
He held Shen Liuxiang’s hand and his lips curled up with a meaningful smile. “Shen Liu, do you want to be Ye Bingran’s sister-in-law?”
Ye Bingran’s face instantly turned unsightly, and a vein throbbed on his forehead.
Shen Liuxiang: Thanks for the invitation, but I’m not interested.
He wanted to pull his hand back, but Ning Runxin held it tightly. He looked around, hoping to find someone to rescue him.
The leader of the Sword Sect, Lan Xiaosheng, was smiling. His Senior Brother was also smiling, and his disciples were also…
Shen Liuxiang blinked and noticed Zhou Xuanlan standing behind him. His eyes were gloomy, and his thin lips formed an icy arc. He exuded an air of indifference.
—Roll!
Shen Liuxiu was deeply moved.
He could really empathize with as his Master. He had such a good disciple.
“Who are you looking at?” Ning Runxin frowned and glanced behind.
Shen Liuxiu took the opportunity to retract his hand and quickly moved to Zhou Xuanlan’s side.
All eyes followed him and fell on Zhou Xuanlan, sparking whispers.
Shen Liuxiang hid behind Zhou Xuanlan. The young man had grown up fast and was now almost as tall as him. With broad shoulders and a narrow waist, he provided sufficient cover.
But in front of everyone, having the master hide behind the disciple seemed somewhat inappropriate.
Shen Liuxiang hesitated for a moment, then steeled himself and stepped forward, standing in front of Zhou Xuanlan. His phoenix-like eyes narrowed, and he spoke to Ning Runxin, who was approaching again, “There’s no need to test me. I am indeed over my feelings for Ye Bingran. Don’t use my past relationship to disgust people.”
Ning Runxin’s gaze fell on Shen Liuxiang behind him, remaining silent.
He had indeed wanted to test Shen Liuxiang, whether he still had feelings for Ye Bingran or not. But now he realized that he might have been looking in the wrong direction.
He asked in a deep voice, “Is the matter at the Bone-Washing Spring incident true?”
A commotion broke out around them.
The incident where Shen Liuxiang was taken out of the Bone-Washing Spring in a disheveled state by Zhou Xuanlan had spread throughout the Sword Sect. It was precisely because of this incident that everyone was so surprised that Ning Runxin actually asked about it in public.
Shen Liuxiang widened his eyes, not expecting someone to ask him about it in public.
He had heard at least ten different versions of the story, all of them describing his intimate encounter with Zhou Xuanlan in the Spirit Spring Pool.
If he didn’t clarify it now, not only would his reputation be ruined, but Zhou Xuanlan’s reputation would also be destroyed.
Shen Liuxiang immediately spoke, “Of course it’s… Hmm?”
A slender hand covered his mouth, and at the same time, he felt his waist being tightened as someone forcefully pulled him back.
Shen Liuxiang stumbled and fell backward into the warm chest.
Before he could react, a low, cold voice, tinged with long-suppressed anger, sounded by his ear, each word clear and audible to everyone present.
“The rumors are all true.”
T/N: wow!!!!!